New to VOD this week:
A TINY RIPPLE OF HOPE
Director:
Jason Polevoi
World Premiere:
Slamdance 2021
Select Festivals:
Riverrun
About:
A charismatic activist works to build a better Chicago for the teens in his neglected community even if it comes at the cost of his home, his family, and his safety.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to Mubi this week:
THE MONOPOLY OF VIOLENCE
Director:
David Dufresne
World Premiere:
Cannes Directors’ Fortnight 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
New York, Sheffield, Brussels, Toronto, Melbourne
About:
This exploration of police violence in contemporary France examines the ways in which a government justifies brutal acts against its own citizens, enacting totalitarian methods to keep the populace under its control.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to DVD this week:
DETAINEE 001
Director:
Greg Barker
World Premiere:
Showtime broadcast (September 2021)
About:
A harrowing exploration of how American grappled with justice in the fog of war following the 9/11 attacks, through the sensationalized capture of John Walker Lindh, a radical mujahideen fighter who became known as “the American Taliban.”
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
SXSW announced its 2022 line-up today, a total of more than 100 projects. Following is the list of nonfiction features and episodics, broken down by section:
Continue readingFiled under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
New to DVD this week:
LITTLE GIRL
Director:
Sébastien Lifshitz
World Premiere:
Berlin 2020
Select Festivals:
Karlovy Vary, Docs Against Gravity, Chicago, Ghent, Tokyo, Seville, MIX Brasil, Thessaloniki, Jerusalem, Seattle, Rendez-Vous with French Cinema
About:
A portrait of an eight-year-old who wants to express her true gender identity.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres for a one-night-only engagement tonight, Wednesday, February 2 and to VOD this Friday, February 4:
POLY STYRENE: I AM A CLICHÉ
Director:
Paul Sng, Celeste Bell
World Premiere:
Glasgow 2021
Select Festivals:
SXSW, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Rotterdam, San Francisco, DOXA, Fantasia, Melbourne, Helsinki, Reykjavik
About:
The death of punk icon and X-Ray Spex frontwoman Poly Styrene sends her daughter on a journey across the world and through her mother’s archives to reconcile their fraught relationship.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, February 1:
WRITING WITH FIRE
Director:
Rintu Thomas, Sushmit Ghosh
World Premiere:
Sundance 2021
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nantucket, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, RIDM, BlackStar, Guadalajara, DocsMX, Double Exposure, Sydney, Yamagata Doc, Ambulante, Denver, San Diego Asian, Hawaii, Bergen, San Francisco, Krakow, Seattle, Thessaloniki Doc, One World, Shanghai
Notable Recognition:
The doc has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
About:
A chronicle of the trailblazing work of India’s only news outlet run by Dalit women–once known as “untouchable.”
I previously wrote about the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, February 1:
A COPS AND ROBBERS STORY
Director:
Ilinca Calugareanu
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020
Select Festivals:
Cleveland, Big Sky Doc
About:
An NYPD officer’s career is threatened by revelations about his former life of crime.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 1:
AILEY
Director:
Jamila Wignot
World Premiere:
Sundance 2021
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Tribeca, Frameline, Provincetown, Thessaloniki Doc
About:
A revealing, moving portrait of pioneering choreographer Alvin Ailey.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, January 31:
MISSING IN BROOKS COUNTY
Director:
Lisa Molomot, Jeff Bemiss
World Premiere:
Dallas Docufest 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Double Exposure, United Nations Association, Hot Springs Doc, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Fargo, Salem, Sonoma, Thin Line, Cleveland, Annapolis, Ashland, Sarasota, RiverRun, Mountainfilm
About:
The deadly consequences of America’s immigration policy are revealed in a Texan border town.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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