Category Archives: Film Festivals

Documentary Fortnight 2016 Overview

moma-logoTomorrow night, Friday, February 19, sees the start of the 15th anniversary edition of MoMA’s annual nonfiction showcase, Documentary Fortnight, with the NYC premiere of Billy Woodberry’s AND WHEN I DIE, I WON’T STAY DEAD, about unheralded African American Beat poet Bob Kaufman. Eighteen features and several shorts will screen before the series wraps on Monday, February 29 with the world premiere of Adam Khalil and Zack Khalil’s INNATE/SE/ [IT SHINES A CERTAIN WAY. TO A CERTAIN PLACE./IT FLIES. FALLS./], which reclaims the Ojibway story for the Native American people themselves.

Call Her Applebroog cropAlso making its world premiere is Beth B’s CALL HER APPLEBROOG (pictured), a portrait of the filmmaker’s mother, artist Ida Applebroog. North American premieres include: John Gianvito’s WAKE (SUBIC), an exploration of the damage done to the Philippines by continued US military presence; Jacques Perconte’s ETTRICK, an experimental film manipulating Scottish landscapes into abstract art images; K8 Hardy’s OUTFITUMENTARY, a portrait of the artist through a dozen year’s of personal fashion choices; and Ane Hjort Guttu’s TIME PASSES, which follows a student’s solidarity with a homeless Roma woman as part of a performance art project.

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Big Sky Documentary Film Festival 2016 Overview

big skyThis Friday, February 19 kicks off the 13th Big Sky Documentary Film Festival in Missoula MT. Running through Sunday, February 28, the state’s largest film event will present several competitions, as well as a diverse range of non-competitive sidebars on themes including native concerns, conflict resolution, nature, culture, history, adventure, local filmmaking, and retrospectives of the work of Lucy Walker and Ondi Timoner. A selection of the more than 60 new and recent feature docs is included below: Continue reading →

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Special Screening: TRAPPED

trappedComing to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction series tomorrow, Tuesday, February 16: TRAPPED

Dawn Porter’s exploration of embattled abortion clinics just had its world premiere at Sundance last month. The film picked up a Special Jury Award for Social Impact Filmmaking at the festival.

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

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On TV/DVD: THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION

black panthersComing to PBS’s Independent Lens and to DVD this coming Tuesday, February 16: THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION

Stanley Nelson’s chronicle of the Black Power organization made its debut at Sundance last year. Screenings followed at San Francisco, Sheffield, Pan African, IFF Boston, AFI Docs, Full Frame, Seattle, Encounters, Cleveland, MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight, DOXA, Sidewalk, and Black Harvest, among many other events.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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Berlin 2016: Documentary Overview

66_Berlinale_Plakat_1The 66th edition of the Berlinale opens tonight, Thursday, February 11 and runs through Sunday, February 21. A massive undertaking, the world-class festival, Germany’s largest, annually screens approximately 400 new and retrospective films across a wide range of programming strands. Among the new features on offer this year are just about seventy documentaries and hybrids, a sampling of which are noted below. Additionally, the festival is once again presenting Meet the Docs, a networking platform that is part of its corresponding European Film Market. The latter includes fifteen documentaries not in the official Berlinale fest program co-presented under the Docs Spotlight series by festivals IDFA, CPH:DOX, and DOK Leipzig; Meet the Festivals sessions; and a series of nonfiction-focused panels and conversations. Beyond this, the festival also presents Doc Station as part of the Berlinale Talents program, featuring ten projects in development. While my schedule continues to make attending the festival inconvenient, my attention would be drawn to the following programmed documentary features, were I to be heading to Berlin this weekend: Continue reading →

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SXSW 2016: Additional Features Announced

sxsw film 2016Supplementing their main features announcement last week, SXSW has just revealed the remainder of their film programming here, bringing the doc count to 57 of a reported 139 features. Following is the list of newly announced nonfiction features per section:

Festival Favorites:
newtownSelections culled from other notable festivals.

CAMERAPERSON
Kirsten Johnson
Exposing her role behind the camera, Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera.

GLEASON
Clay Tweel
At the age of 34, Steve Gleason was handed a death sentence. When doctors diagnosed him with ALS, they gave the former NFL defensive back and New Orleans hero two to five years to live. So that is what Steve chose to do – live.

NEWTOWN (pictured)
Kim A Snyder
Documenting the aftermath of the deadliest mass shooting of schoolchildren in American history. A cast of characters within Newtown and beyond interconnect to weave an intimate story of trauma, grief and community resilience.

PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW
Ido Haar
The true story of the incredible Princess Shaw and the enigmatic composer Kutiman, who discovers her from the other side of the world.

RICHARD LINKLATER – DREAM IS DESTINY
Louis Black and Karen Bernstein
A feature-length documentary on the filmmaker Richard Linklater and an unusual look at a fiercely independent film style that emerged from Austin, Texas in the 1990s.

TRAPPED
Dawn Porter
Following the clinic workers, women, and lawyers on the front lines of the battle as they fight to keep abortion safe and legal across the US for millions of poor and uninsured women caught in a political quagmire.

Special Events:
darkonUnique one-offs.

DARKON
Luke Meyer and Andrew Neel
10th Anniversary screening of the cult-hit documentary about American LARPers. The film covers an epic war raging through the fantasy realm of Darkon, investigating our complex relationship with fantasy and reality.

Additions to Already Announced Sections

24 Beats Per Second:
sidemen
ROBERT KLEIN CAN’T STOP HIS LEG
Robert Klein
A hilarious and heartfelt look at the career and influence of comedy legend Robert Klein.

SIDEMEN – LONG ROAD TO GLORY (pictured)
Scott Rosenbaum
An intimate look at the lives and legacies of piano player Pinetop Perkins, drummer Willie ‘Big Eyes’ Smith and guitarist Hubert Sumlin, all Muddy Waters and Howlin’ Wolf sidemen.

Visions:
boone
BOONE
Christopher LaMarca
Haunting and deeply human, Boone tells the story of three young goat farmers as they transition with the seasons and come to terms with the physical and emotional grit required to live in deep relationship with the land. This experiential film is a visceral meditation on the sacrifice and struggle of a lifestyle born of self reliance, a sensual homage to the heart and soul of a farmer.

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On DVD: WELCOME TO LEITH

welcome to leithComing to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 9: WELCOME TO LEITH

Michael Beach Nichols and Christopher K Walker’s immersive look at a town under siege made its bow at Sundance last year. The doc went on to screen at Nantucket, SXSW, Dallas, RiverRun, Sarasota, Montclair, Sydney, AFI Docs, New Zealand, Melbourne, and Sidewalk, among others.

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

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On TV: JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY

jimComing to HBO tomorrow, Saturday, February 6: JIM: THE JAMES FOLEY STORY

Brian Oakes’ personal look back at the life and death of James Foley just made its debut at Sundance last month. The doc now makes its broadcast premiere.

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

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On TV: MICHAEL JACKSON’S JOURNEY FROM MOTOWN TO OFF THE WALL

michael jacksonComing to Showtime this Friday, February 5: MICHAEL JACKSON’S JOURNEY FROM MOTOWN TO OFF THE WALL

Spike Lee’s charting of the late icon’s evolution and maturation just debuted at Sundance. It now reaches broader audiences with its cable debut.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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SXSW 2016: Features Lineup Announced

sxsw film 2016After a sneak peek announcement of a selection of titles early last month, SXSW has just released their initial list of features, with additional announcements to come shortly. 47 of the 104 features and episodics announced so far are documentaries. Following is the list of documentary features, broken down by section: Continue reading →

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