Category Archives: Recommendations

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.

Coming to HBO and HBO Max tomorrow, Wednesday, December 16:
THE ART OF POLITICAL MURDER

Director:
Paul Taylor

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
Double Exposure

About:
An investigation into the murder of Guatemalan human rights advocate Bishop Juan Gerardi.

During Guatemala’s long civil war, the indigenous Mayan population was subject to a campaign of genocide, and civilians suffered atrocities and murder. In the aftermath of the conflict, Roman Catholic Bishop Juan Gerardi, a longtime supporter of the Mayan people and an outspoken human rights activist, prepared a report on the role of the Guatemalan military in civilian deaths during the war. Two days after the report’s publication, Gerardi was found beaten to death at the Church of San Sebastián. Paul Taylor’s film explores his assassination, the role the government played in its attempted cover-up, and the quest for justice, not only for Gerardi, but for those he sought to defend. While the project would have benefited from providing more historical background for the uninitiated, and should have dispensed with its overly sensationalistic re-enactments, it still makes for compelling viewing.

Coming to ESPN and ESPN+ today, Tuesday, December 15:
THE INFINITE RACE

Director:
Bernardo Ruiz

World Premiere:
Full Frame 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DocsMX, DocLands, SF DocFest

About:
A Mexican ultramarathon serves as a backdrop for a consideration of indigenous cultural appropriation.

The cultural practice of the indigenous Rarámuri of Chihuahua – also known as the Tarahumara through Spanish pidginization – has long included endurance running. In 2003, an American athlete organized the first edition of the Ultra Maratón Caballo Blanco, a 50-mile ultramarathon, as a way to honor the Rarámuri, promote crosscultural understanding and running for health, and provide Rarámuri participants with food vouchers to help feed their families. The Rarámuri and the ultramarathon came to international prominence following the publication of Christopher McDougall’s book, BORN TO RUN, a bestseller that encouraged runners to travel to the host site of Urique. Bernardo Ruiz explores the history of the race, but digs beneath the surface to provide the perspectives not only of the organizers, but of several of the Rarámuri themselves, in the process expertly revealing the complex intersection of culture, economics, philanthropy, appropriation, and exploitation.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15:
WE ARE NOT PRINCESSES

Director:
Bridgette Auger, Itab Azzam

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
Vancouver, IFF Boston, SF DocFest, St Louis

About:
In a Lebanese refugee camp, Syrian women participate in a theater workshop.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
This refreshing film offers a unique peek into the private lives of women who have survived unspeakable sorrow, yet blossom through the healing power of art. During a theater workshop in a Lebanese refugee camp, four Syrian women discover they have a lot in common with the ancient Greek heroine, Antigone, and experience freedoms forbidden in their homeland. Told with humor and heart, Bridgette Auger and Itab Azzam’s film elicits intimacy and honesty from its unlikely group of thespians.