Category Archives: Releases

Being released on DVD August 31: I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW

Director Sean Donnelly’s disturbing and thought-provoking doc had its world premiere at the 2008 Slamdance Film Festival before screening in a number of other fests, including True/False, Fantastic Fest, and IDFA.

The film’s two subjects, Jeff, who has Asperger’s, and Kelly, who is intersexed, share a common obsession – ’80s pop star Tiffany, whose hit song gives the film its name. Both are clearly not quite living in reality, believing they have serious relationships with their idol and are destined to be together. But far from making them easy targets, Donnelly, while underscoring the absurdity of their unrequited love with a former celebrity, shows a sensitivity for the two lonely individuals, and an understanding for what drives their obsession. Although the viewer may at times feel uncomfortable about what they’re watching, it doesn’t cross the line into exploitation. It’s also refreshing to note that Kelly’s gender identity is not used as an explanation or primary marker of her eccentricity here – it’s just an element of her background.

IFC.com has its own take on the film here.

To order the DVD, click here.

Update: This post has been updated to reflect the revised release date.

Being released on DVD this week: THE AGE OF STUPID

UK filmmaker Franny Armstrong’s crowdfunded documentary/drama hybrid is a cautionary tale from the year 2055, warning the audience of today of the destructive path we’re taking by not addressing climate change ASAP. It’s not an easy feat to pull off hybrids, but it was an inspired decision to frame the film’s documentary elements with Peter Postlethwaite as a dystopian future-based archivist re-watching where we went wrong. Climate change is a topic that’s been addressed in many docs in the past, and will continue to be, and this was an effective way to differentiate THE AGE OF STUPID from other films, and to make its point in a believable yet sardonic way.

Last month, I interviewed Armstrong for indieWIRE, as noted in a previous post.

For more information on the DVD, visit New Video’s website.

Being released on DVD this week: OFF AND RUNNING

Nicole Opper’s intimate documentary follows an African-American teenager, Avery, in what is appropriately described by the film’s subtitle – “An American Coming of Age Story.” Adopted by white Jewish lesbians, who also have two adopted sons, one mixed-race and the other Korean, track star Avery begins to explore her African-American roots, becoming disconnected from her family. Opper gains access to critical moments with both Avery and her family members, crafting a sensitive portrait of adolescence.

Earlier this year, I screened OFF AND RUNNING as part of the LGBT series I curate at The Jacob Burns Film Center, and have also seen the film as part of numerous, diverse festivals – reflecting the universality of its subject matter.

For more information about purchasing the film, visit First Run Features’ website.

Being released on DVD by Criterion this week: CRUMB

A portrait of the legendary underground comix artist Robert Crumb, Terry Zwigoff’s film delves into its subject’s artwork and history to reveal completely unexpected terrain – a disturbing upbringing by a schizotypical family which left its mark not only in Crumb’s distinctive artistic predilections for grotesque sexual and even scatological subject matter but most affectingly on his troubled brothers Charles and Maxon.

SF360 recently offered an appreciation for the film, as part of their “Essential SF” series focusing on key films about San Francisco in some way. I was living in SF when I saw CRUMB during its theatrical run in 1995 – one of the first contemporary documentaries that I was exposed to that helped instill a love for and an appreciation for what could be done with the form.

Criterion is also offering, for the first time on DVD, Zwigoff’s LOUIE BLUIE, which I haven’t seen yet (Update: The Documentary Blog has posted a review) – for more information and ordering details check out their website.

Being released on DVD this week: SWEETGRASS

Having screened at Berlin, New York, AFI Fest, CPH:DOX, and elsewhere, Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s evocative documentary is a mesmerizing film that bears repeat viewings. The film follows cowboys as they bring their flocks of sheep into the Beartooth Mountains of Montana for the last time.

It’s as simple as that – man and creature against the stunning backdrop of nature. The viewer immediately adapts to the film’s natural pace and gets swept up in its imagery and its indelible sense of place, as it evokes the myth of the cowboy, the West, and the frontier.

Information on purchasing the film is available on Cinema Guild’s website. It should also be available on demand or instant Netflix.