Category Archives: Releases

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, July 8: INDIAN POINT

Ivy Meeropol’s consideration of nuclear power plant safety bowed at Tribeca last year. The doc went on to screen at Hot Docs, DC Environmental, Traverse City, Rio, Hamptons, St Louis, Big Sky, Thessaloniki Doc, Salem, and Cleveland.

Long the subject of controversy, New York state’s Indian Point nuclear power plant has come under increased scrutiny in the wake of the Fukushima disaster. Meeropol presents an extended look at the plant – located in Buchanan, NY, just 35 miles from densely populated New York City – and arguments for and against its continued existence. The film offers a strong mix of subjects, including environmental journalist Roger Witherspoon and his wife, Marilyn Elie, an activist; ousted US Nuclear Regulatory Commission chair Gregory Jaczko, and Brian Vangor, a 35-year veteran employee of the plant. Meeropol’s film is strongest when it’s focused on the Buchanan plant and those subjects who are most closely tied to specific questions of its safety. With the shadow of Fukushima looming over the project, however, the director seems compelled to spend an inordinate amount of time referencing that disaster without adequately delineating how similar or dissimilar Indian Point is from the Japanese plant, ultimately coming off as alarmist in contrast to a more thoughtful, evenhanded approach earlier in the film.

Coming to theatres and to VOD this Friday, July 8: ZERO DAYS

Alex Gibney’s exploration of Internet-based threats to global security made its debut at Berlin earlier this year. The film has gone on to screen at Nantucket, AFI Docs, Sydney, Edinburgh, Biografilm, and the upcoming Jerusalem and New Zealand fests.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Oscar®-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney turns his attention to the disturbing world of cyber warfare in this urgent, riveting investigation of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus that was designed to sabotage Iran’s nuclear program but inadvertently spread throughout the world. Surprising evidence points to the collusion of two world powers in creating the sophisticated weapon; though both governments officially deny it, they still face recrimination and retaliation. Clearly laying out the origins and trajectory of this powerful new mode of international combat, Gibney convincingly demonstrates its staggering destructive potential.

Coming to iTunes today, Tuesday, July 5: JALANAN

Daniel Ziv’s portrait of Indonesian amateur musicians premiered at Busan in 2013, where it won best documentary. Other fest berths have included DocAviv, Biografilm, Melbourne, Vancouver, Reykjavik, Zanzibar, Margaret Mead, ZagrebDox, and DOK Leipzig. The doc was released on VOD via Vimeo last Fall and now expands to iTunes.

Over the course of five years, Ziv profiles three impoverished young buskers on the buses of Jakarta, subsisting through their music while trying to deal with a rapidly developing city. When not riding the buses, Boni is a tunnel dweller, but a city beautification and infrastructure improvement project threatens his makeshift home. Ho, whose dreadlocks announce his rebel status, is a politically-minded womanizer who runs afoul of the police. Young mother Titi can’t afford to care for her three children, leaving them with relatives as she tries to complete her education. Weaving these three stories together – with the first two offering the more compelling arcs – Ziv offers a street-level look at modern Indonesia through the lenses of class, politics, education, and, of course, music.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Wednesday, July 6: UNDER THE SUN

Vitaly Mansky’s subversive portrait of North Korea debuted at DOK.Leipzig last year. Screenings followed at Nantucket, IDFA, Hot Docs, Tallinn Black Nights, Jihlava, DocPoint, SXSW, DOXA, San Francisco, and Seattle, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program guide, saying:
To gain permission to shoot a documentary in Pyongyang, Russian director Vitaly Mansky works closely with the North Korean government. Functionaries handpick his subjects: 8-year-old Zin-mi, who has just joined a party youth group, and her parents, workers at impressively productive factories. What starts as an authorized portrait of a typical family, however, soon proves to be a carefully orchestrated piece of propaganda. Beyond simply dictating parameters for the supposed documentary shoot, government handlers have written a script to present a utopian version of life inside North Korea. Turning the tables, Mansky instead crafts a wry exposé of Kim Jong-un’s regime.

Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, July 5: MAD TIGER

Jonathan Yi and Michael Haertlein’s candid look at the personalities behind an eclectic music group made its bow at DOC NYC last year. Other fest berths have included CAAMFest, Minneapolis-St Paul, Salem, and Osaka.

I previously wrote about the doc here.