Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6:
CHASING CORAL
Director:
Jeff Orlowski
Premiere:
Sundance 2017
Select Festivals:
SXSW, Hot Docs, Sundance London, San Francisco, Boulder, Seattle, Sydney
About:
A race to chronicle the climate change-driven destruction of coral reefs around the world.
I previously profiled the doc before Sundance
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6:
JAMES BEARD: AMERICA’S FIRST FOODIE
Director:
Elizabeth Federici
Premiere:
Sonoma 2017
About:
A portrait of the influential food author, instructor, and personality.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 6:
JACQUES PÉPIN: THE ART OF CRAFT
Director:
Peter L Stein
Premiere:
American Masters (May 2017)
About:
A celebration of the acclaimed French chef and his impact on American food culture.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Friday, June 2:
ELIÁN
Directors:
Ross McDonnell and Tim Golden
Premiere:
Tribeca 2017
Select Festivals::
Montclair
About:
A look back at the story of the 6-year-old Cuban boy who became a symbol of US/Cuban relations in 1999-2000.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS tonight, Friday, June 2:
THE AMERICAN EPIC SESSIONS
Director:
Bernard MacMahon
Premiere:
BFI London 2015
Select Festivals:
IDFA, Hawaii, Göteborg, IDFA
About:
A celebration of early music recording.
I profiled the program before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Friday, June 2:
RAT FILM
Director:
Theo Anthony
Premiere:
Locarno 2016
Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, True/False, SXSW, Florida, Maryland, Art of the Real, Docaviv, Doclisboa, Vancouver, Mar del Plata, Torino
About:
A provocative essay about Baltimore’s rodents emerges as a simultaneous cultural anthropology of race and class.
Anthony’s film serves as a contemplation not only of the infestation of the city by rats – checking in with rat killers patrolling the streets, presenting crude video game footage approximating a rat’s perspective of the city, and offering observations about scientific rat studies – but also expand beyond this to consider the “people problem” in Baltimore, linking historical urban planning that segregated based on race and economics with approaches to pest control. Taking a page out of mentor Werner Herzog’s playbook, Anthony presents these tangential but more-or-less connected threads via a detached narrator, keeping the viewer engaged with curious looks at crime-scene dioramas and strange virtual reality asides, alongside investigative journalism and history lessons. The result is an original project that works more often than it doesn’t, and which remains ever-intriguing.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
PHOTO CREDIT: Rose Hartman / The Artists Company
Director:
Otis Mass
Premiere:
SXSW 2016
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Bentonville, San Diego, Portland
About:
A portrait of the renowned pop culture photographer.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
A fixture of the NYC nightlife and fashion scenes for decades, photographer Rose Hartman has shot some of the most indelible images of pop culture, such as Bianca Jagger atop a white horse at Studio 54. Known for her ability to gain entrance into any social gathering, and possessed of an uncanny eye for candid shots, the brash, at times difficult, and always incomparable “Tasmanian Devil of photography” reveals a vibrant life in images.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD via Amazon Prime this Friday, June 2:
LONG STRANGE TRIP
Director:
Amir Bar-Lev
Premiere:
Sundance 2017
Select Festivals:
True/False, SXSW, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Full Frame,
About:
An epic history of the legendary Grateful Dead.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Festival:
The 19th Encounters Documentary Festival
Dates:
June 1-11
About:
Nearly 50 features are in the lineup of Africa’s largest nonfiction event, with screenings taking place in Cape Town and Johannesburg, South Africa. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Thursday, June 1:
THE LOST ARCADE
Director:
Kurt Vincent
Premiere:
DOC NYC 2015
Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, IFF Boston, Melbourne, Sidewalk
About:
A love letter to NYC’s Chinatown Fair.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 