Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, July 16: THE FRUIT HUNTERS
Yung Chang’s look at exotic fruit lovers debuted at RIDM last year. Its fest circuit included IDFA, Toronto Reel Asian, Palm Springs, Hawaii, and Global Visions, among others. It was part of Cinedigm’s Docurama theatrical doc screening series this Spring.
I previously wrote about the film out of IDFA here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to ESPN as part of their Nine for IX series next Tuesday, July 16: LET THEM WEAR TOWELS
Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg’s revisitation of the double standards female journalists once faced debuted at Tribeca this year. The film was commissioned by ESPN for its women-directed, women in sports doc series, an offshoot of sorts to the network’s popular 30 for 30 doc brand.
I included the doc in my Tribeca coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to WORLD Channel’s Global Voices series this Sunday, July 14: INVOKING JUSTICE
Deepa Dhanraj’s look at Muslim South Indian women uniting to ensure justice under Sharia law made its debut at IDFA in 2011. Its festival run has included Hawaii, DocPoint, One World, CAAMFest, and NY’s Asian American fest, among others.
In Southern India’s Tamil Nadu, disputes involving family issues – dowries to divorces, domestic violence to murder – used to be adjudicated by local Jamaats, all-male assemblies tasked with applying Sharia law, without women present to offer testimony or defense. In 2004, this practice changed, when a Women’s Jamaat was formed to attend directly to women’s issues, a radical and controversial idea that nevertheless proved popular as women became emboldened by its equal application of the law. Dhanraj’s film focuses on the work of a Women’s Jamaat as its fierce advocates seek justice for a mother whose daughter was allegedly set aflame by her husband and in-laws in a dowry dispute, and for a battered wife who’s finally reached her limit when her husband makes inappropriate sexual advances to their daughter. Eye-opening in its raw exposé of continuing gender inequities and corruption, the film nevertheless leaves the viewer feeling that these women are making a real difference, working from within the bounds of the system to reclaim their religion from extremists who would use it to subjugate and do violence upon women.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV next Monday, July 15: ONLY THE YOUNG
Elizabeth Mims and Jason Tippet’s intimate coming of age film had its world premiere at True/False last year. It went on to screen at San Francisco, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, and AFI Fest, picking up awards at the latter two fests, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Hot Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
Coming to HBO as part of its annual Docs Summer Series next Monday, July 15: THE CRASH REEL
Lucy Walker’s intimate exploration of snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s struggle with traumatic brain injury had its world premiere at Sundance earlier this year. Since then, the doc has screened at Berlin, Hot Docs, True/False, Full Frame, Seattle, and Los Angeles, among others, and has picked up awards at SXSW, Dallas, and Ashland.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Latinbeat, the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s annual Latin American cinema showcase, begins this Friday, July 12 and runs through Sunday, July 21. For its 14th edition, taking place a month earlier than its typical August berth, the series presents 18 films – hailing from all over the region, from Argentina to Uruguay, Chile to Brazil – of which four are documentaries:
From Colombia, Priscilla Padilla’s THE ETERNAL NIGHT OF TWELVE MOONS (LA ETERNA NOCHE DE LAS DOCE LUNAS) (pictured above) explores an indigenous tradition that keeps young women isolated for a year upon the onset of menstruation; from Guatemala/Mexico, Mercedes Moncada’s MAGICAL WORDS (BREAKING A SPELL) (PALABRAS MÁGICAS (PARA ROMPER UN ENCANTAMIENTO)), a personal reflection of growing up in Nicaragua during the Sandinista revolution; from Mexico, Emiliano Altuna, Diego Enrique Osorno, and Carlos Rossini’s THE MAYOR (EL ALCALDE), a portrait of a controversial millionaire turned politician who resorts to extreme measures to keep his community safe from the narcotrafficking violence plaguing other parts of the country; and from Argentina/France, Daniele Incalcaterra and Fausta Quattrini’s IMPENETRABLE (EL IMPENETRABLE), following the filmmaker and his brother as they try to explore inherited land in Paraguay, only to be frustrated by unwelcoming neighbors.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to theatres this Friday, July 12: TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY
Cullen Hoback’s indepth investigation of privacy in the age of the Internet made its debut at Slamdance. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Dallas, Newport Beach, Sonoma, SF DocFest, and Seattle.
I included the doc in my Hot Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
It’s Summer, but not everyone can find time to make it to the beach. Let my latest curated selections for Hulu’s Documentaries cool you off virtually with a series of surfing docs. Watch them now for free!
For more information about the selections, see my Indiewire article.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Indiewire @ Hulu Docs, Recommendations
Southern California’s largest LGBT film event, Outfest, kicks off its 31st edition this Thursday, July 11. Over eleven nights, the festival will present nearly 60 features, close to 100 shorts, as well as panels and other special events, for an estimated audience of 55,000. Included among the lineup are more then 20 feature documentaries from which I’ll offer highlights below:
Like last year, nonfiction takes two of Outfest’s coveted Gala slots: Roger Ross Williams’ Sundance alum GOD LOVES UGANDA screens as the Documentary Centerpiece, while Pratibha Parmar’s ALICE WALKER: BEAUTY IN TRUTH (pictured) takes the Fusion Centerpiece position.
The bulk of the fest’s docs screen in the main program, which includes: Lily Keber’s BAYOU MAHARAJAH: THE TRAGIC GENIUS OF JAMES BOOKER (pictured), a portrait of the unheralded African American gay jazz pianist; Liam Sullivan’s IAN HARVIE SUPERHERO, the trans standup comedian’s concert film; Timothy Wheeler’s THE OTHER SHORE, following lesbian long-distance swimmer Diana Nyad’s attempts to finally swim from Cuba to Key West after a disappointing failed attempt three decades prior; Lisa Biagiotti’s DEEPSOUTH, exploring the inadequacies of HIV/AIDS healthcare in the American South; Fan Popo’s MAMA RAINBOW, a profile of mothers of LGBT kids in China; and Linda Bloodworth-Thomason’s Tribeca winner BRIDEGROOM, about tragedy befalling a young gay couple.
Finally, Platinum, the experimental and cutting edge section, includes two docs: Travis Mathews and James Franco’s Sundance hybrid, INTERIOR. LEATHER BAR., inspired by CRUISING; and Charles Atlas’ TURNING (pictured), a concert film on Antony and the Johnsons’ 2006 European tour.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
Coming to ESPN as part of their Nine for IX initiative tonight, Tuesday, July 9: PAT XO
Lisa Lax and Nancy Stern’s portrait of coach Pat Summitt made its bow at Tribeca this Spring. It’s the second film in ESPN’s new series, which explores women in sports, directed by women.
I included the doc in my Tribeca coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
