Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, October 22:
THE APOLOGY
Director:
Tiffany Hsiung
Premiere:
Hot Docs 2016
Select Festivals:
Human Rights Watch, Göteborg, Vilnius, Busan, Cork, Cinemalaya, DocPoint
About:
Former comfort women speak out about the abuse they suffered in WWII.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD this week:
ONE OCTOBER
Director:
Rachel Shuman
Premiere:
Full Frame 2017
Select Festivals:
IFF Boston
About:
A portrait of New York City in October 2008.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 19:
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 theatres today, Friday, October 19:
BREWMASTER
Director:
Douglas Tirola
Premiere:
SXSW 2018
Select Festivals:
Cleveland, Napa Valley, Dallas, Traverse City, Seattle, Berkshire
About:
An inside look at the world of craft beer.
Tirola explores the rise in popularity of craft beers over the past two decades in this ode to hops and barley. The film surveys numerous established brewmasters about what they’ve love about the beverage and how they got started in the field, offering some historical context, but is more interesting in its focus on two younger amateurs who have become obsessed with homebrewing: Drew, a lawyer dreaming of opening his own brewery, and Brian, who is studying to pass the notoriously challenging Master Cicerone exam. While viewers not particularly into the drink may not respond to the film with quite as much passion, beer lovers will find much to appreciate.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 19:
ON HER SHOULDERS
Director:
Alexandria Bombach
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, SXSW, Hot Docs, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Full Frame, Human Rights Watch, SF Jewish, Jerusalem, Dokufest, Melbourne, Sun Valley, Doc 10, Ashland, Cleveland, Kansas City, Sarasota, Montclair, Maryland, Dallas, Nashville, Seattle, Warsaw, Biografilm, Heartland
About:
A look at the burden carried by a young woman as she advocates for her people on the global stage.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to VOD today, Thursday, October 18:
THE JUDGE
Director:
Erika Cohn
Premiere:
Toronto 2017
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, One World, Tempo Doc, CPH:DOX, Salem, Full Frame, San Francisco, Cleveland, Calgary Underground
About:
A portrait of a pioneering woman in the male dominated world of Islamic law.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Thursday, October 18:
THE NEW FIRE
Director:
David Schumacher
Premiere:
Heartland 2018
Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Denver, Washington DC Environmental, Princeton Environmental, Cleveland, IFF Boston
About:
Can innovation of nuclear reactors be the solution to the world’s energy needs?
The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Nuclear power has been vilified in popular culture as dangerous and harmful to the environment, but it may actually be the solution for the world’s future energy needs. Teams of nuclear engineers are developing next-generation reactors which can provide clean, safe energy to prevent global catastrophe due to climate change, and transform popular opinion about nuclear energy in the process. Could these audacious innovators be the agents of change the world has been waiting for? With unprecedented access, director David Schumacher has traveled the globe to show what youth and audacity can achieve in the face of impossible odds.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, October 17:
CHARM CITY
Director:
Marilyn Ness
Premiere:
Tribeca 2018
Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Human Rights Watch, Maryland, Nashville, Mill Valley, GlobeDocs
About:
A multifaceted exploration of the crisis of violence in Baltimore.
Charting three years in the beleagued city, beginning soon after the killing of Freddie Gray, Marilyn Ness’ film offers a nuanced look at the impact of violence on communities, and their own efforts to mitigate the crisis. Among several subjects, a notable focal point is Mr C, a well-respected elder who runs a community center and maintains a direct line to the neighborhood in the hopes of curbing violence, training proteges like Alex to resist the lure of gangs and drugs. They represent the street level response to violence. Broadening out for a macro view, Ness also profiles various individuals working within the official system, including police officers and a city councilmember, who offer contrasting, but not wholly incompatible, perspectives of the state of the city and what can be done to fix it.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
WHITNEY | Image © Stefano Baroni
Director:
Kevin Macdonald
Premiere:
Cannes 2018
Select Festivals:
Edinburgh, Sydney, Munich, Biografilm
About:
A candid exploration of the rise and fall of Whitney Houston.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, October 16:
THE DEVIL WE KNOW
Director:
Stephanie Soechtig
Co-Director:
Jeremy Seifert
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Vancouver, Santa Barbara, Lunenberg Doc, New Zealand, SF Jewish, Washington DC Environmental, Greenwich, Riverrun, Sun Valley, Martha’s Vineyard, Boulder, Philadelphia
About:
An exposé of a corporation’s widespread use of dangerous chemicals, despite their known impact on human health.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
what (not) to doc 