Category Archives: Releases

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 6: HOCKNEY

Randall Wright’s artist profile premiered at BFI London in 2014. Screenings followed at BAFICI, Doc Aviv, Minneapolis St Paul, Brighton, Vancouver, Palm Springs, and St Louis, among other festivals.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV this coming Monday, September 5: THE BIRTH OF SAKÉ

Erik Shirai’s exploration of the making of the distinctive Japanese beverage debuted at Tribeca last year. Additional screenings included Seattle, Dokufest Kosovo, San Sebastian, Milan, ZagrebDox, Philadelphia, Chicago, Antenna, Mar del Plata, Sidewalk, Palm Springs, Tallinn Black Nights, and Goteborg, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD today, Thursday, September 1: CITY 40

Samira Goetschel’s clandestine profile of a secret Soviet-era city debuted at Hot Docs earlier this year. Other fest engagements have included Sheffield and Antenna. It now becomes available worldwide via Netflix.

Before 1994, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Ozersk didn’t exist – or at least it was never permitted to appear on maps. It wasn’t even known as Ozersk during the Soviet era, but instead as “City 40,” a fittingly bureaucratic and vaguely mysterious name that underscored its secretive purpose: housing the families of scientists, engineers, and workers who worked on the USSR’s classified nuclear program. Convinced they were doing their patriotic duty as Mother Russia’s “nuclear shield,” the residents traded their freedom – generally cutting off outside contact – for a seemingly idyllic existence of relative plenty and harmony. Where other Soviet cities reckoned with food shortages or lack of resources at times, City 40 kept its population well-fed, cared for, and entertained. However, as those who provide testimony in this portrait attest, the true cost of their residency also included cancer, rare medical conditions, premature death, and living within an irradiated and polluted environment. Goetschel, who was aided by locals in smuggling in film equipment, speaks to ordinary citizens as well as a local journalist, nuclear scientists, and a human rights attorney advocating for justice for those maltreated by the Russian state, providing a compelling inside look at a fascinating, once-invisible “closed city.”

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, August 30: COWBOYS IN INDIA

Simon Chambers’ self-effacing investigation of a small Indian town made its debut at IDFA in 2009. It also screened at True/False, Planete Doc Review, London Doc, CinemaAmbiente, Planet in Focus, and Reel Earth fests, among others.

I previously wrote about the film out of True/False, saying:
A film that puts the filmmaker/subject relationship in sharp relief, Chambers’ intended exposé of the environmental and human rights abuses of a Western company in India instead becomes a humorous exploration of his own relationship with his local guides. Though he initially suspects that his guide and driver may be both literally and figuratively taking him for a ride, he comes to recognize the impact his presence has on them, their safety, and their livelihood. Their cross-cultural exchange calls into question documentary intent and the relationship between the developed and developing world.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, August 30: MIRAGE MEN

John Lundberg’s exposé of UFO conspiracies and disinformation premiered at Sheffield in 2013. Screenings also included Seattle, Fantastic Fest, Canberra, DOXA, Stockholm, and Sebastopol Doc, among other events.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to theatres and VOD today, Friday, August 26: FLOYD NORMAN: AN ANIMATED LIFE

Michael Fiore and Erik Sharkey’s portrait of an unsung animator made its debut at Santa Barbara earlier this year. It also screened at Bentonville and Comic-Con.

While not a household name, Floyd Norman was deemed worthy of his own documentary for several notable reasons: He is Disney’s first African-American animator, hired in 1956; he has been part of the creative team of classics like SLEEPING BEAUTY, 101 DALMATIONS, and MARY POPPINS; and, now in his 80s, he makes for an affable, at times wry, subject. Fiore and Sharkey’s film is largely an affectionate tribute to Norman, only occasionally delving into deeper topics of racism and ageism. While his pioneering role at Disney is noted by several individuals here, Norman apparently only had minor issues with some racist co-workers early on, and he resists the label of “black animator” in favor of, simply, “animator.” In contrast, there’s clearly more of a lingering resentment with his forced dismissal from Disney when he reached 65. Not interested in retirement, Norman just kept coming to the Disney offices, serving as an elder statesman of sorts, giving advice, until finally, the powers that be saw the light and rehired him. Covering 60 years and countless films and TV shows, the documentary sometimes feels a bit like a greatest hits survey, but succeeds in clearly capturing its subject and his love of storytelling, illustrated here by original, playful animated sequences as well as quick sketches created off the cuff by Norman.