Category Archives: Releases

New to DVD and VOD this week:
THE OYSTER FARMERS

Director:
Corinne Ruff

Premiere:
Lighthouse 2017

Select Festivals:
Princeton Environmental, Garden State, Asbury Park

About:
A look at efforts to restore oysters to NJ’s Barnegat Bay, once a thriving ecosystem.

Ruff’s earnest, if overly staid, film focuses on modern day aquaculture and its role in trying to build up the lost oysters of coastal NJ. It briefly presents the history of oysters in the region – once so plentiful they were sold from streetcarts like hot dogs until their decline began in the 1920s due to man made pollution and other factors – but primarily focuses on several baymen and baywomen, most of them the latest in a generational lineage in the industry, as well as aquaculture farmers who are sourcing oyster seeds to plant and grow over the course of several seasons. These subjects discuss how the bay has changed, robbed of the natural filtering property of the oysters, and how recent efforts are helping to make oysters more plentiful and sustainable again, leading the way for both environmental and economic regeneration.

New to DVD this week:
CONTAINMENT

Directors:
Peter Galison and Robb Moss

Premiere:
Full Frame 2015

Select Festivals:
Sheffield, Zurich, Vancouver, Denver, RiverRun, Tallgrass, GlobeDocs, Global Peace, Woods Hole, SF Green

About:
A sobering consideration of how humanity can safely contend with radioactive waste.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, March 15:
COMBAT OBSCURA

Director:
Miles Lagoze

Premiere:
True/False 2018

Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Jihlava, Dallas, FID Marseille, Virginia, DocuWest, Brisbane

About:
A candid, insider look at the lives of US Marines.

Miles Lagoze became a filmmaker as a Marine. Deployed to Afghanistan, he served as a combat photographer, shooting mission footage for recruitment and news coverage purposes. He kept his camera running beyond this practical concern, capturing with stark veracity the experiences of his fellow soldiers. Shaky handheld footage thrusts the viewer right in the midst of the chaos of combat on one hand, and the monotony of routine on the other. Composed of episodic verité rather than following any particular narrative development, the project might wear out its welcome for some viewers, but nevertheless offers a compelling, ground-level perspective on the futility of the seemingly endless war in Afghanistan.