Coming to DVD next Tuesday, December 6: BOBBY FISCHER AGAINST THE WORLD
Liz Garbus premiered her biography of the chess wunderkind at this year’s Sundance. After screening at numerous additional festivals, it was broadcast on HBO this summer.
I profiled the film pre-Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Premiering on HBO tomorrow, Wednesday, November 30: PINK SARIS
Acclaimed doc maker Kim Longinotto premiered this inspirational portrait of Indian women rights activist Sampat Pal at Toronto last year. It went on to win awards at Sheffield, Abu Dhabi, CPH:DOX, Hong Kong, and elsewhere.
I included the film in my Toronto roundup last year here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 29: SONS OF PERDITION
Jennilyn Merten and Tyler Measom’s doc on exiled Latter Day Saints fundamentalists made its world premiere at Tribeca, screened at a number of notable fests, an had a limited theatrical release. It was also part of Oprah’s Documentary Club, premiering on OWN back in June.
I wrote about the film upon its theatrical release here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 29: BECOMING CHAZ
The prolific Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato’s in-depth portrait of Chastity Bono’s FTM transition to Chaz Bono premiered at Sundance this year. It became the first film in Oprah’s Documentary Club this past May.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD next Tuesday, November 29: CAVE OF FORGOTTEN DREAMS
Werner Herzog brought his 3-D doc on the Chauvet caves to Telluride and Toronto last year. After numerous additional festival engagements, Sundance Selects released the film in the Spring to overwhelming audience support.
I wrote about the doc out of Toronto here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Premiering on HBO this Wednesday, November 23: THE SOUND OF MUMBAI: A MUSICAL
Sarah McCarthy premiered this enjoyable and smartly realized portrait of performing slum kids at Toronto last year. It has since screened at notable fests like Miami and DOC NYC.
I included the film in my Toronto roundup last year here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 22: THESE AMAZING SHADOWS
Paul Mariano and Kurt Norton premiered their doc on the National Film Registry at Sundance at the beginning of the year. Since then, it has screened at nearly two dozen additional festivals, picking up awards in Savannah and Louisville, and enjoyed theatrical engagements all over the country.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 18: GARBO: THE SPY
Edmon Roch’s engaging examination of the career of a WWII double agent has screened at Rome, IDFA, San Francisco, and Karlovy Vary among others since its debut in 2009. The film opens in NYC this weekend, expanding to LA next week, with further engagements in December and January.
The figure at the center of Roch’s film, Juan Pujol Garcia, was dubbed “Garbo” by British intelligence in recognition of his remarkable acting abilities. The Nazis knew him as “Arabel,” and, unbeknownst to them, several other names – Pujol Garcia invented a whole network of imaginary operatives to fool his German handlers, even going so far as to plant an obituary notice for one of them as part of a larger ruse. Though he was turned away repeatedly by MI5, when he revealed the extent of his deception of the Germans, he was welcomed as a double agent, and was put to use feeding the Nazis always plausible misinformation that ended up helping the Allies. Roch peels away at the layers of Garbo’s identities, revealing the little-known story of perhaps one of the most important spies of the era, instrumental in keeping the Axis in the dark about the impact of D-Day. Adding to the intrigue, the film, through historian Nigel West, reveals the additional twists and turns Pujol Garcia’s life took after the war, resulting in further surprising revelations that fit perfectly within the scope of the cipher’s life, who the viewer may still feel s/he doesn’t really know by the end of the film.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, November 18: EAMES: THE ARCHITECT AND THE PAINTER
Producers Jason Cohn and Bill Jersey premiered their portrait of couple Charles and Ray Eames at the Denver Film Society at the end of September before bringing the film to a handful of other festivals and museums prior to its theatrical release. It opens at NYC’s IFC Center and LA’s Lemmle’s Music Hall this week, with more engagements through the end of the year.
The influence and impact of Charles Eames on design might be more than enough to explore in a documentary project, but that’s not the only thing focused upon by producers Cohn and Jersey (strangely, no director appears to be credited). While it doesn’t provide a comprehensive biography, the film does offer a focus on and appreciation of not only the well-known Charles but also of the quieter Ray. By deliberately underscoring the relationship between the married business partners, the film is elevated beyond being a simple hagiography or consideration of an artist/celebrity. Often relegated into the background due to societal mores, Ray emerges here as a pioneering business woman and creative force in the studio the couple conceived and ran in Venice Beach. The studio itself, represented by some of its former designers and especially by a wealth of archival material – one of the strengths of the doc as a whole – is another area of concentration that offers a fascinating window into the Eames’ creative process. Between the more personal aspects of their story, and the history of their design work, the doc manages to work at once as both a portrait of individuals and of their aesthetic philosophy.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to theatres this Friday, November 18: IN HEAVEN, UNDERGROUND: THE WEISSENSEE JEWISH CEMETERY
Britta Wauer’s portrait of a Jewish cemetery in Berlin premiered at the Berlinale this year, where it picked up the Panorama Audience Award. It has also screened at the Jerusalem and Hamptons film festivals, as well as Hot Docs and Jewish film fests around the world. It now opens for a week-long theatrical in NYC’s Cinema Village.
I previously wrote about the film out of the Hamptons here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
