Coming to Showtime tonight, Friday, May 10:
WU-TANG CLAN: OF MICS AND MEN
Director:
Sacha Jenkins
Premiere:
Sundance 2019
Select Festivals:
Tribeca, Hot Docs
About:
An exploration of the history and cultural significance of the influential hip-hop collective.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc series may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres today, Thursday, May 9:
THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM
Director:
John Chester
Premiere:
Telluride 2018
Select Festivals:
Sundance, DOC NYC, Toronto, Berlin, Miami, Hamptons, Napa Valley, AFI Fest, Palm Springs, Thessaloniki Doc, CPH:DOX, Sarasota, Sun Valley, Newport Beach, Montclair
About:
For over eight years, John and Molly Chester find ways to work with nature to establish a biodynamic farm.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
New to DVD/VOD this week:
REINVENTING ROSALEE
Director:
Lillian Glass
Premiere:
Los Angeles Jewish 2018
About:
A portrait of a 102-year-old Holocaust survivor.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
New to DVD this week:
BARISTAS
Director:
Rock Baijnauth
Premiere:
VOD release (April 2019)
About:
Four national champion baristas prepare for the world championship in South Korea.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Festival:
The 18th EDOC – Encuentros del Otro Cine
Dates:
May 8-19
About:
Nearly 60 new doc features screen in Quito, Guayaquil, and Cotacachi. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
New to DVD this week:
MY SCIENTOLOGY MOVIE
Director:
John Dower
Premiere:
BFI London 2015
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Sheffield, Docville, Tribeca, Revelation, Reykjavik, Mill Valley, Austin
About:
British journalist Louis Theroux attempts to understand the Church of Scientology.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming back to theatres tomorrow, Wednesday, May 8:
THE SILENCE OF OTHERS
Directors:
Almudena Carracedo and Robert Bahar
Premiere:
Berlin 2018
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Sheffield, AFI Docs, Reyjkavik, Docs Against Gravity, Cairo, Hamptons, Mar del Plata, Los Angeles, Moscow
Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.
About:
Victims and survivors of Franco’s brutal regime take to Argentine courts to seek justice.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Festival:
The 34th DOK.fest Munich
Dates:
May 8-19
About:
This long-running German nonfiction event presents approximately 140 new features. Continue reading
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
New to VOD this week:
LAST BREATH
Directors:
Alex Parkinson and Richard da Costa
Premiere:
Glasgow 2019
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs
About:
A commercial deep sea diver is stranded on the seabed with only minutes of air left.
In September 2012, diver Chris Lemons descended the North Sea on a routine maintenance operation for an oil well from the ship The Topaz. In the inhospitable dark and freezing water, Lemons’ literal lifeline is an umbilical cord stretching back up to the surface. When a computer glitch tears away the cord, Lemons has only five minutes of breathable air – but rescue is at least 30 minutes away. Parkinson and da Costa milk the suspense for all its worth, presenting Lemons’ story via interviews with his fellow divers and loved ones, archival recordings, and passable reenactments, all to to the purpose of misdirecting audience expectations as to the diver’s ultimate fate. It’s more or less successful, tapping into the survival thriller genre, even as it overplays the drama, and may find appeal among audiences not typically drawn to nonfiction.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to HBO tonight, Tuesday, May 7 and to theatres this Friday, May 10:
FOSTER
Director:
Mark Jonathan Harris
Premiere:
AFI Docs 2018
About:
An inside look at America’s foster care system.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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