Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17: THE FINAL MEMBER
Jonah Bekhor and Zach Math’s exploration of phallological obsession premiered at Hot Docs in 2012. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, Seattle, Silverdocs, Fantastic Fest, Denver, and Florida, among others.
I included the film in my Hot Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 17: A RIVER CHANGES COURSE
Kalyanee Mam’s portrain of the downsides of Cambodia’s development had its world premiere at Sundance last year, winning the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize. Its fest circuit has included Full Frame, San Francisco, Atlanta, RiverRun, Yale’s Environmental fest, LA’s Asian Pacific, and Docville. The doc now becomes available on VOD platforms including iTunes, XBOX, Sony Entertainment Network, SundanceNOW, Amazon, Vudu, YouTube, and VHX.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Maysles Cinema for a threatrical run starting today, Monday, June 16: NORTHERN LIGHT
Nick Bentgen’s portrait of family, community, and snowmobile racing in the Recession debuted at True/False last year. It went on to screen at Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, BAMcinemaFest, New Orleans, Viennale, and Sebastopol Doc, among others.
I previously wrote about the doc out of True/False here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Global Voices on the WORLD Channel this Sunday, June 15: I WILL BE MURDERED
Justin Webster’s unusual story of Guatemalan death and politics debuted at Guatemala’s Memoria, Verdad, Justicia fest last year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Madrid’s Documenta, Traverse City, Lima, Sao Paulo, Tallgrass, Chicago, Antenna, Denver, Havana, and Cartagena, among others.
I previously wrote about the film in my Hot Docs coverage for Indiewire, saying:
Shortly before his death, Guatemalan attorney Rodrigo Rosenberg, whose clients were recently assassinated, recorded a video accusing President Alvaro Colom of his murder. After his execution, his confidante released the video and it became a nationwide sensation, leading to calls for Colom to resign. Public pressure forced an in-depth investigation in a country where 98% of murders go unsolved, but what the head of the taskforce found is wholly unexpected. Justin Webster crafts an investigative documentary that humanizes its victim even as it reveals genuinely surprising details about his case. Despite its twists and turns, the various nefarious figures that pop up, and the competing theories thrown in and out, Webster maintains a clarity of storytelling that might all too easily have become a muddled mess in other hands. What results is an absolutely stranger than fiction tale of lives cut short by corruption and secrets, and a demonstration of the power of the public to demand an end to impunity for even its highest elected officials.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, June 13: EVERGREEN: THE ROAD TO LEGALIZATION
Riley Morton’s look at Washington State’s battle over marijuana legalization debuted at the Seattle International Film Festival last year. Other fest screenings have included Spokane and Bermuda Docs.
Morton’s film focuses on Washington’s controversial ballot initiative I-502, a measure to license, regulate, and decriminalize marijuana in the state, which was passed in the November 2012 election. Given that this result understandably made national and international news, Riley can’t depend on campaign doc conventions to ramp up suspense as it counts down to election night, which makes it unfortunate that the film is still structured in a fairly predictable manner, with a surfeit of talking heads and nitty gritty local campaign politics that may be lost on non-Washington viewers. To that point, it’s telling – and a smart move – that the doc’s subtitle has been slightly revised since its fest premiere to excise a specific mention of Washington State. At the same time, the overall subject matter is absolutely of national interest, and the general arguments put forth by Morton’s interview subjects certainly inform the national debate over legalization, so there’s clearly an audience that should be interested in the film and the case study provided by Washington State as cannabis legalization activism continues to spread.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens this Sunday, June 15: THE NEW BLACK
Yoruba Richen’s look at the relationship between African Americans and gay rights had its premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last year. It went on to screen at Human Rights Watch, AFI Docs, Frameline, Urbanworld, Citizen Jane, Hot Springs, Polari, and New Orleans, among others.
I included the film in my AFI Docs coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 13: IVORY TOWER
Andrew Rossi’s investigation of the current economics of higher education debuted earlier this year at Sundance. It has also screened at Sarasota, Miami, Seattle, Ashland, Full Frame, Cleveland, and Montclair, among others.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, June 10: TIM’S VERMEER
Teller’s exploration of an art history mystery had its world premiere at Telluride. Other fest screenings included Toronto, Palm Springs, Denver, St Louis, Portland, Dubai, the Hamptons, and New York Film Festival, and enjoyed a limited theatrical release. The doc was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar. It now becomes available in a Blu-Ray/DVD combo pack, as well as digitally via iTunes.
I previously wrote about the film out here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 10: THE MISSING PICTURE
Rithy Panh’s personal reflection on life under the Khmer Rouge premiered at Cannes last year, where it won the Un Certain Regard. Additional screenings included Toronto, New York, Vancouver, Cleveland, Seattle, Jerusalem, and Göteborg, among several others. The doc was Oscar nominated for Best Foreign Language Film.
I included the film in my Toronto coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, June 10: BRASSLANDS
The Meerkat Media Collective’s exploration of a Serbian brass festival debuted at the Minneapolis St Paul International Film Festival last year. Other screenings have included Belgrade’s BelDocs, Los Angeles Film Festival, Rooftop Films, Rotterdam, CPH:DOX, Vilnius, Thessaloniki Doc, New Orleans, and American Doc fest. It now comes to VOD platforms via The Orchard’s Opus Docs series.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
