Category Archives: Film

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 5: SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY

Mary Dore’s exploration of the early years of women’s liberation premiered at Sarasota this Spring. It has gone on to screen at DOC NYC, Virginia, St Louis, Milwaukee, Cucalorus, and IFF Boston, among others.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Through a treasure trove of archival material and profiles of several outspoken pioneers of the women’s movement, SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY revisits the remarkable eruption of activism in the late 1960s and early 1970s that signaled the arrival of modern feminism. Mary Dore’s vibrant and inspirational film is at once a far-ranging look back at our vital past and a timely reminder of the need for vigilance in the face of current reactionary legislation that would restrict women’s rights.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, December 2: I AM NOT A ROCK STAR

Bobbi Jo Hart’s portrait of a piano prodigy debuted at Montreal’s FIFA in 2012. It went on to screen at Thessaloniki Doc, Vancouver, Big Sky, and DOCSDF, among others. It now comes to VOD platforms including on iTunes, Amazon, Dish, and Google Play.

I included the film in my Thessaloniki Doc coverage here.

New to VOD this week: WITHOUT SHEPHERDS

Cary McClelland and Imran Babur’s survey of Pakistani life made its bow at Slamdance last year. Other fest stops included Sarasota, Brooklyn, Newport Beach, Kansas, Toronto’s Reel Asian, and the United Nations Association Film Festival. It now debuts on VOD platforms including iTunes, Google Play, Vudu, Amazon, Vimeo, and Cable on Demand.

In many ways a response to alarmist fears of Pakistan being among the most dangerous places on Earth due to its proximity to Afghanistan, McClelland and Babur partnered with both locals and Americans to create this multi-character look at the country, focused around the tumultuous events of 2008. As popular opinion turned against President Musharraf while America’s war in Afghanistan in the waning months of Bush’s tenure continued to have an impact on both sides of the border, the filmmakers opted to identify six modern Pakistanis reflecting a diverse range of backgrounds and concerns. This panoramic view of Pakistan is represented by former cricket champion turned political hopeful Imran Khan, fashion model/no-nonsense business woman Vaneeza Ahmad, expatriate Sufi musician Arieb Azher, truck driver/family man Abdullah Khan, investigative journalist Laiba Yousafzai, and student/ex-mujahid Mohammed Ibrahim. As with many such projects, some subjects pop more than others – here Khan and Ahman’s public and forceful personalities tend to dominate, while Ibrahim remains fairly unmemorable – and there’s a struggle at times to properly demonstrate a consistent throughline between such disparate individuals, but the film succeeds in showing the complexity of a country and its people that might otherwise be too simply represented in mainstream media.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, December 2: LEVITATED MASS

Doug Pray’s chronicle of an art installation debuted at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year. The doc went on to screen at DOC NYC, Florida, Cleveland, Napa Valley, Martha’s Vineyard, and Sebastopol Doc, among others. It now comes to iTunes.

I previously wrote about the film here.