Coming to DDV today, Tuesday, October 25: AMONG THE BELIEVERS
Hemal Trivedi and Mohammed Ali Naqvi’s exploration of jihadist indoctrination made its bow at Tribeca last year. Screenings followed at IDFA, CPH:DOX, Sydney, AFI Docs, DMZ Docs, Vancouver, Stockholm, Rio, and Human Rights Watch London, among other events.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s American Masters, DVD, and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25: NORMAN LEAR: JUST ANOTHER VERSION OF YOU
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady’s tribute to the television pioneer had its world premiere at Sundance this year. It also screened at Nantucket, Hot Docs, Seattle, Montclair, AFI Docs, True/False, Miami, Sarasota, RiverRun, Biografilm, Traverse City, San Francisco Jewish, and Martha’s Vineyard, among other events.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25: ADVANCED STYLE
Lina Plioplyte’s look at aging in style had its premiere at Hot Docs in 2014. Screenings followed at Montclair, Melbourne, Milwaukee, Calgary, Vancouver, and Atlantic, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Jihlava, the Czech Republic’s noted nonfiction fest, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, kicking off tomorrow, Tuesday, October 25 and running through Sunday, October 30. Approximately 90 new documentary features will unspool during the event, in addition to several screenings of retrospective programming, shorts, and talks. The following offers a number of highlights: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, October 24: THANK YOU FOR PLAYING
David Osit and Malika Zouhali-Worrall’s look at a family’s catharsis through creativity had its world premiere at Tribeca last year. It also screened at New Orleans, Hot Docs, IDFA, Bentonville, Melbourne, Camden, Antenna, and Rio.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to Discovery tomorrow, Saturday, October 22: RATS
Morgan Spurlock’s look at the titular rodents around the globe debuted at Toronto last month. It has also screened at Camden and Fantastic Fest.
Wisely eschewing his signature on-camera presence here for a change, Spurlock remains behind the scenes as he takes viewers through an often disturbing survey of rat infestations that has been conceived of as a horror film in documentary form. Full of shock cuts, skin-crawling sound design, and more scenes of extermination than anyone would likely ever want to witness again, the doc unapologetically presents rats as a pestilence that needs to be wiped out, save for one segment, late in the film, which visits a Hindu temple dedicated to the rodents, its 35,000 rat residents lovingly viewed as reincarnated loved ones. Leaving aside the images of pilgrims praying to the scurrying critters, the remainder of the film details how invasive, ubiquitous, disease-ridden, and resistant to death rats are – this is not for animal lovers or the faint at heart. Spurlock’s main thread consists of an interview with Ed Sheehan, a veteran exterminator who looks like he’s straight out of central casting, smoking a cigar in a dark cellar and sharing his hard-fought wisdom about his longtime nemeses. Woven around his disturbing revelations are segments detailing efforts to combat or study the vermin, from a New Orleans research team documenting the disgusting parasites carried in their bodies and a Vietnam eatery that specializes in rat cuisine to a British rat terrier hunting party and a Mumbai night patrol that tries to keep infestation manageable by killing the rodents with their bare hands. While broad in its shock tactics, the film has undeniable, visceral impact as it successfully taps into the viewer’s primal repulsion to the nocturnal creatures.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Doc World this Sunday, October 23: WAITING FOR AUGUST
Teodora Ana Mihai’s verité study of a Romanian teen’s life had its world premiere at Visions du Réel in 2014. Screenings followed at Hot Docs, Karlovy Vary, Dokufest Kosovo, Moscow, Camden, Bergen, Vancouver, DMZ Docs, IDFA, and BFI London fests, among other events.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to Showtime tomorrow, Saturday, October 22: WEINER
Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg’s behind-the-scenes look at a doomed political comeback made its bow at Sundance this year, where it won a grand jury prize. Its fest circuit has included True/False, New Directors/NewFilms, Hot Docs, Full Frame, RiverRun, Nashville, San Francisco, Montclair, Sydney, and the upcoming DOC NYC, where the film appears on the Short List.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Friday, October 21: MORPHINE: JOURNEY OF DREAMS
Mark Shuman’s chronicle of the alternative band made its bow at the Austin Film Festival in 2014. Screenings followed at IFF Boston, IndieLisboa, and Salem, among other events.
Boston-based band Morphine emerged during the explosion of the indie rock scene of the early 1990s. Characterized as “low rock,” their distinctive sound, under frontman Mark Sandman, led to surprising success, moving from small record deals to major label recording contracts and international touring. Shuman’s fairly conventionally-constructed film painstakingly reveals Morphine’s development and the impact of instant fame on their creative process, offering the reflections of fans, associates, loved ones, and band members – but not Mark Sandman. As reverentially detailed here, in the middle of a performance in an idyllic Italian outdoor concert in 1999, Sandman succumbed to a heart attack. A decade later, the band reunites in Italy to commemorate his passing. While offering a primer to Morphine for the uninitiated, the film remains primarily of interest to pre-existing Morphine fans.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to PBS’ Great Performances tomorrow, Friday, October 21: HAMILTON’S AMERICA
Alex Horwitz’s behind-the-scenes look at the acclaimed musical debuted at the New York Film Festival earlier this month.
There’s no denying that HAMILTON has resonated with audiences, critics, and cultural gatekeepers, bestowing the show and its creator, Lin-Manuel Miranda, with multiple Tony awards, as well as a Grammy and the Pulitzer Prize. Horwitz reveals both the inspiration behind and the impact of the show, drawing on footage of Miranda as he develops his groundbreaking musical starting more than two years before its debut at The Public Theater, and following his efforts as it came together, originally inspired by a random vacation read of a biography of Alexander Hamilton. Interwoven with this behind-the-scenes creative process is more recent, but very manufactured-feeling, footage of cast members exploring some of the history behind the show in visits to places like Valley Forge and Mt Vernon, as well as commentary from admirers like Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Sondheim, and even George W Bush and Elizabeth Warren. Plus, of course, a meeting with President Obama, who famously hosted Miranda when he performed the very first rap number from the show, a performance that went viral. For fans of the show or its soundtrack, Horwitz’s uncritical tribute will be much appreciated; but for those who don’t understand the hype, don’t care for musicals, or just don’t see HAMILTON as the second coming, little here will be convincing.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
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