Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 11:
SUSANNE BARTSCH: ON TOP

Directors:
Anthony&Alex

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2017

Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Seattle, NewFest, Provincetown, Athena, If Istanbul, Melbourne Queer

About:
A profile of the legendary New York City nightlife promoter.

Though born and raised in Switzerland, Susanne Bartsch long ago become synonymous with NYC nightlife. Anthony&Alex pay tribute to the woman whose job is to make sure everyone else has an amazing time, following her from her home in the Chelsea Hotel – where else – to various events, always in eye-catching, creative outfits. At the same time, the occasion of a retrospective of her trendsetting work at the Fashion Institute of Technology provides the context for an even more fascinating consideration of her influence over the decades, including pivotal early work in AIDS awareness, given how tied she is to the gay community.

Coming to PBS’s Doc World tonight, Monday, September 10:
ASK THE SEXPERT

Director:
Vaishali Sinha

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, IDFA, Sheffield, Melbourne, Bergen, Mumbai, Warsaw, St Louis, Cork, WatchDocs, Ambulante, DocPoint, Big Sky Doc, Movies That Matter, One World, Cleveland, Florida

About:
A portrait of a controversial Indian sex advice columnist.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Dr Mahinder Watsa, a 93-year-old retired gynecologist, is India’s foremost “sexpert.” His daily newspaper column in the Mumbai Mirror dispenses practical, often humorous advice in response to some common and sometimes decidedly unusual questions about sex. Despite his popularity, Dr Watsa is not without critics, who accuse him of contributing to the decline of Indian morality. Sinha’s film is a lighthearted look at India’s answer to Dan Savage. Is he a hero of progress or an enemy of traditional values?

Coming to PBS’s Doc World this Sunday, September 9:
SKY AND GROUND

Directors:
Talya Tibbon and Joshua Bennett

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2017

Select Festivals:
Full Frame, Santa Barbara, Vancouver, Ashland

About:
A family of refugees attempt to make it from Aleppo to Berlin.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
A compelling, ground-level immersion into the greatest humanitarian crisis of our time, Talya Tibbon and Joshua Bennett’s film accompanies the Nabi clan, a large, extended Syrian-Kurdish family, as they painstakingly make their way from their home in Aleppo, bombed out by the war, to the Idomeni refugee camp on the border of Greece and Macedonia. Their goal is Berlin, where they will reunite with family members and seek asylum – but first they must make the arduous and dangerous journey through Serbia, Hungary, and Austria.

Coming to MUBI today, Friday, September 7:
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA

Director:
Stephen Nomura Schible

Premiere:
Venice 2017

Select Festivals:
IDFA, CPH:DOX, Tokyo, Tribeca, Belgrade, Singapore, Stockholm, Seattle, Dallas, Nashville, IFF Boston, Berkshire

About:
An intimate portrait of the Oscar-winning composer.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, September 7:
WYETH

Director:
Glenn Holsten

Premiere:
Provincetown 2018

About:
An exploration of the popular American painter Andrew Wyeth.

In this well-researched and composed portrait, Glenn Holsten pays tribute to Wyeth, who, despite – or perhaps because – being acknowledged as one of the 20th Century’s most popular artists, found his work sharply criticized or outright dismissed by the larger art establishment of his day, which favored the rise of abstract expressionism rather than his seemingly old-fashion figurative work. The film takes issue with this perspective, arguing for the depth of feeling and masterful technique displayed in Wyeth’s work, demonstrated by an exhaustive review of his paintings. In addition to recounting the biographical detail about the artist’s family and upbringing that is de rigueur for the PBS strand, Holsten spends productive time exploring the importance of several muses, including his neighbor Christina Olsen, who features in his celebrated and haunting piece, Christina’s World, and Helga Testorf, who inspired 15 years of secret paintings, the 1986 revelation of which resulted in controversy.

Coming to Netflix tomorrow, Friday, September 7:
CITY OF JOY

Director:
Madeleine Gavin

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2016

Select Festivals:
Cleveland, Raindance, Ashland, Tallgrass, Mill Valley, Newport Beach, Woods Hole, Athena, Dallas, Workers Unite

About:
A profile of a Congolese community that helps train sexual assault survivors to help others back in their communities.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
The City of Joy is a community for women survivors of violence in the Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Opened in 2011, the project was founded by Eve Ensler, Dr. Denis Mukwege, Christine Schuler Deschryver, and supported by V-Day. The film chronicles the institution’s first class of resilient women as they process their trauma and create a revolutionary community. We see survivors transformed into leaders and sorrow turned into hope. Each day at City of Joy is a lesson.

New to VOD this week:
ANATOMY OF A MALE BALLET DANCER

Directors:
David Barba and James Pellerito

Premiere:
Dance on Camera 2017

Select Festivals:
Full Frame, AFI Docs, Provincetown, DocUtah, Rio, GlobeDocs, Raindance, Hot Springs Doc, Key West, SF Dance, Austin LGBT

About:
A portrait of longtime American Ballet Theater principal dancer Marcelo Gomes.

I previously wrote about the doc here.