Category Archives: Recommendations

New to DVD this week:
KENNY SCHARF: WHEN WORLDS COLLIDE

Director:
Malia Scharf, Max Basch

World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Revelation, Provincetown, Montclair, Atlantic

About:
A portrait of artist Kenny Scharf, whose work fuses popular culture and fine art.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV today, Monday, July 26:
MAYOR

Director:
David Osit

World Premiere:
True/False 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nantucket, CPH:DOX, IDFA, Hot Docs, Full Frame, Camden, Maryland, DokuFest

About:
A portrait of the Christian mayor of Ramallah, Palestine.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, July 19:
STATELESS

Director:
Michèle Stephenson

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, BlackStar, Hot Docs, AFI Latin American, Portland, Halifax Black, Boston Latino, RIDM, Trinidad and Tobago

About:
After the Dominican Republic strips the citizenship of residents of Haitian descent, a determined attorney fights to protect the rights of these now stateless people.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
The stunning island of Hispaniola is shared by the Dominican Republic and Haiti, countries with a complicated history and tense relations. In 2013, the DR’s Supreme Court retroactively stripped the citizenship of residents of Haitian descent, leaving more than 200,000 people stateless, subject to immediate deportation, and devastating loss. In the midst of staggering intolerance, attorney Rosa Iris fights to protect the rights of these disenfranchised people while leading a grassroots campaign for a better future. 

Coming to theatres today, Friday, July 16:
NO ORDINARY MAN

Director:
Aisling Chin-Yee, Chase Joynt

World Premiere:
Toronto 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, AFI Fest, Inside Out, Calgary, Translations, Vancouver, RIDM, Atlantic, NewFest, Sofia, Sydney Mardi Gras, BFI Flare, Salem, Cleveland

About:
The legacy of musician Billy Tipton is brought to life by a diverse group of contemporary trans artists.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
For decades, the life of American jazz musician Billy Tipton was framed as the sensationalistic story of an ambitious woman passing as a man in pursuit of a music career. Now that history gets re-interrogated by trans artists as they try to reimagine Tipton’s life through acts of performance, reclaiming him as a trans icon. Filmmakers Aisling Chin-Yee and Chase Joynt join Tipton’s adopted son to reckon with Tipton’s complicated and contested legacy.

Coming to theatres and virtual cinemas tomorrow, Friday, July 16:
CAN YOU BRING IT: BILL T JONES AND D-MAN IN THE WATERS

Director:
Rosalynde LeBlanc, Tom Hurwitz

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020

Select Festivals:
Frameline, Vancouver, Milwaukee, SF Dance, Outshine Miami

About:
The story behind Bill T Jones and Arnie Zane’s titular performance piece on the devastation of AIDS.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Beginning in 1980s New York City, this film chronicles the love story between dancers Bill T Jones and Arnie Zane, the diverse dance company they founded, and the painful devastation of AIDS on the arts community, as told through the company’s signature performance piece D-Man in the Waters. Following a millennial dance troupe’s efforts to re-interpret the piece for their generation, directors Rosalynde LeBlanc and Tom Hurwitz offer an engrossing examination of dance, love, and loss—and the power of art to move through pain. 

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, July 16:
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 VOD this Friday, July 16:
THE LONELIEST WHALE: THE SEARCH FOR 52

Director:
Joshua Zeman

World Premiere:
Nantucket 2021

Select Festivals:
Boulder

About:
In this fascinating story about isolation and interconnection, the filmmaker and a team of intrepid scientists set out on a wild quest to find the 52 Hertz Whale, which has spent its entire life calling out at a frequency that is different from any other whale.

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, July 12:
LANDFALL

Director:
Cecilia Aldarondo

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, BlackStar, IDFA, Florida, Boston Latino, Milwaukee, Cleveland, Philadelphia Latino, Guanajuato, Camden

About:
A poetic look at Puerto Rico as the island faces new challenges in the aftermath of Hurricane María.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
An intimate and lyrical portrait of trauma, resilience, and resistance in Puerto Rico at a time when economic, political, and ecological forces post-Hurricane María have created a breeding ground for new predatory colonial practices. Told through the experiences of a close-knit community of hopeful and politicized people and through the encounters with cryptocurrency traders, luxury real estate developers, and newcomers flooding the island, Cecilia Aldarondo’s film raises vital questions about identity, survival, and recolonization.