Coming to VOD next Tuesday, June 12: INDIE GAME: THE MOVIE
Lisanne Pajot and James Swirksy had the world premiere of their doc on independent video game creators at Sundance, claiming a jury award. Their festival circuit has included SXSW and Hot Docs, among others. Following on the heels of a theatrical release the past couple of months, they are making the film available worldwide via iTunes, Steam, and their website.
I wrote about the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema for a one-week run beginning next Monday, June 11: TAHRIR: LIBERATION SQUARE
Stefano Savona’s immersive verité of the Egyptian uprising made its world premiere last year at Locarno. Additional circuit stops have included the New York Film Festival, Santa Barbara, Docpoint, Dubai, DocLisboa, and DOXA.
Premiering just six months after the massive protests in the now famous public square forced Egypt’s Mubarak out of power, Savona’s film reflects a guerrilla-style, on-the-ground perspective of a revolution in progress, with all the chaos and intensity that accompanies a world-changing event. Although some characters are loosely followed, the true power of the film comes from its ability to capture the masses and their collective action. Savona’s camera documents not only citizens gathered on the precipice of change, but also a complex swirl of emotions from a people finally able to speak out publicly and communally against a thirty-year-long regime – their fear, anticipation, confusion, anger, and, most importantly, hope, determination, and joy shine through.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
My latest Indiewire curation for Hulu documentaries ties into this weekend’s release of two anticipated sci-fi features – the epic PROMETHEUS and the Sundance would-be time travel romantic comedy SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED. Watch these now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs
If you’re based in the NYC area or planning on being in town this Saturday, June 9 at Noon, I’m taking part in a new initiative for the Brooklyn Film Festival. The BFF Exchange presents free panels and networking events to bring together filmmakers and industry representatives.
I’m one of the panelists for the Documentary Pitch Session, in which four groups of filmmakers will present footage and a brief pitch for their works-in-progress. Representatives from POV, Chicken and Egg Pictures, and more will provide constructive feedback.
Later in the afternoon, BFF Exchange hosts a panel on distribution, featuring representatives from Zeitgeist Films, SnagFilms, and FilmBuff. A happy hour brings the event to a close after a presentation by Funave. All events take place at Williamsburg’s indieScreen – for more info click on the link in the first paragraph.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema as part of the fourth annual GREY GARDENS Staunch Celebration series this Sunday, June 10: THE BEALES OF GREY GARDENS
Albert Maysles revisited the mother and daughter made legendary through 1975’s GREY GARDENS in this 2006 companion piece, in which his brother David posthumously shares the director credit. The film was released theatrically in New York City, while also appearing at festivals including Toronto later that year before coming to DVD via Criterion.
Assembled from hours of footage that didn’t make it into the original film, the later documentary offers viewers more than just outtakes. While GREY GARDENS is a masterful work, it’s clear that the Maysles had a lot more material they could have used beyond its roughly hour and half running time to tell the story of Big and Little Edie. As leisurely structured as the original, the doc invites the viewer into the the Beales’ home, an East Hampton estate that has seen better days, for an intimate yet casual exploration of their often contrary relationship. Along the way, Little Edie reveals aspects of her life unaddressed in the original, from religion and politics to family relationships and astrology; flirts with the filmmakers; and breaks into song numerous times. Big Edie, for her part, comes off as warmer, expressing a near-obsession with the handsome young caretaker Jerry (the subject of another documentary being shown at the Maysles this weekend); eats a lot of ice cream; and actively encourages her daughter to change outfits about ten times a day to amuse her, explaining Little Edie’s penchant for costume changes in the first film. Fittingly, the film ends with Little Edie talking about her home, and being asked what she thought of titling the original film after it, bringing the viewer full circle to GREY GARDENS.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s Film Forum for a two-week run beginning next Wednesday, June 13: MARINA ABRAMOVIC THE ARTIST IS PRESENT
Matthew Akers’ portrait of the famed performance artist had its world premiere in competition at Sundance, where Abramovic famously hosted a silent party. It went on to win an audience award the next month at the Berlinale.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
One of the summer’s most anticipated documentary events, Sheffield Doc/Fest, opens in less than a week, running June 13-17. I was hoping to be able to make it there for the first time this year, but it sadly hasn’t worked out.
Last year saw the fest’s first edition in its new June berth, just seven months after its last edition was held the previous Fall. With a whole year to plan 2012’s edition, Festival Director Heather Croall, Programmer Hussain Currimbhoy, and the rest of their team have assembled a wide-ranging lineup of more than eighty documentary features, including nearly a dozen world premieres. Taking a look at a number of the fest’s different programming strands, here are some highlights (omitting titles I’ve previously written about out of other festivals): Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews
Coming to NYC’s Cinema Village this Friday, June 8: PATAGONIA RISING
Brian Lilla’s investigation into a controversial Chilean hydroelectric plan premiered at Newport Beach last year. Additional stops on the festival circuit included, among others, the Hot Springs and San Francisco Documentary fests, and Chile’s Valdivia, Cine Otro, and Cine de la Patagonia Aysen, wining awards at the latter two.
Chile’s isolated Patagonian region is home to the Baker and Pascua, two glacier-fed rivers that provide for the region’s biodiversity. When the Spanish company Endsea proposes an ambitious hydroelectric project – the construction of five large dams – they promise a surplus of “clean” energy which can benefit Chile. Among the downsides, familiar to viewers who have seen films like UP THE YANGTZE: flooded regions, displaced inhabitants, and the potential unbalancing of the area’s ecosystem. Lilla talks to the gauchos and other residents of the region, contrasting their anxieties about this radical change to their homes with the corporate-speak reassurances of Endsea’s representative. The engaging doc also explores alternative, lower-impact sources of energy that may prove better solutions to the country’s energy needs, if only the interest of global profit above all else is able to be held in check.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 8: PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE
Stephen Kessler’s portrait of one of the most ubiquitous celebrities of the 1970s had its world premiere last year at Toronto. Additional screenings followed at SXSW, IDFA, Thessaloniki Documentary, and Seattle, among other festivals.
I included the film in my Toronto roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films this Thursday, June 7: THE SHEIK & I
Caveh Zahedi premiered his button-pushing look at censorship in the Middle East at SXSW earlier this year. It has gone on to screen at the Independent Film Festival of Boston and San Francisco.
I included the film in my SXSW roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
what (not) to doc 