Category Archives: Recommendations

On TV: PRESIDENT

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, August 8:
PRESIDENT

Director:
Camilla Nielsson

World Premiere:
Sundance 2021

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, AFI Docs, Docaviv, Thessaloniki Doc, Dokufest, Encounters, DMZ Docs, Melbourne, Docville, Zurich, Montclair, Philadelphia

Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

About:
The leader of Zimbabwe’s opposition party seeks a free and fair election.

I previously wrote about the doc before Sundance here.

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Streaming: THE NOTORIOUS MR BOUT

Coming to Film Movement Plus tomorrow, Friday, August 5:
THE NOTORIOUS MR BOUT

Director:
Tony Gerber, Maxim Pozdorovkin

World Premiere:
Sundance 2014

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Docs, True/False, Little Rock, Miami, BAMcinemaFest

About:
A portrait of an infamous Russian international arms smuggler.

I previously profiled the film before Sundance here.

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On DVD: COW

New to DVD this week:
COW

Director:
Andrea Arnold

World Premiere:
Cannes 2021

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Telluride, IDFA, Busan, BFI London, Melbourne, Jerusalem, Beijing, Hamburg, Hamptons, Reykjavik, Mill Valley, Chicago, Jihlava, AFI Fest, Tokyo, Rio

About:
A close-up portrait of the daily lives of two cows.

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Special Screening & In Theatres: MIJA

Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Isabel Castro

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Wednesday, August 3 and to theatres this Friday, August 5:
MIJA

Director:
Isabel Castro

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
True/False, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Los Angeles Latino, Miami, Cleveland, RiverRun, Maryland, San Francisco

About:
When Doris, a young, ambitious music manager whose undocumented family depends on her ability to launch pop stars, loses her biggest client, she hustles to discover new talent and finds Jacks, another daughter of immigrants for whom “making it” isn’t just a dream: it’s a necessity.

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Locarno 2022: Documentary Overview

Festival:
The 75th Locarno Film Festival

Dates:
August 3-13

About:
Just under a third of the approximately 80 new feature presentations at this noted Swiss festival are nonfiction.

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On DVD & Streaming: FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK

Coming to DVD and streaming tomorrow, Tuesday, August 2:
FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK

Director:
Bobbi Jo Hart

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2021

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, DOXA, Inside Out, Frameline, Outfest, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, Santa Barbara, Athena, Cleveland, In-Edit, Hawaii, Doc’n Roll, Woodstock, Florida

About:
Ferocious female rockers Fanny, who shattered glass ceilings in the ’70s, collecting fans like David Bowie before being buried in retro record bins, reunite fifty years later with a new record deal and a chance to rewrite history.

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Special Screening: I DIDN’T SEE YOU THERE

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Saturday, July 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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On VOD: BEBA

New to VOD this week:
BEBA

Director:
Rebeca Huntt

World Premiere:
Toronto 2021

Select Festivals:
Berlin, CPH:DOX, Docaviv, Miami, Tribeca, Provincetown, Minneapolis-St Paul

About:
A raw, poetic self-portrait in which a young, NYC-born Afro-Latina filmmaker stares down historical, societal, and generational trauma.

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On TV & Streaming: WE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Coming to HBO and HBO Max tomorrow, Wednesday, July 27:
WE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY

Director:
Joe Hunting

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
True/False, CPH:DOX, Maryland

About:
Filmed entirely inside the world of VR, this vérité documentary captures the excitement and surprising intimacy of a burgeoning cultural movement, demonstrating the power of online connection in an isolated world.

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In Theatres: MY OLD SCHOOL

Photo by Tommy Ga-Ken Wan

Coming to theatres today, Friday, July 22:
MY OLD SCHOOL

Director:
Jono McLeod

World Premiere:
Sundance 2022

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Thessaloniki Doc, Docs Against Gravity

About:
The astonishing true story of Scotland’s most notorious imposter.

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