Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens and to DVD this coming Monday, May 19: GOD LOVES UGANDA
Roger Ross Williams’ exploration of the spread of homophobia through African missionary work premiered at Sundance last year. Other fest screenings included DOC NYC, Nantucket, New Orleans, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Cleveland, AFI Docs, Hamptons, BAMcinemaFest, and Outfest.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, May 16: HANNA RANCH
Mitch Dickman’s chronicle of the life and legacy of an eco-rancher debuted at Denver last year and went on to screen at the Durango Film Festival earlier this year.
Eric Schlosser, who serves as executive producer, famously wrote about “eco-cowboy” Kirk Hanna in FAST FOOD NATION, a Colorado cattleman who saw the importance of holistic resource management on his family’s ranch and became the unlikely bridge between seemingly disparate constituencies – environmentalists and ranchers. Dickman’s engaging film details Hanna’s life, his prescient grasp of the dangers of urban overdevelopment, and forward-thinking drive for land conservation. Born into a ranch family, the early death of his father eventually led to the unification of two adjacent ranches via his mother’s remarriage. But with this commingled family came complicated inheritance issues, infighting, and egos – all handled, to Dickman’s credit, with finesse and relative economy. For a time, with one quarrelsome brother out of the way, Hanna began to accomplish much, not only on his own ranch, but for embattled cattlemen around the West. Personal demons surfaced, however, eventually leading the charismatic Hanna to claim his own life. While the balance between Hanna’s family dynamics and his public activities feels a bit off – the former remain far more compelling, with particularly resonant interviews with his widow and younger brother – Dickman is quite good at engendering genuine curiosity about Hanna, his family, and their story.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Quad Cinema tomorrow, Friday, May 16: A PEOPLE UNCOUNTED: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE ROMA
Aaron Yeger’s chronicle of the long-persecuted European minority debuted at the Montreal World Film Festival in 2011. Other fests have included Heartland, Mumbai, Starz Denver, Santa Barbara, Cleveland, Full Frame, Salem, Kassel Doc, Documentary Edge, Beldocs, and St Louis, among others.
Widely misunderstood, the Roma – popularly known by the pejorative “Gypsies” – were one of several groups targeted during the Nazi era, with an estimated half a million Romani exterminated in concentration camps. Still the subject of persecution and intolerance in the modern era, scapegoated throughout Europe by the rising tide of nationalism and right-wing fascistic politics, many fear the horrors of the past may too easily be revisited upon them in the future. Yeger’s strongly lensed and well-constructed film advocates for a culture that, as suggested by its title, has been too often neglected, revealing past injustices and the reality of Roma life today, drawing on the testimony of Holocaust survivors, academics, and others standing up for justice for this people.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
One of the highlights of American regional film festivals, the Seattle International Film Festival turns 40 tomorrow. Running Thursday, May 15 through Sunday, June 8, and presenting a lineup that includes nearly 200 features, the festival lays claim to being the largest and most attended film events in the US. Among its offerings are 60 documentary features, including several in its Gala section: FINDING FELA, which made its debut at Sundance, and DIOR AND I and KEEP ON KEEPIN’ ON, both recent well-received Tribeca premieres. The festival balances a smart curation of other recent festival favorites with an impressive number of new titles. The following focuses primarily on the latter: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres this Friday, May 16: AI WEIWEI: THE FAKE CASE
Andreas Johnsen’s look at the celebrated Chinese artist/activist’s life under house arrest had its world premiere at IDFA last year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, One World, Istanbul, Tempo, Tampere, and DocsBarcelona, among others.
Johnsen’s film picks up, essentially, where Alison Klayman’s 2012 AI WEIWEI: NEVER SORRY left off. Having been detained for 81 days, the artist is placed under house arrest, monitored constantly, and subjected to ever-present harassment by authorities – not to mention the interest of the worldwide media. Already on edge, Ai comes under catastrophic legal trouble – served with a lawsuit by the government that threatens his reputation and his finances. While Johnsen unquestioningly has fantastic access to his subject, his treatment remains frustratingly surface and episodic, seemingly content to merely chronicle the artist’s quotidian existence, rather than offering a clear, purposeful trajectory. While Ai generally engenders fascination, given his headline making resistance to government suppression, there’s nothing particularly new here, making this more of a curiosity piece than a full-fledged portrait.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, May 13: GAHAN WILSON: BORN DEAD, STILL WEIRD
Steven-Charles Jaffe’s portrait of the subversive cartoonist debuted at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2011. It received a limited theatrical release last Fall in NYC and LA, and now comes to various VOD platforms via FilmBuff.
Between biographical details, such as Wilson’s near-still birth, as suggested by the documentary’s title, and copious examples of his artwork, Jaffe’s film serves as a love letter to the octogenarian cartoonist, whose mordant scribblings have regularly appeared in the pages of Playboy, The New Yorker, and National Lampoon, among other magazines. They’ve attracted a broad range of admirers, who lend their voices to the film, from Hugh Hefner and Stephen Colbert to Stan Lee and Guillermo del Toro, resulting in a fairly straightforward artist profile that seems largely suited for Wilson’s extant fanbase. A memorable exception that broadens the film’s reach is an edifying and entertaining sequence set in the office of The New Yorker‘s cartoon editor, Robert Mankoff, who reviews and rejects cartoon pitches for the venerable publication.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, May 13: SIGN PAINTERS
Faythe Levine and Sam Macon’s exploration of a once ubiquitous artisanal craft debuted at a special event in Washington DC’s Renwick Gallery last year. Festival screenings have included Thin Line, Leeds, Milwaukee, and Atlantic. Bond/360 partners with FilmBuff to release the doc on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, blinkbox, Google Play, PlayStation, Vudu, and Xbox.
Levine and Macon take a cross-country survey of the modern state of hand-painted design, focusing on sign painters who have persevered despite the decline in demand for their particular skills in a culture that sadly preferences cheap, computer-enabled, one-size-fits-all work. Given their approach, few individual painters really leave a huge impression, but their vibrant work certainly does – a striking contrast to the poorly designed and constructed vinyl signs that have driven many out of business since the rise of graphic design computer programs and other technology. Recognizing the recent resurgence of interest in artisanal craftsmanship, the filmmakers are able to bring in a sense of hope to the proceedings, however, with painters noting that individuals and even corporations like The Gap have started knocking on their doors, seeking the authenticity that their work conveys, while also showing viewers a quick peek at the next generation, practicing their brushstrokes in an intensive lettering class. Not surprisingly, the doc features some impressive title and credits sequences, in addition to showcasing the handiwork of the many craftsmen and women interviewed.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
The grande dame of film festivals, Cannes, kicks off its 67th edition tomorrow, Wednesday, May 14, while its official side events, the independently organized Directors’ Fortnight and International Critics’ Week, begin Thursday. Altogether, more than 100 features screen, but the non-fiction offerings remain frustratingly slim – this year, thirteen vs 2013’s twelve – once again confirming the Croisette’s view of documentary as an afterthought at best. The following presents a rundown of each film: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, May 13: BOTTLED UP: THE BATTLE OVER DUBLIN DR PEPPER
Drew Rist’s look at a David and Goliath soft drink controversy debuted at Dallas’ USA Film Festival last year. It also screened at Santa Barbara in advance of today’s FilmBuff release of the doc on iTunes and other major VOD platforms.
For over a hundred year, until January 2012, Dublin TX had developed a successful cottage industry manufacturing and distributing the original formula of the niche soda, Dr Pepper, within a local franchise region. Originally developed in Waco TX in 1885, Dublin was the site of the first independent bottling company, in operation since 1891. Tradition and popular support maintained the use of cane sugar even after corporate Dr Pepper had long switched to high fructose corn syrup for their sweetening agent, creating a passionate regional following, with stories of customers driving hundreds of miles to pick up a case of what became semi-officially known as “Dublin Dr Pepper.” As Rist’s film reveals, through a not unappealing folksy narrator and interviews with primary players, all that changed when Dr Pepper Snapple, suddenly protective of their corporate trademark, sued the Dublin Dr Pepper Bottling Company, eventually settling the dispute by ending the longtime franchise agreement, eliminating the regional variant altogether. Despite its title, Rist’s simple doc is less about the legal battle – the result is all too quickly revealed – and more about its impact on the town of Dublin, which grew economically dependent not only on the bottling company, but also on the ancillary benefits that came from being so closely associated with the soft drink.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, May 13: IS THE MAN WHO IS TALL HAPPY? AN ANIMATED CONVERSATION WITH NOAM CHOMSKY
Michel Gondry’s thought-provoking tête-à-tête with the acclaimed linguist debuted at DOC NYC last year. Other festival stops included Berlin, Sydney, and Milan, while the doc enjoyed a theatrical and VOD release in November.
I previously wrote about the film upon its release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 