Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this coming Monday, May 8:
THE PRISON IN TWELVE LANDSCAPES

Director:
Brett Story

Premiere:
True/False 2016

Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Hot Docs, Art of the Real, Camden, Reykjavik, Ann Arbor, DOXA

About:
A reflection on the far-reaching impact of America’s mass incarceration epidemic.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, May 5:
SACRED

Director:
Thomas Lennon

Premiere:
Tokyo 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Sebastopol Doc, RiverRun, Cleveland, Ashland, Montclair

About:
A look at spirituality around the world.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Directed by Academy Award winner Thomas Lennon and shot around the globe by 40 teams of filmmakers, this expansive project immerses the viewer in an exploration of spirituality across cultures and religions. From a Buddhist monk’s 1000-day circumnavigation of a mountain in Japan and Hasidic Jews’ ecstatic celebrations in Uman, to Angola Prison inmates finding God and Malagasy turning of the bones to commemorate their dead, this breathtaking film is at once deeply personal yet universally human.

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, May 3:
MR CHIBBS

Director:
Jill Campbell

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2016

Select Festivals:
Miami, Atlanta, Sarasota, Montclair

About:
A portrait of life after professional basketball.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Ten years after retirement from a career as a professional athlete, Kenny Anderson finds that basketball is easy, it’s life that’s hard. Still reeling from his mother’s death, the former New York City high-school prodigy and NBA All-Star loses a cherished coaching position, sending him into a midlife crisis. Facing his personal demons head-on, the charismatic Anderson must come to terms with his past in order to find a way forward.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, May 2:
I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO

Director:
Raoul Peck

Premiere:
Toronto 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, New York Film Festival, the Hamptons, Chicago, Virginia, AFI Fest, Philadelphia

Notable Recognition:
The doc was nominated for the Academy Awards.

About:
James Baldwin’s unfinished book on three key civil rights leaders prompts an all-too timely reflection on the state of race relations in America.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Netflix today, Friday, May 1:
ELLA BRENNAN: COMMANDING THE TABLE

Director:
Leslie Iwerks

Premiere:
New Orleans 2016

Select Festivals:
Miami, Mill Valley, Santa Barbara, Boulder, Dallas,

About:
A profile of the New Orleans restaurateur, known for Commander’s Palace.

Iwerks offers a comprehensive and appealing, if fairly conventional, tribute to the now 90-year-old matriarch of the Brennan family, who have roots in New Orleans but whose culinary empire extends far beyond that storied city. The film, however, largely sticks close to home, detailing how a young Brennan began working with her beloved older brother in their first restaurant, Brennan’s, and how his untimely death pushed her to assert control, ultimately expanding to the now legendary Commander’s Palace. In the process, her embrace of local cuisine fostered the widespread dissemination and appreciation of regional American cooking, and launched the careers of celebrity chefs like Paul Prudhomme and Emeril Lagasse – and Brennan doesn’t even cook!