Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 2:
ZAPPA

Director:
Alex Winter

World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Camden, Montclair, Philadelphia

About:
The definitive portrait of musician Frank Zappa.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD today, Friday, February 26:
‘TIL KINGDOM COME

Director:
Maya Zinshtein

World Premiere:
Docaviv 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Chicago, Denver, Double Exposure

About:
An investigation of unlikely political bedfellows between America and Israel.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In this provocative look at strange political bedfellows, Israeli filmmaker Maya Zinshtein investigates the political alliance between American evangelicals and Israel’s right wing, and their influence on the Trump administration’s foreign policy. Why do American church leaders encourage parishioners to make donations to Israel, even from poor communities? Because they believe Israel’s expansion will play a key role in end-times prophecy, when Christians will be saved and others—including Jews—will perish.

Coming to virtual cinemas today, Wednesday, February 24:
MY DARLING SUPERMARKET

Director:
Tali Yankelevich

World Premiere:
IDFA 2019

Select Festivals:
Thessaloniki Doc, Visions du Reel, Guadalajara, Doc Fortnight, DOXA, Big Sky Doc

About:
Profiles of the workers in a São Paulo supermarket.

Gliding through the aisles of Supermercado Veran, filmmaker Tali Yankelevich’s camera shows off a perfectly organized, well-stocked grocery store, her careful compositions making an almost hyper-real artscape out of the mundane space. But real people work here, and while shoppers might give them – or their counterparts in markets around the world – little thought, Yankelevich turns her attention to them in a series of playful and sometimes surprising observations and interviews. Amidst commentary about their jobs or relationships with co-workers, they’re more apt to discuss their extra-curricular interests and activities, from playing video games and cosplay to Orwell and quantum physics. The result is an unexpectedly charming glimpse at the interior lives of workers and how they view their time at work.

Available free to stream in the US via Vice’s Short List:
TWO GODS

Director:
Zeshawn Ali

World Premiere:
Full Frame 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, BlackStar, Montclair, Hot Docs, Camden

About:
A Black Muslim casket maker mentors two boys.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In Newark, NJ, a mortician takes two troubled teenage boys under his tutelage. Teacher and students alike learn the meaning of tradition, hard work, and forgiveness through instruction in the ways of traditional Muslim burial. Shot in stark black and white, this beautiful look at a unique craft shows the importance of a bond forged through mentorship.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, February 22:
MR SOUL!

Director:
Melissa Haizlip

Co-Director:
Sam Pollard

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2018

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, True/False, AFI Docs, New Orleans, Rotterdam, Durban, BlackStar, Urbanworld, Pan African, Los Angeles, Chicago, Denver, London, Indie Memphis, Woodstock, Heartland

About:
A portrait of the pioneer behind SOUL!, the acclaimed African-American public television cultural variety show.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Available free to stream in the US via Vice’s Short List:
DOPE IS DEATH

Director:
Mia Donovan

World Premiere:
True/False 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Hot Docs, Denver

About:
The story of a pioneering acupuncture detoxification program led by the Black Panthers and the young Lords in 1970s South Bronx.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
With blight ravaging New York City in the 1970s, the Young Lords and Black Panthers fought for radical change in their communities. Through the leadership of Dr Mutulu Shakur—Tupac Shakur’s stepfather—these activists created the first acupuncture detoxification program in the United States. While the legacy of the program has long been maintained by the residents of the Bronx and Upper Manhattan, the individuals responsible for its creation have suffered from decades of state-sanctioned persecution.

Coming to virtual cinemas today, Friday, February 19:
17 BLOCKS

Director:
Davy Rothbart

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Karlovy Vary, Traverse City, AFI Docs, Zurich, Melbourne Doc, Milwaukee, Nashville, Woods Hole, Heartland, Hot Springs Doc, Antenna Doc, Woodstock

About:
A longitudinal portrait of an African American family in Washington DC.

I previously wrote about the doc here.