Category Archives: Documentary

Now available on DVD and VOD: STILL DREAMING

Hank Rogerson & Jilann Spitzmiller’s look at a Shakespearean performance by elder performers made its bow at DOC NYC in 2014. Screenings followed at Cleveland, Cinequest, Sedona, and BendFilm, among other events. In addition to its DVD release, the film is now available on VOD via Amazon and VHX.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Located just outside of Manhattan, the Lillian Booth Actors Home provides a most resonant setting for the staging of a classic play in which nothing is what it seems. Seeking ways to engage their residents, administrators bring in young professional Broadway directors to shepherd the charismatic retired performers through A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Contending not only with Shakespeare but with the physical and mental challenges of old age – as well as some outsized personalities – will this over-80s ensemble do the Bard justice?

New to DVD: SPACE MEN

Amanda Pollak’s chronicle of pioneering experiments that made space travel possible debuted on PBS’s American Experience series last month.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD, VOD, and digital download today, Tuesday, April 19: THEORY OF OBSCURITY: A FILM ABOUT THE RESIDENTS

Don Hardy’s look at the history of the avant-garde music and art group made its bow at SXSW last year. Since then, it has screened at DOC NYC, BAFICI, Indielisboa, San Francisco, IFF Boston, DOXA, Melbourne, Revelation, Portland, Sydney Underground, and Cucalorus, among several others.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In their 40-year career, the members of the pioneering sound and video collective known as The Residents have insisted on absolute anonymity, performing in distinctive giant eyeball masks and natty suits, and never revealing their true identities. In Don Hardy’s entertaining, accessible film, longtime collaborators, ardent supporters like THE SIMPSONS’ Matt Groening, magician Penn Jillette and MoMA’s Barbara London – and maybe even band members themselves – reveal the history, cult popularity, and wild creativity of the eccentric group, set against the spectacle of their international anniversary tour.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, April 19: CITY OF TREES

Brandon Kramer’s look at the unintended consequences of grassroots organizing had its world premiere at the American Conservation Film Festival last year. Other fest screenings include St Louis, Annapolis, Full Frame, and at enviro fests in Washington DC, Yale, and Princeton.

When Washington DC nonprofit Washington Parks & People receives a $2.7 million stimulus grant to bolster the local economy in the wake of the Great Recession, it seems like a win-win situation: the grassroots group can continue its mission to nurture communities while increasing the greening of derelict public spaces, while the 150 jobs it creates will benefit area residents hardest hit by unemployment, a largely African-American population. As Kramer’s insightful film quickly shows, however, it’s never quite so simple. While the three stimulus-backed employees profiled look to thrive in their new positions, the grant is running out, and there’s no guarantee that their jobs will continue. Even as Washington Parks & People head Steve Coleman braces himself for how to deal with this harsh reality, he finds his organization charged with ignoring the wishes of the local community as he moves forward with a tree planting project. As the best of intentions come up against white privilege, he must face the vital factor of black stewardship in his plans for urban improvement.