what (not) to doc

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, April 26: PACKED IN A TRUNK: THE LOST ART OF EDITH LAKE WILKINSON

Michelle Boyaner’s rediscovery of a lost artist debuted at Palm Springs last year. it went on to screen at Provincetown, Frameline, and LGBT fests in Halifax, Kansas City, and Portland, before being broadcast on HBO last Summer.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tonight, Tuesday, April 26: IN AN IDEAL WORLD

Noel Schwerin’s look at racial divisions in prison debuted at the Washington DC Independent Film Festival last year. Additional screenings included San Luis Obispo, Ojai, Harlem, Hoboken, Breckenridge, San Francisco Black, and Chicago’s Social Change fests.

Filmed over seven years, Schwerin’s project looks at institutionalized racial segregation through the experiences of three men in northern California’s Soledad Prison: Warden Ben Curry and two prisoners – Sam Lewis, who is black, and John Piccirillo, who is white. While segregation has been encouraged as a means to maintain order in an often dangerous environment, separating African American, Latino, and white prisoners into self-policing subgroups with their own codes of conduct, it has also encouraged the spread of white supremacist ideology and racially motivated violence and tension. Facing federal pressure to reform prison segregation policies, Warden Curry begins an anti-violence program that affords inmates like Lewis and Piccirillo the opportunity to cross racial lines and share their experiences in the prison system, and hopes for its change. While presenting a sobering message on the systemic challenges facing America’s correctional institutions, Schwerin’s film ultimately offers a redemptive perspective.

Coming to NYC’s Metrograph tonight, Monday, April 25: THEORY OF OBSCURITY: A FILM ABOUT THE RESIDENTS

Don Hardy’s exploration of the legendary art/music collective debuted at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, BAFICI, Indielisboa, San Francisco, IFF Boston, DOXA, Melbourne, Revelation, Portland, Sydney Underground, and Cucalorus, among several others. This screening is in conjunction with a tour by The Residents, which includes NYC’s Gramercy Theater tomorrow evening.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD today, Friday, April 22: CATCHING THE SUN

Shalini Kantayya’s look at initiatives to expand solar energy had its world premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last Summer. Screenings followed at Big Sky, Washington DC’s Environmental, San Francisco Green, Twin Cities, and Australia’s Transitions, among others. It now comes to Netflix, appropriately enough on Earth Day.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Discovery Channel as part of its Elevation Weekend series tomorrow, Saturday, April 23: SHERPA

Jennifer Peedom’s look at the response to Mount Everest’s deadliest tragedy premiered at Sydney last year. It went on to screen at Telluride, Toronto, Melbourne, Aspen, Palm Springs, Adelaide, Washington DC’s Environmental, New Zealand, Dubai, Rocky Mountain Women’s and London fests, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO this coming Monday, April 25: HEART OF A DOG

Laurie Anderson’s meditation on the meaning of life and death had its debut at Telluride last year. Its festival circuit has also included Venice, Toronto, San Sebastian, New York, Adelaide, Dublin, Rotterdam, San Francisco, Leeds, and Chicago. The film was shortlisted for the Best Documentary Feature of 2015.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, April 22: HOCKNEY

Randall Wright’s portrait of the influential British artist made its debut at BFI London in 2014. The film went on to screen at BAFICI, Doc Aviv, Minneapolis St Paul, Brighton, Vancouver, Palm Springs, and St Louis, among other events.

Gaining access to the somewhat reclusive septuagenarian and to his extensive personal archive, Wright constructs an engaging biography of the artist. Introducing viewers to family and close friends, the film traces the artist’s roots in working class Bradford, England, his early forays into artistic expression, and his blossoming after he relocated to Los Angeles in the 1960s. In addition to sharing anecdotes about his life, they offer enjoyable anecdotes and behind-the-scenes observations about the origins of some of his famed paintings. For his part, Hockney not only offers compelling insight about his approach to time and space in his paintings, but also demonstrates surprising candor about his personal life, reflecting on his experiences as a gay man as AIDS ravaged the community in the 1980s.