Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, March 23:
THE RESCUE LIST

Directors:
Alyssa Fedele and Zachary Fink

World Premiere:
Full Frame 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, San Francisco, Heartland, Big Sky, BendFilm, DocLands, Denver, Sebastopol Doc

About:
Ghanaian activists are on a mission rescue and rehabilitate victims of a child-slavery industry.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Surrounding Ghana’s Lake Volta – the largest man-made lake on Earth – is an active child-slavery industry. Sold by desperate families and abused by fishing masters, some 20,000 children work in perilous conditions. Activists like Stephen Kwame Addo, who escaped from such a fate himself, work to rescue as many children as possible and rehabilitate them before attempting to reunite them with their families. This ultimately hopeful film intimately documents the experiences of three boys as they make the transition back to normal life after their harrowing ordeal.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, March 20:
HUMAN NATURE

Director:
Adam Bolt

World Premiere:
SXSW 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Full Frame, AFI Docs, CPH:DOX

About:
An exploration of the potential implications of a major DNA technology.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO tomorrow night, Thursday, March 19:
AFTER TRUTH: DISINFORMATION AND THE COST OF FAKE NEWS

Director:
Andrew Rossi

World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (festival cancelled)

About:
An investigation into the development, dissemination, and impact of conspiracy theories and fake news.

Today’s social media-focused world of TL;DR insta-news has enabled the rapid weaponizing of rumor, conspiracy, and outright lies in the form of disinformation campaigns disguised as fact. The current US presidential administration has done possibly irreparable harm to the trust and respect traditionally afforded to the legitimate press, taking a play out of dictatorial playbooks by labeling any media entity that dares to be critical as “fake news.” This egregious co-opting of the term and its application not to actual purveyors of falsehoods but instead to actual journalism further complicates the general public’s ability to address the phenomenon clearly. Filmmaker Andrew Rossi cogently takes on this complex landscape, delving into a handful of stories – chiefly Pizzagate, the Seth Rich “assassination,” and the Jade Helm/Bastrop TX conspiracy, among others – and tracing how these events unfolded, exploring who perpetrates the falsehoods both knowingly and unknowingly, and revealing how the victims continue to suffer the consequences. Most revealing, the film follows notorious pro-Trump disinformation peddlers Jack Burkman and Jacob Wohl behind the scenes as they bungle a press conference baselessly accusing special counsel Robert Mueller of sexual misconduct, clearly demonstrating their reprehensible tactics.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 17:
CELEBRATION

Director:
Olivier Meyrou

World Premiere:
Berlin 2007

Select Festivals:
IDFA, True/False, Docs Against Gravity, Seattle, Vilnius

About:
A long-unreleased look at Yves Saint-Laurent at the end of his career.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, March 13:
THE DOG DOC

Director:
Cindy Meehl

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Boulder, Palm Springs, Sedona, St Louis, Hot Springs Doc, Heartland, Mill Valley, Berkshire

About:
A portrait of a pioneering alternative holistic veterinarian.

I previously wrote about the film for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Called a miracle-worker by some, wrongly dismissed as a quack by others, Dr Marty Goldstein is a pioneer in integrative veterinary medicine, a holistic approach to pet care that combines conventional medicine and alternative therapies. He and his dedicated team provide a mecca for pets and their owners looking for hope, often with remarkable results. Following the acclaimed BUCK, director Cindy Meehl presents another moving film exploring the deep connection between humans and animals.

Coming to theatres today, Thursday, March 12:
HUMAN NATURE

Director:
Adam Bolt

World Premiere:
SXSW 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Full Frame, AFI Docs, CPH:DOX

About:
An exploration of the potential implications of a major DNA technology.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD and VOD this week:
STUFFED

Director:
Erin Derham

World Premiere:
SXSW 2019

Select Festivals:
Seattle, Woods Hole, Vancouver, Nashville, Maui

About:
An exploration of the misunderstood world of taxidermy.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD this week:
5B

Directors:
Dan Krauss and Paul Haggis

World Premiere:
SFFILM Doc Stories 2018

Select Festivals:
Cannes

About:
At the dawn of the AIDS crisis, nurses and caregivers defied fear and stigma to establish the world’s first AIDS hospital ward.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD this week:
RECORDER: THE MARION STOKES PROJECT

Director:
Matt Wolf

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, AFI Docs, London, New Orleans, Melbourne, Montclair, Maryland, SF DocFest, Sidewalk, Heartland, Antenna

About:
The story of a woman who recorded television news around the clock for thirty years.

I previously wrote about the doc here.