Category Archives: Film

January 24, 2019 · 3:02 PM

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

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance

January 24, 2019 · 2:12 PM

On VOD: HOT TO TROT

Coming to VOD next Tuesday, January 29:
HOT TO TROT

Director:
Gail Freedman

Premiere:
Frameline 2017

Select Festivals:
NewFest, Documentary Edge, LGBT fests in Boston, Atlanta, and London

About:
A profile of same-sex competitive ballroom dancers.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

January 24, 2019 · 1:31 PM

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.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance

January 24, 2019 · 12:46 PM

On VOD: THE AGGRESSIVES

New to VOD this week:
THE AGGRESSIVES

Director:
Daniel Peddle

Premiere:
SXSW 2005

Select Festivals:
NewFest, Frameline, Outfest, London LGBT, Africa in the Picture, Cleveland

About:
An early 2000s exploration of a male-identified lesbian subculture.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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January 24, 2019 · 12:01 PM

Special Screening: SAMMY DAVIS JR: I’VE GOTTA BE ME

SAMMY DAVIS, JR: I’VE GOTTA BE ME

Coming to NYC’s JCC in Manhattan next Monday, January 28:
SAMMY DAVIS JR: I’VE GOTTA BE ME

Director:
Sam Pollard

Premiere:
Toronto 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, AFI Fest, Chicago, Philadelphia, Woodstock, New York Jewish, RiverRun, St Louis,

About:
A star-studded roster of interviewees pay tribute to the legendary, multi-talented song-and-dance man.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
A star of stage and screen and member of the legendary Rat Pack, Sammy Davis Jr broke racial barriers, but paid a heavy price for it. Defying societal norms concerning interracial romance, religion, and political affiliation, Davis courted controversy many times, but always with grace and honesty. Filmmaker Sam Pollard explores all the complexities of Davis, crossing several phases of American show business. The film is loaded with dazzling footage of Davis as dancer, singer, and impressionist that will leave you gasping with delight and awe.

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January 24, 2019 · 11:15 AM

On TV: MAMA COLONEL

Coming to PBS’s AfroPoP next Monday, January 28:
MAMA COLONEL

Director:
Dieudo Hamadi

Premiere:
Berlin 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, IDFA, Sheffield, MoMA Doc Fortnight, DocsMX, AFI Docs, Cinéma du Réel, Dok.Fest Munich, Docs Against Gravity, Encounters, Cinema Verite, One World, Guth Gafa, Dokufest, RIDM, Zurich, Göteborg, Vienna, Zanzibar, Durban, Rio

About:
A portrait of a fierce female Congolese police chief.

Veteran police officer Honorine Munyole arrives at her new post in the city of Kisangani to face daunting challenges in her mission to protect women and children from sexual violence. She meets with women in the area who tell of the rape they endured and the atrocities they witnessed during the Six-Day War of 2000 between Uganda and Rwanda within the city, but then finds their credibility questioned by others claiming more genuine victimhood. Munyole warns against mistreating children but faces all-too-common cases of adults beating, imprisoning, and starving kids as punishment for practicing witchcraft. Hamadi takes an observational approach, which, while capturing the stark realities of his subject’s work, limit the extent to which Munyole reveals herself to any great extent. Despite this, the film does convey her determination to make a difference despite the odds.

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January 23, 2019 · 3:02 PM

On TV: BRESLIN AND HAMILL: DEADLINE ARTISTS

Coming to HBO next Monday, January 28:
BRESLIN AND HAMILL: DEADLINE ARTISTS

Directors:
Jonathan Alter, John Block, and Steve McCarthy

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

About:
A profile of legendary newspaper NYC journalists Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Jimmy Breslin and Pete Hamill defined an era of New York journalism in the late 20th century. They were swashbuckling liberal newspaper columnists who spoke for ordinary people and brought passion, wit and literary merit to their brilliant reporting about their city and the larger nation.

Breslin’s column was a longtime fixture of the New York Daily News. His best-known reporting includes his chilling correspondence with the Son of Sam and his column after John F. Kennedy’s funeral, which provided an Everyman perspective on the tragedy. Pete Hamill was a columnist and editor for the New York Daily News and the New York Post. He moved with ease through different circles, from blue collar workers to Hollywood celebrities. Both men wrote novels, nonfiction and memoirs, covering a range of topics from politics to crime to sports, always deeply rooted in the neighborhoods of New York City.

Veteran journalist Jonathan Alter, author of several books including THE CENTER HOLDS: OBAMA AND HIS ENEMIES, teams with Emmy Award-winning filmmakers John Block and Steve McCarthy to plunge us into Breslin and Hamill’s times, while probing explosive issues of race, class and the practice of journalism that resonate powerfully in our own time. They capture the writers in their own words and with added insights from peers such as Gloria Steinem and Gay Talese, as well as devoted readers such as Spike Lee and Colin Quinn. It’s essential viewing for anyone who loves journalism or New York City.

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January 23, 2019 · 2:12 PM

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 →