Category Archives: Film

New to DVD this week: POVERTY, INC

Michael Matheson Miller’s investigation of charity’s pitfalls premiered at Anthem, the Libertarian Film Festival, in 2014. The doc also screened at Austin, Docutah, Chagrin Doc, Savannah, Denver, and Leeds.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, March 1: GORED

Ido Mizrahy’s portrait of a matador made its bow at Tribeca last year. It went on to screen at CPH:DOX, Mar del Plata, Hot Springs, Raindance, Marfa, Key West, and the Bahamas fests. The doc now comes to DVD and to VOD platforms including iTunes, Amazon, and Google Play, among others.

Mizrahy’s film follows Antonio Barrera, who holds the unfortunate record of being the most gored bullfighter ever, as he debates whether he should finally retire for the good of his family. His ignominious track record doesn’t have Spanish promoters rushing him with offers, though, so the conflict is simply that he wants to succeed against the odds. However, his (in)famous luck with the bulls wins him fans in Mexico, paving the way for a farewell performance in Spain where he can finally prove his mettle. Barrera makes for an unusual subject – he is earnest and likeable enough, but it’s hard to sympathize with, or even truly understand, his quixotic – and dangerous – endeavors. Mizrahy doesn’t seem to want to engender any sense of Schadenfreude either, so the audience is left shaking its head as to why the matador persists in a field in which he’s clearly not suited.

New to DVD this week: WHY I’M NOT ON FACEBOOK

Brant Pinvidic’s exploration of the popular social networking site had its world premiere at Woodstock in 2014. It also screened at smaller events like the SF Indie and Manhattan film fests.

Pinvidic addresses the titular scenario on the eve of his son’s thirteenth birthday, the age when the latter becomes eligible to open a Facebook account – which he definitely wants to have. Just why isn’t his dad on the site? Taking a personal approach a la Morgan Spurlock, the filmmaker joins Facebook under an assumed name, easily amasses “friends” he’s never met, and serves as the constantly on-screen guide through the pitfalls of the social media age. On a platform that pushes users to share everything – even if prospective employers or college admissions officers might happen to see it – privacy, and, at times, common sense, are things of the past. But anyone who has been awake within the last decade knows this already, and that’s the main problem with Pinvidic’s film: there’s nothing new here – not the sociological or pop psychological analysis, nor the silly, tired pranks he stages, such as trying to get Kathy Griffin’s attention with a giant sign or showing up to the home of a Facebook “friend” he’s never met. Why isn’t he on Facebook? Who cares?

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed series tonight, Tuesday, March 1: REVOLUTION ’67

Marylou Tibaldo-Bongiorno and Jerome Bongiorno’s revisitation of the Newark Riots premiered at Full Frame in 2007. Other screenings included Sarasota, Atlanta, Rhode Island, Newark Black, Dallas Black, and the Langston Hughes African American fests. The doc was originally broadcast on POV in July 2007 and makes a return to public television as the WORLD Channel continues its focus on civil rights in America.

Over the course of six days in July 1967, frustration and anger amongst Newark’s African American population boiled over after reports spread that policemen had beat a black taxi driver to death for a minor traffic violation. By the end of the uprising, more than two dozen people had died, property damage was extensive, and the city was irrevocably changed. Through the testimony of several individuals who were in Newark at the time, archival footage, and animation and graphics that frankly haven’t aged well since the film’s debut, the Bongiornos recreate this tumultuous event. In the process, the commentators lay bare the inequities and systemic abuses that precipitated the eruption, grounding them not only in issues of racism and control, but, just as importantly, in questions of poverty and economic justice. While conventionally constructed, the doc, though focused on the past, remains unfortunately all too topical for the present.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 1: SUNSHINE SUPERMAN

Marah Strauch’s chronicle of the origins of BASE jumping had its premiere at Toronto in 2014. It went on to screen at the New York Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard, Sarasota, Montclair, Cleveland, Vancouver, and Florida fests, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 1: FINDING GASTON

Patricia Perez’s exploration of a country through its cuisine debuted at San Sebastian last year. Other fest screenings have included Napa Valley, Miami, Cine+Mas SF Latino, and the NYC Food Film fests.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to NYC’s JCC Manhattan CineMatters series tonight, Tuesday, March 1: THE GOOD SON

Shirly Berkowitz’s portrait of a transgender woman’s unorthodox transition made its bow at IDFA in 2013. The film went on to screen at Thessaloniki Doc, Planete+ Doc, DocsBarcelona, Myanmar Human Rights, and Jewish fests in Washington, Maine, and Australia, among others.

Ever feeling an outcast, Or, a young Israeli man, finally comes to the realization of her transgender identity. Faced with conservative parents and lacking in funds to have gender reassignment surgery in Bangkok, she makes the desperate decision to fake an acceptance letter to Oxford University in order to scam the financial support from her proud mother and father – secretly filming all the while. Turning to Berkowitz to help shape the very rough material, and to accompany her as a friendly face in Thailand, the director continues filming, capturing Or’s physical transformation and gradual blossoming in her new identity. Pivotally, Berkowitz also follows her subject back to Israel where she must face her fears to confront her family, admit her subterfuge, and make amends, which helps redeem a subject and a project with decidedly problematic ethics.