Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD/VOD this week:
LIFE WITHOUT BASKETBALL

Directors:
Tim O’Donnell and Jon Mercer

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
Athena, Atlanta, IFF Boston, Toronto Human Rights Watch

About:
A Muslim athlete fights back against a ban on the hijab.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
After a controversial basketball ruling about head coverings makes it impossible for Bilqis Abdul-Qaadir to maintain her religious convictions while playing professionally, she begins training the next generation of Muslim girls at an Islamic school’s athletics program. As she reckons with the possibility of life without basketball, Bilqis fights to change the rules of the International Basketball Federation so she might become the first Division I basketball player to play wearing the hijab.

New to DVD this week:
TO END A WAR

Director:
Marc Silver

Premiere:
Colombia (September 2017)

Select Festivals:
Colombian Film Festival NY

About:
The Colombian government tries to broker peace with guerrilla forces to end a 50+ year conflict.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO tomorrow, Wednesday, November 6 and to theatres this Friday, November 8:
THE APOLLO

Director:
Roger Ross Williams

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nantucket, Seattle, Chicago, Provincetown, Montclair

About:
On the history and legacy of the legendary Harlem theatre.

I wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
From the director of the Oscar®-nominated LIFE, ANIMATED comes this rich history of Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theater. For 85 years, this cultural landmark has played host to legendary African-American artists and to newcomers willing to take the stage on the venue’s famed Amateur Night. Framed around the inaugural staging of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ acclaimed BETWEEN THE WORLD AND ME, this portrait demonstrates the pivotal role that the arts play in the African-American experience.

Coming to Fuse tomorrow, Tuesday, November 5:
THE CANDIDATES

Directors:
Alexandra Stergiou and Lexi Henigman

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019

Select Festivals:
Big Sky Doc, IFF Boston

About:
The 2016 presidential election, as seen by NYC high school story students.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Since 1996, the wonderfully diverse students of a Queens public high school have staged an elaborate mock presidential election for an entire semester, simulating the American electoral process against the backdrop of the real one. In 2016, Ukrainian-American Daniel hams it up as a cocky Donald Trump, while Pakistani-American Misbah, an observant Muslim, portrays Hillary Clinton, with also-rans like earthy Jill Stein thrown in for good measure. As the students reenact the rigors of the divisive political campaign, hard truths about politics are revealed, yet hope lives on.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, November 4:
DECADE OF FIRE

Directors:
Vivian Vazquez and Gretchen Hildebran

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
Full Frame, Cleveland, Chicago Latino, Harlem, Maryland

About:
A Bronx native revisits the truth behind the boroughs rash of arson in the 1970s.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, October 30:
17 BLOCKS

Director:
Davy Rothbart

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Karlovy Vary, Traverse City, AFI Docs, Zurich, Melbourne Doc, Milwaukee, Nashville, Woods Hole, Heartland, Hot Springs Doc, Antenna Doc, Woodstock

About:
A longitudinal portrait of an African American family in Washington DC.

The doc screened as part of Nantucket, for which our program notes read:
In 1999, nine-year-old Emmanuel and his family began to film their lives in Washington DC. Though they live just 17 blocks from the US Capitol, their dangerous neighborhood is a world away, plagued with poverty, addiction, gangs, and gun violence. Befriended by filmmaker and journalist Davy Rothbart, the family continue to document their experiences over the next two decades, together constructing an affecting, deeply intimate portrait of love and loss.

Coming to HBO tonight, Tuesday, October 29:
ANY ONE OF US

Director:
Fernando Villena

World Premiere:
SXSW 2019

Select Festivals:
Mountainfilm, Bentonville, Newport Beach, Greenwich

About:
A professional mountain biker is followed for two years after a spinal cord injury.

Paul Basagoitia suffered a serious spinal cord injury upon a crash landing during a mountain bike competition. Though it’s determined that he may never regain mobility, Basagoitia pushes himself over the course of the next two years, experiencing exhilarating progress and frustrating setbacks alike, with supportive partner Nichole by his side. Interspersed is a chorus of others who have had spinal cord injuries, relating their own experiences and how their lives have changed. While this inclusion attempts to universalize Basagoitia’s story, and is not without some added emotional heft at times, it comes off as too surveylike as a whole. The real power is in Basagoitia’s vulnerability, as he works through both traditional and alternative therapies, and comes to grips with his new reality.