Category Archives: Film Festivals

Kosovo’s 15th annual Dokufest launches today in Prizren, Friday, August 5 and continues through Saturday, August 13. The respected event will once again present a well-curated collection of some of the most interesting work that has popped up at other international events over the course of the past year, offering local audiences a chance to sample work in various thematic strands including environmental, human rights, and music docs, among others.

Of particular note are the offerings in the Balkan Dox competition, representing nonfiction work from the region. Included here are: Mathieu Jouffre’s DRUMS OF RESISTANCE, which recounts the response to the banning of Albanian education during the waning days of Yugoslavia; Elton Baxhaku and Eriona Çami’s SELITA, a look at efforts to stop the displacement of Roma by a highway construction project; Maria Averina’s FROM CREMONA TO CREMONA, following a violin factory worker as he dreams of visiting the Italian site of the world’s finest violins; Igor Grubić’s MONUMENT, which looks at the destruction of anti-fascist monuments during a time of hyper nationalism; André Gil Mata’s HOW I FELL IN LOVE WITH EVA RAS (pictured), which filters Yugoslavian history through a woman’s projection of old films; Ivan Mandić’s YOURS TRULY, SEXYMAJA, about an infamous sexworker blogger who was rumoured to not exist; and Roland Sejko’s THE AWAITING, a meditation on Albanian history through the lens of religion.

Tomorrow, Wednesday, August 3 sees the opening of the 69th annual Locarno Film Festival, which this year will offer nearly 100 new and recent features over the course of its run, which ends on Sunday, August 13. About a third of these are nonfiction or hybrid projects, with some highlights noted below: Continue reading →

The Melbourne International Film Festival turns 65 this year, kicking off its latest edition tomorrow, Thursday, July 28. Running through Sunday, August 14, the long-running event will present approximately 200 new features, among that number over 75 documentary works, a selection of which are spotlighted below: Continue reading →

Michael Moore’s Traverse City Film Festival opens tomorrow, Tuesday, July 26, and runs through Sunday, July 31. The 12th edition of the event has generated headlines for championing the visibility of women filmmakers by including only female-helmed or co-helmed works in its competition sections, and cheekily naming a male-directed out-of-competition sidebar “Men Make Movies – The Struggle Continues.” In total, more than a hundred new and recent features will screen at the event, with about half representing documentaries. The well-curated event curates much of its lineup from larger festivals like Sundance, Toronto, SXSW, and Tribeca, but also includes a few world premieres or lesser-know titles, such as the films noted below:

The US documentary competition includes the debut of Kamala Lopez’s EQUAL MEANS EQUAL, which looks at the current state of gender inequality, while the international competition features the North American premiere of Yacine Brahem, Dario Cerruti, and Laurent Negre’s hybrid CONFUSION, about the extradition of a Guantanamo prisoner to Switzerland. Appearing in the Premieres section are the first screenings of Cynthia Wade and Cheryl Miller Houser’s GENERATION STARTUP (pictured), a look at several young entrepreneurs trying to make a go of it in Detroit; Jesse Nesser’s WALK WITH ME: THE TRIALS OF DAMON J KEITH, about a 94-year-old janitor-turned-federal judge; and Bob Apisa’s MEN OF SPARTA, on Michigan State University’s pioneering integrated 1960s football team. The fest’s Avant Garde section includes Alexandra Cuesta’s TERRITORIO, an immersive exploration of the filmmaker’s Ecuador. Finally, the event wraps with closing night film CONCERTO: A BEETHOVEN JOURNEY, Phil Grabsky’s chronicle of an acclaimed pianist’s three-year international quest to master several of the German composer’s concertos.

New York City’s Asian American International Film Festival returns for its 39th edition starting tonight, Thursday, July 21. By the time the event wraps on Saturday, July 30, it will present approximately 30 new features, including a dozen documentaries, in addition to shorts, panels, and special retrospective screenings.

Among the nonfiction programming are the international premiere of Ng Xi Jie’s SINGAPORE MINSTREL, a portrait of a street busker and his environment; as well as the NYC debuts of Siyan Liu and Danni Wang’s JOLIN (pictured), about a young Chinese country girl turned factory worker turned sex worker; Pamela Tom’s TYRUS, a profile of a centenarian Chinese-born visual artist; Michael Siv’s DAZE OF JUSTICE, a personal film about the Khmer Rouge trials; and Ben Wang’s BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY, about a former convict turned prison reformer. Also screening at the festival is Haito Guo’s BRIGHT SUN MANSION, which follows a Peking Opera master as he tries to keep his art form’s tradition alive in New York City.