Festival:
The 40th Cinéma du Reél
Dates:
March 23-April 1
About:
Approximately 50 new features screen at this long-running Paris nonfiction event, as well as a considerable retrospective programming slate. Continue reading
Cinéma du Reél 2018 Overview
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Overviews, Recommendations
On VOD: 100 YEARS: ONE WOMAN’S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
New to VOD this week:
100 YEARS: ONE WOMAN’S FIGHT FOR JUSTICE
Director:
Melinda Janko
Premiere:
LA theatrical release (September 2016)
Select Festivals:
Athena, Big Sky Doc, Washington DC Environmental, Red Nation, One Earth, American Indian, LA Femme
About:
An unlikely champion for the Blackfeet tribe stands up against the US government to demand justice after more than a century of exploitation.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On DVD: THE WORK
New to DVD this week:
THE WORK
Directors:
Jairus McLeary and Gethin Aldous
Premiere:
SXSW 2017
Select Festivals:
Seattle, Sheffield, BAMcinemaFest, Sarajevo, Melbourne
About:
Folsom State Prison hosts an intensive men’s group therapy workshop.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On VOD: 10 BILLION: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
New to VOD this week:
10 BILLION: WHAT’S ON YOUR PLATE?
Director:
Valentin Thurn
Premiere:
German theatrical release (2015)
Select Festivals:
IDFA, CPH:DOX, Santa Barbara, Minneapolis-St Paul, EBS Doc, Docs Against Gravity, Vilnius, One World, Docville
About:
An exploration of the demands made on modern agriculture to feed an expanding population.
The film’s titular number is the expected population of the planet by the year 2050, an increase that seems likely to lead to food shortages and conflict over resources. In an attempt to make sense of what can be done to mitigate this potential global catastrophe, filmmaker Valentin Thurn – who also awkwardly narrates this project – conducts a survey of present day food production around the world, from the promises or pitfalls of GMOs, artificial fertilizers, and faux meat development to organic farming and community supported agriculture. Taking a methodical and informative approach, if not a particularly revelatory one, the well-meaning film addresses the familiar issues that come into play, including the need for sustainability, the importance of local farming, the harsh realities of land use conflict, and the dangers of corporate control of resources.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On VOD: AUGIE
New to VOD this week:
AUGIE
Director:
James Keach
Premiere:
Nashville 2017
Select Festivals:
Austin, Greenwich, Boston, Hot Springs, Newport Beach, Heartland
About:
A portrait of life with ALS for fitness mogul Augie Nieto and his wife.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On DVD: 11/8/16
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 20:
11/8/16
Curator:
Jeff Deutchman
Directors:
Duane Andersen, Don Argott, Yung Chang, Garth Donovan, Petra Epperlein, Vikram Gandhi, Raul Gasteazoro, Jamie Gonçalves, Andrew Beck Grace, Alma Har’el, Sheena M. Joyce, Daniel Junge, Alison Klayman, Ciara Lacy, Martha Shane, Elaine McMillion Sheldon, Bassam Tariq, and Michael Tucker
Premiere:
Hamptons 2017
About:
Election Day 2016, around the country.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
On TV: THE INVISIBLE PATIENTS
Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed series on The WORLD Channel tonight, Tuesday, March 20:
THE INVISIBLE PATIENTS
Director:
Patrick O’Connor
Premiere:
Indy Film Fest 2016
Select Festivals:
Cucalorus, Heartland
About:
A profile of a nurse practitioner who cares for homebound patients.
O’Connor’s simple but effective film focuses on Jessica Macleod, PhD, who makes house calls to individuals in Indiana and Kentucky who otherwise would likely be without home care because of mobility issues and/or limited income. Over nearly a year, the straight-talking nurse practitioner is followed as she provides primary care services to four of her patients. These include elderly couple Wink and Patty, who have few options for care after being suspected of selling their pain pills; Ron, an artist confined to a wheelchair following a traumatic brain injury, who Jessica also worries might be being maltreated by his roommate brother; and Roger, a young man with Duchenne muscle dystrophy nearing the end of his life. In between providing compassionate care for these individuals, Jessica reflects on the state of health care in America, the need for more in-home providers, the personal sacrifices made for her job, and the lack of respect she often encounters because she is not a doctor. While not the most artful portrait, O’Connor’s film provides an empathetic look at the lives of isolated and often neglected patients and the efforts of professionals like Jessica to address their needs.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On DVD: MISS KIET’S CHILDREN
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, March 20:
MISS KIET’S CHILDREN
Directors:
Peter Lataster and Petra Lataster-Czisch
Premiere:
IDFA 2016
Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, True/False, DOXA, Munich Dok.Fest, Thessaloniki Doc, Melbourne Doc, Goteborg, St Louis
About:
A portrait of a Dutch grade school class made up of refugee children.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
On VOD: THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR
Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, March 20:
THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR
Director:
Nancy Buirski
Premiere:
Venice 2017
Select Festivals:
New York Film Festival, Chicago, Film Columbia, Woodstock, Double Exposure,
About:
An exploration of a 1944 case of sexual assault against an African-American woman in Alabama.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Special Screening: OCCUPATION: DREAMLAND
Coming to NYC’s Stranger Than Fiction series tomorrow, Tuesday, March 20:
OCCUPATION: DREAMLAND
Directors:
Ian Olds and Garrett Scott
Premiere:
Rotterdam 2005
Select Festivals:
SXSW, Full Frame, Palm Springs, Vienna, New Zealand, Atlanta, Portland Doc
About:
An intimate portrait of US soldiers stationed in Fallujah in 2004.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations
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