Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to the National Geographic Channel tonight, Monday, February 29: HE NAMED ME MALALA

Davis Guggenheim’s portrait of the girls’ education activist debuted at Telluride last year. The film went on to screen at DOC NYC, Toronto, Tokyo, Mumbai, Adelaide, London, Hamptons, and Athena, among other events. It was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar of 2015.

The story of Malala Yousafzai made worldwide headlines after the Taliban shot the outspoken Pakistani teenager – and several of her friends – for daring to defy a ban on education for girls in her native Swat Valley. She recovered from her injuries to continue her mission, despite a threat of further violence if she returned to Pakistan, writing a best-selling book, making numerous media appearances, and speaking all over the world, addressing heads of states and other influential global figures – and capturing the attention of the Nobel Prize nominating committee in the process. While Guggenheim covers this familiar terrain, his focus is more personal, as signaled by the film’s title, which references Malala’s father, an educator who also found himself on the Taliban’s target list for speaking out against their repressive policies, and who named his daughter after an Afghan folk hero who sacrificed herself to rally her people. Combined with animated sequences that flesh out significant episodes in her past, interviews with and about her father offer an intriguing context for the young woman’s activism.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, February 29: MAVIS!

Jessica Edwards’ loving profile of a soul singer made its bow at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Nantucket, IDFA, Sheffield, New Zealand, Melbourne, Martha’s Vineyard African American, Vancouver, Woodstock, Mill Valley, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Athena, and Big Sky, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
With a career spanning six decades and counting, Mavis Staples and her family’s legendary music group, The Staple Singers, have entertained millions with songs like “I’ll Take You There” and “Let’s Do It Again.” Director Jessica Edwards weaves together past and present to chart Staples’ storied career, from touring the gospel circuit and writing memorable civil rights anthems to topping the soul charts and working with notables like Bob Dylan, Prince, and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. The result is a warm, revealing portrait and a well-deserved tribute to the Grammy Award-winning music talent, an ebullient figure still touring at the age of 75.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1: PEACE OFFICER

Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber’s look into police militarization debuted at SXSW last year, winning both best documentary and audience awards. It went on to screen at Full Frame, Montclair, Hot Docs, Little Rock, AFI Docs, Traverse City, New Zealand, and Milwaukee, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1: THE GREAT ALONE

Greg Kohs’ portrait of a dogsled racing dreams debuted at Seattle last year. Fest screenings continued at DOC NYC, Hamptons, Philadelphia, IFF Boston, Austin, Sedona, Hot Springs Doc, Banff Mountain, DC’s Environmental, and Available Light, among others.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Lance Mackey grew up as the heir apparent to win Alaska’s famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Both of his parents mushed, and his father, Dick Mackey, the Iditarod’s co-founder, won the race in 1978. Cancer quashed his championship dreams in 2001, but Lance beat the odds to race again. Greg Kohs brings the viewer alongside Lance and his dogs as they brave the Arctic wilderness for another chance at glory, while riveting flashbacks recount highlights from his past experiences on the punishing course.

Coming to VOD today, Friday, February 26: KINGS OF NOWHERE

Betzabé García’s exploration of a vanishing village had its premiere at Ambulante last year. It went on to win awards at SXSW, Full Frame, Zurich, and Morelia, and to screen at Doc Fortnight, Guadalajara, Sheffield, Camden, Warsaw, Docs DF, and Lima, among others. FilmBuff now releases the doc on various VOD platforms.

San Marcos was once full of people. Now, for half the year, the small Mexican town is full of water, the result of a nearby dam project. García’s lyrical film captures a place that is slowly disappearing, and its seven remaining inhabitants who nevertheless cling to it. Fearful of surrounding cartel violence, and oscillating between perseverance and acceptance, they tend to their ghost town, fighting the encroachment of nature, while contemplating the impossibility of leaving. García crafts a haunting, thoughtful, and at times quietly revelatory observational portrait of a village that no longer exists.

Coming to PBS’s American Masters and to DVD today, Friday, February 26: THE BIG BEAT: FATS DOMINO AND THE BIRTH OF ROCK ‘N’ ROLL

Joe Lauro’s ode to the music legend made its bow at the New Orleans Film Festival in 2014. The doc also screened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Sound + Vision series last year. Its broadcast debut and simultaneous DVD release are timed to coincide with Domino’s 88th birthday.

Despite his success as a best-selling recording artist in the 1950s and ’60s, Fats Domino hasn’t been afforded the same lofty standing as fellow early rock ‘n’ roll performers like Elvis Presley or Jerry Lee Lewis, argues Lauro. Rather than wait until his death for a reappraisal, the director offers this appreciative overview of the musician’s life and career as a welcome reminder of his accomplishments. While Domino is now living in retirement in his beloved hometown of New Orleans, his interviews here are limited to archival footage, though Lauro does include somewhat recent home video footage from 2010. This breezy film recounts the path to Domino’s success in a segregated America, paying particular attention to his fruitful partnership with producer and songwriter Dave Bartholomew, and offers a variety of performance clips that showcase his prodigious talent.

Coming to theatres and VOD tomorrow, Friday, February 26: KING GEORGES

Erika Frankel’s profile of an acclaimed chef and his legacy had its premiere at Full Frame last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, IFF Boston, Seattle, AFI Docs, Traverse City, San Diego, Philadelphia, Denver, Napa Valley, Portland, and Big Sky, among several others. In addition to its limited theatrical release, the doc comes to iTunes, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Xbox, Playstation, and Cable On Demand.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD and VOD this week: BECOMING BULLETPROOF

Michael Barnett’s chronicle of a unique film production premiered at Vancouver in 2014. Screenings followed at Heartland, Cleveland, Newport Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, Hollywood, and Vail, among others. After a limited theatrical release last Fall, it now comes to DVD, VOD, and digital download under the “Morgan Spurlock Presents” banner, which helps bring awareness to potentially overlooked nonfiction films.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to Starz tonight, Wednesday, February 24: HUSTLERS CONVENTION

Mike Todd’s tribute to an influential precursor to hip-hop made its world premiere at Sheffield last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC and to have a theatrical release in the UK. The doc now comes to Starz for its broadcast debut.

For hip-hop historians and aficionados, Lightnin’ Rod’s 1973 spoken word album Hustlers Convention played a pivotal role in the development of the genre, offering African American audiences an authentic representation of the temptations and dangers of inner city life. Despite selling a million copies with virtually no official promotion, and being well-respected by the first generation of rappers, the album and its importance to African American music history has largely been forgotten. Mike Todd’s appreciative film helps to correct that, allowing for a re-examination of its creator, Lightnin’ Rod, better known as Jalal Mansur Nuriddin of The Last Poets, a prominent group within the Black Arts Movement. The ever-rhyming Nuriddin, bolstered by an impressive collection of interviews with legendary hip-hop artists, from KRS-One and Chuck D to Fab 5 Freddie and MC Lyte, reveals the story behind the album, which is illustrated throughout via vibrant animated sequences, culminating in a celebratory event in London which sees the now-senior citizen perform it live for the first time ever.