Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this Monday, June 17: THE REVOLUTIONARY OPTIMISTS

Maren R Monsen and Nicole Newnham’s profile of child empowerment debuted at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. It has screened at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real series, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release, together with a number of community screenings around the country.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to NYC’s Lincoln Plaza Cinema this Friday, June 14 and expanding to Los Angeles, Chicago, and Montreal next Friday, June 21: FAR OUT ISN’T FAR ENOUGH: THE TOMI UNGERER STORY

Brad Bernstein’s portrait of the once-ubiquitous children’s book author debuted at Toronto last year. Other stops on the fest circuit included DOC NYC, Rome, Nashville, Florida, Warsaw, Palm Springs, Deauville, Haifa, RIDM, and Seattle, among others.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

Coming to HBO as part of its annual Docs Summer Series next Monday, June 17: LOVE, MARILYN

Liz Garbus’ portrait of Marilyn Monroe through recently uncovered writings debuted at last year’s Telluride and Toronto. It went on to open the Hamptons fest, and screen at Palm Springs, Newport Beach, Montclair, Hong Kong, Stockholm, Portland, Seattle, and London, as well as enjoy a theatrical run at Film Forum.

I previously wrote about the doc out of Toronto here.

Coming to NYC’s Quad this Friday, June 14 and Los Angeles’ Laemmle Music Hall next Friday, June 21: CALL ME KUCHU

Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall’s eye-opening look at the homophobia threatening the lives of Uganda’s LGBT community made its debut at Berlin last year. Its traveled widely on the festival circuit, including Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Frameline, Jerusalem, Sheffield, Los Angeles, Reykjavik, Antenna, Side by Side, CPH:DOX, and New Orleans, among others, picking up several awards along the way.

I included the doc in my Hot Docs coverage here.

Coming to NYC’s Film Forum tomorrow, Wednesday, June 12: MORE THAN HONEY

Markus Imhoof’s apiarian exploration made its debut at Locarno last year. It went on to screen at Toronto, Palm Springs, Cleveland, Santa Barbara, Sarasota, Montclair, Vancouver, and Seattle, among others.

I included the doc in my Toronto roundup here.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, June 11: LONDON: THE MODERN BABYLON

Julien Temple’s city essay had its world premiere at Toronto last year. It went on to IDFA, Göteborg, and Torino, among others, and recently enjoyed a theatrical release through Cinedigm’s Docurama initiative.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 11: CARTOON COLLEGE

Josh Melrod and Tara Wray’s look at an art school devoted to sequential art had its premiere at Palm Beach last year. Other fest stops have included Woods Hole, Vancouver, Newport Beach, and San Francisco DocFest, among others. FilmBuff releases the doc on iTunes, Amazon, Movies on Demand, PlayStation, nook, Google Play, Vudu, CinemaNow, and XBOX.

Filmed over the course of three years, the film follows students at the Center for Cartoon Studies, a small two-year art college in smalltown White River Junction VT. Focused more on personal expression and storytelling along the lines of Chris Ware or Art Spiegelman rather than the familiar superhero fare of DC, Marvel, or Image Comics, the CCS is nothing if not rigorous and brutally honest about the uncertain prospects of financial stability in the life of a comic artist. For the students profiled, however, that’s no deterrent – they’re already somewhat outcasts anyway, and most are confident that they’ll find success in the not always respected career they’ve chosen, regardless of the odds. While Melrod and Wray go overboard, featuring too many subjects, a couple manage to pop, most notably Blair, a Mormon who struggles to complete the program with his missionary-inspired thesis project; and Al, the school’s oldest student, an archaeology professor on sabbatical who might have to face the prospect that his technical ability may not match his love of the comic form. Though adding to the glut of characters, notable artists like Lynda Barry, Jules Feiffer, Scott McCloud, and James Sturm, who often serve as faculty or guest lecturers, offer additional insight about the school and the challenges of the profession, valuable not only to get a fuller sense of the experiences of the students but for any aspiring artists viewing the film. While the latter, together with comic fans in general, may be the core audience for the doc, it never feels too insular to be alienating to viewers unfamiliar with comic art – instead it successfully taps into both the enthusiasm and the frustration of pursuing one’s artistic dreams, something that should be relatable to anyone.