Re-issued on DVD this week:
I CALLED HIM MORGAN
Director:
Kasper Collin
Premiere:
Venice 2016
Select Festivals:
Toronto, Telluride, New York, London, Vancouver, Mumbai, Philadelphia, In-Edit, Stockholm, Palm Springs, Thessaloniki Doc, Tempo Doc, CPH:DOX
About:
The story of the ultimately ill-fated relationship between jazz musician Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Festival:
The 42nd Frameline: San Francisco International LGBTQ Film Festival
Dates:
June 14-24
About:
The longest-running LGBT festival in the world offers over 70 features, nearly half of them nonfiction. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Festival:
The 29th Human Rights Watch Film Festival
Dates:
June 14-21
About:
This year’s edition of the long-running event explores vital human rights issues across 13 nonfiction and one fiction feature. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
New to DVD this week:
THE CAGE FIGHTER
Director:
Jeff Unay
Premiere:
True/False 2017
Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Camden, San Francisco, Seattle, Palm Springs, Milwaukee, Sidewalk
About:
A man risks his family and safety to return to the mixed martial arts arena.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Being re-issued on DVD today, Tuesday, June 12:
THE GOOD POSTMAN
Director:
Tonislav Hristov
Premiere:
IDFA 2017
Select Festivals:
Sundance, Full Frame, Human Rights Watch, Docaviv, Zagrebdox, One World, Thessaloniki Doc, Encounters, Bergen, Dokufest, Flahertiana, Shanghai, Göteborg, Movies That Matter, Docs Against Gravity
About:
An exploration of Europe’s refugee crisis through the lens of a Bulgarian village’s mayoral election.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Festival:
The 16th AFI Docs
Dates:
June 13-17
About:
This Washington DC event showcases approximately 50 documentary features. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Wednesday, June 13:
FIVE SEASONS: THE GARDENS OF PIET OUDOLF
Director:
Thomas Piper
Premiere:
Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Milano Design, Environmental fests in Washington DC, Philadelphia, Princeton, and Portland
About:
A portrait of the acclaimed garden designer and his work.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Landscape designer Piet Oudolf has been called a visionary. He’s known for designing public works like New York City’s popular High Line and Chicago’s Millennium Park that redefine our conception of gardens from mere backdrops to works of art in themselves. Thomas Piper’s film offers viewers an immersion into this modern-day Dutch master’s creative process, as he revisits famed past projects around the world, seeks inspiration in nature, and plans a major new garden in England.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Being re-issued on DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 12:
MOTHERLAND
Director:
Ramona Diaz
Premiere:
Sundance 2017
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Berlin, Docville, San Francisco, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, Montclair, Docaviv, Sheffield, Sydney, Melbourne, Moscow
About:
An immersion into the world’s busiest maternity ward.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s DCTV Presents series tonight, Monday, June 11:
ALL THAT PASSES BY THROUGH A WINDOW THAT DOESN’T OPEN
Director:
Martin DiCicco
Premiere:
Visions du Réel 2017
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Camden, Dokufest, RIDM, Art of the Real, Taiwan Doc, Docaviv, DOK.fest Munich, Thessaloniki Doc, Cinema Verite,
About:
A meditative look at the construction of a Central Asian railway line doubles as a consideration of the impact of a long dispute between neighboring lands.
DiCicco’s artfully constructed, leisurely-paced film is split into three sections: the first and longest one focuses on railway construction workers in Azerbaijan, a makeshift family that toils, eats, and dances together, and bemoans the fact that while well-paid, they haven’t actually received their funds in months. The second and much shorter section brings the viewer to Armenia, and specifically to a long-shuttered train station, a victim of the 1993 Turkish/Armenian border closing that has economically devastated the town. Here, the stationmaster and his small crew keep showing up to work despite the lack of anything to do. Finally, the very short final section takes the perspective of a train passenger, simply watching the landscape go by, as reflected in the project’s evocative title.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Photo: Ron Pownall
Director:
Lili Fini Zanuck
Premiere:
Toronto 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Camden, IDFA
About:
An intimate, revealing musical odyssey on the life and career of the guitar legend, told by those who have known him best.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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