Category Archives: Releases

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, December 12:
BEHIND THE CURTAIN: TODRICK HALL

Director:
Katherine Fairfax Wright

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Seattle, Martha’s Vineyard, Baltimore Black, San Diego, Calgary Underground, Frameline, Outfest, Image+Nation, Inside Out, LGBT fests in Salt Lake City, Denver, Honolulu, North Carolina, Vancouver, Austin, Memphis, and Sydney

About:
A profile of the performer and YouTube sensation.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
In the years since competing on AMERICAN IDOL, Todrick Hall has amassed a staggering following on YouTube, bringing his distinct voice and aesthetic to pop culture, and serving as an inclusive, inspirational figure to LGBT fans around the world. For his latest project, chronicled in Wright’s entertaining portrait, Hall challenges himself to complete 16 elaborate videos for an autobiographical high-concept musical, STRAIGHT OUTTA OZ, in just two weeks, and then immediately take the live show on the road to his devoted fans.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, December 12:
NALEDI: A BABY ELEPHANT’S TALE

Directors:
Ben Bowie and Geoff Luck

Premiere:
Seattle 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Springs Doc, Virginia, Fairhope, Wildscreen, Ajyal Youth

About:
A baby elephant’s fight for survival underscores the need to protect the endangered species.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, December 11:
HAPPENING: A CLEAN ENERGY REVOLUTION

Director:
James Redford

Premiere:
Mill Valley 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Woodstock

About:
A hands-on exploration of current efforts to use renewable energy sources.

Is it possible for America to meet its energy needs via renewable sources, or is our country fated to remain addicted to fossil fuels? Director James Redford sets out on a far-ranging quest to get a sense of what our progress is today for a sustainable tomorrow. Checking in with a diverse range of stakeholders, representing federal, corporate, entrepreneurial, and community efforts, the affable filmmaker offers an informative and hopeful look at the clean energy revolution already taking place.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 8:
ARTHUR MILLER: WRITER

Director:
Rebecca Miller

Premiere:
Telluride 2017

Select Festivals:
New York Film Festival, Woodstock

About:
An intimate portrait of the filmmaker’s famed playwright father.

Assembled from interviews shot by the filmmaker over the past 25 years of Arthur Miller’s life, as well as copious archival footage, Rebecca Miller’s film provides an insightful exploration of the playwright’s life and work. Though undeniably a personal project, the doc avoids blatant hagiography to consider not only Miller’s many achievements, such as DEATH OF A SALESMAN and THE CRUCIBLE, but also his later, critically-dismissed work. Filming her father casually, around his woodworking shop, Miller provides the expected biographical background, including his various relationships, with special attention paid to his romance with Marilyn Monroe, as well as his reactions to the Red Scare. At the same time, the filmmaker makes skillful use of her intimate connection with her subject to reflect on larger questions of success and failure, celebrity, and the impact of art on society.

Coming to Brooklyn’s Spectacle Theater this weekend, Friday, December 8 through Sunday, December 10:
MANSFIELD 66/67

Directors:
P David Ebersole and Todd Hughes

Premiere:
Rotterdam 2017

Select Festivals:
BAFICI, Docs Against Gravity, Provincetown, Sitges, Gent, Am Docs, Frameline, Inside Out

About:
A campy exploration of the life, death, and legend of Hollywood bombshell Jayne Mansfield.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO this Thursday, December 7:
32 PILLS: MY SISTER’S SUICIDE

Director:
Hope Litoff

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2017

Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Provincetown, Biografilm, San Francisco Jewish, Woodstock, Denver, Cork, Rocky Mountain Women’s, Boston Jewish

About:
A filmmaker confronts her grief over the loss of her sister.

I previously wrote about the doc here.