Category Archives: Releases

Coming to DVD/VOD today, Tuesday, November 12: RISING FROM ASHES

TC Johnstone’s chronicle of Rwandan competitive cycling had its world premiere at the Hamptons last year. It went on to screen at fests in Denver, the Bahamas, Dallas, Austin, RiverRun, and Santa Barbara, among others, and to enjoy a limited theatrical release this Summer.

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

Coming to Al Jazeera America Presents tomorrow afternoon, Tuesday, November 12: THE TEAM

Patrick Reed’s exploration of the social impact of a soap opera in Kenya debuted at IDFA in 2010. It went on to screen at Full Frame, Hot Docs, Tallinn Black Nights, Human Rights Watch, London Doc, Kenya, and Silverdocs, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc out of Silverdocs here.

Currently in theatres and coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 12: MEDORA

Andrew Cohn and Davy Rothbart’s high school basketball underdog story made its debut earlier this year at SXSW. It went on to screen at Sarasota, Full Frame, Woods Hole, Sidewalk, Raindance, and Woodstock, among others. The doc opened in NYC and LA last weekend, and expands to several other cities this Friday and through the end of the year. FilmBuff makes the film available via iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Vudu, PlayStation, and XBOX.

Indiana is famed for its obsession with basketball, but in smalltown Medora, the sport, like the town, has seen better days, as demonstrated in Cohn and Rothbart’s appealing microcosmic study. Once again, the Medora Hornets are well on their way to another winless high school season. As varsity players are profiled over the course of the year, it’s clear that victory on the court represents so much more than a game for not only these charismatic young underdogs, but also for their struggling community. Like its thematic antecedent, UNDEFEATED, the doc uses high school athletics to reveal a larger story – here about the recession and its impact on smalltown communities – rather than simply being content with telling a story about winning and losing a game.

Coming to the Village East today, Friday, November 8: THE GHOSTS IN OUR MACHINE

Liz Marshall’s exposé of the plight of animals in modern society made its debut at Hot Docs this Spring. It went on to screen at DOXA, Planete+ Doc, DMZ Docs, and the upcoming IDFA and Planet in Focus fests, among others. It expands to Los Angeles’ Laemmle’s Music Hall next week.

I previously wrote about the doc out of Hot Docs for Indiewire saying:
The “ghosts” in Liz Marshall’s film are various animals, used by humans for food, clothing, or research, as captured by documentary photographer Jo-Anne McArthur as part of her advocacy work to force us to confront our beliefs about animal sentience and rights. Making her way, often clandestinely, into factory farms and other sites of what she views as animal exploitation, McArthur bears witness through the haunting still photographs she takes of deplorable conditions and frightened creatures – but she faces an uphill battle to find a mass audience for her work, since it is too disturbing for most magazine editors. That’s exactly her point, to provoke the viewer into empathizing with the various species on display – from dairy cows condemned to death after just a couple of years of milking, to minks raised in sparse cells for their fur. As a needed counterpoint in an often disturbing film, Marshall shows McArthur in more peaceful surroundings in a farm sanctuary in upstate New York which takes in abused animals and often saves others from unnecessary death. Marshall succeeds in creating a portrait of a driven activist that shies away from outright polemics to perhaps preach beyond the converted.

Coming to EPIX tomorrow, Friday, November 8: FILTHY GORGEOUS: THE BOB GUCCIONE STORY

Barry Avrich’s portrait of the late porn publishing mogul had its world premiere at Toronto this Fall. Notably, its broadcast premiere will be followed by CALIGULA, the notorious production detailed in the documentary.

I previously wrote about the doc out of Toronto here.

Coming to NYC’s IFC Center tomorrow, Friday, November 8: AT BERKELEY

Frederick Wiseman’s immersion into the American public university debuted at Venice this Fall. It’s gone on to screen at Toronto, New York, London, Chicago, and the upcoming Stockholm Film Festival.

I included the film in my Toronto coverage here.

Coming to the Film Society of Lincoln Center this Friday, November 8: CAUCUS

AJ Schnack’s disarming verité look at the Republicans who vied for the White House made its debut at Hot Docs earlier this year. Its festival circuit has included AFI Docs, Camden, and the upcoming AFI Fest and Denver.

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

Coming to theatres this Friday, November 8: THE ARMSTRONG LIE

Alex Gibney’s candid look at the fall of the cycling legend debuted at Venice this Fall. Its fest circuit has also included Toronto, London, the Hamptons, Jihlava, Vancouver, and the upcoming Starz Denver Film Festival, among others.

I included the doc in my TIFF coverage here.