Category Archives: Film Festivals

Sheffield Doc/Fest celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, opening next Wednesday, June 12, and running through Sunday, June 16. While I’ve never been able to make it out to the event, I’ve always looked forward to seeing their lineup and have been envious of the stories I’ve heard from attendees of the well-loved fest. As usual, I’ll highlight a number of this year’s offerings below, going by programming strand, and focusing more on newer titles than on those that I’ve already covered at other fests. Continue reading →

Encounters: South African International Documentary Festival kicks off its 15th anniversary edition tonight, Thursday, June 6. The festival runs through Sunday, June 16, with screenings in Cape Town and Johannesburg. Nearly thirty feature docs will screen, starting with local opening night film, Riaan Hendricks’ THE DEVIL’S LAIR, fresh off its Hot Docs debut last month. Continue reading →

After several years of regular monthly screenings, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s environmental documentary series Green Screens gets the fest treatment for a six-day program beginning tomorrow, Friday, May 31 and running through Wednesday, June 5.

Among the thirteen doc features in the program are a few films I’ve previously written about, including Sundance title BLACKFISH (pictured), on the dangers of keeping killer whales in captivity; Hot Docs 2012 special jury prize winner PEACE OUT, on large scale energy projects in Canada’s Peace River region; and SXSW alum XMAS WITHOUT CHINA, on America’s dependence on Chinese industry, including fears about toxic products entering the marketplace.

Among the remaining are a few titles that are familiar from elsewhere on the festival circuit, and some others that are less so, including Hannes Lang’s PEAK, about the artificial means needed to maintain enough snowfall in the Alps for tourism in the face of climate change; Scott Elliott’s INTO THE GYRE, an exploration of plastic pollution in the Atlantic marine ecosystem; Jan Van Den Berg and Pipaluk Knudsen-Ostermann’s SILENT SNOW: THE INVISIBLE POISONING OF THE WORLD (pictured), tracing the surprising spread of pesticides into the Arctic; Bettina Borgfeld and David Bernet’s RAISING RESISTANCE, a look at small Paraguayan farmers struggling to maintain their land and crops in the face of larger chemically treated neighboring farms; and Edward Brown’s UNACCEPTABLE LEVELS, a consideration of the stark increase in humans’ exposure to chemicals and their impact on our bodies.

The Brooklyn Film Festival returns for its sixteenth edition beginning this Friday, May 31. Running through Sunday, June 9, this year’s fest, led by the theme word “Magnetic,” presents 100 films from 24 countries, including nineteen docs, eight of which are features. Notably, given the organizers connection to festival venue indieScreen, prizes include one-week theatrical releases for the winners of best nonfiction and best fiction feature at the Brooklyn single-screen cinema.

Among the doc contenders are three I’ve previously written about: Inigo Westmeier’s DRAGON GIRLS, about Chinese teenage Kung Fu students; Amy Finkel’s FUREVER, on how people deal with the loss of their animal companions; and Dan Hunt’s MR ANGEL (pictured), a portrait of FTM trans porn star turned activist Buck Angel.

Remaining feature docs include: Belisario Franca’s ETERNAL AMAZON, an examination of if and how the Amazon rainforest can be used sustainably; Sarah Friedland’s THE RINK (pictured), about a Newark roller rink and the different people who use it; Cary McClelland’s WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, a multi-character perspective on modern-day Pakistan; Anne Thoma’s MILES & WAR, a portrait of independent peace mediators in conflict zones; and Barbara Miller’s FORBIDDEN VOICES, profiles of three female bloggers fighting censorship in Cuba, Iran, and China.