Category Archives: Releases

Coming to theatres this Friday, June 8: PAUL WILLIAMS STILL ALIVE

Stephen Kessler’s portrait of one of the most ubiquitous celebrities of the 1970s had its world premiere last year at Toronto. Additional screenings followed at SXSW, IDFA, Thessaloniki Documentary, and Seattle, among other festivals.

I included the film in my Toronto roundup here.

Coming to DVD next Tuesday, June 5: BEAR NATION

Malcolm Ingram’s exploration of a uniquely gay subculture made its premiere at SXSW in 2010. In addition to screening at numerous LGBT film fests, including NewFest, Frameline, and Outfest, among others, the doc was presented at numerous bear events around the US, and picked up a jury award at the Atlanta Film Festival in 2011.

Ingram’s previous documentary, SMALL TOWN GAY BAR, provided insight and inspiration as it demonstrated the need for community, even against a backdrop of intolerance. In a similar vein, his newest film is focused on belonging – specifically, the brotherhood that has formed among gay men with a particular body type that is typically not celebrated in either the mainstream straight or gay communities. While those well-versed in the gay community may know what bears are – generally, larger, hairier gay men – the general public most likely does not. Interestingly, it’s this latter group that Ingram’s film may best serve, providing exposure to an alternate conception of gay male sexuality that embraces a specific conception of masculinity that might be surprising to straight women and men who associate male homosexuality with effeminacy. The presence of Ingram’s good friend, filmmaker Kevin Smith, as both executive producer and on-screen “honorary bear” further emphasizes this link to non-gay audiences. This is not to say that gay audiences haven’t responded to the doc, of course, but it may be a little “Bears 101” for those in the know. Additionally, as is clear from the film in its discussion of subgroups of bears – muscle bears vs fat bears, for example – there is cliquish behavior based on what one is attracted to which makes the audience for this film fairly self-selecting within the larger gay male community. As a whole, Ingram offers a broad view of a subculture that challenges stereotypes of gay men both within and outside of the gay community, explores the significance of finding one’s own community, and celebrates the power of acknowledging and accepting one’s body type and sexual preferences.

Available on DVD: MURDER BY PROXY: HOW AMERICA WENT POSTAL

Emil Chiaberi’s exposé of workplace conditions that drive people to their breaking point screened at a number of festivals beginning in 2010, including Montreal World and Strasbourg. It became available on DVD last month.

Taking as its point of departure the series of workplace shootings that took place in the mid-1980s and 1990s, most notably at post offices, Chiaberi’s film seeks to go beyond sensationalism to try to understand why seemingly ordinary people one day snapped. Media footage of the incidents at the time focused on the idea that there was something wrong with the individuals, but through contemporary interviews, a different picture emerges to explain this desperate behavior. Subjects in Chiaberi’s film argue that the murderous impulses were the result of abuse by employers and generally demeaning working conditions, and, through the course of the film, some of the interviewees are involved with trying to get legislation passed to address this issue. Perhaps most provocatively, Chiaberi argues that we’re on the verge of a potential epidemic of violence due to the recession – laying the blame squarely at the feet of our political leaders, who, since Reagan, have systematically stripped workers of their power, instead privileging their superiors. While the film has its issues – the occasional narration is weak, the sound levels are off, and it errs on the side of the conventional talking heads issue doc – Chiaberi gets good material out of his subjects, and its relevance to recent attempts to union bust beg an update that can help it resonate even more for today’s audience.