Category Archives: Overviews

Festival:
The 46th Telluride Film Festival

Dates:
August 30-September 2

About:
This year’s festival unspools 18 documentaries among its 39 offerings of new features. Continue reading →

Festival:
The 76th Venice International Film Festival

Dates:
August 28-September 7

About:
Between its official selection and two autonomous sidebars, the world’s oldest film festival showcases just over 30 documentaries among its 100+ offerings. Continue reading →

Festival:
The 25th Sarajevo Film Festival

Dates:
August 16-23

About:
Celebrating an anniversary year, this Bosnian and Herzegovinan event – founded during the siege of Sarajevo – presents 35 documentaries among its approximately 100 new or recent features. Continue reading →

Festival:
The 16th New York Latino Film Festival

Dates:
August 12-18

About:
Seven docs screen among more than 20 new features in this event highlighting the work of Latinx filmmakers and talent.

These titles include Sundance award-winning hybrid THE INFILTRATORS, Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra’s story of undocumented youth intentionally seeking detention by Border Patrol; Chelsea Hernandez’s SXSW-debuting BUILDING THE AMERICAN DREAM, an exposé of dangerous practices and abuses of immigrant labor in construction; Ben DeJesus’ RAUL JULIA: THE WORLD’S A STAGE, an upcoming American Masters/Voces profile of the acclaimed actor; Pat McGee’s THE DEPORTED, which explores individuals caught up in deportation proceedings; Michael Dominic’s CLEAN HANDS, a longitudinal portrait of a Nicaraguan family living in extreme poverty; HBO Latino’s FARRUKO: EN LETRA DE OTRO, a concert doc on the Emmy-winning reggaeton performer; and Maceo Frost’s TOO BEAUTIFUL: OUR RIGHT TO FIGHT, about a female boxer in Cuba, where women are banned from the sport.

Festival:
The 72nd Locarno Film Festival

Dates:
August 7-17

About:
This long-running Swiss A-list fest presents 30 documentaries among its line-up of approximately 90 new and recent features. Continue reading →

Festival:
The 18th DokuFest

Dates:
August 2-10

About:
Prizren, Kosovo hosts this respected nonfiction event, which annually showcases approximately 85 recent features in addition to several tributes and retrospectives.

As in the past, the fest curates a strong selection of international work that has debuted at other notable events, and also includes a number of projects highlighting nonfiction from the Balkans. Amng the latter is such work as: From Turkey, Rûken Tekeş’ AETHER, an exploration of an ancient conservation area abut to be submerged by a dam project, and Burak Çevik’s BELONGING, which looks back at a 15 year old murder case, and Aylin Kuryel’s HEADS AND TAILS, about the connection between Turkish hair providers and Israeli wig makers for Orthodox Jewish women; from Serbia and Germany, Ivan Marković’s CENTAR, an observational look at a building through its maintenance workers; from Greece, Ireland, and the United States, Paul Duane’s WHILE YOU LIVE, SHINE, about an American musicologist obsessed with the folk music of a Greek mountain region; from Romania, Nora Agapi’s TIMEBOX, in which the filmmaker’s portrait of her documentarian father goes in unanticipated directions; and, from Austria, Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia, Želimir Žilnik’s THE MOST BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, which follows migrants navigating Austria’s bureaucracy to gain residence.

Festival:
The 68th Melbourne International Film Festival

Dates:
August 1-4

About:
Nearly 80 feature documentaries screen at this long-running Australian festival.

As in the past, the majority of nonfiction appearing in the fest has previously debuted, but there are several Australian films making their world premiere: Daniel Gordon’s THE AUSTRALIAN DREAM, which explores the controversy around race and Australian soccer champion Adam Goodes; Serge Ou’s IRON FISTS AND KUNG FU KICKS, a look at the popularity of martial arts films; Justin Krook’s MACHINE, which considers the growing influence of technology and AI in our lives; Hylton Shaw and Samantha Dinning’s NO TIME FOR QUIET, on a rock camp for girls and gender-fluid youth; Liam Firmager’s SUZI Q, about the pioneering female rock musician; and Isabel Peppard and Josie Hess’ MORGANA, about a housewife-turned-feminist pornographer.

Festival:
The 8th Blackstar Film Festival

Dates:
August 1-4

About:
This acclaimed Philadelphia event, focused on work by people of the African diaspora and other communities of color, presents 22 features this year, 14 of those nonfiction. Continue reading →

Festival:
The 42nd Asian American International Film Festival

Dates:
July 25-August 3

About:
This long-lived Asian/Asian American cinema event presents nearly two dozen new features, including nine docs.

Among these are Doris Yeung’s THE UGLY MODEL, about a Korean American model struggling with self-image issues due to his ethnicity; Joseph Juhn’s JERONIMO, the story of a Korean Cuban man; Laura Asherman’s AMERICAN HASI, which follows the stand-up tour of an Indian comic from Alabama; Valerie Soe’s LOVE BOAT: TAIWAN, about a cruise that brings together young Taiwanese Americans; and Sergio Mata’u Rapu’s EATING UP EASTER, which examines the deleterious impact of globalization and tourism on Easter Island.

Festival:
The 36th Jerusalem Film Festival

Dates:
July 25-August 4

About:
Approximately 30 documentaries are presented among the more than 100 new and recent features in the line-up of this notable Israeli event. Continue reading →