Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this coming Monday, February 26:
RAT FILM

Director:
Theo Anthony

Premiere:
Locarno 2016

Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, True/False, SXSW, Florida, Maryland, Art of the Real, Docaviv, Doclisboa, Vancouver, Mar del Plata, Torino

About:
A provocative essay about Baltimore’s rodents emerges as a simultaneous cultural anthropology of race and class.

I previously wrote about the film here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, February 23:
EL MAR LA MAR

Directors:
Joshua Bonnetta and JP Sniadecki

Premiere:
Berlin 2017

Select Festivals:
New York, London, IDFA, Indielisboa, Dokfest Munich, Docaviv, Docs Against Gravity, AFI Docs, Camden, Chicago, Vienna, AFI Fest, San Francisco, Hong Kong

About:
An immersive exploration of life and death in a desert along the US/Mexico border.

Bonnetta and Sniadecki’s film draws the viewer into the Sonoran Desert, one of the most dangerous border crossing routes, and one sadly frequented by the most vulnerable, undocumented immigrants with the fewest resources or alternatives. Taking an experiential approach, the filmmakers convey the treacherous journey via offscreen testimony, never identifying individuals; an elaborate, unsettling sound design; and images of the scorched landscape and what travelers have left behind. While the project’s pace and poetic elements might limit its accessibility for some viewers, its stories of desperation, struggle, and death quietly yet hauntingly illuminate the continuing debate over border policies for those willing to listen.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tonight, Tuesday, February 20:
AGENTS OF CHANGE

Directors:
Frank Dawson and Abby Ginzberg

Premiere:
Pan African LA 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, St Louis, Toronto Black, March on Washington

About:
A revealing history of the battle for diversity study programs on college campuses.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
As students of color began arriving on college campuses in unprecedented numbers in the late 1960s, they found institutions ill-prepared to adapt to diversity. Unwilling to accept the absence of their unique cultures and histories, or to ignore prejudicial treatment, students mobilized for black and ethnic-studies programs, even taking up arms when necessary. Focusing on seminal struggles at San Francisco State and Cornell University, Frank Dawson and Abby Ginzberg’s film powerfully demonstrates this sadly still topical call for inclusivity in education.