Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema as part of the DocWatchers series tomorrow, Thursday, April 16: VESSEL
Diana Whitten’s look at a unique solution to reproductive rights restrictions had its world premiere at SXSW last year, where it picked up two awards. It went on to screen at Nantucket, DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Jerusalem, Sarasota, and IFF Boston, among other events.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 14: MAIDAN
Sergei Loznitsa’s meditation on resistance in Ukraine debuted at Cannes last year. Its fest circuit has included Toronto, London, Karlovy Vary, Vancouver, DOK Leipzig, Zurich, Sarajevo, and IDFA, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 14: ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE
Anthony Powell’s exploration of life at the South Pole debuted at New Zealand International Film Festival in 2013. Fest berths have included Calgary, Anchorage, Cleveland, and Thin Line, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, April 14: MISERY LOVES COMEDY
Kevin Pollak’s survey of the work behind stand-up comedy debuted at Sundance this year. It will also screen at Tribeca next week. The doc comes to iTunes now, followed by a limited theatrical engagement later this month.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Tomorrow, Wednesday, April 15 sees the opening of the 14th Tribeca Film Festival, which this year will present over fifty feature documentaries before it closes on Sunday, April 26. The event’s nonfiction programming has consistently proven to be noteworthy, and organizers have recognized that in recent years, presenting documentaries as the event’s opening selection, such as this year’s LIVE FROM NEW YORK!, Bao Nguyen’s look at the history and enduring popularity of SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE. What follows are some highlights of this year’s nonfiction slate: Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction series tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14: KING GEORGES
Erika Frankel’s portrait of an influential French chef debuted this past weekend at Full Frame. In addition to opening the new season of STF, the film will screen at IFF Boston later this month as it continues its festival run.
French chef Georges Perrier moved from Paris to Philadelphia in the late 1960s, and by the early 1970s established his restaurant, Le Bec-Fin, as one of the best French restaurants in the country. Despite decades of success and critical acclaim, the changing economy and shifts in taste have left the fate of Le Bec-Fin up in the air. Frankel follows the outspoken Perrier over several years as he attempts to hold on to his restaurant, and his legacy, after more than four decades. A partnership with a young head chef, Nicholas Elmi, shows promise, but can Perrier, closing in on 70, maintain the pace that has already cost him on a personal level? Frankel constructs an engrossing, multifaceted portrait of a chef confronting the possible end of his life’s work.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Florida’s Sarasota Film Festival opens its 17th edition today, Friday, April 10, and runs through Sunday, April 19. While the festival lost longtime director Tom Hall to Montclair this year, the event has maintained its scope, presenting nearly 150 features, with about a third of those nonfiction, including Centerpiece selection BRAND: A SECOND COMING, Ondi Timoner’s portrait of UK comedian/provocateur Russell Brand which recently opened SXSW. What follows are highlights of some of the event’s other documentary programming, reflecting newer or less familiar work not previously covered on this site. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
The second edition of the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real series begins tomorrow, Friday, April 10, and runs through Sunday, April 26. Dennis Lim and Rachael Rakes’ program continues its mission to broaden standard conceptions of nonfiction, giving viewers the opportunity to sample an eclectic, and sometimes, esoteric, assemblage of offerings. This year’s event opens with a shorts program and closes with Jenni Olson’s Sundance essay, THE ROYAL ROAD (pictured), with other special programming including an Agnès Varda tribute and a spotlight on the use of reenactment in film.
The remaining main program consists of sixteen new and retrospective feature films, as well as some additional short form programming. Some of the highlights among the newer feature work include the North American premieres of: Gustavo Vinagre’s NOVA DUBAI (pictured), a rumination on gay desire in an urban landscape; Alain Cavalier’s LE PARADIS, an essay film about encroaching mortality; and Luisa Homem and Pedro Pinho’s TRADING CITIES, an observational profile of the impact of development on Cape Verde.
Some of the US premieres screening during the two week series are: Daniel Hui’s speculative portrait of Singapore, SNAKESKIN; René Frölke’s experimental biography of an exiled Romanian writer, LE BEAU DANGER (pictured); and Ion de Sosa’s hybrid, future-set exploration of Spain, ANDROIDS DREAM.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Brazil’s It’s All True International Documentary Film Festival celebrates its 20th anniversary beginning tomorrow, Thursday, April 9 with a screening of the late Eduardo Coutinho’s LAST CONVERSATIONS. The festival will run through Sunday, April 19 in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, while tours will continue in other cities into May and June. More than 40 new features will screen, with shorts and retrospectives bringing the total lineup to over 100 films. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres this Friday, April 10: SONG FROM THE FOREST
Michael Obert’s portrait of a return to Western civilization debuted at IDFA in 2013. Other fest screenings have included DOC NYC, SXSW, ZagrebDox, Thessaloniki Doc, London, Cleveland, It’s All True, Planete + Doc, DOXA, Pan African, !f Istanbul, and Camden.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program:
Drawn to the Central African Republic to study the songs of the Bayaka pygmies 25 years ago, American musicologist Louis Sarno abandoned modern civilization to join the tribe and start a family. Fulfilling a long-standing promise to show his teenager, Samedi, the world, father and son trade the rainforest for the concrete jungle and travel to New York City, visiting family and friends like Louis’ college roommate, director Jim Jarmusch. While Samedi takes it all in, Louis, surprisingly, is the one who becomes the fish out of water.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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