Category Archives: Film

Coming to NYC’s Ace Hotel, Maysles Cinema, and Park Slope Food Co-Op for special screenings and filmmaker Q&As this Sunday, May 8 (Ace), Monday, May 9 (Maysles), and Tuesday, May 10 (Park Slope), in conjunction with a DVD release on Tuesday, May 10: BANANAS!*

Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten’s exploration of the case of Nicaraguan banana plantation workers against Dole generated headlines before its scheduled world premiere in competition at the 2009 Los Angeles Film Festival when Dole threatened to sue both Gertten and the LAFF for slander. While the film screened, it was removed from competition, and Gertten went on to be sued individually. Ultimately, the case was dismissed, and Gertten was awarded legal fees of nearly $200,000 due to the frivolous nature of Dole’s complaint. In the meantime, BANANAS!* went on to screen at notable festivals around the world, including IDFA and Thessaloniki Documentary, and was eventually picked up for US release by Oscilloscope, who organized the screenings and are releasing the DVD next week.

The film details alleged cases of sterility, cancer, and other medical conditions in plantation workers as the result of a pesticide employed by Dole despite their knowledge of its dangers. Adding to the controversial nature of the documentary, a central figure is the workers’ lawyer, Juan Dominguez, who brings suit against Dole in California court. Known as a personal injury lawyer, his nickname “Accidentes” underscores popular sentiment that he’s an ambulance chaser – an opinion which later took on added relevancy when Dominguez himself was found to be under contempt charges for allegedly defrauding the court by coaching his witnesses against Dole to lie (earlier this year he was exonerated). With court cases both in the film and around the film against its subjects and filmmaker, BANANAS!* sharply demonstrates the power of corporations, often at the expense of their most modestly-paid employees, and the limits that they may be willing to go to in order to avoid acknowledging any potential wrongdoing. Like Joe Berlinger’s CRUDE, the film’s smartly structured David vs Goliath narrative gives cause for hope, though the complicated developments around the film’s exhibition threaten the reality of workers’ ability to attain social justice.

Now on DVD: SYNC OR SWIM

Cheryl Furjanic’s debut feature doc had its world premiere at Slamdance in 2008 and went on to have a healthy festival run, including screenings at Silverdocs, Hot Springs, Big Sky, and MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight. It also picked up the Billie Award for Journalism from the Women’s Sports Foundation in 2009.

I’ve known Cheryl since NewFest programmed her clever short, BAR TALK, in 2002. Her labor of love, SYNC OR SWIM, follows synchronized swimmer hopefuls in their quest to make the 2004 Olympics team, detailing the entire process, from training for the qualifying trials to making the final team and competing in the Olympic Games. Along the way, Furjanic covers the origins of the sport, still the subject of derision, and includes the patron saint of synchronized swimming, Esther Williams. Unexpected drama comes in the form of one teammate’s involvement in a fatal car accident, which leads to media scrutiny and additional stress for the entire team before their trip to Athens. While regular readers of this blog know I’m no big fan of sports docs, this particular sport is still so marginalized that this insider look is appreciated. The Olympics make for a fitting structuring device – even if fans of the sport already know the outcome, new converts may not have paid much attention to the Games’ results, and SYNC OR SWIM certainly should function as a goodwill ambassador for the sport.

Now on DVD: STONEWALL UPRISING

SOUTHERN COMFORT’s Kate Davis and her WAITING FOR ARMAGEDDON directing partner David Heilbroner premiered their in-depth look at Stonewall at last year’s Frameline in San Francisco. It screened on PBS’ AMERICAN EXPERIENCE series, who has also released the documentary on DVD.

Using archival material, and, most-affectingly, first-person accounts from Stonewall veterans and other participants and observers, including an NYPD officer who was involved in the raid and a Village Voice journalist who was present and covered the event, STONEWALL UPRISING is a comprehensive account of the June 1969 raid on NYC’s Stonewall Bar and the riots that resulted that unexpectedly sparked the beginnings of the LGBT movement in the US and around the world. Given the access that Davis and Heilbroner have, the film offers new perspectives even to those viewers who already feel they know the story, and is must-see for those who are unfamiliar with this pivotal part of modern history.