Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, July 16: THE FRUIT HUNTERS
Yung Chang’s look at exotic fruit lovers debuted at RIDM last year. Its fest circuit included IDFA, Toronto Reel Asian, Palm Springs, Hawaii, and Global Visions, among others. It was part of Cinedigm’s Docurama theatrical doc screening series this Spring.
I previously wrote about the film out of IDFA here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
As Tunisia heads to its first free presidential election, can secular and religious forces manage to work together to create a democracy that satisfies all its citizens?
The Tunisian Revolution of 2010-2011 is recognized as the beginning of the Arab Spring, but as has been the case in other post-revolutionary nations, the road to true freedom is not instantaneous, especially in a country that has never known democracy. To make matters even more complicated, how will the region’s deep-seated religious beliefs come into play? This is the question facing the protagonists of director/producer Jessie Deeter’s film, which follows Bassem Bouguerra, a secular revolutionary, and Jawhara Ettis, a university professor and member of the moderate Islamist party. Even under ousted President Ben Ali’s dictatorial rule, Tunisia espoused secular freedom, but some Tunisians seek a turn to more fundamentalist policies to bring the country in line with Islamic law. As the country tries to set forth its future course with a general election later this year, Deeter and her Tunisian-born co-producer Sara Maamouri follow Bassem and Jawhara to reveal what democracy will look like in a country pulled in separate directions. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
Coming to ESPN as part of their Nine for IX series next Tuesday, July 16: LET THEM WEAR TOWELS
Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s revisitation of the double standards female journalists once faced debuted at Tribeca this year. The film was commissioned by ESPN for its women-directed, women in sports doc series, an offshoot of sorts to the network’s popular 30 for 30 doc brand.
I included the doc in my Tribeca coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to WORLD Channel’s Global Voices series this Sunday, July 14: INVOKING JUSTICE
Deepa Dhanraj’s look at Muslim South Indian women uniting to ensure justice under Sharia law made its debut at IDFA in 2011. Its festival run has included Hawaii, DocPoint, One World, CAAMFest, and NY’s Asian American fest, among others.
In Southern India’s Tamil Nadu, disputes involving family issues – dowries to divorces, domestic violence to murder – used to be adjudicated by local Jamaats, all-male assemblies tasked with applying Sharia law, without women present to offer testimony or defense. In 2004, this practice changed, when a Women’s Jamaat was formed to attend directly to women’s issues, a radical and controversial idea that nevertheless proved popular as women became emboldened by its equal application of the law. Dhanraj’s film focuses on the work of a Women’s Jamaat as its fierce advocates seek justice for a mother whose daughter was allegedly set aflame by her husband and in-laws in a dowry dispute, and for a battered wife who’s finally reached her limit when her husband makes inappropriate sexual advances to their daughter. Eye-opening in its raw exposé of continuing gender inequities and corruption, the film nevertheless leaves the viewer feeling that these women are making a real difference, working from within the bounds of the system to reclaim their religion from extremists who would use it to subjugate and do violence upon women.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV next Monday, July 15: ONLY THE YOUNG
Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet’s intimate coming of age film had its world premiere at True/False last year. It went on to screen at San Francisco, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, and AFI Fest, picking up awards at the latter two fests, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Hot Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to HBO as part of its annual Docs Summer Series next Monday, July 15: THE CRASH REEL
Lucy Walker’s intimate exploration of snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s struggle with traumatic brain injury had its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year. Since then, the doc has screened at Berlin, Hot Docs, True/False, Full Frame, Seattle, and Los Angeles, among others, and has picked up awards at SXSW, Dallas, and Ashland.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films this Saturday, July 13: BRASSLANDS
The Meerkat Media Collective’s look at the world’s largest brass music festival debuted at the Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival, where it won “Best of Fest.” It went on to close Belgrade’s BelDocs and later made its North American premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
The setting is Guča, a small Serbian town of just over 2000 that sees an influx of more than half a million visitors each Summer to attend its annual trumpet festival, a celebration of Balkan brass band music. For its 50th anniversary, the organizers have extended invitations to non-Serbian bands to compete in a special International section, giving non-Balkan, Brooklyn-based band Zlatne Uste an excuse to return for the first time since 1987 – a time, critically, before the dissolution of Yugoslavia and the ethnic wars that followed which ravaged the region for years. While they serve as de facto guides for Western viewers, there frankly isn’t much to their story beyond being slightly naive enthusiasts of the music. Somewhat more interesting are the profiles of other competitors: the festival’s reigning champion, Dejan, and a strong contender from the south, Demiran, who faces prejudice because of his Roma roots. Meerkat Media’s film best captures the festive atmosphere of Guča – a sort of brass SXSW or Coachella – making it most palatable for music doc fans. Beyond that sense of vibrant cultural spectacle, there are moments when ethnic, political, and historical divisions bubble to the surface, providing viewers with an intriguing hint of the factors ever at play in a nation still struggling with its past scars.
Filed under Documentary, Film
Latinbeat, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual Latin American cinema showcase, begins this Friday, July 12 and runs through Sunday, July 21. For its 14th edition, taking place a month earlier than its typical August berth, the series presents 18 films – hailing from all over the region, from Argentina to Uruguay, Chile to Brazil – of which four are documentaries:
From Colombia, Priscilla Padilla’s THE ETERNAL NIGHT OF TWELVE MOONS (LA ETERNA NOCHE DE LAS DOCE LUNAS) (pictured above) explores an indigenous tradition that keeps young women isolated for a year upon the onset of menstruation; from Guatemala/Mexico, Mercedes Moncada’s MAGICAL WORDS (BREAKING A SPELL) (PALABRAS MÁGICAS (PARA ROMPER UN ENCANTAMIENTO)), a personal reflection of growing up in Nicaragua during the Sandinista revolution; from Mexico, Emiliano Altuna, Diego Enrique Osorno, and Carlos Rossini’s THE MAYOR (EL ALCALDE), a portrait of a controversial millionaire turned politician who resorts to extreme measures to keep his community safe from the narcotrafficking violence plaguing other parts of the country; and from Argentina/France, Daniele Incalcaterra and Fausta Quattrini’s IMPENETRABLE (EL IMPENETRABLE), following the filmmaker and his brother as they try to explore inherited land in Paraguay, only to be frustrated by unwelcoming neighbors.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres this Friday, July 12: TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY
Cullen Hoback’s indepth investigation of privacy in the age of the Internet made its debut at Slamdance. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Dallas, Newport Beach, Sonoma, SF DocFest, and Seattle.
I included the doc in my Hot Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
It’s Summer, but not everyone can find time to make it to the beach. Let my latest curated selections for Hulu’s Documentaries cool you off virtually with a series of surfing docs. Watch them now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs, Recommendations
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