Festival:
The 69th Berlinale
Dates:
February 7-17
About:
Germany’s premier film festival showcases 85 new documentaries among its nearly 230 feature offerings. Continue reading
Category Archives: Film Festivals
Berlin 2019: Documentary Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
SXSW 2019: Additional Features Announced
SXSW has announced the remainder of its feature film line-up today, for a total of 131 projects. Following is the list of documentary features just revealed, broken down by section:
Festival Favorites:
THE HOTTEST AUGUST
APOLLO 11
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
AQUARELA
Director:Victor Kossakovsky
A deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Filmed at 96 frames per second, it’s a visceral wake-up call that humans are no match for the sheer force and will of Earth’s most precious element.
THE HOTTEST AUGUST
Director: Brett Story
A film about climate change, disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety.
THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY
Director: Alex Gibney
Elizabeth Holmes was once the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, overnight, her $10-billion-dollar company dissolved. The rise and fall of Theranos is a window into the psychology of fraud.
KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE
Director: Rachel Lears
Four women run for Congress, overcoming personal adversity to battle powerful political machines across the country. One of their races will change the country forever.
MAIDEN
Director: Alex Holmes
In a moving portrait of resilience, Alex Holmes chronicles the unprecedented journey of 24-year-old Tracy Edwards and the first all-female sailing crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
PAHOKEE
Directors: Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan
In a small agricultural town in the Florida Everglades, hopes for the future are concentrated on the youth. Four teens face heartbreak and celebrate in the rituals of an extraordinary senior year.
RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS
Director: Janice Engel
Six-feet of Texas trouble, Molly Ivins, a legendary journalist and a warrior for the Bill of Rights, fought Good Old Boy corruption with razor-sharp wit that left both sides of the aisle laughing and craving ink in her columns. Raise Hell y’all!
Documentary Spotlight:
SALVAGE
I AM RICHARD PRYOR
Director: Jesse James Miller
The life story of the legendary performer and iconic social satirist, who transcended race and social barriers by delivering his honest irreverent and biting humor to America’s stages and living rooms until his death at 65.
SALVAGE
Director: Amy C Elliott
The Yellowknife dump, and its massive, unrestricted salvage area, has long played a central role in this remote Canadian city’s civic and social life. Can a colorful group of thrifty locals save it from city bureaucrats determined to close it down?
STATE OF PRIDE
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Fifty years after the Stonewall uprising, Oscar winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman travel to three diverse communities – Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama – for an unflinching look at LGBTQ Pride.
24 Beats Per Second:
IRIS: A SPACE OPERA BY JUSTICE
IRIS: A SPACE OPERA BY JUSTICE
Directors: Andre Chemetoff, Armand Beraud
Iris is a film adaptation of Justice’s Woman World Wide live show from 2017-2018, which is widely regarded as the greatest live electronic concert created. Recorded in an empty and invisible space, Iris focuses on the impressive production and music.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Film Comment Selects 2019: Documentary Overview
Festival:
The 19th Film Comment Selects
Dates:
February 6-10
About:
The editors of Film Comment curate an eclectic mix of new and retrospective films, including five recent works of nonfiction.
LOS REYES
ABSENCE
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On VOD: HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, February 5:
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Director:
RaMell Ross
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, True/False, New Directors/New Films, Full Frame, Sheffield, Ambulante, Champs-Élysées, Maryland, DOK.fest Munich, Martha’s Vineyard African American, San Francisco, Montclair
Notable Recognition:
The documentary has been nominated for the Academy Awards.
About:
An impressionistic portrait of two young African American men in the American South.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
2019 Sundance Awards
The winners of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival were announced at an awards ceremony on Saturday night. w(n)td will resume regular posting starting Monday, but for now, a list of the awards follows: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Special Note: w(n)td & 2019 Sundance
The 2019 Sundance Film Festival begins tonight, Thursday, January 24, and runs through Sunday, February 3. w(n)td will be on hiatus for the duration while I’m busy with my responsibilities as a Programming Associate for the festival. Regular daily weekday posting will not resume until Monday, February 4.
To catch up with Sundance doc programming, here are links to my series of 2019 Sundance documentary profiles, divided by festival section:
US Documentary Competition
ALWAYS IN SEASON | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Washington Post
AMERICAN FACTORY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Steven Bognar
APOLLO 11 | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Neon CNN Films
BEDLAM | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by AJ Eaton
HAIL SATAN? | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Naiti Gámez
JAWLINE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Rachel Lears
MIDNIGHT FAMILY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Luke Lorentzen
MIKE WALLACE IS HERE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by CBS News
MOONLIGHT SONATA: DEAFNESS IN THREE MOVEMENTS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Irene Taylor Brodsky
ONE CHILD NATION | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Nanfu Wang
PAHOKEE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Patrick Bresnan
TIGERLAND | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Discovery/RadicalMedia
UNTITLED AMAZING JOHNATHAN DOCUMENTARY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ap/REX/Shutterstock
World Cinema Documentary Competition
ADVOCATE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Philippe Bellaiche
COLD CASE HAMMARSKJÖLD | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Tore Vollan
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY MOTHER | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Beniamino Barrese
THE EDGE OF DEMOCRACY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Orlando Brito
GAZA | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Andrew McConnell
HONEYLAND | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Samir Ljuma
LAPÜ | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Angello Faccini
THE MAGIC LIFE OF V | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Aleksandar Valeriev Stanishev
MIDNIGHT TRAVELER | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Lutfallah Bakhtary
SEA OF SHADOWS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Richard Ladkani
SHOOTING THE MAFIA | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
STIEG LARSSON: THE MAN WHO PLAYED WITH FIRE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Per Jarl
Documentary Premieres
ASK DR RUTH | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by David Paul Jacobson
THE BRINK | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
THE GREAT HACK | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
HALSTON | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Berry Berenson Perkins
THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Drew Kelly
LOVE, ANTOSHA | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Anton Yelchin
MARIANNE & LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Nicholas Broomfield
MERATA: HOW MUM DECOLONISED THE SCREEN | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by New Zealand Herald
MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Guy Le Querrec
RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Robert Bedell
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Timothy Greenfield-Sanders
UNTOUCHABLE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Barbara Alper/Getty Images
WORDS FROM A BEAR | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jeffrey Palmer
Next
THE INFILTRATORS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Lisa Rinzler
Midnight
MEMORY: THE ORIGINS OF ALIEN | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Dan O’Bannon
Kids
THE ELEPHANT QUEEN | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Janna Deeble
New Frontier
AQUARELA | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | Photo by Victor Kossakovsky
WALDEN | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Spotlight
ANTHROPOCENE: THE HUMAN EPOCH | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Edward Burtynsky
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
MAIDEN | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Tracy Edwards
Special Events
LEAVING NEVERLAND | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
LORENA | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
THIS IS PERSONAL | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Indie Episodic
WU-TANG CLAN: OF MICS AND MEN | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On DVD: STUDIO 54
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, January 29:
STUDIO 54
Director:
Matt Tyrnauer
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Tribeca, Full Frame, CPH:DOX, Reykjavik, Provincetown, Santa Barbara, Hot Springs Doc, Savannah, Vancouver, Sidewalk, Outfest, Frameline
About:
A look back at the meteoric rise and crushing fall of the legendary NYC nightclub.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Slamdance 2019: Documentary Overview
Festival:
The 25th Slamdance Film Festival
Dates:
January 25-31
About:
The smaller, alternative January Park City film festival has an anniversary year, screening 10 docs among its nearly 30 features. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
2019 Sundance Docs in Focus: WU-TANG CLAN: OF MICS AND MEN
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Sacha Jenkins explores the history and cultural significance of the influential hip-hop collective.
Festival Section:
Indie Episodic
Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On TV: THE KING
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens next Monday, January 28:
THE KING
Director:
Eugene Jarecki
Premiere:
Cannes 2017
Select Festivals:
Sundance, Nantucket, Nashville, Seattle, Martha’s Vineyard, London, Sarasota, Chicago DOC 10, Deauville, Zurich, Haifa
About:
A musical road trip across the US in Elvis Presley’s 1963 Rolls Royce explores the rise and fall of the American empire.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
