Coming to VOD today, Friday, October 2: FINDERS KEEPERS
Bryan Carberry and Clay Tweel’s chronicle of a strange property battle had its world premiere at Sundance this year. It has gone on to SXSW, Hot Docs, RiverRun, Sarasota, Traverse City, IFF Boston, New Zealand, Melbourne, and Sundance NextFest, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 2: BRAND: A SECOND COMING
Ondi Timoner’s portrait of provocateur comedian Russell Brand had its world premiere at SXSW this year. It has gone on to screen at BFI London, Los Angeles, Sarasota, Ashland, Sidewalk, Sydney, Melbourne, Vancouver, and Seattle, among others.
Taking on a subject who has likened himself to the Messiah is no easy task, but Timoner manages to balance his admitted narcissism with insight more often then not, preventing this from being a celebrity puff piece or hagiographic biopic. Her film takes on a lot – not only providing an extended history of the life and meteoric career of the comedian for those who may only know him as a short-lived Mr Katy Perry, but also chronicling his descent and recovery from addiction, his re-invention as a social critic/activist/author, and, if that’s not enough, his global stand-up tour, “Messiah Complex.” Timoner’s ultimately compelling film successfully captures Brand’s ambivalence as he seeks to transcend what’s expected of his celebrity and agitate for something else – even if he’s often a bit hazy on the details.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV tomorrow, Friday, October 2: AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE
Andreas Johnsen’s chronicle of the dissident artist’s ongoing troubles with the Chinese government made its world premiere at IDFA in 2013. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, One World, Istanbul, Tempo, Tampere, and DocsBarcelona, among others.
I previously wrote about the film upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, September 29: THE CREEPING GARDEN
Tim Grabham and Jasper Sharp’s exploration of the strange world of slime mold debuted at Fantasia last year. Other screenings have included Hot Docs, Fantastic Fest, Imagine Science, CPH:DOX, Leeds, Cleveland, New Horizons, Revelation, and DOXA.
Grabham and Sharp go on a wide-ranging cinematic forage for slime mold, the bizarre, mobile organisms that used to be considered fungi, behave a bit like a plant and a bit like an animal, and come in a range of types, most resembling something out of a science fiction film. Rather than taking a straightforward TV nature doc approach, the film refreshingly adopts a distinctly quirky tone, down to its unearthly score, as the directors profile several individuals who work with slime mold in intriguing ways. Beyond scientists or amateur foragers who study the strange lifeform, the film visits with a visual artist who collaborates with slime mold, a computer scientist who has demonstrated their ability to create some rather uncanny mapping of pathways, and a composer who incorporates them into his won creative work. Beyond this, the filmmakers even revisit a fun 1931 film starring slime molds, Percy Smith’s MAGIC MIXIES, and its pioneering use of time-lapse photography. The overall result is a clever, fascinating work of science-nonfiction.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
The Hudson Valley’s Woodstock Film Festival kicks off its 16th edition tonight, Wednesday, September 30. Before the fest wraps this Sunday, October 4, it will present just over 50 features – among them, two dozen documentaries.
Included in this number are a few world premieres: Justin Schein and David Mehlman’s LEFT ON PURPOSE, in which a biography about an activist threatens to become about his suicide; Jon Bowermaster’s AFTER THE SPILL, an examination of the impact of the Deepwater Horizon spill on Louisiana; and Ben Selkow’s BURIED ABOVE GROUND, a profile of three individuals facing PTSD.
Other nonfiction offerings include: Sam Pressman’s FITZCARRALDO inspired RECONQUEST OF THE USELESS; Ron Nyswaner’s portrait of a character actor, SHE’S THE BEST THING IN IT; Leon Gast’s look at aspiration through athletics, SPORTING DREAMS; Hillevi Loven’s coming of age portrait of a religious young FTM in the deep south, DEEP RUN; Noa Roth’s personal exploration of divorce on an ultra-orthodox Jewish clan, FAMILY MATTERS; and Holly Morris and Anne Bogart’s portrait of a community of elderly women living in a notoriously contaminated area, THE BABUSHKAS OF CHERNOBYL (pictured).
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 29: THE HUMAN EXPERIMENT
Dana Nachman and Don Hardy’s warning of the dangers of everyday chemicals had its premiere at Mill Valley in 2013. Other fests have included IDFA, Big Sky, One World, Boulder, Cleveland, Nashville, Planete + Doc, and Washington DC’s Environmental fests, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its initial release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, September 29: CARTEL LAND
Matthew Heineman’s immersive exploration into the response to Mexico’s cartel violence debuted at Sundance this year, winning two awards. Other fests have includes Nantucket, True/False, Martha’s Vineyard, Full Frame, Dallas, Sarasota, Tribeca, IFF Boston, Documenta, Docville, Seattle, Sydney, Human Rights Watch, AFI Docs, and Sheffield, among others.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction as the series’ Fall season opener tonight, Tuesday, September 29: WINTER ON FIRE: UKRAINE’S FIGHT FOR FREEDOM
Evgeny Afineevsky’s immersive chronicle of a popular rebellion made its debut at Venice. It went on to screen at Telluride and Toronto, where it won an audience award.
Covering the same ground as the more formally rigorous MAIDAN, Afineevsky’s approach to the December 2013-February 2014 Ukrainian revolution is more in the vein of THE SQUARE, focusing on the masses gathered in Kiev’s Independence Square to protest Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych’s collusion with Russia to keep Ukraine out of the European Union. While providing a panoramic view of the three-month standoff, the film weaves in profiles a diverse group of individual protestors, highlighting their resilience in the face of brutal crackdowns by the government’s special police force, the Berkut, and violent hired thugs, the Titushky. Offering an intense, in the moment experience of the uprising, Afineevsky builds chronologically to its celebratory zenith in the ouster of Yanukovych, while closing cards provide a sobering reminder of the further turmoil that followed from the nation’s war with Russia.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS
Mark Hartley’s love letter to the Golan-Globus producing team had its world premiere at Melbourne last year. Other fests included Toronto, London, Haifa, Sitges, Mar del Plata, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Glasgow, Dublin, New Horizons, and Fantastic Fest, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Monday, September 28: SUNSHINE SUPERMAN
Marah Strauch’s look at the life of an adventure seeker made its world premiere at Toronto last year. It went on to the New York Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard, Sarasota, Montclair, Cleveland, Vancouver, and Florida, among other events. Magnolia now makes the film available for VOD and digital download.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 