Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to NYC’s JCC Manhattan as part of its CineMatters series tomorrow, Tuesday, November 29: ON THE MAP

Dani Menkin’s story of the underdog 1977 Maccabi Tel Aviv basketball team debuted at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival earlier this year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Gold Coast, and Jewish fests in Boston, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Ann Arbor, and Virginia, among others.

In 1977, after years of failing to make it past the initial round of the European Cup basketball tournament, the Tel Aviv team achieved the seemingly impossible, winning against champion CSKA Moscow in the semi-final round. This victory over the Red Army team – which came after the USSR refused to play in Israel, a nation they did not formally recognize at the time – prompted Maccabi leader Tal Brody to declare that this put Israel “on the map” – both in basketball and in world affairs. Menkin’s engaging film, grounded in the context of Cold War politics and Israel’s tumultuous history, provides a comprehensive consideration of the symbolic weight of Brody’s sentiment, revisiting the basketball team that overshadowed all other Israeli events at the time, including the resignation of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin amidst a financial scandal involving his wife.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 29: SOUNDBREAKING: STORIES FROM THE CUTTING EDGE OF RECORDED MUSIC

Maro Chermayeff and Jeff Dupre’s look at the modern history of recorded music had its premiere at SXSW this Spring. Screenings followed at DOC NYC and San Francisco, among other events, before its PBS debut earlier this month.

I previously wrote about the series here.

Coming to the World Channel’s Doc World series this Sunday, November 27: WALKING UNDER WATER

Eliza Kubarska’s portrait of a tribe of sea nomads near Borneo premiered at Hot Docs in 2014, where it won a special jury prize. Its fest circuit also included Traverse City, Los Angeles, Reykjavik, Vancouver, Zurich, London, Planete+ Doc, Denver, Palm Springs, and Margaret Mead, among several others.

Kubarska’s focus is on the Badjao, a vanishing people who once traversed the seas around Borneo, dependent on spearing deepwater fish using dangerous diving techniques. Her subjects, Alexan and his nephew Sari, are among the few Badjao left who are trying to maintain their traditional way of life in the face of a changing world and efforts by local authorities to normalize their existence, settling them on land and turning their talents to the service of tourism. The film employs striking underwater camerawork to capture its subjects’ watery world, creating a stark contrast with the seemingly dead-end options of land-borne modernity that they’re being pushed towards.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 25: THE C WORD

Meghan O’Hara’s personal exploration of the way cancer is approached in the West debuted at the Hamptons last year. Other screenings included DOC NYC, Cleveland, Martha’s Vineyard, Napa Valley, Traverse City, and Newport, among other events.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
From filmmaker and cancer survivor Meghan O’Hara (producer of FAHRENHEIT 9/11, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, and SICKO), comes a daring and intimate film that seeks to change the way we think about cancer. O’Hara investigates the connection between the current cancer epidemic and our western lifestyle, including medical professionals’ tendency to treat only the symptoms and not the underlying causes of what ails us. Backed by personal experiences and the scientific validation of Dr David Servan-Schreiber, O’Hara asks us to reconsider the way we currently treat cancer, advocates for society-wide lifestyle changes, and tackles the institutions that stand in the way of those important changes.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, November 25: MAGNUS

Benjamin Ree’s profile of a chess champion had its world premiere at Tribeca earlier this year. Its festival circuit also included Munich, Traverse City, Moscow, Zurich, Vancouver, and the Hamptons. It now comes to iTunes.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 22: HOMO SAPIENS

Nikolaus Geyrhalter’s look at spaces once occupied by mankind had its debut at Berlin this year. Its fest circuit also included Cinéma du Réel, Honk Kong, BAFICI, Docville, DOK.fest Munich, Docs Against Gravity, and DocAviv, among other events.

I previously wrote about the film here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 22: HARRY AND SNOWMAN

Ron Davis’ chronicle of the bond between a man and his horse made its bow at Full Frame last year. Screenings followed at DOC NYC, Nantucket, New Orleans, Hamptons, Virginia, Provincetown, Sedona, and Hot Springs Doc, among other fests.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 22: NEWMAN

Jon Fox’s look at a maverick inventor had its world premiere at the Hamptons last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Princeton Environmental, Florida, and Irvine.

I previously wrote about the doc here.