Category Archives: Releases

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, August 29:
THE INCOMPARABLE ROSE HARTMAN

Director:
Otis Mass

Premiere:
SXSW 2016

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Bentonville, San Diego, Portland

About:
A portrait of the renowned pop culture photographer.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, August 28:
RAISING BERTIE

Director:
Margaret Byrne

Premiere:
Full Frame 2016

Select Festivals:
Sarasota, Bentonville, AFI Docs, Atlanta Docufest, Chicago, Citizen Jane, Cucalorus, Big Sky Doc

About:
An observational coming-of-age portrait of three African-American teenagers in rural North Carolina.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Showtime this Friday, August 25:
WHITNEY. “CAN I BE ME”

Directors:
Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, AFI Docs, Sydney, Karlovy Vary, Documentary Edge, Los Angeles, Galway

About:
An intimate reassessment of Whitney Houston’s life and career.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, August 22:
FROM THE ASHES

Director:
Michael Bonfiglio

Premiere:
Tribeca 2017

Select Festivals:
Washington DC Environmental

About:
An exploration of the coal industry’s past, present, and likely future.

Putting the lie to the rhetoric that the Obama administration somehow waged a “war on coal” to cripple the mining industry, this conventional but effective film instead convincingly demonstrates the realities behind the continuing decline of coal use and the shuttering of mines, locating both primarily in the explosion of cheap natural gas, rather than regulatory attempts. Bonfiglio traces the history of America’s usage of coal, the industry’s major role in contributing to serious environmental and health concerns, and the global social and economic changes that have resulted in its being phased out. Miners and their families, facing a lack of development of other industries thanks to the lobbying power of the mining industry, are caught between unrealistic promises of the current administration to revitalize a moribund industry, and losing what little they have, unless they are able to transition, as some are shown here, to a growing renewable energies industry.

Coming to PBS tomorrow, Wednesday, August 23:
THE FARTHEST

Director:
Emer Reynolds

Premiere:
Dublin 2017

Select Festivals:
Tribeca, Edinburgh, Seattle, AFI Docs, Sydney, New Zealand, Telluride Mountainfilm

About:
A comprehensive history of the Voyager mission, from inception to execution to the present day.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS tomorrow, Tuesday, August 22:
DIANA: HER STORY

Director:
Kevin Sim

Premiere:
PBS (August 2017)

About:
Twenty years after her death, Princess Diana reveals her intimate thoughts on the Monarchy.

Sim’s project is one of several being released this month commemorating the beloved British figure on the anniversary of her tragic death in 1997. Drawing extensively from video footage filmed by the Princess of Wales’ speech coach, Peter Settelen, the doc offers Diana reflecting on her initially fairy tale romance with Prince Charles, one that captured the attention of the world, and how it came to a sad end. Recorded while separated from Charles as she sought to hone her public speaking abilities and to counter what she and others perceived as an effort by the Royal Family to phase her out, this footage shows a thoughtful princess confiding her feelings of loneliness and frustration as the initial whirlwind of Charles’ courtship gave way to a quickly dawning awareness of the open secret of his affair with Camilla Parker Bowles. Sim may assume, probably rightly, that his intended audience is already well-versed in the details of Diana and Charles lives, leaving viewers less familiar with Royal history occasionally a bit in the dark. Regardless, rather than aiming for a comprehensive recounting, the engaging portrait instead deliberately presents only Diana’s perspective, bolstered by the memories of close friends and associates.