Category Archives: Film

Recently relocated to New York City from its former base in Miami, the American Black Film Festival celebrates its 18th edition beginning tomorrow, Thursday, June 19, and running through Sunday, June 22. This makes Manhattan the home to two higher-profile African American festivals, with mainstay Urbanworld also heading into year 18 this coming September. ABFF makes a notable splash, closing out this year’s event with the world premiere of Spike Lee’s latest film, the Kickstarter-funded DA SWEET BLOOD OF JESUS.

In total, more then two dozen films, masterclasses, and special events make up the event’s lineup, with five doc features included. Two appear in the Spotlight Screenings section: Muta’Ali Muhammad’s sadly timely tribute to his grandparents, LIFE’S ESSENTIALS WITH RUBY DEE (pictured), given the actress’ recent passing; and Barion Grant’s profile of a hip-hop mogul, A GENIUS LEAVES THE HOOD: THE UNAUTHORIZED STORY OF JAY-Z. The remaining nonfiction titles vie for the CNN sponsored Best Documentary Award, including two world premieres: Mike L Brown’s 25 TO LIFE, about an HIV-positive man reckoning with his promiscuous past; and Sam Hampton’s TRANSCENDING SURGEON, a consideration of African Americans in medicine through a portrait of an acclaimed surgeon; as well as the North American premiere of Khalo Matabane’s NELSON MANDELA: THE MYTH & ME, an exploration of freedom and reconciliation set against the continuing inequality faced by South Africans.

Tonight, Wednesday, June 18 sees the kick-off of the 68th edition of the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Running through Sunday, June 29, the festival will present over 150 features, representing nearly 50 countries, an increase from last year’s numbers. Among these are nearly 30 documentaries, spread about various strands, from American Dreams – recent US indies – to Focus on Film – tributes to cinema and its makers – to Teen Spirit – youth-focused films. The following spotlights some newer nonfiction work screening in other festival sections:

Most appear in the Directors’ Showcase, an auteur-driven strand, which includes LIFE MAY BE, a consideration of art and the artistic process via a collaboration between Mark Cousins and Mania Akbari; and CATHEDRALS OF CULTURE, a 3D meditation on six distinct works of architecture by Karim Aïnouz, Michael Glawogger, Michael Madsen, Robert Redford, Wim Wenders, and Margreth Olin. Nonfiction also makes a showing in New Perspectives, focused on emerging filmmakers, with such new projects as Davi Pretto’s CASTANHA, about a middle-aged Brazilian cross-dresser who lives with his mother; Lucie Dèche, Karim Loualiche, and Tarek Sami’s CHANTIER A (pictured), a hybrid personal reflection on Algeria; and Ed Perkins’ GARNET’S GOLD, which follows an unusual man on the hunt for fabled treasure.

A number of boundary pushing nonfiction projects appear in No Limits, including Antoine d’Agata’s ATLAS (pictured), an international compendium of prostitutes’ stories; and Jan Soldat’s THE INCOMPLETE, abo ut a 60-year-old gay German man who aspires to be the perfect slave. The festival offers a Focus on Germany, in which Thomas Heise’s portrait of a Mexican juvenile prison STAEDTEBEWOHNER is the sole doc; and a Focus on Iran which includes Sara Rastegar’s look at love, the Iranian revolution, and exile, MY RED SHOES.

The Brooklyn Academy of Music’s popular BAMcinemaFest returns for its sixth year, opening tomorrow, Wednesday, June 18, and running through Sunday, June 29. After recent staff changes at the venerable institution, this year’s event was curated by BAMcinématek programmers Nellie Killian and David Reilly together with new Programmer at Large Ryan Werner, appointed at the beginning of the year. The lineup of over two dozen films includes several standouts – a mix of heralded titles from Sundance, SXSW, and beyond.

New nonfiction offerings are Göran Hugo Olsson’s exceptional, confrontative rumination on colonialism, CONCERNING VIOLENCE; Amir Bar-Lev’s complex exploration of the impact of the Penn State scandal, HAPPY VALLEY; Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s engaging portrait of an infamous international criminal, THE NOTORIOUS MR BOUT; Amanda Rose Wilder’s fascinating immersion into a free school, APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT (pictured); Darius Clark Monroe’s personal reflection on the mistakes of his past, EVOLUTION OF A CRIMINAL; and Joe Callander’s look at the limits of philanthropy, LIFE AFTER DEATH.

Retrospective doc programming includes a retrospective program of the late Les Blank’s doc shorts, and a rarely seen cult classic, STATIONS OF THE ELEVATED (pictured), Manfred Kirchheimer’s 1981 graffiti-focused city symphony.

This Wednesday, June 18, sees the opening of the 12th edition of AFI Docs, in its sophomore year in Washington DC with Scott Teems’ HOLBROOK/TWAIN: AN AMERICAN ODYSSEY. Another year has seen continued changes for the event, with longtime festival director Sky Sitney having left her post this past February. Once again running a trimmer five days vs its seven-day incarnation as Silverdocs, the festival will screen approximately fifty features through Sunday, June 22, when the festival closes with Steve James’ LIFE ITSELF. Continue reading →