Category Archives: Recommendations

Sydney 2020: Documentary Overview

Festival:
The 67th Sydney Film Festival

Dates:
June 10-21 (online)

About:
This long-running Australian event holds an online edition this year, focused on documentaries, female filmmakers from Europe, and shorts, offering Aussie audiences 12 nonfiction features among its 19 feature presentations. Continue reading

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On DVD: THE WINDERMERE CHILDREN: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 9:
THE WINDERMERE CHILDREN: IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Directors:
Guy Arthur and Francis Welch

World Premiere:
British TV broadcast (January 2020)

About:
Child survivors of the Holocaust reflect on a rehabilitation program in which they took part in the UK.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On DVD/VOD: ADVOCATE

Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9:
ADVOCATE

Directors:
Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaïche

World Premiere:
Sundance 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Docaviv, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Thessaloniki Doc, Krakow, Human Rights Watch, Doc Edge, Philadelphia, Other Israel, United Nations Association, Antenna, UK Jewish, San Francisco Jewish

Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

About:
An exploration of the Israeli justice system through a passionate Israeli attorney working for Palestinian defendants.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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On DVD: THE BOOKSELLERS

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 9:
THE BOOKSELLERS

Director:
DW Young

World Premiere:
New York Film Festival 2019

Select Festivals:
St Louis, Miami Jewish, RiverRun, Sebastopol Doc, Victoria

About:
An affectionate portrait of NYC’s community of rare book dealers and collectors.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On TV: BE WATER

Coming to ESPN’s 30 for 30 series this Sunday, June 7:
BE WATER

Director:
Bao Nguyen

World Premiere:
Sundance 2020

About:
A reflection on the brief but impactful career of legendary actor Bruce Lee.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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On VOD: THE BOOKSELLERS

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, June 5:
THE BOOKSELLERS

Director:
DW Young

World Premiere:
New York Film Festival 2019

Select Festivals:
St Louis, Miami Jewish, RiverRun, Sebastopol Doc, Victoria

About:
An affectionate portrait of NYC’s community of rare book dealers and collectors.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On DVD: REWIND

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2:
REWIND

Director:
Sasha Joseph Neulinger

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
BFI London, Traverse City, Palm Springs, Denver, Mill Valley, Nashville, Rome, Heartland, Big Sky Doc, Atlanta Jewish

About:
A filmmaker confronts his traumatic past.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On VOD: THE INFILTRATORS

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 2:
THE INFILTRATORS

Directors:
Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra

World Premiere:
Sundance 2019

Select Festivals:
SXSW, Hot Docs, Miami, NY Latino, Montclair, Calgary, Hawaii

About:
A hybrid docufiction project detailing the mission of undocumented youth to be detained by Border Patrol.

I profiled the film before Sundance here.

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In Virtual Release: URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD: INTO HER OWN

Coming to virtual theatrical today, Friday, May 29:
URSULA VON RYDINGSVARD: INTO HER OWN

Director:
Daniel Traub

World Premiere:
Vancouver 2019

Select Festivals:
Berkshire, Architecture Design Art, Hamptons Doc

About:
A portrait of the noted sculptor.

Ursula von Rydingsvard is known for her monumental sculptures, composed of highly manipulated cedar, with work featured at MoMA, the Met, the Whitney, the Art Institute of Chicago, and numerous other notable institutions, as well as public art projects that encourage viewers’ tactile engagement. Filmmaker Daniel Traub offers audiences an intimate look at von Rydingsvard’s Brooklyn studio and the collaborative process that goes into her work, while also exploring her background as a Polish native born during WWII, who emigrated to a small working class Connecticut town as a child. Though soft-spoken, the artist speaks volumes as she relates the impact of her violent father and schizophrenic husband on her development as an artist, and how this background primed her to move to NYC in the 1970s to focus on art as a career. While somewhat limited by a too-brief running time, Traub’s film succeeds in paying von Rydingsvard her due, while enticing newcomers to her work to seek out more information.

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On DVD: RUDEBOY: THE STORY OF TROJAN RECORDS

New to DVD this week:
RUDEBOY: THE STORY OF TROJAN RECORDS

Director:
Nicolas Jack Davies

World Premiere:
London 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Doc’n’Roll, Glastonbury, Thessaloniki Doc

About:
The history of the pioneering label that popularized Jamaican music in the UK and beyond.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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