Festival:
The 13th Traverse City Film Festival
Dates:
July 25-30
About:
Approximately 100 features screen at this event founded by Michael Moore, including over 40 feature docs. Continue reading
Category Archives: Recommendations
Traverse City 2017: Documentary Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On TV: SHALOM ITALIA
Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, July 24:
SHALOM ITALIA
Director:
Tamar Tal Anati
Premiere:
Docaviv 2016
Select Festivals:
IDFA, AFI Docs, Festival Dei Popoli, Cleveland, Jewish fests in Los Angeles, Calgary, and Philadelphia
About:
Three Jewish brothers return to their native Italy to find the cave in which they hid from the Nazis.
Emmanuel, Andrea, and Bubi, together with their other family members escaped Nazi persecution by living in a makeshift cave in the Tuscan woods for several months. They eventually emigrated to Israel, but now, nearly seven decades later, they reunite to revisit their old homeland and to see if they can find the sanctuary. The eldest, Emmanuel, has never previously returned – having been forced to grow up too fast, he has little interest in reliving old trauma – but the youngest, Bubi, with few memories of the time, convinced him to help find the place that saved their lives. In between treks in the wood, the brothers share meals and memories, humorously argue as family members do, and, most interestingly, confront the slippages between memories, mythologies, and truths – as revealed when they meet up with a neighbor whose version of her family’s role in their story don’t seem to match their own.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
In Theatres: THE PULITZER AT 100
Coming to theatres today, Friday, July 21:
THE PULITZER AT 100
Director:
Kirk Simon
Premiere:
Hot Docs Doc Soup (June 2016)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Denver, Documentary Edge
About:
An examination of the rich legacy of the Pulitzer Prize.
A celebration less of the award than of the artists and writers who have been recognized with the honor over its century-long existence, Simon’s film demonstrates the power of storytelling and speaking truth to power. Interviews with winners of the prestigious award address their work and its impact on society – as well as the impact of the award on expanding their audience. In a present culture that sees journalism being subject to attack by the Oval Office, and facing economic viability on a more general level, it’s important to have a reminder of the necessity of recognizing and honoring its accomplishments.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Special Screening & On VOD: THE HOUSE ON COCO ROAD
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema this Friday and Saturday, July 21-22 and already on VOD via Netflix and ARRAY:
THE HOUSE ON COCO ROAD
Director:
Damani Baker
Premiere:
Los Angeles 2016
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Bahamas, Pan African, Atlanta, Toronto Black
About:
A young African-American activist seeks a haven for her family in Grenada, only to face an invasion by the US military.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In 1983, Fannie Haughton, a young activist and teacher inured to injustices facing African Americans, sought a haven for her family in Grenada, an island nation that had seen an Afrocentric revolution just four years prior. Not too long after, the island was invaded by the US military, and the dream of a socialist utopia became a victim of Cold War politics. Haughton’s son Damani Baker revisits this story, couching it in a larger tale of black activism, as embodied by his mother.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
In Theatres: ROMEO IS BLEEDING
Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, July 19:
ROMEO IS BLEEDING
Director:
Jason Zeldes
Premiere:
San Francisco 2015
Select Festivals:
Seattle, Berkshire, Newport Beach, Cleveland, St Louis, Aspen, St Louis, Hot Springs Doc, Napa Valley, Honolulu, Sarasota, Florida, RiverRun, Urbanworld
About:
A young African-American man turns to Shakespeare to address the violence in his community.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On DVD: MEN OF THE CLOTH
New to DVD this week:
MEN OF THE CLOTH
Directors:
Vicki Vasilopoulos
Premiere:
DOC NYC 2013
Select Festivals:
Montclair, LA Femme, Hamptons Take 2 Doc
About:
A profile of three master tailors.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Special Screening: LIBERATION DAY
Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Wednesday, July 19:
LIBERATION DAY
Directors:
Morten Traavik and Uģis Olte
Premiere:
IDFA 2016
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Sydney, Göteborg, Vilnius, Movies That Matter, One World, Docville
About:
A controversial cult rock band from the former Yugoslavia is selected to be the first to play in North Korea.
When it was announced that the North Korean government had invited Slovenian art-rock band Laibach – a group who pushed the edges of good taste with their semi-satiric incorporation of fascist iconography and imagery, even as they perform absurdly aggressive versions of songs from THE SOUND OF MUSIC – the news seemed itself to be the stuff of an Onion headline. Directors Traavik and Olte of course recognize this, and help set up their film with an extended clip of a gleefully incredulous John Oliver’s reaction. Lest the viewer mistakenly believe in the gullibility of North Koreans, the filmmakers include the cringe-worthy greeting offered by a Communist party official on the occasion of the band’s arrival in the country, a speech that denounces Laibach and its association with fascism, particularly at an event meant to celebrate the nation’s liberation from Imperial Japan. Welcome to North Korea… Where the band goes from there is the true subject of this entertaining and insightful film, as it’s never made clear how exactly the concert’s director – none other than the film’s co-director Traavik – managed to convince the regime to proceed with this bizarre plan. Something of a cultural fixer, Traavik has been to North Korea more than a dozen times to arrange other musical performances. Still, as presented here, he and the band seem to have been somewhat ill-prepared, and the pleasure in the film comes in seeing them walk a razor thin line between staying true to their artistic vision and compromising elements of their planning that offends the censors’ sensibilities.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
On DVD: CIRCLE OF POISON
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 18:
CIRCLE OF POISON
Directors:
Evan Mascagni and Shannon Post
Premiere:
DOC NYC 2015
Select Festivals:
Barcelona and Washington DC’s Environmental fests, Salem, Louisville
About:
An eye-opening investigation into the global trade in banned pesticides.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On TV: PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW
Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, July 17:
PRESENTING PRINCESS SHAW
Director:
Ido Haar
Premiere:
Jerusalem 2015
Select Festivals:
Toronto, Miami, SXSW, True/False, Cleveland, Nashville, San Francisco, Montclair, Seattle, Tempo Doc, Docs Against Gravity
About:
An Israeli mash-up musician exposes the talents of an unheralded New Orleans singer in an unexpected, remote collaboration.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On VOD: FINDING OSCAR
Coming to VOD today, Friday, July 14:
FINDING OSCAR
Director:
Ryan Suffern
Premiere:
Telluride 2016
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Boulder, Mill Valley, Sedona, Sun Valley, United Nations Association, Austin
About:
Investigators seek justice for the victims of a state-sponsored Guatemalan massacre.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 