Coming to A&E tonight, Monday, February 11:
STUDIO 54
Director:
Matt Tyrnauer
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Tribeca, Full Frame, CPH:DOX, Reykjavik, Provincetown, Santa Barbara, Hot Springs Doc, Savannah, Vancouver, Sidewalk, Outfest, Frameline
About:
A look back at the meteoric rise and crushing fall of the legendary NYC nightclub.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s AfroPoP tonight, Monday, February 11:
WHILE I BREATHE, I HOPE
Director:
Emily Harrold
Premiere:
New Orleans 2018
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Springs Doc, Cucalorus, Toronto Black, Oxford,
About:
A portrait of a young African-American politician in the South.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
When he was elected to the South Carolina House of Representatives in 2005, Bakari Sellers became the youngest African-American elected official in US history. In this candid profile, the charismatic Democrat sets his sights on becoming the state’s lieutenant governor, a role not held by an African American since 1876. Emily Harrold offers an eye-opening look at the legacy of racism in American politics as she follows Sellers through his campaign and beyond, including the tragic shooting at Charleston’s Emanuel AME church.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to NYC’s DCTV screening series tonight, Monday, February 11:
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 film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Birds hold a special place in Kathy’s heart. In the upstate New York home she shares with her husband, Gary, she has accumulated more than 200 pet chickens, geese, ducks, and turkeys over the past decade. This unusual behavior draws the attention of local activists and animal welfare officers. As a legal custody battle ensues over her birds, Kathy is forced to defend herself, and the situation puts a strain on her relationship with Gary. Richard Miron crafts a sensitive, nuanced, and ultimately hopeful portrait of a woman reckoning with unwanted change.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, February 11:
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING
Director:
RaMell Ross
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, True/False, New Directors/New Films, Full Frame, Sheffield, Ambulante, Champs-Élysées, Maryland, DOK.fest Munich, Martha’s Vineyard African American, San Francisco, Montclair
Notable Recognition:
The documentary has been nominated for the Academy Awards.
About:
An impressionistic portrait of two young African American men in the American South.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Photo by Popperfoto/Getty Images
Director:
Hannah Berryman
Premiere:
BBC (September 2018)
About:
A two-part docuseries exploring the rebellious life of Queen Elizabeth’s younger sister, Princess Margaret.
Popularized for a modern-day audience by the series THE CROWN, Margaret Rose Windsor was a boundary-pushing public figure at a time of great change in Britain. Hannah Berryman’s two-part biography draws from an extensive archive as well as the reflections of close friends and associates, plus appealing animation, to offer an entertaining and illuminating sense of the ever-unpredictable iconoclast who transformed the public’s idea of what a royal should or shouldn’t do. Taking a strictly chronological approach, the first part briefly sketches out Elizabeth’s path to the throne, and the resultant impact on her sister Margaret, who dutifully fulfills royal obligations but eventually attracts media attention for her affair with the older, married Peter Townsend, and later due to her romance with the womanizing commoner Antony Armstrong-Jones. The second part follows the troubled path of that marriage, her sensational trip to America, divorce, and further scandals, as Margaret rides the wave of societal changes that bring more and more scrutiny to the monarchy.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
photo by Jim Judkis
Director:
Morgan Neville
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Docs, SXSW, True/False, San Francisco, Montclair, Seattle, Cleveland, Minneapolis St Paul, Wisconsin, Boulder, Miami
Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
About:
A moving exploration of the enduring impact of children’s television show host Fred Rogers on generations of viewers through his pioneering program, MISTER ROGERS’ NEIGHBORHOOD.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, February 8:
THE GOSPEL OF EUREKA
Directors:
Michael Palmieri and Donal Mosher
Premiere:
SXSW 2018
Select Festivals:
Sheffield, AFI Docs, Nashville, BAMcinemaFest, Provincetown, Indie Grits, Ashland, Frameline, Portland QDoc
About:
A small Arkansas town hosts both a spectacular Passion Play and a gospel drag show.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to VOD this week:
RODENTS OF UNUSUAL SIZE
Directors:
Quinn Costello, Chris Metzler, Jeff Springer
Premiere:
DOC NYC 2017
Select Festivals:
Full Frame, Big Sky Doc, Wild and Scenic, Oxford, Washington DC Environmental, Salem, Indie Grits, Freep, Sarasota, IFF Boston, RiverRun, Doc Edge, SF DocFest, Woods Hole, Sidewalk, DocUtah, Yale Environmental, Tallgrass, Hot Springs Doc
About:
A wide-ranging look at efforts to protect Louisiana from a giant swamp rat.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Festival:
The 69th Berlinale
Dates:
February 7-17
About:
Germany’s premier film festival showcases 85 new documentaries among its nearly 230 feature offerings. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
SXSW has announced the remainder of its feature film line-up today, for a total of 131 projects. Following is the list of documentary features just revealed, broken down by section:
Festival Favorites:
THE HOTTEST AUGUST
APOLLO 11
Director: Todd Douglas Miller
A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
AQUARELA
Director:Victor Kossakovsky
A deeply cinematic journey through the transformative beauty and raw power of water. Filmed at 96 frames per second, it’s a visceral wake-up call that humans are no match for the sheer force and will of Earth’s most precious element.
THE HOTTEST AUGUST
Director: Brett Story
A film about climate change, disguised as a portrait of collective anxiety.
THE INVENTOR: OUT FOR BLOOD IN SILICON VALLEY
Director: Alex Gibney
Elizabeth Holmes was once the world’s youngest self-made billionaire, heralded as the next Steve Jobs. Then, overnight, her $10-billion-dollar company dissolved. The rise and fall of Theranos is a window into the psychology of fraud.
KNOCK DOWN THE HOUSE
Director: Rachel Lears
Four women run for Congress, overcoming personal adversity to battle powerful political machines across the country. One of their races will change the country forever.
MAIDEN
Director: Alex Holmes
In a moving portrait of resilience, Alex Holmes chronicles the unprecedented journey of 24-year-old Tracy Edwards and the first all-female sailing crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race.
PAHOKEE
Directors: Ivete Lucas, Patrick Bresnan
In a small agricultural town in the Florida Everglades, hopes for the future are concentrated on the youth. Four teens face heartbreak and celebrate in the rituals of an extraordinary senior year.
RAISE HELL: THE LIFE & TIMES OF MOLLY IVINS
Director: Janice Engel
Six-feet of Texas trouble, Molly Ivins, a legendary journalist and a warrior for the Bill of Rights, fought Good Old Boy corruption with razor-sharp wit that left both sides of the aisle laughing and craving ink in her columns. Raise Hell y’all!
Documentary Spotlight:
SALVAGE
I AM RICHARD PRYOR
Director: Jesse James Miller
The life story of the legendary performer and iconic social satirist, who transcended race and social barriers by delivering his honest irreverent and biting humor to America’s stages and living rooms until his death at 65.
SALVAGE
Director: Amy C Elliott
The Yellowknife dump, and its massive, unrestricted salvage area, has long played a central role in this remote Canadian city’s civic and social life. Can a colorful group of thrifty locals save it from city bureaucrats determined to close it down?
STATE OF PRIDE
Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman
Fifty years after the Stonewall uprising, Oscar winning filmmakers Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman travel to three diverse communities – Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Tuscaloosa, Alabama – for an unflinching look at LGBTQ Pride.
24 Beats Per Second:
IRIS: A SPACE OPERA BY JUSTICE
IRIS: A SPACE OPERA BY JUSTICE
Directors: Andre Chemetoff, Armand Beraud
Iris is a film adaptation of Justice’s Woman World Wide live show from 2017-2018, which is widely regarded as the greatest live electronic concert created. Recorded in an empty and invisible space, Iris focuses on the impressive production and music.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
