Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11: THIS MAY BE THE LAST TIME
Sterlin Harjo’s excavation of the past through music bowed at Sundance this year. It has gone on to screen at Seattle, deadCENTER, Milwaukee, and IMAGINEnative, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
The second of DOC NYC‘s additions to our daily panel series, Doc-A-Thon, turns the spotlight on short form nonfiction content. All of the following Day 2 panel sessions take place between 10:30am-5:00pm at the IFC Center on Friday, November 14: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 7: VIRUNGA
Orlando von Einsiedel’s chronicle of Congo’s imperiled national park bowed at Tribeca. Its extensive fest circuit has included Hot Docs, DOXA, Mountainfilm at Telluride, AFI Docs, Edinburgh, Traverse City, Melbourne, Camden, Reykjavik, Antenna, and Abu Dhabi.
Congo’s Virunga National Park is a breathtakingly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site that serves as a sanctuary for the world’s dwindling population of mountain gorillas, not to mention a rich diversity of other fauna and flora. Charged with overseeing this national treasure are Belgian park warden Emmanuel de Merode and his deputy, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, dedicated to protecting the wildlife from poachers, and increasingly concerned by the presence of armed guerrilla fighters M23, who threaten to reignite civil war. Joining them at the center of von Einsiedel’s film are Andre Bauma, a caretaker of the park’s endangered gorillas, and Melanie Gouby, an intrepid French journalist whose undercover work here lends the doc some of its most enraging moments. As is soon revealed, the park, and this quartet, are threatened by a far more dangerous foe – the oil industry. British company SOCO International is deadset on exploiting Virunga for its oil deposits, and is willing to partner with M23 to clear out the park of anyone that stands in their way. Expertly melding elements of social issue doc, investigative journalism, and thriller, von Einsiedel crafts a compelling, vital exposé of corporate greed and environmental disregard.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Today’s DOC NYC preview begins with the second of six shorts programs, thematically organized around beginnings and endings: Continue reading
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Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 7: GETTING TO THE NUTCRACKER
Serene Meshel-Dillman’s behind-the-scenes ballet doc made its debut at the Atlanta Film Festival this Spring, where it picked up an award. Other fests have included Dances With Films, Las Vegas, and Kansas.
For decades, Tchaikovsky’s THE NUTCRACKER has been a perennial holiday favorite, a family crowdpleaser performed by both professional ballet companies and amateurs alike in hundreds of stagings around the country. The Marat Daukayev School of Ballet in Los Angeles serves as the setting for Meshel-Dillman’s look at the preparation for one such production. Narrated by Pamela, the managing director of the school, the film offers an overview of the audition process, identifies several young subjects, checks in with some parents, and occasionally spotlights, all too briefly, parts of the dance in the lead up to their debut. While the performers seem to have the potential to be interesting documentary subjects, Meshel-Dillman doesn’t showcase them enough to allow for clear personalities to be revealed, opting instead for more of an overarching survey approach. Combined with an over-reliance on narration, the film tends to drag as a result. Still, as a backstage look at a familiar performance, it’s a likeable enough diversion.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
DOC NYC‘s popular panel series, Doc-A-Thon has been expanded this year to six full days. In addition to days which focus on a distinct stage of filmmaking, we’ve added themed programming for the first two days. The first of these is geared to first-time filmmakers, with industry professionals offering essential advice and skills. All of the following Day 1 panel sessions take place between 10:30am-5:00pm at the IFC Center on Thursday, November 13: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
CPH:DOX opens its 12th edition tonight, Thursday, November 6, with the simultaneous screening in more than 50 venues across Europe of Anders Østergaard and Erzsébet Rácz’s 1989, about the world-changing events of that singular year. The well-regarded festival will play host to nearly 200 features, as well as scores of shorts, discussions, debates, and concerts through its wrap up on Sunday, November 16. The lineup includes a large number of debuts in addition to a curated selection of favorites from other notable festivals. The following offers highlights from the fest’s various sections: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
My DOC NYC preview continues with a look at this year’s shorts programming. First up, a collection of films exploring ways of seeing the world: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres this Friday, November 7: ACTRESS
Robert Greene’s study of a woman seeking a different life had its world premiere at True/False earlier this year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Nantucket (claiming the Best Storytelling in a Documentary award), AFI Docs, Art of the Real, Sarasota, DMZ Docs, Camden, and the upcoming CPH:DOX, RIDM, and IDFA.
I previously wrote about the film for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Approaching documentary as melodrama, director Robert Greene presents this mesmerizing portrait of a woman who finds herself having to choose between family and career. Actress Brandy Burre was on the verge of breakout success with a recurring part on HBO’s THE WIRE when she discovered she was pregnant. Putting acting to the side, she fled the city for the suburbs to begin a family. A few years later, dissatisfied despite her best efforts to embrace her new role, the compelling Burre seeks a comeback, ultimately upsetting the fragile balance of her present domestic life in unpredictable ways.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
My DOC NYC preview wraps up for today with our Short List – a newly expanded section re-presenting some of the best docs of the year: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
what (not) to doc 