Coming to theatres and to VOD via Netflix tomorrow, Friday, September 15:
STRONG ISLAND
Director:
Yance Ford
Premiere:
Sundance 2017
Select Festivals:
Berlin, True/False, Thessaloniki Doc, New Directors/NewFilms, CPH:DOX, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Montclair, Encounters, Sheffield, AFI Docs
About:
The filmmaker interrogates the 1992 murder of his brother, which went unprosecuted, and its personal aftermath.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to Logo tonight, Thursday, September 14:
KEVYN AUCOIN: BEAUTY & THE BEAST IN ME
Director:
Lori Kaye
Premiere:
Outfest 2017
About:
A portrait of a beloved celebrity makeup artist.
Recognized as a celebrity in his own right, Kevyn Aucoin crafted a wildly successful career working with supermodels, actresses, performers, and cosmetics companies, and as an author of beauty books beginning in the early 1980s. After his untimely death in 2002, a treasure trove of video recordings taped by Aucoin were discovered, providing an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at his life and work. Kaye combines these with period interviews with the artist and with family, past boyfriends, and a host of celebrity clients/friends, including Cindy Crawford, Naomi Campbell, Paulina Porizkova, Andie MacDowell, and Gwyneth Paltrow. Elevating her project from simple tribute, however, the filmmaker grounds much of the narrative in an exploration of Aucoin’s feelings of being an outsider: given away for adoption as a newborn, realizing at the age of six that he was gay, and growing up in conservative Louisiana worked a number on him. While his adoptive parents came to accept his sexuality, his biological mother, interviewed here, re-scarred Aucoin after he found her as an adult when she rejected him due to her religious beliefs. Kaye constructs an insightful look at Aucoin’s life and career spent battling these demons.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
New to DVD this week:
THE MUSIC OF STRANGERS: YO YO MA & THE SILK ROAD ENSEMBLE
Director:
Morgan Neville
Premiere:
Toronto 2015
Select Festivals:
Berlin, True/False, San Francisco, Montclair, DocAviv, Los Angeles, Sydney, Provincetown, Biografilm
About:
A profile of the acclaimed cellist and the collective of international musicians he founded to explore crosscultural creativity.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 12:
THE REAGAN SHOW
Directors:
Pacho Velez and Sierra Pettengill
Premiere:
Tribeca 2017
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Montclair, Seattle, AFI Docs
About:
In 1918, Hollywood actor Ronald Reagan took on the role of a lifetime: the 40th President of the United States.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 12:
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: ADIOS
Director:
Lucy Walker
Premiere:
May 2017
About:
The Grammy Award-winning musicians who engendered worldwide interest in Cuban music take a final tour.
I previously profiled the doc when it was originally scheduled to debut at Sundance this past January here. It was unexpectedly withdrawn from the festival before its premiere, reportedly due to post-production delays.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 12:
CITIZEN JANE: BATTLE FOR THE CITY
Director:
Matt Tyrnauer
Premiere:
Toronto 2016
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Miami, CPH:DOX, Sarasota, Hong Kong
About:
In the 1960s, writer and activist Jane Jacobs faces off against NYC’s ruthless urban planner, Robert Moses.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, September 12:
NIGHT SCHOOL
Director:
Andrew Cohn
Premiere:
Tribeca 2016
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Heartland, SXSWedu, St Louis, BendFilm
About:
A profile of three adults seeking to better their lives through education.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Frontline and to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 12:
ABACUS: SMALL ENOUGH TO JAIL
Director:
Steve James
Premiere:
Toronto 2016
Select Festivals::
New York, Chicago, IDFA, Palm Springs, True/False, Cleveland, Full Frame, Dallas, Hong Kong, Montclair
About:
A small Chinatown bank becomes the only institution to face criminal charges as a result of the 2008 financial crisis.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, September 11:
MY LOVE, DON’T CROSS THAT RIVER
Director:
Jin Mo-young
Premiere:
DMZ Docs 2014
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Los Angeles, Tempo Doc, Visions du Reel, DocAviv, Sydney, BFI London, RIDM, DOK Leipzig, Moscow, Hamptons, New York Asian American
About:
A tender portrait of an aging couple who have been together for 76 years.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 8:
THE CHALLENGE
Director:
Yuri Ancarani
Premiere:
Locarno 2016
Select Festivals:
IDFA, Hot Docs, Edinburgh, SXSW, Dubai, New Directors/New Films, True/False, Thessaloniki Doc, Göteborg, Encounters, Taipei, Traverse City, Melbourne, Docs Against Gravity, Docaviv, San Francisco
About:
A privileged look at the lives of ultra-rich Qatari amateur falconers.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
