Coming to PBS’ POV tomorrow, Thursday, July 5 (and available online between July 6 and August 5): THE CITY DARK
Ian Cheney’s personal meditation on the loss of the night sky due to light pollution made its world premiere last year at SXSW, where it picked up an award for Best Score. Its festival circuit included the Independent Film Festival Boston, Woods Hole, Yale’s Environmental fest, and the Geek Film Festival, among others.
I included the film in my SXSW roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this Friday, July 6: CHINA HEAVYWEIGHT
Yung Chang premiered his sports doc/economic commentary at Sundance. It’s gone on to screen at Hot Docs, Sheffield, and Silverdocs, among others. The doc expands to other cities later this month and into August.
I wrote about the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s Quad Cinema this Friday, July 6: UNITED IN ANGER
Jim Hubbard’s history of ACT UP had its world premiere at MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight. Its festival circuit has also included Hot Docs, LGBT fests in Torino, Boston, Toronto, and Milan, as well as Frameline. Later this month it will also screen at Outfest and Philadelphia’s Q Fest.
I previously wrote about the doc out of Hot Docs here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, July 3: GONE: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF AERYN GILLERN
Gretchen and John Morning’s doc on a mother’s crusade to locate her missing gay son in Vienna premiered last year at Tribeca. Its festival run has included a number of LGBT events, including Frameline, AgLIFF, Reel Affirmations, Image Out, and NewFest, where it scored best documentary, as well as the Viennale.
I included the film in my Tribeca roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Premiering on HBO next Monday, July 2: MARINA ABRAMOVIC THE ARTIST IS PRESENT
Matthew Akers premiered his film on the Serbian performance artist’s MoMA retrospective at Sundance this year. The doc went on to pick up an audience award at the Berlinale, and was released theatrically earlier this month.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Premiering on HBO this Monday, June 25: ME @THE ZOO_
Chris Moukarbel and Valerie Veatch’s portrait of YouTube celebrity Chris Crocker premiered at Sundance this year. It went on to screen at True/False and Provincetown before its cable broadcast premiere next week.
I wrote about the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres this Friday, June 22: THE INVISIBLE WAR
Kirby Dick’s potent investigation into military rape and its cover up had its world premiere earlier this year at Sundance, where it walked away with an audience award. Since then the film’s festival circuit has included RiverRun, San Francisco, Human Rights Watch, Los Angeles, and others. Its initial theatrical dates include New York, Los Angeles, Washington DC, San Francisco, and Boston.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center tomorrow, Wednesday, June 20: KUMARÉ
Vikram Gandhi’s funny and controversial exposé of false prophets won an audience award at its world premiere at SXSW last year. Its festival circuit has included Denver, Woodstock, Hot Docs, Cucalorus, Planete Doc, Florida, and Traverse City, among others.
I included the film in my SXSW roundup here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19: MARY PICKFORD: THE MUSE OF THE MOVIES
Nicholas Eliopoulos’ tribute to silent film’s first bona fide star made its world premiere at Telluride in 2008. It went on to screen at the Pordenone Silent Film Festival and at the Hot Springs doc fest, among others.
Eliopoulos’ adoring portrait recounts the highlights of Pickford’s career, tracing the development of the child star into the industry’s first female mogul as a partner in United Artists. The path of her career, the doc argues, parallels the blossoming of the motion picture industry, moving from simple one-reelers to more complex features, from silent pictures to talkies, from unnamed, unheralded actors to the birth of the internationally recognized movie star, and from cheap, faddish entertainment to a lucrative celebrity-studded business. Illustrated with a steady stream of clips from among her nearly 200 films, the film offers viewers a too-brief peek into Pickford’s talent, while Michael York’s biographical narration does the heftier job of guiding viewers through decades of a singular career. If the film as a whole is too conventional, eschewing critical engagement for a nostalgic appreciation, one aspect, at least, makes it stand out – joining York as a co-narrator is Pickford herself, in the form of a running commentary assembled from a restored audio interview from late in the star’s life. This posthumous narration weaves its own spell, offering a whisper of what made Pickford “America’s Sweetheart” and inspired this love letter.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, June 19: THE NINE MUSES
John Akomfrah’s experimental melding of THE ODYSSEY and British immigration history premiered at Venice in 2010. It went on to screen at London and Dubai before coming stateside at Sundance in 2011. Additional festival appearances include Sheffield, Karlovy Vary, Jerusalem, Poland’s New Horizons, and Vancouver.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
