Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 1: SHE’S BEAUTIFUL WHEN SHE’S ANGRY

Mary Dore’s chronicle of women’s liberation’s early years debuted at Sarasota in 2014. Its fest circuit has included DOC NYC, Virginia, St Louis, Milwaukee, Cucalorus, and IFF Boston, among others.

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

Coming to VOD today, Monday, February 29: HEART OF A DOG

Laurie Anderson’s musings on life and death had its world premiere at Telluride last year. Screenings followed at Venice, Toronto, San Sebastian, New York, Adelaide, and Chicago, among other events. The film was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature of 2015. It now comes to VOD on iTunes.

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

Coming to PBS’ American Experience tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1: SPACE MEN

Amanda Pollak’s look back at the long-forgotten experiments that helped lead to space makes its debut on the acclaimed public television series.

While the names Sputnik, Yuri Gargarin, Apollo 8, and Mercury 7 will forever be linked to early space exploration in the minds of the general public, that likely can’t be said for John Paul Stapp, David Simons, Joseph Kittinger, Manhigh, or Excelsior. For a period in the late 1950s through 1960, however, these men and their high-altitude Air Force projects involving balloons would garner high-profile coverage in publications like Life and The New York Times, and their early designation as “Space Men.” Pollak uncovers their fascinating story, which was eventually overshadowed by the growth of NASA and its corresponding lion’s share of government funding and international press. In the process, the film demonstrates how their experiments proved pivotal in the development of the nascent space program, providing experiential data that pushed the boundaries of what humans were thought to be able to withstand, physically and mentally, in the unknown terrain of space.

Coming to Independent Lens tonight, Monday, February 29: WILHEMINA’S WAR

June Cross’ look at life with HIV in the rural American South had its world premiere at DOC NYC last year. It has also screened at LA’s Pan African and Black Hollywood film fests.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
While the perception of AIDS in America has changed from the death sentence it once was to a disease managed by medicine, in the deep South, HIV continues to claim the lives of rural black women in epidemic numbers. Despite facing institutional and personal obstacles every step of the way, 62-year-old Wilhemina Dixon works tirelessly to combat the stigma and care for her daughter and granddaughter, both HIV+.

Coming to the National Geographic Channel tonight, Monday, February 29: HE NAMED ME MALALA

Davis Guggenheim’s portrait of the girls’ education activist debuted at Telluride last year. The film went on to screen at DOC NYC, Toronto, Tokyo, Mumbai, Adelaide, London, Hamptons, and Athena, among other events. It was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar of 2015.

The story of Malala Yousafzai made worldwide headlines after the Taliban shot the outspoken Pakistani teenager – and several of her friends – for daring to defy a ban on education for girls in her native Swat Valley. She recovered from her injuries to continue her mission, despite a threat of further violence if she returned to Pakistan, writing a best-selling book, making numerous media appearances, and speaking all over the world, addressing heads of states and other influential global figures – and capturing the attention of the Nobel Prize nominating committee in the process. While Guggenheim covers this familiar terrain, his focus is more personal, as signaled by the film’s title, which references Malala’s father, an educator who also found himself on the Taliban’s target list for speaking out against their repressive policies, and who named his daughter after an Afghan folk hero who sacrificed herself to rally her people. Combined with animated sequences that flesh out significant episodes in her past, interviews with and about her father offer an intriguing context for the young woman’s activism.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, February 29: MAVIS!

Jessica Edwards’ loving profile of a soul singer made its bow at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Nantucket, IDFA, Sheffield, New Zealand, Melbourne, Martha’s Vineyard African American, Vancouver, Woodstock, Mill Valley, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Athena, and Big Sky, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
With a career spanning six decades and counting, Mavis Staples and her family’s legendary music group, The Staple Singers, have entertained millions with songs like “I’ll Take You There” and “Let’s Do It Again.” Director Jessica Edwards weaves together past and present to chart Staples’ storied career, from touring the gospel circuit and writing memorable civil rights anthems to topping the soul charts and working with notables like Bob Dylan, Prince, and Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy. The result is a warm, revealing portrait and a well-deserved tribute to the Grammy Award-winning music talent, an ebullient figure still touring at the age of 75.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1: PEACE OFFICER

Scott Christopherson and Brad Barber’s look into police militarization debuted at SXSW last year, winning both best documentary and audience awards. It went on to screen at Full Frame, Montclair, Hot Docs, Little Rock, AFI Docs, Traverse City, New Zealand, and Milwaukee, among others.

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

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 1: THE GREAT ALONE

Greg Kohs’ portrait of a dogsled racing dreams debuted at Seattle last year. Fest screenings continued at DOC NYC, Hamptons, Philadelphia, IFF Boston, Austin, Sedona, Hot Springs Doc, Banff Mountain, DC’s Environmental, and Available Light, among others.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Lance Mackey grew up as the heir apparent to win Alaska’s famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Both of his parents mushed, and his father, Dick Mackey, the Iditarod’s co-founder, won the race in 1978. Cancer quashed his championship dreams in 2001, but Lance beat the odds to race again. Greg Kohs brings the viewer alongside Lance and his dogs as they brave the Arctic wilderness for another chance at glory, while riveting flashbacks recount highlights from his past experiences on the punishing course.

Coming to VOD today, Friday, February 26: KINGS OF NOWHERE

Betzabé García’s exploration of a vanishing village had its premiere at Ambulante last year. It went on to win awards at SXSW, Full Frame, Zurich, and Morelia, and to screen at Doc Fortnight, Guadalajara, Sheffield, Camden, Warsaw, Docs DF, and Lima, among others. FilmBuff now releases the doc on various VOD platforms.

San Marcos was once full of people. Now, for half the year, the small Mexican town is full of water, the result of a nearby dam project. García’s lyrical film captures a place that is slowly disappearing, and its seven remaining inhabitants who nevertheless cling to it. Fearful of surrounding cartel violence, and oscillating between perseverance and acceptance, they tend to their ghost town, fighting the encroachment of nature, while contemplating the impossibility of leaving. García crafts a haunting, thoughtful, and at times quietly revelatory observational portrait of a village that no longer exists.