Coming to NYC’s Village East Cinemas this Friday, June 21: DOWNLOADED
Alex Winter’s chronicle of the Napster story debuted at SXSW this past March. It’s since gone on to Cleveland, Hot Docs, Maryland, Martha’s Vineyard, IFF Boston, and Sydney, among others. The film expands to Los Angeles next Friday, June 28.
I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 18: THE SOURCE FAMILY
Maria Demopoulos and Jodi Wille’s look at the 1970s Los Angeles spiritual commune debuted at SXSW last year. Its fest circuit included Hot Docs, San Francisco, Seattle, and Silverdocs, among others, before going on to limited theatrical engagements around the country.
I previously wrote about the doc out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Turning 37 this year, San Francisco’s Frameline is the undisputed daddy of US LGBT film festivals, annually offering the newest crop of US and international queer films for its large and loyal local audience, as well as for the scores of fest programmers and film fans that come from far afield to sample the “gay Cannes.” Beginning this Thursday, June 20, and running through Sunday, June 24 – always coinciding with the end of SF’s gay pride celebration – the festival will present more than 35 feature documentaries among its more than hundred selections, including the gala Centerpiece slot, Sundance alum VALENTINE ROAD. Among the other docs that Frameline’s expected 60,000 attendees can check out are the following: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 18: HIGH TECH, LOW LIFE
Stephen Maing’s profile of Chinese citizen journalists debuted at last year’s Tribeca. It went on to Hot Docs, Sydney, EBS, DocAviv, One World, CPH:DOX, and Sheffield, and picked up awards at Woods Hole, Little Rock, and the IFF Boston, among others. After a limited theatrical release, the film is now available via iTunes and other platforms via Sundance Artist Services and Cinedigm.
I included the doc in my Tribeca coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to Rooftop Films tomorrow, Tuesday, June 18: THE CENTRAL PARK FIVE
Sarah Burns, David McMahon, and Ken Burns’ revisitation of an infamous NYC rape case debuted at Cannes last year. It went on to screen at Telluride, Toronto, DOC NYC, and numerous other festivals before a limited theatrical run, DVD/VOD release, and PBS broadcast.
I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
An inside look at the New Yorker‘s signature cartoons, the artists who create them, and the editorial team who bring them to readers.
Inspired by the magazine’s weekly Caption Contest, director/producer Leah Wolchok, working with producer Davina Pardo, set out to learn more about the cartoonists who played such a vital role in distinguishing the New Yorker on the stands. Gaining access not only to a core group of illustrators, but also to cartoon editor Bob Mankoff and his staff, the filmmakers go behind the panel to explore the history of this feature, which used to be a staple in magazine publishing, and to gain insight into the process artists go through to try to get their sometimes clever, sometimes quizzical gags into print. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
For a decade, Silver Spring MD has played host to Silverdocs, one of the country’s signature nonfiction festivals. Back in April, organizers revealed that the event, formerly a co-presentation of AFI and Discovery, would be rebranded as AFI Docs, gaining a new presenting sponsor in Audi, and shifting its focus to DC proper (though still maintaining the AFI Silver Theatre in its original location as a secondary venue). While the move means a leaner festival – two fewer days, about half the number of films, and the reduction of its multi-day Conference to one day of Catalyst Sessions – it’s a welcome change, positioning the event in the heart of the nation’s government, with the potential of making direct connections between policymakers, films, and their issues. The eleventh edition of the fest showcases 45 features and two shorts programs, beginning this coming Wednesday, June 19, and running through Sunday, June 23. The following offers a rundown of selected offerings: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to VOD this Tuesday, June 18: HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING DRUGS
Matthew Cooke’s provocative exploration of the ins and outs of the global drug trade had its world premiere at Toronto last year. It went on to screen at Tribeca, Calgary Underground, Tromso, and Newport Beach, where it picked up an audience award. It now comes to iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Playstation, XBOX, Vudu, Time Warner, Dish Network, Blockbuster on Demand, and Cablevision.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to WORLD Channel’s Global Voices series this Sunday, June 16: WHEN HARI GOT MARRIED
Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam’s portrait of an arranged marriage made its debut at last year’s Films From the South festival in Oslo. It went on to screen at DOK Leipzig, the International Festival of India in Goa, IDFA, the NY Indian Film Festival, Jeonju, and Prague’s One World. After its broadcast, the doc will be available for a limited time on WORLD’s website.
Hari drives a taxi in Dharamsala, catering to tourists from around the world who are drawn to northern India because of the Dalai Lama. With time on his hands while driving, he spends his days calling his fianceé, Suman, who he only met briefly a couple of years ago when their families made arrangements for their engagement. For the bulk of this light and often humorous film, the focus is expressly only on the groom, Suman’s timid voice only heard intermittently through Hari’s endearing calls, offering insight about Hari’s pragmatism when dealing with tradition, but also his desire to cultivate love from his spouse. As the wedding draws near, Sarin and Sonam demonstrate the ways in which Hari’s family is intimately tied to all of the planning, so much so that there are serious concerns about the debt that they will have to take on to finance it. Hari’s bride enters the picture during the elaborate and emotional ceremony, only offering some brief, but revealing, words in an interview following, speaking to the limits placed on her by her family, and even a lack of preparedness for taking on this new role.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
In only five years, the BAMcinemaFest has established itself as one of New York City’s key events showcasing the best new film discoveries of the year. It developed from an earlier series, Sundance at BAM, that brought a selection of films from the tastemaking American independent festival to the BAM Rose Cinemas for a few years. After that initiative ran its course, BAM expanded their scope, curating a program from not only Sundance, but other notable cinema events, with an occasional premiere all their own to fill their limited, and much-coveted, slots. This year’s program includes 25 feature presentations, of which eight are documentaries, all making their NYC premieres, and many by local filmmakers. I’ve already written about them all in my coverage of other festivals, which I’ll link to below:
From Sundance, BAM is highlighting Martha Shane and Lana Wilson’s AFTER TILLER (pictured), an artfully restrained portrait of late-term abortion providers; Roger Ross Williams’ GOD LOVES UGANDA, a provocative exploration of the influence of ultra-conservative American evangelists on African culture and politics; and Lucy Walker’s THE CRASH REEL, a moving profile of how traumatic brain injury effected competitive snowboarder Kevin Pearce and his family.
Offerings which premiered at SXSW earlier this year include that fest’s doc grand jury prize winner, Ben Nabors’ WILLIAM AND THE WINDMILL (pictured), the inspirational story of a young Malawian teenager who taught himself how to build a windmill to provide power for his struggling family; and Malcolm Ingram’s CONTINENTAL, exploring the history of the legendary gay baths at the Ansonia Hotel, which famously launched the career of Bette Midler.
The fest’s remaining docs premiered at True/False and Full Frame. From the former come Nick Betgen’s NORTHERN LIGHT (pictured), a lyrical observational study of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and the community’s involvement in an annual snowmobile race; and Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq’s THESE BIRDS WALK, a breathtaking immersion into the lives of Pakistani runaways. From the North Carolina doc fest, BAM is presenting Farihah Zaman and Jeff Reichert’s REMOTE AREA MEDICAL, an eye-opening look at America’s health care crisis, as seen through the services provided by a free annual pop-up clinic set up on a NASCAR speedway in Tennessee.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
what (not) to doc 