Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to theatres and to VOD this Friday, January 19:
THE FINAL YEAR

Director:
Greg Barker

Premiere:
Toronto 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, London, IDFA

About:
An inside look at US foreign policy in the last year of the Obama administration.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 19:
THE ROAD MOVIE

Director:
Dmitrii Kalashnikov

Premiere:
IDFA 2016

Select Festivals:
True/False, Sheffield, Hot Docs, Sarajevo, Docs Against Gravity, Nashville,

About:
A dashboard camera view of modern Russia.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 16:
100 MEN

Director:
Paul Oremland

Premiere:
Frameline 2017

Select Festivals:
New Zealand, Outfest, NewFest, LGBT fests in Lisbon, Sydney, and Palm Springs

About:
A personal reflection on how society’s relationship to homosexuality has changed during the filmmaker’s life.

Oremland recounts all the men he has slept with in his life, speaking to those he is able to track down, and in the process considers how these experiences demonstrate changes to the expression of gayness and to society’s acceptance. Following mostly a chronological review, accompanied by the filmmaker’s memories of the incidents – from clandestine, anonymous encounters to more longterm, significant relationships – Oremland also weaves in developments in his career, making film and television projects with gay themes. The focus, however, thankfully remains broader, allowing this to move beyond the insular and diaristic to a more universal consideration of the experiences of gay men between the 1970s and the present, from the sexual freedom of gay liberation to the emergence of AIDS, monogamy to open relationships, exploration of drugs and fetishes, the impact of technology like Grindr on the gay scene, and the opening up of military and marriage to the gay community.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, January 15:
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

Director:
Raoul Peck

Premiere:
Toronto 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, New York Film Festival, the Hamptons, Chicago, Virginia, AFI Fest, Philadelphia

Notable Recognition:
The doc was nominated for the Academy Awards.

About:
James Baldwin’s unfinished book on three key civil rights leaders prompts an all-too timely reflection on the state of race relations in America.

I previously wrote about the doc here.