Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to Investigation Discovery tonight, Thursday, December 21:
THE FAMILY I HAD

Directors:
Katie Green and Carlye Rubin

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Docaviv, Camden, Hamptons, Melbourne

About:
A mother reckons with the aftermath of her son’s horrific crime.

In 2007, 13-year-old Paris brutally killed his four-year-old half-sister Ella, stabbing the child to death and then reporting the incident to 911. Left to pick up the pieces was their single mother, Charity, grieving for her lost daughter while facing separation from her clearly troubled son. Green and Rubin revisit the terrible crime while also combing through the family’s archives to try to make sense of Paris’ violent action, revealing along the way a surprising history of tragedy in Charity’s own upbringing. As the resilient woman starts over, having another child pointedly named Phoenix, Charity balances her fear of Paris and his potential future actions with a genuine forgiveness for him and a drive to help others impacted by crime. While offering no easy answers to this family tragedy, the film sensitively explores the complex ties of family and love.

Coming to VOD via Sundance Now tomorrow, Thursday, December 21:
CIRCUS KID

Director:
Lorenzo Pisoni

Premiere:
Mill Valley 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Florida, Woodstock, Berkshire

About:
The director reflects on his unorthodox upbringing in the circus.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
The Pickle Family Circus was founded by a young couple in 1974, paving the way for the New American Circus Movement. Their son Lorenzo became a performer from a young age. Now an actor, he looks for answers to a lifetime of questions as he explores an unconventional relationship with a father who was also his coach, employer, and clown-act partner. In his compelling personal film, Pisoni captures the spirit, lunacy, daring, and dynamics of growing up in a circus family.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, December 19:
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TODRICK HALL

Director:
Katherine Fairfax Wright

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Seattle, Martha’s Vineyard, Baltimore Black, San Diego, Calgary Underground, Frameline, Outfest, Image+Nation, Inside Out, LGBT fests in Salt Lake City, Denver, Honolulu, North Carolina, Vancouver, Austin, Memphis, and Sydney

About:
A profile of the performer and YouTube sensation.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, December 18:
SUPERGIRL

Director:
Jessie Auritt

Premiere:
Hamptons 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Sky Doc, Cucalorus, Slamdance, Doc Edge, Cleveland, Sarasota, RiverRun, Florida, Montclair, Annapolis, Milwaukee, Woods Hole, Jewish fests in Philadelphia, Palm Beach, Hartford, Seattle, Washington, San Francisco, and London

About:
A portrait of the world’s strongest girl.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Naomi seems like a typical Orthodox Jewish preteen, but she happens to be the strongest girl in the world. Since breaking a powerlifting world record at the age of nine, her fame has spread from her northern New Jersey community around the globe. Auritt’s appealing film follows Naomi over several years as she remains determined to live up to her nickname, drawing on the encouragement of her tight-knit family as she faces the myriad challenges of growing up.

Coming to Starz this coming Monday, December 18:
TICKLING GIANTS

Director:
Sara Taksler

Premiere:
Tribeca 2016

Select Festivals:
BFI London, Just for Laughs, Bergen, Vancouver, DocPoint, Glasgow, Big Sky Doc, Stockholm, Salem, Human Rights Watch London and Toronto, Movies That Matter, Cleveland

About:
A heart surgeon-turned-comedian tests the limits of free speech in post-Mubarak Egypt.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 15:
KILLING FOR LOVE

Directors:
Marcus Vetter and Karin Steinberger

Premiere:
Munich 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Denver, RiverRun, Virginia, DocsDF, DMZ Docs, Docs Barcelona, Docaviv, Reykjavik, Durban, Krakow, Doc Edge, Docs Against Gravity, Turkey

About:
A brutal double homicide reveals secrets, lies, and the limits of the American justice system.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program (under its original title, THE PROMISE), saying:
On March 30, 1985, a small Virginia community was shocked by the brutal murders of wealthy residents Derek and Nancy Haysom. Suspicion soon fell on their daughter Elizabeth and her boyfriend Jens Söring, the son of a German diplomat. After a high-profile, televised trial – the first of its kind – the prosecution felt that justice had been served. But Elizabeth’s and Jens’s versions differ wildly, encompassing dark family secrets, selfless love, and broken promises – leading to an indictment of the American justice system. In their gripping investigation, Vetter and Steinberger explore what really happened on that fateful night, and why.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 15:
SOUFRA

Director:
Thomas Morgan

Premiere:
El Gouna 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC

About:
A diverse group of Middle Eastern women attempt to expand their unique catering company.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Assembling a diverse group of Middle Eastern women with a shared love of food, Mariam Shaar successfully launches Soufra, her own catering company. What makes her enterprise unique is that Mariam has lived her entire life in Burl El Barajneh, a refugee camp near Beirut, home to everyone on her team. This entertaining and inspirational film follows the intrepid entrepreneur as, against all odds, she attempts to expand her business with a little help from Kickstarter.

New to VOD this week:
FOR AHKEEM

Directors:
Jeremy S Levine and Landon Van Soest

Premiere:
Berlin 2017

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Docs, Tribeca, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Florida, Montclair, Documentary Edge, DOK.fest Munich, DMZ Docs, Message to Man, Milwaukee, Antenna

About:
An African-American teenage girl strives to graduate from high school.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD via Netflix this Friday, December 15:
WORMWOOD

Director:
Errol Morris

Premiere:
Telluride 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Venice, AFI Fest, Chicago

About:
A man spends decades trying to solve the mystery of his father’s death.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Errol Morris has been a constant innovator of nonfiction filmmaking. In his latest project, he pushes the boundaries further in a six-part investigation into the 1953 death of CIA agent Frank Olson. Did Olson, under the influence of LSD, jump from the window of a Manhattan hotel or was he thrown? Morris casts actor Peter Sarsgaard as Olson in re-enactments that punctuate documentary interviews and archival footage in this fascinating exploration of history, conspiracy, and the search for truth.