Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to DVD via Criterion in a new digital restoration tomorrow, Tuesday, August 18:
TOWN BLOODY HALL

Directors:
Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker

World Premiere:
Whitney Museum (April 1979)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA

About:
Feminists face off with author Norman Mailer in 1971 New York City.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In 1971, DA Pennebaker filmed an event at New York’s Town Hall exemplifying the crosscurrents of feminism. On stage, Norman Mailer engaged in a debate with THE FEMALE EUNUCH author Germaine Greer, lesbian journalist Jill Johnston, critic Diana Trilling, and others. It took several years for the film to be completed with Chris Hegedus, and today it still crackles with vitality.

Coming to virtual cinemas today, Friday, August 14:
MARTIN MARGIELA: IN HIS OWN WORDS

Director:
Reiner Holzemer

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, New Zealand

About:
The elusive fashion designer reflects on his career.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In 2008, after a show celebrating the 20th anniversary of his fashion house, Maison Margiela, visionary designer Martin Margiela left the fashion world for good. Throughout his career, the Belgian designer remained anonymous, refusing interviews and never being photographed, leading some to call him the fashion world’s answer to Banksy. Now, more than a decade after his departure, Margiela digs into his meticulous and idiosyncratic personal archives to reflect on his revolutionary career and legacy.

Coming to virtual cinemas today, Friday, August 14:
REPRESENT

Director:
Hillary Bachelder

World Premiere:
Cleveland 2020

Select Festivals:
Freep, Woods Hole, Maine

About:
Three female political candidates are followed in local elections in Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois.

Filmmaker Hillary Bachelder’s timely film follows three appealing protagonists – Myya, an ambitious African-American college graduate who sets her sights high, running for mayor of Detroit as a write-in candidate, hoping to defeat the white male incumbent; Bryn, a white farmer, wife, and mother of two young daughters, who runs for a trustee position in smalltown Granville OH, where mostly older men have traditionally held power; and Julie, a Korean immigrant, who runs as a Republican candidate for state representative in Evanston IL, just outside of Chicago. As they go up against entrenched local politics in an effort to effect real change, they face ageist and sexist condescension, as well as subtle (and not so subtle) racism as the countdown to elections loom.

Now available on Kanopy:
HEALING FROM HATE: BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF A NATION

Director:
Peter Hutchison

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019

Select Festivals:
Martha’s Vineyard, Big Sky Doc

About:
Former hate group members help others attempting to leave behind radicalism.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
This timely film profiles Life After Hate, an organization founded by former skinheads and neo-Nazis that supports white nationalists seeking to break away from these radical movements. Given exclusive access, director Peter Hutchison follows group counselors as they attempt both to reform individuals and offer support to communities impacted by the recent rise of hate activity, exploring the root causes of radicalization, and what it will take to return us to a more tolerant world.

Coming to HBO tomorrow, Wednesday, August 12:
YUSUF HAWKINS: STORM OVER BROOKLYN

Director:
Muta’Ali Muhammad

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (cancelled)

Select Festivals:
American Black

About:
The racially-motivated murder of a black teenager in 1989 Brooklyn mobilizes a quest for justice.

When 16-year-old Yusuf Hawkins and three of his friends left their East New York neighborhood for Bensonhurst on August 23, 1989, they were only planning to check out a used car that was for sale. Coincidentally, a local white girl had antagonized young white men in the neighborhood with the threat that black and Hispanic guys were coming to a party and were looking to fight. Mistaken for these unwanted intruders, Hawkins and his friends were ambushed by a gang wielding baseball bats – and a gun. Hawkins was shot and killed. Coming soon after the demonization of African American youth through the Central Park jogger case and unquestionably motivated by racial bias, Hawkins’ murder set off a series of protests, led by the controversial Reverend Al Sharpton, to demand justice – and are met with further prejudice and entrenched territorialism by the Italian-American community in Bensonhurst. Filmmaker Muta’Ali Muhammad revisits this catalyzing incident, its impact on Hawkins’ family, friends, and supporters, and how it exposed deep-rooted prejudices and systemic inequities that have never been adequately rectified.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, August 11:
THE QUEEN’S MAN

Directors:
Daniel Claridge and Andrew Coffman

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019

Select Festivals:
Doc Edge

About:
The former bodyguard of the wife of the Shah of Iran attempts tp recover her stolen art collection.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Native New Yorker Steve Talt was formerly bodyguard to Farah Pahlavi, the wife of the Shah of Iran, but he remains her loyal servant to this day. Steve is on a mission to find Pahlavi’s stolen art collection, and enlists the help of retired mobsters and his 90-year-old neighbor to pursue the cold case. The problem is, the queen never asked for his help! Filmmakers Daniel Claridge and Andrew Coffman offer a quixotic tale of loyalty, ethics, and, above all, persistence.

Coming to DVD and digital today, Tuesday, August 11:
MAE WEST: DIRTY BLONDE

Directors:
Sally Rosenthal and Julia Marchesi

World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (June 2020)

About:
A portrait of the trailblazing film icon.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD and digital tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11:
THE VOTE

Director:
Michelle Ferrari

World Premiere:
AFI Docs 2020

About:
A chronicle of American women’s fight for the right to vote.

I previously wrote about the doc here.