Coming to “virtual theatrical,” partially benefitting Film Forum, tomorrow, Friday, April 17:
THE BOOKSELLERS
Director:
DW Young
World Premiere:
New York Film Festival 2019
Select Festivals:
St Louis, Miami Jewish, RiverRun, Sebastopol Doc, Victoria
About:
An affectionate portrait of NYC’s community of rare book dealers and collectors.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD and VOD this week:
PIGEON KINGS
Director:
Milena Pastreich
World Premiere:
Seattle 2019
Select Festivals:
Pan African, RiverRun, Ashland, SF IndieFest,
About:
A portrait of men who engage in the sport of competitive pigeon flying in South Central LA.
The Birmingham Roller, named for its origins in England, is a breed of domesticated pigeon that is known for its unusual tendency to perform somersaults in the air, leading to its breeding for show competitions. Director Milena Pastreich explores one such community of competitive pigeon flyers that has developed over several decades among African American and Latino men in South Central LA. Her focus is veteran breeder Keith, who serves as a mentor to the younger Choo Choo, an eager birdman who has nevertheless struggled in the sport. As they prepare for the world cup competition, the doc reveals how their passion for their birds has impacted their lives. Pastreich could have delved into the specifics of the sport’s unclear scoring and mechanics more, given how much footage of somersaulting birds she includes, but her scrappy film ultimately benefits from the endearing personalities on display.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to “virtual theatrical,” partially benefitting Film Forum and other cinemas, this Friday, April 17:
WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL
Director:
Rob Garver
World Premiere:
Telluride 2018
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Berlin, Edinburgh, Karlovy Vary, Thessaloniki Doc, Miami, Cleveland, Montclair, Seattle, Docs Against Gravity, Transilvania, New Zealand, Vancouver, Mumbai, Rio, Docaviv
About:
A portrait of controversial and influential film critic Pauline Kael.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD this week:
HEIMAT IS A SPACE IN TIME
Director:
Thomas Heise
World Premiere:
Berlin 2019
Select Festivals:
Toronto, IDFA, New York, Visions du Réel, RIDM, Jeonju, Torino
About:
An essay film exploring German history through three generations of the filmmaker’s family.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 14:
DISTANT CONSTELLATION
Director:
Shevaun Mizrahi
Premiere:
Locarno 2017
Select Festivals:
IDFA, True/False, Docpoint, DOK.fest Munich, RIDM, Jeonju, DOXA, EDOC, Beldocs, Docaviv, Goteborg, One World, London, Reykjavik, Vienna, Sarasota, BAMcinemaFest, Melbourne, Dokufest, Message to Man, Flahertiana, DocsMX
About:
A meditative film set in a Turkish retirement home.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 14:
TALKING ABOUT ADULTERY
Director:
Bara Jichova Tyson
World Premiere:
Sheffield 2019
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Jihlava, Kerala
About:
An intimate exploration of marriage, sex, and infidelity.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Husbands, wives, mistresses, and others vividly recount confessional stories about sex, love, friendship, and yearning in this provocative film exploring infidelity. As the camera lingers over familiar domestic spaces, it reveals landscapes of intimacy, desire, and monotony. Artist/filmmaker Bara Jichova Tyson adds intriguing personal layers through poignant live collage-making and the story of an affair unfolding through the course of making the film, providing a window into the inner tensions of modern marriage.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, April 14:
REFUGEE
Director:
Alexander J Farrell
World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018
Select Festivals:
Windsor
About:
A Syrian refugee seeks to be reunited with her family.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Raf’aa flees Syria in the midst of the war, leaving behind her husband, Nazem, and their two sons in order to seek asylum in Europe. The family plans to follow her to Germany, but by the time Nazem and the boys make it to Greece, they find the borders closed. Confined to the stark conditions of a refugee camp while Raf’aa copes with the trauma she experience on her own journey, will Nazem be able to safely reunite his family?
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14:
THE DEFINITION OF INSANITY
Director:
Gabriel London
World Premiere:
Miami 2020
About:
An inside look at a Miami program which attempts to help people with mental illness stay out of the prison system.
Due to a unfortunate confluence of factors, over the past sixty years, the criminal justice system also has become the dumping ground for those with mental health care issues. Provided inadequate treatment and instead treated like criminals, they continue to suffer and have higher rates of recidivism, with negative consequences not only for the sufferer, but for their families, community, and the economy. Gabriel London’s informational documentary focuses on an alternative to this punitive system, the Miami-Dade Criminal Mental Health Project (CMHP). Developed by judge Steve Leifman after he realized that the Miami-Dade jail system had become the largest psychiatric care facility in Florida – for those mental health sufferers who were not instead killed by law enforcement – the CMHP works to divert the mentally ill out of the courts and jails and into coordinated community treatment programs. The program has been so successful that other communities around the country have started to implement the Miami model. London’s film – unfortunately hampered by intrusive expository narration – profiles the worthwhile work of the CMHP, following current clients as well as a peer counselor, to show the ups and downs of the program.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to VOD this month:
WE BELIEVE IN DINOSAURS
Directors:
Clayton Brown and Monica Long Ross
World Premiere:
San Francisco 2019
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, AFI Docs, St Louis, Hot Springs Doc, Woods Hole, Sidewalk, Southern Circuit, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Virginia
About:
An exploration of the influence of American creationism through Kentucky’s contentious Ark Encounter museum.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, April 14:
CHICHINETTE: THE ACCIDENTAL SPY
Director:
Nicola Hens
World Premiere:
Haifa 2019
Select Festivals:
Hof, UK Jewish, Kasseler Dokfest
About:
A nonagenarian French Jewish woman reveals her unlikely WWII espionage activities.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 