Category Archives: Releases

January 7, 2019 · 2:12 PM

On TV: MY COUNTRY NO MORE

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, January 7:
MY COUNTRY NO MORE

Directors:
Rita Baghdadi and Jeremiah Hammerling

Premiere:
Big Sky Doc 2018

Select Festivals:
SF DocFest, Docutah, Chagrin Doc, AmDocs

About:
A North Dakota family and their community fight plans to develop an oil refinery in their backyard.

Fracking has become a largely accepted part of life and a boon to North Dakota’s economy since the discovery of a massive oil field in 2006, but it comes with consequences. Baghdadi and Hammerling examines the impact of the oil boom on the small community of Trenton, where local ranchers face the choice between giving up long-held family farms and land, or cashing in for the short-term financial benefits. At the core of the film is Kalie Rider and her family, who emerges as an unlikely leader in the fight to stop the construction of an oil processing plant, spearheaded by North Dakota Processing’s Mel Falcon, who has made headway in rezoning requests and in convincing others in the community to sell their land. While the film struggles at times to enliven what amounts to numerous scenes of public hearings and meetings, the conflict facing Trenton serves as a thoughtful microcosm for larger national questions around energy, economic growth, and land use.

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January 4, 2019 · 2:12 PM

In Theatres: THE VENERABLE W

Coming to theatres today, Friday, January 4:
THE VENERABLE W

Director:
Barbet Schroeder

Premiere:
Cannes 2017

Select Festivals:
Locarno, Telluride, New York, London, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Docslisboa, Jihlava, Docs Against Gravity, Jerusalem, Melbourne, New Zealand, Helsinki, Moscow, Vancouver, Rio, Mill Valley, Mar del Plata, Singapore

About:
A portrait of a Buddhist monk who has fomented Islamophobia in Burma.

The third in Schroeder’s so-called “Trilogy of Evil” – following 1974’s GENERAL IDI AMIN DADA: A SELF PORTRAIT and 2007’s TERROR’S ADVOCATE on attorney to terrorists Jacques Vergès – profiles Ashin Wirathu, a Buddhist monk long linked to anti-Muslim movements in Myanmar – so much so that Time referred to him as “The Face of Buddhist Terror” in a 2013 cover story. While claiming to be a peaceful preacher, he publicly denounces the nation’s Muslim population, the Rohingya, and spreads inflammatory messages about Islam and the need to purify the nation – rhetoric that has resulted in violence, as chillingly captured on cell phone and You Tube videos. Schroeder lays out the history of Rohingya persecution in Burma, but largely allows Wirathu to demonstrate his hateful beliefs via interviews and footage of public preaching. Save for the strange contrivance of utilizing a Western actress to serve as a whispery voice of Buddhism being drowned out by Wirathu’s opportunistic fear-mongering, the film’s construction is fairly straightforward – almost too staid – but succeeds in conveying another example of the disturbing rise of nationalist xenophobia and division in the world today.

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January 3, 2019 · 2:12 PM

In Theatres: COMMUNION

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, January 4:
COMMUNION

Director:
Anna Zamecka

Premiere:
Locarno 2016

Select Festivals:
IDFA, Warsaw, DOK Leipzig, Göteborg, True/False, Sarasota, Docaviv, Yamagata Doc

Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

About:
A Polish teenager is forced to assume adult responsibilities.

Zamecka’s striking debut draws the viewer into the lives of Ola, a 14-year-old girl and Nikodem, her younger brother, who has autism. Their mother abandoned the family to begin a new one with another man, while their father is an alcoholic, leaving Ola to take on the burden of running the household while also attempting to keep up with her studies. If that wasn’t enough, the overwhelmed teen finds herself leading Nikodem in the frustrating task of studying Scripture for his first communion. While there appears to be some element of hybridized filmmaking here, Zamecka doesn’t explicitly foreground any artifice, resulting instead in a compelling, humanistic observational portrait of a remarkably adaptive young girl whose childhood and innocence is slipping away far too quickly.

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January 1, 2019 · 2:12 PM

On DVD: DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, January 1:
DAUGHTERS OF THE SEXUAL REVOLUTION: THE UNTOLD STORY OF THE DALLAS COWBOYS CHEERLEADERS

Director:
Dana Adam Shapiro

Premiere:
SXSW 2018

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, USA, Tallgrass, Sarasota, Lighthouse

About:
An insider’s look at the legendary cheerleading squad.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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January 1, 2019 · 12:46 PM

In Theatres: GENESIS 2.0

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Wednesday, January 2:
GENESIS 2.0

Director:
Christian Frei

Co-Director:
Maxim Arbugaev

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
Locarno, IDFA, Zurich, Docs Against Gravity, Sarasota

About:
Siberian hunters and international scientists attempt to resurrect the woolly mammoth.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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December 31, 2018 · 2:12 PM

On DVD: EATING ANIMALS

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 1:
EATING ANIMALS

Director:
Christopher Quinn

Premiere:
Telluride 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, CPH:DOX, Docs Against Gravity

About:
An exploration of the impact of factory farming on our food production.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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December 31, 2018 · 12:46 PM

On TV & DVD: LOVE, GILDA

Coming to CNN and to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 1:
LOVE, GILDA

Director:
Lisa D’Apolito

Premiere:
Tribeca 2018

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Docs, Montclair, AFI Docs, San Francisco Jewish, Boston Jewish, Seattle, Sidewalk

About:
An intimate, personal portrait of the legendary Gilda Radner.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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December 27, 2018 · 12:01 PM

On DVD: BAD REPUTATION

Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, January 1:
BAD REPUTATION

Director:
Kevin Kerslake

Premiere:
Sundance 2018

Select Festivals:
BFI London, Cleveland, San Francisco, Montclair, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Outfest

About:
A portrait of the queen of rock ‘n’ roll, Joan Jett.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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December 26, 2018 · 12:01 PM

Special Screenings: Documentary Oscar Shortlist

Coming to 13 cities nationwide beginning next Monday, December 31 and running through Monday, January 21: Oscars® Spotlight: Documentary Feature Shortlist

This fantastic new initiative by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Future of Film Committee offers public audiences in the following cities the opportunity to see all 15 of the official Documentary Feature shortlisted titles in theatres: Austin, Boston, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Los Angeles, NYC, Phoenix, Raleigh, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Seattle, and Washington DC. This is particularly important for the handful of this year’s contenders that qualified by winning awards at international festivals rather than taking the traditional route of theatrical release.

My previous coverage of the shortlist may be found here.

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December 24, 2018 · 1:31 PM

2018 Top Ten

Earlier today, Indiewire posted the top ten lists of film and television from various film industry respondents, including mine. You may find my picks as well as the full list here.

As noted there, I’ve restricted my list to non-fiction as a counterbalance, since most of these sorts of year-end rankings tend to only begrudging include one or two documentaries and otherwise heap praise on fiction films. My picks are also limited to official releases in 2018.

Here are pointers to what I’ve written about my top ten feature and episodic nonfiction of 2018 on what (not) to doc previously. These are unranked and in alphabetical order, followed by a list of additional notable titles.

Top Ten: