Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to theatres and to VOD today, Friday, November 2:
DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS

Director:
Dana Adam Shapiro

Premiere:
SXSW 2018

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, USA, Tallgrass, Sarasota, Lighthouse

About:
An insider’s look at the legendary cheerleading squad.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
This 2018 SXSW Special Jury Award-winning film is an entertaining and intriguing look at the iconic Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Dana Adam Shapiro explores the squad’s history and cultural impact in relation to America’s shifting views of women’s roles and sexual freedom in the 1970s. Former squad members—and, most notably, their outspoken, fiercely protective den mother, Suzanne Mitchell—offer unique perspective and explain how the cheerleaders balanced wholesomeness with empowered sexuality to become a pop-culture phenomenon, all while contending with sexism behind the scenes.

Coming to theatres and to Netflix tomorrow, Friday, November 2:
THEY’LL LOVE ME WHEN I’M DEAD

Director:
Morgan Neville

Premiere:
Venice 2018

Select Festivals:
Telluride, Camden, New York, Hamptons, London, Chicago

About:
The story behind Orson Welles’ unfinished (until recently) would-be magnum opus, THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND.

Neville’s film is not concerned with the posthumous completion of Welles’ film enabled by Netflix, though it of course functions as a fascinating companion. In many ways, this playful documentary is more expansive in its scope than simply considering WIND, taking on Welles’ later years as a whole, and offering insight into the by-then faded auteur’s idiosyncratic creative process. While Neville’s choice to frame the proceedings with a strange Alan Cumming sequence is a misstep, the core of the project is fascinating, utilizing footage from WIND as well as other Welles’ films and filmed appearances, supplemented by a chorus of voiceover commentary, to explore the director’s frustrated, stop-and-start attempts at pulling together his comeback film, a meta-commentary on filmmaking starring John Huston as a barely-disguised Wellesian doppelgänger, despite Welles’ statements to the contrary. Neville’s interview subjects don’t always agree, but they present the viewer with much food for thought about the troubled production, Welles’ challenges with financing, and an undercurrent of betrayal both in the meta aspects within his unfinished film and within its own creation – by Welles and by others.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 2:
DISTANT CONSTELLATION

Director:
Shevaun Mizrahi

Premiere:
Locarno 2017

Select Festivals:
IDFA, True/False, Docpoint, DOK.fest Munich, RIDM, Jeonju, DOXA, EDOC, Beldocs, Docaviv, Goteborg, One World, London, Reykjavik, Vienna, Sarasota, BAMcinemaFest, Melbourne, Dokufest, Message to Man, Flahertiana, DocsMX

About:
A meditative film set in a Turkish retirement home.

In this beautifully photographed, almost dream-like film, Mizrahi turns her camera on several residents of a Turkish retirement home. These vignettes offer a range of stories – sad to sweet, humorous to solemn – but, delivered by these aged figures, they speak to a search for meaning when faced with the end of life. As a counterpoint, scenes from the construction sites around the home play out occasionally, offering a look at would-be progress and future plans, enacted by young laborers. Full of indelible images and often equally unforgettable subjects, Mizrahi has crafted a thoughtful, haunting, and singular project.

Coming to VOD this Friday, November 2:
ZERO WEEKS

Director:
Ky Dickens

Premiere:
Camden 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Portland, Chicago Feminist, Green Mountain, Cleveland, Nashville

About:
An exploration of the essential need for paid family leave.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In most countries, workers are given several weeks of paid leave and job security should they need time off to care for a newborn or a sick relative or to tend to a personal health emergency. Only two nations offer exactly zero weeks: Papua New Guinea and the United States, where individuals are often forced to choose between keeping their job or taking care of their family or health. Through powerful human stories, director Ky Dickens demonstrates the urgent need to address this vital issue.