Category Archives: 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.

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.

Coming to DVD/VOD today, Tuesday, November 20:
LIFE IN THE DOGHOUSE

Director:
Ron Davis

Premiere:
Provincetown 2018

Select Festivals:
Frameline, Newport, Sedona

About:
A gay couple turns their home into a dog rescue.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to the JCC Manhattan tonight, Monday, November 19 and to theatres this Wednesday, November 21:
THE WORLD BEFORE YOUR FEET

Director:
Jeremy Workman

Premiere:
SXSW 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Denver, IFF Boston, Nashville, RiverRun, Newport Beach, deadCENTER, Heartland, Bergen, Woodstock, Hot Springs Doc

About:
A man explores NYC by walking every single one of its streets.

The doc screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Executive produced by Jesse Eisenberg and directed by DOC NYC alumnus Jeremy Workman (MAGICAL UNIVERSE), this film is at once a love letter to NYC and a reminder of the joy and wonder of discovery, as experienced by a man on a personal, if inexplicable, mission. For more than six years, Matt Green has been methodically walking the streets of the city with the goal of eventually covering every single block, more than 8,000 miles. He has happily given up virtually everything to enable this personal quest—including his engineering job, apartment and possessions. As revealed in this charming portrait, the discoveries the easygoing urban explorer makes along the way prove the best reward.

Coming to America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, November 20:
MORONI FOR PRESIDENT

Directors:
Saila Huusko and Jasper Rischen

Premiere:
Big Sky Doc 2018

Select Festivals:
Los Angeles, Frameline, Seattle Queer, DocuWest

About:
A gay ex-Mormon campaigns to lead the Navajo Nation.

Frustrated by a good old boys network and the lack of clear self-determination among his people, young academic Moroni Benally throws his hat in the ring for the presidency of the Navajo Nation, arguably the most powerful Native political position in the US. Facing off against an incumbent with deeper pockets and political connections, Moroni struggles to get his message across to voters, who seem more receptive to empty platitudes than to informed political engagement. Moroni’s sexuality and former religion, while discussed, are not a main focus of the campaign, but do serve to inform his character and context, with other gay Navajos also profiled through the course of this likeable film.