Category Archives: Releases

Opening at NYC’s Quad Cinema today, Friday, July 29 and opening at LA’s Laemmle Music Hall on August 5: THE HARVEST/LA COSECHA

Director U Roberto Romano, who has made other projects on child labor around the world, turns his camera on child exploitation in the US with this project about the children of migrant farm workers. Helping to generate media awareness for the film is its executive producer, actress Eva Longoria. The doc made its world premiere at IDFA last fall.

Twelve-year-old Zulema, 14-year-old Perla, and 16-year-old Victor are not like other American kids their age. As the children of migrant farm workers, they follow their parents, and their parents must go where there is work. But, beyond being subject to this nomadic existence, to help make ends meet, they join them in working upwards of twelve hours a day, every day of the week, picking crops – working illegally, and sacrificing their childhoods and their education in the process. Romano’s film effectively presents the realities of these children’s lives, and the cost they have to bear, continuing a cycle of poverty. Of the three subjects, Zulema is the most compelling – circumstances give her the potential to change her fortune and find stability. The other two characters are more static, standing out more as examples of other children in the same position, but not necessarily as fleshed out or compelling as Zulema, who could probably have sustained interest as a singular subject. Still, as a whole, the film succeeds in showing audiences some uncomfortable truths behind agricultural production in our own country, and the economic disparities that force many families to make difficult decisions about their own children.

Coming to NYC’s Cinema Village tomorrow, Friday, July 29: SLEEP FURIOUSLY

Gideon Koppel elegaic portrait of a small Welsh community screened in Telluride, Edinburgh, Locarno, and Rome, among other festivals, and was recognized as Best First Film by the Guardian.

Koppel returns to his hometown of Trefeurig in Wales, a rural farming community, to turn his camera on its beautiful landscape and its residents, who are dealing with a town that seems to be literally disappearing. The impending closure of the school, aging of its populace, and moves toward modernization all signal that their traditional way of life may not be long for this world. But this is no explicit social issue documentary – Kopple’s approach is more contemplative and lyrical, with scene compositions and an overall approach reminiscent of recent films focused on place like 45365, DARWIN, or BOMBAY BEACH, while the community’s connection to farming and nature at times brings to mind SWEETGRASS or SUMMER PASTURE. Despite these cinematic cousins, Koppel’s film maintains its own unique and strange simplicity and beauty. While it may not be for all audiences, it will prove a rewarding experience for those who allow themselves to follow its rhythms.

Note: SLEEP FURIOUSLY and A SKETCHBOOK FOR THE LIBRARY VAN, Koppel’s hour-long preliminary study for the film, are both streaming free for 24 hours tomorrow online at Fandor.com.

Coming to HBO this Monday, August 1: KORAN BY HEART

The director of the acclaimed SERGIO, Greg Barker, premiered his look at an international Koran recitation contest at Tribeca. It makes its cable debut as part of the HBO Documentary Films Summer Series.

I wrote about the film out of Tribeca here.

Coming to DVD this coming Tuesday, July 26: ON THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE

Stefanie Brockhaus and Andy Wolff’s film had its premiere in 2009 at DOK Leipzig, and went on to play numerous notable fests over the past couple of years, including SXSW, True/False, RIDM, Encounters South Africa, Camden, and DokFest Munich. It’s taken away awards at the latter two and other fests along the way. IndiePix is now releasing the title on DVD in the US.

The protagonists of Brockhaus and Wolff’s absorbing verité portrait are brothers Lucky and Bongani, two seemingly even-tempered young men who have grown up in the slums of Cape Town, picking up much needed street smarts to survive their often harsh, sometimes deadly, environment. That danger is quickly realized when both brothers are accused of a brutal murder and must spend time in jail until their supportive grandmother can arrange bail. While going through this life-changing ordeal, they also embark on another trial – a tribal ritual circumcision. Late in the film, details about their alleged crime are made known, potentially leading the audience to re-examine everything they’ve seen up until then. Documenting the various and unexpected facets of their experiences, the filmmakers create an intelligent and sympathetic study of two youths who have to balance tradition with modern influences and survival with the rule of law.

Opening at NYC’s Anthology Film Archives tomorrow, Thursday, July 22: PSYCHOHYDROGRAPHY

Peter Bo Rappmund’s stunningly beautiful experimental study of water has screened at a handful of festivals and events since premiering at Vancouver last fall, including Ann Arbor, Hong Kong, and MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight. Anthology brings the film back to NYC for a weekend-long run.

In a series of striking static camera set-ups, Rappmund’s film follows the movement of the body of water that becomes the Los Angeles River from its starting point in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains through natural and man-made landscapes until it reaches its end in the Pacific Ocean. If this flow isn’t already strangely captivating, Rappmund makes it even more mesmerizing – what the viewer watches is actually the product of time-lapse animation. Thousands of stills contribute to each scene of the film, creating a unique rhythmic effect that keeps the eye engaged due to its upending of expectations of how flowing water should actually look. A rather unusual, but equally intriguing and not-quite-natural soundscape accompanies the visuals, making for an appropriate match. Clocking in at just over an hour, Rappmund’s film feels just about the right length and shouldn’t try the viewer’s endurance, even if s/he is not normally a fan of experimental work. Photography and nature fans who may not normally be drawn to experimental or documentary work should especially consider taking a look.

Opening today for a one-week run at NYC’s Film Forum: THE WOMAN WITH THE 5 ELEPHANTS

Vadim Jendreyko’s portrait has been on the festival circuit since its premiere in early 2009 at Visions du Réel, screening at notable events such as Locarno, the Viennale, DOK Leipzig, DocPoint, Rotterdam, Planete Doc Review, Hot Docs, Silverdocs, RIDM, and True/False, among many others. It now comes to US theatres via Cinema Guild.

The woman of the title is octogenarian Svetlana Geier, the formidable center of this wonderful observational documentary biography. Geier’s five elephants are metaphorical, not pachydermous, but no less weighty: Dostoyevsky’s greatest novels, all translated by Geier, considered the absolute best translator of Russian literature into the German language. The camera follows Geier in her daily life, preparing to work out a new translation with her colleague, who serves as both a sounding board and typist. Their interactions and dissection of language telegraph both a long-established professional relationship as well as a clear friendship, making them a pleasure to observe. Moving beyond the confines of her home, Jendreyko follows Geier to the Ukraine, the homeland she left during WWII, providing the impetus to explore her background and what influenced her fascination with language and translation.

Coming to NYC’s Film Forum next Wednesday, July 27: EL BULLI: COOKING IN PROGRESS

Gereon Wetzel’s delectable observational portrait of a Michelin three-star restaurant had its world premiere at IDFA last year, and has screened at a number of festivals since. Kino Lorber’s Alive Mind label is bringing the film to theatres, beginning with a two-week run at Film Forum, and hopefully foodie audiences will come out to support it.

I wrote about the film out of True/False for indieWIRE, saying:
Wetzel’s film, which premiered at IDFA, offers a fascinating behind-the-scenes look at how Spanish chef Ferran Adria, a leader in molecular gastronomy, developed and executed the seasonal menu of his exclusive Catalan restaurant, El Bulli, which is slated to shut down permanently in December. The audience becomes privy to the months-long process his cadre of chefs and he go through over the course of a year – extensive and meticulous food experimentation, menu refinement, and implementation when the restaurant reopens for the new season. The documentary captures the joy of surprise and invention while simultaneously providing a window into the working relationship of a group of professional chefs.