Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! The New York Times’ Elisabeth Vincentelli talks to HBO’s executive vice presidents of documentary and family programming, Lisa Heller and Nancy Abraham, about how the cabler has fared in the post-Sheila Nevins era, amid heightened competition from the streaming giants. It’s a question of being open to where the story takes you, and alert to the cues and the
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Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. Streaming in virtual theaters through Film Movement starting December 2, David Osit’s Mayor, an IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund grantee, follows Musa Hadid, the Christian mayor of Ramallah, during his second term in office. His immediate goals: repave the sidewalks, attract more tourism, and plan the city's Christmas celebrations. His ultimate mission: to end the occupation of Palestine. Rich with detailed observation and a surprising amount of humor, Mayor offers a portrait
If there’s a silver lining to festivals that went virtual during the pandemic, it’s this: A whole nation of viewers could potentially participate. The question was how to let everyone know. That challenge was on the mind of organizers when planning the eleventh edition of DOC NYC. Artistic Director Thom Powers knew one thing for sure: “It was very important to us to not shrink the festival. A lot of film festivals this year had either cancelled or reduced in size because the shift to an online environment was daunting enough. I understand that decision. But for me, what that reduction means is
Errol Morris is one of the most prodigious documentary filmmakers of our time. His work has influenced generations of documentarians for over 40 years. And from his pet cemetery film Gates of Heaven (1978) to his portrait of right-wing provocateur Steve Bannon, American Dharma (2018), he has been adored and controversial, and has challenged the art of documentary filmmaking. But throughout all his films, Morris has displayed a fascination and passion in seeking to understand his fellow humans, attempting to reveal what makes us tick—for better or for worse, as he would say. With My Psychedelic
Alex Winter has worn many hats in his 55 years. As a youth, he acted on Broadway. After college, he headed out to Los Angeles, where he continued to work as an actor and directed both documentaries ( Downloaded, The Panama Papers) and narrative films ( Freaked, Fever). But like many of the child actors who were the subjects of his last documentary, Showbiz Kids (2020), regardless of all those hats he has worn, and will continue to wear, he will forever be associated with a role he played early in his career—that of “Bill” in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, and its two sequels. For the last
Crip Camp, MLK/FBI, Time and The Truffle Hunters Receive Multiple Nominations. Virtual Awards Ceremony Jan 16, 2021.
Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home. Now streaming on Latino Public Broadcasting's website, Latinos Are Essential is a collection of shorts that spotlight Latinosthat have served on the frontlines in the COVID-19 pandemic, providing essential services to all Americans--from healthcare to education to food service and beyond.. Streaming November 30 on The Criterion Channel are two films from Cambodian master Rithy Panh— The Missing Picture (2013) and Exile (2016). Panh, who survived the Cambodian genocide in the
Essential Doc Reads is our curated selection of recent features and important news items about the documentary form and its processes, from around the internet, as well as from the Documentary magazine archive. We hope you enjoy! Deadline’s Mike Fleming Jr. checks in with Allen Hughes about his docuseries about the late rapper Tupac Shakur and his activist mother Afenie Shakur, and how the tumultuous events of this year have impacted the tone of the series. “There is this fragility and vulnerability laced through all the interviews now, like everyone had been affected by the preciousness of
“When you are a member of a marginalized community, most film and television is not made with you in mind. And so, if you are a person of color, an LGBTQ person, a person who is an immigrant, a person with a disability, you develop a critical awareness because you understand that the images that you’re seeing are not your life.” —Actress/activist Laverne Cox in Sam Feder’s Disclosure When the history of cinema has failed to accurately portray our communities, how can we find a new path forward to right the decades of wrong? Disclosure, directed by Sam Feder, tackles the issues of Trans
“Above all, do no harm “is a maxim held sacred by doctors and medical students all over the world. But in Alexander Nanau’s Collective, a blistering exposé of the Romanian healthcare system, when medical treatment is hindered by corruption, negligence and incompetence, the consequences are tragic. The documentary was recently chosen as Romania’s entry for Best International Language Film for the 93rd Academy Awards. On October 30, 2015, the band Goodbye to Gravity was celebrating the release of its new album at the Bucharest nightclub Colektiv. The underground nightclub, popular with Romanian