Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to virtual cinemas and to VOD today, Friday, July 3:
JOHN LEWIS: GOOD TROUBLE

Director:
Dawn Porter

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (cancelled)

About:
A wide-ranging look at the life, activism, and political career of the esteemed civil rights icon.

John Lewis emerged as a young leader of the civil rights struggle with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) in the 1960s to eventually claim a congressional seat representing Georgia beginning in 1987, where he remains a vital, conscientious presence to this day. Filmmaker Dawn Porter deftly balances a retrospective appreciation for the work Lewis has done in his long career of activism with a reminder of the present-day battles he continues to wage for a just and equitable nation. Following Lewis during 2018 as he campaigns for fellow progressive Democratic candidates, the film makes crystal clear the continuity between his past and present – the insidious rise of voter suppression that Lewis struggled against decades ago. Arriving in a critical election year, the film should serve as a potent reminder of the freedoms individuals like Lewis sacrificed to secure, and of the renewed threat they face in today’s hyperpolarized political landscape.

Coming to virtual cinema today, Friday, July 3:
ELLIOTT ERWITT – SILENCE SOUNDS GOOD

Director:
Adriana Lopez Sanfeliu

World Premiere:
French TV broadcast (October 2019)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Newport Beach

About:
A portrait of the acclaimed Magnum photographer.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Charming and engaging, with a youthful curiosity well into his 80s, Elliott Erwitt has always let his photos speak for themselves. His iconic black-and-white shots of presidents, popes, celebrities, and everyday folks span over six decades and multiple countries. Narrated by his assistant, this film takes us inside his extensive photo archives and along with Elliott as he travels to Cuba to take photos for his newest book and exhibition.

New to DVD this week:
STOP

Director:
Spencer Wolff

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2014

About:
A young man takes on the NYPD’s policy of racial profiling.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
After David Ourlicht was stopped and searched by the NYPD for no discernible reason, he filed a class-action suit against the City of New York, alleging racial profiling in the police department’s stop-and-frisk policy. Following the charismatic young man over three years as he awaits the trial, Spencer Wolff reveals how David has been shaped by the experiences of his mixed-race family and their own struggles with discrimination in a New York of a different era – prejudice that should have no place in the present.

Coming to DVD/VOD this Friday, July 3, following a special one-night only virtual event tonight, Wednesday, July 1:
SUZI Q

Director:
Liam Firmager

World Premiere:
Melbourne 2019

Select Festivals:
Hof, In-Edit Barcelona, In-Edit Madrid, Cleveland, Sonoma

About:
A portrait of the pioneering female rocker, Suzi Quatro.

Suzi Quatro began her career in the early 1970s, a time when there were few women in rock and roll, and went on to sell more than 50 million records around the world, inspiring scores of female rockers in her wake, from Joan Jett and Deborah Harry to the Go-Gos and L7. Yet she never quite made it to headliner status in the US, where she is instead remembered by some as the character Leather Tuscadero on HAPPY DAYS. Filmmaker Liam Firmager aims to correct this, laying out Quatro’s trailblazing story, showcasing her music, and letting rock royalty like Jett, Harry, Alice Cooper, and others pay the still recording artist her proper due. While the film could have done away with some cheesy graphics, and might have benefitted from a tighter edit, it succeeds in making the case for the vibrant Quatro and will no doubt make some viewers seek out more of her music.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, June 30:
LOS REYES

Directors:
Bettina Perut and Iván Osnovikoff

World Premiere:
IDFA 2018

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Film Comment Selects, DocPoint, Göteborg, Montclair, Biografilm, Miami, Portland

About:
A portrait of two stray dogs living in a Chilean skatepark.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 30:
THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS

Director:
Peter Medak

World Premiere:
Venice 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Telluride, Raindance, Oldenburg, Gent, Sao Paulo

About:
A revisitation of the director’s experience making an ill-fated 1970s Peter Sellers comedy.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed today, Tuesday, June 30:
VISION PORTRAITS

Director:
Rodney Evans

World Premiere:
SXSW 2019

Select Festivals:
BAMcinemaFest, Sydney, Melbourne, BlackStar, American Black, Outfest, Frameline, Inside Out, LGBT fests in Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, and London

About:
A personal film exploring the lives and work of visually-impaired artists.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to VOD last week:
NARROWSBURG

Director:
Martha Shane

World Premiere:
Camden 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Eddy, SF DocFest, Calgary Underground, Salem

About:
An exploration of a small town promised Hollywood dreams.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In 1999, small town Narrowsburg NY was poised to become the “Sundance of the East” – or so Jocelyne and Richard Castellano would have local residents believe. The organizers of the Narrowsburg Film Festival – a glamorous French film producer and her mafioso-turned-actor husband – promise to revitalize the town through film. As the duo secures local investment in a feature film production and convinces locals they can become stars, the stage is set for a stranger-than-fiction tale of Hollywood dreams, deceit, and delusions.

Coming to POV tonight Monday, June 29, and tomorrow, Tuesday, June 30:
AND SHE COULD BE NEXT

Directors:
Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia

World Premiere:
AFI Docs 2020

About:
A behind-the-scenes look at the campaigns of six women of color political candidates in 2018.

The most recent midterm election season saw an unprecedented number of women of color seeking political office. Some faced political opposition from the other side, while others fought to claim a place at the table, competing against entrenchment in their own party. Over the course of two episodes, filmmakers Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia weave together the stories of six of these progressive candidates as they seek to enact change and bring true inclusion into the political process. Ranging from the high-profile campaigns of Stacey Abrams in Georgia to become the first black female governor and Rashida Tlaib’s run for the House of Representatives, representing Michigan, to more local level races such as Bushra Amiwala’s attempt to win a seat on a County Board of Commissioners in Chicago, the series chronicles the on-the-ground organizing needed to realize meaningful change. Beyond seeking office, these candidates empower historically disenfranchised and under-represented communities of race and/or faith – Black, Latinx, Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Muslim – to become involved in the political process, register to vote, and claim their own voices. On the flip side, despite the optimism on display, this engaging doc also makes clear the resistance that exists to realizing an inclusive, representative democracy in the US, highlighting insidious racism, sexism, and xenophobia, as well as the concerted rise of reactionary voting restriction efforts.