what (not) to doc

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, July 24:
ANGELS ARE MADE OF LIGHT

Director:
James Longley

World Premiere:
Telluride 2018

Select Festivals:
Toronto, IDFA, New York, CPH:DOX, Docs Against Gravity, Cleveland, Istanbul, Double Exposure, Camden

About:
A look at daily life in Afghanistan, centered around a school in Kabul.

Filmed between 2011-2014, James Longley’s portrait blends footage of students and teachers at the Daqiqi Balkhi school, where instruction seems almost exclusively tied to the Koran, and in other quotidian activities, with an almost ever-present voiceover offering reflections from the participants. The focus mainly falls on three brothers who try to balance study with work in their father’s tin shop, but expands to include other students as well as adults. The latter offer the most historical context in their interviews, referencing the Afghanistan of the past and how it has changed due to British, Soviet, and Taliban influence, then, of course American occupation, played out against affecting archival footage. For the youth, their concerns largely remain apolitical, though a pivotal election has its impact late in the film. While Longley’s storytelling approach here leads to some meandering sequences, it works more than it doesn’t in revealing Afghanistan through the eyes of its ordinary citizens and children.

Coming to Starz tonight, Monday, July 22:
THE GREAT MOTHER

Directors:
Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2018

Select Festivals:
Miami, Athena

About:
A portrait of an activist who has become the guardian of immigration orphans.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Nora Sandigo has more than 1000 kids. The fierce immigration activist serves as the legal guardian for US-born children of undocumented immigrants who have been deported. Were it not for her, many would be forced into the foster care system, keeping them legally separated from their parents. Dave LaMattina and Chad Walker’s intimate film profiles this inspiring woman, who not only provides economic, legal, and emotional support for her charges, but lobbies Congress for immigration reform despite an increasingly hostile political climate.

Coming to theatres for a special one-night-only engagement via Fathom Events tonight, Monday, July 22:
THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING

Director:
Tom Donahue

World Premiere:
Toronto 2018

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Hamptons, Chicago, Martha’s Vineyard, Napa Valley, Stockholm, Miami, Thessaloniki Doc, Docville, Riverrun, Edinburgh

About:
An investigation into the entertainment industry’s long-running problem with gender discrimination.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Tom Donahue’s incisive film gathers a who’s who of female actors and directors for a powerful call to action on elevating women’s roles in film and television, both on and off screen. Meryl Streep, Sandra Oh, Jessica Chastain, Shonda Rhimes, Reese Witherspoon, Taraji P Henson, and executive producer Geena Davis are among the many powerful agents of change in this rousing documentary full of fresh revelations about Hollywood’s insidious and systemic sexism.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, July 19:
CASSANDRO, THE EXOTICO!

Director:
Marie Losier

World Premiere:
Cannes 2018 (ACID)

Select Festivals:
IDFA, CPH:DOX, Morelia, Ambulante, Tempo Doc, Mar del Plata, Santa Barbara, Jeonju, São Paulo, Hamburg, San Diego Latino, SF DocFest, Sarasota, Outfest Fusion, BFI Flare

About:
An intimate profile of the “Liberace of lucha libre” as he faces the end of his career.

Lucha libre, of course, is a wildly popular form of wrestling entertainment in Mexico, known for its masked combatants with colorful names and personalities. Perhaps less well-known is the presence of exóticos within the sport, male wrestlers who adopt feminine outfits, hair, and makeup, as well as exaggerated, campy, and stereotypically gay/feminine mannerisms. While often functioning as comic foils, they sometimes take center stage themselves as unlikely heroes in a culture of over the top machismo. Saul Armendariz, better known as Cassandro, the subject of Marie Losier’s warm portrait, is one such luchador, a record-holding champion who sees himself as a pioneer in bringing dignity to gay men within the field. The Texan-born 47-year-old Cassandro has competed within lucha libre for over 25 year, and he has the scars and broken bones to show for it. As Losier follows him over the course of five years, Cassandro reflects on the triumphs and adversities of his life – the latter including abuse suffered while young, and struggles with alcohol and drugs, though he proudly shows off his many years of sobriety to the camera – but soon comes to recognize that his body just can’t take the rigors of the ring any longer. He makes for an affable protagonist, and a surprisingly genuine and vulnerable one, in this well constructed and at times playful film.