Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 14: WHITEY: UNITED STATES OF AMERICA V JAMES J BULGER
Joe Berlinger’s look at the trial of the infamous gangster bowed at Sundance this year. Its fest circuit has also included Hot Docs, Sarasota, Nashville, Montclair, and Dallas, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 14: LOS ANGELES PLAYS ITSELF
Thom Andersen’s exploration of a city through its defining industry premiered at Toronto in 2003. Festival screenings followed at Sundance, Rotterdam, Marseille, Karlovy Vary, and CPH:DOX, among others. It now comes to DVD/Blu-Ray for the first time via Cinema Guild.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Celebrating its 25th anniversary, the New Orleans Film Festival begins this Thursday, October 16 and runs through next Thursday, October 23. The event continues to grow, establishing itself as a key regional Fall festival, and attracting significant visiting filmmaker and industry presence. Sadly, while I’m not among those visitors this year, I offer the following highlights of the fest’s robust documentary programming, which makes up about half of the nearly 100 feature lineup: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres this Friday, October 10: THE OVERNIGHTERS
Jesse Moss’ portrait of the limits of good Samaritanism debuted at Sundance earlier this year, where it picked up a special jury prize. It’s gone on to screen at Traverse City, Hot Docs, True/False, Tribeca, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Nashville, and Dallas, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
The 58th edition of the BFI London Film Festival opens tonight, Wednesday, October 8, and continues through Sunday, October 19, presenting just under 250 films, of which nearly 50 represent new and retrospective documentary features, including a Gala presentation of Laura Poitras’ CITIZENFOUR. Here are some highlights: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Long a welcome respite from NYC in the early Fall for film industry and cinephiles, the Hamptons International Film Festival holds its 22nd edition beginning this Thursday, October 9 and running through Monday, October 13. In addition to numerous conversations and special events, the event presents more than sixty features, with nonfiction making up nearly half that number. Some highlights are noted below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to the JCC in Manhattan’s CineMatters series this Wednesday, October 1: WATCHERS OF THE SKY
Edet Belzberg’s meditation on genocide had its world premiere at Sundance this year, where it picked up two awards. It’s gone on to screen at Nantucket, Cleveland, Hot Docs, Milwaukee, Melbourne, Sydney, and Human Rights Watch, among other events.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, September 30: IVORY TOWER
Andrew Rossi’s look at the rising cost of higher education had its world premiere at Sundance this year. It’s gone on to Sarasota, Miami, Seattle, Full Frame, Cleveland, and Montclair, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
For New York cinephiles, Fall truly hasn’t begun until the start of the New York Film Festival. The 52nd edition of the venerable event kicks off this Friday, September 26 and runs through Sunday, October 12. While the festival was never particularly nonfiction-minded under the long tenure of Richard Peña, that has changed drastically in recent years, with documentaries now claiming a significant portion of the lineup – by my count, nearly half of the new features represented are documentaries or essay films. The following runs down several of these works: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
The 18th edition of Urbanworld Film Festival launches in NYC tonight, Wednesday, September 17. Over five days, the festival will showcase over 70 films by African American and multicultural filmmakers, including eight documentaries among its 26 feature presentations.
Premieres include Marquis Smalls’ HATING OBAMA, an exploration of the invective directed against our Commander-in-Chief; Derek Wilson’s SEWING HOPE (pictured), about a nun’s mission to empower Ugandan women through vocational training; and Kenneth Price’s THE HIP-HOP FELLOW, which follows 9th Wonder during his stint as a Harvard Fellow.
Other nonfiction offerings include: Adeyemi Michael’s SODIQ, exploring how an aspiring doctor ended up on trial for murder; Alberto Ferreras’ HABLA MEN, the latest in a series on Latino Americans; Jeanette Kong’s FINDING SAMUEL LOWE: FROM HARLEM TO CHINA (pictured), tracing the filmmaker’s Jamaican-Chinese roots; and Laura Checkoway’s LUCKY, about a single lesbian mother with dreams of stardom.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
