Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, June 5: (A)SEXUAL
Angela Tucker’s exploration of a community of individuals with no sexual inclination made its world premiere last year at Frameline. Its festival circuit included additional LGBT events, the New Orleans Film Festival, and a multi-city tour for Asexual Awareness Week last October.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’ Independent Lens this Thursday, June 7: WE WERE HERE
David Weissman’s brought his elegaic yet hopeful look back at AIDS to Sundance for its world premiere last year. After an extensive festival run and a limited theatrical release, the doc made the Oscar shortlist,
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, June 5: BEAR NATION
Malcolm Ingram’s exploration of a uniquely gay subculture made its premiere at SXSW in 2010. In addition to screening at numerous LGBT film fests, including NewFest, Frameline, and Outfest, among others, the doc was presented at numerous bear events around the US, and picked up a jury award at the Atlanta Film Festival in 2011.
Ingram’s previous documentary, SMALL TOWN GAY BAR, provided insight and inspiration as it demonstrated the need for community, even against a backdrop of intolerance. In a similar vein, his newest film is focused on belonging – specifically, the brotherhood that has formed among gay men with a particular body type that is typically not celebrated in either the mainstream straight or gay communities. While those well-versed in the gay community may know what bears are – generally, larger, hairier gay men – the general public most likely does not. Interestingly, it’s this latter group that Ingram’s film may best serve, providing exposure to an alternate conception of gay male sexuality that embraces a specific conception of masculinity that might be surprising to straight women and men who associate male homosexuality with effeminacy. The presence of Ingram’s good friend, filmmaker Kevin Smith, as both executive producer and on-screen “honorary bear” further emphasizes this link to non-gay audiences. This is not to say that gay audiences haven’t responded to the doc, of course, but it may be a little “Bears 101” for those in the know. Additionally, as is clear from the film in its discussion of subgroups of bears – muscle bears vs fat bears, for example – there is cliquish behavior based on what one is attracted to which makes the audience for this film fairly self-selecting within the larger gay male community. As a whole, Ingram offers a broad view of a subculture that challenges stereotypes of gay men both within and outside of the gay community, explores the significance of finding one’s own community, and celebrates the power of acknowledging and accepting one’s body type and sexual preferences.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
The director of CLEANFLIX explores post-industrial Detroit through the stories of three men who call the Motor City home.
No American city has seen the impact of the Great Recession moreso than Detroit. It was one of the main destinations for the millions of African-Americans who traveled from the South during the Great Migration, lured by the automotive and manufacturing industries which helped foster an African American middle class. As these industries gave way to cheaper resources outside the US in recent decades, the city has been on the decline, exacerbated by the sharp economic downturn of the past five years. Director Andrew James uses the stories of three African American men – notably from different generations, with ages ranging from 21-63 years old – to tell the story of the city in microcosm. Taking a ground level approach, James reveals their personal struggles to survive and to thrive in their city despite its difficult realities. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
Since 1998, the Brooklyn Film Festival has exposed a wide range of independent film each June and promoted NYC’s most populous borough as a cinema destination. This year’s edition, held today, June 1, through Sunday, June 10, is organized around the theme “Decoy,” encouraging audiences to explore multiple perspectives and meanings in the films in its lineup of features and shorts.
Among the festival’s more than twenty feature-length films are eight documentaries. I’ve seen and can recommend three of these already: Katie Dellamaggiore’s already acclaimed junior-high chess team film, BROOKLYN CASTLE, which I wrote about upon its world premiere at SXSW here; Mareike Wegener’s MARK LOMBARDI – DEATH-DEFYING ACTS OF ART AND CONSPIRACY (pictured), an involving consideration of the late artist whose obsessive work mapped surprising connections between money, power, and geopolitical events; and Sven Zellner’s PRICE OF GOLD, depicting the illegal and dangerous mining of gold by Mongolian nomads.
Two of the offerings present new work by notable Brooklyn filmmakers reflecting on the dramatic changes to their neighborhoods: Su Friedrich’s GUT RENOVATION (pictured), a personal film about the “revitalization” which forced the acclaimed filmmaker out of Williamsburg; and Kelly Anderson’s MY BROOKLYN, an exploration of the unholy union between corporate and political interests that led to the gentrification of Downtown Brooklyn and the Fulton Street Mall.
The final three feature docs also focus on individuals’ relationship to their homes: Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza’s DEAR MANDELA address the South African governments attempts to eliminate shantytowns and the resistance its residents put up to defend their homes; Raul Santos’ THE ROCK (pictured), the story of two communities being forcibly separated by the edict of Spanish dictator Francisco Franco; and Antonio Tibaldi’s [S]COMPARSE, in which a feature film crew disrupts the lives of the inhabitants of a small island between Sicily and Africa.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, June 5: HIT SO HARD
P David Ebersole’s portrait of Hole’s Patty Schemel premiered at SXSW last year. Its festival circuit included, among others, New Directors/New Films, Seattle, Sheffield, Frameline, Outfest, and Provincetown. It had a limited theatrical release this Spring.
I wrote about the film out of SXSW here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 1: PINK RIBBONS, INC
Léa Pool’s exposé of the breast cancer industry premiered in Toronto last year. It has been screening at numerous festivals since, including Sarasota and Nashville, leading up to its release this week, and expanding through July.
Early in Pool’s film, a commentator notes: “We used to march in the street; now we run for a cure.” This observation succinctly encapsulates the film’s basic thesis – the industry and culture that has been developed around breast cancer has served to redirect anger and outrage that once fed into direct activism into an at times simplistic, pink-colored, positive-spin campaign that is in many ways a profit-driven corporate endeavor. Among the surprises here for viewers who may not be up on their breast cancer history is the fact that the ubiquitous pink ribbon for breast cancer awareness actually started out as more of an orange ribbon, changing hue via focus group test marketing only after its originator refused to have her symbol co-opted by corporate interests; or that breast cancer awareness month was developed by a pharmaceutical company that directly benefits from increased diagnoses of the disease. To her credit, Pool gives space in her film not only to those convincingly arguing against the disturbing marriage of philanthropy, corporate interests, and “cause marketing,” but to representatives from a wide range of breast cancer industry foundations, organizations, and corporations, including the Susan G Komen Foundation, most recently at the center of a huge controversy around their relationship to Planned Parenthood. While the film is certainly not impartial – nor does it need to be – it neither paints these pink ribbon-waving groups as pure villains; while big questions loom over their practices and priorities – working with corporations whose products and policies likely contribute to the spread of cancerous agents, focusing on pharmaceutical treatments rather than prevention – it’s clear that many of the speakers believe in their missions. While that may be the case, Pool’s film offers powerful voices of dissent that should encourage critical thinking in a culture that too easily embraces quick-fixes and feel-good symbols.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, June 5: THE WOODMANS
C Scott Willis’ study of a family of artists premiered at Tribeca in 2010, picking up Best New York Documentary. Additional festival exposure included Silverdocs, Cleveland, Palm Springs, and Planete Doc Review, among others. After a limited theatrical release, which also saw the film garner a nomination for Best Documentary from the Gothams, the film had its broadcast premiere on PBS’ Independent Lens late last year.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to NYC’s Film Forum for a two-week engagement beginning tomorrow, Wednesday, May 30: 5 BROKEN CAMERAS
Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi’s visceral and personal chronicle of Arab/Israeli relations premiered at IDFA, picking up two awards. It came stateside at Sundance, where it claimed the World Cinema Documentary Directing Award. The doc has played extensively since, including festival appearances at New Directors/New Films, Thessaloniki Documentary, and Hot Docs.
I wrote about the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
My latest Indiewire curation for Hulu documentaries ties into this Memorial Day Weekend and the start of the Summer vacation season by spotlighting a number of films connected in pivotal ways to the season or to the idea of escape. Watch these now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs, Recommendations
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