Category Archives: Film

Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, August 28:
RAISING BERTIE

Director:
Margaret Byrne

Premiere:
Full Frame 2016

Select Festivals:
Sarasota, Bentonville, AFI Docs, Atlanta Docufest, Chicago, Citizen Jane, Cucalorus, Big Sky Doc

About:
An observational coming-of-age portrait of three African-American teenagers in rural North Carolina.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Showtime this Friday, August 25:
WHITNEY. “CAN I BE ME”

Directors:
Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, AFI Docs, Sydney, Karlovy Vary, Documentary Edge, Los Angeles, Galway

About:
An intimate reassessment of Whitney Houston’s life and career.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, August 22:
FROM THE ASHES

Director:
Michael Bonfiglio

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Washington DC Environmental

About:
An exploration of the coal industry’s past, present, and likely future.

Putting the lie to the rhetoric that the Obama administration somehow waged a “war on coal” to cripple the mining industry, this conventional but effective film instead convincingly demonstrates the realities behind the continuing decline of coal use and the shuttering of mines, locating both primarily in the explosion of cheap natural gas, rather than regulatory attempts. Bonfiglio traces the history of America’s usage of coal, the industry’s major role in contributing to serious environmental and health concerns, and the global social and economic changes that have resulted in its being phased out. Miners and their families, facing a lack of development of other industries thanks to the lobbying power of the mining industry, are caught between unrealistic promises of the current administration to revitalize a moribund industry, and losing what little they have, unless they are able to transition, as some are shown here, to a growing renewable energies industry.

Coming to PBS tomorrow, Wednesday, August 23:
THE FARTHEST

Director:
Emer Reynolds

Premiere:
Dublin 2017

Select Festivals:
Tribeca, Edinburgh, Seattle, AFI Docs, Sydney, New Zealand, Telluride Mountainfilm

About:
A comprehensive history of the Voyager mission, from inception to execution to the present day.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS tomorrow, Tuesday, August 22:
DIANA: HER STORY

Director:
Kevin Sim

Premiere:
PBS (August 2017)

About:
Twenty years after her death, Princess Diana reveals her intimate thoughts on the Monarchy.

Sim’s project is one of several being released this month commemorating the beloved British figure on the anniversary of her tragic death in 1997. Drawing extensively from video footage filmed by the Princess of Wales’ speech coach, Peter Settelen, the doc offers Diana reflecting on her initially fairy tale romance with Prince Charles, one that captured the attention of the world, and how it came to a sad end. Recorded while separated from Charles as she sought to hone her public speaking abilities and to counter what she and others perceived as an effort by the Royal Family to phase her out, this footage shows a thoughtful princess confiding her feelings of loneliness and frustration as the initial whirlwind of Charles’ courtship gave way to a quickly dawning awareness of the open secret of his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Sim may assume, probably rightly, that his intended audience is already well-versed in the details of Diana and Charles lives, leaving viewers less familiar with Royal history occasionally a bit in the dark. Regardless, rather than aiming for a comprehensive recounting, the engaging portrait instead deliberately presents only Diana’s perspective, bolstered by the memories of close friends and associates.

Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, August 21:
TRIBAL JUSTICE

Director:
Anne Makepeace

Premiere:
Santa Barbara 2017

Select Festivals:
Brooklyn, Berkshire, Big Sky Doc, Full Frame, Woods Hole

About:
A portrait of two Native American tribal court judges in California.

Makepeace’s film explores the tribal court system of the two largest tribes in California, the Yurok in the north and the Quechan in the South, through the caseloads of Abby (Yurok) and Claudette (Quechan). Because the tribes are sovereign nations, they are able to work with the California state courts in many cases to take over jurisdiction of certain matters related to their tribespeople. In contrast to conventional Western conceptions of the judicial system as a place for punishment, the tribal court system instead practices restorative justice, with the aim to reform offenders or issues within the community so that they can escape from cyclical patterns of recidivism and crime. While Abby largely deals with community matters – addiction, substance abuse, child welfare – Claudette’s story is more complicated in that also herself becomes part of the court system as the guardian of her wayward nephew, Isaac, a 17-year-old just steps away from becoming another statistic in state prison. Makepeace takes a no-frills but effective approach, and benefits from two appealing protagonists, in exploring the possibilities – and limits – of restorative vs punitive justice.