what (not) to doc

December 6, 2019 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres: WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS

Coming to theatres today, Friday, December 6:
WHEN LAMBS BECOME LIONS

Director:
Jon Kasbe

World Premiere:
Tribeca 2018

Select Festivals:
Sheffield, New Orleans, Mountainfilm, Denver, Zurich, Planet in Focus, San Diego, Movies That Matter, Docs Against Gravity, Budapest Docs, Wild & Scenic, Washington DC Enviro, Philadelphia Enviro, Indie Grits

About:
A complex exploration of ivory hunting, from the perspectives of ranger and poacher.

Set in Kenya, director Jon Kasbe’s well-constructed film offers a remarkably insider look at the ivory trade, focused on an ivory dealer called X and his cousin, Asan, a former poacher turned ranger tasked with preventing poaching. Embedding with both men, the filmmaker demonstrates the unforgiving economic reality that sustains the illegal killing of elephants. While X is an unlikable figure, disingenuously attempting to elide his role in the slaughter of animals by noting that his colleague, Lukas, is the one who shoots them while he only supervises, it’s made evident that X seems to have few options. He was born into this detestable profession and there are few ways to support his family – a situation facing Asan, who has worked unpaid for months, and faces the moral dilemma of helping his cousin with his illegal activities. Kasbe’s observational approach provides no easy answers or judgement, which will rankle some viewers, but it makes for an impressive and distinct portrait of a well-covered topic.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

December 6, 2019 · 12:01 PM

On VOD: OVERLOAD: AMERICA’S TOXIC LOVE STORY

Coming to OVID.tv today, Friday, December 6:
OVERLOAD: AMERICA’S TOXIC LOVE STORY

Director:
Soozie Eastman

World Premiere:
Rocky Mountain Women’s 2018

Select Festivals:
Flyover

About:
The filmmaker attempts to reduce the toxic substances in her body in preparation for having children.

Director Soozie Eastman, a former make-up artist and daughter of an industrial chemical distributor, is starting to contemplate having kids, but is concerned about all the chemicals she’s exposed to after she learns that newborns already have high levels of toxic substances in their bodies. She sets out to find out what toxins she’s carrying, and to see if she can reduce them through changing what she buys and eats. Borrowing heavily from the Morgan Spurlock school of documentary filmmaking, Eastman is not an unpleasant presence, but her film is very familiar, taking the same route countless other films have in putting the concerned filmmaker in the role of human guinea pig in an experiment on the impact of a given substance or industry – visiting experts, reviewing products, calling companies and getting stonewalled, providing advice and solutions to consumers, etc. It’s a well intentioned project, and Eastman tries to liven things up with some hokey animation, but feels overlong for what it is.

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December 5, 2019 · 1:31 PM

In Theatres: THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY MOTHER

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 6:
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY MOTHER

Director:
Beniamino Barrese

World Premiere:
Sundance 2019

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Hot Docs, Cartagena, DokuFest, Docs Against Gravity, Transilvania, Shanghai, Munich, Biografilm, MakeDox, Taipei, Frameline

About:
The filmmaker films his mother as she plans to leave the modern world behind.

My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance

December 5, 2019 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres: MIDNIGHT FAMILY

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, December 6:
MIDNIGHT FAMILY

Director:
Luke Lorentzen

World Premiere:
Sundance 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Nantucket, Hot Docs, AFI Docs, New Directors/New Films, Sheffield DocFest, CPH:DOX, Hong Kong, Cartagena, Ambulante, Guadalajara, Docville, Full Frame, San Francisco, Freep, Doc10, Sydney, Krakow

About:
A Mexico City family struggles to make a living as ragtag private paramedics, facing cut-throat competition to respond to patients in need of urgent help.

I profiled the doc before Sundance here.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance

December 4, 2019 · 4:01 PM

Sundance 2020: Feature Lineup Announced

The initial lineup has been announced for the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, taking place January 23-February 2). Today’ announcement includes the US and World Cinema Documentary and Dramatic Competitions, NEXT, Documentary Premieres, Premieres, Midnight, Spotlight, and Kids, and may be found here.

Pointers for other sections – Shorts, Indie Episodic, Special Events, and New Frontier – will follow as they are announced in the coming weeks.

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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations, Sundance

December 4, 2019 · 12:01 PM

On DVD/VOD: VALIANT

New to DVD/VOD this week:
VALIANT

Director:
Cruz Angeles

World Premiere:
Vegas Golden Knights game (Las Vegas, November 2019)

About:
Las Vegas’ first professional hockey team unites the city in the wake of the worst mass shooting in American history.

The Golden Knights debuted in 2017 as an NHL expansion team, the brainchild of owner Bill Foley, a successful businessman. Despite having notable players like Stanley Cup winner Mac-Andre Fleury in its roster, expectations were low for the team, with skepticism about the support hockey might be able to engender in a one-industry town like Las Vegas. Then, on October 1, just days before the Knights’ debut game in Dallas, Las Vegas became the site of the deadliest mass shooting in the US, when a gunman targeted concert attendees on the Las Vegas Strip, killing 58 and wounding or injuring nearly 900 others. On October 10, the Golden Knights had their inaugural home game, honoring the victims in their pregame show, and winning the game, providing the city with a hopeful focus after the tragedy. They continued a winning streak unprecedented for a new team, ultimately making it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals. Director Cruz Angeles tells their unlikely underdog story in an overly slick manner, with an over the top score and unearned sense of gravitas, but likely will find appreciative viewers even outside of the core hockey fanbase.