CRIES FROM SYRIA
Evgeny Afineevsky presents an overarching account of the impact of Syria’s civil war on its people.
Festival Section:
Documentary Premieres
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2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: CRIES FROM SYRIA
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On TV: CONTAINMENT
Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, January 9:
CONTAINMENT
Directors:
Peter Galison and Robb Moss
Premiere:
Full Frame 2015
Select Festivals:
Sheffield, Zurich, Vancouver, Denver, RiverRun, Tallgrass, GlobeDocs, Global Peace, Woods Hole, SF Green
About:
A sobering consideration of how humanity can safely contend with radioactive waste.
Taking a broad look, both practical and philosophical, and extending millennia into the future, Galison and Moss’ project attempts to reckon with the inescapable byproducts of nuclear energy and weapons and how to protect both present-day humanity and our descendants for ages to come from their toxicity. More immediate concerns are explored in three locations in the present: the Waste Isolation Plant in Carlsbad NM, whose 2014 closure led to the relocation of waste to the Savannah River Site in SC, and, of course, Japan’s Fukushima disaster site. While it would have been hard for the filmmakers to exclude the latter from their project, it’s been covered so extensively elsewhere that it feels like something of a retread compared to the WIPP story. Similarly, the film’s consideration of the various barriers we face in trying to convey warnings or markers of buried waste to humanity in the far future, while intriguing, has already been addressed in INTO ETERNITY. Still Galison and Moss’ use of graphics and animation to help envision this uncertain future brings a certain creative flair to the proceedings.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: BENDING THE ARC
BENDING THE ARC
Kief Davidson and Pedro Kos chronicle the paradigm-shifting healthcare efforts of a determined team of advocates.
Festival Section:
Documentary Premieres
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On DVD/VOD: BY SIDNEY LUMET
Coming to DVD and VOD today, Monday, January 9:
BY SIDNEY LUMET
Director:
Nancy Buirski
Premiere:
Cannes 2015
Select Festivals:
Tribeca, Jerusalem, Deauville, Full Frame, Traverse City, Austin, Mumbai, the Hamptons, Jewish fests in Atlanta, Toronto, and Philadelphia
About:
An appreciation of the noted film director.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: 500 YEARS
500 YEARS
Pamela Yates completes her epic Guatemalan trilogy, which began in 1983.
Festival Section:
Documentary Premieres
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On DVD/VOD: SOUTHWEST OF SALEM
Coming to DVD and VOD today, Monday, January 9:
SOUTHWEST OF SALEM: THE STORY OF THE SAN ANTONIO FOUR
Director:
Deborah S Esquenazi
Premiere:
Tribeca 2016
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Sheffield, DocuWest, AFI Docs, Frameline, Outfest, Inside Out
About:
Four Latina lesbians seek exoneration for a shocking miscarriage of justice.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: THE WORKERS CUP
THE WORKERS CUP
Adam Sobel follows the action as migrant workers building Qatar’s World Cup infrastructure compete in their own tournament.
Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Country:
UK (about Qatar)
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: WINNIE
WINNIE
Pascale Lamche profiles the polarizing South African political leader and activist.
Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Country:
France/Netherlands/South Africa
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
On TV: BRIGHT LIGHTS: STARRING CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS
Coming to HBO tomorrow, Saturday, January 7: BRIGHT LIGHTS: STARRING CARRIE FISHER AND DEBBIE REYNOLDS
Directors:
Alexis Bloom & Fisher Stevens
Premiere:
Cannes 2016
Select Festivals:
Telluride, New York, Chicago, AFI Fest
About:
A portrait of the famed mother/daughter celebrities, who recently died just one day apart.
It’s hard not to watch Bloom and Stevens’ loving film as a bittersweet elegy in the wake of Fisher and Reynolds’ passing, though of course there was no predicting at the time of its making that Fisher, at the least, would be dead just days after Christmas 2016. Reynolds, on the other hand, is shown in the film to be slowing down and experiencing some health concerns, lending an air of prescient urgency to this enjoyable celebrity profile. Bloom and Stevens deftly manage to convey the breadth of both women’s lives and careers, while more intimately capturing the messy but loving bond between them. Living next door to one another, they demonstrate a caring, symbiotic relationship, but they also reference past tensions. This is nicely showcased in an early clip in which Reynolds puts a teenage Fisher on the spot to perform, begrudgingly, speaking to the inescapable complexity that came from growing up with celebrity. Ultimately, however, it’s clear that the two legends had long ago made their peace, and audiences are fortunate to have this bouncy, entertaining chronicle of their lives together.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
2017 Sundance Docs in Focus: TOKYO IDOLS
TOKYO IDOLS
Kyoko Miyake examines gender and sexuality in Japanese popular culture.
Festival Section:
World Cinema Documentary Competition
Country:
UK/Canada (about Japan)
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Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Sundance
