Coming to PBS’s AfroPoP this Monday, February 16: THE ABOMINABLE CRIME
Micah Fink’s look at homophobia in Jamaica bowed at Frameline in 2013. Screenings followed at DOC NYC, Montclair, QDocs, BFI London, St Louis, Reeling, and Outfest, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
MoMA’s annual showcase of nonfiction, Documentary Fortnight, opens its 14th edition tomorrow, Friday, February 13, with Stanley Nelson’s THE BLACK PANTHERS: VANGUARD OF THE REVOLUTION, a chronicle of the controversial Black Power organization; and runs through Friday, February 27, which features closing night film HOT TYPE: 150 YEARS OF THE NATION, Barbara Kopple’s exploration of the long-running liberal weekly magazine. In addition to these titles, nineteen additional new feature documentaries will screen, as well as seven shorts, special lectures, an installation, and a retrospective selection of director Shirley Clarke’s work.
Several of this year’s selections put an emphasis on durational cinema, including: Kevin Jerome Everson’s eight-hour immersion into a working shift at a factory, PARK LANES; Wang Bing’s long shot exploration of the modest dwelling of a Chinese migrant family, FATHER AND SONS; and Peter Bo Rappmund’s time-lapse study of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline, TOPOPHILIA (pictured).
Other works also focus on capturing a distinct sense of place, including Irene Gutiérrez Torres’ HOTEL NUEVA ISLA (pictured), a stunning portrait of a crumbling luxury hotel in Havana; Phil Collins’ TOMORROW IS ALWAYS TOO LONG, which constructs a multimedia version of Glasgow; and Nathalie Nambot and Maki Berchache’s BURN THE SEA, an essay film exploring the experiences of Tunisian immigrants to France.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to NYC’s New School for a special Valentine’s event this Friday, February 13: THE AGE OF LOVE
Steven Loring’s exploration of senior dating had its world premiere at Newport Beach last year. It went on to fests including at DOC NYC, Cucalorus, St Louis, and Rhode Island, and is scheduled to screen at Big Sky and Thessaloniki Doc. This screening is part of a series of special events taking place around the country beginning this month.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
An unprecedented speed-dating event for seniors serves as the backdrop for this alternately poignant and funny look at love among the 70+ set. Thirty brave souls register – widows and widowers, longtime divorcees and the lovelorn – each willing to endure an anxiety-inducing, but mercifully brief, series of setups in their search for companionship in their golden years. Candidly confronting feelings of insecurity, loneliness and anticipation, Steven Loring’s film demonstrates the universality of love and desire, regardless of age.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to DVD this Friday, February 13: EXPOSED
Beth B’s look at the re-emergence of burlesque had its world premiere at Berlin in 2013. Other fest screenings included DOC NYC, DOK.fest Munich, Planete + Doc, Transylvania, Sydney, Moscow, Revelation, Melbourne, and Pornfilmfest Berlin, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, February 10: KINK
Christina Voros’ exploration of an acclaimed porn site made its bow at Sundance in 2013. Other fest appearances included DOC NYC, Seattle, Stockholm, NewFest, and Frameline, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction series tomorrow, Tuesday, February 10: FREEWAY: CRACK IN THE SYSTEM
Marc Levin’s profile of the man who found himself in the center of America’s crack epidemic had its world premiere at Los Angeles’ Pan African Film Festival this past weekend. It will be broadcast in two parts on Al Jazeera America next month.
Levin’s wide-ranging chronicle explores the rise of crack cocaine in the 1980s, focusing on the experiences of “Freeway” Rick Ross, a former tennis hopeful whose illiteracy cost him his college athlete dreams, and ultimately led him to drug dealing. Working with Ross’ full cooperation, Levin reveals how Ross quickly built himself up from low-level street dealer to a multi-millionaire drug kingpin, and in the process became part of the infamous Iran-Contra affair that implicated President Ronald Reagan and senior administration officials in an illegal drug money for arms sales scheme. This larger aspect of Ross’ background remains the most intriguing, weaving in the story of San Jose Mercury News reporter Gary Webb as well as that of state and federal law enforcement corruption, though the film’s protagonist at times gets lost in the mix. Eventually imprisoned for his crimes, Ross learned to read behind bars, with his time poring over law books ultimately leading to an unexpected reprieve. The film follows him as a free man, acknowledging his complicity in spreading the scourge of crack to the African American community across the nation, and sharing his cautionary tales with prisoners and at-risk youth. While his reformation seems genuine, there is a matter-of-fact braggadocio around his past gangsta accomplishments that can be off-putting, as is the awkward and unconvincing parallel thread that sees “Freeway” seek outrageous financial damages from the rapper “Rick Ross,” who the former drug lord claims stole his name, persona, and exploits for street cred and financial gain.
Note: Director Marc Levin will be present for a post-screening Q&A.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 10: THROUGH A LENS DARKLY: BLACK PHOTOGRAPHERS AND THE EMERGENCE OF A PEOPLE
Thomas Allen Harris’ rediscovery of unheralded black photography had its world premiere at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at Berlin, Santa Barbara, Montclair, Pan African, Atlanta, Boston LGBT, and Frameline, among several others.
My pre-Sundance profile may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres today, Friday, February 6: THE OTHER MAN: FW DE KLERK AND THE END OF APARTHEID
Nicolas Rossier’s portrait of the last white leader of South Africa made its debut at Durban last year. It went on to screen at IDFA this past November.
While Nelson Mandela and his role in the foundation of post-apartheid South Africa has been the subject of numerous documentaries, less attention has been paid to FW de Klerk, the nation’s president who oversaw the dismantling of the racist policy, and who instituted sweeping changes including Mandela’s release from prison. Rossier’s film aims to unpack de Klerk’s complex legacy, exploring, essentially, a leader who actively worked to bring about his own reign – one who ultimately publicly spoke out against the policy of apartheid, even if he disturbingly preferred the disingenuous term “separate development.” While the director benefits from direct access to the former president, with candid interviews offering some insight into de Klerk’s often pragmatic decisions, the most provocative aspects of the film emerge from archival footage – chiefly the signal of the turnover of power when Mandela publicly questioned de Klerk’s honesty, de Klerk’s decision to have Mandela address the nation after a violent racial massacre instead of himself in hopes of defusing a potential nationwide powderkeg, and the former leader’s testimony at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in which he disavowed knowledge of assassination and violence against ANC leaders. Particularly in showcasing numerous critics who express skepticism or absolute disbelief of this latter claim, Rossier demonstrates a willingness to eschew hagiography, even if it seems his ultimate goal is to bolster the idea that de Klerk deserves more praise than he’s typically received for his pivotal role in partnering with Mandela to save South Africa from civil war and global sanctions by abandoning a repressive policy once embraced by his political party’s leadership.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Tonight sees the launch of the 12th edition of the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Montana’s premier film festival, which will run through Monday, February 16. The event hosts several competitive and non-competitive program strands, including a focus on local nonfiction filmmaking, sidebars on interactive docs, music, nature, sports and adventure, true crime, the American West, indigenous cinema, and a commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, as well as retrospective series on the work of Sam Green and John Cohen. A representative selection is noted below:
Among the ten titles included in the fest’s main competition, the Big Sky Feature Competition, are: Frode Fimland’s SIBLINGS ARE FOREVER (pictured), a portrait of an elderly pair of Norwegian farmers; Nima Shayeghi’s BOYS WITH BROKEN EARS, about the wrestling dreams of young Iranian men; Andrea Meller’s NOW EN ESPAÑOL, which revisits the popularity of Spanish-dubbed television programming for American Latino/a audiences; and Patty Dillon’s THERE WILL BE NO STAY, which explores the work of prison executioners.
Nine works are eligible for the Big Sky Award Competition, including William J Saunders’ BILLY MIZE AND THE BAKERSFIELD SOUND, about the influential country musician; and Nick Brandestini’s CHILDREN OF THE ARCTIC, which focuses on the experiences of several Native Alaskan teens. The Made in Montana section highlights locally-produced work, including Cindy Stillwell and Tom Watson’s BARD IN THE BACKCOUNTRY, following a Montana Shakespeare troupe; and Andy Smetanka’s AND WE WERE YOUNG (pictured), a handcrafted stop-motion chronicle of WWI.
Included in the fest’s music-focused Sights & Sounds section are eleven feature documentaries, among them: Claire Dix’s profile of North Dublin street musicians, BROKEN SONG (pictured); Kay D Ray’s tribute to female jazz musicians, LADY BE GOOD: INSTRUMENTAL WOMEN IN JAZZ; and Francesco Merini and Helmut Failoni’s look at an Italian orchestra uniting young talents with experienced veterans, THE ORCHESTRA.
Finally, a sampling of Big Sky’s other thematic programming includes Stranger Than Fiction, presenting unusual but true stories and subjects, such as Sam Carroll’s BEDEVIL (pictured), which follows a High Priestess’ efforts to run for city council; True Crime, which includes Gorman Bechard’s A DOG NAMED GUCCI, about a man’s efforts to protect animals from inhumane treatment; and the aforementioned 25th anniversary celebration of the ADA, which features Abigail Fuller and Sarah Ivy’s DO YOU DREAM IN COLOR?, an exploration of the lives of four blind teenagers.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
