Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 25: BECOMING BULLETPROOF

Michael Barnett’s behind-the-scenes look at the making of a unique film made its debut at Vancouver last year. Its fest circuit has also included Heartland, Cleveland, Newport Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, and Vail, among others.

Once a year, the adult summer camp collective called Zeno Mountain Farm, which unites the disabled and non-disabled, creates a short film. Barnett’s inviting doc chronicles the production of their stab at a western, titled BULLETPROOF, which integrates actors with disabilities without being an explicitly cause-focused film. Similarly, while Barnett follows subjects like AJ, a man with cerebral palsy, on and off set, demonstrating at times the everyday challenges his condition presents, the film’s chief aim is to document organically Zeno’s process and its impact on its participants. Certainly the takeaway is that inclusive experiences like this are all-too-rare, and that they benefit all involved, transcending a sense of pity or awkward discomfort to open up genuine, creative, and social connections between disparate individuals.

Coming to theatres and VOD today, Friday, September 25: A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY

Sara Hirsch Bordo’s portrait of a bullying victim turned activist debuted at SXSW earlier this year, where it took home an audience award. It has since gone on to screen at Traverse City, Newport Beach, Rhode Island, Lower East Side, and Bentonville, among others.

Called the “Most Ugly Woman in the World” in a cruel YouTube clip that went viral, Lizzie Velasquez, a young woman suffering from a genetic disorder so rare, it took 25 years to diagnose, fought back. Long on the receiving end of insults and gawking due to her unusual appearance, brought on by an inability to put on weight, Velasquez channelled her sadness and anger into a mission to combat bullying, becoming a self-assured motivational speaker who regularly travels around the world giving speeches to audiences of thousands. Blessed with a supportive family, who, while protective, clearly see the impact and import of her work, Velasquez takes on the cause of an anti-bullying bill making its way through Congress. Bordo wisely places much of her focus on Velasquez herself to tell her own inspirational story, clearly recognizing her subject’s poise and charisma.

Coming to PBS’s POV this Friday, September 25: ART AND CRAFT

Directors Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman and co-director Mark Becker’s profile of a notorious and unrepentant art forger made its bow at Tribeca last year. The doc went on to screen at Nantucket, Hot Docs, Montclair, and San Francisco, among others, and made the Documentary Feature Oscar shortlist.

I previously wrote about the film here.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, September 22: BY BLOOD

Marcos C Barbery and Sam Russell’s chronicle of contested identity debuted at New Orleans last year. Other screenings have included Big Sky, Cleveland, deadCENTER, and the San Diego Black film fests. FilmBuff now releases the doc across various VOD platforms.

In an effort to modernize Native American tribal ways at the turn of the 19th century, the federal government introduced the concept of slavery as a means to improve farming practices. As a result, the Cherokee Nation, among others, became an African slave-owning tribe, and even fought for the Confederacy. After the conclusion of the Civil War, the Cherokee’s slaves were released, granted tribal membership, and referred to as Freedmen. In more recent decades, however, the Cherokee, like other First Nations, have begun to deny tribal citizenship to the descendants of Freedman. Barbery and Russell’s even-handed exploration of this contentious issue offers provocative questions about the boundaries of race, identity, sovereignty, and politics, and demonstrates the powerful pull of one’s need to belong.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 22: THE GREAT MUSEUM

Johannes Holzhausen’s exploration of Vienna’s Kunsthistorisches Museum had its world premiere at Berlin last year. Screenings have followed at San Francisco, Seattle, Sydney, New Zealand, Los Angeles, Jerusalem, London, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Vancouver, and the Hamptons, among others.

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