what (not) to doc

Coming to VOD next Tuesday, March 13: BROOKLYN BOHEME

Diane Paragas and Nelson George’s personal exploration of the vibrant African American arts renaissance in Brooklyn during the 1980s and 90s made its premiere as the opening night film at Urbanworld last year. Additional fest appearances have included DOC NYC and LA’s Pan African Film Festival, while cable audiences have been able to see the film on Showtime. It now becomes more widely available through iTunes, Amazon VOD, Vudu, Cinema Now, YouTube VOD, Song Playstation, and XBox 360 via FilmBuff.

Very much a love letter to Brooklyn’s Fort Greene and Clinton Hill, this amiable doc finds George serving as both narrator and on-camera tour guide, visiting with a who’s who of the community’s most recognizable faces, including Spike Lee, Chris Rock, Branford Marsalis, Rosie Perez, and Saul Williams as they reminisce about the opportunities for creative expression, and, most significantly, the sense of collaboration that defined the area as a mecca for young African American artists. Likened by some as Brooklyn’s version of the Harlem Renaissance, the period saw a blossoming of filmmaking, writing, and performance by an interconnected group of talented new voices – plus, apparently, some pretty unforgettable parties. Though I’m predisposed to take issue with hosts in docs, George’s presence works for the most part – this is his neighborhood, and this is also his history, and the celebrity interviews would probably feel less warm and authentic without him. As much as George and Paragas take a look back at what once was, the film doesn’t wallow in the past – it moves beyond nostalgia to contextualize a time and place and consider not only its legacy, but its future, despite the changes wrought through gentrification.

Coming to NYC’s reRun Gastropub Theatre for a one-week run this Friday, March 9: CONVENTO

Jarred Alterman premiered his fascinating film about a former monastery and its eccentric inhabitants at SXSW last year. It went on to screen at Edinburgh, Camden, Rooftop Films, Maryland, and the Independent Film Festival Boston, where it won a special jury prize. It comes to NYC in a special extended cut.

I wrote about the film out of SXSW here.

Coming to theatres this Friday, March 9: JIRO DREAMS OF SUSHI

David Gelb premiered his portrait of an octogenarian sushi masterchef at Tribeca last year. Other stops on the fest circuit have included Berlin, Jerusalem, AFI Fest, and Stockholm. Magnolia brings the film to NYC this weekend before expanding around the country.

I included the film in my Tribeca coverage here.

Coming to DVD/VOD today, Tuesday, March 6: HOLY ROLLERS: THE TRUE STORY OF CARD COUNTING CHRISTIANS

Bryan Storkel’s documentary debut about a team of Christian blackjack players made its world premiere at last year’s Seattle International Film Festival. Since then it’s appeared at more than two dozen additional fests, including (fittingly) Las Vegas, Sidewalk Moving Picture, San Diego, Raindance, Denver, Oxford, and Big Sky, picking up seven awards along the way. DVD and VOD are being handled by Warner Bros Digital and Gravitas Ventures, with DVDs available via the the film’s website. and VOD through iTunes, Amazon, YouTube, Blockbuster, Vudu, Xbox, AT&T, Verizon, DirecTV, Time Warner, and other providers.

The concept seems incongruous – young Christians, including a number of pastors, working together to form the “Church Team,” a professional card counting group with the aim of winning ridiculously huge sums of money from casinos by playing high stakes blackjack. And incongruous it is – reconciling gambling for a living with the strictures of their faith is something that is addressed and readdressed throughout Storkel’s engaging, fast-paced film. While some of the affable team members have found some way to rationalize their participation – one teammate is convinced blackjack is his calling, and uses Bible verses to remind himself that God is responsible for his winnings and losses – others find themselves ultimately unable to come to grips with leading a Christian life and taking advantage of a system to win money. While initially wildly successful, the Church Team soon faces serious growing pains, and potentially bankrupting losses, leading to soul-searching, speculation about how much they trust one another, and even a startling confession before the film, and potentially the team, runs its course.

Released on DVD/VOD earlier this week: SHADOW OF AFGHANISTAN 1959-2012

Director Jim Burroughs and Co-Director Suzanne Bauman premiered their comprehensive survey of a half century of Afghanistan’s tumultuous history at Tribeca in 2006. It went on to screen at IDFA and DOCNZ. Additional material has been added since then to bring the film up to date.

Burroughs and Bauman’s film is at once both a crash course in the history of a country that has been significantly tied to the US since the Cold War and a self-reflexive examination of wartime documentary journalism. Incorporating the work of independent journalists who were killed covering the Soviet occupation in the 1980s, and drawing from the experiences of others who survived, the doc serves as a testament to those who have sought to illuminate the truth. While normally I might take issue with the film’s over-reliance on narration, beyond proving largely necessary to keep track of so much information, this instills a directorial presence – one that reminds the viewer of the dangerous work that the filmmakers, and those who came before them, have undertaken. Even more compelling is the participation of Wakil Akbarzai of the National Islamic Front, and Fatima Gailani, of the Afghan Red Crescent, filmed over two decades, as they reflect on the way their nation has been hijacked to serve different agendas, and how its people have suffered as a result.