Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, February 3: AMERICAN PROMISE
Joe Brewster and Michèle Stephenson’s thirteen-year look at black male academic achievement debuted at Sundance last year, where it won a special jury award. It went on to screen at the New York Film Festival, Full Frame, and Hot Springs, among others, before its theatrical release.
I profiled the doc pre-Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
SXSW has released their initial list of features, with the Midnighters and Shorts sections to be announced next Wednesday, February 5, and panels to follow the next week. About 50 of the 115 features announced so far are documentaries, appearing in nearly every section of the festival, aside from the narrative exclusive sections. Following is the list of documentary features, broken down by section. For descriptions, check out the link above: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations
Coming to theatres and VOD tomorrow, Friday, January 31: 12 O’CLOCK BOYS
Lotfy Nathan’s intimate exploration of Baltimore’s urban dirt-bikers debuted at SXSW last year. Other festival screenings included Hot Docs, Full Frame, Maryland, Sundance Next Weekend, Philadelphia, and CPH:DOX.
I previously wrote about the doc out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Mexico’s traveling documentary festival, Ambulante, kicks off today in Mexico City. The event, founded in 2005 by Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Pablo Cruz, will run through February 13, then move on to nearly a dozen other Mexican cities for consecutive week runs between February 13 and May 4. Recently, the organization announced the establishment of Ambulante California, an inclusive, pop-up exhibition intended to reach underserved communities in the greater Los Angeles area. Before that event kicks off in the Fall, the Mexico-based tour will present approximately 100 films, bringing nonfiction and film culture to audiences that otherwise have limited exposure to theatrical exhibition. Feature-length and short documentaries – most already well-traveled on the fest circuit – screen in a number of thematic sections, with some highlights noted below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations
Coming to PBS tonight, Wednesday, January 29: HAWKING
Stephen Finnigan’s portrait of the famed cosmologist and theoretical physicist made its debut at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Edinburgh, CPH:DOX, Seattle, and Cambridge, among others. A shorter, broadcast version now makes its debut on PBS stations nationwide.
Though confined bodily to a wheelchair due to ALS, and able to speak only via a voice-synthesizer, Hawking for decades has been the most recognizable and popular scientist in the world. Finnigan trades on that celebrity, taking a more personal approach rather than foregrounding the thinker’s scientific discoveries in any great depth. Narrated by the University of Cambridge professor himself, the film traces Hawking’s early life, education, pursuit of science, diagnosis, and married life, and how he eventually wrote the bestselling popular science book, A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME, which established him within the public’s consciousness, paving the way for his iconic status as one of the world’s greatest scientific geniuses. The approach taken may sideline the more heady thinking he’s done to expand our understanding of the universe, but it does make for an accessible, and often engaging, portrait of an uncommon mind who refused to let the failings of his body limit his potential.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction tomorrow, Thursday, January 30: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE
Sarah Burns, David McMahon, and Ken Burns’ examination of an infamous case of injustice had its world premiere at Cannes in 2012. Festival screening included Telluride, Toronto, DOC NYC, and more before a limited theatrical run, DVD/VOD release, and PBS broadcast. Recently, NYC Mayor Bill DeBlasio has announced plans to settle a lawsuit stemming from the case.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Toronto here.
Note: A Q&A with two of the exonerated subjects of the film, Yusef Salaam and Korey Wise, will follow the screening.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, January 28: LAST WOMAN STANDING
Juliet Lammers and Lorraine Price’s portrait of two boxers contending for a sole Olympic spot made its debut at Hot Docs last year. It went on to screen at Big Sky, Hot Springs, and other events. It now comes to iTunes, Amazon, Movies on Demand, PlayStation, Google Play, Vudu, CinemaNow, and XBOX via FilmBuff.
Lammers and Price initially set out to track world champion Canadian boxers and friends Ariane Fortin and Mary Spencer on their way to the London Olympics, the first time women’s boxing was included as an official category. When they discover that there is only one spot open, the athletes find that they must compete against one another to have a shot at Olympic gold, putting a strain on their friendship and costing one her dream of victory on the international stage. The film offers insight into the minds and personalities of the determined and affable athletes, but unfortunately sometimes gets bogged down in the minutiae of the qualification process, which likely won’t be of much interest to anyone aside from Canadian boxing fans. Still, in its portrait of perseverance, the doc succeeds in demonstrating its subjects’ athleticism and discipline.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed series tonight, Tuesday January 28: THE PRUITT-IGOE MYTH: AN URBAN HISTORY
Chad Friedrichs’ exploration of an infamous St Louis urban renewal program debuted at True/False in 2011. It went on to screen at Silverdocs, Full Frame, Los Angeles, and Stranger Than Fiction, and to enjoy a limited theatrical release.
I included the film in my Silverdocs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, January 27: THE STATE OF ARIZONA
Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini’s exploration of Arizona’s divisive immigration legislation has participated in various community screenings in the lead up to its national broadcast tonight.
Taking a wide-ranging approach, Sandoval and Tambini offer both macro and micro views of the controversy, contextualizing the extreme steps the state has taken within a larger discourse around federal immigration and border policy, while also checking in on major and minor players on a local level, from Governor Jan Brewer, State Senator Russell Pearce, and Sheriff Joe Arpaio, all very vocal supporters of the Draconian laws under debate; to their opponents in grassroots groups like Puente, represented here by Carlos Garcia; as well as everyday individuals drawn into the controversy on both sides, woven through intermittently. While successful in providing a surprisingly comprehensive overview, this expansive focus allows the viewer to get only a surface glimpse rather than a deeper, more intimate appreciation of the impact of either the influx of undocumented individuals on the community or of the harsh laws that opponents say are based on harassment and racial profiling.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
With Sundance 2014 concluding yesterday, w(n)td has resumed regular posting today, but there’s one last bit of Park City business to attend to: the awards. I live-tweeted Saturday’s awards announcements already, but for those who missed it, here’s the recap: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
what (not) to doc 