Category Archives: Film Festivals

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>June 7:
In Theatres

SQUARING THE CIRCLE (THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS)
Sundance 2023

Director:
Anton Corbijn

About:
An inside look at the studio responsible for some of the most iconic and recognizable album covers of all time. From Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon to Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, the studio ruled the ’70s.

>June 9:
In Theatres

USERS
Sundance 2021

Director:
Natalia Almada

About:
A thought-provoking essay about the unexpected consequences of our dependence on technology.

>June 13:
On DVD/VOD

NAM JUNE PAIK: MOON IS THE OLDEST TV
Sundance 2023

Director:
Amanda Kim

About:
The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today’s world.

>June 15:
Streaming: OVID

MERU
Sundance 2015

Director:
Jimmy Chin, E Chai Vasarhelyi

About:
Three elite mountain climbers sacrifice everything but their friendship as they struggle through heartbreaking loss and nature’s harshest elements to attempt the never-before-completed Shark’s Fin on Mount Meru, the most coveted first ascent in the dangerous game of Himalayan big wall climbing.

>June 21:
Streaming: Max

THE STROLL
Sundance 2023

Director:
Kristen Lovell, Zackary Drucker

About:
The history of New York’s Meatpacking District, told from the perspective of transgender sex workers who lived and worked there. Filmmaker Kristen Lovell, who walked “The Stroll” for a decade, reunites her community to recount the violence, policing, homelessness, and gentrification they overcame to build a movement for transgender rights.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>May 8:
On DVD

A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS
Sundance 2022

Director:
Simon Lereng Wilmont

About:
In Eastern Ukraine, follow the daily life of children and staff in a special kind of home: an institution for children who have been removed from their homes while awaiting court custody decisions.

>May 12:
In Theatres & Streaming: Apple TV+

STILL: A MICHAEL J FOX MOVIE
Sundance 2023

Director:
Davis Guggenheim

About:
The improbable tale of a short kid from a Canadian army base who became the darling of 1980s Hollywood — only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?

>May 16:
On TV: PBS’s American Masters

NAM JUNE PAIK: MOON IS THE OLDEST TV
Sundance 2023

Director:
Amanda Kim

About:
The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today’s world.

>May 19:
Streaming: OVID

TAMING THE GARDEN
Sundance 2021

Director:
Salomé Jashi

About:
An artful look at the unusual disruption caused by the removal and transport of several massive trees from small Georgian villages.

>May 23:
Streaming: Netflix

VICTIM/SUSPECT
Sundance 2023

Director:
Nancy Schwartzman

About:
Investigative journalist Rae de Leon travels nationwide to uncover and examine a shocking pattern: Young women tell the police they’ve been sexually assaulted, but instead of finding justice, they’re charged with the crime of making a false report, arrested, and even imprisoned by the system they believed would protect them.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>April 3:
Streaming: Hulu

PRETTY BABY: BROOKE SHIELDS
Sundance 2023

Director:
Lana Wilson

About:
A galvanizing look at actor, model, and icon Brooke Shields as she transforms from sexualized young girl to a woman discovering her power. Holding a mirror up to a society that objectifies women and girls, her story shows the perils and triumphs of gaining agency in a hostile world.

>April 7:
On TV: Showtime

2ND CHANCE
Sundance 2022

Director:
Ramin Bahrani

About:
An exploration of the rise and fall of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked.

>April 11:
On DVD

FILM HAWK
Sundance 2016

Director:
JJ Garvine, Tai Parquet

About:
A portrait of beloved film industry vet Bob Hawk.

>April 11:
In Theatres (one night only)

LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING
Sundance 2023

Director:
Lisa Cortés

About:
This celebration of Little Richard reveals the Black queer origins of rock ’n’ roll, finally exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music. Through archival and performance footage, the revolutionary icon’s life unspools with all of its switchbacks and contradictions.

>April 11:
On DVD/VOD

THE MISSION
Sundance 2022

Director:
Tania Anderson

About:
A revelation of the inner lives of young Mormon missionaries, as they leave their homes for the first time and embark upon the most emotionally, physically, and psychologically challenging period of their life.

>April 21:
Streaming: Amazon Prime Video

JUDY BLUME FOREVER
Sundance 2023

Director:
Davina Pardo, Leah Wolchok

About:
The radical honesty of the books by young adult fiction pioneer Judy Blume changed the way millions of readers understood themselves, their sexuality, and what it meant to grow up, but also led to critical battles against book banning and censorship.

>April 21:
In Theatres (expansion) & On VOD

LITTLE RICHARD: I AM EVERYTHING
Sundance 2023

Director:
Lisa Cortés

About:
This celebration of Little Richard reveals the Black queer origins of rock ’n’ roll, finally exploding the whitewashed canon of American pop music. Through archival and performance footage, the revolutionary icon’s life unspools with all of its switchbacks and contradictions.

>April 24:
On TV: Independent Lens

FREE CHOL SOO LEE
Sundance 2022

Director:
Julie Ha, Eugene Yi

About:
After a Korean immigrant is wrongly convicted of a 1973 San Francisco Chinatown gang murder, Asian Americans unite as never before to free Chol Soo Lee. A former street hustler becomes the symbol for a landmark movement. But once out, he self-destructs, threatening the movement’s legacy and the man himself.

>April 28:
In Theatres

32 SOUNDS
Sundance 2022

Director:
Sam Green

About:
An immersive documentary and sensory film experience that explores the elemental phenomenon of sound and its power to bend time, cross borders, and profoundly shape our perception of the world around us. The film will be presented in its “live cinema” form, featuring live music and live narration.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries are scheduled for release this month:

>March (various dates)
In Theatres: Alamo Drafthouse (various cities)

A HOUSE MADE OF SPLINTERS
Sundance 2022

Director:
Simon Lereng Wilmont

About:
In Eastern Ukraine, follow the daily life of children and staff in a special kind of home: an institution for children who have been removed from their homes while awaiting court custody decisions.

>March 14:
On VOD

SEARCHERS
Sundance 2021

Director:
Pacho Velez

About:
An exploration of online dating apps and the need for human connection during a time of enforced isolation.

>March 24:
In Theatres: Film Forum

NAM JUNE PAIK: MOON IS THE OLDEST TV
Sundance 2023

Director:
Amanda Kim

About:
The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today’s world.

The following past Sundance Film Festival documentaries or docuseries are scheduled for release this month:

>February 3 & February 5:
Streaming: Showtime, On TV: Showtime

MURDER IN BIG HORN
Sundance 2023

Director:
Razelle Benally, Matthew Galkin

About:
The deaths of a group of Native American women in rural Montana are the focus as Native families, journalists, and local law enforcement reveal a violent crisis set in motion almost 200 years ago.

>February 7:
On VOD

TO THE END
Sundance 2022

Director:
Rachel Lears

About:
Stopping the climate crisis is a question of political courage, and the clock is ticking. Over three years of turbulence and crisis, four remarkable young women of color fight for a Green New Deal, igniting a historic shift in US climate politics.

>February 7:
On TV: HBO, Streaming: HBO Max

ALL THE BREATHES
Sundance 2022

Director:
Shaunak Sen

About:
Against the darkening backdrop of Delhi’s apocalyptic air and escalating violence, two brothers devote their lives to protect one casualty of the turbulent times: the bird known as the Black Kite.

>February 10:
In Theatres: Anthology Film Archives

SEARCHERS
Sundance 2021

Director:
Pacho Velez

About:
An exploration of online dating apps and the need for human connection during a time of enforced isolation.

>February 14:
On DVD/VOD

FRAMING AGNES
Sundance 2022

Director:
Chase Joynt

About:
After discovering case files from a 1950s gender clinic, a cast of transgender actors turn a talk show inside out to confront the legacy of a young trans woman forced to choose between honesty and access.

>February 21:
On DVD

CALENDAR GIRLS
Sundance 2022

Director:
Maria Loohufvud, Love Martinsen

About:
A coming-of-golden-age look at Florida’s most dedicated dance team for women over 60, shaking up the outdated image of “the little old lady,” and calling for everyone to dance their hearts out, while they still can.

>February 24:
On VOD

MEET ME IN THE BATHROOM
Sundance 2022

Director:
Dylan Southern, Will Lovelace

About:
An immersive journey through the New York music scene of the early 2000s. Set against the backdrop of 9/11, the film tells the story of how a new generation kickstarted a musical rebirth for New York City that reverberated around the world. Inspired by the book by Lizzy Goodman.

Coming to VOD next Friday, January 27:
THE MISSION

Director:
Tania Anderson

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
Göteborg, Thessaloniki Doc, Zurich, Beldocs, Docs Against Gravity

About:
A revelation of the inner lives of young Mormon missionaries, as they leave their homes for the first time and embark upon the most emotionally, physically, and psychologically challenging period of their life.