Category Archives: Overviews

DOK.fest Munich opens its 29th edition tonight, Wednesday, May 7. Screening over a hundred titles through next Wednesday, May 14, the festival continues to showcase a broad range of brand new and recent nonfiction work, as well as retrospective programming which includes a selection of Oscar documentaries and the work of celebrated British director Kim Longinotto. What follows are highlights from some of the event’s competitive and non-competitive sections: Continue reading →

Tomorrow, Friday, May 2, sees the start of the 13th edition of DOXA, Vancouver’s documentary film festival, which will continue through Sunday, May 12, presenting more than sixty documentary features in its lineup. The fest is bookended by two films which recently premiered at Tribeca: Orlando von Einsiedel’s VIRUNGA, about the struggle to protect one of Africa’s largest national parks, opens the event, while Brent Hodge’s A BRONY TALE, a new film about the MY LITTLE PONY male fan subculture, brings it to a close. The following offers select highlights from the rest of the programming:

Social issue docs are grouped under the Justice Forum heading, which returns to DOXA for the fifth year, and includes: Dennis Allen’s CRAZYWATER, a personal exploration of Native American substance abuse; Alexander John Glustrom’s BIG CHARITY (pictured), about the fate of a New Orleans hospital in the wake of Katrina; Jesper Wachtmeister’s MICROTOPIA, on the emergence of space conserving urban design; and Jennifer Anderson and Vernon Lott’s MASSACRED FOR GOLD, a chronicle of the murder of Chinese gold miners in the Pacific Northwest of 1887.

Other notable newer or recent features include several character portraits: Adam Gray and Andrew Gray’s FLY COLT FLY: LEGEND OF THE BAREFOOT BANDIT, a partly animated hybrid about the infamous outlaw Colton Harris-Moore; Shen Jie’s LITTLE PROLETARIAN, about a fourteen-year-old Chinese juvenile delinquent; La Zha’s HUHU (pictured), a child-focused portrait of rural life for a Chinese Muslim ethnic group; Rosa Rogers’ CASABLANCA CALLING, which follows female Muslim leaders combatting misogyny in Morocco; Sara Rastegar’s MY RED SHOES, an autobiographical portrait of the filmmaker’s parents, former Iranian Marxist revolutionaries; and Menna Laura Meijer’s 69: LOVE SEX SENIOR, which candidly explores sexuality among the older set.

Finally, a number of DOXA’s selections capture places, such as: Bo Wang’s CHINA CONCERTO, a meditation on China’s unique approach to capitalism and consumption; Carl Javér’s FREAK OUT!, about an early 20th century Utopian community in Switzerland; Florent Tillon’s LAS VEGAS MEDITATION, an anthropological survey of the Recession-era Nevadan desert city; Jide Tom Akinleminu’s PORTRAIT OF A LONE FARMER, a profile of the Nigerian filmmaker’s family farm; and Marcos Pimentel’s BREATH (pictured), an observational portrait of a rural Brazilian community.

Nyon, Switzerland’s Visions du Réel launches its 45th edition today, Friday, April 25, and runs through Saturday, May 3. One of the longest-running nonfiction events in the world, the fest presents over 100 new and retrospective features, in addition to shorts, masterclasses, and other special events. The following offers highlights from each programming strand: Continue reading →

Kicking off today, Thursday, April 24, the San Francisco International Film Festival holds the distinction of being the longest-running film festival of the Americas. The 57th edition runs through Thursday, May 8, bringing more than 100 features, plus shorts, panels, and other signature programming to the Bay Area. Among these are nearly 30 feature docs, representing a smartly curated mix of festival favorites, as well as several titles making their premieres. The following offers brief highlights: Continue reading →

Hot Docs opens its 21st edition tonight, Thursday, April 24, and runs through Sunday, May 4. With nearly 150 new feature-length docs, plus more than a dozen retrospective selections, the festival is the largest nonfiction event in North America, drawing filmmakers, industry, and an impassioned audience to Toronto each year. I’ll be attending again, though my Nantucket duties have meant that I’ll only be at the festival for its final weekend, unfortunately missing the event’s corresponding Forum earlier in the week. While this means I’ll only manage to see a fraction of the fest’s offerings, the following provides a section-by-section run-down of the new titles that have most intrigued me: Continue reading →

I’m excited to share this pointer to the Features line-up announcement for the Nantucket Film Festival, where I joined the staff as Film Program Director at the beginning of the year. I’ve been working since then to secure these films, which are nearly evenly split between fiction and nonfiction. Announcements about our Shorts and additional Signature Programs will follow in the coming weeks, and the festival’s 19th edition will take place June 25-30.

Following is the list of features. For descriptions, check out the link above: Continue reading →

The Tribeca Film Festival opens its 13th edition tomorrow, Wednesday, April 16, and runs through Sunday, April 27. Nonfiction programming remains a highlight for the event, with 45 docs once again making their Gotham bow across the range of the festival’s programming strands, including the Galas, such as opening night film, One9’s TIME IS ILLMATIC, on the impact of Nas’ 1994 debut album. The following section overview notes a selection of new docs making their premiere during the festival: Continue reading →

Tomorrow, Friday, April 11 sees the opening of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s inaugural edition of Art of the Real, an expansion of the institution’s former monthly documentary series into a two-week showcase which aims to explode conceptions of nonfiction to boundary-pushing extremes through new and retrospective programming. Curated by the Film Society’s Dennis Lim and independent programmer Rachael Rakes, the series presents more than 50 docs and hybrid projects through Saturday, April 26, opening with Raya Martin and Mark Peranson’s LA ÚLTIMA PELÍCULA and Corneliu Porumboiu’s THE SECOND GAME, and closing with Robert Greene’s ACTRESS (pictured). The following highlights offer a look at other selections: Continue reading →

Tomorrow, Friday, April 4, sees the start of the 16th annual Sarasota Film Festival, the popular Florida film festival that runs through Sunday, April 13. Featuring approximately 200 films, Sarasota’s lineup typically includes a robust selection of nonfiction, with 50 feature docs included this year. Among these are two Sundance titles in key gala slots, Rory Kennedy’s opening night film, LAST DAYS IN VIETNAM and Andrew Rossi’s centerpiece, IVORY TOWER. While several more Sundance and SXSW titles figure in Sarasota’s selections, the following overview focuses on other nonfiction picks that perhaps haven’t already benefited from that kind of festival spotlight:

Women-centric films shine in the Through Women’s Eyes sidebar, including: Rebecca Barry’s profile of six diverse female experiences, I AM A GIRL (pictured); Mary Dore’s women’s liberation chronicle, SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY; Yasmin Kidwai’s story of female self-empowerment, NO PROBLEM! (SIX MONTHS WITH THE BAREFOOT GRANDMAMAS); and Jared Brock and Michelle Brock sex trafficking exposé, RED LIGHT GREEN LIGHT.

The fest’s Acts of Valor section pays tribute to the American soldier and their post-combat experiences. Among the documentaries here are: Christine Anthony and Owen Masterson’s TERRA FIRMA, about female combat vets’ struggles with PTSD; and Mike Attie and Meghan O’Hara’s IN COUNTRY (pictured), exploring what drives veterans or enlisted men to re-enact the Vietnam War as a weekend hobby.

The local filmmakers section, Florida on Film, includes: Durand Adams, Charles Clapsaddle, and Charles Williams’ meditation on memory, THE ENDURING BEAUTY OF MEMORY (pictured); and Daniel Espeut’s circus family portrait, GREASEPAINT.

The eighth Dallas International Film Festival begins tomorrow, Thursday, April 3, and runs through Sunday, April 13. A well-regarded larger regional event, the festival annually showcases nearly 200 films, panels, and other special events, and is led by well-liked fest circuit regulars Artistic Director James Faust and Senior Programmer Sarah Harris. Their nonfiction programming includes a number of recent hits from Sundance, SXSW, and elsewhere, while also showcasing several new and local films, such as the following highlights:

Among the less familiar entires in the eight-title Documentary Feature Competition are Sean Gallagher’s BROTHERS OF THE BLACK LIST (pictured), recounting a disturbing case of racial profiling on the campus of SUNY Oneonta in 1992; and Matt Livadary’s QUEENS & COWBOYS: A STRAIGHT YEAR ON THE GAY RODEO, following LGBT participants on the rodeo circuit. Also in the running for an award is Whitney Graham Carter, Anthony Jackson, and Jenna Jackson’s charming Texas Competition contender, TOMATO REPUBLIC, profiling the quirky candidates for mayor in a small East Texan town.

Several other new docs are screening out of competition, including the music docs of the Deep Ellum Sounds section, Teddy Cool’s WE FROM DALLAS, a chronicle of hip hop from the area; and Michael Cain and Miles Hargrove’s THE STARCK CLUB (pictured), a celebration of the legendary 1980s Dallas nightclub. Other new nonfiction programming includes Gabriela Obregón’s lucha libre focused THE MAN BEHIND THE MASK, from the fest’s Latino Showcase; and Alastair Fothergill and Keith Scholey’s nature film, BEARS, from the Family Friendly sidebar.