Category Archives: Releases

September 23, 2020 · 1:31 PM

On VOD: WHO’S NEXT?

Coming to OVID.tv today, Wednesday, September 23:
WHO’S NEXT?

Director:
Nancy Cooperstein Charney

World Premiere:
JCC Manhattan (October 2019)

About:
A series of interviews with various Muslim families in NYC.

Cognizant of the complicity of staying silent in the face of the persecution of others, filmmaker Nancy Cooperstein Charney aims to reveal the impact of Islamophobia and fear-mongering in America after 9/11 and during Trump’s campaign. She profiles families of various backgrounds – Palestinian, Bangladeshi, and Pakistani – who face frequent problems due to their Muslim faith, from disruptive searches or questioning while traveling, the refusal of visas for family members, criticism for wearing the hijab, sudden deportation orders, and bullying in schools. It’s no surprise that some of the subjects grow increasingly angry and pessimistic about life in America as a Muslim. While a well-meaning project, it unfortunately suffers from extremely simplistic, basic filmmaking that limits its overall impact and effectiveness.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

September 23, 2020 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: THE PROVIDERS

Coming to OVID.tv today, Wednesday, September 23:
THE PROVIDERS

Directors:
Anna Moot-Levin and Laura Green

Premiere:
Full Frame 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, AFI Docs, SF DocFest, DOClahoma, DocUtah, GlobeDocs, United Nations Association, Virginia, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Big Sky Doc, Sebastopol Doc, Cleveland,

About:
A portrait of healthcare workers who serve a rural community facing serious challenges.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

September 22, 2020 · 1:31 PM

In Virtual Release: OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE

OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE

Coming to virtual cinemas tomorrow, Wednesday, September 23:
OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE

Director:
Ric Burns

World Premiere:
Telluride 2019

Select Festivals:
New York, Hamptons, AFI Fest, Palm Springs, Glasgow, Full Frame, Big Sky Doc, Virginia, ReelAbilities, Atlanta Jewish

About:
Facing a terminal diagnosis, the famed British neurologist and popular science author reflects on his life and work.

Filmed in the months following his February 2015 terminal cancer diagnosis, Ric Burns’ portrait of Oliver Sacks functions at once as a biography, tribute, and elegy. Best known for his 1973 book AWAKENINGS, particularly after its 1990 movie adaptation, the eccentric Sacks attracted a following for his accessible case studies of people with neurological conditions. As he looks back on his life and career in his final months, Sacks opens up about his conflicted feelings around his homosexuality, escape through sometimes uncontrolled drug use, and rebellious embrace of both motorcycle culture and bodybuilding in the earliest years of his medical practice. A long-time outsider, it’s also notable that for decades, his professional peers were dismissive of his writing and observations about other misfits – though they eventually changed their tune. While showing vulnerability and a sense of acceptance of his fate, Sacks nevertheless displays a vibrancy as he speaks with friends and loved ones, transforming his retrospection into a celebration of a life.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

September 22, 2020 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: THE GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF HOWARD BLOOM

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 22:
THE GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF HOWARD BLOOM

Director:
Charlie Hoxie

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019

Select Festivals:
Santa Barbara, Design Science

About:
A portrait of a music publicist turned eccentric scientific philosopher.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

September 21, 2020 · 1:31 PM

On VOD: STUNTWOMEN: THE UNTOLD HOLLYWOOD STORY

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 22:
STUNTWOMEN: THE UNTOLD HOLLYWOOD STORY

Director:
April Wright

World Premiere:
Bentonville 2019

Select Festivals:
Artemis, San Antonio

About:
An exploration of the lives and careers of Hollywood stuntwomen.

Based on the eponymously titled 2015 book by Mollie Gregory, filmmaker April Wright’s documentary looks at the women behind some of film and television’s most dangerous scenes. The idea of exploring the work of stuntwomen is an intriguing one – while the topic was covered in Amanda Micheli’s compelling 2003 doc DOUBLE DARE, much time has passed, and Wright’s benefits from a present-day cultural moment of reckoning with issues of sexism that have definitely not escaped the field of stunt work. Unfortunately, the film’s explicit survey approach, eliciting a string of anecdotes from a number of stuntwomen about their experiences, combined with old-fashioned, heavily narrated storytelling, and a shaky structure, results in a surprisingly underwhelming project.