Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 22: NARCO CULTURA
Shaul Schwarz’s look at the music subculture engendered by Mexico’s drug cartels made its debut at Sundance earlier this year. The doc has also screened at Berlin, Hot Docs, Fantastic Fest, Sydney, Stockholm, and San Sebastian among others.
My pre-Sundance profile may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to HBO as part of its Docs Fall series this Monday, November 25: TOXIC HOT SEAT
James Redford and Kirby Walker’s exposé of the dangerous chemicals in our everyday objects made its world premiere at Mill Valley. It’s gone on to screen at DOC NYC, Napa Valley, and Tiburon, among other special screenings around the country.
Nearly four decades ago, a law was passed in California that stipulated that furniture manufacturers make their products non-flammable to curb the destructive potential of common house fires. Because of the state’s large market share, products containing chemical flame retardants have since spread to the rest of the US and Canada, ushered along by a powerful chemical lobby. Walker and Redford’s provocative film follows the efforts of a diverse coalition of firefighters, scientists, activists, and politicians that has dared to stand up to this lobby, and question the safety of these largely unregulated chemicals. Structured around the investigative reporting of the Chicago Tribune, which found disturbing links to Big Tobacco in their celebrated series of stories, the film serves as a compelling advocacy piece that will make the audience consider what products they have brought into their home.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this Monday, November 25: YOUNG LAKOTA
Marion Lipschutz and Rose Rosenblatt’s portrait of political awakening on South Dakota’s Pine Ridge Reservation has screened at festivals including New Orleans, Big Sky, Cine Las Americas, imagineNative, Red Nation, SF American Indian, London’s Native Spirit, and Cucalorus, as well as community screenings around the country. Now PBS broadcasts the doc as part of Native American Heritage Month.
Like their previous THE EDUCATION OF SHELBY KNOX, Lipschutz and Rosenblatt’s new film focuses on the political engagement of young people in the face of restrictive, reactionary politics. When South Dakota proposes a far-reaching statewide anti-abortion ban – even in the case of rape or incest – Cecilia Fire Thunder, the first female president of the Oglala Lakota Nation, pledges to build a women’s clinic on the rez to provide reproductive rights. This costs Fire Thunder her position and splits the community in the process. Falling on different sides of the controversy are the film’s protagonists – college student Sunny, who has returned home to Pine Ridge, where her twin sister has abandoned her education due to pregnancy, following in the footsteps of their mother, and their friend Brandon, a young father, who also has returned to the rez to reconnect with his Native roots. Lipschutz and Rosenblatt have found engaging and evolving characters to explore a different, complex view of Native American experience and its intersection with the country’s larger culture wars.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DIRECTV’s Something To Talk About series tomorrow, Thursday, November 21: DESERT RUNNERS
Jennifer Steinman’s portrait of the ultimate ultramarathoners made its debut earlier this year at Edinburgh. It’s gone on to screen at Mill Valley, Denver, IDFA, Vancouver, and the Hamptons, picking up audience awards at the latter two.
The 4 Deserts Ultramarathon series challenges runners with four weeklong 155 mile endurance races through the world’s harshest terrains, all in one year – Chile’s Atacama Desert, China’s Gobi Desert, and Egypt’s Sahara Desert. If a runner completes at least two of the three, s/he qualifies to participate in The Last Desert in Antarctica. The four subjects of Steinman’s film, ranging in age from 25 to 56, aim to make it to Antarctica, pushing their bodies to their limits, and each dealing with different motivations and challenges. What emerges is a study in determination and of the psychology of individuals pitting mind against body, played out over stunning, albeit often treacherous, landscapes.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
With IDFA kicking off tonight, this second of two posts wraps up my list of titles I’d be checking out if I were headed to the Netherlands. Yesterday’s post covered the competitions, while the following runs down the fest’s various non-competitive strands. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 19: THE MOTIVATION
Adam Bhala Lough’s skateboarding competition doc debuted at Tribeca this year. It went on to Newport Beach before a series of one-off special screenings at skateparks and in theatres, as well as a VOD release in the Summer.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Tomorrow, Wednesday, November 20 sees the opening of the 26th edition of the largest documentary event in the world, The Netherlands’ IDFA. Screening approximately 150 new feature documentaries, plus additional retrospective programming, shorts, and transmedia projects through Sunday, December 1, Amsterdam’s fest will play host to hundreds of the nonfiction world’s top buyers, broadcasters, and programmers, not to mention its over 120,000 general attendees. While I’ve attended the event for the past four years, I’m very sadly missing this one. Still, I’ve diligently (and wistfully) scoured through the lineup to construct my wishlist, if I were attending, broken down by section. As in the past, the fest’s sheer size necessitates breaking this down into two posts – today’s looks at IDFA’s competitions, while tomorrow’s will look at the non-competitive line-up. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, November 19: BEST KEPT SECRET
Samantha Buck’s look at a driven teacher of special needs students had its premiere at the Independent Film Festival Boston. Other fest engagements included Montclair and AFI Docs, before its limited theatrical release and POV broadcast. The Orchard now makes it available on iTunes, Amazon, X-box, Google Play, and Vudu.
I previously wrote about the doc out of AFI Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19: AT NIGHT I FLY
Michel Wenzer’s look at the impact of an arts program on prison inmates debuted at Sheffield in 2011. It also screened at FilmFest München, Tempo Doc, Planete+ Doc, Thessaloniki Doc, Raindance, and MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight, among others. FilmBuff now releases the doc on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, Google Play, Xbox Video, Cinemanow and Vudu.
I previously included the film in my Thessaloniki Doc coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 19: INFORMANT
Jamie Meltzer’s complex profile of a notorious activist turned FBI source made its world premiere at San Francisco last year. Its fest circuit included New Orleans, DOC NYC, IDFA, Cleveland, Florida, Big Sky, Thin Line, Denver, Woodstock, Austin, and Sebastopol Doc, among others. The film also enjoyed a limited theatrical release this Fall.
I previously wrote about the doc out of DOC NYC here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 