Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to Brooklyn’s Made in NY Media Center via IFP’s Screen Forward program this Friday, February 20: APPROACHING THE ELEPHANT

Amanda Rose Wilder’s in-depth look at a year of alternative education made its debut at True/False last year. Other festival appearances included Nantucket, New Orleans, Sarasota, Maryland, BAMcinemaFest, Camden, CPH:DOX, RIDM, and Rotterdam.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Seeking an alternative to America’s troubled educational system, Alex, an idealistic young teacher, opens a small free school in Little Falls NJ where all classes are optional and determined by student interest, and the only rules that exist are democratically decided upon by both the teachers and the students. Director Amanda Rose Wilder immerses the viewer in this radical and fascinating experiment, chronicling the school’s tumultuous inaugural year. While wonderfully individuated children adapt to unprecedented freedom and must take responsibility for their own learning, Alex and his staff also must contend with the inevitable strong personalities that test the limits of their open community.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, February 17: POINT AND SHOOT

Marshall Curry’s look at a thrillseeker turned unlikely freedom fighter premiered at Tribeca last year, where it won the Best Documentary Award. Further festival play included Hot Docs, Maryland, AFI Docs, IFF Boston, Nashville, Traverse City, New Zealand, and Melbourne. In addition to DVD release, the film now becomes available on iTunes.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 16: TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY

Cullen Hoback’s examination of the disappearance of online privacy debuted at Slamdance in 2013. Its fest circuit also included Hot Docs, Dallas, Newport Beach, SF DocFest, and Seattle, among several others.

I previously included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.

Coming to Anthology Film Archives tomorrow, Friday, February 13: COAST OF DEATH

Lois Patiño’s meditation on a legendary Galician coastal region made its debut at Locarno in 2013, where it picked up the award for Best Emerging Director. Other fest appearances included the New York Film Festival, True/False, Vancouver, Montreal, Tallinn, Jihlava, Rotterdam, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Jeonju, Valdivia, and Play-Doc, among several others.

The titular area, Costa da Morta – or, in Galician, Fisterra, translated as “end of the world” – gained its ominous name from its dangerous, rocky coastline which has proven the demise of countless ships since Roman times. Paying reverence to the grandeur and power of nature, Patiño carefully constructs his frame to highlight this landscape in a series of static long shots, typically filmed from above. While people are sometimes absent from these stunning, distant tableaux, where they are present offers an added, compelling layer to this portrait of a place, an often humorous, intimate aural counterpoint that reminds the viewer of the interactions of man and nature, even when the latter dwarfs the former. Beyond scenes of loggers felling trees or fishermen and women retrieving barnacles or other sealife, other everyday scenes play out, with local residents discussing the history of the coast, both legendary and recent. The result is a beautifully executed multivalent essay film that immerses the viewer in a distinct seaside land.