Category Archives: Film Festivals

October 18, 2018 · 3:02 PM

In Theatres: ON HER SHOULDERS

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 19:
ON HER SHOULDERS

Director:
Alexandria Bombach

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, SXSW, Hot Docs, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Full Frame, Human Rights Watch, SF Jewish, Jerusalem, Dokufest, Melbourne, Sun Valley, Doc 10, Ashland, Cleveland, Kansas City, Sarasota, Montclair, Maryland, Dallas, Nashville, Seattle, Warsaw, Biografilm, Heartland

About:
A look at the burden carried by a young woman as she advocates for her people on the global stage.

My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.

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October 17, 2018 · 1:31 PM

Margaret Mead 2018 Overview

Festival:
The 42nd Margaret Mead Film Festival

Dates:
October 18-21

About:
NYC’s American Museum of Natural History presents this annual event, which this year showcases more than 30 documentary features.

WHAT THE WIND TOOK AWAY

North American premieres at the festival include: Georgina Barreiro’s TARA’S FOOTPRINT, following four siblings in a sacre Buddhist village; Ljiljana Šišmanović and Davor Borić’s THE FLYING FRIAR, about a priest working to preserve Croatian music in rural Bosnia and Herzegovina; and Helin Celik and Martin Klingenböck’s WHAT THE WIND TOOK AWAY, about two Yazidis living in a refugee camp after escaping from ISIS.

RUNNERS

Mead’s US premieres include: Anja Reiss’ TRUTH DETECTIVES, on the use of technology to uncover human rights violations; Carmen Torres’ AMANECER (DAWN), which follows the filmmaker as she seeks out her birth mother; Kurt Reinhard and Christoph Schreiber’s CIAO BABYLON, on the vanishing languages of NYC; Marcia Mansur and Marina Thomé’s THE SOUND OF BELLS, on the significance of church bell ringers in Brazil; and Łukasz Borowski’s RUNNERS, about a treacherous ultramarathon in Poland.

THE GUARDIANS

Finally, NYC premieres include opening night film, Gemma Atwal’s STOLEN DAUGHTERS: KIDNAPPED BY BOKO HARAM; Ben Crosbie and Tessa Moran’s THE GUARDIANS, about the struggle of Mexican indigenous people to protect their land, the migatory home of monarch butterflies; Tenzin Phuntsog and Joy Dietrich’s RITUALS OF RESISTANCE, a personal exploration of Tibetan resistance to Chinese occupation; and Charlie Samuels’ VIRGIN BLACKTOP, a look back at a skateboarding crew in Nyack NY in the late 1970s.

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October 16, 2018 · 1:31 PM

New Orleans 2018: Documentary Overview

Festival:
The 29th New Orleans Film Festival

Dates:
October 17-25

About:
Filmmakers and industry continue to be drawn to this popular and well-regarded Southern regional event, which presents nearly 40 docs among its 60+ feature offerings.

WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE

Among the films competing in the Documentary Competition are: Emily Harrold’s WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE, which follows Bakari Sellers uphill struggle as he runs for lieutenant governor in South Carolina; Nadia Shihab’s JADDOLAND, a portrait of the filmmaker’s mother, an Iraqi artist in Texas; and Hao Zhang’s GIMME A FAITH, which follows evangelical Christian Chinese students studied in North Carolina.

BUCKJUMPING

The Louisiana Competition’s nonfiction titles include: Mark K Brockway and Timothy Givens’ MISSISSIPPI MADAM: THE LIFE OF NELLIE JACKSON, about an African-American divorcee-turned-brothel madam; Allison Bohl Dehart and Peter Dehart’s BENDING LINES: THE SCULPTURE OF ROBERT WIGGS, a portrait of an artist and his unique scientific approach to his work; and Lily Keber’s BUCKJUMPING, a look at New Orleans’ dance traditions.

THIS TACO TRUCK KILLS FASCISTS

Other sections featuring documentaries include: Spotlight Films, with upcoming DOC NYC opening night selection, John Chester’s THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM, which follows a couple’s odyssey to establish a biodynamic farm; Caribbean Voices, with Jose Hiriart’s PÉP SOUVREN (SOVEREIGN PEOPLE), about activists fighting for true democracy in Haiti; and Change-Makers, which includes Harry Moses’ GUILTY UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY, a case study exposing the injustices in New Orleans’ criminal justice system; Ada McMahon and Wendi Moore-O’Neal’s THIS LITTLE LIGHT, about a woman forced to stay closeted to do relief work post-Katrina; and Rodrigo Dorfman’s THIS TACO TRUCK KILLS FASCISTS, about a traveling theatre project exposing the impact of immigration on New Orleans.

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October 16, 2018 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: THE DEVIL WE KNOW

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, October 16:
THE DEVIL WE KNOW

Director:
Stephanie Soechtig

Co-Director:
Jeremy Seifert

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Vancouver, Santa Barbara, Lunenberg Doc, New Zealand, SF Jewish, Washington DC Environmental, Greenwich, Riverrun, Sun Valley, Martha’s Vineyard, Boulder, Philadelphia

About:
An exposé of a corporation’s widespread use of dangerous chemicals, despite their known impact on human health.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here

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October 15, 2018 · 1:31 PM

On DVD: GENERATION WEALTH

photo by Lauren Greenfield

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 16:
GENERATION WEALTH

Director:
Lauren Greenfield

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Berlin, SXSW, CPH:DOX, Docville, Full Frame, San Francisco, Sarasota, IFF Boston, Transilvania, Ambulante, Jeonju, Dallas, Docs Against Gravity, Greenwich, Provincetown

About:
A film essay and career retrospective examining society’s preoccupation with materialism.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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October 15, 2018 · 12:01 PM

Special Screening & On TV: THE SENTENCE

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, October 15 and to Stranger Than Fiction tomorrow, Tuesday, October 16:
THE SENTENCE

Director:
Rudy Valdez

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, DOC NYC, Locarno, Traverse City, Montclair, Sarasota, Urbanworld, Thin Line, Provincetown, LA Latino, Aspen Ideas, SF Jewish, Freep, GlobeDocs

About:
A filmmaker reveals the personal impact of mandatory minimum laws on his own family.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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October 11, 2018 · 1:04 PM

DOC NYC 2018 Lineup Announced

As DOC NYC’s Director of Programming, I’m excited to share that the full lineup for America’s largest documentary festival has just been revealed. DOC NYC’s ninth edition will run November 8-15, and includes 135 features, representing 42 world premieres, 3 international premieres, 4 North American premieres, 7 US premieres, and 68 NYC premieres, in addition to short films and our parallel DOC NYC PRO series of industry programming.

Our website has full information here, and ticketing is live now.

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October 11, 2018 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres: THE SENTENCE

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 12:
THE SENTENCE

Director:
Rudy Valdez

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, DOC NYC, Locarno, Traverse City, Montclair, Sarasota, Urbanworld, Thin Line, Provincetown, LA Latino, Aspen Ideas, SF Jewish, Freep, GlobeDocs

About:
A filmmaker reveals the personal impact of mandatory minimum laws on his own family.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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October 9, 2018 · 1:31 PM

London 2018: Documentary Overview

Festival:
The 62nd BFI London Film Festival

Dates:
October 10-21

About:
This noted UK event presents more than 200 new features, but has reduced the number of nonfiction offerings substantially this year, with just over 40 docs compared to last year’s nearly 60. Continue reading →

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October 9, 2018 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: DARK MONEY

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 9:
DARK MONEY

Director:
Kimberly Reed

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Big Sky, Full Frame, AFI Docs, Boulder, Martha’s Vineyard, Florida, Ashland, Cleveland, Freep, Montclair, Dallas, Nashville, Telluride Mountainfilm

About:
Montana serves as a case study for the dangerous impact of Citizens United on politics.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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