Category Archives: Film Festivals

Today brings us to the last of this year’s Sundance nonfiction, beginning with the sole doc in the Midnight section: THE BLACKOUT EXPERIMENTS, Rich Fox’s exploration of the secret world of an individualized immersive fright experience and its adherents.

Festival Section:
Midnight
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And wrapping up Special Events features (remaining nonfiction projects are short form): Ezra Edelman’s OJ: MADE IN AMERICA, an ESPN 30 FOR 30 miniseries about the football star-turned-murder suspect.

Festival Section:
Special Events
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Next up in Special Events: Eddie Schmidt’s CHELSEA DOES, a preview of the new Chelsea Handler-led Netflix docuseries.

Festival Section:
Special Events
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My Sundance doc profiles move on to this year’s Special Events, one-off presentations of upcoming episodic and other unique programming: Bernard MacMahon’s AMERICAN EPIC, a preview of a multi-part PBS docuseries and feature doc exploring the roots of American music.

Festival Section:
Special Events
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My New Frontier roundup ends with the third of three nonfiction/hybrid titles: Peter Middleton and James Spinney’s NOTES ON BLINDNESS, which re-embodies a man’s experiences of losing his sight.

Festival Section:
New Frontier
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Today’s second New Frontier title: Deborah Stratman’s THE ILLINOIS PARABLES, an experimental meditation on belief, doubt, science, and religion.

Festival Section:
New Frontier
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Coming to Pivot TV for its Stand Up For Justice Month programming today, Monday, January 18: A PLACE AT THE TABLE

Kristi Jacobson and Lori Silverbush’s look at hunger in America made its bow at Sundance in 2012. Further festival play included Seattle, Cleveland, Philadelphia, and Palm Springs, among others.

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

Today’s Sundance doc profiles explore the nonfiction and hybrid feature films of the New Frontier section. First up: Kirsten Johnson’s CAMERAPERSON, the acclaimed cinematographer’s reflections on documentary image making.

Festival Section:
New Frontier
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Coming to Pivot TV for its Stand Up For Justice Month programming today, Monday, January 18: THE INTERNET’S OWN BOY: THE STORY OF AARON SWARTZ

Brian Knappenberger’s look at the life and death of the Internet activist had its world premiere at Sundance in 2014. Screenings followed at SXSW, Nantucket, Hot Docs, Atlanta, IFF Boston, and Seattle, among other fests, before it was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Academy Award.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

The final film in the Doc Premieres section brings this week’s Sundance doc profiles to a close: UNLOCKING THE CAGE, Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker’s thought-provoking look at a legal team’s efforts to advocate for animals.

Festival Section:
Documentary Premieres
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