Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to PBS’s American Masters this Friday, February 19: CAROLE KING: NATURAL WOMAN

George Scott’s portrait of the accomplished singer-songwriter makes its world premiere on the popular public television series devoted to US artists and cultural icons.

Timed to coincide with the 45th anniversary of King’s influential solo album, Tapestry, still beloved for producing such classics as “I Feel the Earth Move,” and “It’s Too Late,” Scott’s film gives the acclaimed musician her due. Interviews with the eminently likeable King herself, both present-day and archival, provide the thread through which her life and career are revealed, offering early biographical details as the young would-be teacher instead pursued a musical path. King, who partnered with lyricist Gerry Goffin, and fellow songwriters Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil reveal fascinating details about their roles in the factory songwriting process which allowed them to churn out hit songs for a revolving door of pop performers like The Shirelles and Aretha Franklin, often in the space of days if not hours. The doc importantly also details King’s evolution from behind-the-scenes creator to public performer, part of the wave of singer-songwriters that emerged in the 1970s, with numerous clips demonstrating the talent that led to four Grammy Awards, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, the Kennedy Center Honors, and the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize, among other accolades, as well as the popular Broadway musical, BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, February 16: THE IRON MINISTRY

JP Sniadecki’s observational profile of Chinese train travel made its world premiere at Locarno in 2014. Other screenings have included the NYFF, Rotterdam, Vancouver, Edinburgh, Camden, Chicago, DocLisboa, Viennale, CPH:DOX, RIDM, and Ambulante.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, February 16: BONNIE & CLYDE

John Maggio’s look at the lives of the infamous criminal duo debuted on PBS’s American Experience last month.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, February 16: THE MOSQUE IN MORGANTOWN

Brittany Huckabee’s look at a Muslim woman’s controversial stand against her local mosque debuted at True/False in 2009. It also screened at San Francisco Asian American, where it was awarded best documentary. The film was nominated for an Emmy after its initial public television broadcast.

Morgantown is a West Virginia college town with a small but vibrant Muslim community, largely drawn from the nearby school. The Islamic Center of Morgantown doubles as their place of worship and community hub. When Asra Nomani returns from a stint in Pakistan as a journalist for the Wall Street Journal, she believes her hometown will be the best place to raise her child. After recognizing signs of intolerance among the mosque’s more conservative leaders and prejudicial treatment of women, Asra decides to take a very visible stand, drawing media attention and criticism against supposed “extremism” in the mosque, and, in the process, precipitating a schism among its members. Huckabee deftly charts the fallout, following not only Asra in her crusade, but other members of the mosque, both allies and those alienated by her tactics, to craft a provocative exploration of the tension between tradition and progressive ideas in today’s Islam with regard to gender.

Coming to Al Jazeera America this Sunday, February 14: HELP US FIND SUNTIL TRIPATHI

Neal Broffman’s exploration of a missing man’s unexpected intersection with social media made its debut at Atlanta last year, where it won the Audience Award. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, New Orleans, DMZ Docs, Brooklyn, Boston Asian American, St Louis, Denver, and Oxford, among others.

After Sunil Tripathi, a Brown University student suffering from depression, vanished without a trace from his apartment late one night, his family is desperate to locate him. As detailed in Broffman’s sensitive retelling, they methodically spread Sunil’s story and his picture as far and wide as possible, garnering attention from traditional and social media in the hopes that someone, anyone will recognize their family member and provide a lead. Despite this initial interest, with no one coming forward, the story soon died down. While the family wished for a resurgence of interest, they were soon faced with more media coverage than they wanted when Sunil is inexplicably linked to a grainy photo of one of the Boston Marathon bombers. Through the virality of the Internet, rampant speculation on reddit soon crosses over to the mainstream media, and, despite zero official corroboration, their beloved, lost family member is declared to be a terrorist and murderer, with threats lobbed at him and his relatives from all directions. This cautionary tale demonstrates the dark side of so-called citizen journalism and Internet activism, their infiltration of traditional news, and a young man and his family who are caught in its wake.

Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, February 12: BB KING: THE LIFE OF RILEY

Jon Brewer’s profile of the late blues legend debuted in a longer version in London in 2012. This earlier version screened at various fests, including New Orleans, NXNE, and Sedona, and has since been cut down for its television broadcast debut and revised to acknowledge KIng’s passing last year.

Born Riley B King on a cotton plantation in Mississippi, the son of sharecroppers, Brewer’s famed subject rose to the heights of the blues to become synonymous with the American music genre. Working in collaboration with King and his estate, the filmmaker constructs an appreciative biography of the musician through interviews with the man himself and glowing testimonials from family members, fellow musicians and famous fans, including Bonnie Raitt, Bono, Ringo Starr, John Mayer, and Morgan Freeman, who also narrates. Archival footage of performances both classic and more recent supplements the proceedings, amply demonstrating the consummate skills of the King of the Blues, and his well-earned place within cultural history.