Jane
Culled from hundreds of hours of recently discovered 16mm archival footage, filmmaker Brett Morgen crafts an enchanting portrait of legendary primatologist and activist Jane Goodall when her revolutionary work was still in its infancy. Shot by National Geographic during her first encounter with the chimpanzees of Tanzania’s Gombe Stream National Park, we witness the transformative […]
An Insignificant Man
Call him the Bernie Sanders of India: fed up with rampant corruption in Indian politics, Arvind Kejriwal decided to shake things up and challenge the status quo by forming the Aam Aadmi Party (Common Man’s Party, or AAP) in 2012. This was no small feat in a country that (much like the United States) has […]
Icarus
In this nonfiction thriller, director Bryan Fogel immerses himself into the world of performance enhancing drugs by trying them out for himself, only to stumble into the centre of Russia’s extensive state-sponsored doping program. Exemplifying the special bond between filmmaker and subject, this is a vital portrait of the sacrifice some people will make to […]
Human Flow
Visionary artist Ai Weiwei’s haunting new documentary follows the plight of migrants displaced from their homelands by war, poverty, and climate change. A sprawling global odyssey, HUMAN FLOW was filmed in 23 countries over the course of more than a year and examines the staggering scale of a crisis that has now reached epidemic proportions. […]
Heroin(e)
Once a bustling industrial town, Huntington, West Virginia has become the epicenter of America’s modern opioid epidemic, with an overdose rate 10 times the national average. This flood of heroin now threatens this Appalachian city with a cycle of generational addiction, lawlessness, and poverty. But within this distressed landscape, Peabody Award-winning filmmaker Elaine McMillion Sheldon […]
For Akheem
Beginning one year before the fatal police shooting of Michael Brown in nearby Ferguson, Missouri, FOR AHKEEM is the coming-of-age story of Daje Shelton, a 17-year-old Black girl in North St. Louis. Placed in an alternative high school, Daje fights for her future as she simultaneously navigates the marginalized neighborhoods, biased criminal justice policies, and […]
Five Came Back
Five acclaimed contemporary directors tell the story of five legendary Hollywood filmmakers who enlisted in the armed forces to document World War II. Producer Steven Spielberg presents the story of five legendary directors who risked their lives to document the horrors and heroes. (Netflix)
Faces Places
In Faces Places, 88-year-old nouvelle vague legend Agnès Varda teams up with 33-year- old French photographer and muralist JR to create an enchanting travelogue/road movie. Sharing a lifelong passion for images and the means by which they are created, displayed and shared, the duo hits the road to travel through France’s small villages, meeting locals, […]
Ex Libris: The New York Public Library
Frederick Wiseman has described his documentaries as “reality fictions” and frequently compares his art to novel writing. Now, after 50 years of training his camera on institutions, he finally channels his passion for books to get inside the New York Public Library. Its photogenic Fifth Avenue main branch has served as a backdrop in numerous […]
Edith+Eddie
Edith+Eddie introduces us to the oldest interracial newlyweds in the U.S. While hobbling and a little spacey, the couple is clearly in love. Then a snake enters their Garden in the form of Edith’s daughter, leading to a jaw-dropping conclusion. A lovingly told story done right, “Edith+Eddie” is a ride on the best kind of […]