Category Archives: Releases

Coming to NYC’s Lincoln Plaza Cinema this Friday, December 6: TIM’S VERMEER

Teller’s look at one man’s quest to uncover the Dutch master’s secrets made its debut at Telluride. It went on to screen at Toronto and the New York Film Festival. The doc will open in LA next week, and then goes nationwide at the end of January. It was just announced as one of the fifteen films shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

Available on DVD today, Tuesday, December 3: THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE

Shane Meadows’ love letter to the eponymous band debuted in their hometown of Manchester this past Spring. It went on to screen theatrically in the UK, Ireland, the US, and Canada, and to screen at fests in Sydney, Athens, Karlovy Vary, and Tokyo.

I previously wrote about the doc upon its theatrical release here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 3: SMASH & GRAB: THE STORY OF THE PINK PANTHERS

Havana Marking’s investigation into an infamous gang of jewel thieves had its world premiere at IDFA last year. Its fest circuit has also included Sheffield, East End, Ireland’s Stranger Than Fiction, Zagreb, and Dubai, and the film was released theatrically this Summer.

I included the doc in my IDFA coverage here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 3: MR ANGEL

Dan Hunt’s portrait of FTM porn star and activist Buck Angel had its world premiere at SXSW earlier this year. It’s gone on to screen at Brooklyn, Rio, and at LGBT fests in Paris, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Atlanta, among others.

I included the doc in my SXSW coverage here.

Now available on VOD: LA CAMIONETA

Mark Kendall’s look at the journey of one school bus from the US to Guatemala had its debut at SXSW last year. Other fest berths included DOC NYC, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Denver, DocsDF, Big Sky, Nashville, Guadalajara, Cleveland, and It’s All True, among others. It’s now available on iTunes.

I previously wrote about the doc out of SXSW here.

Coming to NYC’s Cinema Village today, Friday, November 29: SHORED UP

Ben Kalina’s look at coastal communities in the face of climate change debuted earlier this year at Montclair. It’s gone on to screen at DOXA, SF Green, Provincetown, and Sidewalk, among several other engagements, as well as to cable on DirecTV.

Kalina’s focus is on beach replenishment – where massive quantities of sand are re-introduced to coastlines that have suffered erosion – and its efficacy, or lack thereof, exploring how the US Army Corps of Engineers are fighting a seemingly neverending (and futile) battle, in part, to allow people to live on steadily vanishing beaches. Despite maps from decades ago providing stark evidence of the vanishing barrier islands along the Jersey Shore, (over)development continues, driven by real estate profit. In North Carolina, politicians are more than willing to bury their heads in the (vanishing) sands, banning the discussion of sea level rise so they can overturn environmental protections that have slowed development. The film was nearing completion when Superstorm Sandy made landfall, destroying communities and costing lives just over a year ago. In response, Kalina was able to integrate footage about its devastating aftermath, making it one of the first feature docs to cogently address the disaster and call for solutions to help prevent similar future recurrences.

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, December 3: GOOD OL’ FREDA

Ryan White’s portrait of the woman behind the Beatles made its debut at SXSW this Spring. Other stops on the fest circuit included Hot Docs, San Francisco, Cleveland, Full Frame, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, DocAviv, and Dallas, among others, before a limited theatrical and VOD release this Fall.

I previously wrote about the film out of SXSW here.

Coming to theatres and to VOD this Friday, November 29: THE PUNK SINGER

Sini Anderson’s portrait of pioneering riot grrrl Kathleen Hanna made its debut at SXSW earlier this year. The film has gone on to screen at DOC NYC, Seattle, London, IFF Boston, Sidewalk, Brisbane, Melbourne, and Hot Docs, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc out of Hot Docs here.