Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to PBS’s American Masters today, Tuesday, December 29:
LAURA INGALLS WILDER: PRAIRIE TO PAGE

Director:
Mary McDonagh Murphy

World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (Dec 2020)

About:
An exploration of the life and writing of the popular children’s book author.

Best known for the LITTLE HOUSE series of books that ostensibly related her childhood on America’s frontier in the late 1800s, Laura Ingalls Wilder didn’t publish her first novel until she was 65 years old, encouraged by her daughter, a successful writer. Director Mary McDonagh Murphy delves into Wilder’s life, and that of her parents, immortalized – and idealized – on the small screen, separating fact from the author’s autobiographically inspired but decidedly simplified and, in many cases, fictionalized version. In addition, the film explores the pivotal and contentious collaboration Wilder had with her daughter, Rose, which was kept a secret, as well as the insensitive and sometimes racist depictions of indigenous and Black people in her writing that casts a pall over the nostalgic affection that many readers have for the books. The result is an engaging look at Wilder and how she not only mythologized her own life, but generations of readers’ conception of the American frontier.

Coming to Food Network this Sunday, December 27:
RESTAURANT HUSTLE 2020: ALL ON THE LINE

Director:
Guy Fieri and Frank Matson

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020

About:
Four celebrity chefs reckon with the impact of the pandemic on their restaurants.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC, saying:
Like many businesses, the restaurant industry has been hard hit by COVID-19. This timely film, directed and executive produced by Guy Fieri and Frank Matson, intimately chronicles the impact of the pandemic on the restaurants of four chefs familiar to viewers of Food Network: Antonia Lofaso, Marcus Samuelsson, Maneet Chauhan, and Christian Petroni. Unfolding as the COVID-19 outbreak sweeps across the US, the filmmakers follow these chefs as they face the reality of shutting down, laying off staff, and finding alternate ways to save their beloved restaurants and industry.

New to VOD this week:
AI WEIWEI: YOURS TRULY

Director:
Cheryl Haines

Co-Director:
Gina Leibrecht

World Premiere:
San Francisco 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Sky Doc, United Nations Association, BendFilm, Raindance, Virginia, Boulder, Sonoma

About:
A behind-the-scenes look at the dissident Chinese artist’s Alcatraz exhibition.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to VOD this week:
LEFTOVER WOMEN

Directors:
Shosh Shlam, Hilla Medalia

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019

Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Göteborg, New Zealand, Atlantic, Palm Springs, Sydney, Hot Docs, Human Rights Watch London

About:
An exploration of the challenges faced by unmarried women in China.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Disney+ today, Friday, December 18:
ON POINTE

Director:
Larissa Bills

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020

About:
A series capturing a season in New York City’s School of American Ballet.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Ballet lovers of all ages won’t want to miss this six-part Disney+ docuseries. Filmmaker Larissa Bills captures a season in New York City at the School of American Ballet, following students ages 8 to 18 as they try to realize their dreams of a career in dance. For many, that starts with performing in George Balanchine’s THE NUTCRACKER onstage at Lincoln Center. Filmed before the pandemic, the series is an emotional reminder of New York as a hub of young talent. 

Coming to virtual cinemas tomorrow, Friday, December 18:
NASRIN

Director:
Jeff Kaufman

World Premiere:
GlobeDocs 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Denver, Global Health, Human Rights Film Festival Berlin

About:
A portrait of human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Nasrin Sotoudeh never stood down from a tough battle as a human rights attorney in Iran. Fans of filmmaker Jafar Panahi will remember her appearance in his subversive film TAXI. In Jeff Kaufman’s film, she’s serving a prison sentence of 38 years for representing women who protested the country’s mandatory hijab law. This immersive portrait weaves extensive filming with Sotoudeh along with interviews with Panahi, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, and journalist Ann Curry. Even while she’s behind bars, Nasrin won’t let her voice be silenced.  

New to DVD/VOD this week:
WHITE RIOT

Director:
Rubika Shah

World Premiere:
London 2019

Select Festivals:
Berlin, CPH:DOX, Edinburgh, Indielisboa, Krakow, Belgrade, Glasgow

About:
An in-depth look back at 1970s UK protest movement Rock Against Racism.

In the mid-1970s, the UK saw the rise of the National Front, a fascist political party fueled by xenophobia and racism and embraced by disenfranchised young white people eager for an identity. But overt racism was not just in the wheelhouse of NF’s skinheads, as Conservative MP Enoch Powell had spent years speaking out against immigrants, attracting admirers such as Eric Clapton and Rod Stewart. In response, an agitprop theatre performer, Red Saunders, wrote an op-ed for Britain’s rock publications calling for musicians and their fans to take a stand against racism. Rubika Shah’s chronicle of Rock Against Racism’s activism is appropriately scrappy and energetic, borrowing its DIY aesthetic from the group’s zine-focused communications, and serves as a welcome reminder of the collective power of people to organize for positive change.