Category Archives: Releases

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 3:
A GRAY STATE

Director:
Erik Nelson

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Hot Springs Doc, Poland’s American Film Festival, Stockholm, Milwaukee, Melbourne

About:
An investigation into the seemingly suspicious death of a right-wing filmmaker.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
After leaving the US Army, Iraq veteran and aspiring filmmaker David Crowley embarked on his passion project: GRAY STATE, a dystopian story about America under martial law. A fan base of libertarians, survivalists, and fringe thinkers eagerly awaited the film – but Crowley never completed his epic, prompting conspiracy theories that he got too close to the truth. Director Erik Nelson combs through Crowley’s archives to uncover what really happened in this insightful, disturbing film executive produced by Werner Herzog.

Coming to theatres and to VOD today, Wednesday, November 1:
FRANK SERPICO

Director:
Antonino D’Ambrosio

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Traverse City, Martha’s Vineyard, Poland’s American Film Festival, Athens, Vancouver

About:
A portrait of the famed 1970s police corruption whistleblower.

Immortalized by Al Pacino in Sidney Lumet’s 1973 film SERPICO, the titular subject of Antonio D’Ambrosio’s documentary emerges from decades relatively out of the public spotlight to share his story personally. As recounted in that classic street drama, Frank Serpico, an Italian-American cop morally opposed to the extensive corruption within the NYPD, reported his fellow officers only to face retaliation in what he considers to be a set-up that nearly cost him his life and left him with bullet fragments in his head. As a result, the Knapp Commission was set up to investigate police corruption, and, after testifying there, Serpico left for Europe to deal with the aftermath of his travails, including PTSD. D’Ambrosio has the charismatic Serpico’s full cooperation for this real-life retelling of the story, which also features a surreal reunion with one of his partners, who still denies that he was involved in any kind of set-up or cover-up. Ultimately, the doc serves not only as a candid supplement to Lumet’s dramatized version but also a reminder of the ability of ordinary individuals to affect change, no matter how systemic or daunting the issue may seem.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, October 31:
DAWSON CITY: FROZEN TIME

Director:
Bill Morrison

Premiere:
Venice 2016

Select Festivals:
New York Film Festival, London, Rotterdam, Göteborg, Thessaloniki Doc, BAFICI, It’s All True, Docs Against Gravity, Seattle, Melbourne, EBS Doc, Sydney

About:
Lost films discovered preserved in the Yukon permafrost are used to tell the story of their origins.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, October 31:
NO MAN’S LAND

Director:
David Byars

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Montclair, Denver, St Louis, Mill Valley, Ashland, Camden

About:
An inside look at the controversial occupation of Oregon’s Malheur Wildlife Refuge by right-wing militants.

Last year, when an armed group of self-styled “patriots,” frustrated by the policies of the federal government’s Bureau of Land Management, occupied Malheur, they cagily drew the attention of both traditional and social media, quickly becoming the subject of a national debate that encompassed concepts of state rights, federal over reach, gun control, and racial and religious bias in how “homegrown terrorism” is defined. Director David Byars managed to embed with the militants, led by Ammon Bundy, and is well-positioned to present their personalities and rationale for their extreme action, though as the days pass, both take on a desperate, paranoid air, with over dramatic macho posturing unable to disguise a lack of a clear plan. Balancing out their anger and discontent are the viewpoints of journalists who covered the story, as well as the nearby community of Burns OR, who are fearful of the protestors and the violence they expect will come in their wake. Byars film emerges as a remarkably intimate chronicle of the 41 day standoff, and of the disturbing anti-federalist sentiment at its heart that continues to reverberate across the country today.

Coming to theatres and to VOD via Netflix today, Friday, October 27:
JOAN DIDION: THE CENTER WILL NOT HOLD

Director:
Griffin Dunne

Premiere:
New York Film Festival 2017

Select Festivals:
Woodstock, Middleburg

About:
An expansive portrait of the celebrated, influential author and journalist by her nephew.

As much a look at America over the past half century as it is a tribute to one of its most insightful chroniclers, Dunne’s film is engaging, candid, and as accessible to newcomers to Didion’s work as it is to her devotees. Despite her small frame, Didion’s presence on camera is imposing, perhaps even more so in the central interview of the film now, in her 80s, than in the archival materials following her eruption onto the literary scene in the early 1960s after several years writing for Vogue. Dunne covers her major work, from PLAY IT AS IT LAYS to more recent achievements like THE YEAR OF MAGICAL THINKING, while framing the film largely through the lens of her long personal and professional partnership with husband John Gregory Dunne until his death in 2003. Through it all, Didion’s matter-of-fact reflections, accompanied by excerpts from her writing, underscore her uncanny ability to encapsulate and illuminate existential truths.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 27:
BILL NYE: SCIENCE GUY

Directors:
David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Telluride Mountainfilm, Seattle, Human Rights Watch, AFI Docs, Hot Springs Doc, Traverse City, Los Angeles, Provincetown

About:
A revealing profile of the well-known educational television personality turned science advocate.

The doc screened at Nantucket, for which our program notes read:
Everybody’s favorite television scientist takes center stage in this captivating portrait. Bill Nye’s earliest collaborators and those closest to him – as well as the quirky “Science Guy” himself – trace his path from charismatic engineer to world renowned science rock star. Directors David Alvarado and Jason Sussberg present an illuminating profile that showcases both Nye’s wit and wisdom and his increasingly important position as an outspoken voice on climate change.