Category Archives: Recommendations

New to VOD via iTunes this week:
OF FISH AND FOE

Directors:
Heike Bachelier and Andy Heathcote

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC

About:
An exploration of the tensions between traditional fishing practices and animal rights activism.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
One of Scotland’s last salmon fishing families is accused of animal rights violations. Constantly followed and recorded by environmental watchdog groups, the Pullar family attempts to pursue its livelihood using hunting practices passed down for generations. Tensions escalate when the government becomes involved. Is there a future for their traditional way of fishing? Nuanced and carefully balanced, Heike Bachelier and Andy Heathcote’s film questions where the line is drawn when trying to both preserve wildlife populations and support local industry.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, November 27:
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.

Coming to DVD/VOD today, Tuesday, November 27:
SAVING BRINTON

Directors:
Andrew Sherburne and Tommy Haines

Premiere:
AFI Docs 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Rotterdam, Thessaloniki Doc, Jeonju, BAFICI, Big Sky Doc, Hot Springs Doc, RiverRun, Julien Dubuque, Ashland, St Louis, Flyway, Anchorage

About:
A fascinating excavation of early film history and showmanship.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, November 26:
THE TRUTH ABOUT KILLER ROBOTS

Director:
Maxim Pozdorovkin

Premiere:
Toronto 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hamptons, Double Exposure, Zurich

About:
A wide-ranging, thought-provoking meditation on the legal, ethical, and philosophical implications of robots and artificial intelligence.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Filmmaker Maxim Pozdorovkin takes a provocative look at how new technology makes robots more human and humans more robotic. His film’s title comes from three recent incidents where robots have caused the death of humans. But Pozdorovkin also examines how robots are job killers, replacing humans not only in manufacturing, but everywhere from hospitality to farming to legal work. This film essay will change the way you listen to politicians promising to create jobs.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 23:
HILLBILLY

Directors:
Sally Rubin and Ashley York

Premiere:
Nashville 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Los Angeles, Traverse City, SF DocFest, Hot Springs Doc, Heartland, Southern Circuit

About:
A personal exploration of the representation of rural America.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
America’s mountain and rural populace has long been an easy target for ridicule. Stereotyped in the media as lazy and ignorant, and dismissed by politicians as backwards, they’re considered the lowest rung of American society. Directors Rubin and York return to York’s hometown in the Appalachian hills to give voice to the thoughts of this complex community, revealing a racially, politically, and sexually diverse population who stand strong and proud of who they are.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 23:
FAMILY IN TRANSITION

Director:
Ofir Trainin

Premiere:
Docaviv 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC

About:
A husband and father’s transition from male to female changes the dynamics of the family in unanticipated way.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Amit, a father of four living in a small town in Israel, tells his wife, Galit, that he is a woman and wants to transition. Galit pledges her support, ready to overcome surgery, social stigma and bureaucracy to maintain her marriage. But, as Amit transforms into the woman she was meant to be, tensions arise while everyone in the family readjusts to understand themselves and each other anew. In the process, Galit must redefine her own identity and what it means to be a parent, a spouse, and a lover.

New to DVD and VOD this week:
MAKING THE GRADE

Director:
Ken Wardrop

Premiere:
SXSW 2018

Select Festivals:
Hamptons, Seattle, Newport Beach

About:
On piano teachers and their students in Ireland.

In Ireland, approximately 30,000 students of various ages take different levels of piano exams each year. Demonstrating his signature humanism and warmth, director Ken Wardrop offers a peek into the lessons of a cross-section of these Mozart hopefuls, from the beginning grades through to the most proficient. Though neither the exam nor its results are revealed here, it’s clear that not everyone in the film will pass, as, in many ways, that’s besides the point. The film never dives deep into any individual stories, but the result is an affectionate mosaic of the relationship between piano teacher and student, while at the same time a love letter to music education and appreciation.