Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, March 4: THE IRAN JOB
Till Schauder’s look at an American basketball player on an Iranian team debuted at the 2012 Los Angeles Film Festival. Its fest circuit included Vancouver, New Orleans, San Diego, Philadelphia, Denver, and Documentary Edge before a limited theatrical release and VOD release last year.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres today, Thursday, February 27: AS THE PALACES BURN
Don Argott’s band profile-turned-courtroom drama made its world premiere earlier this month at Philadelphia’s Trocadero Theatre. SpectiCast releases the doc worldwide for a series of largely one-night-only events tomorrow.
Originally commissioned to profile the popular metal band Lamb of God and their fans as they toured around the world, Don Argott found himself having to switch gears unexpectedly when lead singer Randy Blythe is arrested halfway through the tour upon arriving in Prague. At the band’s last concert in the Czech Republic, two years ago, a young fan died after sustaining injuries trying to stage dive, and Blythe is being held responsible, though the authorities made no effort to contact him or the band in the intervening two years. Despite posting bail, Blythe is not released from prison, and faces up to a decade in prison if found guilty, a situation which inspires Lamb of God’s legion of fans, and fellow celebrity musicians, to petition for his return to the States. In a case of being in the right place at the right time, Argott is able to use Blythe’s unfortunate predicament to craft a much more intriguing film than the one he set out to make, but one still informed by the footage he’d already shot highlighting the band’s impact on their admirers, as, at the center of the courtroom drama that develops is the spectre of one of those fans, the young man who lost his life. Interesting in its exploration of an initially Kafka-esque foreign justice system, and successful in making the viewer root for Blythe, the circumstances of the change in focus make it difficult for Argott to really individuate the band members or to more fully develop Blythe, beyond establishing that the once out-of-control singer has been clean and sober for some time. Still, it remains an intriguing enough stranger than fiction story that is able to resonate beyond the band’s core fanbase.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, February 25: PEOPLE OF A FEATHER
Joel Heath’s examination of the Inuit and their relationship to the eider duck made its debut at Hot Docs in 2011. It went on to screen at Vancouver, DocuWest, United Nations Association, Big Sky, Cleveland, and at numerous environmental fests in San Francisco, Korea, New Zealand, Estonia, and Indonesia, among others.
Attempting to blend ethnography with environmental awareness, Heath approaches the Inuit of Canada’s Hudson Bay both historically, reconstructing their life from a century ago, in an homage to Robert Flaherty’s NANOOK OF THE NORTH; and, in contrast, presently, working with the inhabitants of Sanikiluaq to explore their day-to-day and traditional activities, including the hunting of the eider duck, whose down keeps them warm. Expanding from the latter, the film adds yet another dimension, the observations of a scientific research team looking at the behavior of both the eider duck and the troubling environmental impact of hydro projects in the region. Of these, the historical reconstructions add the least to the proceedings, detracting from the more compelling, and urgent, ecological controversy. Despite this, the beautiful lensing, including underwater and time-lapse photography, presents audiences with a distinct view of the challenges transforming life for both men and fowl today.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, February 25: ITALY: LOVE IT OR LEAVE IT
Gustav Hofer and Luca Ragazzi’s personal chronicle of their ambivalence around their home debuted at Milano in 2011. It went on to screen at Zurich, Thessaloniki Doc, Reykjavik, Docpoint, Goteborg, SXSW, Full Frame, Hot Docs, Seattle, Antenna, and DOXA, among others. FilmBuff now releases the film across multiple platforms.
I previously included the doc in my Thessaloniki coverage here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25: BETTER THINGS: THE LIFE AND CHOICES OF JEFFREY CATHERINE JONES
Maria Paz Cabardo’s portrait of the comic book artist and fine art illustrator made its debut at Kansas City’s Spectrum Fantastic Art Live! event in 2012. It went on to screen at Belfast, Leeds, and Hoboken, among other fests.
Jones, who passed away in 2011, had a career that spanned four decades, including sequential comic book art, fantasy/sci-fi book cover illustrations, and regular strips in National Lampoon and Heavy Metal. While this work is greatly admired by fellow artists, it hasn’t extended much beyond a niche fanbase. Cabardo’s film, in great part, aims to correct this obscurity, serving up countless examples of Jones’ impressive work, and offering points of curiosity, such as the influence of the 1979 art book, THE STUDIO, produced together with workspace-mates and now-notable fellow illustrators Bernie Wrightson, Michael Wm Kaluta, and Barry Windsor-Smith. While this is an admirable mission, it still feels somewhat too insider and anecdote-driven, and serves to dilute the more intriguing personal elements that make Jones’ story unique, chiefly his transition from male-identified Jeff Jones to female identified Jeffrey Catherine Jones, but also her complicated friendship with artist – and, at that point, fellow crossdresser – Vaughn Bode, and bouts with depression which at times interrupted her ability to create art. While the film addresses these biographical details, the more general artist appreciation often competes with them, holding the project back from transcending its limited scope or likely audience. Still, Cabardo succeeds in creating a tribute to Jones’ work that demonstrates the late artist’s exceptional talent.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25: THE CRASH REEL
Lucy Walker’s exploration of snowboarder Kevin Pearce’s traumatic brain injury had its world premiere at Sundance last year. The film went on to screen at DOC NYC, Berlin, Hot Docs, True/False, Full Frame, Seattle, and Los Angeles, among many others, and was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25: DISCO AND ATOMIC WAR
Jaak Kilmi’s deadpan look at Western TV’s influence on life under Communism made its debut in Warsaw in 2009, picking up the best documentary award. It went on to screen at Telluride, Hot Docs, Seattle, and Los Angeles, among other fests, before a limited theatrical release.
I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, February 25: NARCO CULTURA
Shaul Schwarz’s exploration of Mexico’s drug-inspired music genre had its world premiere at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at Berlin, Hot Docs, Fantastic Fest, Sydney, Stockholm, and San Sebastian, among others.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to the WORLD Channel’s America ReFramed series next Tuesday, February 25: DRIVERS WANTED
Joshua Z Weinstein’s portrait of taxi drivers debuted at Silverdocs in 2012. Its fest circuit has included DOK.Leipzig, the Southern Circuit Tour, DOC NYC, Big Sky, and Sebastopol Doc fests, among others, as well as a limited theatrical engagement.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, February 25: MUSCLE SHOALS
Greg “Freddy” Camalier’s tribute to the influential Alabama recording studios had its world premiere at Sundance last year. It went on to screen at SXSW, Nantucket, Atlantic, Melbourne, Seattle, Maui, Nashville, and Hot Docs, where it won an Audience Award.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
