Frameline, the longest running LGBT film festival in the world, opens in San Francisco tonight, Thursday, June 18, and will present over 70 new features before it wraps up during SF Pride weekend on Sunday, June 28. More than 30 new and recent documentary features will screen, including Centerpiece film OUT TO WIN, Malcolm Ingram’s focus on professional LGBT athletes; and Showcase programs like FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, Sharon Shattuck’s personal reflection on her transgender dad. Highlights from the fest’s nonfiction programming is highlighted below: Continue reading
Category Archives: Documentary
Frameline 2015: Documentary Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On VOD: LORD MONTAGU
Coming to VOD today, Wednesday, June 17: LORD MONTAGU
Luke Korem’s exploration of the life of an eccentric British aristocrat debuted at Cleveland in 2013. It went on to screen at Dallas, Newport Beach, Napa Valley, and St Louis, among others. Gravitas now makes the doc available on on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube Movies, Xbox, Sony Playstation, and Cable on Demand.
Lord Edward Montagu was born into privilege, becoming the Baron of Beaulieu, a 7,000 acre estate, at the age of only two years old. As an early adult in the post-WWII period, Montagu like so many others in the aristocracy, found the times – and the economy – changing, jeopardizing his ability to maintain Beaulieu as it had stood since the 13th century. His decision to open the estate to the general public as a tourist attraction saved Beaulieu, but this was shortlived after Montagu was embroiled in a legal scandal that soon saw him sentenced to jail for committing homosexual offenses. While open about his bisexuality, he persisted in denying any wrongdoing, paving the way for the eventual decriminalization of homosexuality in the UK. After his release, he set out to salvage his besmirched reputation, turning once again to the boon of Beaulieu, transforming his estate into Britain’s first motor museum, and becoming a consummate showman engaging with curious visitors, who came in droves. Korem stumbles a bit in framing the film as something of an autobiography, awkwardly utilizing actors to recite Montagu’s personal writing, but he does succeed in crafting a portrait that becomes increasingly more interesting as the film progresses. While interviews are a bit heavily utilized, and generally seem to avoid controversy, archival footage is particularly well employed to reveal a surprising life.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
BAMcinemaFest 2015: Documentary Overview
Tonight, Wednesday, June 17, sees the opening of the seventh edition of the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s
annual BAMcinemaFest, a popular program of 35 recent films which had its origins as the Sundance at BAM series. The event, which runs through Sunday, June 28, continues to draw selections from Park City for their NYC premieres, along with acclaimed work from other notable events.
Nonfiction programming which appeared previously at Sundance includes Chad Gracia’s unforgettable conspiracy theorist profile, THE RUSSIAN WOODPECKER (pictured); Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon’s political history, BEST OF ENEMIES; Frida Barkfors and Lasse Barkfors’ empathetic portrait of a place, PERVERT PARK; Bobcat Goldthwait’s surprising profile of a comedian turned activist, CALL ME LUCKY; and Amy Berg’s look at fundamentalist Mormonism, PROPHET’S PREY.
From Berlin comes Jem Cohen’s city essay, COUNTING; from Full Frame, Jon Nealon and Jenny Raskin’s portrait of a pioneering video collective, HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEX; and from SXSW, Luke Meyer’s look at fame’s impact on a junior high school metal band, BREAKING A MONSTER; and Elizabeth Giamatti and Alex Sichel’s hybrid about creativity and coping with a terminal illness, A WOMAN LIKE ME (pictured).
Also from this year’s SXSW and screening in Brooklyn as a Special Event is the late Les Blanks’ unreleased 1974 Leon Russell portrait, A POEM IS A NAKED PERSON. It joins another classic, Penelope Spheeris’ 1981 THE DECLINE OF WESTERN CIVILIZATION (pictured), a chronicle of LA’s punk scene, which screens here in a new restored version.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
In Theatres: RUBBLE KINGS
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 19: RUBBLE KINGS
Shan Nicholson’s look back at the legendary gangs of New York City made its bow at DOC NYC last year. It now comes to theatres in NYC, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Confronting a bankrupt, decaying city and the dashed hopes of the civil rights generation, African-American and Latino teenagers violently took over the streets of 1970s New York. The South Bronx became a war zone ruled by gangs like the Savage Skulls and the Ghetto Brothers. Hypnotic archival footage and present-day interviews with former gang members reveal how peace was brokered at the peak of the bloodshed in a most unlikely manner, laying the foundation for what ultimately became hip-hop culture.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
AFI Docs 2015 Overview
Washington DC’s AFI Docs returns tomorrow, Wednesday, June 17, opening with acclaimed Sundance title BEST OF ENEMIES by Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon, about the infamous Buckley/Gore debates of 1968, and draws to a close five days later on Sunday, June 21 with Jessica Edwards’ loving tribute to performer Mavis Staples, MAVIS!, which debuted at SXSW earlier this year. The event’s 13th edition is the first under the leadership of new Festival Director Michael Lumpkin, formerly of the International Documentary Association and a longtime fest veteran as the former Executive Director of San Francisco’s Frameline.
This year’s lineup includes approximately 50 recent documentary features, primarily culled from the lineups of Sundance, SXSW, Tribeca, IDFA, and other notable festivals. Notable exceptions are four world premieres: Dawn Porter’s RISE: THE PROMISE OF MY BROTHER’S KEEPER (pictured), looking at the initiative to mentor African American boys and men to success; Natalie Avital’s THE THREE HIKERS, about three Americans who found themselves behind Iranian prison bars; Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci’s SALAM NEIGHBOR, which explores a massive refugee camp for Syrians in Jordan; and Brad Horn’s FIRST AND 17, on the pressures faced by America’s top-ranked high school football recruit.
AFI Docs’ annual celebration of nonfiction artistry, the Charles Guggenheim Symposium, this year honors Stanley Nelson, whose Sundance title THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION (pictured) screens at the festival. The festival also organizes a two-day Filmmaker Conference for nonfiction filmmakers and industry exploring a range of topics from the risky business of investigative documentary to creating social change through nonfiction projects.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
In Theatres: 3 1/2 MINUTES, TEN BULLETS
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 19: 3 1/2 MINUTES, TEN BULLETS
Marc Silver’s exploration of the tragic consequences of racial bias had its world premiere at Sundance this year, where it won a special jury award. It has since gone on to screen at Full Frame, Seattle, Sheffield, Ashland, RiverRun, and Human Rights Watch, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Edinburgh 2015: Documentary Overview
This Wednesday, June 17 marks the opening of the 69th Edinburgh International Film Festival, the first edition under new Artistic Director Mark Adams, formerly the chief film critic of Screen International. Over the course of twelve nights, 164 new and retrospective features, including 30 documentaries, will unspool, including several world and UK premieres. The following offers a brief look at some of these: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On TV: LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, June 15: LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
Thomas G Miller’s look at a longstanding fight for marriage equality debuted at last year’s Los Angeles Film Festival. Other fest screenings included DOC NYC, Aspen, Tallgrass, Woodstock, Antenna Doc, Hawaii, Denver, Cleveland, Palm Springs, Sheffield, Frameline, Outfest, and LGBT fests in Austin, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Atlanta, Seattle, Brazil, Toronto, and Melbourne.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC, saying:
American Richard Adams married Australian Tony Sullivan in Boulder, Colorado in 1975, during a brief period when same-sex marriage was legal in that state, and subsequently filed for a green card for Tony. After receiving an explicitly homophobic denial and an order for deportation, the couple filed the first federal lawsuit seeking equality in transnational LGBT marriage immigration cases. Thomas G. Miller’s film is a poignant portrait of a couple’s four decades of devotion despite overwhelming odds.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
In Theatres: LIVE FROM NEW YORK!
Coming to theatres today, Friday, June 12: LIVE FROM NEW YORK!
Bao Nguyen’s exploration of the pop cultural phenomenon of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE made its debut as the opening night selection of this year’s Tribeca. Other fest screenings have included Nashville, Maui, Hot Docs, and the upcoming Provincetown.
Nguyen’s film debuted in the midst of SNL’s 40th anniversary season – and in fact was made specifically to tie-in to that milestone – which ends up being both a blessing and a curse. It’s a boon because the anniversary lends a certain gravitas, as well as a logical motive for a retrospective consideration of the program, complete with some occasional gems of archival footage, like some of the screen tests of the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players. On the other hand, however, the film comes after SNL’s own multi-hour anniversary special, which, unfortunately for Nguyen’s project, already utilized that choice archival footage, as well as other more familiar clips, in addition to generally addressing the same terrain. Even excusing this, Nguyen would always face a difficult task in trying to summarize, lionize, and even kind of criticize a still-running series in less than ninety minutes – while appealing to the show’s core fanbase and the casual viewer at the same time. Though he makes something of an attempt to contextualize his film as a study of how the program evolved over time from subversion to institution, this never feels fully formed or developed, making fairly obvious points about sexism or lack of diversity in television before quickly retreating to familiar sketches and laudatory talking heads. As a result, while the doc makes for a diverting enough reminiscence of SNL’s highs and occasional lows, it’s unfortunately fairly generic and not particularly memorable in itself.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Special Screening: WELCOME TO LEITH
Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Friday, June 12: WELCOME TO LEITH
Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K Walker’s gripping chronicle of a small town standoff bowed at Sundance earlier this year. It has since screened at SXSW, Dallas, Boulder, and the upcoming Nantucket Film Festival, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
