Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29: ELECTRIC BOOGALOO: THE WILD, UNTOLD STORY OF CANNON FILMS
Mark Hartley’s love letter to the Golan-Globus producing team had its world premiere at Melbourne last year. Other fests included Toronto, London, Haifa, Sitges, Mar del Plata, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Glasgow, Dublin, New Horizons, and Fantastic Fest, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Monday, September 28: SUNSHINE SUPERMAN
Marah Strauch’s look at the life of an adventure seeker made its world premiere at Toronto last year. It went on to the New York Film Festival, Martha’s Vineyard, Sarasota, Montclair, Cleveland, Vancouver, and Florida, among other events. Magnolia now makes the film available for VOD and digital download.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 29: SOUL BOYS OF THE WESTERN WORLD
George Hencken’s history of Spandau Ballet had its world premiere at SXSW last year. Other fest slots included DOC NYC, Rome, Sheffield, CPH:DOX, BAFICI, and In-Edit.
I previously wrote about the film here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 29: A MURDER IN THE PARK
Shawn Rech and Brandon Kimber’s exposé of the truth behind a controversial murder case had its world premiere at DOC NYC last year. It went on to screen at Cleveland and to enjoy a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 25: SLEEPLESS IN NEW YORK
Christian Frei’s look at heartbreak debuted at Visions du Réel last year. Other fests included Hot Docs, DOK.fest Munich, Planete+ Doc, Docville, EDOC, Locarno, Dokufest, DocPoint, BAFICI, and ZagrebDox.
Wishing to explore the phenomenon of lovesickness, Frei solicits the recently lovelorn via street flyers, finding three people more than happy to share their obsession on camera: Alley, rejected just days ago by her boyfriend of several years; Michael, whose longtime live-in girlfriend dumped him two weeks ago; and Rosey, who’s finally realizing the one-night fling at the Mermaid Parade she had with an out-of-town lothario isn’t going to lead to anything. While the hopelessly hipster Rosey is perhaps the most insufferable of the three, all of them are awash in such rampant self-absorption that it’s difficult to watch. Certainly, we’ve all been there before, but few of us have broadcast it to the world quite so pointedly. Luckily, Frei mitigates this cringeworthiness to some extent by incorporating the views of the often insightful Professor Helen Fisher, a biological anthropologist who has studied the impact of love – and its loss – on the brain, and who refers to it at one point as a “horrible addiction.”
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Friday, September 25: BECOMING BULLETPROOF
Michael Barnett’s behind-the-scenes look at the making of a unique film made its debut at Vancouver last year. Its fest circuit has also included Heartland, Cleveland, Newport Beach, Martha’s Vineyard, and Vail, among others.
Once a year, the adult summer camp collective called Zeno Mountain Farm, which unites the disabled and non-disabled, creates a short film. Barnett’s inviting doc chronicles the production of their stab at a western, titled BULLETPROOF, which integrates actors with disabilities without being an explicitly cause-focused film. Similarly, while Barnett follows subjects like AJ, a man with cerebral palsy, on and off set, demonstrating at times the everyday challenges his condition presents, the film’s chief aim is to document organically Zeno’s process and its impact on its participants. Certainly the takeaway is that inclusive experiences like this are all-too-rare, and that they benefit all involved, transcending a sense of pity or awkward discomfort to open up genuine, creative, and social connections between disparate individuals.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres and VOD today, Friday, September 25: A BRAVE HEART: THE LIZZIE VELASQUEZ STORY
Sara Hirsch Bordo’s portrait of a bullying victim turned activist debuted at SXSW earlier this year, where it took home an audience award. It has since gone on to screen at Traverse City, Newport Beach, Rhode Island, Lower East Side, and Bentonville, among others.
Called the “Most Ugly Woman in the World” in a cruel YouTube clip that went viral, Lizzie Velasquez, a young woman suffering from a genetic disorder so rare, it took 25 years to diagnose, fought back. Long on the receiving end of insults and gawking due to her unusual appearance, brought on by an inability to put on weight, Velasquez channelled her sadness and anger into a mission to combat bullying, becoming a self-assured motivational speaker who regularly travels around the world giving speeches to audiences of thousands. Blessed with a supportive family, who, while protective, clearly see the impact and import of her work, Velasquez takes on the cause of an anti-bullying bill making its way through Congress. Bordo wisely places much of her focus on Velasquez herself to tell her own inspirational story, clearly recognizing her subject’s poise and charisma.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres and to iTunes tomorrow, Friday, September 25: MISSION TO LARS
William Spicer and James Moore’s chronicle of a rock pilgrimage made its debut in UK theatres back in 2012. Festival screenings followed at CPH:DOX, Reykjavik’s Docs&Shorts, Brisbane, and East End, among other smaller events.
Tom is a severely autistic British man who lives in a residential care facility and is a huge Metallica fan. All he wants is to meet drummer Lars Ulrich, prompting his siblings, Kate, the doc’s producer and narrator, and Will, the film’s director, to try to realize his dream by taking him on a road trip across America, allowing them to have some long overdue family bonding along the way. While sympathetic to Will’s condition, Fragile X Syndrome, which manifests in learning impairment, obsession, and panic attacks, Kate and Will seem to have only the most rudimentary connection to their brother, making their awkward attempts to relate to him at times very grating. Still, one of the film’s goals is spreading awareness about the learning disabled, so there’s some potential worth in the audience learning from their mistakes. While the film relies far too much on tired road trip conventions and manufactured suspense, and stretches its thin premise nearly to the breaking point, a warmth registers, particularly when Ulrich finally enters the picture.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres across the US for a special one-night only screening tonight, Thursday, September 24 and coming to iTunes tomorrow, Friday, September 25: UNBRANDED
Phillip Baribeau’s tale of men and mustangs made its bow at Hot Docs, where it picked up an audience award. Screenings have followed at Mountainfilm at Telluride, Sedona, and Rhode Island. Following tonight’s special screening event, the film will open for limited theatrical runs in several cities this weekend and over the next few weeks.
Baribeau’s well-shot scenic exploration of the American West ostensibly seeks to draw attention to the plight of our nation’s wild horses and the controversial policies in place to manage their population. That’s all well and good, but the method by which this issue is addressed in his feature debut is hopelessly contrived: Four recent college grads adopt several mustangs and set out to ride them from the Mexican border all the way up through America to Canada, all to somehow prove the horses’ worth. Instead, this arbitrary, manufactured premise simply serves as an excuse for a random, reality TV-styled “adventure” shared by a group of privileged white men, with occasional awkward insertions of wild horse factoids. While pretty to look at, and offering a pro-horse message that is resonating with audiences, its mash-up of road trip and issue doc is ultimately inelegant and, one suspects, less successful than had the filmmaker simply picked one genre to explore.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, September 25: WESTERN
Bill Ross and Turner Ross’ portrait of a pair of border towns debuted this year at Sundance, where the brothers picked up a special award. The film has gone on to screen at Nantucket, Hot Docs, IFF Boston, San Francisco, Full Frame, Sarasota, Dallas, Ashland, Maryland, Montclair, and Little Rock, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
what (not) to doc 