Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema as part of Filmwax’s Docularious series next Wednesday, December 19: JOAN RIVERS: A PIECE OF WORK
Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s surprisingly honest profile of the acerbic comedienne premiered at Sundance in 2010, claiming an editing award. After a healthy festival run, the film performed very well upon theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, December 11: KUMARÉ
Vikram Gandhi’s provocative indictment of false prophets took home an audience award at its premiere at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Woodstock, Denver, Hot Docs, and Traverse City, among other festivals. It becomes available on Comcast, Time Warner, Cox, iTunes, Amazon, Xbox, Google Play, and Vudu today.
I previously wrote about the film out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, December 11: CONVENTO
Jarred Alterman’s profile of an unusual family and their unique home premiered at SXSW last year. Its screening circuit included Edinburgh, Camden, IFF Boston, and Rooftop Films, among others, as well as a limited theatrical run. The film becomes available on iTunes, Amazon, Vudu, and more today.
I included the film in my SXSW roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, May 18: BILL W.
Kevin Hanlon debuted his film about the troubled co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous at Thin Line in Denton TX. It also screened at Cleveland, where it picked up an award. The doc has been screening theatrically since May, and now comes to iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Cinemanow, and Vudu via FilmBuff.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 11: MANSOME
Morgan Spurlock’s exploration of manliness through grooming premiered at this year’s Tribeca. Soon after, it enjoyed a theatrical run and a later VOD release.
I included the film in my Tribeca roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
This past Friday evening saw the announcement of the International Documentary Association (IDA)’s 28th annual Documentary Awards in a ceremony hosted by Penn Jillette in Los Angeles. I served on the short category committee last year, and co-chaired the student category this year. Here’s the full list of winners:
Career Achievement Award:
Presented to “a filmmaker who has made a major impact on the documentary genre through a long and distinguished body of work,” this year’s award goes to Arnold Shapiro, the Oscar and Emmy-Award-winning producer, director, and writer of SCARED STRAIGHT!, producer of reality TV mainstay BIG BROTHER, and the current A&E series BEYOND SCARED STRAIGHT, among many other credits.
Pioneer Award:
Presented to “acknowledge extraordinary contributions to advancing the non-fiction form and providing exceptional vision and leadership to the documentary community,” this year’s award goes to Sundance Institute’s Documentary Film Program and Fund.
Jacqueline Donnet Emerging Documentary Filmmaker Award:
Presented to “recognize the acheivements of a filmmaker who has made a significant impact at the beginning of his or her career in documentary film,” this year’s award goes to David France, the director of HOW TO SURVIVE A PLAGUE.
Best Feature:
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, by Malik Bendjelloul
Best Short:
SAVING FACE, by Daniel Junge and Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy
Best Continuing Series:
AMERICAN MASTERS, executive produced by Susan Lacy
Best Limited Series:
ON DEATH ROW, by Werner Herzog
David L Wolper Student Documentary Award:
LA CAMIONETA, by Mark Kendall
ABCNews Videosource Award
HARVEST OF EMPIRE, by Peter Getzels and Eduardo López
Humanitas Documentary Award
BITTER SEEDS, by Micha X Peled
Pare Lorentz Award
THE ISLAND PRESIDENT, by Jon Shenk
Best Cinematography
WOMEN WITH COWS, by Peter Gerdehag
Best Editing
ROOM 237, by Rodney Ascher
Best Music
SEARCHING FOR SUGAR MAN, by composer Sixto Rodriguez with additional score by director Malik Bendjelloul
Best Writing
ANN RICHARDS’ TEXAS, by Keith Patterson
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema for a one-week theatrical run starting this Monday, December 10: THE LOVING STORY
Nancy Buirski’s exploration of the Supreme Court case that legalized interracial marriage premiered at last year’s Tribeca. Its festival circuit included Full Frame, Silverdocs, Hamptons, and Traverse City, among others.
I wrote about the doc out of Tribeca here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
The director of multi-festival award winner SIERRA LEONE’S REFUGEE ALL STARS turns his camera on his mother, grappling with Alzheimer’s and with her complex relationship with her own mother.
When she is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s, Pam White and her family have to adjust to the changes she is experiencing, and the growing dependency she must have on those around her. When the disease makes it difficult for Pam to continue writing her memoir about her artist mother, Marian Williams Steele, who herself suffered from Alzheimer’s, her son Banker films Pam’s remembrances as a way to keep her working on the project. Working with co-director Anna Fitch, Banker White has developed this personal story into an exploration not only of two influential women in his family, but of universal themes of memory, illness, and loss. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
Coming to Los Angeles’ Arclight Hollywood tomorrow, Friday, December 7: LOST ANGELS: SKID ROW IS MY HOME
Thomas Q Napper’s exploration of life in LA’s Skid Row made its premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival in 2010. Since then, it has screened at IDFA, Big Sky, London’s Human Rights Watch, and Prague’s One World Human Rights Watch film festivals, among others.
Napper’s film, while perhaps over-relying on Catherine Keener’s narration, is clear in its purpose, as signaled by the doc’s subtitle – demonstrating that an area historically and presently written off by just about everyone actually has worth to its inhabitants. Importantly, the audience is permitted to hear from these denizens, in their own words, both in verité scenes on the streets as well as in structured one-on-one studio interviews. They represent the diversity of the inhabitants of the more than fifty blocks that the local LA government and police force would rather didn’t exist, and dispel myths about who is on Skid Row and why. Beyond showcasing strong characters on the fringes of society who are usually not afforded camera time – like transgender Bam Bam, activist General Dogon, or cat lady Lee Anne – Napper exposes the harsh policies being used by the city of Los Angeles to effectively criminalize the homeless and transient population, many of them with psychological disorders, and the encroachment of development that is gentrifying the area, pushing out Skid Row’s at-risk population.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres and VOD tomorrow, Friday, December 7: THE SHEIK & I
Caveh Zahedi’s controversial (and problematic) exploration of censorship in the Middle East made its world premiere at SXSW. It’s played since at San Francisco, Boston, and Rooftop Films. In addition to theatrical screenings in Brooklyn, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland, the doc will be released via Fandor and other digital outlets.
I wrote about the doc out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 