Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 26: GLOW: THE STORY OF THE GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING
Brett Whitcomb’s appreciative look back at the classic women’s wrestling program made its world premiere at Hot Docs last year. It went on to screen at Sidewalk, DMZ Docs, Austin, Hot Springs, and Big Sky, among other fests, and was recently broadcast on Logo TV.
I included the doc in my Hot Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 26: ROMAN POLANSKI: ODD MAN OUT
Marina Zenovich’s follow up to her previous, influential Polanski film made its debut at Toronto last Fall. It went on to screen at the New York and Zurich Film Festivals, and to be picked up for cable broadcast later this year by Showtime.
I included the film in my Toronto roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
I just returned from the mother(and father)land last night, having spent five days in Greece for the 15th anniversary Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. It was my second year attending the event for Indiewire, and my article is now up here, covering the awards, the Docs in Progress section, and several of the Greek films – THE GROCER, pictured, represents all three. I plan on posting here later this week with thoughts on additional films screened.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 26: STEP UP TO THE PLATE
Paul Lacoste’s look at the relationship between a father and son pair of chefs premiered at last year’s Berlin. Other screenings included Seattle, Silverdocs, and San Francisco, among others, followed by a limited theatrical release this past Fall.
I wrote about the doc out of Silverdocs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to POV this Sunday, March 24: GIRL MODEL
Ashley Sabin and David Redmon’s exposé of the international modeling world made its world premiere at Toronto in 2011. Its fest circuit has included Camden, CPH: DOX, IDFA, SXSW, Cleveland, Full Frame, DOXA, and the Southern Circuit, among others, as well as a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the film out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to Stranger Than Fiction as the Spring Season opener this coming Tuesday, March 26: NO PLACE ON EARTH
Janet Tobias’ chronicle of Jewish families’ resilience and survival during the Nazi era made its debut at Toronto last year. It has gone on to screen at the Hamptons, where it picked up an audience award, IDFA, Martha’s Vineyard, and Miami, among others.
I previously wrote about the film out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film
Paris’ documentary festival, Cinéma du Réel, opens tomorrow, Thursday, March 21, and runs through Sunday, March 31. Since 1979, the event has promoted non-fiction film at the famed Le Centre Pompidou and other locations around Paris. This year’s edition includes nearly forty new feature length documentaries, plus scores of shorts, retrospective screenings, panels, installations, and other special events. Although I’m not attending, the following offers some highlights from this year’s program: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
My coverage of non-fiction films from the just completed SXSW wraps up with this look at a few films each from four of the non-competitive sections of the festival, Visions, Special Events, SXGlobal, and 24 Beats Per Second – I previously wrote about Competition and Documentary Spotlight titles. Once again, I didn’t have the opportunity to see all the films in these sections that I was hoping to, and would single out a few that were also on my list – THE GREAT HIP HOP HOAX, THE PUNK SINGER, and BAYOU MAHARAJAH – that I’d like to catch elsewhere. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, In Brief, Recommendations
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 19: SOUL FOOD JUNKIES
Byron Hurt’s look at African American food and health premiered at Miami’s American Black Film Festival last Summer. It’s gone on to screen at Urbanworld and at numerous community screenings via ITVS, in addition to its broadcast premiere this past January.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, March 18: AMERICAN WINTER
Harry Gantz and Joe Gantz’s exploration of the personal side of the economic crisis made its world premiere last month at the Portland International Film Festival, where it took home the documentary audience award.
The film offers a survey of a range of different families in the Portland area as they struggle to make ends meet in the face of the Great Recession. The bridge between the eight families is the city’s nonprofit social services referral organization, 211info, which assists those in need with a variety of essential support, from locating housing to getting cancelled electricity service restored. Demonstrating quite profoundly the shrinking of the safety net that traditionally forestalled mass poverty and homelessness, these subjects contend with the lasting impact of the bursting of the housing bubble, the stagnation of US job growth, and the ineffectiveness of the healthcare system, all dealing a devastating blow to the stability of the middle class. The Gantzes’ film makes its point that everyone is affected by profiling subjects of different racial backgrounds, levels of unemployment or underemployment, and educational backgrounds, and it’s a testament to just how difficult their situations are that these families open their homes to the filmmakers’ cameras in what are clearly extremely stressful times. While this acknowledgement is welcome, the film overdoes it – with more than a dozen characters featured, it’s hard for the viewer to build up a sufficient rapport with one family before the Gantzes shift over to a second and then a third and a fourth in short order. While effective enough to be worthwhile in its present form, a deeper investment in fewer subjects could have raised this beyond the surface of a survey treatment into a overall more affecting portrait.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 