Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 6:
MY REMBRANDT
Director:
Oeke Hoogendijk
World Premiere:
IDFA 2019
Select Festivals:
Docs Against Gravity, Montclair, Vancouver, GlobeDocs, Docville, Cologne
About:
Profiles of various owners – private and institutional – of works by the Old Master.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 6:
ACASA, MY HOME
Director:
Radu Ciorniciuc
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Docaviv, DOK.fest Munich, Thessaloniki Doc, Doc Edge, One World, Moscow Doc, Sarajevo, Cartagena, Krakow, Transilvania, Zurich, Cologne, El Gouna
About:
A Roma family is forced to leave their self-sufficient life off the grid for the city.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s AfroPoP today, Monday, April 5:
MAMA GLORIA
Director:
Luchina Fisher
World Premiere:
Chicago 2020
Select Festivals:
Athena, BFI Flare, Oxford, Kansas City
About:
A profile of a pioneering Black transwoman.
Growing up Black and gender nonconforming on the South Side of Chicago in the 1950s, Gloria Allen suffered dearly in her early years, facing brutal violence and rape in high school. Despite this, she found support and acceptance from her mother and grandmother, as well as from the vibrant community of the city’s drag ball culture, and professional fulfillment as a nurse. In more recent years, recognizing her relative good fortune and the serious challenges faced by her trans sisters, Allen began offering charm school classes for young homeless trans women, passing on the lessons she learned from her mother and grandmother to instill self-confidence and pride. As an older trans woman of color, Allen is a notably worthwhile subject for a portrait, but one wishes the film were stronger as a whole. Feeling at times like a filmed oral history, Luchina Fisher’s doc lacks polish and visual interest, and is buoyed primarily by Allen’s positivity and charm.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to Netflix today, Monday, April 5:
CODED BIAS
Director:
Shalini Kantayya
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
Human Rights Watch, Hot Docs, Full Frame, SXSW, San Francisco, Hamptons, Provincetown, New Zealand, Melbourne, DokuFest, BlackStar, Docaviv, Warsaw, Mill Valley, Denver
About:
An exploration of the disturbing gender and racial bias prevalent in artificial intelligence and machine learning.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to FX tonight, Friday, April 2:
HYSTERICAL
Director:
Andrea Nevins
World Premiere:
SXSW 2021
About:
A look at stand-up comedy from the perspective of female comedians.
Stand up comedy has long been a boy’s club. Women in the field have been dismissed as just not being funny, frequently are pitted against each other, and subjected to sexual harassment or worse. This and more is covered in filmmaker Andrea Nevins’ survey, which gathers the perspectives of 15 or so female comedians, ranging from vets like Margaret Cho and Judy Gold to more relative newcomers like Kelly Bachman. Separated into loose chapters – unfortunately complete with that over-used convention, the definition entry heading – the film explores the real obstacles that have been in the way of woman in comedy, but ultimately embraces an affirming tone that celebrates its subjects achievements. The comics featured are funny, candid, and vulnerable, making the project worth the watch, but the film suffers from the basic problem of surveys: in attempting to profile so many subjects, and cover so many topics, it can only scratch the surface before moving on to the next funny lady or the next serious point.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to the newly re-opened Film Forum today, Friday, April 2:
THE TRUFFLE HUNTERS
Director:
Michael Dweck, Gregory Kershaw
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Cannes, Telluride, Toronto, New York, San Sebastian, Zurich, Hamptons, Mill Valley, El Gouna, Aspen, Taipei Golden Horse, Thessaloniki Doc, Stockholm, Singapore
Notable Recognition:
The doc has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
About:
Enter the secretive world of the only people–and dogs–who are able to find the elusive white Alba truffle, the most expensive ingredient in the world.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to virtual cinemas via the Metrograph tomorrow, Friday, April 2:
MAŁNI – TOWARDS THE OCEAN, TOWARDS THE SHORE
Director:
Sky Hopinka
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
True/False, Dokufest, BlackStar, Milwaukee, RIDM, Vienna, ImagineNative, Art of the Real
About:
A poetic reflection on indigenous language, myths, and the spirit world.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, April 2:
NEVER TOO LATE: THE DOC SEVERINSEN STORY
Director:
Kevin S Bright, Jeff Consiglio
World Premiere:
Cleveland 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
Full Frame, Nashville, Milwaukee, Virginia, Guanajuato, Mill Valley, BendFilm, Tallgrass, Portland, Sound Unseen
About:
A portrait of the legendary TONIGHT SHOW bandleader.
Doc Severinsen entered the homes of American audiences nightly for three decades as the eccentrically-dressed bandleader of Johnny Carson’s TONIGHT SHOW. While the musician left the show upon the host’s retirement in 1992, he never stopped performing. Now, in his nineties, Severinsen maintains a grueling touring, performance, and teaching schedule, working out multiple times a week to maintain his health and strength. Filmmakers Kevin S Bright and Jeff Consiglio compose a loving tribute to the performer, exploring both his past and his present-day activities. While they address some heavier elements – notably the impact of Doc’s career on his personal life, including some infidelity – the filmmakers generally keep the proceedings fairly light and entertaining, resulting in a solid portrait with considerable nostalgic appeal.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to VOD this week:
SAMUEL IN THE CLOUDS
Director:
Pieter Van Eecke
World Premiere:
Mooov 2016
Select Festivals:
Docville, Docaviv, Nederlands, Docs Barcelona, Full Frame, Chicago, One World, Thessaloniki Doc, Washington DC Environmental, Beldocs, SF Green, Mountainfilm
About:
A portrait of Bolivia’s only ski lift operator as he contemplates his future after climate change causes the permanent closure of the ski resort.
Samuel operated Chacaltaya’s ski lift like his father did before him, before the latter’s death years ago. He still manages the ski lodge, hosting small groups of tourists and making them tea, though he does not get paid anymore. Instead of skiing, tourists take in the views. Samuel and his wife contemplate what the future holds if he can no longer do his job. Meanwhile a small group of climate scientists record data in their lab near the ski resort, noting the rate of glacier melting, and worry about the seemingly irreversible temperature shift which may likely lead to drought in the region. Filmmaker Pieter Van Eecke takes a strictly observational approach and benefits from the photogenic scenery, but, as a whole, constructs a quiet, low-energy film that feels longer than it actually is.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Festival:
The 6th Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema
Dates:
March 31-April 12
About:
This annual showcase from Film at Lincoln Center and Cinema Tropical goes online this year with a scaled-back lineup that includes only three doc features:
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
