Category Archives: Film

March 31, 2014 · 3:02 PM

On TV: TOWN HALL

2013_FEST_TownHall_440x300Coming to PBS’ America ReFramed on the WORLD Channel tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1: TOWN HALL

Sierra Pettengill and Jamila Wignot’s portrait of Tea Party activists made its debut at Seattle last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Woodstock, Camden, and Philadelphia, among others.

I previously wrote about the film for the DOC NYC program, saying:
An unexpected consequence of the 2008 presidential election, the Tea Party emerged as an ostensibly grassroots conservative political movement focused on limiting government and a political force with which to be reckoned, as demonstrated by the midterm elections. With restraint and candor, TOWN HALL takes an impartial but pointed look at two impassioned Pennsylvania Tea Party activists in the lead-up to the 2012 election, determined to restore their version of a theoretically “lost” America, but faced with complicated, if not contradictory, decisions.

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March 31, 2014 · 2:12 PM

Full Frame 2014 Overview

full_frame_logo-520x390Durham NC’s Full Frame Documentary Film Festival opens its 17th edition this Thursday, April 3, and runs through Sunday, April 6, presenting nearly a hundred films and special events. Among the special programs this year are a tribute to Steve James, including screenings of six of his past films and a conversation about the 20th anniversary of HOOP DREAMS; and “Approaches to Character,” a subject-focused program curated by filmmaker Lucy Walker. Beyond this retrospective programming, the festival’s line-up includes several strong films from Sundance, SXSW, and IDFA, as well as several titles making significant premieres in Durham, spotlighted below:

112 weddingsEight feature docs enjoy their world premiere at Full Frame, including: Doug Block’s meditation on marriage, 112 WEDDINGS, which opens the fest; Lucia Small and Ed Pincus’ personal confrontation with mortality and grief, ONE CUT, ONE LIFE; Joanna Lipper’s chronicle of Nigeria’s most influential political families, THE SUPREME PRICE; Abby Ginzberg’s portrait of a celebrated anti-Apartheid leader, SOFT VENGEANCE: ALBIE SACHS AND THE NEW SOUTH AFRICA; Stephanie Wang-Breal’s exploration of the bureaucracy of child protective services, TOUGH LOVE; Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick’s look at union organizing by NYC restaurant workers, THE HAND THAT FEEDS; Kenneth Price’s profile of a music producer turned Harvard scholar, THE HIP-HOP FELLOW, and Mike Attie and Meghan O’Hara’s exploration of Vietnam War re-enactors, IN COUNTRY.

where is my sonMaking its US premiere is Heilika Pikkov’s FLOWERS FROM THE MOUNT OF OLIVES, following an octogenarian Russian Orthodox nun. Among the North American premieres are: Chai-Min Ahn’s WHERE IS MY SON? (pictured), in which a son returns to care for his elderly mother; Paul-Anders Simma’s OLGA – TO MY FRIENDS, about the sole woman on a Lapland reindeer brigade; Corinne van Egeraat and Petr Lom’s ANA ANA, in which four Egyptian women document their lives in Cairo; and Yotam Feldman’s THE LAB, an exploration of Israeli’s lucrative defense industry.

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March 31, 2014 · 1:31 PM

On DVD: WHEN JEWS WERE FUNNY

whenjewswerefunny_03Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1: WHEN JEWS WERE FUNNY

Alan Zweig’s rumination on Jewish humor had its world premiere at Toronto last Fall, where it won Best Canadian Feature. It went on to screen at Jewish fests in New York, Atlanta, Vancouver, Charlotte, and Miami, as well as the upcoming Sarasota and River Run fests.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

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March 31, 2014 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: CAMPAIGN OF HATE: RUSSIA AND GAY PROPAGANDA

2-Campaign-of-HateComing to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, April 1: CAMPAIGN OF HATE: RUSSIA AND GAY PROPAGANDA

Michael Lucas’ exploration of homophobia in his native Russia has bypassed festivals to make its debut on DVD. Co-directed with Scott Stern, the film will also be available on VOD in May via its distributor, Breaking Glass Pictures.

Lucas, well-known as a gay porn director, star, and entrepreneur, as well as an outspoken and often controversial political activist, trades on his notoriety to help expose the realities of LGBT life in Putin’s Russia, appearing onscreen throughout as an at times bilingual interviewer. The use of on-screen interviewers in docs is generally a clunky device, lending a TV news magazine feel, and that’s the case here, especially because, unless the viewer already is familiar with Lucas, his Russian background, or his body of work, the documentary offers none of that context. While this surprising restraint of ego perhaps might make the film somewhat more palatable to a more mainstream audience, it robs it of some specificity and voice. That said, Lucas does gain access to a wide range of subjects, from Vitaly Milonov, the principle legislator responsible for Russia’s horrendous gay propaganda law, to Anton Krasovsky, a TV news anchor who lost his job after coming out on air, as well as numerous everyday Russian citizens, gay and straight. While his survey approach is workmanlike, the content of the interviews he conducts effectively demonstrates the scapegoating of LGBT people by a cynical and corrupt regime, and the dehumanization, persecution, and humiliation that has resulted.

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March 28, 2014 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres & On VOD: MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS

mistaken for strangersComing to theatres and to VOD today, Friday, March 28: MISTAKEN FOR STRANGERS

Tom Berninger’s semi-fictionalized tour film with The National debuted as the closing gala of Tribeca last year. Its fest circuit also included Seattle, Denver, BFI London, Cork, Leeds, Cleveland, Big Sky, Vancouver, and CPH:DOX, among others.

I previously wrote about the film out of Tribeca here.

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March 27, 2014 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres: FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

findingvivian_01Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, March 28: FINDING VIVIAN MAIER

John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s mesmerizing exploration of the life and work of the posthumously celebrated street photographer made its debut at Toronto. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, New Orleans, Berlin, Palm Springs, and Boulder, among other events.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

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March 27, 2014 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: I AM DIVINE

i am divineComing to VOD this coming Tuesday, April 1: I AM DIVINE

Jeffrey Schwarz’s portrait of John Waters’ superstar muse debuted at SXSW last year. It went on to screen extensively at LGBT fests including Inside Out, Tel Aviv, Frameline, and Outfest, New Orleans’ Film-O-Rama, Cleveland, Nashville, DOXA, Sheffield, Sydney, and Provincetown, among many others. The film now becomes available via VOD and digital download.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

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March 26, 2014 · 12:01 PM

On TV: MEDORA

medoraComing to PBS’s Independent Lens next Monday, March 31: MEDORA

Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart’s look at a community through its high school basketball team had its world premiere last year at SXSW. Its fest circuit included Sarasota, Full Frame, Woods Hole, Sidewalk, Raindance, and Woodstock, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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March 25, 2014 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: THE PUNK SINGER

The_Punk_Singer_3.470x264Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 25: THE PUNK SINGER

Sini Anderson’s look at the life and career of musician Kathleen Hanna premiered at SXSW last year. The doc’s fest circuit included DOC NYC, Seattle, London, IFF Boston, Sidewalk, Melbourne, and Hot Docs, among others, before a theatrical and VOD release last Fall.

I included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.

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March 24, 2014 · 1:31 PM

On DVD: LET THE FIRE BURN

large_let_the_fire_burn_pubsComing to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 25: LET THE FIRE BURN

Jason Osder’s riveting look at a radical group’s face off against authorities debuted at Tribeca last year, winning two awards. Its fest circuit included Hot Docs, Vancouver, London, San Francisco, Philadelphia, and AFI Docs, among others, before a limited theatrical release.

I previously covered the doc out of Tribeca here.

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