New to DVD this week:
NO SMALL MATTER
Directors:
Danny Alpert, Greg Jacobs, and Jon Siskel
World Premiere:
Community screenings (Summer 2018)
About:
An exploration of the vital importance of early childhood education.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Image: Sicily Publicity
Director:
Liam Firmager
World Premiere:
Melbourne 2019
Select Festivals:
Hof, In-Edit Barcelona, In-Edit Madrid, Cleveland, Sonoma
About:
A portrait of the pioneering female rocker, Suzi Quatro.
Suzi Quatro began her career in the early 1970s, a time when there were few women in rock and roll, and went on to sell more than 50 million records around the world, inspiring scores of female rockers in her wake, from Joan Jett and Deborah Harry to the Go-Gos and L7. Yet she never quite made it to headliner status in the US, where she is instead remembered by some as the character Leather Tuscadero on HAPPY DAYS. Filmmaker Liam Firmager aims to correct this, laying out Quatro’s trailblazing story, showcasing her music, and letting rock royalty like Jett, Harry, Alice Cooper, and others pay the still recording artist her proper due. While the film could have done away with some cheesy graphics, and might have benefitted from a tighter edit, it succeeds in making the case for the vibrant Quatro and will no doubt make some viewers seek out more of her music.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, June 30:
LOS REYES
Directors:
Bettina Perut and Iván Osnovikoff
World Premiere:
IDFA 2018
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Film Comment Selects, DocPoint, Göteborg, Montclair, Biografilm, Miami, Portland
About:
A portrait of two stray dogs living in a Chilean skatepark.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 30:
THE GHOST OF PETER SELLERS
Director:
Peter Medak
World Premiere:
Venice 2018
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Telluride, Raindance, Oldenburg, Gent, Sao Paulo
About:
A revisitation of the director’s experience making an ill-fated 1970s Peter Sellers comedy.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed today, Tuesday, June 30:
VISION PORTRAITS
Director:
Rodney Evans
World Premiere:
SXSW 2019
Select Festivals:
BAMcinemaFest, Sydney, Melbourne, BlackStar, American Black, Outfest, Frameline, Inside Out, LGBT fests in Vancouver, Seattle, Boston, and London
About:
A personal film exploring the lives and work of visually-impaired artists.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to VOD last week:
NARROWSBURG
Director:
Martha Shane
World Premiere:
Camden 2019
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Eddy, SF DocFest, Calgary Underground, Salem
About:
An exploration of a small town promised Hollywood dreams.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In 1999, small town Narrowsburg NY was poised to become the “Sundance of the East” – or so Jocelyne and Richard Castellano would have local residents believe. The organizers of the Narrowsburg Film Festival – a glamorous French film producer and her mafioso-turned-actor husband – promise to revitalize the town through film. As the duo secures local investment in a feature film production and convinces locals they can become stars, the stage is set for a stranger-than-fiction tale of Hollywood dreams, deceit, and delusions.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to HBO tomorrow, Tuesday, June 30:
WELCOME TO CHECHNYA
Director:
David France
World Premiere:
Sundance 2020
Select Festivals:
Berlin, True/False, One World, Miami, CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Thessaloniki Doc, Sheffield, Human Rights Watch
About:
An exposé of Chechnya’s state-sanctioned policy to rid Chechnya of LGBTQ+ individuals.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to POV tonight Monday, June 29, and tomorrow, Tuesday, June 30:
AND SHE COULD BE NEXT
Directors:
Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia
World Premiere:
AFI Docs 2020
About:
A behind-the-scenes look at the campaigns of six women of color political candidates in 2018.
The most recent midterm election season saw an unprecedented number of women of color seeking political office. Some faced political opposition from the other side, while others fought to claim a place at the table, competing against entrenchment in their own party. Over the course of two episodes, filmmakers Grace Lee and Marjan Safinia weave together the stories of six of these progressive candidates as they seek to enact change and bring true inclusion into the political process. Ranging from the high-profile campaigns of Stacey Abrams in Georgia to become the first black female governor and Rashida Tlaib’s run for the House of Representatives, representing Michigan, to more local level races such as Bushra Amiwala’s attempt to win a seat on a County Board of Commissioners in Chicago, the series chronicles the on-the-ground organizing needed to realize meaningful change. Beyond seeking office, these candidates empower historically disenfranchised and under-represented communities of race and/or faith – Black, Latinx, Asian, Middle Eastern, South Asian, Muslim – to become involved in the political process, register to vote, and claim their own voices. On the flip side, despite the optimism on display, this engaging doc also makes clear the resistance that exists to realizing an inclusive, representative democracy in the US, highlighting insidious racism, sexism, and xenophobia, as well as the concerted rise of reactionary voting restriction efforts.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to The WORLD Channel’s Doc World this Sunday, June 28:
UNSETTLED: SEEKING REFUGE IN AMERICA
Director:
Tom Shepard
World Premiere:
San Francisco 2019
Select Festivals:
GlobeDocs, Bent, UN Association, St Louis, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Cleveland, Mountainfilm, Outfest, Frameline, NewFest, LGBT fests in Tel Aviv, Salt Lake City, Chicago, Palm Springs, Stockholm, Atlanta, Memphis, Seattle, Madrid, London, and Sydney
About:
A profile of LGBT refugees seeking asylum in the US.
In their native countries of Angola, Syria, and Congo, Cheyenne, Mari, Subhi, and Junior faced death threats and violence, simply for being lesbian or gay. Seeking asylum in the US, they have each ended up in the San Francisco Bay Area, long a safe haven for the LGBT community, but their struggles continue, particularly as a new, anti-immigration presidential administration takes over. Cheyenne and Mari, possessing only temporary visas, are unable to work legally, and the odds are against their asylum petition; Junior, though possessing refugee status, faces unstable housing, unrealistic relationships, and an alcohol problem; while Subhi’s fortunes are surprisingly positive, for the most part. While each of their stories could have been explored more deeply, filmmaker Tom Shepard builds empathy for his subjects and succeeds in drawing attention to the plight of sexual minorities in nations with restrictive laws.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, June 26:
NO SMALL MATTER
Directors:
Danny Alpert, Greg Jacobs, and Jon Siskel
World Premiere:
Community screenings (Summer 2018)
About:
An exploration of the vital importance of early childhood education.
Although studies have clearly shown that the first five years of a child’s life are critical for its brain development, our society still struggles to prioritize and make possible quality early education. Teachers and childcare professionals are paid substandard salaries, parents are not afforded sufficient maternity or paternity leave, and the cost of childcare puts it out of reach of lower- and middle-class families. Children who are given fewer educational opportunities as a result go on to underperform, failing in a failed system, and perpetuating class divisions and unfair stereotypes. Filmmakers Danny Alpert, Greg Jacobs, and Jon Siskel attempt to explore the challenges facing American parents as they try to make the best of it, while pointing to the consequences that could be avoided if our society better invested in early care and education for all. Unfortunately, the film takes on far too much, and takes a didactic approach that it tries, unsuccessfully, to soften with frankly cheesy elements, like several unnecessary would-be comedic bits that fall flat. At its best when profiling parents or teachers, the project works primarily as an educational call to action than as a well-crafted documentary.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 