Category Archives: Recommendations

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

New to DVD this week:
THE APOLOGY

Director:
Tiffany Hsiung

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2016

Select Festivals:
Human Rights Watch, Göteborg, Vilnius, Busan, Cork, Cinemalaya, DocPoint

About:
Former comfort women speak out about the abuse they suffered in WWII.

While the Imperial Japanese Army’s use of sex slaves has already been well-documented as a devastating human rights abuse during wartime, the nation of Japan has yet to officially acknowledge this barbarous practice. With former so-called “comfort women” usually shamed into silence in the decades since World War II, and their aging population dwindling, some have begun to speak out. Hsiung’s impactful film profiles three, hailing from South Korea, China, and the Philippines, to share their harrowing stories, while also following their efforts to receive the titular apology from Japan, only to face further stigmatization and scorn. Hsiung does justice to her subjects’ stories, with the film’s somewhat overlong running time and plodding score the only real missteps, making the project feel even heavier for an already difficult topic.