Coming to WORLD Channel’s Global Voices series this Sunday, June 2: WHERE HEAVEN MEETS HELL
Sasha Friedlander’s look at the dangerous work of sulfur miners made its debut at Hong Kong last year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, DocsDF, Taiwan Doc, and the LA Asian Pacific Film Festival, among other fests. After its broadcast, the doc will be available for a limited time on WORLD’s website.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to Brooklyn’s reRun Theater this Friday, May 31 and to Los Angeles’ Downtown Independent on June 7: LA CAMIONETA
Mark Kendall’s chronicle of one school bus’ journey to Guatemala made its world premiere at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Los Angeles, Nashville, Philadelphia, Denver, DOC NYC, DocsDF, Big Sky, Cinequest, Guadalajara, Sebastopol, Cleveland, and It’s All True, among several other fests. It also won the IDA David L Wolper Award last year.
I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
The Brooklyn Film Festival returns for its sixteenth edition beginning this Friday, May 31. Running through Sunday, June 9, this year’s fest, led by the theme word “Magnetic,” presents 100 films from 24 countries, including nineteen docs, eight of which are features. Notably, given the organizers connection to festival venue indieScreen, prizes include one-week theatrical releases for the winners of best nonfiction and best fiction feature at the Brooklyn single-screen cinema.
Among the doc contenders are three I’ve previously written about: Inigo Westmeier’s DRAGON GIRLS, about Chinese teenage Kung Fu students; Amy Finkel’s FUREVER, on how people deal with the loss of their animal companions; and Dan Hunt’s MR ANGEL (pictured), a portrait of FTM trans porn star turned activist Buck Angel.
Remaining feature docs include: Belisario Franca’s ETERNAL AMAZON, an examination of if and how the Amazon rainforest can be used sustainably; Sarah Friedland’s THE RINK (pictured), about a Newark roller rink and the different people who use it; Cary McClelland’s WITHOUT SHEPHERDS, a multi-character perspective on modern-day Pakistan; Anne Thoma’s MILES & WAR, a portrait of independent peace mediators in conflict zones; and Barbara Miller’s FORBIDDEN VOICES, profiles of three female bloggers fighting censorship in Cuba, Iran, and China.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, May 28: A GOOD DAY TO DIE
David Mueller and Lynn Salt’s portrait of Dennis Banks and the American Indian Movement made its debut at deadCENTER in 2010, where it won best documentary. It went on to screen at Denver, Cork, Hot Springs, imagineNATIVE, and the San Francisco American Indian festivals, among others.
Banks is one of the founders and leaders of the late 1960s-1970s activist organization AIM, a Native American advocacy group borne out of frustration with authorities and the non-responsiveness of the federal government Bureau of Indian Affairs. Mueller and Salt focus to a large extent on Banks’ life, which mirrored the experiences of many Native Americans of his generation – forced separation from family, community, and language at Native boarding schools; government-supported assimilation into cities via the Indian Relocation Program; military service; and jail – the latter a product of discriminatory and often hostile policing. While incarcerated, Banks and fellow Native prisoners educated themselves via the prison library, learning of the strides made through activism around civil rights, women’s rights, and the anti-war movement, and becoming politicized in turn, forming AIM. Banks and associates relate a number of AIM’s key actions, such as the taking over of Mt Rushmore and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, neither of which employed Natives; several protests around the murders and cover-ups of Native people, including a march on Custer SD that gives the doc its title; and the infamous standoff at Wounded Knee, which sent Banks into hiding for nearly a decade, and effecitvely led to the shut down of AIM. Expertly blending interviews with ample archival material, Mueller and Salt provide an engrossing overview of the modern history of Native American activism that is sadly probably not as well known as it should be.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres via Cinedigm’s Docurama Festival initiative today, Tuesday, May 28: PING PONG
Hugh Hartford’s look at the over-80s ping pong set debuted at Hot Docs last year. Its fest circuit has included Sheffield, DOC NYC, Palm Springs, DMZ Docs, Warsaw, Mumbai, Vancouver, and Miami. The film is part of Cinedigm’s new seven-film program bringing feature documentaries to theatres weekly in up to fifteen US markets, including NYC, LA, Pasadena, Encino, San Diego, Palm Desert, Austin, San Antonio, Phoenix, Cleveland, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Hartford, New Haven, Ithaca, Richmond, and Helena. The films are also available for additional theatrical-on-demand screenings via Tugg. In NYC, Cinema Village will screen the doc today, Thursday, and Saturday.
Putting a little top spin on the conventions of the competition doc subgenre, Hartford profiles table tennis champion contenders – but the difference here is that they’re all seniors, competing in the World Over 80s Championships in Inner Mongolia, China. Moving at a fairly brisk pace, the eight subjects are introduced, which include two British men, one whose health has taken a turn for the worse in the months following the competition; two German ladies, including the reigning world champion; a Swede who has never taken home the gold; a fiercely competitive Texan woman from Austria who was a member of the French Resistance in WWII; an Aussie woman, who, at 101, is the oldest player in the world; and a Chinese man. The last two are so quickly eliminated from the competition that it frankly seems they were only featured for a bit of added age and racial diversity – though Dorothy, the Aussie, does get to enjoy the rock star treatment in one brief scene as she is swamped with admirers. As each round goes by, consecutive players are eliminated until only the top male and top female players remain from the doc’s core subjects. Hartford keeps the focus largely on the competition, only occasionally fleshing out his characters in their home settings with observations from their families, some old photos, or a tour of their nursing homes. While this leads to only brief character sketches versus a deeper sense of each protagonist, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing – these older men and women become a great deal more feisty in the competitive setting, demonstrating how they’re energized by both game play and the social aspect of the sport.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to Showtime this Friday, May 31: RICHARD PRYOR: OMIT THE LOGIC
Marina Zenovich’s profile of the comedy icon made its debut last month at Tribeca. It now comes to cable as part of Showtime’s recent nonfiction programming push, which has previously included Sundance titles HISTORY OF THE EAGLES and THE WORLD ACCORDING TO DICK CHENEY.
I included the doc in my Tribeca roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28: THE LOVING STORY
Nancy Buirski’s exploration of the story behind the landmark Supreme Court case Loving v Virginia debuted at Tribeca in 2011. It went on to screen at Full Frame, Silverdocs, Hamptons, Traverse City, and United Nations Association, among others. The doc enjoyed a brief theatrical run and won a Peabody Award, and comes to DVD just before the Supreme Court is expected to rule on another high profile marriage equality case next month.
I wrote about the doc out of Tribeca here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, May 28: CHARGE
Mark Neale’s look at the efforts of several groups to develop electric motorcycles just wrapped up a multi-city week-long run via Cinedigm.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
An exploration of African American support for a political movement that has a mainstream reputation for reactionary and even racist beliefs.
In its four years of organizing, the Tea Party movement has displayed remarkable growth and surprising influence, capitalizing on the frustration and desperation borne of the economic recession to mobilize a not-insignificant population to vote a new brand of Conservative politician into office. The development of the movement as a reaction to Barack Obama’s election and policies, its connection at times to fringe groups like the birthers, and damning statements and actions by key figures have led to the widespread public perception that the Tea Party is motivated by racism. At the same time, the Tea Party has still managed to attract African American supporters. Recognizing the dissonance between the movement’s mainstream portrayal and its aspects that have proven desirable to certain African Americans, director Kevin J Dotson and producer Katy Jordan seek a fuller understanding. Their film presents an opportunity for Tea Party affiliated African Americans to speak for themselves and present a more nuanced picture of the movement as a whole. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
Opening at NYC’s Quad Cinema today, Friday, May 24: THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK
Rob Epstein’s chronicle of the career of San Francisco’s first openly gay elected official had its world premiere at Telluride in 1984. Its initial fest circuit included other notable events including New York, Chicago, Berlin, and Sundance, where it took home a special jury prize. The film went on to win the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary the following year, solidifying its place in both the nonfiction and LGBT film canons, as noted by its inclusion last year in the National Film Registry. Notably, Gus Van Sant went on to retell and further popularize Milk’s story in 2008’s fictional MILK, which went on to win Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role for Sean Penn and Best Original Screenplay for Dustin Lance Black, galvanizing the latter as a new, public spookesman for LGBT rights.
The Quad’s re-release of Epstein’s doc comes a few days after Harvey Milk Day, commemorating Milk’s birthday, May 22, and, more importantly, after a series of anti-gay hate crimes in New York City which sadly have included the Greenwich Village murder of Mark Carson on May 18 and the attack on Dan Contarino on May 20. Epstein’s film tells the story of Harvey Milk, a Castro Street camera store owner who turned to gay rights activism and local political organizing, running for office several times before being elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. Tragically, after just under a year in office, Milk and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone were both gunned down by Dan White, a fellow city supervisor who had recently resigned after several clashes with Milk and other board members. Narrated by Harvey Fierstein, and featuring extensive archival footage of Milk, Moscone, White, and other San Francisco civic figures in addition to contemporary interviews, Epstein’s elegaic film demonstrates Milk’s charisma and importance to not only his fellow San Franciscans, but to the LGBT community as a whole, as manifested in several key scenes. The footage of his election victory captures the dawning awareness of validation and the possibility of true change by his supporters, the candlelight vigil in response to his murder serves as a poignant reminder of the reality of their struggle, and the riots that ensue after White’s lenient sentence reflect the LGBT community’s rage at being treated like second class citizens, as well as their still unresolved grief at their leader’s assassination. Unabashedly political, Epstein’s expertly crafted and always affecting documentary takes up Milk’s call for full LGBT equality, and, as indicated by these recent bias-motivated crimes, remains as essential now as it did upon its initial release.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
what (not) to doc 