photo by Kahtan Hasson and Talal Derki
Director:
Talal Derki
Premiere:
IDFA 2017
Select Festivals:
Sundance, DOC NYC, Hot Docs, ZagrebDox, True/False, One World, Thessaloniki, CPH:DOX, Full Frame, Cleveland, DocumentaMadrid, Sydney, Munich, Melbourne, Camden, El Gouna, Hamptons, Sun Valley, Sarasota
About:
An in-depth look at a radical jihadist and his family in Syria.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres and to VOD this Friday, November 16:
THE LAST RACE
Director:
Michael Dweck
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Hamptons, Hot Springs Doc, Gold Coast, Florida, Denver, Virginia
About:
An exploration of a once-thriving but now vanishing subculture of stock car racing in Long Island.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to Logo TV tomorrow, Thursday, November 15:
TRANSMILITARY
Director:
Gabe Silverman
Co-Director:
Fiona Dawson
Premiere:
SXSW 2018
Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Florida, Minneapolis-St Paul, Frameline, Outfest
About:
Four transgender members of the US military work to end the ban on their service, only to see Trump try to reinstate it.
While lesbians, gay men, and bisexual members of the military saw the end of the discriminatory Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell law, the estimated 15,500 transgender servicemen and women were still barred from serving openly. Silverman and Dawson’s film introduces four brave soldiers who work behind the scenes to change this, beginning in 2015: Logan, FTM, has seen acceptance from his fellow soldiers and does not want to leave behind a career in the military; his partner, Laila, MTF, has not seen the same acceptance and seeks a medical discharge to live authentically as a woman; Jennifer, MTF, is a celebrated military intelligence officer, fearful of losing everything and not being able to support her wife and kids; and El, FTM, is not out to anyone in his current deployment, but does share his experience with supportive brothers-in-arms with whom he trained. After the group with which they’re working with to enact change is approached by Obama’s secretary of defense for a surprise meeting, they celebrate the unexpected lifting of the ban – until Trump’s election throws an unwelcome spanner in the works. The film would have benefitted by profiling fewer subjects and by focusing more expressly on the present-day impact of the current administration rather than the slow and often unfilmable advocacy work that took place behind closed-door meetings, but it remains an affecting and topical story.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 13:
THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR
Director:
Nancy Buirski
Premiere:
Venice 2017
Select Festivals:
New York Film Festival, Chicago, Film Columbia, Woodstock, Double Exposure,
About:
An exploration of a 1944 case of sexual assault against an African-American woman in Alabama.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, November 13:
ISLAND SOLDIER
Director:
Nathan Fitch
Premiere:
Full Frame 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, DOK.fest Munich, Big Sky Doc, One World, Hawaii, Atlanta, San Diego Asian, Asian American fests in Philadelphia, Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles
About:
An exploration of the sacrifices made by foreign soldiers in the US military.
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
The beautiful, remote islands of Micronesia, a US protectorate, contribute a disproportionate number of soldiers to the American armed forces. Looking for a way out of poverty, these Pacific Islanders leave their communities in pursuit of the American Dream. unfortunately some, like Sapp Nena, pay for it with their lives. Exploring the impact of their absence on the families and communities they leave behind, Nathan Fitch’s thoughtful film questions whether the benefits of US protection are worth the substantial costs of fighting its wars.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, November 12:
THE PRICE OF EVERYTHING
Director:
Nathaniel Kahn
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, True/False, CPH:DOX, Provincetown, New Zealand, Jerusalem, Melbourne, Athens, Adelaide
About:
A privileged look into the intersection of high art and commerce.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, November 12:
THE CLEANERS
Directors:
Moritz Riesewieck and Hans Block
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, Hot Docs, CPH:DOX, Docs Against Gravity, Sydney, Sheffield, Human Rights Watch, DOK.fest Munich, Zurcih, Reykjavik, Adelaide
About:
A revealing look at the hidden figures who police social media.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema today, Friday, November 9:
FAIL STATE
Director:
Alexander Shebanow
Premiere:
Austin 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Big Sky, SXSW EDU, Cleveland, Nashville, Brooklyn
About:
An exposé of predatory for-profit colleges.
I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Executive produced by Dan Rather, this revealing film explores the dark side of higher education in America, focusing on the rise of for-profit colleges. Echoing the subprime mortgage crisis, these private institutions target lower-income and minority students, who become saddled with student loan debt and, often, worthless degrees. Director Alex Shebanow traces the historical rise, fall, and resurgence of these predatory schools, reveals their Wall Street backing, and demonstrates the co-opting of American higher education into an engine of inequality.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 9:
CHEF FLYNN
Director:
Cameron Yates
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Berlin, Hot Docs, CPH:DOX, SXSW, San Francisco, Cleveland, BAFICI, Docaviv, Sydney, Nashville, Traverse City, DMZ Docs, Film Columbia
About:
A compelling coming of age portrait of a talented young chef.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
New to VOD this week:
EVERY ACT OF LIFE
Director:
Jeff Kaufman
Premiere:
Tribeca 2018
Select Festivals:
Seattle, Tel Aviv, Nashville, Provincetown, Inside Out, Frameline, Outfest, LGBT fests in Miami, Portland, San Diego, Hartford, Vancouver, and Austin
About:
A look at the life and work of acclaimed playwright Terrence McNally.
Drawing from intimate interviews with McNally, his husband, and a who’s who of artistic collaborators, from Angela Lansbury and Edie Falco to Nathan Lane and F Murray Abraham, as well as extensive archival footage of performances, advertisements, and interviews of McNally’s many plays, the film traces the 78-year-old playwright’s life and work over the decades. He was among the first playwrights to write strong gay roles and push culture forward in acceptance. McNally and several collaborators reflect on many of his hits, on the actors whose careers he helped launch, and how his personal life entered into his award-winning work. While Jeff Kaufman’s treatment is conventional, it’s a professional profile and both comprehensive and satisfying, and McNally makes for a fantastic subject.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 