STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET
Marilyn Agrelo revisits the origins of the pioneering children’s television powerhouse.
Festival Section:
Premieres
Category Archives: Recommendations
2021 Sundance Docs in Focus: STREET GANG: HOW WE GOT TO SESAME STREET
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On VOD: DEREK DELGAUDIO’S IN & OF ITSELF
Coming to Hulu today, Friday, January 22:
DEREK DELGAUDIO’S IN & OF ITSELF
Director:
Frank Oz
World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Montclair, Philadelphia
About:
The illusionist’s acclaimed one-man show.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
For more than 500 performances, Derek DelGaudio left New York City audiences moved and astonished by his one-man show combining the art of illusion and storytelling. Filmmaker Frank Oz turns DelGaudio’s intimate live performances into an unforgettable film about redemption and identity that builds with both emotion and wonder to a jaw-dropping final act. Now that live performance has been drastically curtailed by the pandemic, the chance to be immersed in this one-of-a-kind experience feels all the more precious.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
2021 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE SPARKS BROTHERS
THE SPARKS BROTHERS
Edgar Wright pays tribute to the influential but overlooked band Sparks.
Festival Section:
Premieres
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2021 Sundance Docs in Focus: PHILLY DA
PHILLY DA
Ted Passon, Yoni Brook, and Nicole Salazar follow an outspoken district attorney as he attempts to reform a broken criminal justice system, in this preview of the first two episodes of their new docuseries for Independent Lens.
Festival Section:
Premieres
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
In Select Theatres: THE HUMAN FACTOR
Coming to select theatres today, Friday, January 22:
THE HUMAN FACTOR
Director:
Dror Moreh
World Premiere:
Telluride 2019
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hamptons, Chicago, AFI Fest, Philadelphia, Cork, Jerusalem, Woodstock, Savannah
About:
A look back at peace negotiations between Israel and Palestine in 2000 through the memories of American diplomats.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Filmmaker Dror Moreh proved himself an expert navigator of powerful figures in his Oscar-nominated film The Gatekeepers, about the leaders of Israel’s Shin Bet security agency. Now he employs his talents to probe the American-led negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians in 2000. The main insiders on camera are six top American diplomats who testify to the human factor—the personal contact between the lead politicians Ehud Barak, Yasser Arafat and Bill Clinton—for a revelatory look at a lost opportunity.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
2021 Sundance Docs in Focus: MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY
MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY
Betsy West and Julie Cohen profile a long unheralded legal pioneer.
Festival Section:
Premieres
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On DVD/VOD: WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Coming to DVD and VOD today, Thursday, January 21:
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Director:
David France
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
Berlin, True/False, One World, Miami, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki Doc, Sheffield, Human Rights Watch
About:
An exposé of Chechnya’s state-sanctioned policy to rid Chechnya of LGBTQ+ individuals.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
2021 Sundance Docs in Focus: IN THE SAME BREATH
IN THE SAME BREATH
Nanfu Wang investigates the dual forces of propaganda and patriotism in the response to the coronavirus outbreaks in both China and the US.
Festival Section:
Premieres (Day One film)
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On DVD: THE DISRUPTED
New to DVD this week:
THE DISRUPTED
Director:
Sarah Colt
Co-Director:
Josh Gleason
World Premiere:
DOK.fest Munich 2020
Select Festivals:
Mountainfilm, Woods Hole
About:
A portrait of three working class individuals facing disruption and change in their economic situations.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On DVD: BORN TO BE
New to DVD this week:
BORN TO BE
Director:
Tania Cypriano
World Premiere:
New York Film Festival 2019
Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Hamptons, Palm Springs, Hong Kong, Melbourne, Sarasota, Cleveland, Nashville, Cinequest, Seattle Asian American
About:
A portrait of a physician who specializes in gender transition surgery and his patients at Mt Sinai.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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