Category Archives: Recommendations

New to VOD this week:
VENUS

Directors:
Mette Carla Albrechtsen and Lea Glob

Premiere:
IDFA 2016

Select Festivals:
True/False, Sheffield, DocPoint, Thessaloniki Doc, Göteborg, DOXBIO, Docs Against Gravity, Biografilm, Sao Paulo

About:
100 women are surveyed about their sexual experiences.

Danish filmmakers Mette Carla Albrechtsen and Lea Glob set out to explore perceptions about female sexuality in their country by announcing an open casting call for women to participate as interview subjects in their project. The film features the various women who show up, walk into the frame, and are interviewed by Albrechtsen and Glob. Questions range from fairly basic to probing – even confrontational – interrogations about virginity, first or uncomfortable sexual experiences, body image issues, and the like, resulting in a kind of riff of the casting couch. The filmmakers even ask if their subjects are willing to pose naked for the camera. The result is a surprisingly engaging and vulnerable study of not only female sexuality, but of the give and take between filmmaker and subject.

Coming to OVID this Sunday, May 19:
HOW TO LOSE YOUR VIRGINITY

Director:
Therese Shechter

Premiere:
Jihlava 2013

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Cucalorus, St John’s International Women

About:
A personal exploration of the elusive concept of purity.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, May 17:
WALKING ON WATER

Director:
Andrey Paounov

Premiere:
Locarno 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Toronto, Docudays UA

About:
A behind the scenes look at Christo’s long-gestating Floating Piers project.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
For decades Christo and Jeanne-Claude dazzled art lovers with their epic installation projects, such as The Gates in Central Park. Seven years after the death of Jeanne-Claude, the larger-than-life Christo finally realizes a long-planned project, The Floating Piers. Mounted in 2016 on Italy’s Lake Iseo, the mammoth undertaking allows visitors to walk across a great stretch of water. Once again, witnessing the realization of Christo’s vision feels like watching a real-life miracle.

Coming to Fuse this Saturday, May 18:
I USED TO BE NORMAL: A BOYBAND FANGIRL STORY

Director:
Jessica Leski

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Sydney, Revelation Perth, Melbourne, Fantastic Fest, Adelaide, London, Hawaii, Göteborg, Rotterdam, Miami, Santa Barbara, Cleveland, Istanbul

About:
A look at boyband superfans.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
New Kids on the Block, N*Sync, One Direction, and, of course, The Beatles: Bands with big hair, bigger personalities and the ubiquitous screaming fangirls. Jessica Leski’s entertaining film profiles these ardent fans, charming groupies who find joy in their devotion. Whimsical and lustrous, the film explores the complexity of social media relationships and the gray line between passion and obsession. At its core the story is a celebration of music as a universal language, one that unites frantic fans and provides a sense of belonging.

Coming to OVID this Sunday, May 19:
THE GRACE LEE PROJECT

Director:
Grace Lee

Premiere:
SF Asian American 2005

Select Festivals:
SXSW, Los Angeles, Pusan, St Louis, Hawaii, New York Asian American, Toronto Reel Asian

About:
A personal consideration of names, culture, and identity.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD this week:
EVERY ACT OF LIFE

Director:
Jeff Kaufman

Premiere:
Tribeca 2018

Select Festivals:
Seattle, Tel Aviv, Nashville, Provincetown, Inside Out, Frameline, Outfest, LGBT fests in Miami, Portland, San Diego, Hartford, Vancouver, and Austin

About:
A look at the life and work of acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally.

I previously wrote about the doc here.