Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to Al Jazeera America Presents this Sunday, January 19: I LEARN AMERICA

Gitte Peng and Jean-Michel Dissard’s portrait of youthful new Americans had its world premiere at AFI Docs last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Nantucket, Denver, and St Louis, as well as several community screenings around the country.

I previously wrote about the doc out of AFI Docs for Indiewire, saying:
Another title debuting here also addressing immigration is Gitte Peng and Jean-Michel Dissard’s appealing look at Brooklyn’s International High School at Lafayette, which provides a safe and nurturing space for new immigrants. Focusing on five teenagers hailing from Poland, Pakistan, Guatemala, Myanmar, and the Dominican Republic who contend with learning new languages, traditional parental expectations, and immigration status, the film shows the importance of programs like this in shaping the next generation of Americans. Perhaps most significantly, Peng and Dissard demonstrate commonalities across cultural differences, as their subjects face familiar high school rituals like prom and graduation, or schoolwork-affecting distractions in the form of sports and girls.

Coming to WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed series next Tuesday, January 21: DOWNEAST

David Redmon and Ashley Sabin’s look at an economically depressed rural Maine town debuted at Tribeca in 2012. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Provincetown, Sidewalk, Camden, RIDM, DOK.Leipzig, CPH:DOX, and Big Sky, among others, and enjoyed a limited theatrical campaign through Maine.

I previously included the film in my Tribeca roundup here.

Now on VOD: DEAR MANDELA

Dara Kell and Christopher Nizza’s chronicle of South African housing activists debuted at Durban in 2011. It went on to screen at Camden, One World, Brooklyn, and Zanzibar, as well as university and community screenings around the world. It now comes to iTunes, Amazon, Playstation, Vudu, Xbox, Google Play, and SundanceNow via Sundance Artist Services, having been supported by the Sundance Institute.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD next Tuesday, January 21: THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI

Bill Siegel’s look at “The Greatest’s” conscientious objection to serving in Vietnam premiered at Tribeca last year. The doc also screened at Seattle, Traverse City, San Francisco Jewish, Melbourne, and Montclair, among other festivals before a limited theatrical release last Summer. FilmBuff now releases the doc on iTunes, Movies on Demand, Amazon, Google, Sony PlayStation, Xbox, Cinemanow, and Vudu.

I previously wrote about the film out of Tribeca here.