Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD this week: DREAM/KILLER

Andrew Jenks’ exploration of a strange case of wrongful conviction made its bow at Tribeca last year. Screenings followed at Montclair, Sidewalk, Kansas, Hot Springs Doc, Heartland, Hamptons, and CPH:DOX, among other events.

In 2003, two years after the body of a newspaper editor was found in a parking lot, a young man named Charles Erickson stepped forward claiming responsibility for the murder. Offering a full confession, he was convicted, and implicated an accomplice, his childhood friend Ryan Ferguson. What makes this unusual is that Erickson couldn’t remember committing the crime, claiming a blackout from drugs, and instead credited a dream for jostling his memory. Despite an absence of any physical evidence, and Ferguson’s vehement denial of any connection to the murder, he too was convicted. With his son facing forty years in prison for a crime he swore he did not commit, Ferguson’s father, Bill, began his own investigation, and, as recounted in Jenks’ engaging film, uncovers a shocking series of breaches by the prosecution that provide his son with a fighting chance to win his freedom. At its best when it keeps focused on Bill and defense attorney Kathleen Zellner’s efforts, rather than on odd semi-animated interstitials offering Ryan’s reflections on his prison experience, the film offers a damning critique of a justice system more concerned with getting and maintaining convictions than on seeing crimes actually solved.

New to DVD today, Tuesday, June 28: THE STATE OF MARRIAGE

Jeff Kaufman’s look back at the history of the marriage equality movement premiered at Provincetown last year. Screenings followed at Brattleboro, Santa Fe, GlobeDocs, and the Austin LGBT fests.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, June 27: THE LOOK OF SILENCE

Joshua Oppenheimer’s follow-up to THE ACT OF KILLING debuted at Venice in 2014. Its fest circuit included DOC NYC, the New York Film Festival, Toronto, Human Rights Watch, True/False, Hamptons, SXSW, and Abu Dhabi, among others, before it was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, June 24: FROM THIS DAY FORWARD

Sharon Shattuck’s personal reflection on her transgender father debuted at Full Frame last year. Additional screenings include DOC NYC, AFI Docs, Hot Docs, Framline, Outfest, Camden, Sarasota, Traverse City, Hot Springs Doc, Anchorage, and LGBT fests in Seattle, Austin, North Carolina, and Milwaukee, among others.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
On the eve of her own wedding, Sharon Shattuck seeks to understand the relationship between her parents in this revealing portrait of an unorthodox family. When she was in middle school, Shattuck’s father came out as transgender, taking the name Trisha, yet remained married to the filmmaker’s straight-identified mother, Marcia. With sensitivity and affection, the film explores Trisha’s transformation, its repercussions on her family, and the complexity and resilience of love and marriage.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, June 24: BREAKING A MONSTER

Luke Meyer’s portrait of a teenage band’s breakout made its bow at SXSW last year. Its extensive fest circuit has also included Hot Docs, Sheffield, BAMcinemaFest, Sydney, Traverse City, Melbourne, Camden, Mill Valley, CPH:DOX, RIDM, Big Sky Doc, IndieLisboa, and Durban, among other events.

Unlocking the Truth is an aspiring heavy metal/speed punk band with a couple of key differences – first, despite the music genres’ usual demographics, the trio is African American; and second, they’re 7th graders. After they achieve acclaim via a viral video of a street performance in Times Square, Alec, Malcolm, and Jarad’s stars are on the rise. They land a $1.8 million deal with Sony, and take on a new manager, Alan Sacks, to usher them through the ins and outs of their newfound status as professional musicians. As Meyer’s largely observational film demonstrates, the reality of the record industry is not quite the fairy tale that aspiring musicians might dream of – the boys are shuttled from meeting to meeting, subjected to label demands around marketing and branding, with their frustration and confusion palpable at times. They make for a compelling contrast with Sacks, a 70-year-old entertainment industry veteran, and together provide an insightful, and troubling, look at an industry that seems to remain unable to adapt and instead continues to alienate artists.