My latest Indiewire curation for Hulu documentaries ties into LGBT Pride – NYC and SF are both holding their big events this weekend. Watch these now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Category Archives: Film
Indiewire @ Hulu Docs: LGBT Lives
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs
In the Works: NORTHERN LIGHT
Against a harsh winter and an even harsher economic climate, working class America is revealed in a snowmobile competition in the north woods of Michigan.
In Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, an annual snowmobile race draws thousands to observe family members and friends participate in a dramatic competition. This becomes the backdrop for an observational documentary about three of the families in the community. Filmed over two years, Nick Bentgen and Lisa Kjerulff’s portrait reveals not only the spectacle of the race, but the quiet lives of some of those involved as they struggle with the fallout of the economic crisis to provide for their families and survive in difficult times. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
On Cable: ME @THE ZOO_
Premiering on HBO this Monday, June 25: ME @THE ZOO_
Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch’s portrait of YouTube celebrity Chris Crocker premiered at Sundance this year. It went on to screen at True/False and Provincetown before its cable broadcast premiere next week.
I wrote about the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
In Theatres: THE INVISIBLE WAR
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 22: THE INVISIBLE WAR
Kirby Dick’s potent investigation into military rape and its cover up had its world premiere earlier this year at Sundance, where it walked away with an audience award. Since then the film’s festival circuit has included RiverRun, San Francisco, Human Rights Watch, Los Angeles, and others. Its initial theatrical dates include New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Boston.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Special Screening: THE CARRIER
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema as part of the “No More Stigma” film series this Thursday, June 21: THE CARRIER
Maggie Betts’ portrait of a Zambian woman’s struggle with HIV made its world premiere at Tribeca last year. Since then, the film has screened at numerous events, including Big Sky, Documentary Edge, One World, and Lone Star, where I was on the jury that awarded it Best Documentary.
Set in a rural village, Betts’ beautifully lensed film focuses on a single family led by farmer Abarcon and his three wives, Brenda, Matildah, and Mutinta, and their many children. The AIDS pandemic plaguing the continent is soon felt – Abarcon contracts the virus, passing it on to his wives, two of whom are pregnant. As they try to come to grips with what is still very much a death sentence for many due to lack of access to treatment, Mutinta emerges as the focal point of the film, driven to save her unborn child from the fate of her parents. Betts achieves a remarkable intimacy with her characters despite the tension and drama that their HIV status engenders. They speak with surprising candor, demonstrating the strength and dignity that is often brought out in individuals when they’re tested by almost overwhelming forces. If the film significantly falters in one area, it’s in the melodramatic score, which at times casts a shadow on the narrative, tipping the family drama into the overwrought.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
In Theatres: KUMARÉ
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center tomorrow, Wednesday, June 20: KUMARÉ
Vikram Gandhi’s funny and controversial exposé of false prophets won an audience award at its world premiere at SXSW last year. Its festival circuit has included Denver, Woodstock, Hot Docs, Cucalorus, Planete Doc, Florida, and Traverse City, among others.
I included the film in my SXSW roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On DVD: MARY PICKFORD: THE MUSE OF THE MOVIES
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19: MARY PICKFORD: THE MUSE OF THE MOVIES
Nicholas Eliopoulos’ tribute to silent film’s first bona fide star made its world premiere at Telluride in 2008. It went on to screen at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival and at the Hot Springs doc fest, among others.
Eliopoulos’ adoring portrait recounts the highlights of Pickford’s career, tracing the development of the child star into the industry’s first female mogul as a partner in United Artists. The path of her career, the doc argues, parallels the blossoming of the motion picture industry, moving from simple one-reelers to more complex features, from silent pictures to talkies, from unnamed, unheralded actors to the birth of the internationally recognized movie star, and from cheap, faddish entertainment to a lucrative celebrity-studded business. Illustrated with a steady stream of clips from among her nearly 200 films, the film offers viewers a too-brief peek into Pickford’s talent, while Michael York’s biographical narration does the heftier job of guiding viewers through decades of a singular career. If the film as a whole is too conventional, eschewing critical engagement for a nostalgic appreciation, one aspect, at least, makes it stand out – joining York as a co-narrator is Pickford herself, in the form of a running commentary assembled from a restored audio interview from late in the star’s life. This posthumous narration weaves its own spell, offering a whisper of what made Pickford “America’s Sweetheart” and inspired this love letter.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On DVD: THE NINE MUSES
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19: THE NINE MUSES
John Akomfrah’s experimental melding of THE ODYSSEY and British immigration history premiered at Venice in 2010. It went on to screen at London and Dubai before coming stateside at Sundance in 2011. Additional festival appearances include Sheffield, Karlovy Vary, Jerusalem, Poland’s New Horizons, and Vancouver.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
In the Works: PROJECT DAD
Just in time for Father’s Day, a spotlight on a project exploring LGBT families through the lens of a filmmaker with a transgender dad.
Growing up in a small conservative Michigan town, Sharon Shattuck had a happy family, but it was different from the others: her father, originally named Michael, is transgender, and renamed herself Trisha. While this led to some anxiety for Shattuck – chiefly because of concerns over what the townsfolk might say – her expectations were upended. In response to this experience and to rhetoric against same-sex marriage rights that questions the validity of anything but heterosexual parents, Shattuck seeks to document the realities of LGBT families in America by offering not only a portrait of Trisha and their relationship, but of other families around the country. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
BAMcinemaFest 2012: Documentary Overview
The fourth edition of BAMcinemaFEST begins next Wednesday, June 20 and runs through Sunday, July 1. An outgrowth of Sundance at BAM, a popular program that brought highlights from the premier American independent festival to Brooklyn in the Summer, the BAM Rose Cinemas expanded their focus to offer a showcase of films largely handpicked from other major festivals like Cannes, SXSW, and Berlin, in addition to other special programming. The result is a smartly curated program that is almost guaranteed to include only the best recent filmmaking currently on the circuit. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
what (not) to doc 