Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, January 6: A WILL FOR THE WOODS
Amy Browne, Jeremy Kaplan, Tony Hale, and Brian Wilson’s sensitive exploration of green burial premiered at Full Frame in 2013. Other fest engagements included DOC NYC, New Orleans, AFI Docs, Sidewalk, DocuWest, Camden, Big Sky, Cleveland, Sebastopol Doc, and Atlanta, among others.
I previously wrote about the film out of AFI Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, January 6: ART AND CRAFT
Directors Sam Cullman and Jennifer Grausman and co-director Mark Becker’s look at a curious case of forgery and “philanthropy” had its world premiere at Tribeca last year. Its festival circuit has also included Nantucket, Hot Docs, Montclair, and San Francisco, among others. The film has been selected as one of the fifteen Documentary Feature Oscar shortlist titles.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s American Experience tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6: RIPLEY: BELIEVE IT OR NOT
Cathleen O’Connell’s biography of the man behind the popular curiosity empire makes its broadcast debut tomorrow evening.
LeRoy Robert Ripley became one of the wealthiest men during the Great Depression when he transitioned from newspaper sports cartoonist to America’s guide to random factoids, faraway cultures, and curious oddities – or “curi-oddities,” as the man liked to call them. Starting through his newspaper column, his “Believe It or Not!” series of cartoons eventually spanned books, radio shows, film, and even early television – and that was just in his lifetime. After his death in 1949, the franchise continued, spawning a tourist-friendly museum chain on four continents. O’Connell’s watchable but workmanlike profile reveals how an athletic, buck-toothed young man from Santa Rosa CA built an entertainment empire and became an unlikely celebrity. His round the world explorations of remote in the search to uncover exotic subjects for his cartoon strip allowed readers to travel vicariously through his exploits at a time when international travel was a privilege of the very few, while newspaper contests allowed his fans to submit their own peculiar feats for a chance to be immortalized by Ripley in print and gain their pre-Warhol fifteen minutes of fame. O’Connell posits Ripley’s spotlighting of the odd and obscure as a precursor of sorts to YouTube, which seems like an unnecessary stretch, the point being sufficiently made that he found a way to popularize a palatable version of the carnival freak show, essentially, for general audiences via the various mass media available in his time. Most interesting here are excerpts from Ripley’s early forays into radio and television, all the more fascinating in showing how awkward he was at being a showman, despite his success.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD/VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6: THE PLEASURES OF BEING OUT OF STEP
David L Lewis’ portrait of music critic Nat Hentoff premiered at Full Frame last year. Other festival screenings have included DOC NYC, New Orleans, IFF Boston, DocuWest, Palm Beach, and St Louis.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to the JCC in Manhattan’s CineMatters series tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6 and to theatres this Friday, January 9: VESSEL
Diana Whitten’s profile of an intrepid reproductive rights activist and her nautical mission bowed at SXSW this Spring. It has gone on the screen at Nantucket, DOC NYC, Hot Docs, Sheffield, Jerusalem, Sarasota, and IFF Boston, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Moved by the plight of desperate women in countries with restrictive reproductive rights, Dutch physician Rebecca Gomperts founded Women on Waves, which uses laws governing international waters to bring much-needed abortion and contraceptive services to those with no other recourse. As demonstrated in Diana Whitten’s SXSW audience award and special jury prize winning film, despite a quagmire of legal, religious, political, and logistical obstacles, Gomperts and her impassioned team persevere, coming up with creative workarounds that enable them to educate and empower women around the world to take charge of their own bodies.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, January 6: DINOSAUR 13
Todd Miller’s recounting of the fight over a dinosaur called Sue made its debut at Sundance this year. It also screened at Traverse City, Sydney, Melbourne, and its local setting of the Black Hills.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to CNN for its broadcast debut this Sunday, January 4: LIFE ITSELF
Steve James’ portrait of the late film critic Roger Ebert had its world premiere at Sundance last year. Its festival circuit has included Nantucket, DOC NYC, Cannes, Ebertfest, and AFI Docs, among several others. The film has been shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres and to VOD tomorrow, Friday, January 2: THE SEARCH FOR GENERAL TSO
Ian Cheney’s look at Chinese culinary and immigration history had its premiere at Tribeca this Spring. It went on to screen at Seattle, IFF Boston, AFI Docs, Camden, and Sidewalk, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens on Monday, January 5: RICH HILL
Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo’s sensitive look at the lives of three rural boys premiered at Sundance, winning the US Documentary Grand Jury Prize. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Nantucket, True/False, Dallas, Cleveland, Sarasota, and Ashland, among others. In NYC, PBS’s abrupt change of Independent Lens’ (and POV’s) schedule away from its traditional Primetime WNET/Thirteen placement has been postponed for at least four months thanks to the concerns of independent documentary filmmakers and audience members.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 23: COLD WAR ROADSHOW
Robert Stone and Tim B Toidze’s reflection on Khrushchev’s 1959 tour of America Soviet leader has previously screened at Hot Docs and Hot Springs under a different title. It made its broadcast debut last month on PBS’s American Experience.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
what (not) to doc 