Coming to theatres in NYC and Los Angeles today, Friday, February 1: THE GATEKEEPERS
Dror Moreh’s enthralling interviews with the former heads of Israel’s internal security made its premiere at the Jerusalem Film Festival last year. It went on to screen at Telluride, Toronto, and Sundance, and is one of the five finalists for the Best Documentary Oscar.
I wrote about the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
The co-writer/editor of BEING ELMO and the co-director/producer of SONS OF PERDITION move from Muppets and Mormons to magicians and mountebanks in this portrait of a man who’s made it his mission to expose charlatans… while keeping up to his own tricks.
Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom explore the life and work of James “The Amazing” Randi, the famed octogenarian magician and mentalist who has turned his talents to exposing others who use similar tricks to take advantage of people. In the course of revealing their subject and his crusade, however, the filmmakers discover that Randi is implicated in a much larger, and more serious, deceit – his partner of a quarter century, Jose, is not who he says he is. Is Randi a hypocrite, aiding and abetting this fraud, or did the man who’s made it his business to unearth deception himself fall for this flimflam? Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
Coming to HBO this Monday, February 4: MEA MAXIMA CULPA: SILENCE IN THE HOUSE OF GOD
Alex Gibney’s searing exposé of pedophilia in the Catholic Church premiered at Toronto last year. Subsequent fest exposure has included DOC NYC, London, Chicago, Woodstock, and the Hamptons. The doc was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar after its theatrical release in November.
I wrote about the film out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Here’s a pointer to the initial list of feature-length non-fiction and fiction films screening at this year’s SXSW – Midnighters and Shorts will be announced next Wednesday, February 6, with panels to follow on Wednesday, February 13. Out of the 110 films announced today – culled by Janet Pierson and her team from over 2000 feature submissions – by my count, just shy of half are documentaries. Beyond the all-non-fiction Documentary Feature Competition and Documentary Spotlight, one or more docs appear in every section announced today (aside from the fiction-exclusive Narrative Feature Competition and Narrative Spotlight).
Following is the list of documentary features, broken down by section. For descriptions, check out the link above: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction next Tuesday, February 5: ZIPPER
Amy Nicholson’s exploration of the battle between Coney Island and developers had its world premiere at DOC NYC last year, where it also claimed a special jury prize. The film is also slated to screen at Big Sky next month as it continues its festival circuit.
I wrote about the film out of DOC NYC here.
Note: Director Nicholson will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, February 5: PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE
Stephen Kessler’s portrait of the once ubiquitous and celebrated songwriter and actor had its world premiere at Toronto in 2011. The doc went on to screen at SXSW, IDFA, Thessaloniki Documentary, and Seattle, among others, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release.
I wrote about the film out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres beginning tomorrow, Thursday, January 31 and available for download beginning this Friday, February 1: SOUND CITY
The Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl premiered his ode to the titular recording studio earlier this month at Sundance. Capitalizing on the exposure there, in addition to his large fanbase, he releases the film in more than fifty theatres in the US, Canada, and Australia for a one night only event, then expands to other venues through February and into March. Simultaneously, the doc is being offered for DRM-free download via the website listed above.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, February 5: SIDE BY SIDE
Chris Kenneally’s look at the pros and cons of digital cinema premiered at last year’s Berlinale. Its festival circuit has included Hong Kong, Tribeca, Maui, deadCENTER, Sydney, and Galway, among others, and the doc has enjoyed a limited theatrical release as well as VOD via Tribeca Film.
I wrote about the film out of Tribeca here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, January 29: THE MAYOR
Jared Scheib’s look at the lives of a trio of seniors had its world premiere at DocAviv in 2011. It went on to screen at Lone Star, Documentary Edge, Little Rock, and the Dallas VideoFest. FilmBuff releases the film on iTunes and Amazon today.
The titular star of Scheib’s film is Sam Berger, a good-natured octogenarian who’s on a first-name basis with just about everyone in his Texas retirement home. After the death of his wife, Berger rediscovered the need for human connection in his new community, and transformed into a latter-day casanova, happily running around with various women, but not without generating his fair share of jealousy, gossip, and drama. In counterpoint to Berger’s escapades are fellow residents Dorothy and Ceil, two senior women who reflect on their long-standing relationships to their husbands, the nature of love, and the impact of aging on their lives and sex lives. The strength of these three characters’ personalities move the viewer through Scheib’s loosely structured, but often very entertaining, and sometimes quite poignant, portrait of love and companionship in the twilight years.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Wednesday, January 30: KINGS PARK
Lucy Winer’s personal exploration of America’s mental health care system premiered at Woodstock in 2011. Other screenings have included Stony Brook, Film Columbia, and Hamptons Take 2, as well as numerous mental health conferences, academic, and institutional appearances.
In 1967, as a teenager, Winer was committed to Long Island’s Kings Park State Hospital. Half a century later, she returned to the now-shuttered institution to face the traumas of her past. In the process, Winer expands beyond her own story to reveal those of other former residents, employees, and Kings Park itself, crafting a record of not only her own experience of mental illness, but of how mental health care has changed – and faltered – in the decades since her treatment. Deftly balancing the personal and the public, Winer allows the viewer to experience the decrepit yet still foreboding building where she was locked away, and to share in others’ troubling memories of their own or their loved ones’ incarceration, offering these reflections as a means to make sense of how we as a society deal with mental health. As a result, the documentary becomes a powerful tool that not only provides a catharsis for anyone who has been touched by similar experiences, but also presents an opportunity to explore and debate the current state of treatment.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
