Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction next Tuesday, April 2 and to select theatres next Friday, April 5: FREE ANGELA & ALL POLITICAL PRISONERS

Shola Lynch’s exploration of the iconic activist and academic had its world premiere last Fall at Toronto. Since then, it has screened at London, Pan African, Tempo Doc, Women’s International Film & Arts, and the upcoming Full Frame. It’s set for a limited theatrical release in NYC, Los Angeles, Washington DC, Chicago, Oakland, Philadelphia, and Atlanta next week.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

Already available for digital download and coming to DVD next Monday, April 1: HANDS ON A HARD BODY

SR Bindler’s cult classic about a Texan endurance competition screened extensively upon its debut in 1997, with festival berths at Dallas, Santa Barbara, Nashville, and Karlovy Vary, as well as various awards from Florida, Austin, Los Angeles, and Gen Art, among others. On the occasion of the opening of the stage musical adaptation earlier this month, the doc has been digitally remastered and made available for digital download, and will be re-released on DVD next week, the first time in a decade. The film has also enjoyed a recent series of special screenings via NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction, the Texas Independent Film Network, and elsewhere as a lead up to the re-release.

Set outside a Nissan auto dealership in Longview TX, Bindler’s engaging film chronicles the 1995 titular endurance competition, where nearly two dozen people attempt to outlast one another to claim a brand new pickup truck. All they have to do to win is be the last person standing who has kept his or her hands on the vehicle for as long as it takes, with only one five-minute break every hour, and one fifteen-minute break every six hours. As distraction and sleep-deprivation set in, the determined contestants – a range of types, from farmers to marines to the staunchly religious – start to lose it, struggling to keep their minds and bodies in sync to claim their prize. The film is an immensely likeable, gripping portrait of a peculiar publicity stunt and those who decide to take a shot at prize that’s literally within their reach. Pre-dating competition docs like SPELLBOUND and the peak of reality TV competition shows like SURVIVOR and BIG BROTHER by several years, Bindler shows immense restraint, observing his subjects and the strangeness of the contest without passing judgement, and instead finds their common humanity. He carefully constructs his story to highlight the tension as, one-by-one, the field narrows to the finalists, and a delirious winner emerges. The result is a true classic of the form, an evergreen documentary that celebrates both the quirks and the virtues of everyday people.

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, April 2: MEET THE FOKKENS

Rob Schröder and Gabriëlle Provaas’ profile of aging twin sexworkers premiered at IDFA in 2011. It went on to screen at Planete Doc, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, and Tallgrass, among others.

I included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, April 2: HOW TO MAKE A BOOK WITH STEIDL

Gereon Wetzel and Jörg Adolph’s behind-the-scenes look at the renowned German printer/publisher made its debut at DOK Leipzig in 2010, where it won Best German Documentary. Other stops on the fest circuit have included Hot Docs and Planete Doc Review, among others.

I previously wrote about the film out of Hot Docs here.

Coming to NYC’s Cinema Village this Friday, March 29: THE REVOLUTIONARY OPTIMISTS

Maren R Monsen and Nicole Newnham’s exploration of the impact of empowering India’s children made its world premiere at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. It previously won a special sustainability award through the Sundance Institute and screened earlier this month at the Film Society of Lincoln Center’s Art of the Real series. After its NYC theatrical release this week, the film will expand to Los Angeles’ Laemmle Santa Monica theatre next month.

In the slums of Kolkata, India, Amlan Ganguly’s NGO, Prayasam, tackles myriad poverty-related issues through its army of empowered youth. Believing that the secret to making things happen is to get to the children before they are forced by circumstance to repeat the cycle of poverty that their parents have been stuck in, Prayasam seeds the potential for actual change through them to affect their communities. Over several years, Monsen and Newnham profile a number of Amlan’s child leaders, working as agents of change, including Salim and Sikha, who spearhead a polio vaccination awareness campaign, as well as a mapping project to get attention and better water access for their community; Kajal, a pre-teen forced to work full-time as a brickmaker until Prayasam helps her secure an education through some savvy dealmaking with her employer; and Priyanka, an aspiring dancer and dance instructor at Prayasam whose parents threaten to marry her off, which could end her dreams. The film shifts from character to character nicely, providing a panoramic, and hopeful, view of the possibility of social change through education and the investment in children’s development.

Coming to Brooklyn NY’s reRun Gastropub Theater this Friday, March 29: CODE OF THE WEST

Rebecca Richman Cohen’s look at the medical marijuana debate had its world premiere at last year’s SXSW. Its festival run has included Camden, DOC NYC, Traverse City, and the IFF Boston, among others.

I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 26: GLOW: THE STORY OF THE GORGEOUS LADIES OF WRESTLING

Brett Whitcomb’s appreciative look back at the classic women’s wrestling program made its world premiere at Hot Docs last year. It went on to screen at Sidewalk, DMZ Docs, Austin, Hot Springs, and Big Sky, among other fests, and was recently broadcast on Logo TV.

I included the doc in my Hot Docs coverage here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 26: ROMAN POLANSKI: ODD MAN OUT

Marina Zenovich’s follow up to her previous, influential Polanski film made its debut at Toronto last Fall. It went on to screen at the New York and Zurich Film Festivals, and to be picked up for cable broadcast later this year by Showtime.

I included the film in my Toronto roundup here.