Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD this week:
LET THERE BE LIGHT

Director:
Mila Aung-Thwin

Co-Director:
Van Royko

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
IDFA, Hot Docs, CPH:DOX, Docs Against Gravity, Krakow, Zurich, Sarasota, Leeds, Tallinn Black Nights, Guangzhou, DOXA, Guanajuato, Fantasia, Camden, Bergen

About:
A group of international scientists and engineers attempt to harness the power of fusion.

Seeking solutions to the world’s dependence on fossil fuels and the environmental pollution and devastation that often results from their exploitation, thinkers from around the globe are attempting to build complex machines like tokamaks and stellarators – “artificial suns” which could provide clean and affordable energy via nuclear fusion. Aung-Thwin and Royko profile these efforts, focused largely on the ITER (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor) tokamak, a massive project that likely won’t be completed until after its creators are long gone. Using creative animation to spruce up the science lesson, this appealing film succeeds in making the potentially offputting, educational-sounding subject matter palatable to a general audience.

New to DVD this week:
SPETTACOLO

Directors:
Jeff Malmberg and Chris Shellen

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Biografilm, AFI Docs, Provincetown, Melbourne, Cleveland, Dallas, Sarasota, Nashville, SF DocFest

About:
Italian villagers transform their lives into an annual play.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 13:
BRIMSTONE & GLORY

Director:
Viktor Jakovleski

Premiere:
True/False 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Sheffield, Docaviv, AFI Docs, Dokufest, DocuWest, Ambulante, San Francisco, Sarasota, Montclair, Guanajuato, Fantastic Fest, Margaret Mead, Antenna Doc, Philadelphia

About:
An immersion into Tultepec, a Mexican city known for its pyrotechnic festival.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 13:
FRANK SERPICO

Director:
Antonino D’Ambrosio

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Traverse City, Martha’s Vineyard, Poland’s American Film Festival, Athens, Vancouver

About:
A portrait of the famed 1970s police corruption whistleblower.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to National Geographic tonight, Monday, March 12 and to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 13:
JANE

Director:
Brett Morgen

Premiere:
Toronto 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New York, Mill Valley, London, Philadelphia, Chicago

About:
A poetic portrait of the life and work of primatologist Jane Goodall.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s Doc World series on The WORLD Channel this Sunday, March 11:
THE DEPARTURE

Director:
Lana Wilson

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Sheffield, Bergen, Reykjavik, Vancouver, Mumbai, Moscow, Warsaw

About:
A Japanese priest who works as a suicide counselor must deal with the burden of his mission.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD via Sundance Now today, Thursday, March 8:
LIBERATION DAY

Directors:
Morten Traavik and Uģis Olte

Premiere:
IDFA 2016

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Sydney, Göteborg, Vilnius, Movies That Matter, One World, Docville

About:
A controversial cult rock band from the former Yugoslavia is selected to be the first to play in North Korea.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, March 9:
ITZHAK

Director:
Alison Chernick

Premiere:
Hamptons 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Palm Springs, Jewish fests in Miami, Palm Beach, Atlanta, and Phoenix

About:
A deeply intimate portrait of acclaimed violin master, Itzhak Perlman.

I previously wrote about the doc here.