Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, March 9: HERE COME THE VIDEOFREEX

Jenny Raskin and Jon Nealon’s history of video trailblazers premiered at Full Frame last year. It went on to screen at BAMcinemaFest, Woods Hole, FilmColumbia, DOK Leipzig, St Louis, Rotterdam, Big Sky, and Cinequest, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, March 8: BADDDDD SONIA SANCHEZ

Barbara Attie, Janet Goldwater, and Sabrina Schmidt Gordon profile of the influential artist and activist had its world premiere at Full Frame last year. The doc went on to screen at DOC NYC, New Orleans, BlackStar, Black Harvest, Hot Springs Doc, Mill Valley, and LA’s Pan African fests.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
“I want to tell people how I became this woman with razor blades between her teeth.” So says Sonia Sanchez, a seminal figure in the Black Arts Movement of the 1960s, a poet who has harnessed her gift for words as a champion against racism, sexism, and war, fusing art and activism over the past six decades. As a pioneer of spoken word poetry, her influence on hip hop is fundamental, but her tireless commitment to justice for all people has come at a personal cost, as demonstrated in this vibrant portrait.

New to DVD this week: IN DEFENSE OF FOOD

Michael Schwartz’s exploration of Michael Pollan’s guide to healthy eating made its debut at Mill Valley last year. It went on to screen at the Austin, Life Sciences, and Feast on This film fests, and to be broadcast on PBS this Winter.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, March 4: THEY WILL HAVE TO KILL US FIRST

Johanna Schwartz’s look at the plight of Mali’s exiled musicians made its bow at SXSW last year. Other screenings have included London, Göteborg, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Sound + Vision, Hot Docs, Singapore, RIDM, Cork, Calgary, and Durban.

Recognizing that Western audiences are unlikely to know much, if anything, about Mali’s complex recent sociopolitical history, Schwartz wisely, and fittingly, opens her film with a primer via rap, establishing the present, tentative status quo: After decades fighting for their independence, the MNLA, a group of nomadic Touareg of the northern part of Mali, join forces with a jihadist group that inherits arms from Libya after the death of Muammar Gaddafi, and aggressively subjugate the populace under sharia law. One consequence in northern cities like Timbuktu and Gao is the total ban on music in 2012. The film profiles several Malian musicians, including Songhoy Blues, a foursome formed in exile that attracts the attention of Damon Albarn, Brian Eno, and Nick Zinner, fostering international success; Kharia, an acclaimed singer who defies threats to organize a public concert in Timbuktu; Disco, a singer and activist who is actually married to an MNLA leader; and Moussa, a guitarist who returns from exile to try to reunite with his persecuted wife. While not every story thread feels fully fleshed out, suggesting that Schwartz may have benefited from focusing on fewer subjects, the film nevertheless offers a poignant exploration of the impact of censorship and repression on a culture.