Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this Friday, January 17: MAIDENTRIP
Jillian Schlesinger’s chronicle of a Dutch teen’s solo circumnavigation of the globe debuted at SXSW last year, where it picked up an audience award. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Nantucket, Full Frame, Citizen Jane, Milwaukee, Antenna, Vancouver, Sarasota, Telluride’s Mountainfilm, and Camden, also claiming awards at the latter two events.
I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
The Final Frontier meets LGBT activism in today’s final Documentary Premieres profile: Director Jennifer Kroot and co-director Bill Weber’s TO BE TAKEI, a portrait of actor and social media icon George Takei.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s AfroPop tonight, Monday, January 13: DOIN’ IT IN THE PARK: PICK-UP BASKETBALL, NYC
Kevin Couliau and Bobbito Garcia’s history of pickup basketball had its premiere at the San Francisco Black Film Festival. It went on to screen at Urbanworld, Philadelphia Awesome Festival, New Jersey, and Toronto’s Regent Park, and also enjoyed a limited theatrical before its release on DVD last Fall.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Next up in Documentary Premieres is the feature documentary debut of a Sundance narrative alumnus: Sterlin Harjo’s THIS MAY BE THE LAST TIME, a personal exploration of memory, community, and song.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s American Experience tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14: 1964
Stephen Ives and Callie T Wiser’s chronicle of the year that changed America makes its world premiere on the venerable PBS program, fifty years after the events depicted.
The documentary convincingly argues that a confluence of factors singles out 1964 as a pivotal year in modern American history, laying the groundwork for the social and political upheaval that would follow for the remainder of the decade. Still in shock from the assassination of JFK in November of the previous year, Americans began to see cracks in the foundations of conventional, post-WWII society, offering the potential for something new and different. Using a wealth of archival material, Ives and Wiser tell the story of that year, highlighting major events in a chronological fashion, and weaving together several engaging strands showcasing the eruption of change across a wide spectrum of American culture: the emergence of a new, Conservative-driven Republican party, led by Barry Goldwater’s unsuccessful, but catalyzing, presidential bid; President Lyndon B Johnson’s call for the Great Society and the actions taken to advance civil rights; SNCC’s Freedom Summer (also the subject of Stanley Nelson’s eponymous upcoming Sundance film), and the nationwide attention placed on the murder of three civil rights workers in Mississippi; the dawning of women’s liberation following the reception of Betty Friedan’s THE FEMININE MYSTIQUE; the arrival of Beatlemania, and its impact on teenage culture (and specifically teenage girls); boxer Cassius Clay’s public adoption of Islam, signalled by his new name, Muhammad Ali; and the birth of the Free Speech Movement on the campus of Berkeley.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Another Sundance alum brings his latest to Documentary Premieres: Greg Whiteley reveals the man who would have been President in MITT.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14: 20 FEET FROM STARDOM
Morgan Neville’s spotlight on backup singers debuted last year at Sundance as one of the opening night selections. It has screened extensively since, including berths at SXSW, DOC NYC, Miami, Sarasota, Dallas, and Seattle. It enjoyed a successful theatrical release and has been shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar – the five finalists will be announced this Thursday.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
This week opens with the start of the second half of the Documentary Premieres section: Steve James pays tribute to the late Roger Ebert and to the love of movies in LIFE ITSELF.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14 and to PBS’s AfroPop on Monday, January 27: WAR DON DON
Rebecca Richman Cohen’s look at the trial of a controversial Sierra Leonean civil war figure debuted at SXSW in 2010, winning a special jury award. The doc went on to win further awards at IFF Boston, Human Rights Watch, Taiwan Doc, and elsewhere, and included among its extensive circuit Full Frame, Silverdocs, Camden, Festival do Rio, Citizen Jane, and DokuFest Prizren, among others. The Orchard now releases the film on VOD via iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, VUDU, and XBOX.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 14: OUR NIXON
Penny Lane’s archival excavation of Tricky Dick’s White House had its world premiere at Rotterdam last year. It went on to screen at SXSW, Nantucket, New Directors/New Films, Los Angeles, Seattle, AFI Docs, and Traverse City. It received its broadcast premiere on CNN this Summer, and also enjoyed a theatrical release across the country.
I previously wrote about the doc out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 