Coming to theatres in New York and Los Angeles next Friday, July 8: BEATS, RHYMES & LIFE: THE TRAVELS OF A TRIBE CALLED QUEST
Actor Michael Rapaport’s documentary directorial debut had its world premiere at Sundance and went on to screen at Tribeca and elsewhere. Along the way, his portrait of the influential hip hop group got picked up by Sony Pictures Classics and begins its theatrical release this summer.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film can be found
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this Friday, July 1 and to Los Angeles and other cities later this summer: CRIME AFTER CRIME
Yoav Potash’s film is an indepth and emotional exploration of Deborah Peagler’s case – a battered woman who was sent to life in prison for the murder of her abuser. After its world premiere at Sundance, it’s been recognized with awards at San Francisco and Washington DC.
I covered the film in a post before its world premiere here.
Note: Filmmakers and special guests from the film are scheduled to be present for Q&As for the opening weekend at the IFC Center, and at select screenings around the country.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to POV next Tuesday, June 28: MY PERESTROIKA
Robin Hessman’s portrait of the last generation of Soviet era Russians had a wildly successful festival run, beginning at Sundance in 2010, and went on to a limited theatrical release this spring.
I posted about the film before its theatrical release here.
To find out more about the POV screening on PBS, click here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to HBO for its cable premiere this Monday, June 27: HOT COFFEE
Attorney Susan Saladoff made her filmmaking debut at Sundance this year, where she secured a coveted deal with HBO for HOT COFFEE, a shocking exploration of the ways ordinary citizens have been duped into supporting tort reform, thereby gravely limiting our ability to use the civil justice system to our advantage against corporate wrongdoing. Since January, her documentary has traveled the festival circuit extensively, most recently winning the Grand Jury Documentary Award at Seattle.
I profiled the film before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD this Tuesday, June 21: SPINE TINGLER! THE WILLIAM CASTLE STORY
Jeffrey Schwarz’ tribute to one of American horror film’s great showmen premiered at the AFI Fest in 2007, where it claimed the Documentary Audience Award. During its run of more than fifty festivals, it received nine additional awards or special mentions. The film is now available for the first time on DVD with hours of bonus features.
William Castle cultivated press attention for his horror productions of the 1950s and ’60s by uniquely incorporating over the top gimmicks to try to stand out from the pack. Audiences found themselves wooed by devices like “Emergo” or “Percepto” – trick skeletons that flew out from the movie theatre’s ceiling, or buzzers hidden underneath patrons’ seats, activated at key moments. Like a vaudeville announcer, Castle built up his films, and his own career, with these tactics, but still felt underappreciated compared to more respected contemporaries like Alfred Hitchcock. Schwarz’s thoroughly entertaining and loving biography grants Castle the respect he deserves, putting his career, achievements, and even shortcomings in the context of the more innocent times in which he made films. If you haven’t seen films like THE HOUSE ON HAUNTED HILL or THE TINGLER before you see this doc, you’ll want to afterward.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to NYC’s IFC Center this Wednesday, June 22 (and expanding to other cities through the rest of the summer): IF A TREE FALLS: A STORY OF THE EARTH LIBERATION FRONT
Director Marshall Curry and Co-Director Sam Cullman premiered this potent exploration of radical environmentalism at Sundance this year, where it picked up the fest’s Documentary Editing Award. It picked up additional awards at Dallas, Nashville, and Santa Cruz.
My pre-Sundance profile of the film is here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD this Tuesday, June 21: ORGASM INC
For my take on Liz Canner’s doc on female sexuality and the pharmaceutical industry, click here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to HBO for its cable premiere this Father’s Day (appropriately enough), Sunday, June 19: THE KIDS GROW UP
Doug Block premiered this exceptional look at father/daughter dynamics and the impending empty nest at IDFA in 2009. Since then, it screened at more than a dozen festivals, including Full Frame, Hot Docs, Dokufest, and Silverdocs, before embarking on a successful limited theatrical release.
Block continues to mine the rich terrain of family relationships that was central to his previous film, 51 BIRCH STREET. While that film focused on his own parents and just how much (or how little) he understood their relationship, THE KIDS GROW UP extends that analysis to Block’s own relationship with his daughter Lucy, whose life he has filmed extensively over the past 18 years. Documenting the last year Lucy spends at home before embarking for college on the other side of the country, Block and his wife struggle with the idea that their home won’t have children in it for the first time since they got married, and, frankly, that Lucy is becoming an adult. Revisiting decades worth of footage featuring Lucy from a toddler through to the present, Block constructs a truly remarkable and unique portrait of not only his daughter, but of fatherhood, aging, and the complex inner workings of family. Like the best of personal documentaries, THE KIDS GROW UP is able to move beyond the individual, specific story of the Blocks and tap into something universal that will resonate with all viewers on a fundamental level.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to Brooklyn’s indieScreen tomorrow, Friday, June 17: BATTLE FOR BROOKLYN
Suki Hawley and Michael Galinsky’s look at the Atlantic Yards development debacle took home two awards earlier this month at the Brooklyn Film Festival and now embarks on a one-week hometown theatrical run.
For my take on the film, click here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to POV next Tuesday, June 21: KINGS OF PASTRY
Documentary masters Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker turn their attention to the most important pastry competition in the world in this film, which had a great fest run last fall and went on to a limited theatrical release.
I posted about this film on the eve of its theatrical release last fall here.
To find out more about the POV screening on PBS, click here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
