Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD this week:
THE TRIAL OF RATKO MLADIC

Directors:
Robert Miller and Henry Singer

World Premiere:
IDFA 2018

Select Festivals:
Hot Dos, CPH:DOX, Göteborg, Movies That Matter

About:
A notorious Serbian military commander faces charges of genocide.

Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia in the early 1990s, a series of conflicts broke out in the region throughout the decade. Between 1992-1995, General Ratko Mladic led Serbian forces in Bosnia and Herzegovina, making him a national hero and celebrated there to this day. His victories, however, included the vicious slaughter of Muslims as part of nationalistic ethnic cleansing. Most notably, he was responsible for the genocide perpetrated in the town of Srenrenica, when more than 7000 men and boys were murdered in July 1995. Robert Miller and Henry Singer’s film follows efforts to see Mladic finally face justice for these actions during a five-year-long case at The Hague. Originally indicted in 1995 by the International Criminal Tribunal, the so-called “Butcher of Bosnia” went into hiding for years until he was arrested in 2012. While focused on the prosecution, and, most affectingly, some of the witnesses to Mladic’s atrocities, the filmmakers also have access to the defense team as they try to argue his innocence. The result is a difficult but worthwhile watch, bearing witness to the consequences of hateful, divisive rhetoric that plagues so much of the world today.

Coming to OVID tomorrow, Friday, May 31:
AFTER STONEWALL

Director:
John Scagliotti

World Premiere:
1999

Select Festivals:
NewFest, Outfest, Thessaloniki Doc

About:
An overview of the LGBT rights movement in the decades following Stonewall.

I previously wrote about the doc for NewFest’s program in 1999, saying:
On the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall riot, Janet Baus, Dan Hunt, and John Scagliotti, the latter a co-producer of the Emmy Award-winning BEFORE STONEWALL, chronicle in this new documentary the struggles, defeats, and triumphs that have defined gay and lesbian experience since that momentous event. Narrated by Melissa Etheridge, the film brings together numerous interviews (including Armistead Maupin, Jewelle Gomez, Barney Frank, Rita Mae Brown, and Dorothy Allison) with a treasure trove of archival and home movie footage, much of it never released before. Funny, sad, inspiring, but always engrossing, the film documents stories of transformation and liberation that led to the formation of lesbian and gay movements and communities which in turn have rigorously challenged prevailing social assumptions about family, work, religion, and relationships. This panorama of our era is honest, informative, and utterly rewarding to watch.

Coming to OVID tomorrow, Friday, May 31:
VITO

Director:
Jeffrey Schwarz

Premiere:
New York Film Festival 2011

Select Festivals:
Berlin, Big Sky, Dallas, Frameline, and Outfest

About:
On the life and legacy of a pivotal figure in LGBT cinema.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres this Friday, May 31:
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 theatres this Friday, May 31:
ECHO IN THE CANYON

Director:
Andrew Slater

Premiere:
Los Angeles 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Berkshire, Santa Barbara

About:
A look back at the 1960s Laurel Canyon music scene.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
The Byrds, The Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, and The Mamas and the Papas all birthed the beginnings of the Laurel Canyon music scene. Andrew Slater’s film shows how the echo of these artists’ creations reverberated between each other and ultimately across the world with a timelessness that continues today. Featuring Tom Petty, Brian Wilson, Stephen Stills, David Crosby, Graham Nash, Michelle Phillips, Jackson Browne, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Lou Adler, Norah Jones, Beck, Regina Spektor, Cat Power, and others, the film was executive produced by Jakob Dylan. Dylan journeys to meet the creators of iconic Laurel Canyon songs and uncovers never before heard personal details behind the recordings from those who made them popular.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, May 28:
THE CITY THAT SOLD AMERICA

Director:
Ky Dickens

Premiere:
Chicago 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Kansas, St Louis, Cleveland

About:
A look at Chicago’s central role in American advertising.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Chicago was built upon the aspirations of industry tycoons, ambitious politicians, and shrewd advertising executives. Buoyed by the Great Migration, the Windy City soon became the epicenter of commercial production, spawning the modern advertising industry that continues to shape our behavior today. This playful doc, spanning the whole of the twentieth century, offers intriguing insights on the development and enduring impact of some of the most creative advertising minds in the world, while simultaneously exploring our national relationship with popular culture.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, May 28:
PATRIMONIO

Directors:
Lisa F Jackson and Sarah Teale

Premiere:
Berlin 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Full Frame, Hot Springs Doc, Tallgrass, SF Green, St Louis

About:
Mexican fishermen fight back against development plans that will destroy their way of life.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In Baja, Mexico, a multinational developer plans to build an extensive wellness oasis, which will include nearly 4500 homes and create a footprint that will engulf the local fishing community of Todos Santos. Faced with the encroachment of their natural resources, depletion of the local ecology, and severe pollution, the fishermen band together to fight the developer and government agencies that enable these extreme resorts. Led by an inspiring young attorney, can this humble group succeed in stopping this unsustainable development and preserve their way of life?