Tags archives: documentary

  • Now in its 9th edition, DOC NYC—America’s largest documentary film festival—runs from November 8 through 15. More than 300 films and events are included in a variety of categories, including American Perspectives, Behind the Scenes, Fight the Power, International Perspectives, Portraits, Jock Docs, Modern Family, Science Nonfiction, Sonic Cinema, and True Love. In most cases, filmmakers (and often their subjects) will be on hand to answer questions, post-screening. Awards will be given in several sections, including an overall Audience Award. The gamut of films this year includes epic portrait Beyond the Bolex, Alyssa Bolsey’s doc about her great-grandfather, the groundbreaking movie camera inventor Jacques Bolsey; Afterward, in which Jerusalem-born director and  trauma expert Ofra Bloch visits victims and victimizers in Germany, Israel and Palestine; Lindsey Cordero & Armando Croda’s timely I’m Leaving Now, about an undocumented worker in Brooklyn facing a difficult crossroads; and We Are Not Done Yet, a short directed by Sareen Hairabedian and produced by actor Jeffrey Wright, about U.S. veterans combating their traumatic military histories through art, poetry and performance. A few more highlights: Dennis and Lois A doc by Chris Cassidy that will resonate with music fans, Dennis and Lois is a portrait of a 60-something couple who have been music superfans for over 40 years. The Brooklyn-based duo, together since 1975, live in a house stuffed with band mem[...]
  • The House of Vans sounds more like a lesser family in HBO’s Game of Thrones than a concert venue. At least in Brooklyn. Here, the famed shoe manufacturer is better known for its clothing than its concert space. Vans shoes, snapbacks, backpacks and hoodies can easily be found in just about any corner of the borough, but mention the House of Vans to a passerby and you’re likely to be met with confusion. Other venues like Irving Plaza, Terminal 5, and MSG have risen to the level of the common vernacular, amongst concertgoers and non-concertgoers alike; odds are even your landlord has heard of those. While the House of Vans doesn’t toil away at the level of obscurity of say Cake Shop or Palisades, the name doesn’t carry the weight it normally does. Out on the wider concert circuit, Vans rules supreme as sponsors of the famed Warped Tour. Here, it is just lesser known and that is a mistake.* Hidden in the far reaches of Greenpoint, tucked up against the water, the venue boosts both an indoor and outdoor stage area, a bar, and enough ramps to qualify it as a skatepark. It’s an incredibly versatile space. Problem is that in order to have that much space in this city you have to be somewhere where there is still space to be had. You need to be able to gather hundreds of people on any given night and be loud until all hours of the morning. You need to be able to pull amps and all manner of equipment through the doors. Most importantly, you need to be able to afford the rent. Ove[...]
  • Premiers aren't just for Hollywood theaters anymore. Now movies and entire TV series can materialize on Netflix or on some other streaming service sans the red carpet party and garner just as much success. This is due partially to the raise of the internet. While box office sales are still important, the web has an increasingly important role in a film's pre and post release existence. You can follow films from funding to box set all via Twitter feeds and emails. For new movies, the internet has somewhat infinite potential when it comes building hype. Think of how many times Netflix tried to get you to watch Blackfin or YouTube showed you yet another trailer for The Great Gatsby. In this day and age, you don't have to go to a theatre to see a trailer anymore. You can watching a clip on infinite loop until the film premiers and then long after. Here are some recent music documentaries/bio-dramas that have utilized it in different ways. Some used the web purely as a promotional tool, one used it to crowdsource the filming and another used it as its release platform. The main tread that ties them all together is that they have been popping up in forum discussions, some for years now, and the have the internet talking. Straight Outta Compton “Our art is a reflection of our reality” Due out August 13th, this film follows the rise of rap group NWA. Raised in Compton, California, the group's members Eazy-E, Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren and DJ Yella translated their experie[...]