Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 24: CALL ME KUCHU
Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall’s revealing look homophobia in Uganda had its world premiere in Berlin last year. Its fest circuit has included berths at Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Frameline, Sheffield, Los Angeles, Reykjavik, Side by Side, CPH:DOX, and New Orleans, among others, and it enjoyed a limited theatrical release this Summer.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Hot Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 24: DEAR MOM, LOVE CHER
P David Ebersole’s intimate portrait of Georgia Holt made its debut on Lifetime and Australia’s Bio Channel this past May for Mother’s Day. It now comes to VOD worldwide.
For Holt’s 85th birthday, her daughter Cher filmed a video celebrating her mother’s life. Inspired by this, the superstar turned to Ebersole and partner Todd Hughes to expand its scope and develop it into a standalone doc for Lifetime. The remarkably vibrant Holt, flanked by her daughters, Cher and Georganne LaPiere, candidly reveals stories both sobering and humorous, from her penniless origins as the daughter of a 13-year-old mother in rural Arkansas to her spotty track record of seven marriages. While Cher understandably takes some of the spotlight, the film explores the three women’s public careers – Holt and Georganne both had bit parts on several TV shows – and culminates in the story of Holt’s would-be singing career. More than thirty years ago, basking in the unlikely interest of being a vivacious sixtysomething celebrity mom with a young lover, Holt appeared on TV talk shows and seemed poised to have her own big break as a singer, finally realizing an old dream that started when she was a child earning pennies for her father by singing during the Great Depression. Though she recorded a country album with Elvis’ former band, her refusal of the record label’s unfair deal meant it went unreleased. Discovering tapes from those recording sessions, remastering them, and joining her on one track, Cher helped Holt release the album this year. Ebersole’s charming doc captures this, as well as the genuine affection Holt’s family has for her.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, September 23: BEST KEPT SECRET
Samantha Buck’s portrait of a teacher of special needs students debuted at the Independent Film Festival Boston earlier this year. It went on to screen at Montclair and AFI Docs before a limited theatrical release earlier this month.
I included the doc in my AFI Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 24: ROOM 237
Rodney Ascher’s fascinating look at outré fan theories about THE SHINING had its world premiere at Sundance last year. Its festival circuit has been extensive, including Cannes, New York, Toronto, Fantastic Fest, and Chicago, among others, and it has enjoyed a theatrical and VOD release.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
With Oktoberfest officially kicking off this past weekend, my latest curated selections for Hulu’s Documentaries page turns the spotlight on alcohol. Watch these docs now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs
Coming to HBO this coming Monday, September 23: FIRST COUSIN ONCE REMOVED
Alan Berliner’s unflinching exploration of the damage wrought by Alzheimer’s debuted last year at the New York Film Festival. Its festival circuit has included IDFA, where it picked up the fest’s top award, Los Angeles, Punto de Vista, San Francisco Jewish, and Edinburgh, among others.
I included the film in my NYFF coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to WORLD Channel’s Global Voices series this Sunday, September 22: RENT A FAMILY INC
Kaspar Astrup Schröder’s portrait of a put-upon family man and his business debuted at CPH:DOX last year. Other fest stops included IDFA, One World, It’s All True, Hot Docs, DOXA, San Francisco, and Antenna.
I previously wrote about the film out of Hot Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 20: LETTERS TO JACKIE: REMEMBERING PRESIDENT KENNEDY
Bill Couturié’s affecting look back at the impact of JFK’s death made its debut at AFI Docs this Summer. It went on to screen at Sedona and Woods Hole, among other events.
I included the doc in my AFI Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, September 20 and to VOD next Tuesday, September 24: THE MUSLIMS ARE COMING!
Negin Farsad and Dean Obeldallah’s Muslim-American comedy tour against Islamophobia made its debut at the Austin Film Festival last year, where it picked up the audience award. Other stops included deadCENTER, Chicago Palestine, and several other festivals. Its limited theatrical premiere is followed with a release by FilmBuff on iTunes, Amazon, and cable VOD.
Concerned with the rise of fear-mongering and prejudice against Muslims in America in the decade after 9/11, a pair of stand-up comics round up fellow Muslim-Americans, plus a Jewish friend, to embark on a roadtrip through the South and middle America. Along the way, they book free comedy showcases in an effort to combat myths and misperceptions about what the mainstream media paints as the radical Islamification of the nation, while also engaging in schticky public teach-ins like “Hug A Muslim,” “Name That Religion,” and “Ask A Muslim.” These bits, like their unexpectedly ribald comedy routines, are mostly mildly diverting rather than uproariously funny, but they do get the simple but unfortunately necessary message across that an entire religion shouldn’t be demonized due to the actions of extremists. Celebrity commentators, from Jon Stewart and David Cross to Rachel Maddow and Soledad O’Brien, echo this overall sentiment in a fairly conventional doc with a surfeit of really annoying music, though it should be said that the protagonists are likeable enough to keep the viewer engaged.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Israel’s Haifa International Film Festival kicks off its 29th edition tonight, September 19, and runs through next Saturday, September 28. Historically the first film festival in the country, it annually takes place during the Sukkot holiday, introducing audiences to more than a hundred new and retrospective features and shorts, including a large slate of Israeli productions. Approximately forty of these are new documentary features, primarily appearing in the four sections noted below.
Docs make up nearly half of the Israeli Film Competition, including several which commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War: Amos Gitai’s KIPPUR WAR MEMORIES, which features material the director filmed during the war, when he was part of a helicopter crew that was shot down; Yoel Sharon’s ONE BATTLE TOO MANY (pictured), an animated doc about the final day of conflict, when the director was wounded; Nurit Kedar’s three-part CATCH 73, about the influence on Israel of the generation of those who fought in the war; and the first episode of Amit Goren’s four-part THE AVOIDABLE WAR. Two selections explore the African immigrant experience in Israel: Yotam Kaminsky and Mor Carmel’s NIGERIAN BAR MITZVAH, about a boy’s desire to fit in with his Israeli friends; and Itamar Chen’s NIGHT SHIFT, exploring an Ethiopian enclave tin Rehovot through the eyes of its beat cop. Among the other docs screening here are Judith Kahana’s GARDEN OF EDEN, a look at a home for young women rejected by their ultra-Orthodox families; and Dani Wasserman’s DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE?, the story of a matchmaker with muscular dystrophy.
Moving outside of locally made work, the fest spotlights nonfiction from around the world in International Documentaries. Selections here include: Roberto Minervini’s STOP THE POUNDING HEART (pictured), a hybrid portrait of a young religious woman who slowly questions her beliefs after meeting a young bullrider; Lyubov Arkus’ ANTON’S RIGHT HERE, which follows an autistic teenager for several years; Esther Hoffenberg’s VIOLETTE LEDUC, IN PURSUIT OF LOVE, about the contemporary of Simone de Beauvoir who never shied away from controversial topics in her novels; and Shane Salerno’s SALINGER, about the reclusive author of THE CATCHER IN THE RYE.
Haifa Classics, like Cannes’ similar section, combines retrospective fiction with new documentaries about filmmakers and film. Included in the latter category are six titles, including James Toback’s SEDUCED AND ABANDONED (pictured), following the director and Alec Baldwin as the pitch their new project at Cannes; and Gérald Morin’s ON FELLINI’S FOOTSTEPS, a portrait of the director’s mentor. Finally, Haifa presents CinemArt, a program largely consisting of art docs, curated by critic David D’Arcy.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
