Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to POV this Thursday, September 27: EL VELADOR

Natalia Almada’s meditation on life and death in Mexico made its world premiere at New Directors/New Films last year. It went on to screen at Cannes, Silverdocs, FIDM, Jihlava, and IDFA, among others.

I included the film in my Silverdocs roundup here.

Available on VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 25: TERRA BLIGHT

Isaac Brown’s examination of the impact of computer construction and disposal premiered at Slamdance earlier this year. Additional stops include Docutah, Maui, and the upcoming New Orleans Film Festival, among others. The doc will be available via iTunes, Amazon, and Movies on Demand thanks to FilmBuff.

Running just under an hour, Brown’s film presents a unique subject that merits greater public awareness: the environmental impact of the rapid growth of a disposable electronics culture, and, specifically, of the personal computer. Focusing on the life cycle of a computer, the film exposes the hazards posed by e-waste, from the creation through the casual disposal of our electronics, which is much more involved than most consumers think. Subjects include scavengers, anti-waste activists, and computer resellers in Ghana, where computers are disposed of by the US; big box store employees, who push for sales of electronics; electronics recyclers in the US; gamers and gaming convention employees, who demonstrate the remarkable amount of power used for computers; residents of a town polluted by IBM computer manufacturing chemical spills; and even the inventor of the UPC barcode, who reflects on the way computers have changed society. While there may be a few too many subjects packed into its slim running time, the film is decidedly successful in confronting viewers with the inconvenient truth about first world e-waste, and how poorer countries are suffering because of it.

Available on VOD and in select theatres beginning today, Friday, September 21: HEAD GAMES

Steve James’ investigation into sports-related head injuries premiered as the opening night film of the Boston Film Festival last night. It opens in select cities today and expands through November.

Based on Christopher Nowinski’s book of the same name, James explores the mounting evidence that links debilitating brain injuries to concussions suffered during game play in a wide variety of sports. Nowinski, who might be familiar to some viewers as a former WWE pro wrestler – or would-be wrestler reality TV star before that – serves as a key subject in the film. A former Harvard football player, he found his pro wrestling career cut short by physical problems he believes are linked to the countless head injuries he suffered through his sports careers, motivating the research that led to his book and current activist work around the subject. With professional sports associations parroting that studies are far from conclusive, the affable Nowinski tries to convince pro athletes to donate their brains for post-mortem scientific analysis; currently available specimens offer compelling visual evidence of damage, even if they’re from a limited sample size, but perhaps most telling is a brief and painful neurological exam with a former football player in which the man can’t quite recite the months of the year in order. Covering football, boxing, hockey, women’s soccer – to highlight the potentially worse effect of head injuries on women’s brains – and even youth football – sure to make parents think twice – Nowinski, and James’ film, signals the need for greater public awareness of the issue and steps to remedy the problem before it affects more athletes, young and old.

Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this coming Wednesday, September 26: THE WAITING ROOM

Peter Nicks’ microcosmic portrait of the US health care system premiered at Full Frame, scoring the Emerging Artist Award. Other stops on the fest circuit included True/False, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, Ashland, and San Francisco – taking home awards at the latter two. Its theatrical roll-out will continue through the end of the year.

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

Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, September 25: PINK RIBBONS, INC

Léa Pool’s investigation into the breast cancer industry made its world premiere in Toronto last year. Its festival circuit included IDFA, Provincetown, Sarasota, Nashville, and Portland, among others, before a limited theatrical release.

I previously wrote about the film here.