Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, August 31:
EVA HESSE
Director:
Marcie Begleiter
Premiere:
Whitney Museum of American Art (May 2015)
Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Virginia, Denver’s Women + Film series, Washington Jewish, Philadelphia Jewish, Wexner Center for the Arts
About:
A portrait of the pioneering postwar artist.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, August 31:
PICK OF THE LITTER
Directors:
Don Hardy and Dana Nachman
Premiere:
Slamdance 2018
Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Docs, AFI Docs, Melbourne, New Zealand, Sydney, Cleveland, Seattle, San Francisco, Freep, Hawaii, Newport Beach
About:
A behind the scenes look at the training of guide dogs for the blind.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
New to DVD/VOD this week:
CALLING ALL EARTHLINGS
Director:
Jonathan Berman
Premiere:
Illuminate 2018
Select Festivals:
Maui
About:
The mysterious story of a man who claimed to talk to aliens and those who try to preserve his legacy.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to DVD this week:
GAMECHANGERS: DREAMS OF BLIZZCON
Director:
John Keating
Premiere:
DreamHack Austin 2018
About:
A look at the lives of two professional StarCraft II players as they prepare for an eSports grand championship.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, August 28:
NO DRESS CODE REQUIRED
Director:
Cristina Herrera Borquez
Premiere:
Havana 2016
Select Festivals:
Palm Springs, Human Rights Watch, Guanajuato, Kashish Mumbai LGBT, Ambulante, DocsMX, Outfest, Seattle, Warsaw
About:
A gay Mexican couple fights local government to get married.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, August 28:
RBG
Directors:
Betsy West and Julie Cohen
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Miami, Cleveland, San Francisco, Montclair
About:
A portrait of legendary, outspoken US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, August 28:
BIDDER 70
Directors:
Beth Gage and George Gage
Premiere:
Mountainfilm 2012
Select Festivals:
Cleveland, Denver, Human Rights Watch, Traverse City, United Nations, Mill Valley, Washington DC Environmental
About:
An exploration of one man’s act of civil disobedience.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, August 27:
NOWHERE TO HIDE
Director:
Zaradasht Ahmed
Premiere:
IDFA 2016
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Thessaloniki Doc, One World, Göteborg, Cleveland, Sarasota, Docs Against Gravity, Sydney, Seattle, DocAviv, Human Rights Watch NYC, London, and Toronto
About:
A personal tour through daily life in Iraq.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to Starz
beginning this Sunday, August 26:
AMERICA TO ME
Director:
Steve James
Premiere:
Sundance 2018
Select Festivals:
Full Frame, AFI Docs, Middlebury
About:
An intimate docuseries exploring the intersection of race and educational achievement over a year in a diverse suburban Chicago-area high school.
I profiled the series pre-Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres today, Friday, August 24:
HOT TO TROT
Director:
Gail Freedman
Premiere:
Frameline 2017
Select Festivals:
NewFest, Documentary Edge, LGBT fests in Boston, Atlanta, and London
About:
A profile of same-sex competitive ballroom dancers.
Freedman’s film follows two pairs of dancers: Gay male dancer Ernesto, who begins with dancing partner Robbie, but must shift gears when the latter must contend with a health emergency, and takes on new teammate Nikolai; and lesbians Emily and Kieran. Notably, neither pairs are romantically linked, but working in tandem, they develop a unique intimacy. With same-sex dancers barred from mainstream ballroom competitions due to proscribed rules about men leading and women following, these Freds and Gingers instead show their moves on the niche same-sex circuit, represented here primarily through Oakland’s April Follies and the Gay Games. Unfortunately, the film actually doesn’t adequately permit the dancers to strut their stuff – despite a subject matter that lends itself to action and vibrancy, there’s surprisingly little dance here, and what is shown is filmed fairly perfunctorily. Instead of focusing on the competition, Freedman opts to go for portraiture – a not unreasonable decision, given the surfeit of mediocre competition docs made each year – but her protagonists just aren’t particularly compelling absent dance, making for a fairly forgettable run down of their coming out stories, health issues, and the like.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 