Category Archives: Film Festivals

Upstate New York’s “fiercely independent” film event, the Woodstock Film Festival, turns 14 this year. Opening today, Wednesday, October 2, the fest runs through this Sunday, October 6, unspooling over 125 films during its run. Of these, more than fifty are features, and about half of those are documentaries. The following highlights a selection of titles I haven’t previously covered here.

A couple of titles making their world premiere at the festival this year are Joe Berlinger’s HANK: FIVE YEARS FROM THE BRINK (pictured), a portrait of the former Secretary of the Treasury Hank Paulson and how he weathered the 2008 economic crisis; and Aram Garriga’s AMERICAN JESUS, an expansive survey of the influence of evangelical Christianity on American culture. Dana Ben-Ari’s BREASTMILK, an exploration of the challenges and misconceptions around breastfeeding, makes its North American bow; while Alex Stonehill and Bradley Hutchinson’s BARZAN, about an Iraqi refugee caught up in charges of terrorism, has its East Coast premiere here.

Among Woodstock’s New York premieres are Haskell Wexler’s FOUR DAYS IN CHICAGO, chronicling protests against last year’s NATO Summit in the Windy City; Sierra Pettengill and Jamila Wignot’s TOWN HALL, a portrait of two Tea Party activists in the lead-up to last year’s presidential election; Rob Kuhns’ BIRTH OF THE LIVING DEAD, a history and tribute to George Romero’s cult classic zombie film; and Jeremy Workman’s MAGICAL UNIVERSE (pictured), the story of the director’s unique relationship with an outsider artist whose muse is Barbie.

Maine’s Camden International Film Festival begins its ninth edition tomorrow, Thursday, September 26, and runs through the weekend. In addition to the event’s Points North Documentary Film Forum, connecting emerging filmmakers with industry professionals, thirty new feature documentaries, as well as four retrospective films and a number of shorts, will screen during the festival, primarily curated from the offerings of some of the best festivals taking place earlier in the year, including Sundance, SXSW, Hot Docs, Full Frame, and Tribeca.

Among some of the less familiar or newer titles screening in Camden are: Estephan Wagner’s LAST DREAMS (pictured), about three women facing imminent death; Bo Bartlett, Betsy Eby, and Glenn Holsten’s SEE, which follows two artists exploring the act of seeing; and Daniel Dencik’s MOON RIDER, a portrait of a young man striving to become a championship cycler. Other titles which I’ve not yet had the chance to see include: James N Kienitz Wilkins’ PUBLIC HEARING, a verbatim restaging of a town hall meeting; Jane Gillooly’s SUITCASE OF LOVE AND SHAME, which explores an illicit affair as revealed through found audiotapes; and David Redmon and Ashley Sabin’s NIGHT LABOR, which follows a worker on his factory night shift.

Retrospective screenings at Camden this year include Peter Davis’ 1974 Vietnam film, HEARTS AND MINDS (pictured); Barbara Kopple’s 1977 miners’ strike doc, HARLAN COUNTY, USA; Nathaniel Kahn’s 2003 portrait of his father, MY ARCHITECT: A SON’S JOURNEY; and Hubert Sauper’s 2004 cautionary environmental film, DARWIN’S NIGHTMARE.

This Friday, September 27, the Film Society of Lincoln Center launches the second half century of the New York Film Festival. Running through Sunday, October 13, the 51st edition continues the event’s reputation as a meticulously curated showcase for standout contemporary international cinema. With close to seventy new feature-length films, as well as dozens of shorts, retrospective screenings, and new media, NYFF remains one of the highlights on the Fall festival calendar, and a must-attend event for NYC cinephiles. Among the nearly three dozen new feature docs included in this year’s line-up are the following selections: Continue reading →