Category Archives: Overviews

Beginning this Thursday, June 14 and running through Sunday, June 24, the Los Angeles Film Festival is expected to reach more than 92,000 attendees in the heart of the film industry. A program of Film Independent, LAFF showcases independent film while also serving as a popular launching pad for high-profile studio productions. I’ve never had the opportunity to attend the event but always look forward to checking out their lineup. Among the more than 70 feature-length films screening during the fest’s 18th edition are 25 documentaries, presented in a juried competition section as well as a few other strands. Continue reading →

The New York edition of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival returns to the Film Society of Lincoln Center for its 23rd year this Thursday, June 14 and runs through Thursday, June 28. Sixteen films will expose audiences to pressing human rights issues around the world, providing audiences with an opportunity to engage with important issues through personal stories. Thirteen of the selections are documentary features, with programming focused around five key themes: Continue reading →

The 38th edition of the Seattle International Film Festival – the US’ largest/longest film festival – kicks off this Thursday and runs for 25 days, closing on June 10. Presenting a staggering 273 features and 187 shorts, the festival boasts more than sixty documentary features in its line-up this year. More than half represent some of the best received films from Sundance, SXSW, and other notable fests, while the remaining include new US and international docs making their premiere here, including a number hailing from the Pacific Northwest. While I’ve never made it to the festival before, what follows are the films I’d be most interested in checking out if I were going this year (the intriguing, strictly hush-hush Secret Festival would definitely also be on my list). Continue reading →

This post wraps up my overview of docs that have caught my eye in this year’s Hot Docs, one of the largest and most influential non-fiction events in the world. I’ll be heading up to Toronto on Tuesday, and the following, together with those noted in my earlier post are docs I’m hoping to see: Continue reading →

I could have sworn I had already written my overview for North America’s largest documentary event, Hot Docs’, but as with last year, April just became so busy between Tribeca and advising my students on the Wallabout Film Festival that I’m finding myself “previewing” the festival on its opening day. Continue reading →

Opening this Thursday and running through May 3, the San Francisco International Film Festival celebrates its 55th year with over 100 feature length films, including more than 30 documentaries. The longest-running film festival in the US, the SFIFF has always been especially notable for its well curated international program, and for an enthusiastic audience that fills its theatres for over two weeks. While I haven’t been able to attend the festival in years, it holds a special significance for me as the first major festival I interned for right after college.

The combination of a great city, its senior status, fantastic programming, and a smart staff has made the festival one of the most loved and respected of US festivals. The film industry was shocked by the sudden passing of the San Francisco Film Society’s new executive director Bingham Ray during Sundance just three months ago, less than six months after the death of the accomplished previous executive director, Graham Leggat. While it’s difficult to comprehend the impact this kind of back-to-back loss has had on the organization, it’s a testament to the work both men did for the SFFS an the film industry as a whole, and to their deep love of cinema, that the staff has pulled together such an impressive slate despite the trying circumstances. I’ve already seen about half of the docs in the lineup, some of which I’ll note below together with titles I’ve not yet seen but hope to at some point. Continue reading →

The Tribeca Film Festival begins in less than a week, running April 18-29 in New York City. After a decade with David Kwok at its programming helm, his departure after last year’s event has led to some staff changes, notably the elevation of longtime senior programmer Genna Terranova to the position of Director of Programming, the arrival of former Cannes Directors’ Fortnight head Frédéric Boyer as Artistic Director, and the greater involvement of Tribeca Enterprises’ Chief Creative Officer, Geoff Gilmore, in programming. It will be interesting to see how audiences and critics respond to this year’s slate, which is not noticeably different in any radical way. In terms of documentary programming, the festival continues to show a commitment to spotlighting US and world non-fiction, including 39 feature-length docs throughout the various sections of the event. While I’ve had a chance to see quite a few of these titles in advance, I’m looking forward to watching the remainder during the next couple of weeks, especially the following highlights: Continue reading →