Category Archives: Recommendations

JUSTICE
Exploring the epic battle to confirm Brett Kavanaugh.

Director:
Doug Liman

Producer:
Amy Herdy

Festival Section:
Special Screenings

More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

With the 2023 Sundance Film Festival kicking off tomorrow, in-person in Park City and Salt Lake City, UT, for the first time since 2020, and keeping me busy in my role as Senior Programmer, this is typically the time of the year when w(n)td goes on hiatus for the duration of the Festival.

This year, it also makes for a fitting time to bring this site to a close, more or less. I’ve been posting about all things documentary since the summer of 2010, usually multiple times daily during the work week. While my writing has been less in-depth in recent years, making the site function more like a nonfiction release listing, it’s still been a time commitment. With others providing similar information – I recommend interested readers sign up for DOC NYC’s Weekend Watch newsletter – I feel like it’s time for me to step away from regular posting for the foreseeable future. I may pop in with an occasional post, such as notable Sundance announcements or listings of Sundance alumni releases, but, after 12.5 years and more than 8000 posts, my daily contributions to w(n)td have now wrapped.

Thanks to everyone who has checked out this site over the years, which I’ll continue to maintain as an archive. If you’re headed to Sundance, I hope to see you in person there.

WILLIE NELSON & FAMILY
The first authorized work exploring the extraordinary life of Willie Nelson traverses the personal and career ups, downs, and in-betweens of one of the world’s most beloved musicians, by turns spiritual, dramatic, and playful.

Directors:
Thom Zimny, Oren Moverman

Executive Producers:
Thom Zimny, Oren Moverman, Keith Wortman, Mark Rothbaum, Eddie Vaisman, Julia Lebedev, Sean Stuart, Leonid Lebedev, Annie Nelson, Mark Ankner

Festival Section:
Indie Episodic

More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED)
An epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion shines a light on the importance of history and the healing power of music during times of unrest. World Premiered in the 2021 Sundance Film Festival’s US Documentary Competition section, where it won the US Grand Jury Prize: Documentary and Audience Award: US Documentary.

Director:
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson

Producers:
David Dinerstein, Robert Fyvolent, Joseph Patel

Festival Section:
Encore Special Screenings

More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

NAVALNY
Anti-authoritarian Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny recovers in Berlin after nearly being poisoned to death with the nerve agent Novichok. He makes shocking discoveries about his assassination attempt and bravely decides to return home – whatever the consequences. World Premiered in the 2022 Sundance Film Festival’s US Documentary Competition section, where it won Festival Favorite and the Audience Award: US Documentary.

Director:
Daniel Roher

Producers:
Odessa Rae, Diane Becker, Melanie Miller, Shane Boris

Festival Section:
Encore Special Screenings

More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

STEPHEN CURRY: UNDERRATED
Stephen Curry is one of the most influential, dynamic, and unexpected players in the history of basketball. Intimate cinematic video, archival footage, and on-camera interviews reveal Curry’s rise from an undersized college player to a four-time NBA champion.

Director/Paroducer:
Peter Nicks

Producers:
Ryan Coogler, Sean Havey, Erick Peyton, Marissa Torres Ericson

Festival Section:
Special Screenings

More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

SQUARING THE CIRCLE (THE STORY OF HIPGNOSIS)
An inside look at the studio responsible for some of the most iconic and recognizable album covers of all time. From Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon to Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, the studio ruled the ’70s.

Director:
Anton Corbijn

Producer:
Trish D Chetty, Ged Doherty, Colin Firth

Festival Section:
Spotlight

More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.

LAST THINGS
Evolution and extinction from the point of view of rocks. A humid take on minerals, where sci-fi meets sci-fact. The geo-biosphere is a place of evolutionary possibility, where humans disappear but life endures.

Director/Producer:
Deborah Stratman

Producer:
Anže Peržin, Gaëlle Boucand

Festival Section:
New Frontier

More Info:
Check out the Sundance website for more details, including screening info, by clicking on the film title above.