Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD this week:
ROADRUNNER: A FILM ABOUT ANTHONY BOURDAIN

Director:
Morgan Neville

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2021

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, AFI Docs

About:
A remarkably constructed portrait of the uncommon life and untimely death of the late storyteller, explorer, and chef.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Wednesday, October 13 and to Apple TV+ this Friday, October 15:
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND

Director:
Todd Haynes

World Premiere:
Cannes 2021

Select Festivals:
New York Film Festival, Telluride, San Sebastian, Zurich, BFI London, Chicago

About:
An exploration of how The Velvet Underground became a cultural touchstone representing a range of contradictions.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 12:
THE BIG SCARY “S” WORD

Director:
Yael Bridge

World Premiere:
Mill Valley 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, AFI Fest, Big Sky Doc, Cleveland, Wisconsin, Mountainfilm, DOXA, Thessaloniki Doc, Melbourne Doc

About:
A comprehensive exploration of the ideology of socialism, increasingly attracting both supporters and detractors in a polarized America.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 12:
WITKIN & WITKIN

Director:
Trisha Ziff

World Premiere:
Morelia 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Los Cabos, San Francisco DocFest, Hot Docs, AFI Docs

About:
Gifted twin brothers—photographer Joel-Peter Witkin and painter Jerome Witkin—reunite for a joint show.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Independent Lens today, Monday, October 11:
CURED

Director:
Bennett Singer, Patrick Sammon

World Premiere:
Outfest 2020

Select Festivals:
NewFest, Frameline, BFI Flare, Cleveland, Vancouver, Image+Nation

About:
The David-versus-Goliath struggle that led the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its manual of mental illnesses in 1973.

Coming to theatres and to Hulu tomorrow, Friday, October 8:
JACINTA

Director:
Jessica Earnshaw

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, IDFA, Camden, Zurich, Woodstock, Hot Springs Doc, AFI Fest, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Athena, Big Sky Doc, Cleveland, Florida, Mountainfilm

About:
After being released from the same prison in which her mother is incarcerated, a woman struggles to break the generational cycle of addiction and trauma.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
This profoundly moving family portrait explores the cyclical nature of addiction and generational trauma. Jessica Earnshaw’s film opens as Jacinta is incarcerated alongside her mother, Rosemary. After the younger woman is released from jail, she attempts to reconnect with her daughter, Caylynn. As she fights to remain sober amid the pressures of post-correctional life, Jacinta finds herself in a daily battle with temptation. This insightful and ultimately hopeful documentary provides unparalleled access to the devastation wrought by addiction.  

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Thursday, October 7:
THE RESCUE

Director:
Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
Toronto, Mill Valley, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, Hot Springs Doc, Hamptons

About:
The harrowing tale of the rescue attempts of a group of 12 teenage athletes and their coach, who became stranded deep underground, as rapidly rising water filled a labyrinthine network of caves they were exploring

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 5:
NOT GOING QUIETLY

Director:
Nicholas Bruckman

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
SXSW, Oxford, Cleveland, Annapolis, Provincetown, San Francisco Jewish

About:
When a young father chances to meet a powerful senator on an airplane, their exchange goes viral, sparking one of the most unlikely political movements in a generation.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 5 and to virtual cinemas this Friday, October 8:
WITKIN & WITKIN

Director:
Trisha Ziff

World Premiere:
Morelia 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Los Cabos, San Francisco DocFest, Hot Docs, AFI Docs

About:
Gifted twin brothers—photographer Joel-Peter Witkin and painter Jerome Witkin—reunite for a joint show.

The film screened at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Joel-Peter Witkin is a celebrated photographer, known for dark tableaux full of disturbing images. His identical twin brother Jerome is an equally acclaimed figurative painter, whose work explores sociohistorical themes. These two gifted artists rarely communicate with one another, maintaining separate lives despite their shared upbringing. Told almost entirely by the women in their lives, Trisha Ziff’s intimate film explores themes of love, loss, and distance, while showcasing the Witkins’ fascinating bodies of work. When they reunite for their first-ever joint exhibition, will the brothers’ artistic collaboration change their perspectives on their own – or each other’s – work and lives?