The Sundance Film Festival wraps up with a final full day of screenings on Sunday, January 28, including encores of several of the winning films announced at the awards ceremony on Saturday night. w(n)td will resume regular posting starting Monday, but for now, a list of the awards follows: Continue reading
Category Archives: Recommendations
2018 Sundance Awards
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
90th Oscars: Best Documentary Nominees
The Best Documentary Oscar finalists were announced this morning, together with all the other categories – the entire list of nominees has been posted by the Academy here. The documentaries are listed below. Congratulations to all the nominees – of which four were on the DOC NYC Short List, and include three alums! – and good luck on Sunday, March 4!
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL
FACES PLACES
ICARUS
LAST MEN IN ALEPPO
STRONG ISLAND
Congrats also to the Documentary Shorts nominees, which include three DOC NYC alumni:
EDITH+EDDIE
HEAVEN IS A TRAFFIC JAM ON THE 405
HEROIN(E)
KNIFE SKILLS
TRAFFIC STOP
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Special Note: w(n)td & 2018 Sundance
The 2018 Sundance Film Festival begins tonight, Thursday, January 18, and runs through Sunday, January 28. w(n)td will be on hiatus for the duration while I’m busy with my responsibilities as a Programming Associate for the festival. Aside from a post the morning of January 23 when the Oscar nominations are announced, regular daily weekday posting will not resume until Monday, January 29.
To catch up with Sundance doc programming, here are links to my series of 2018 Sundance documentary profiles, divided by festival section:
US Documentary Competition
BISBEE ’17 | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jarred Alterman/4th Row Films
CRIME + PUNISHMENT | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
DARK MONEY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Eric Phillips-Horst
THE DEVIL WE KNOW | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
HAL | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
HALE COUNTY THIS MORNING, THIS EVENING | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by IDIOM Film/RaMell Ross
INVENTING TOMORROW | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by IQ 190 Productions
KAILASH | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
KUSAMA – INFINITY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Harrie Verstappen
THE LAST RACE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
MINDING THE GAP | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Bing Liu
ON HER SHOULDERS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Alexandria Bombach
THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
SEEING ALLRED | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Alex Pollini
THE SENTENCE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
World Cinema Documentary Competition
ANOTE’S ARK | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Matthieu Rytz
THE CLEANERS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by gebrueder beetz filmproduktion
GENESIS 2.0 | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Evgenia Arbugaeva
MATANGI/MAYA/MIA | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
OF FATHERS & SONS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Kahtan Hasson and Talal Derki
THE OSLO DIARIES | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Saar Yaacov
OUR NEW PRESIDENT | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
A POLAR YEAR | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
SHIRKERS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
THIS IS HOME | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Gidalya Pictures
WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Pierre Verdy
A WOMAN CAPTURED | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Bernadett Tuza Ritter
Documentary Premieres
AKICITA: THE BATTLE OF STANDING ROCK | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
BAD REPUTATION | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Kevin Kerslake
BELIEVER | Courtesy of Sundance Institute / photo by Dan Argott
CHEF FLYNN | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Will McGarry
THE GAME CHANGERS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by The Game Changers
GENERATION WEALTH | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Lauren Greenfield
HALF THE PICTURE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ashly Covington
JANE FONDA IN FIVE ACTS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo courtesy of Everett Collection
KING IN THE WILDERNESS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Flip Schulke Archives/Getty Images
QUIET HEROES | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Torben Bernhard
RBG | Courtesy of Sundance Institute and CNN Films
ROBIN WILLIAMS: COME INSIDE MY MIND | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Mark Sennet
STUDIO 54 | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR? | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jim Judkis
Next
306 HOLLYWOOD | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Elan Bogarín and Jonathan Bogarín
Kids
SCIENCE FAIR | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Pete Alton
New Frontier
NARCISSISTER ORGAN PLAYER | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by PJ Norman
A THOUSAND THOUGHTS | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Special Events
THE KING | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by David Kuhn
THE TRADE | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
WILD WILD COUNTRY | Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Indie Episodic
AMERICA TO ME | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Participant Media
THE MORTIFIED GUIDE | Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival | photo by Rebecca Aranda
THE SHOW ABOUT THE SHOW | Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Stephen Melichar
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2018 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE SHOW ABOUT THE SHOW (Season 2)
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Stephen Melichar
Caveh Zahedi resumes his acclaimed hybrid series, in which each episode examines the preceding one.
Festival Section:
Indie Episodic
Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2018 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE MORTIFIED GUIDE
Courtesy of Sundance Film Festival | photo by Rebecca Aranda
Storytellers share personal tales of growing up, reading from their old diaries.
Festival Section:
Indie Episodic
Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2018 Sundance Docs in Focus: AMERICA TO ME
Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Participant Media
Steve James explores the intersection of race and educational achievement in this expansive yet intimate docuseries following a year in a diverse suburban Chicago-area high school.
Festival Section:
Indie Episodic
Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On TV: THE FORCE
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this coning Monday, January 22:
THE FORCE
Director:
Peter Nicks
Premiere:
Sundance 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, CPH:DOX, True/False, Full Frame, Seattle, Human Rights Watch, BAMcinemaFest, Melbourne, Cleveland, San Francisco, Sarasota
About:
An immersion into the beleaguered Oakland Police Department as it attempts to reform its scandal-ridden image.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
2018 Sundance Docs in Focus: WILD WILD COUNTRY
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Chapman Way and Maclain Way revisit an Indian spiritual community’s attempt to take over a small Oregon town in this gripping docuseries.
Festival Section:
Special Events
Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2018 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE TRADE
Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Matthew Heineman examines America’s opioid epidemic through multiple perspectives in the chain, from growers to law enforcement.
Festival Section:
Special Events
Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On TV: LORRAINE HANSBERRY: SIGHTED EYES/FEELING HEART
Coming to PBS’s American Masters this Friday, January 19:
LORRAINE HANSBERRY: SIGHTED EYES/FEELING HEART
Director:
Tracy Heather Strain
Premiere:
Toronto 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Chicago
About:
A moving account of the life of the pioneering black playwright.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Lorraine Hansberry, best known for A RAISIN IN THE SUN, was a black writer, communist, feminist, lesbian, and outspoken trailblazer at the height of the Civil Rights Movement. She led an active life, befriending James Baldwin, inspiring Nina Simone, breaking barriers from Broadway to Hollywood, being monitored by the FBI, and seeking love on her own terms, all before her untimely death at age 34. After many years in the making, director Tracy Heather Strain delivers the rich biography that Hansberry deserves.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
