Category Archives: Releases

On DVD: TINA

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 9:
TINA

Director:
Dan Lindsay, TJ Martin

World Premiere:
Berlin 2021

Select Festivals:
Glasgow

About:
On the life and career of iconic performer Tina Turner.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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On DVD: MUHAMMAD ALI

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, November 9:
MUHAMMAD ALI

Director:
Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon

World Premiere:
PBS broadcast (September 2021)

About:
A four-part docuseries providing an in-depth look at the life of the legendary boxer, activist, and philanthropist.

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On VOD: THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 9:
THE DILEMMA OF DESIRE

Director:
Maria Finitzo

World Premiere:
SXSW 2020 (unscreened)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hot Docs, AFI Docs, St Louis, Docs Against Gravity, Raindance, Woodstock, Doclands

About:
An exploration of the clash between the external power of gender politics and the equally powerful imperative of female sexual desire.

The film previously screened at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In this timely and radical film about female desire, gender politics, and sexuality, director Maria Finitzo invites us to share intimate conversations with women on a mission to reverse a patriarchal legacy that excludes female empowerment through omissions and distortions. Sophia Wallace’s artwork on “cliteracy” acts as a powerful framing device as the film explores such issues as the lack of clitoral details in anatomy books, the need for redesigning toys for female pleasure, and the use of one’s own body as an act of resistance.

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On TV: FERGUSON RISES

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens today, Monday, November 8:
FERGUSON RISES

Director:
Mobolaji Olambiwonnu

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2021

About:
Six years after the fatal shooting of an unarmed Michael Brown Jr by a white police officer, and the subsequent days of protest, a new portrait of the community of Ferguson.

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On TV: ATTICA

Coming to Showtime tomorrow, Saturday, November 6:
ATTICA

Director:
Stanley Nelson, Traci Curry

World Premiere:
Toronto 2021

Select Festivals:
Hot Springs Doc, Montclair

About:
An examination of the largest prison uprising in US history through dozens of new interviews with inmates, journalists, and other witnesses.

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Streaming: MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST

Coming to MUBI tomorrow, Saturday, November 6:
MOMENTS LIKE THIS NEVER LAST

Director:
Cheryl Dunn

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2020

Select Festivals:
Docaviv, Melbourne

About:
A compelling, immersive portrait of the late artist Dash Snow.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

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In Theatres: JULIA

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 5:
JULIA

Director:
Julie Cohen, Betsy West

World Premiere:
Telluride 2021

Select Festivals:
Toronto, DOC NYC, Hamptons, Chicago, AFI Fest, Mill Valley, Philadelphia, Woodstock, Heartland

About:
A portrait of the trailblazing, exuberant chef who filled TV screens for decades. 

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In Theatres & Streaming: THE LAST FOREST

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, November 5 and to Netflix this Sunday, November 7:
THE LAST FOREST

Director:
Luiz Bolognesi

World Premiere:
Berlin 2021

Select Festivals:
It’s All True, Visions du Réel, Hot Docs, Chicago

About:
Alternating between documentary observation and staged sequences, a revealing look at the Indigenous community of the Yanomami, depicting their threatened natural environment in the Amazon rainforest.

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On TV: THE ORATORIO

Coming to PBS tomorrow, Friday, November 5:
THE ORATORIO

Director:
Alex Bayer, Jonathan Mann, Mary Anne Rothberg

World Premiere:
Santa Barbara 2020

Select Festivals:
Nashville, St Louis

About:
A watershed moment in American music history, the staging of an opera in a NYC cathedral in 1826, is recreated.

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In Theatres: LOVE IT WAS NOT

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, November 3:
LOVE IT WAS NOT

Director:
Maya Sarfaty

World Premiere:
Docaviv 2020

Select Festivals:
IDFA, Hot Docs

About:
The unbelievable and tragic love story of Helena, a young Jewish prisoner in Auschwitz, and Austrian SS officer Franz Wunsch.

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