Category Archives: Film

2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: MARMATO

marmatoNext up in the US Documentary Competition: Mark Grieco’s MARMATO, in which a rural Colombian mining town is threatened with extinction by multinational development.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: IVORY TOWER

ivory towerContinuing my spotlight on the second half of the 2014 Sundance US Documentary Competition: Andrew Rossi returns to Sundance with IVORY TOWER, an eye-opening exploration of the high cost of higher education.

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In Theatres: IN NO GREAT HURRY: 13 LESSONS IN LIFE WITH SAUL LEITER

In-No-Great-Hurry-Key-Image-Photo-by-Tomas-Leach-280x140Coming to NYC’s Film Society of Lincoln Center this Friday, January 3: IN NO GREAT HURRY: 13 LESSONS IN LIFE WITH SAUL LEITER

Tomas Leach’s portrait of the recently departed American photographer has been screening at several photography events and film fests since its debut in 2012, including DOC NYC, Thin Line, Salem, Open City, SANFIC, and Bath, among others. In addition to its NYC release, the film will be screening in Portland and Chicago later this month, and is using Tugg for additional engagements.

I previously wrote about the film for the DOC NYC program guide, saying:
Together with contemporaries Diane Arbus and Robert Frank, Saul Leiter is recognized as one of the founders of The New York School of photography of the 1940s and ‘50s, but he never sought the spotlight. Instead, he’s worked steadily, amassing an archive that threatens to take over the NYC apartment he’s called home since 1946. Though initially reticent, the self-effacing, and occasionally cantankerous, Leiter welcomes director Tomas Leach into his realm, offering a poignant reflection on his life, art and work.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE INTERNET’S OWN BOY: THE STORY OF AARON SWARTZ

internet's own boyToday’s look at Sundance 2014’s US Documentary Competition wraps up: Brian Knappenberger’s THE INTERNET’S OWN BOY: THE STORY OF AARON SWARTZ, about the life and tragic early death of the Internet wunderkind and information activist.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: FED UP

fed upI’ve reached the halfway point of this year’s US Documentary Competition profiles: Stephanie Soechtig’s FED UP, an investigation into America’s obesity epidemic.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: E-TEAM

e-teamReturning to my 2014 Sundance profiles, the next US Documentary Competition title: Katy Chevigny and Ross Kauffman’s E-TEAM, following the investigators of human rights violations around the world.

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On DVD: LOVE, MARILYN

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 31: LOVE, MARILYN

Liz Garbus’ look at Marilyn Monroe through her archival letters had its world premiere at Telluride last year. It followed with berths at Toronto, Hamptons, Palm Springs, Montclair, Hong Kong, Stockholm, Seattle, and London. It enjoyed a limited theatrical release and was broadcast on HBO this past Summer.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: DINOSAUR 13

dinosaur 13The third Sundance 2014 US Documentary Competition title of today: Todd Miller’s DINOSAUR 13, about the strange aftermath of a singular paleontological find.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: CESAR’S LAST FAST

cesar's last fastContinuing my doc-by-doc look at Sundance 2014 docs: Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee’s US Documentary Competition entry, CESAR’S LAST FAST, about the life and death of influential labor organizer Cesar Chavez.

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2014 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE CASE AGAINST 8

case against 8The first of today’s Sundance 2014 docs: From the US Documentary Competition, Ben Cotner and Ryan White’s THE CASE AGAINST 8, which follows the fight for marriage equality all the way to the Supreme Court.

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