Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to theatres this Thursday, December 2:
SO LATE SO SOON

Director:
Daniel Hymanson

World Premiere:
True/False 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Cleveland, Big Sky Doc, Indie Memphis

About:
An exploration of the artistic process and life of a long-married couple.

The film screened at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
An intimate portrait of the energetic and beautifully eccentric Chicago-based artists Jackie Seiden and Don Seiden, married for five decades. Director Daniel Hymanson follows the couple over time while they face their impending fragility with raw honesty and eerie elegance. Graciously shot, the documentary offers a privileged window into their art making, domesticity, frictions, and the ultimate project of aging and caring for each other.

Coming to HBO and HBO Max tomorrow, Wednesday, December 1:
ADRIENNE

Director:
Andy Ostroy

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2021

About:
The death of acclaimed actress-filmmaker-screenwriter Adrienne Shelly sends her husband on a search for answers.

Coming to theatres and VOD today, Friday, November 26:
LADY BUDS

Director:
Chris J Russo

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2021

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Outfest, Mill Valley, Seattle Queer, Denver, Docs Mx

About:
From a Latinx LGBTQ activist to a Black Catholic school principal, six small businesswomen hit California’s newly legal cannabis trade, but struggle as aggressive regulations upend the market.

Coming to Disney+ today, Wednesday, November 24:
BECOMING COUSTEAU

Director:
Liz Garbus

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
Toronto, Hamptons, Camden, BFI London, Mill Valley, Rome

About:
A portrait of the visionary explorer, activist and TV host.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens today, Monday, November 22:
DUTY FREE

Director:
Sian-Pierre Regis

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020

Select Festivals:
Big Sky, Miami, ACT Human Rights

About:
As his recently laid off mother struggles to find a new job at the age of 75, the filmmaker celebrates her lifetime of self-sacrifice.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to CNN tomorrow, Saturday, November 20:
THE HUNT FOR PLANET B

Director:
Nathaniel Kahn

World Premiere:
SXSW 2021

About:
A behind-the-scenes look at NASA’s high-stakes James Webb Space Telescope, following a pioneering group of scientists—many of them women—on their quest to find another Earth among the stars.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 19:
THE FIRST WAVE

Director:
Matthew Heineman

World Premiere:
Hamptons 2021

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, BFI London, Busan, Hot Springs Doc, Philadelphia, Montclair, Savannah, AFI Fest

About:
A powerful look at the doctors, nurses, and patients on the frontlines during the “first wave” of COVID-19 in New York City from March to June 2020.

Coming to Netflix tomorrow, Friday, November 19:
PROCESSION

Director:
Robert Greene

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Camden, Heartland, Montclair, Philadelphia, AFI Fest

About:
Six men, each abused by Catholic priests and, decades later, still in search of peace collaborate with the director and a team of therapists to create short films confronting their pasts.