Category Archives: Recommendations

On VOD: AMERICAN RAPSTAR

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, October 11:
AMERICAN RAPSTAR

Director:
Justin Staple 

World Premiere:
CPH:DOX 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, SXSW, Doc’n Roll

About:
An eye-opening exploration of the SoundCloud rap phenomenon, a scene of troubled, young, lo-fi rappers that has used social media to develop a rabid fan base.

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On DVD: HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 11:
HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG

Director:
Daniel Geller, Dayna Goldfine

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
Venice, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Vienna, Gent, Tribeca

About:
The definitive exploration of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, Hallelujah.

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In Theatres: TAMING THE GARDEN

Coming to theatres today, Monday, October 10:
TAMING THE GARDEN

Director:
Salomé Jashi

World Premiere:
Sundance 2021

Select Festivals:
Berlin, CPH:DOX, New Directors/New Films, Shanghai, Cinéma du Réel

About:
An artful look at the unusual disruption caused by the removal and transport of several massive trees from small Georgian villages.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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In Theatres: LAST FLIGHT HOME

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 7:
LAST FLIGHT HOME

Director:
Ondi Timoner

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
Telluride, BFI London, Woodstock

About:
An examination of Eli Timoner’s life and intentional death and his family’s emotional turmoil as they grapple with his decision to end his own life.

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On DVD: ‘TIL KINGDOM COME

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 4:
‘TIL KINGDOM COME

Director:
Maya Zinshtein

World Premiere:
Docaviv 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Chicago, Denver, Double Exposure

About:
An investigation of unlikely political bedfellows between America and Israel.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On DVD: THREE MINUTES — A LENGTHENING

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo: Family Affair Films

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 4:
THREE MINUTES — A LENGTHENING

Director:
Bianca Stigter

World Premiere:
Venice 2021

Select Festivals:
Sundance, Toronto, IDFA, DOC NYC, Philadelphia, Göteborg, Thessaloniki Doc, Provincetown, Sydney, Cleveland, Docs Against Gravity

About:
A home movie shot by David Kurtz in 1938 in a Jewish town in Poland – the only moving images left of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk before the Holocaust – is examined to unravel the stories hidden in the celluloid.

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On TV: THE LAST OUT

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, October 3:
THE LAST OUT

Director:
Sami Khan, Michael Gassert

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Springs Doc, Virginia, Heartland, New Horizons

About:
Three talented Cuban athletes leave everything behind to pursue the ultimate dream of Major League Baseball, but face exploitation and unfulfilled promises.

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In Theatres: I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE

Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 30:
I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE

Director:
Reid Davenport

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
True/False, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Sydney

About:
Spurred by the spectacle of a circus tent that goes up outside his Oakland apartment, a disabled filmmaker launches into an unflinching meditation on freakdom, (in)visibility, and the pursuit of individual agency.

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In Theatres: SIRENS

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Rita Baghdadi

Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 30:
SIRENS

Director:
Rita Baghdadi

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
True/False, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki Doc, BFI Flare, Cleveland, Sun Valley, Florida, BAFICI, Krakow, Guadalajara, Sydney, Frameline, Outfest, BAMcinemaFest

About:
On the outskirts of Beirut, Lilas and Shery, co-founders and guitarists of the Middle East’s first all-female metal band, wrestle with friendship, sexuality, and destruction in their pursuit of becoming thrash metal rock stars.

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Streaming & On TV: NOTHING COMPARES

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Andrew Catlin

Streaming on Showtime tomorrow, Friday, September 30 and coming to TV on Showtime on Sunday, October 2:
NOTHING COMPARES

Director:
Kathryn Ferguson

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Seattle, Hot Docs, San Francisco, Edinburgh, Indielisboa

About:
The story of Sinéad O’Connor’s phenomenal rise to worldwide fame and subsequent exile from the pop mainstream.

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