Coming to theatres today, Friday, December 9: ON THE MAP
Dani Menkin’s look at Israeli basketball through a Cold War lens made its debut at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival earlier this year. Screenings followed at DOC NYC, Gold Coast, and Jewish fests in Boston, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, and Virginia, among other events.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres and VOD tomorrow, Friday, December 9: HARRY BENSON: SHOOT FIRST
Justin Bare and Matthew Miele’s profile of the noted photographer had its debut at the Hamptons last year. It went on to screen at GlobeDocs, Tallgrass, Gold Coast, and Greenwich, among other festivals.
Photographer Harry Benson became well-known after he shot The Beatles landmark 1964 US tour, capturing iconic images like the Fab Four’s hotel pillow fight and their face-off with Muhammad Ali (then Cassius Clay). In the decades since, he developed a body of work of celebrity portraiture, covering actors, sports figures, and politicians, including the most reclusive of figures. As Bare and Miele demonstrate in their appreciative but light tribute, Benson’s work isn’t limited to the lighter side, and includes more serious subjects, from the civil rights movement to conflict zones. While they interview the charismatic and still-working octogenarian, the filmmakers never really find a narrative lens through which to approach their subject, resulting instead in a general survey of his illustrious career and iconic images.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 9: I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO
Raoul Peck’s adaptation of James Baldwin’s unfinished book on race in America debuted at Toronto this Fall. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, New Orleans, New York Film Festival, the Hamptons, Chicago, Virginia, AFI Fest, and Philadelphia, among other events. The film was announced this week as part of the Oscars shortlist. While the film’s primary release will take place in early February, its awards-qualifying run commences this weekend.
Before his death in 1987, author and public intellectual James Baldwin had planned to complete REMEMBER THIS HOUSE, a personal reflection on race through the stories of three men he knew well, martyrs of the civil rights movement Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, and Martin Luther King Jr. Peck has taken Baldwin’s 30 completed pages and crafted a masterwork examining the complex and contentious history of black lives in this country. While still focused on Baldwin’s intended main subjects, Peck’s cogent, gripping essay broadens the scope to include the author himself, represented in powerful archival interviews as well as through Samuel L Jackson’s recital of his writing, and takes on a sad, ever-present topicality, addressing the continued violence against African Americans signified by the Black Lives Matter movement.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Thursday, December 8: OFF THE RAILS
Adam Irving’s look at a public transit-obsessed man had its premiere at Full Frame this Spring. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Sarasota, RiverRun, Newport Beach, San Francisco Doc, Provincetown, Sidewalk, Woods Hole, DocUtah, Hot Springs Doc, Savannah, Denver, and St Louis, among other events. It now comes to VOD via Sundance Now.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD and VOD this week: OLYMPIC PRIDE, AMERICAN PREJUDICE
Deborah Riley Draper’s chronicle of African American athletes at the 1936 Olympics made its debut at the Los Angeles Film Festival this Summer. Other screenings include the American Black Film Festival, BronzeLens, Cucalorus, Hot Springs Doc, Traverse City, Chicago, St Louis, and Washington Jewish. It is now available on DVD as well as VOD platforms including iTunes and Amazon.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
The 13th Dubai International Film Festival begins today, Wednesday, December 7, and runs through next Wednesday, December 14. The Gulf State event ups its nonfiction offerings this year slightly, presenting 23 documentary features compared to last year’s slim 17. Among these are the following:
Documentaries in competition include a single entry in the Muhr Emirati category, Nujoom Alghanem’s HONEY, RAIN & DUST (pictured), about three individuals involved with apiary and honey collection; as well as several in the Muhr Feature section, such as: Laurent Aït Benalla’s TERRA FIRMA, a study of a French harbor and its traffic with north Africa and the Middle East; Mohamed Rashad’s LITTLE EAGLES, in which the Egyptian filmmaker explores 1970s political activism while contemplating his career; Iman Kamel’s EGYPTIAN JEANNE D’ARC, an experimental meditation on present-day Egyptian women’s lives; Eliane Raheb’s THOSE WHO REMAIN, a portrait of a Christian Lebanese farmer and restaurateur; Hady Zaccak’s 104 WRINKLES, about the filmmaker’s centenarian grandmother; and Alfoz Tanjour’s A MEMORY IN KHAKI, which shares story of refugees from Syrian repression.
Nonfiction screening out of competition has largely been covered on this site at other events. Of note are several titles from the Arab world, showcased in the Arabian Nights section: DOC NYC alum BEZNESS AS USUAL (pictured), Dutch director Alex Pitstra’s personal reckoning with his Tunisian father; THE WAR SHOW, Obaidah Zytoon and Andreas Dalsgaard’s exploration of Syrians set against the Arab Spring and exile; ZAINEB HATES THE SNOW, Kaouther Ben Hania’s chronicle of a Tunisian girl’s coming to terms with life in Canada; THE CHALLENGE, Yuri Ancarani’s impressionistic portrait of falconry in Arab culture; and GAZA SURF CLUB, Philip Gnadt and Mickey Yamine’s look at surf culture in the isolated occupied land.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
New to DVD this week: FOR THE LOVE OF SPOCK
Adam Nimoy’s personal reflection on his famed father had its premiere at Tribeca this Spring. Screenings also included Fantasia, Sedona, Sitges, and at the San Francisco and San Diego Jewish fests.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
This post is a pointer to the fourth lineup announcement for the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, revealing the 2017 Shorts program. The lineup may be found here.
Earlier lineup announcements include the US and World Cinema Documentary and Dramatic Competitions, plus NEXT; New Frontier; and Premieres, Documentary Premieres, Midnight, Spotlight, Kids, and Special Events.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences announced the Best Documentary Feature shortlist today. Congratulations to all the filmmakers – in particular all of the Sundance and DOC NYC alumni represented.
I’ve previously written about most of these and hope to cover the remainder before the final nominees are announced on January 24. For now, here is the official shortlist, with links to my previous coverage, where applicable:
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (pictured)
THE IVORY GAME
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, December 6: ALL EYES AND EARS
Vanessa Hope’s look at US/China relations debuted at San Francisco’s CAAMFest last year. Other festival screenings include Tribeca, Vancouver, Global Peace, Mill Valley, Bahamas, Karlovy Vary, and Galway. The doc now comes to VOD platforms including iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play, Vudu, and Microsoft Movies & TV in the US, as well as on Blueshare in China.
Hope centers her film on former US Ambassador to China Jon Huntsman, who served in the post from 2009-2011. Following him and some of his accompanying family members around China, including his daughter Gracie, who was adopted from China as an infant, Hope is granted prime access and the authorization to shoot a high-level official diplomat as he tours around different areas in the country, but at the same time subject to Chinese interference, staging interactions with the ambassador and people on the street while also surreptitiously monitoring their movements. While the affable Huntsman demonstrates the careful balancing act that is his job, a more personal view comes via Gracie, whose bicultural background lends a symbolic weight to the Huntsmen family’s presence in China, which Hope seizes upon, making her the film’s sometime narrator. Though not quite afforded enough space in the thought-provoking film, a third figure emerges in Chen Guangchen, a noted attorney whose activism highlights human rights issues which complicate Huntsman’s position and the financial stakes at the core of the present-day US/Chinese relationship.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
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