Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, August 6:
AMAZING GRACE

Realized and Produced by:
Alan Elliott

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
Berlin, SXSW, True/False, AFI Fest, Full Frame, Pan African

About:
A landmark Aretha Franklin music concert film is released over forty years after it was filmed.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s American Experience and to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, August 6:
WOODSTOCK: THREE DAYS THAT DEFINED A GENERATION

Director:
Barak Goodman

Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
Seattle, DocLands

About:
An immersive reflection on how organizers defied the odds to stage the seminal music event.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Starz tonight, Monday, August 5:
THE KLEPTOCRATS

Directors:
Havana Marking and Sam Hobkinson

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festival:
CPH:DOX, Docville, Sydney, Cleveland, Docs Against Gravity, Sonoma

About:
An investigation into an audacious financial scandal.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, August 5:
THE DISTANT BARKING OF DOGS

Director:
Simon Lereng Wilmont

Premiere:
IDFA 2017

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, San Francisco, Reyjkavik, Göteborg, Hong Kong, DOK.fest Munich, Docaviv, It’s All True, Docs Against Gravity, Docpoint, !f Istanbul, Vilnius

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

About:
A pre-teen boy lives near the border of the Ukraine/Russian war.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD today, Friday, August 2:
FOR THE BIRDS

Director:
Richard Miron

Premiere:
Sheffield 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, Hamptons, Thessaloniki Doc, AFI Docs, DocPoint, Antenna Doc, Cork, Austin, Planet in Focus, Woodstock

About:
An obsessive bird lover struggles to properly care for her flock.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, August 2:
WORLDS OF URSULA K LE GUIN

Director:
Arwen Curry

World Premiere:
Sheffield 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Ashland, Mill Valley, BendFilm, Austin, Boston Sci-Fi, Berlin Sci-Fi, Sebastopol Doc, Belfast, Newport Beach

About:
An intimate portrait of the pioneering author.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Ursula K Le Guin: world builder, feminist, and fantasy author. Despite her early marginalization, Le Guin’s work challenged the male-dominated industry of literature, and demanded consideration of complex topics such as gender and identity, decades before these issues became contemporary talking points. Following Le Guin’s death in January 2018, Arwen Curry’s intimate portrait – featuring interviews with authors and Le Guin admirers Neil Gaiman and David Mitchell – is a moving tribute to a prescient female warrior and an homage to our shared love of storytelling.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Wednesday, July 31:
JAY MYSELF

Director:
Stephen Wilkes

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
deadCENTER, Newport Beach

About:
A renowned photographer prepares to leave his longtime home and studio.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Acclaimed photographer Jay Maisel bought a six-story, 72-room building on the Bowery in 1966. Ever since, the site has served as his home, studio, and repository for a breathtaking collection of items that inspires his photographic work. But now it must be emptied out following its sale in the largest private real estate deal in NYC history. As Maisel prepares for this monumental move, a true end of an era, he reflects on his life and work for the camera of his mentee, photographer and filmmaker Stephen Wilkes.

Coming to DVD/VOD today, Tuesday, July 30:
MEETING GORBACHEV

Directors:
Werner Herzog and Andre Singer

Premiere:
Telluride 2018

Select Festivals:
Toronto, CPH:DOX, Tribeca, DocPoint, Dok Leipzig

About:
The German auteur has a meeting of the minds with the legendary final leader of the Soviet Union.

I previously wrote about the doc here.