As the lineup of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival (January 24-February 3) is revealed, I’ll be including pointers here. The Features lineup, which includes the US and World Cinema Documentary and Dramatic Competitions, NEXT, Documentary Premieres, Premieres, Midnight, Spotlight, and Kids, has just been announced today here.
Pointers for other sections – Shorts, Indie Episodic, Special Events, and New Frontier – will follow as they are announced in the coming weeks.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to theatres this Friday, November 30:
BATHTUBS OVER BROADWAY
Director:
Dava Whisenant
Premiere:
Tribeca 2018
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Docs, AFI Docs, Traverse City, Nashville, Sidewalk, Mill Valley, Vancouver
About:
A comedy writer becomes obsessed with corporate musicals.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to YouTube today, Tuesday, November 27:
THE PRICE OF FREE
Director:
Derek Doneen
Premiere:
Sundance 2018 (under original title KAILASH)
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Napa Valley, Sundance Hong Kong, El Gouna, Aspen
About:
A profile of one man’s tireless mission to end child slavery.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s DCTV Presents series tonight, Monday, November 26:
THE PAIN OF OTHERS
Director:
Penny Lane
Premiere:
Rotterdam 2018
Select Festivals:
Sheffield, BAMcinemaFest, SF DocFest, Maryland, Sarasota
About:
Found footage about a contested disease offers a provocative meditation on the nature of suffering.
Morgellons is a self-diagnosed condition characterized by itching, creepy-crawlies, sores, and the apparent expulsion of fibers from the skin. It’s also not generally accepted by the medical establishment, which has deemed it a delusion. In response, some of its sufferers have turned to the Internet, posting YouTube entries to attempt to offer evidence of their symptoms, share potential theories and palliative remedies, and, perhaps most importantly, to gain support from a like-minded community. Lane’s film is largely composed of segments of these types of videos, together with a few clips from media reports about Morgellons for additional context. The viewer is drawn into a type of confidence as three women’s testimonies play out a range of emotions, from joy at finally being able to identify one’s symptoms as Morgellons or satisfaction in locating some dodgy potential cure, to deep depression that they’re being treated and dismissed as hysterical women. This often disturbing but deeply empathetic film doesn’t try to assess the “realness” of Morgellons, at least not directly, but in presenting these portraits of suffering, Lane forces the viewer to question what, if any, difference there is for the afflicted between a condition with a physiological basis or one with a psychological one.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to VOD this week:
SCIENCE FAIR
Directors:
Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
SXSW, Edinburgh, Cleveland, New Zealand, Vancouver, Sun Valley, Portland, Provincetown
About:
A profile of participants in the world’s premier science fair.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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