Category Archives: Film

Coming to HBO tomorrow, Thursday, June 27: THE OUT LIST

Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ cross-section of LGBT life in the US has held sneak previews in New York, Salt Lake City, Miami, Philadelphia, and San Francisco, but makes its official national debut via HBO.

Continuing the set up of Greenfield-Sanders’ previous popular projects, THE BLACK LIST and THE LATINO LIST, which have gone on to spawn sequels, his latest project is effective in its simplicity: beautifully photographed interview subjects, representing both celebrities and everyday folks, directly address the camera about some facet of their lives as it intersects with the LGBT experience. Lady Bunny talks about the freedom of drag, Jake Shears embraces a sense of being an outsider, Larry Kramer reflects on the power of channeled anger in AIDS activism, and Ellen, Neil Patrick Harris, and Cynthia Nixon each address the impact of coming out on their careers. While these more familiar faces help make the project more viable, the non-celebrity participants offer often poignant examples about how their own visibility has helped validate other LGBT people – such as writer Janet Mock inspiring other trans women, sheriff Lupe Valdez being elected in traditionally conservative Republican Dallas, or Afghani-American teacher Wazina Zondon providing a role model for her students. Not surprisingly, and timed to be released the week of the Supreme Court’s decision, many of the interview subjects reference marriage equality, from Dustin Lance Black’s emotional response to the passage of Prop 8, to Suze Orman’s frustration at unfair estate taxes on same-sex surviving spouses, to Christine Quinn’s no-nonsense insistence on the importance of the word “marriage.” By the nature of the project’s survey approach, this can’t go into great depth on any one topic, and can’t hope to be representative of the entire spectrum of the LGBT community, but as a present-day overview of its leading concerns, and a celebration of identity, it serves its purpose well.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Wednesday, June 26: HOW TO MAKE MONEY SELLING DRUGS

Matthew Cooke’s subversive look at the lucrative world of drugs debuted at Toronto last year. Its festival circuit also included Tribeca, Tromso, and Newport Beach, among others. Already available on VOD, it opens at the IFC Center and expands to additional theatres this weekend.

I previously wrote about the doc out of Toronto here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 25: THE LAST WHITE KNIGHT

Paul Saltzman’s surprising re-encounter with a Klansman who assaulted him decades before made its debut at Toronto last year. Since then, it has screened at Cleveland, Vancouver, and at several Jewish film fests, including San Francisco, Atlanta, Los Angeles, and Maine.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25, and to PBS’s America ReFramed on WORLD Channel this Sunday, June 30: FOLLOW THE LEADER

Jonathan Goodman Levitt’s coming-of-age portrait of three politically-engaged teenage boys had its debut at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions this past year. It went on to screen as part of the Southern Circuit Tour of Independent Filmmakers, the PaleyDocFest, and the recently completed Northside Film, where it picked up a jury award. Cinedigm will be releasing the film on iTunes and other platforms, while Tugg makes it available for theatrical screenings.

At the start of Levitt’s doc, sixteen-year-olds DJ, Nick, and Ben all self-identified, more or less, as conservatives, but over the course of the three-year project, their political leanings diverge from any monolithic conception of that term. All are involved in student government, and all have dreams of becoming President, in some cases attending political leadership camp or volunteering for local election campaigns. Displaying the qualities of typical teenage know-it-alls, supremely confident in and opinionated about their beliefs, part of the joy in the film is watching as the more open-minded of them – Nick and DJ – mature and acknowledge that they may not know all the answers, shifting their positions or refocusing their goals. For his part, DJ, already devout, leads with his faith rather than blindly supporting one political party or ideology, eventually leading him to pursue a different calling entirely. Nick, on the other hand, finds his idealism about the potential in bipartisanship challenged more than once. And then there’s Ben… He’s decidedly the most extreme, and intransigent, in his Republican conservatism, fully aware of the dirty side to politics, but seemingly so ambitious that he’s fine with it – likely making him, in some viewers’ eyes, a great villain of sorts who you can love to dislike (“hate” is too strong a word in this context). Levitt selected three distinctive and personable subjects to follow, and stuck with them long enough to witness their transformation in their key early college years, as each contends with the ramifications of the Obama/McCain election. The result is an absorbing and intriguing look at the next generation of political engagement in a time of intense partisanship.

Coming to TV this Wednesday, June 26: UNITED IN ANGER: A HISTORY OF ACT UP

Jim Hubbard’s chronicle of AIDS activism debuted at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight last year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Frameline, Outfest, Mix Brasil, and a host of LGBT fests around the world. It will screen on KCET Link TV this Wednesday, with repeats on Thursday and Saturday, available on the DISH Network channel 9410, DIRECT TV channel 375, and around the US here.

I included the doc in my Hot Docs coverage here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 25: KIND HEARTED WOMAN

David Sutherland’s intimate portrait of an Oglala Sioux single mother’s efforts to better her life debuted on PBS’s Independent Lens and Frontline this past Spring. It has also screened at the Salem Film Festival, and as part of community events, including several Native film series.

I previously wrote about the film prior to its broadcast premiere here.