Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 17: ADJUST YOUR TRACKING: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE VHS COLLECTOR

Dan Kinem and Levi Peretic’s survey of VHS fanatics made its debut last year at Los Angeles’ Days of the Dead convention. Since then, it’s screened at a variety of fan conventions, college campuses, one-off events, and fests around the US and beyond, including Sydney Underground, Albuquerque’s Dark Matters, and New Orleans’ Chalmette Movies.

This ode to obsession and nostalgia shares much in common with REWIND THIS!, Josh Johnson’s similarly themed, yet more expansive, exploration of present-day VHS lovers. Where the slicker latter film offers often interesting history and analysis, Kinem and Peretic’s film is more deliberately rough around the edges, visually approximating the degraded look of the format that their subjects effusively praise, and tends to place its focus more squarely on these collectors and their love/mania for collecting what others view as obsolete junk. Utilizing an unfussy talking heads survey approach, peppered with clips from several only-available-on-VHS dubious “classics,” and occasional collector profiles, the film successfully conveys unapologetic film geekery, as interviewees discuss their collections, how they organize their prized possessions (by tape size? genre? alphabetically?), and the excitement they experience when on the hunt for new acquisitions – even if it’s against the sad backdrop of shuttering video stores. Arguments about the collectors’ role in preserving film culture go a bit too far, as virtually every movie noted is low-budget, forgettable, and looks downright bad, so the fact that they haven’t been released on DVD/Blu-Ray is hardly a surprise and largely forgiveable. More compelling is that these men (and one lone woman) simply find pleasure in this hobby, and community in the subculture of which they’re a part.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17: THE FINAL MEMBER

Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math’s exploration of phallological obsession premiered at Hot Docs in 2012. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Seattle, Silverdocs, Fantastic Fest, Denver, and Florida, among others.

I included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.

Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema for a threatrical run starting today, Monday, June 16: NORTHERN LIGHT

Nick Bentgen’s portrait of family, community, and snowmobile racing in the Recession debuted at True/False last year. It went on to screen at Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, BAMcinemaFest, New Orleans, Viennale, and Sebastopol Doc, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc out of True/False here.

Coming to PBS’s Global Voices on the WORLD Channel this Sunday, June 15: I WILL BE MURDERED

Justin Webster’s unusual story of Guatemalan death and politics debuted at Guatemala’s Memoria, Verdad, Justicia fest last year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Madrid’s Documenta, Traverse City, Lima, Sao Paulo, Tallgrass, Chicago, Antenna, Denver, Havana, and Cartagena, among others.

I previously wrote about the film in my Hot Docs coverage for Indiewire, saying:
Shortly before his death, Guatemalan attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg, whose clients were recently assassinated, recorded a video accusing President Alvaro Colom of his murder. After his execution, his confidante released the video and it became a nationwide sensation, leading to calls for Colom to resign. Public pressure forced an in-depth investigation in a country where 98% of murders go unsolved, but what the head of the taskforce found is wholly unexpected. Justin Webster crafts an investigative documentary that humanizes its victim even as it reveals genuinely surprising details about his case. Despite its twists and turns, the various nefarious figures that pop up, and the competing theories thrown in and out, Webster maintains a clarity of storytelling that might all too easily have become a muddled mess in other hands. What results is an absolutely stranger than fiction tale of lives cut short by corruption and secrets, and a demonstration of the power of the public to demand an end to impunity for even its highest elected officials.