Now screening at the IFC Center and opening in San Francisco and Seattle today, May 3: THE SOURCE FAMILY
Maria Demopoulos and Jodi Wille’s indepth revisitation of 1970s Los Angeles counterculture made its world premiere at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Seattle, San Francisco, and Silverdocs, among other fests.
I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres via Cinedigm’s Docurama initiative this Tuesday, May 7: THE WORLD BEFORE HER
Nisha Pahuja’s exploration of extreme expressions of Indian femininity had its world premiere at Tribeca last year, where it won a jury award. It repeated the win at Hot Docs, Traverse City, and San Diego Asian, and also screened at Warsaw, Little Rock, Sydney, Reykjavik, CNEX Doc, Vancouver, Abu Dhabi, Bergen, IDFA, and Big Sky, among others. 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 this Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.
I wrote about the doc out of Hot Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema for the African Film Festival and Doc Watchers series “Five Days of African Docs” this Sunday, May 5: TOUBA
E Chai Vasarhelyi’s immersive exploration of a Senegalese Muslim pilgrimage made its world premiere at this year’s SXSW. The jury noted its exceptional cinematography, giving a special jury recognition to DP Scott Duncan.
I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema for the African Film Festival and Doc Watchers series “Five Days of African Docs” this Saturday, May 4: DEAR MANDELA
Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza’s look at housing activism among South Africa’s poor premiered at Durban in 2011. Since then it’s screened at numerous fests, including Camden, One World, Brooklyn, and Zanzibar, as well as university and community screenings around the world.
As the South African generation born post-apartheid comes into its own, the promises made by the previous freedom fighters are found to be unfulfilled. Among the most contentious is the long-deferred plan to provide housing for the poor, who otherwise make due in hastily constructed shacks organized into shanytown slums. Despite the constitutional protection against forced evictions, a new law theoretically designed to curtail the growth of slums has empowered authorities to destroy unauthorized shacks, angering the populace and reinforcing a sense that the inequality once based on race has instead given way to one based on economics. Taking on this issue is the group Abahlali BaseMjondolo – the “people of the shacks” – who work to organize from within, educating shack dwellers about their rights, and take the government to court over the unconstitutionality of the Slums Act. Kell and Nizza profile some of the young leaders of the movement as they face death threats, imprisonment, and the anger of an older generation who don’t take kindly to disparaging words being leveled against the political party that freed them from the shackles of an unjust system – even if it might be repeating some of the mistakes of the past. While focused on the housing issue, the film eloquently speaks to the challenges facing the relatively young South African democracy as a whole – generational divides, political stagnancy, and the global problem of the widening gap between the haves and the have-nots.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction next Tuesday, May 7: PANDORA’S PROMISE
Robert Stone’s compelling re-evaluation of nuclear energy made its premiere at Sundance at the beginning of the year. Since then, it has screened at True/False and Full Frame, as well as at a number of universities.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Note: The screening will be followed with a Q&A with director Stone.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Vancouver’s DOXA Documentary Film Festival begins this Friday, May 3, and runs through Sunday, May 12. The 12th annual festival presents more than sixty documentary features, in addition to shorts, panels, and special events. Intended to explore the elasticity of nonfiction, the fest aims to expose local audiences to innovative Canadian and international docs. DOXA opens with Canadian doc OCCUPY THE MOVIE, Corey Ogilvie’s overview of the history of the popular movement, which began in Vancouver; presents a “midweek special” centerpiece screening of Ben Lewis’ Sundance-premiering GOOGLE AND THE WORLD BRAIN; and closes with Ryan White’s SXSW alum GOOD OL’ FREDA. Selections from the rest of the lineup follow: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens next Monday, May 6: SEEKING ASIAN FEMALE
Debbie Lum’s chronicle of her involvement in the lives of an admitted Asian fetishist and his Chinese bride debuted at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Silverdocs, LA Asian Pacific American, San Diego Asian, Vancouver, and Hawaii, among other festivals.
I included the film in my Silverdocs roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to HBO tomorrow, Wednesday, May 1: MANHUNT: THE SEARCH FOR OSAMA BIN LADEN
Greg Barker’s look at the intelligence community’s long hunt for Al Qaeda’s leader debuted at Sundance earlier this year. It has gone on to screen at True/False, USA, and Full Frame, among others.
I wrote about the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 30: THE REVISIONARIES
Scott Thurman’s eye-opening examination of the battle over Texas’ textbooks had its world premiere at Tribeca last year. The doc went on to screen at Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Nashville, and Hot Springs, among others, and to be broadcast on Independent Lens.
I included the film in my Tribeca roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to Bravo for its television debut tonight, Monday, April 29: THE QUEEN OF VERSAILLES
Lauren Greenfield’s exploration of the haves facing the Recession debuted at Sundance last year, picking up the US Documentary Directing Award. It went on to screen extensively, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Provincetown, Karlovy Vary, Traverse City, and IDFA. It enjoyed a limited theatrical release and is available on DVD.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
what (not) to doc 