Coming to select theatres tomorrow, Friday, July 31:
BOYS STATE
Directors:
Jesse Moss and Amanda McBaine
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
SXSW, New Directors/New Films, AFI Docs, Nantucket, Full Frame, San Francisco
About:
A group of high school boys create a mock government at an annual civics program hosted by the American Legion in Austin.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
New to DVD this week:
PAT STEIR: ARTIST
Director:
Veronica Gonzalez Peña
World Premiere:
New York Jewish 2019
About:
A portrait of conceptual abstract painter Pat Steir.
Pat Steir emerged as a painter in the 1970s as part of a wave of pioneering feminist artists, but committed to her own abstract and conceptual work rather than using overt political imagery. In this free-flowing portrait, now in her 70s, she reflects on her career, art, process, and, mostly, other notable artists who were part of her circle. While Steir showcases her technique of conceptual abstraction – mostly consisting of her dumping buckets of paint at the tops of canvasses and letting gravity dictate what happens – the artist spends a lot of time discussing collaborators John Cage, Sol LeWitt, and Agnes Martin, sometimes drawing linkages to her own practice, but often just reminiscing and offering her perspective on their work and methods. Supplementing present day footage, filmmaker Veronica Gonzalez Peña intermittently turns to a past interview in which Steir reflects on her decision to become an artist, discusses feminism, and notes how gender informed her work and her placement within the art world. As a whole, the project feels a bit repetitive and gives short shrift to Steir’s own work and artistic process, trading what could have been a more comprehensive approach for a familiar but less enlightening one.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to DVD today and VOD last week:
EL MAR LA MAR
Directors:
Joshua Bonnetta and JP Sniadecki
Premiere:
Berlin 2017
Select Festivals:
New York, London, IDFA, Indielisboa, Dokfest Munich, Docaviv, Docs Against Gravity, AFI Docs, Camden, Chicago, Vienna, AFI Fest, San Francisco, Hong Kong
About:
An immersive exploration of life and death in a desert along the US/Mexico border.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 28:
THE MAN WHO TRIED TO FEED THE WORLD
Director:
Rob Rapley
World Premiere:
American Experience broadcast (April 2020)
About:
An exploration of the work of the father of the Green Revolution, who worked to end global hunger.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 28:
VIRAL: ANTISEMITISM IN FOUR MUTATIONS
Director:
Andrew Goldberg
World Premiere:
Theatrical release (February 2020)
About:
An investigation of the growth of antisemitism around the world.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, July 28:
MADE IN BOISE
Director:
Beth Aala
World Premiere:
AFI Docs 2019
Select Festivals:
Margaret Mead, GlobeDocs, Hot Springs Doc, Woodstock
About:
An exploration of how and why Boise ID has become the center of America’s surrogacy industry.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, July 27:
ADVOCATE
Directors:
Rachel Leah Jones and Philippe Bellaïche
World Premiere:
Sundance 2019
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Docaviv, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Thessaloniki Doc, Krakow, Human Rights Watch, Doc Edge, Philadelphia, Other Israel, United Nations Association, Antenna, UK Jewish, San Francisco Jewish
Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
About:
An exploration of the Israeli justice system through a passionate Israeli attorney working for Palestinian defendants.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to virtual theatrical today, Friday, July 24:
HELMUT NEWTON: THE BAD AND THE BEAUTIFUL
Director:
Gero von Boehm
World Premiere:
Tribeca 2020 (cancelled)
About:
A portrait of the often controversial fashion photographer.
The work of German photographer Helmut Newton is synonymous with transgression, eroticism, and, for some, a disturbing misogyny. Working for Vogue and other influential fashion magazines beginning in the late 1950s, but truly emerging as an iconic image maker in the ’70s and ’80s, Newton focused on the female body, often nude, more than fashion. Influenced by the imagery of Leni Riefenstahl and his time as an apprentice to the underappreciated but pioneering Weimar era photographer Madame Yva, Newton eroticized and fetishized the body, both celebrating it and holding it at a distance, something to be desired, but also, perhaps, to be feared. Filmmaker Gero von Boehm followed the photographer prior to his accidental death in 2004, while also speaking to several of his muses – beyond his wife and business manager, June, models like Grace Jones, Charlotte Rampling, Isabella Rossellini, Claudia Schiffer, Hanna Schygulla, and Marianne Faithfull. Their affectionate for Newton – a self-described “naughty boy” – and admiration for his professionalism seem to disavow the charges of objectification and the darker undercurrents of his work, but the film would have benefitted from delving deeper into the criticism. Still, von Boehm’s portrait conveys his subject’s charisma and serves as a fitting showcase for Newton’s striking imagery.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Photographer: Dove Clark
Directors:
Lisa Cortés and Farah X
World Premiere:
Tribeca 2019
Select Festivals:
Urbanworld, New Orleans, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Napa Valley, St Louis, Sound Unseen, Woodstock, Bahamas, Sidewalk, Harlem DocFest, Boston Women’s, Doc’n Roll
About:
An exploration of the intersection of fashion and hip hop in the late 1980s and ’90s.
It’s undeniable that hip hop has been wildly influential as a cultural force since its origins in the 1980s. Filmmakers Lisa Cortés and Farah X focus on one specific aspect of its reach – the world of fashion. With the growth of hip hop music also came the development of a wide range of looks and styles, eventually leading to lucrative brands. This entertaining doc reveals some of the individuals behind the fashion, perhaps well known from within the hip hop scene, but not necessarily given the credit or wider acclaim they were rightly due before their creativity was co-opted and appropriated by corporations. Figures like Misa Hylton, April Walker, Kerby Jean-Raymond, and Dapper Dan – pivotal in establishing the iconic imagery of hip hop culture – come out from behind the scenes to claim the spotlight and reveal the sometimes contentious history of their visionary looks.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to VOD this week:
OUR BODIES OUR DOCTORS
Director:
Jan Haaken
World Premiere:
Portland 2019
Select Festivals:
Seattle, San Francisco DocFest, St Louis, AmDocs, Oxford
About:
A profile of several physicians who provide abortions.
With reproductive rights – chief among them, access to abortion – under attack across the United States, women seeking to make decisions about their own bodies face an increasingly difficult struggle. As filmmaker Jan Haaken’s somewhat clinical but informative doc demonstrates, however, they have allies in the form of abortion providers who are dedicated to supporting compassionate care. Believing that demystification can lead to destigmatization, Haaken offers clear and direct access to procedures, while still being respectful to the women involved. Her subjects speak frankly about the challenges of their profession, from intimidation to hurdles caused by hospital mergers with religious organizations to outright violence, but they show fortitude in their commitment to their patients. While the film’s survey approach robs it of the emotional resonance seen in other films on the same subject, it still serves as a worthwhile exploration of this critical but contested aspect of health care.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 