Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD: SPACE MEN

Amanda Pollak’s chronicle of pioneering experiments that made space travel possible debuted on PBS’s American Experience series last month.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD, VOD, and digital download today, Tuesday, April 19: THEORY OF OBSCURITY: A FILM ABOUT THE RESIDENTS

Don Hardy’s look at the history of the avant-garde music and art group made its bow at SXSW last year. Since then, it has screened at DOC NYC, BAFICI, Indielisboa, San Francisco, IFF Boston, DOXA, Melbourne, Revelation, Portland, Sydney Underground, and Cucalorus, among several others.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In their 40-year career, the members of the pioneering sound and video collective known as The Residents have insisted on absolute anonymity, performing in distinctive giant eyeball masks and natty suits, and never revealing their true identities. In Don Hardy’s entertaining, accessible film, longtime collaborators, ardent supporters like THE SIMPSONS’ Matt Groening, magician Penn Jillette and MoMA’s Barbara London – and maybe even band members themselves – reveal the history, cult popularity, and wild creativity of the eccentric group, set against the spectacle of their international anniversary tour.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, April 19: CITY OF TREES

Brandon Kramer’s look at the unintended consequences of grassroots organizing had its world premiere at the American Conservation Film Festival last year. Other fest screenings include St Louis, Annapolis, Full Frame, and at enviro fests in Washington DC, Yale, and Princeton.

When Washington DC nonprofit Washington Parks & People receives a $2.7 million stimulus grant to bolster the local economy in the wake of the Great Recession, it seems like a win-win situation: the grassroots group can continue its mission to nurture communities while increasing the greening of derelict public spaces, while the 150 jobs it creates will benefit area residents hardest hit by unemployment, a largely African-American population. As Kramer’s insightful film quickly shows, however, it’s never quite so simple. While the three stimulus-backed employees profiled look to thrive in their new positions, the grant is running out, and there’s no guarantee that their jobs will continue. Even as Washington Parks & People head Steve Coleman braces himself for how to deal with this harsh reality, he finds his organization charged with ignoring the wishes of the local community as he moves forward with a tree planting project. As the best of intentions come up against white privilege, he must face the vital factor of black stewardship in his plans for urban improvement.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, April 19: VESSEL

Diana Whitten’s profile of reproductive rights activists debuted at SXSW in 2014, where it won two awards. Screenings followed at Nantucket, DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Jerusalem, Sarasota, and IFF Boston, among other fests.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, April 18: DEMOCRATS

Camilla Nielsson’s exceptional portrait of strange bedfellows in Zimbabwean politics had its world premiere at CPH:DOX in 2014. Screenings followed at Göteborg, Belgrade Docs, Tempo Doc, Tribeca, San Francisco, Doc Aviv, Docs Against Gravity, Sheffield, Melbourne, New Zealand, Zurich, and Hamptons, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, April 15: OUR LAST TANGO

German Kral’s chronicle of the fiery relationship between Argentine dance pioneers made its bow at Toronto last Fall. The film has gone on to screen at Miami, Cleveland, Stockholm, San Diego Latino, Sarasota, the Film Society’s Dance on Film, and Minneapolis/St Paul, among other events.

Credited with popularizing the tango beyond its origins in Argentina’s nightlife and taking it to the international stage, María Nieves Rego and Juan Carlos Copes reflect on long lives which match the tempestuous nature of their dance. Meeting as teenagers, as recreated here by young dancers who are coached by the now octogenarians they are portraying, Nieves Rego and Copes became partners in life and in dance for half a century. Even after they divorced in 1976, following an extramarital affair by Copes, the pair remained tango partners for two more decades before an acrimonious final split that has left them unwilling to communicate for twenty years. Kral expertly plays off this tension, revealing their complicated relationship through separate contemporary interviews, fantastic archival footage, and stylized re-enactments that accentuate the theatricality of the tango.