One of the country’s best-regarded regional film events, the Cleveland International Film Festival, opens next Wednesday, April 3 and runs through Sunday, April 14. I’ve only attended CIFF once, and was impressed by the dedication of its audience, who eschew parties to cram as many films as possible into their schedules. Showing remarkable audience growth over the past several years, this year’s edition, its 37th, has expanded its programming selections, offering nearly 180 feature length and more than 160 short films. Included among these are more than 70 feature length docs, appearing in various sidebars – from the LGBT-oriented “10% Cinema” to the femme focused “Women of the World” – and part of a number of competitions, highlighted below: Continue reading
Category Archives: Film Festivals
Cleveland International Film Festival 2013: Documentary Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013 in Brief, Part Two
Earlier this week, I posted a pointer to my Indiewire article on different aspects of this year’s Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, including the Docs in Progress selections, several of the Greek films, and the awards. In this and one additional post later this week, I’ll cover a number of other titles screened in the TDF’s various sections. First up, highlights from “Views of the World,” “Stories to Tell,” and “Portraits – Human Journeys.” Continue reading
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In Theatres & On VOD: ROOM 237
Coming to theatres and VOD this Friday, March 29: ROOM 237
Rodney Ascher’s creative exploration of cinephilic obsession centered around THE SHINING made its debut at Sundance last year. It’s gone on to screen at Cannes, New York, Toronto, Fantastic Fest, and Chicago, among others. In addition to theatrical engagements, the doc will be available on VOD via iTunes, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, Playstation, XBOX, Vudu, and Time Warner.
I previously profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013 in Brief, Part One
I just returned from the mother(and father)land last night, having spent five days in Greece for the 15th anniversary Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. It was my second year attending the event for Indiewire, and my article is now up here, covering the awards, the Docs in Progress section, and several of the Greek films – THE GROCER, pictured, represents all three. I plan on posting here later this week with thoughts on additional films screened.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
Cinéma du Reél 2013 Overview
Paris’ documentary festival, Cinéma du Réel, opens tomorrow, Thursday, March 21, and runs through Sunday, March 31. Since 1979, the event has promoted non-fiction film at the famed Le Centre Pompidou and other locations around Paris. This year’s edition includes nearly forty new feature length documentaries, plus scores of shorts, retrospective screenings, panels, installations, and other special events. Although I’m not attending, the following offers some highlights from this year’s program: Continue reading
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SXSW 2013: Docs in Brief, Part Three: Other Sections
My coverage of non-fiction films from the just completed SXSW wraps up with this look at a few films each from four of the non-competitive sections of the festival, Visions, Special Events, SXGlobal, and 24 Beats Per Second – I previously wrote about Competition and Documentary Spotlight titles. Once again, I didn’t have the opportunity to see all the films in these sections that I was hoping to, and would single out a few that were also on my list – THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX, THE PUNK SINGER, and BAYOU MAHARAJAH – that I’d like to catch elsewhere. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
New Directors/New Films 2013: Documentary Overview
This Wednesday, March 20, kicks off the 42nd annual New Directors/New Films. A co-presentation of the Museum of Modern Art and the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the event runs through Sunday, March 31, and presents a very selective showcase of the work of international and US emerging filmmakers. Screening just over forty films – features and shorts combined – the series has a track record of championing the early work of now well-established filmmakers, from Pedro Almodovar to Spike Lee.
Six feature docs are included in this year’s lineup, as well as one hybrid project. I’ve previously written about Sarah Polley’s exceptional non-fiction debut, STORIES WE TELL, and about Joshua Oppenheimer’s divisive but must-see THE ACT OF KILLING. I’ll be covering ND/NF’s closing night film, Penny Lane’s engrossing look at the Nixon administration, OUR NIXON (pictured), in my third SXSW post tomorrow.
I haven’t yet seen the remaining doc offerings, but hope to have a chance to do so before the end of the series: Lyubov Arkus’ ANTON’S RIGHT HERE (pictured), a personal chronicle of the filmmaker’s relationship with a severely autistic teenager; Libbie D Cohn and JP Sniadecki’s PEOPLE’S PARK, which draws the viewer through the various goings on at a public park in China through a single tracking shot; and Eryk Rocha’s JARDS, a cinematic duet between the filmmaker and his subject, acclaimed Brazilian singer/songwriter Jards Macalé. Finally, Tizza Covi and Rainer Frimmel’s THE SHINE OF DAY continues the pair’s string of hybrid documentary/dramas with an unconventional study of two performers.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations, Releases
SXSW 2013: Docs in Brief, Part Two: Documentary Spotlight
Continuing my roundup of SXSW documentary (I wrote about Competition films last week here), today’s post looks at the festival’s non-competitive Documentary Spotlight section. Of the nineteen films in this category, I sadly only got to see seven. I’m especially sad to have missed I AM DIVINE, BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, TINY: A STORY ABOUT LIVING SMALL, REWIND THIS!, THE NETWORK, MEDORA, and this section’s Audience Award winner, AN UNREAL DREAM, but I’ll hopefully get to catch up with those elsewhere on the circuit soon. I’ll cover the remaining sections in a post tomorrow. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
SXSW 2013: Docs in Brief, Part One: Competition
Ever since my first time there in 2009, SXSW has been one of my favorite stops on my annual festival circuit. There’s a casualness to everything in Austin that makes it feel often less like work and more like fun. Add in good barbecue and Mexican food, fun traditions like seeing films at the Alamo Drafthouse, and catching up with farflung friends, and the event serves as a great transition to Spring spent away from still-too-cold New York City. Of course, this isn’t to discount the films themselves, still the main reason to attend. Even though I missed quite a few titles I’d been hoping to see, I still saw enough of this year’s lineup to devote three posts. Today’s will look at the Competition, while upcoming ones will offer brief thoughts on the Documentary Spotlight, Visions, 24 Beats Per Second, SXGlobal, and Special Events. Continue reading
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Thessaloniki Documentary Festival 2013 Overview
Next week, I’ll be returning to the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival for the second time, catching the second half of the event’s 15th anniversary edition, which begins this Friday, March 15 with opening night film FIRST POSITION, and runs through Sunday, March 24.
Once again, I’ll be covering the festival for Indiewire, but am also planning on offering a round-up of additional films on w(n)td following my return. Director Dimitri Eipides and his team have put together an impressive program for their anniversary edition, which tallies to approximately 200 films – shorts and features combined – the bulk showcasing new international and Greek productions, as well as a retrospective series of favorites from the fest’s first fifteen years, and a tribute to Chilean master director Patricio Guzmán. What follows are highlights of newer titles that I haven’t yet seen that I’m hoping to have a chance to view while in Greece. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
what (not) to doc 