Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25: THE CRASH REEL
Lucy Walker’s exploration of snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s traumatic brain injury had its world premiere at Sundance last year. The film went on to screen at DOC NYC, Berlin, Hot Docs, True/False, Full Frame, Seattle, and Los Angeles, among many others, and was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25: DISCO AND ATOMIC WAR
Jaak Kilmi’s deadpan look at Western TV’s influence on life under Communism made its debut in Warsaw in 2009, picking up the best documentary award. It went on to screen at Telluride, Hot Docs, Seattle, and Los Angeles, among other fests, before a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25: NARCO CULTURA
Shaul Schwarz’s exploration of Mexico’s drug-inspired music genre had its world premiere at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at Berlin, Hot Docs, Fantastic Fest, Sydney, Stockholm, and San Sebastian, among others.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center as part of the Queer/Art/Film series this coming Monday, February 24: SONG SUNG BLUE
Greg Kohs’ stranger than fiction story of a smalltime Milwaukee musical duo made its debut at Slamdance in 2008, where it took home both jury and audience awards. It also picked up awards at the IFF Boston, Indie Memphis, Philadelphia, and underground fests in Sydney and Chicago, while also screening at True/False, Sarasota, Hot Docs, Seattle, Silverdocs, Melbourne, Traverse City, Atlantic, Bergen, Austin, Denver, and Big Sky, among others.
Kohs’ offbeat, intense, and unexpectedly compelling film was one of my favorites of 2008, introducing audiences to performers Lightning & Thunder, the sequined alter egos of Mike and Claire Sardina, who cover Neil Diamond and Patsy Cline, respectively. But if their choice of careers alone weren’t grounds for a curious doc portrait, their knack for frankly bizarre tragedy lends a sense of the uncanny to Kohs’ fascinating chronicle of dreamers trying to make it to the big time. Struggling to make ends meet, and coping with the twists and turns of strange, almost unbelievable, accidents and their debilitating aftermath, Mike and Claire emerge as empathetic, fully-realized, and even tragic figures despite the trappings that initially might suggest casual dismissal by a cynical viewer.
Note: Musician/artist Cody Critcheloe of SSION, who selected the film for Ira Sachs and Adam Baran’s popular Q/A/F series, will participate in a discussion after the screening.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Croatia’s ZagrebDox celebrates its first decade beginning this Sunday, February 23, with the documentary fest wrapping up its tenth edition the following Sunday, March 2. Nearly a hundred features screen over the course of the event, representing new and recent docs, as well as a significant number of retrospective works. Amongst its lineup are several titles familiar from the international documentary circuit, already covered here elsewhere, and, more intriguingly, a healthy sampling of national and regional work, much of it spotlighted below: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to the WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed series next Tuesday, February 25: DRIVERS WANTED
Joshua Z Weinstein’s portrait of taxi drivers debuted at Silverdocs in 2012. Its fest circuit has included DOK.Leipzig, the Southern Circuit Tour, DOC NYC, Big Sky, and Sebastopol Doc fests, among others, as well as a limited theatrical engagement.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, February 25: MUSCLE SHOALS
Greg “Freddy” Camalier’s tribute to the influential Alabama recording studios had its world premiere at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at SXSW, Nantucket, Atlantic, Melbourne, Seattle, Maui, Nashville, and Hot Docs, where it won an Audience Award.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s BAM as part of the BAMcinématek series on the Black Audio Film Collective next Monday, February 24: THE STUART HALL PROJECT
John Akomfrah’s profile of the recently departed influential British cultural theorist made its debut at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, DOXA, Leeds, Torino, CPH:DOX, and African Diaspora, among other events.
My pre-Sundance profile on the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to theatres this Friday, February 21: ELAINE STRITCH: SHOOT ME
Chiemi Karasawa’s portrait of the noted actress had its world premiere at Tribeca last year. It went on to screen at Traverse City, Mill Valley, London, DMZ Docs, Chicago, Philadelphia, Bergen, and Palm Springs, among other fests.
I included the doc in my Tribeca coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 18: THE MOO MAN
Andy Heathcote and Heike Bachelier’s day in the life of a British dairy farm made its world premiere at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at Berlin, Sheffield, True/False, and Los Angeles, and was nominated for a British Independent Film Award. The doc now becomes available on iTunes.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
what (not) to doc 