Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD this week:
JOHN MCENROE: IN THE REALM OF PERFECTION

Director:
Julien Faraut

Premiere:
Berlin 2018

Select Festivals:
Cinema du Reel, Art of the Real, Seattle, deadCenter, Las Vegas, Sydney, Melbourne, New Zealand, Provincetown, Jerusalem, Jeonju

About:
The athlete’s 1984 French Open performance illustrates an essay on the linkage between tennis and cinema.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

FATHER’S KINGDOM

Director:
Lenny Feinberg

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2017

Select Festivals:
RiverRun, Cleveland, Big Sky Doc, Sarasota, Maryland, Sidewalk, March on Washington, Dances With Films, Salem, St Louis, San Francisco Black

About:
The untold story of a once-popular but long-forgotten religious and civil rights leader.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In the early 1900s, an African-American man named Reverend MJ Divine began a religious movement that would reach over a million followers at its peak, crossing racial divisions and advocating for gender and economic equality. Despite his influence and achievements, Father Divine is little remembered today, dismissed by detractors as a con man and a fraud. The reason: Father Divine claimed to be God. Lenny Feinberg reveals his fascinating story, and that of his last few remaining followers, who are on a mission to keep Father Divine’s legacy alive.

Coming to DVD/VOD today, Tuesday, February 5:
THE HEAT: A KITCHEN (R)EVOLUTION

Director:
Maya Gallus

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Traverse City, San Sebastian, Hot Springs Doc, Edmonton

About:
A portrait of female chefs who have faced the boy’s club of the restaurant industry.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s AfroPoP tonight, Monday, February 4:
THE FACES WE LOST

Director:
Piotr Cieplak

Premiere:
Cambridge 2017

Select Festivals:
Rwanda, Africa-in-Motion, Cannes PanAfricaine

About:
Survivors of the Rwandan genocide explore the importance of photographic memory.

Exploring the lasting impact of the horrific murder of nearly a million Rwandans over the course of 100 days 25 years ago, Cieplak’s thoughtful project seeks to explore questions of representation, as grounded in photographic remains of victims. While disturbing images of the slaughter have become part of the historic record, the filmmaker here instead focuses on other photographs – ones that celebrate life, not death. Survivors tell the heartbreaking stories of their loved ones, display the few remaining images they have of them – family snapshots or official IDs – and discuss the importance these remnants play in coping with their loss. Similarly, museum archivists take on similar work on a larger scale, helping to reframe national collective memory of the trauma. Though a bit repetitive and overextended, the film succeeds in helping to humanize a mass tragedy, and force more complex reflection on our view of Rwanda and the genocide.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, February 4:
BLACK MEMORABILIA

Director:
Chico Colvard

Premiere:
MoMA Documentary Fortnight 2018

Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Atlanta, St Louis, Salem, IFF Boston

About:
An exploration of the creators, consumers, and re-appropriators of racially stereotypical/racist black memorabilia, like Mammy figurines.

Tackling a controversial but complex subject, Colvard offers an intriguing and thoughtful approach, profiling three individuals, all women, who are engaged with the surprisingly lucrative market in black memorabilia in different ways. In China, Jian works in one of the many factories that produce reproductions of historical items to address the renewed demand. Though she likens her job to her family’s traditional trade in ironworking, she is very conflicted about the idea that what she produces uses offensive imagery. Joy, a white woman, makes a living as a dealer in black memorabilia, including KKK and slavery related items, beyond relatively more innocuous figurines. She views this material as important, real black history that should be visible and available to the public, even if it’s disturbing. Younger visual artist Alexandria in NYC uses a black-face, hood-covered Pickaninny-styled character in much of her work, and also dresses like her at times. She feels drawn to take ownership of and re-appropriate these uncomfortable images. Together, Colvard’s three subjects offer a thought-provoking reframing of these problematic artifacts.

New to VOD last week:
A LITTLE WISDOM

Director:
Yuqi Kang

Premiere:
Busan 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, SXSW, Karlovy Vary, Hot Docs, RIDM, CAAMFest, DokuFest

About:
A portrait of young novice monks in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
This beautiful observational portrait of childhood is set in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery located on the border between Nepal and India, the birthplace of the Buddha. Director Yuqi Kang reveals the emotional dynamics of five-year-old Hopakuli and his older brother Chorten as these young novice monks attempt to balance the rituals and disciplines of the monastery with the distractions of modern life, where the allure of video games competes with their lessons and meditation.