Category Archives: Documentary

2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: E-TEAM

e-teamReturning to my 2014 Sundance profiles, the next US Documentary Competition title: Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman’s E-TEAM, following the investigators of human rights violations around the world.

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On DVD: LOVE, MARILYN

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 31: LOVE, MARILYN

Liz Garbus’ look at Marilyn Monroe through her archival letters had its world premiere at Telluride last year. It followed with berths at Toronto, Hamptons, Palm Springs, Montclair, Hong Kong, Stockholm, Seattle, and London. It enjoyed a limited theatrical release and was broadcast on HBO this past Summer.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: DINOSAUR 13

dinosaur 13The third Sundance 2014 US Documentary Competition title of today: Todd Miller’s DINOSAUR 13, about the strange aftermath of a singular paleontological find.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: CESAR’S LAST FAST

cesar's last fastContinuing my doc-by-doc look at Sundance 2014 docs: Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee’s US Documentary Competition entry, CESAR’S LAST FAST, about the life and death of influential labor organizer Cesar Chavez.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE CASE AGAINST 8

case against 8The first of today’s Sundance 2014 docs: From the US Documentary Competition, Ben Cotner and Ryan White’s THE CASE AGAINST 8, which follows the fight for marriage equality all the way to the Supreme Court.

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In the Works: GIUSEPPE MAKES A MOVIE

A look at how a critically-acclaimed underground trailer park filmmaker makes his latest feature over the course of two days.

giuseppe makesLikened to both John Cassavetes and John Waters, Giuseppe Andrews has quietly been making rough-hewn feature films on the cheap for fifteen years, often set in and starring residents of the trailer park communities in which he was raised, with titles like DAD’S CHICKEN, WHO FLUNG POO?, AIRPLANE PILLOWS, and DOILY’S SUMMER OF FREAK OCCURRENCES. Screening at underground festivals in New York and Chicago, as well as the late Cinevegas, former child actor turned outsider auteur Andrews has self-distributed his films online, or worked with Troma to release them on DVD, garnering attention from select critics and a cult following. Like Cassavetes, Andrews’ more recent work as an actor in films like CABIN FEVER or TV series like CSI has financed his low-budget filmmaking. Director Adam Rifkin, who cast Andrews in his film DETROIT ROCK CITY, works with producer Mike Plante, filmmaker and programmer at Sundance and Cinevegas, to reveal Andrews’ creative process. Continue reading

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: CAPTIVATED: THE TRIALS OF PAMELA SMART

captivatedWrapping up today’s profiles of Sundance 2014 docs: Jeremiah Zagar’s US Documentary Competition entry, CAPTIVATED: THE TRIALS OF PAMELA SMART, a closer look at America’s first televised court trial, a harbinger of sensationalized reality TV.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: ALL THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS

all the beautiful thingsContinuing my look at the 2014 US Documentary Competition: ALL THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS, John Harkrider’s personal doc hybrid which seeks to reconcile an estranged friendship.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: ALIVE INSIDE: A STORY OF MUSIC & MEMORY

alive insideThis post begins my annual film-by-film look at the upcoming Sundance Film Festival, kicking off with the 2014 US Documentary Competition. Up first alphabetically: ALIVE INSIDE: A STORY OF MUSIC & MEMORY, Michael Rossato-Bennett’s exploration of the power of music to awaken sufferers of dementia and Alzheimer’s.

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On TV: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this coming Monday, December 30: HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE

David France’s look back at the power of grassroots activism at the start of the AIDS epidemic debuted at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at True/False, Silverdocs, New Directors/New Films, San Francisco, and Outfest, among many others, in addition to a theatrical release. It picked up several awards, including a Gotham, and was an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature.

My profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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