Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, September 9: TEENAGE

Matt Wolf’s meditation on the emergence of the teenager premiered at Tribeca last year. It went on to Hot Docs, AFI Docs, Melbourne, Traverse City, BFI London, DMZ Docs, Hot Springs, CPH:DOX, Denver, and Big Sky, among others.

I included the doc in my Tribeca coverage here.

Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, September 8: THE GENIUS OF MARIAN

Banker White and Anna Fitch’s reckoning with Alzheimer’s disease made its debut at Tribeca last year. It went on to screen at IFF Boston, Berkshire, AFI Docs, Sebastopol Doc, Heartland, Woods Hole, and Moscow.

I included the doc in my Tribeca coverage here.

Coming to Showtime tomorrow, Thursday, September 4: I AM DIVINE

Jeffrey Schwarz’s tribute to John Waters’ larger-than-life muse debuted at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at New Orleans’ Film-O-Rama, Cleveland, Nashville, Sheffield, Sydney, Provincetown, Inside Out, Frameline, and Outfest, among other events.

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

Coming to Los Angeles theatres this Friday, September 5: LEVITATED MASS

Doug Pray’s chronicle of the creation of Michael Heizer’s sculpture made its debut at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Florida, Cleveland, Napa Valley, Martha’s Vineyard, and Sebastopol Doc, among others.

I wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Last year, renowned contemporary artist Michael Heizer saw the realization of a project first conceived in 1968 – the suspension of an enormous boulder above a walkway. This new film by Doug Pray (ART & COPY, SCRATCH, SURFWISE) captures the logistical hurdles and sheer spectacle of the 340-ton granite rock’s eleven-day road trip from a quarry across 105 miles, through 22 cities, to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for its installation. Along the way, curious, bemused, and even angry onlookers reflect on the nature of art in society.

Coming to theatres this Thursday, September 4: GRINGO TRAILS

Pegi Vail’s exploration of the unintended impact of tourism made its debut at last year’s Margaret Mead Film Festival. It went on to Washington DC’s Environmental Film Festival, Sebastopol Doc, Yale Environmental, Göttingen Ethnographic, Documentary Edge, and Galway, among others.

An exploration of how we tell stories about the places we visit, and of the consequences of that storytelling, Vail’s thoughtful film reveals the footprint of tourism on formerly exotic, remote destinations in Bolivia, Thailand, Mali, and Bhutan. Framing the film is the story of Israeli Yossi Ghinsberg, whose book on surviving alone in the Bolivian Amazon opened up the region to generations of tourists seeking to recapture his experience, as a result transforming the community’s way of life to accommodate them. Vail explores similar unintended developments, as other travelers reveal how formerly pristine hidden gems, known to a select few outsiders, became quickly co-opted and overrun. The tale of Thailand’s Haad Rin beach, a paradise that initially drew a motley group of bohemians but eventually became the site of massive beach parties, serves as the central cautionary tale, while the Kingdom of Bhutan demonstrates an opposite extreme, limiting tourism to high-end travelers in an effort to prevent unwanted cultural encroachment. Along the way, travel writers and ordinary tourist share compelling stories of the delicate balance of sharing their experiences of must-see places while preserving what makes them so special.