Category Archives: Releases

Coming to theatres this Wednesday, January 18:
STRIKE A POSE

Directors:
Ester Gould and Reijer Zwaan

Premiere:
Berlin 2016

Select Festivals:
Tribeca, Hot Docs, Sheffield, DocAviv, BAFICI, Chicago, Biografilm, Jeonju, Krakow, Sydney, Bogota, Helsinki, Rio, Hot Springs Doc, In-Edit, Provincetown, Outfest, Frameline, NewFest, Inside Out, LGBT fests in Austin, Vancouver, Honolulu, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Montreal

About:
Madonna’s Blond Ambition tour dancers revisit their brush with fame, 25 years later.

In 1990, Madonna made headlines with a tour that provocatively combined candid sexuality, queerness, and religious imagery in support of her LIKE A PRAYER album. For those not able to see the show live, the performer indulged their curiosity with Alek Keshishian’s tour doc MADONNA: TRUTH OR DARE, the following year, grabbing more headlines with controversial scenes of the singer fellating a water bottle and two of her male dancers kissing – the latter becoming a point of contention in a lawsuit later filed by three of the dancers, just one of the many topics covered in Gould and Zwaan’s project. The filmmakers re-assemble the six surviving male members of the multicultural, mostly gay, troupe – one passed from AIDS complications long ago – to reflect on their participation in the tour and what it accomplished for gay visibility, their ambivalent experiences of celebrity (or being adjacent to celebrity), and its fleetingness and aftermath. The filmmakers struggle a bit in balancing out so many subjects, running into some repetition between their individual interviews and the group’s eventual reunion, but nevertheless proves compelling in its quiet, bitttersweet exploration of the long-lasting impact of their mutual – but background – involvement with fame – in some ways calling to mind 20 FEET FROM STARDOM.

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 20:
STARLESS DREAMS

Director:
Mehrdad Oskouei

Premiere:
Berlin 2016

Select Festivals:
True/False, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Human Rights Watch, Camden, Hot Springs Doc, London, Chicago, Antenna Doc, RIDM

About:
A look at the lives of teenage Iranian girls consigned to a juvenile delinquency center.

Having already profiled young men serving time in a similar facility in a previous films, Oskouei sought access to the experiences of young women, incarcerated for a range of offenses, from robbery and drugs to murder. Finally permitted to film, the filmmaker directly interviews the inmates, his voice heard off-camera, serving as a gentle confessor and allowing them to tell their stories – something that it seems it’s unlikely they’ve been permitted the opportunity to do before. Growing up in poverty, subject to all manner of abuse from family, his subjects in many ways find a refuge and an alternate family, even in this prison environment. Through this simple but impactful film, Oskouei crafts a poignant, empathetic portrait of marginalization.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17:
SILICON COWBOYS

Director:
Jason Cohen

Premiere:
SXSW 2016

Select Festivals:
Nantucket, Montclair, SF Doc, Sidewalk

About:
A David vs Goliath story about the early days of personal computing.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17:
ZERO DAYS

Director:
Alex Gibney

Premiere:
Berlin 2016

Festivals:
Nantucket, AFI Docs, Sydney, Edinburgh, Biografilm, Jerusalem, New Zealand

Notable Recognition:
The doc has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

About:
A documentary thriller exploring the dangerous reality of cyberwarfare.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 17:
WIZARD MODE

Directors:
Jeff Petry and Nathan Drillot

Premiere:
Hot Docs 2016

Select Festivals:
DOXA, Portland, Rendezvous with Madness

About:
A portrait of a pinball champion who is on the autism spectrum.

Robert Gagno showed an early fascination with mechanical devices, while also struggling with language. Diagnosed with autism, his parents feared he would never be able to communicate, but despite challenges, he defied medical prognoses and is now a very communicative young adult. He’s also a pinball master, having found an affinity for the game and quickly ranking up with the elite players. Petry and Drillot’s appealing film follows Gagno on the competition circuit while also revealing the background and personality of their likeable, refreshingly vulnerable subject as he aims to master the hidden wizard levels of his favorite games and works toward attaining greater independence in life.

New to VOD this week:
HARRY AND SNOWMAN

Director:
Ron Davis

Premiere:
Full Frame 2015

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nantucket, New Orleans, Hamptons, Virginia, Provincetown, Sedona, Hot Springs Doc

About:
A story of love and friendship between a man and his horse.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, January 17:
DANCER

Director:
Steven Cantor

Premiere:
Los Angeles theatres, September 2016

Select Festivals:
Zurich, BFI London, Calgary

About:
A profile of the bad boy of modern ballet, Sergei Polunin.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to the WORLD Channel’s Reel South series this Sunday, January 15:
DEEP RUN

Director:
Hillevi Loven

Premiere:
Frameline 2015

Seelct Festivals:
DOC NYC, Outfest, San Diego, Indie Grits, RiverRun, Belfast, Woodstock, LGBT fests in Austin, Denver, Stockholm, Atlanta, Miami, Melbourne, Seattle

About:
A portrait of transgender life in the rural South.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Growing up transgender in rural North Carolina, Cole has remained remarkably upbeat despite rejection from his family, school, and church. With religion deeply ingrained as part of his identity, Cole longs to find acceptance within a community of faith, but doesn’t want to hide who he is or who he loves. Can the affable young trans man live openly with his true love in the Bible Belt? Hillevi Loven explores the intersection of modern identity and faith in the American South.

Previously available on iTunes and other VOD platforms, but new to Amazon Video this week:
TOWER

Director:
Keith Maitland

Premiere:
SXSW 2016

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Seattle, Karlovy Vary, Jerusalem, Melbourne, Fantasia, the Hamptons, BFI London, Sitges, Mill Valley

Notable Recognition:
The doc has been shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

About:
An animated re-telling of a sniper’s attack on school campus in 1966.

I previously wrote about the doc here.