Category Archives: Releases

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, June 22:
PIPE DREAMS

Director:
Stacey Tenenbaum

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2019

Select Festivals:
Austin, Sound Unseen

About:
Young pipe organists vie for the top prize in a major competition.

Taking place in Montreal every three years, the Canadian International Organ Competition draws the best pipe organists to compete for prizes and acclaim in this particular part of the music world. Filmmaker Stacey Tenenbaum focuses on the 2017 edition, profiling several young musicians as they prepare for and compete in Montreal. In adapting her feature project for a broadcast hour slot, Tenenbaum cut one of her original five subjects, but she likely should have gone even further. Of the remaining organists, Yuan Shen and Alcee Chriss III are the most compelling, with more developed storylines and interesting backgrounds than the other two virtuosi, Nick Cappozoli or Sebastian Heindl. Excising one of the latter would have helped reduce the sometimes choppy feel of the film, which, while breaking no new ground in the competition doc sub-genre, is notably and appropriately cinematic on both a visual and audio level.

Coming to virtual theatrical today, Friday, June 19:
RUNNER

Director:
Bill Gallagher

World Premiere:
DocLands 2019

Select Festivals:
Margaret Mead, Big Sky Doc, Woods Hole, Heartland, Hot Springs Doc, Lone Star

About:
A profile in perseverance, following a Sudanese refugee with an Olympic dream.

As a teenager, Guor Mading Maker (formerly Marial) managed to escape the civil war in Sudan, which eventually claimed the lives of most of his siblings, becoming a refugee in the US. When he settled in Concord NH, he was encouraged to join his high school’s track team, and continued to run in college, ultimately qualifying for the 2012 Olympics. Unable to run for the still nascent South Sudan, and unwilling to betray his people by competing under the Sudanese flag, he instead was able to compete under the Olympic flag. When he returned to the Olympics four years later, he proudly represented South Sudan. Director Bill Gallagher benefits from an immensely likeable protagonist, but his film unfortunately suffers from structural issues that often undercut any surprise or drama. Still, Maker’s story is inspiring, and it has won over audiences at festivals over the past year.

Coming to virtual theatrical today, Friday, June 19:
PICTURE OF HIS LIFE

Directors:
Yonatan Nir and Dani Menkin

World Premiere:
Docaviv 2019

Select Festivals:
Doc Edge, Gold Coast, Jewish and Israeli fests in San Francisco, New York, Boston, Virginia, Atlanta, Philadelphia, Austin, Los Angeles, and Chicago

About:
A portrait of a famed underwater photographer’s elusive quest.

Amos Nachoum is an internationally acclaimed wildlife photographer, particularly known for his stunning underwater work. One specific shot has long eluded him, however: capturing an image of a polar bear while swimming alongside it. Filmmakers Yonatan Nir and Dani Menkin follow the 65-year-old Nachoum as he takes a trek to the Canadian Arctic to try to finally realize his dream. The film notes the real dangers of his mission, while also filling in the Israeli photographer’s background, which includes a difficult relationship with his ailing father and lasting trauma from the Yom Kippur War. Nachoum is a relatively quiet protagonist, so this biographical information is useful, if not always as compelling or connected to the polar bear quest as it seems the filmmakers believe it to be. While the stakes never feel quite as large as they are portrayed here, the Arctic expedition is beautifully lensed and achieves a satisfying conclusion.