Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to VOD via Microsoft today, Friday, February 10:
WHERE SOLDIERS COME FROM

Director:
Heather Courtney

Premiere:
SXSW 2011

Select Festivals:
Los Angeles, BAMcinemaFest, Silverdocs, Traverse City, Full Frame, SF Doc, Philadelphia, Denver, Indie Memphis, Sarasota, Oslo

About:
A portrait of childhood friends as they set out for war in Afghanistan.

I wrote about the film out of SXSW here.

New to VOD via Microsoft this week:
VOLTA À TERRA

Director:
João Pedro Plácido

Premiere:
Doclisboa 2014

Select Festivals:
Chicago, Cannes (ACID), Visions du Réel, BFI London, São Paulo, DOK Leipzig, Hot Springs Doc, Camerimage, DocPoint, Festibval dei Popoli, Trento

About:
A year in the life of a small northern Portuguese village.

Uz is a community which has seen better days – at present barely 50 people call it home. Among these is Daniel, a 21-year-old who is gently teased by his fellow farmers and shepherds for his work ethic, but seems to get by alright, happy with a life rooted in traditional ways. What he lacks, however, is a wife, as available women are in short supply for the few bachelors in Uz. Plácido follows Daniel and a few other villagers over the course of four seasons, tending to their fields and livestock, working the land, and planning their annual summer festival – a rare opportunity for mixing with residents of neighboring communities. It’s here that Daniel runs into an old classmate and sees the potential for a romantic future. This well-shot film effectively captures the rhythms of rural life while offering a clear sense of some distinct personalities, resulting in a charming observational study of a place that feels from a different time.

New to VOD via iTunes today, Thursday, February 9:
THE MARCH

Director:
John Akomfrah

Premiere:
PBS (August 2013)

About:
A chronicle of the historic 1963 March on Washington for civil rights.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its broadcast here.

Coming to Starz tomorrow, Friday, February 10:
AFTER SPRING

Directors:
Steph Ching and Ellen Martinez

Premiere:
Tribeca 2016

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, New Orleans, Sheffield, Zurich, AFI Docs, Bergen, One World, Greenwich, Hot Springs Doc

About:
An intimate look at life in a Syrian refugee camp.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, February 10:
KEDI

Director:
Ceyda Torun

Premiere:
!f Istanbul 2016

Select Festivals:
Full Frame, Sheffield, Seattle, Melbourne, Vancouver, DocPoint, Goteborg, Salem, Palm Springs

About:
Istanbul through the eyes of its colorful street cats.

Torun, a Turkish filmmaker now based in the US, returns to her hometown of Istanbul to capture the city from seven distinct feline perspectives, including mama cat Bengü, “jealous housewife” Psikopat, foodie Duman, and hustler Sari. Following this coterie – a small sampling of the city’s hundreds of thousands of strays – through the streets as they interact with their chosen human associates, the filmmaker crafts an infectious portrait full of charm and sweetness, at once a love letter to the regal animal and to the city itself. Interviews with admirers, and, most especially, magnificent tracking shots of the cats on the move, reveal the respect these creatures are afforded and the elegant manner in which they fit within the fabric of the ancient city.

Coming to theatres and to VOD via iTunes tomorrow, Friday, February 10:
SPEED SISTERS

Director:
Amber Fares

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2015

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Global Visions, Sheffield, Melbourne, EBS Doc, Helsinki, Reykjavik, Calgary, Rio, CPH:DOX, Santa Barbara, If Istanbul, Athena, Glasgow, One World, Atlanta, Cleveland, Palestine fests in Toronto, Atlanta, Boston, DC, Chicago, and Houston

About:
A portrait of an unlikely group of race-car athletes.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Demolishing stereotypes while avoiding wrecking their cars, the Speed Sisters are the Middle East’s first all-female race-car team. Demonstrating high-octane talent, and the marketing savvy to draw attention to their camera-friendly lineup, this diverse, engaging group competes in Palestine’s makeshift motor sports circuit across the West Bank, overcoming Israeli checkpoints and restrictive societal expectations to become role models for a new generation of young Arab women in the process.

New to VOD via iTunes this week:
GARY NUMAN: ANDROID IN LA LA LAND

Directors:
Steve Read and Rob Alexander

Premiere:
SXSW 2016

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Edinburgh, Melbourne, Helsinki, CIMMFest, East End

About:
A portrait of the legendary British synthpop musician as he relocates to Los Angeles to record a new album.

Read and Alexander eschew a career overview for the once chart-topping Numan, best known for the songs “Cars” and “Are ‘Friends’ Electric?,” to more firmly focus on the present day. The film finds the performer in the midst of a difficult transition, moving with his adoring fan-turned-wife Gemma and their three young daughters to Los Angeles, and working on his 2013 comeback album, “Splinter (Songs From a Broken Mind).” As referenced in the film’s title, Numan was known for his robotic stage presence – a demeanor eventually attributed to Asperger’s. While the film addresses formative issues like this, as well as his ambivalence towards fame and other personal matters, in far too cursory a manner, Numan himself comes off here as so disarmingly vulnerable that he easily wins over the viewer regardless.

Coming to theatres and to VOD this Friday, February 10:
LEFT ON PURPOSE

Director:
Justin Schein

Co-Director:
David Mehlman

Premiere:
Woodstock 2015

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Leeds, Big Sky Doc, Boulder, Thessaloniki Doc, Cleveland, Maryland, Florida, Newport Beach, DOXA, SF Jewish

About:
A filmmaker faces off against his determined subject.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
This project began as a portrait of the life of Mayer Vishner, an antiwar Yippie activist. In the midst of filming, the aging radical informs director Justin Schein that, having had his fill of solitude and depression, he intends instead to make the project about his death – and he wants his suicide captured on camera. Forced to break down the barrier between filmmaker and subject, Schein struggles with the ethics of intervening in the literal life-or-death story unfolding before his eyes.