Category Archives: Film Festivals

On Cable: HOT COFFEE

Coming to HBO for its cable premiere this Monday, June 27: HOT COFFEE

Attorney Susan Saladoff made her filmmaking debut at Sundance this year, where she secured a coveted deal with HBO for HOT COFFEE, a shocking exploration of the ways ordinary citizens have been duped into supporting tort reform, thereby gravely limiting our ability to use the civil justice system to our advantage against corporate wrongdoing. Since January, her documentary has traveled the festival circuit extensively, most recently winning the Grand Jury Documentary Award at Seattle.

I profiled the film before Sundance here.

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Special Screening: THE REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films this Saturday, June 25: THE REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED

Directors Eric Strauss and Daniele Anastasion took home the Documentary Cinematography Award at their film’s premiere at Sundance this January. Since then, the doc has screened at more than a dozen additional festivals, including True/False, Cleveland, Hot Docs, San Francisco, BAMcinemaFEST, and Silverdocs.

I offered my thoughts on this complex portrait of a Liberian mass murderer turned born again evangelist prior to Sundance here.

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In Theatres: IF A TREE FALLS

Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this Wednesday, June 22 (and expanding to other cities through the rest of the summer): IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT

Director Marshall Curry and Co-Director Sam Cullman premiered this potent exploration of radical environmentalism at Sundance this year, where it picked up the fest’s Documentary Editing Award. It picked up additional awards at Dallas, Nashville, and Santa Cruz.

My pre-Sundance profile of the film is here.

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Northside 2011: Documentary Overview

Brooklyn’s Northside Festival is the third of three posts on events beginning in NYC tomorrow. Now in its third year, the event, organized by The L Magazine, spotlights music, film, art, and ideas – a sort of mini-SXSW in Williamsburg and Greenpoint. Running June 16-19, there’s a little bit of something for everyone.

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Human Rights Watch International Film Festival 2011: Documentary Overview

In this second of three postings about NYC based festivals beginning tomorrow, I’m looking at the non-fiction offerings of the Human Rights Watch International Film Festival. A mainstay for over twenty years, HRWIFF has separate events in NYC and London, with a selection of films from those lineups included in a traveling festival screening around the US and Canada. The NYC festival brings 18 films to the Film Society of Lincoln Center through the end of the month.

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BAMcinemaFEST 2011: Documentary Overview

In the first of three postings today about NYC festivals all starting this week, we’ll start with BAMcinemaFEST. Now in its third year, this BAM Rose Cinemas based event begins tomorrow and runs through June 26. More or less a successor to Sundance at BAM, which ran for three editions, this popular Brooklyn event features a great selection of strong films culled from top fests, including but no longer limited to Sundance – many films this year made their debuts at Berlin and SXSW. In addition, the fest features special retro and outdoor screenings.

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In Theatres: PAGE ONE

Coming to NYC’s Angelika Film Center and to the brand new Elinor Bunin Munroe Film Center at the Film Society of Lincoln Center as its inaugural first-run release this Friday, June 17: PAGE ONE: INSIDE THE NEW YORK TIMES

Andrew Rossi premiered his behind-the-scenes look at our nation’s premiere newspaper this January at Sundance (with a slightly longer subtitle) and has taken it to a number of other festivals leading up to its theatrical release this week.

For my pre-Sundance profile on the film, click here.

The doc will expand to additional cities through the end of July – for additional locations and dates, click here.

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In Theatres: BUCK

Coming to NYC’s IFC Center next Friday, June 17: BUCK

Having taken the festival circuit by storm since its world premiere at Sundance in January, where it took home the US Documentary Audience Award, Cindy Meehl’s profile of Buck Brannaman, the inspiration for the Horse Whisperer, comes to NYC for its theatrical run.

For my pre-Sundance take on the film, click here.

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DocPoint NYC 2011 in Brief

In celebration of its tenth anniversary, DocPoint: Helsinki Documentary Film Festival, the largest non-fiction event in the Nordic region, has organized DocPoint NYC, a weeklong program of Finnish docs from the past decade from June 8-13, with screenings at MoMA, 92Y Tribeca, Scandinavia House, and Union Docs. In addition, Scandinavia House will host two panels: Digital Distribution on Thursday, June 9 and Doc Power on Friday, June 10.

The Helsinkini festival’s regular dates – during the second half of Sundance – have meant that I’ve never been able to attend. Unfortunately and coincidentally, the NYC event takes place the exact dates that I’m out of the country attending the Transilvania International Film Festival. Despite that, between festival appearances elsewhere and some handy screeners, I’ve been able to see quite a few of the dozens of films that are being offered up to New York audiences, many for the first time.

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Special Screening: GRAB

Making its NYC premiere at the National Museum of the American Indian on Thursday, June 16 and Saturday, June 18: GRAB

Billy Luther premiered his doc at this year’s Sundance. It offers a striking, impressionistic look at a unique Native American celebration involving the throwing of food and other items from rooftops.

I wrote about the film before its Sundance premiere here.

Luther’s previous film, MISS NAVAJO, which also screened at Sundance and documents a Native American beauty and culture pageant, is also part of the Museum’s programming.

Note: Admission is free, but reservations are recommended – see Facebook page for details. A Q&A will follow the screening. Also, free GRAB bags will be distributed to select attendees at both screenings.

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