Coming to theatres this Friday, June 6: CITIZEN KOCH
Carl Deal and Tia Lessin’s investigation into the selling of democracy premiered at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Full Frame, Sarasota, Traverse City, Wisconsin, Big Sky, and Citizen Jane, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
The 2014 edition of Encounters: South African International Documentary Festival celebrates its sweet sixteen beginning tomorrow, Thursday, June 5, screening in Cape Town and Johannesburg through Sunday, June 15. Its line-up of more than 30 feature docs includes a selection of well-traveled recent international films as well as a large number of recent local and greater African productions, as noted below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Out on DVD and VOD this week: WE ALWAYS LIE TO STRANGERS
AJ Schnack and David Wilson’s portrait of musical families in Branson MO debuted at SXSW last year, where it claimed a special jury prize. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Ashland, Full Frame, Dallas, Sarasota, Hot Docs, Nashville, St Louis, and Denver, among others. The film is available on iTunes and Amazon streaming, and was just released on DVD this week.
I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, June 3: THE NEXT BLACK
David Dworsky and Victor Köhler’s look at the future of fashion made its debut last month on various online platforms. FilmBuff expands its reach, offering the doc on iTunes, Playstation, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, Vudu, and Hulu, among other VOD platforms.
Dworsky and Köhler’s mid-length takes a brief but often intriguing survey of potentially radical changes to the way clothes may be made, and to how consumers may relate to their fashion choices. Despite the playfulness of the doc’s title, these aren’t simple aesthetic choices to be switched out after the season, but rather seismic shifts in everything from materials, processes, functions, and the actions of individual purchasers. Among the subjects explored (introduced and bridged via a narrator who would grow increasingly tiresome if this was a longer project) are the creation of digital and biological couture – applying technology such as 3D printing or organic cultivation to create new types of materials or fabric, the development of smart clothing that can monitor biometrics, and the encouragement of environmentally sustainable practices, such as dry dyeing to eliminate water waste and pollution or a return to “slow fashion,” which encourages consumers to buy less, and to repair or recycle garments rather than dispose of them.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 6: THE CASE AGAINST 8
Ben Cotner and Ryan White’s marriage equality chronicle debuted at Sundance this year, where they picked up the US Documentary Directing Award. The doc went on to win an audience award at SXSW, best doc at Vail, and to screen at Cleveland, RiverRun, DOXA, Hot Docs, Sarasota, Dallas, Ashland, and the upcoming Nantucket Film Festival, among several others. It begins a theatrical run now, expanding next week, before its broadcast debut on HBO later this month.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, June 3: BIG JOY: THE ADVENTURES OF JAMES BROUGHTON
Eric Slade and Stephen Silha’s love letter to the experimental filmmaker and writer made its world premiere at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Tribeca, Seattle, New Orleans, DOXA, Outfest, Hong Kong, Frameline, Mill Valley, Big Sky, Woods Hole, QDoc, and Göteborg, among others.
I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to LA’s ArcLight Documentary Film Series tomorrow, Tuesday, June 3: RICH HILL
Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo’s sensitive portrait of three adolescents had its world premiere earlier this year at Sundance, where it picked up the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize. It went on to screen at True/False, Dallas, Cleveland, Wisconsin, Sarasota, Ashland, and the upcoming Nantucket Film Festival.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 3: MIRAGE MEN
John Lundberg’s exploration of government disinformation policies had its world premiere last year at Sheffield. It went on to screen at Seattle, Fantastic Fest, Canberra, DOXA, Stockholm, and Sebastopol Doc.
Lundberg’s intriguing film posits that the US military has been the source of much of the would-be evidence and labyrinthine theories behind UFO conspiracies for the past several decades, part of an elaborate campaign of targeted disinformation to discredit those who might chance upon classified, covert projects. Particularly compelling among its cast of talking heads – representing close encounter witnesses, UFOlogists, authors, and the like – is former US Air Force counterintelligence officer Richard Doty, who is forthright in revealing his part in a systematic program of false information that led a WWII veteran to lose his mind. In itself a perfect addition to the countless conspiracy theories around extraterrestrial visitations that have sprung up since the Cold War and its inculcation of paranoia and fears of invasion, there’s enough here to suggest that what the doc proposes is true while still casting just enough doubt to leave the viewer still wondering.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction series at the IFC Center tomorrow, Tuesday, June 3: 112 WEDDINGS
Doug Block’s look at the ups and downs of married life debuted at Full Frame earlier this year. Its fest circuit includes Hot Docs and the upcoming Nantucket Film Festival and Sheffield Doc/Fest, before its broadcast debut on HBO at the end of the month.
I wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Director Doug Block’s previous films, 51 BIRCH STREET and THE KIDS GROW UP, explore universal themes of love, marriage, and family as revealed through his personal experiences. For the past two decades, Block has supported his filmmaking career by documenting the relationships of other couples, filming over a hundred wedding videos. While a pivotal part of their special day, he typically lost touch with these new brides and grooms as they set off for their expected happily ever after. Curious to see if reality matched their fairy tale fantasies of wedded bliss, Block revisits nine couples for a candid, humorous, and sometimes heartbreaking exploration of the joys and challenges of matrimony.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, June 3: WHEN I WALK
Jason DaSilva’s personal experience of multiple sclerosis had its world premiere at Sundance last year. Its fest circuit also included Hot Docs, Sarasota, Milwaukee, LA’s Arclight Doc Fest, Vancouver, Hot Springs, Margaret Mead, ReelAbilities, Hawaii, and Poland’s New Horizons American Film Festival, among others.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
what (not) to doc 