Category Archives: Documentary

2016 DOC NYC in Focus: Wild Life

long_live_benjaminDOC NYC‘s Wild Life section explores the deep connections between humans and animals: Continue reading

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On VOD: TICKLED

tickledComing to VOD today, Tuesday, November 1: TICKLED

David Farrier and Dylan Reeve’s engrossing investigation into a secretive online subculture premiered at Sundance this year. It went on to screen at Nantucket, True/False, Cleveland, Sarasota, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Montclair, Seattle, Sydney, and Auckland.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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On DVD: MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER

MyLoveDontCrossThatRiver-thumb-630xauto-55760Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 1: MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER

Jin Mo-young’s tender look at an aging couple debuted at DMZ Docs in 2014. Screenings followed at Hot Docs, Los Angeles, Tempo Doc, Visions du Reel, DocAviv, Sydney, BFI London, RIDM, DOK Leipzig, Moscow, Hamptons, and the New York Asian fests, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On DVD: DARWIN

17703-darwinNew to DVD this week: DARWIN

Nick Brandestini’s profile of residents in a secluded Death Valley community made its bow at Santa Barbara in 2011. Screenings followed at Big Sky, Documentary Edge, DOXA, DocAviv, Karlovy Vary, Zurich, BFI London, Hot Springs Doc, Bergen, RIDM, and Telluride Mountainfilm, among several others.

I previously included the film in my coverage of Karlovy Vary here.

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2016 DOC NYC in Focus: Art & Design

david_lynchMy DOC NYC preview continues with a returning thematic section: Art & Design. Continue reading

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On TV: KIVALINA

kivalinaComing to PBS’s America ReFramed tonight, Tuesday, November 1: KIVALINA

Gina Abatemarco’s portrait of an Alaskan community threatened by climate change had its world premiere at Berlin earlier this year. It has also screened at Reykjavik, Woods Hole, DOXA, Woodstock, Full Frame, and Poland’s American fest, among other events.

Kivalina, Alaska is a fragile barrier island in the northwest Arctic, home to the Inupiaq people. Filming for over five years, Abatemarco offers a snapshot of life on the island, highlighting traditional hunting and fishing practices, as the community reckons with rising sea levels and government inaction. Debates have been waged for generations about the potential relocation of the village, but there’s no political will. Instead, temporary fixes are implemented, such as a seawall that observers note won’t really protect Kivalina from what is expected. The film is a well-lensed observational ethnography, focusing less on individuals or the climate change issue, and more on the community as a whole.

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2016 DOC NYC in Focus: Science Nonfiction

food_evolutionAnother new section takes the spotlight in today’s DOC NYC preview: Science Nonfiction explores the cutting edge worlds of science and technology. Continue reading

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On DVD: AN HONEST LIAR

honest liarComing to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 1: AN HONEST LIAR

Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom’s surprising profile of a professional skeptic debuted at Tribeca in 2014. Its fest circuit also included Nantucket, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Provincetown, Bergen, Denver, Reykjavik, Palm Springs, AFI Docs, Outfest, Big Sky, Cleveland, Napa Valley, and Key West, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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2016 DOC NYC in Focus: True Crime

santoallaToday’s profile of DOC NYC‘s film program begins with a new thematic section: True Crime. Continue reading

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On TV: WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS

full_what-tomorrowComing to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, October 31: WHAT TOMORROW BRINGS

Beth Murphy’s inside look at an Afghan girl’s school had its world premiere at Hot Docs this year after work-in-progress screenings at Nantucket and Human Rights Watch. Other screenings have included Camden, Woods Hole, Newburyport Doc, and Austin.

I wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Under the repressive Taliban regime in Afghanistan, girls were denied an education and women were not permitted to teach, resulting in a generation deprived of a future. While the ouster of the Taliban corrected this injustice, the group’s continued influence threatens the strides made in girls’ education. Director Beth Murphy takes us inside the Zabuli Education Center, the first all-girls’ school in a small, conservative village in the Deh’Subz district whose elders approach the idea with some trepidation. The film follows founder Razia Jan as she attempts to ease their concerns, and also focuses on three students and two female teachers, each reflecting the challenges and hopes that education offers for Afghanistan’s female population.

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