Celebrating its 35th anniversary, the Margaret Mead Film Festival has the distinction of being the longest-running doc festival in the US. Named for the noted cultural anthropologist, who died two years after the festival’s founding in commemoration of her 75th birthday, and hosted by the American Museum of Natural History where Mead worked, the festival is acclaimed as a showcase for international ethnographic and experimental non-fiction. This year’s event, which runs November 10-13, includes 25 feature length works, and more than a dozen shorts, panels, and other special presentations. Continue reading
Category Archives: Film
Margaret Mead 2011 Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
In Theatres: DRAGONSLAYER
Coming to theatres this Friday, November 4: DRAGONSLAYER
Tristan Patterson’s beautifully-lensed verité portrait of a skateboarder made its world premiere at SXSW earlier this year, where it picked up two jury awards. With indie legend Christine Vachon signed on as executive producer, the film expands from NYC beginning next week – additional theatrical engagements through the end of the year may be found here.
I wrote about the film out of SXSW
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On DVD: MAGIC TRIP
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 1: MAGIC TRIP
Alex Gibney and Alison Ellwood’s doc on Ken Kesey’s LSD-fueled cross country bus trip doc premiered this year at Sundance. Magnolia brought the film out in theatres and on VOD this summer after additional festival appearances.
My pre-Sundance profile may be found
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
In Theatres: THE OTHER F WORD
Coming to NYC’s Film Forum this Wednesday, November 2 and LA’s Nuart this Friday, November 4: THE OTHER F WORD
Andrea Blaugrund Nevins premiered this look at what happens when anti-authority rockers become dads at SXSW this year. The film has been on the festival circuit since, including notable fests like Karlovy Vary and Woodstock. It continues its theatrical expansion next week, with additional engagements listed on the film’s website.
I included the doc in my SXSW round-up here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On DVD: TABLOID
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 1: TABLOID
Errol Morris debuted his take on an infamous UK scandal dubbed the “Mormon sex in chains case” at Telluride last year. It went on to screen at Toronto, DOC NYC, and numerous other festivals before IFC Films released it theatrically nationwide.
I wrote about the film upon its theatrical release this summer here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
indieWIRE @ Hulu Docs: Masks & Make-Believe
This week’s indieWIRE-curated Hulu documentaries selections offer up non-fiction to inspire your Halloween outfit – Jedis, dark elves, superheroes, monsters, and more. View all of these docs for free now!
For more information about the selections, see my iW article.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs, Recommendations
In the Works: UNDERGROUND NEWS
One of TIBET IN SONG’s DPs joins forces with the creator of a 1970s nightly free-speech television program to unearth the story of what happened when the media was used to tell the truth.
Co-director Howie Samuelsohn produced and directed the original UNDERGROUND NEWS out of Chicago’s WSNS-TV in 1970 as a response to what was perceived as the whitewashing of the mainstream news, especially with regard to news on Vietnam. Originally broadcasting for ten minutes each night before midnight, the radical and loosely-structured show quickly grew, attracting the attention of the counterculture and its celebrity supporters, many of whom became guests of the program. In its time on the air, its young college student host (and future Emmy, Peabody, and Dupont Award-winner) Chuck Collins welcomed the likes of Abbie Hoffman, Joan Baez, Jane Fonda, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Donald Sutherland, Cheech and Chong, and even R Crumb in his first televised appearance. Poised for national syndication, investors unexpectedly pulled out, and Samuelsohn and Collins discovered the limits of free speech in an era of surveillance an counterintelligence. When Carrie Lederer learned that Samuelsohn still had an extensive archive of tapes, film, and other materials from the show, the duo set out to reveal the buried story of UNDERGROUND NEWS for a new generation, unfortunately more relevant than ever given the compromised state of the mass media today. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, In the Works
On DVD: OUT LATE
Out on DVD this week: OUT LATE
I included Beatrice Alda & Jennifer Brooke’s portrait of LGBT seniors in the lineup of my last year at NewFest back in 2008. It’s had a successful festival run, making appearances at both LGBT-specific and more general events since then, picking up a few awards along the way.
My notes for the film at NewFest were as follows:
As we see LGBT people coming out at ever-earlier ages as society changes its perceptions of sexuality, we may forget that it wasn’t always so easy. For the five subjects featured in the inspirational OUT LATE, various factors led them to wait until they were in their 50s, 60s, and even 70s to publicly state they were gay, lesbian, or transgender. Having spent a lifetime in denial of their true identities, they now face a second chance, experiencing both the joys and challenges of starting over, living their lives with newfound candor and pride.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On DVD: THE LAST MOUNTAIN
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, November 1: THE LAST MOUNTAIN
Bill Haney’s enraging exploration of the destructive impact of mountaintop coal removal in Appalachia had its world premiere back in January at Sundance. It had a limited theatrical run this past Summer.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
DOC NYC 2011 Overview
After a successful inaugural event last year, Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen’s DOC NYC returns for 2011 with additional days and an expanded line-up which includes over 50 feature-length documentaries. Running November 2-10, the festival pulls from Powers’ Toronto line-up (where he serves as documentary programmer) while also presenting a number of US and international films to make their NYC debut. Taking a section-by-section look at this year’s events, here are the titles I’m most interested in trying to see: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
