Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to NYC’s JCC for their CineMatters series tomorrow, Tuesday, May 24, to Stranger Than Fiction this Thursday, May 26, and to theatres and VOD this Friday, May 27: PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW

Ido Haar’s inspirational portrait of an unusual musical collaboration debuted under its original title, THRU YOU PRINCESS, at Jerusalem last year. It went on to screen at Toronto, Miami, SXSW, True/False, Cleveland, Nashville, San Francisco, Montclair, Seattle, Tempo Doc, and Docs Against Gravity, among other events.

Under the pretense of profiling YouTube performers, Haar makes contact with Samantha, a New Orleans-based caregiver to the elderly who records online confessionals alongside original songs under the name Princess Shaw for a small number of followers, and occasionally tries to perform at open mic nights. What she doesn’t know is that her songs have attracted the attention of the renowned Kutiman, an Israeli musician who specializes in mash-ups, carefully sampling an astonishing number of publicly-available music clips and editing them into remarkable new compositions. The film follows both artists in parallel – Princess as she struggles to realize her performing dreams, Kutiman as he composes his latest song, highlighting and validating Princess’ talent – all unbeknownst to her until an unforgettable, emotional reveal that opens up the world to the likeable would-be star.

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, May 23: THE RETURN

Kelly Duane De La Vega and Katie Galloway’s intimate look at the challenges faced by recently-released prisoners had its world premiere at Tribeca last month, winning an audience award. It also screened at San Francisco, as well as several community screenings around the country in the lead-up to its national PBS broadcast.

Until a 2012 proposition passed, California had one of the most punishing Three Strikes laws in the nation. Repeat offenders found themselves subject to life in prison, often for minor crimes. With the success of Prop 36, prisoners incarcerated under the draconian law found new hope, suddenly eligible for re-sentencing and, in some cases, release. Though tackling a large subject, De La Vega and Galloway wisely constrain themselves to a handful of subjects, including newly-released lifers Bilal and Kenneth, and attorneys from Stanford’s Justice Advocacy Project, who fight for the rights of other Three Strikes prisoners. While the latter offer valuable insight into the negative effect of this harsh sentencing, particularly among people of color, the poor, and the mentally ill, the film’s primary strength is in Bilal and Kenneth’s stories. As these men readjust to life on the outside, attempt to find gainful employment, try to re-establish bonds with family, and resist addiction, the true impact of mass incarceration is palpably felt.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, May 20: THE OTHER SIDE

Roberto Minervini’s hybrid portrait of Louisiana outsiders had its world premiere at Cannes last year. Other festival appearances have included Toronto, Karlovy Vary, Biografilm, Bergen, Athens, Rio, Palm Springs, True/False, Goteborg, Docs Against Gravity, and the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real.

Like his previous work, the Italian director offers an outside perspective on Americans living on the margins of conventional society, filtered through a hybrid approach that casts his protagonists as versions of themselves. In this case, Minervini turns his attention to the backwoods of Louisiana, initially focusing on the relationship between addicts Mark, a drug-dealer, and Lisa, his girlfriend, though peppered with other local denizens who spend their time on camera railing against President Obama. After the couple move off-frame, the film shifts gear to profile a paranoid militia convinced that the federal government will soon declare martial law and take away their guns. It’s a aesthetically stunning yet intellectually disquieting look at the extremes of American society, but one which informs the divisive, frustrated, and hate-fueled invective that has risen to the fore in recent years, particularly in this election cycle.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, May 20: ALMOST HOLY

Steve Hoover’s portrait of a controversial do-gooder made its debut at Tribeca last year, under its original title, CROCODILE GENNADIY. The doc’s festival circuit has included IDFA, Hamptons, ZagrebDox, Tallinn Black Nights, Maryland, Heartland, San Francisco DocFest, Sidewalk, Bergen, Portland, and One World, among others.

For years, pastor Gennadiy Mokhnenko has waged a crusade to save the children of his struggling nation, Ukraine. He regularly patrols Mariupol, picking up abandoned and lost street children, often via force, and brings them to his rehab center, Pilgrim Republic, to kick drugs and a dead-end existence of abuse. While some celebrate his vigilantism, others decry it, making him a frequent guest on local television programs. In his own mind, he’s a savior, and one willing to resort to extreme measures when his corrupt government seems little-inclined to intervene. Mokhnenko makes for a compelling, if confounding, hero and anti-hero in equal parts, a caring father figure for the children he saves – or attempts to – but also a violent demagogue, though one who is often surprisingly funny and charming. He offers himself uncensored for Hoover’s camera, while the filmmaker intercuts Mokhnenko’s relative successes in the early 2000s with present-day footage that tackles Ukraine’s descent into war and chaos even as he continues on his seemingly endless – and hopeless – mission.