Coming to virtual cinemas via the Metrograph tomorrow, Friday, April 2:
MAŁNI – TOWARDS THE OCEAN, TOWARDS THE SHORE
Director:
Sky Hopinka
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
True/False, Dokufest, BlackStar, Milwaukee, RIDM, Vienna, ImagineNative, Art of the Real
About:
A poetic reflection on indigenous language, myths, and the spirit world.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, April 2:
NEVER TOO LATE: THE DOC SEVERINSEN STORY
Director:
Kevin S Bright, Jeff Consiglio
World Premiere:
Cleveland 2020 (unscreened)
Select Festivals:
Full Frame, Nashville, Milwaukee, Virginia, Guanajuato, Mill Valley, BendFilm, Tallgrass, Portland, Sound Unseen
About:
A portrait of the legendary TONIGHT SHOW bandleader.
Doc Severinsen entered the homes of American audiences nightly for three decades as the eccentrically-dressed bandleader of Johnny Carson’s TONIGHT SHOW. While the musician left the show upon the host’s retirement in 1992, he never stopped performing. Now, in his nineties, Severinsen maintains a grueling touring, performance, and teaching schedule, working out multiple times a week to maintain his health and strength. Filmmakers Kevin S Bright and Jeff Consiglio compose a loving tribute to the performer, exploring both his past and his present-day activities. While they address some heavier elements – notably the impact of Doc’s career on his personal life, including some infidelity – the filmmakers generally keep the proceedings fairly light and entertaining, resulting in a solid portrait with considerable nostalgic appeal.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to VOD this week:
SAMUEL IN THE CLOUDS
Director:
Pieter Van Eecke
World Premiere:
Mooov 2016
Select Festivals:
Docville, Docaviv, Nederlands, Docs Barcelona, Full Frame, Chicago, One World, Thessaloniki Doc, Washington DC Environmental, Beldocs, SF Green, Mountainfilm
About:
A portrait of Bolivia’s only ski lift operator as he contemplates his future after climate change causes the permanent closure of the ski resort.
Samuel operated Chacaltaya’s ski lift like his father did before him, before the latter’s death years ago. He still manages the ski lodge, hosting small groups of tourists and making them tea, though he does not get paid anymore. Instead of skiing, tourists take in the views. Samuel and his wife contemplate what the future holds if he can no longer do his job. Meanwhile a small group of climate scientists record data in their lab near the ski resort, noting the rate of glacier melting, and worry about the seemingly irreversible temperature shift which may likely lead to drought in the region. Filmmaker Pieter Van Eecke takes a strictly observational approach and benefits from the photogenic scenery, but, as a whole, constructs a quiet, low-energy film that feels longer than it actually is.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to PBS’s American Experience today, Tuesday, March 30:
THE BLINDING OF ISAAC WOODARD
Director:
Jamila Ephron
World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (March 2021)
About:
A violent instance of white supremacist police brutality serves as a spark to undo Jim Crow.
Sergeant Isaac Woodard served valiantly in WWII, but it was upon his return home that he would face grievous bodily harm that would cost him his eyesight. In 1946, after being honorably discharged from service and traveling home by bus to reunite with his wife, he was forcibly removed from the vehicle by police after an argument with the driver, beaten so severely with billy clubs that he suffered permanent damage to his vision, and arrested and fined for disturbing the peace. After the NAACP learned of the story, they enlisted the efforts of Orson Welles to create public awareness via his popular radio program, eventually succeeding against all odds to locate the perpetrator and to put him on trial. Though the trial ended in acquittal, Woodard’s story had unforeseen impact, awakening a moral mission in both US President Harry S Truman and federal Judge J Waties Waring that would see great strides in civil rights in the 1940s and ’50s, including, ultimately, the Supreme Court’s landmark Brown v the Board of Education decision. Though named after Woodard’s case, Jamila Ephron’s film is really about Jim Crow in a much wider sense, and efforts to return the focus to Woodard feel strained at times. Still, the textbook PBS project is informative and sadly all too timely, as recent efforts demonstrate the continued attempts parts of the country have taken to undermine civil rights, particularly voting rights.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 30:
VOICE OF FREEDOM
Director:
Rob Rapley
World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (February 2021)
About:
The story of singer Marian Anderson and the barriers placed upon her because of racism.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 30:
COWBOYS
Director:
Bud Force, John Langmore
World Premiere:
Austin 2019
Select Festivals:
Sun Valley, Thin Line, Lone Star
About:
A portrait of modern-day cowboys over a year.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, March 30:
THE PLACE THAT MAKES US
Director:
Karla Murthy
World Premiere:
Woods Hole 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Sky Doc, St Louis, River’s Edge
About:
Residents of a post-industrial town work to restore their community.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Youngstown, Ohio, once a booming steel and mining town, is now the epitome of post-industrial decline. Plunging population, derelict housing, and crime plague the city, but a new crop of industrious entrepreneurs and community activists refuse to accept defeat, nor will they abandon their beloved hometown. Together they rise up to restore homes, generate business, and ignite their community. Director Karla Murthy’s film is a powerful testament of their resiliency and ingenuity.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to HBO and to HBO Max tomorrow, Saturday, March 27:
TINA
Director:
Dan Lindsay, TJ Martin
World Premiere:
Berlin 2021
Select Festivals:
Glasgow
About:
On the life and career of iconic performer Tina Turner.
In 1981, Tina Turner first went public in the pages of People about the abuse she suffered at the hands of her partner, Ike Turner. In her view, she wanted to address the issue and then move on. Instead, the story in many ways grew to define her. She expanded on the tale in her 1986 autobiography – the basis for the Oscar-nominated WHAT’S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT – again, with the hopes that, with her story out there, she would not have to revisit it again. As before, however, its importance only became greater, in many ways opening up a public dialogue about domestic violence on the largest possible stage. At the same time, even as Turner had persevered against all obstacles to become one of the most successful music acts in the world, she was constantly asked about this traumatic period in her past. It’s unavoidable, then, that her history with Ike takes up a significant portion of Dan Lindsay and TJ Martin’s expert portrait of the artist. Notably, however, the filmmakers move beyond the sensationalist interest of press junket interviewers to dig deeper, explicitly acknowledging and exploring the power of the story and its impact, positive and negative, on Tina Turner herself. It’s an essential part of the larger transformation of the artist from the Ike and Tina Turner Revue to the queen of rock ‘n’ roll, fulfilling her dream to be the first Black female rockstar to play to sold-out stadiums. From her home in Zurich at the age of 79, Turner speaks with refreshing candor, having retired from public life and in a fulfilling marriage – a rare happy ending that serves as a healing counterpoint to the suffering she experienced earlier in her life.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to virtual cinemas today, Friday, March 26 and to Discovery+ this Sunday, March 28:
FRANCESCO
Director:
Evgeny Afineevsky
World Premiere:
Rome 2020
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Savannah, Mar del Plata
About:
Pope Francis explores the challenges of the modern world.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Oscar-nominated filmmaker Evgeny Afineevsky looks at the pressing challenges of the 21st century through the eyes of Pope Francis. Born in Argentina, Francis is the first leader of the Catholic Church to come from the Americas and the Jesuit order. His teachings bring a progressive take on issues like the climate crisis, immigration, LGBTQ support, economic equality, and religious tolerance. Afineevsky’s film showcases a voice of morality that serves as a powerful counterbalance to the rise of reactionary politics around the world.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, March 26:
TWYLA MOVES
Director:
Steven Cantor
World Premiere:
SXSW 2021
About:
A portrait of acclaimed choreographer and dancer Twyla Tharp.
With a career spanning nearly 60 years, Twyla Tharp has left an indelible mark on the world of dance. Filmmaker Steven Cantor provides a compelling retrospective of her pioneering work while, slightly less successfully, using a minor project created during the pandemic to demonstrate her process. The latter is a three-minute piece with four dancers, each in different time zones and in separate Zoom frames. While showcasing how Tharp resolves the imposed limitations of lockdown, and how she works with dancers, as a whole this thread feels too slight to serve as a backbone for the film. Far more engaging is the bulk of the film, tracing Tharp’s notable achievements, eclecticism and range, and championing of inclusion based on gender, race, and size. If she sometimes comes off as somewhat overly rehearsed when recounting her past, this too demonstrates the precision and exactness she displays in her wide-ranging work.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
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