Category Archives: Documentary

New to VOD this week: SWEET DREAMS

Rob and Lisa Fruchtman’s look at a industrious group of Rwandan women made its debut at Silverdocs in 2012. Screenings followed at DOC NYC, Mill Valley, IDFA, Margaret Mead, DocPoint, Big Sky, Thessaloniki Doc, Ashland, and DOXA, among others. It now comes to VOD with the assistance of the Sundance Institute’s #ArtistServices program.

I previously wrote about the film out of Thessaloniki Doc here.

Coming to the JCC in Manhattan’s CineMatters series next Tuesday, January 27 and to theatres next Friday, January 30: ABOVE AND BEYOND

Roberta Grossman’s chronicle of the secret history of the Israeli Air Force made its debut at Jerusalem last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Palm Springs, Sedona, Heartland, and at Jewish fests in San Francisco, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Boston, Nashville, Hong Kong, Cleveland, and Vancouver, among several others.

The foundation of the state of Israel in 1948 was met with immediate anxiety. As the countdown to the British withdrawal from Palestine commenced, so too did the preparation for invasion from the fledgling, would-be nation’s neighboring Arab countries. In the absence of a military infrastructure – or trained pilots – Jewish leaders sought planes, ammunitions, and the expertise of war-tested veterans in the US, Canada, South Africa, and elsewhere. This unlikely, motley crew, Jewish and non-Jewish alike, formed a skeletal, but surprisingly effective, air squadron that, as argued in Grossman’s film, meant all the difference in ensuring the survival of the Zionist dream of statehood. A project initiated by producer Nancy Spielberg, the well-crafted film tracks down survivors to recount the untold and often electrifying story of the 101 squadron – so named as to suggest that Israel actually had 100 other squadrons at the ready – and the sacrifices they made to secretly fight for the Jewish people, risking citizenship in defiance of America’s Neutrality Act, and potential death in the sky.

Coming to DVD/VOD next Tuesday, January 27: THE KINGDOM OF DREAMS AND MADNESS

Mami Sunada’s exploration of the workings of a legendary animation studio premiered in Japanese theatres last year. It has screened at Toronto, DOC NYC, San Sebastian, Sydney, Rio, St Louis, and Melbourne, among others, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release this Winter.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to VOD this week: BEFORE YOU KNOW IT

PJ Raval’s look at the lives of senior gay men had its world premiere at SXSW in 2013. Other festival screenings included IFF Boston, San Francisco, Edinburgh, Lone Star, Cucalorus, Cleveland, Florida, and several LGBT fests, including Inside Out, Outfest, Image Out, Reeling, Image + Nation, and Polari. It now comes to several VOD platforms, including iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, and more, with the assistance of the Sundance Institute’s #ArtistServices program.

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

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, January 27: ART AND CRAFT

Directors Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman and co-director Mark Becker’s portrait of an unusual art forger debuted at Tribeca last year. It went on to screen at Nantucket, Hot Docs, Montclair, and San Francisco, among others, and was shortlisted for the Documentary Feature Oscar.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 23: RED ARMY

Gabe Polsky’s chronicle of the Soviet Union’s premier ice hockey team debuted at Cannes last year. It went on to screen at Telluride, Toronto, DOC NYC, the New York Film Festival, Chicago, Zurich, Austin, Vancouver, Karlovy Vary, Atlantic, and the Hamptons, among others.

Even for non-fans of the sport, hockey became the must-see face-off between the US and the USSR in the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. The victory of the underdog American team – the so-called “Miracle on Ice” – was jingoistically spun to speak volumes about the superiority of the country – and capitalism – over the Soviet system, nevermind that the Russian team went on to win back-to-back gold in the 1984 and 1988 games. Polsky’s vibrant film moves beyond the singular 1980 showdown to reflect on the history of the Red Army team, its players, and the power of sports within the USSR. At its center is Vyacheslav “Slava” Fetisov, the team captain, a bristly, cocksure, and often very funny protagonist who reflects on the rigor and effectiveness of Soviet training, and the bonds of brotherhood it forged. If this inside view of Soviet-era ideology through athleticism isn’t fascinating enough, Fetisov recounts the paradigmatic shift that took place for teammates with the collapse of the USSR – a swirl of NHL contracts, culture clash, betrayals, unexpected lows, and triumphant comebacks, both on the ice and off.

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 23: MISS HILL: MAKING DANCE MATTER

Greg Vander Veer’s profile of a pivotal figure in American dance debuted as the opening night film of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Dance on Camera last year. Other fest berths have included Sarasota, Berkshire, Dance Camera West, St Louis, and Vancouver.

Martha Hill may not be as well-known as the other Martha of contemporary dance, Martha Graham, but in many ways, as argued in Vander Veer’s loving tribute, she’s just as – perhaps even more – significant. While Hill’s on-stage career was brief, her influence was felt more as an educator and advocate, proving instrumental in reshaping the nation’s positioning of dance not as a sidelined form of girls’ physical education, but as a full-fledged art form. At both the groundbreaking Bennington School of the Dance and at Juilliard, where she founded the dance department, Hill championed the art form, significantly arguing that dancers should have grounding in both modern techniques and classical ballet training. Vander Veer’s coverage of Hill’s behind-the-scenes role in legitimizing dance-as-art may at times feel hagiographic, a bit too insider, and somewhat repetitive, but gains significant power in the second half, when he tackles the political machinations behind the establishment of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, which sees a fascinating David vs Goliath face-off between George Balanchine’s New York City Ballet and Hill’s Juilliard.