N. Scott Momaday: Words from a Bear is a new American Masters documentary celebrating the life of the 1969 Pulitzer Prize-winning Native American author. To say that N. Scott Momaday is a celebrated storyteller would not be an understatement. The 1960s were an interesting time in America. I think this goes without saying. The fact that he took home the Pulitzer Prize for his work says even more because this was a guy who wrote…
"Sundance 2019: Words from a Bear"Category: Film Festival
To The Stars is a beautifully crafted coming-of-age story set in 1960s rural Oklahoma and continues the trend of deeply affecting films shot in black and white. Iris Deerborne (Kara Hayward) doesn’t have the best home life or school life. It’s no wonder that she chooses to spend so much time by herself at the nearby pond. Between her mother being an alcoholic and everyone teasing her at school, it’s not the best life. Hell,…
"Sundance 2019: To The Stars"
Maiden tells the inspiring true story of skipper Tracy Edwards and the first female crew who made history by entering the Whitbread Round the World race. It comes as no surprise that the misogyny that Tracy Edwards and her crew dealt with in the late 1980s still exists today. While the male competitors were asked the “sensible sports questions,” no reporters dared to ask the Maiden crew these questions. Nobody gave them a chance. As soon…
"Sundance 2019: Maiden"
Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins profiles the late political columnist who was willing to raise hell but also have some fun along the way. There is no better way to present Molly Ivin’s story than by allowing Ivins herself to tell it like it is. While Ivins may no longer be with us, she is able to tell her story by way of archival footage. There’s a lot of archival footage…
"Sundance 2019: Raise Hell: The Life and Times of Molly Ivins"
When Maria Linde dares to have an opinion in Dolce Fine Giornata amid a changing society, she manages to suffer the consequences. Maria Linde (Krystyna Janda) is a poet who appears to have the best of everything as she lives with her husband in Italian province of Tuscany. She did’t always live in Italy. Both of her parents survived the Holocaust and she was born in Poland. She has a loving family and a Nobel…
"Sundance 2019: Dolce Fine Giornata"
While Memphis ’69 doesn’t break any new ground in the documentary, there’s nothing wrong with being allowed to just sit back and enjoy the music. During the late 1960s, the Memphis Country Blues Society held an annual blues festival. As implied in the film’s title, the concert footage is taken from the June 1969 music festival. These blues musicians gathered together at the Overton Park Shell for three days in celebration of Memphis’ 150th birthday. …
"Slamdance 2019: Memphis ’69"
Aquarela is a visually stunning and immersive experience that needs to be experienced on the biggest screen possible with the best sound system. This is a film that captures H20 in both its liquid form of water and solid form of ice. It also captures idiots driving on the ice and thinking that they can get away with it. These people are extremely lucky that there are people out there willing to dig your car…
"Sundance 2019: Aquarela"
MERATA: How Mum Decolonised The Screen profiles filmmaker Merata Mita and the influential role she played in being a pioneer of Indigenous cinema. Despite my being a film buff, I was very unfamiliar with the filmmaker’s story going into the film. This changed upon viewing the documentary–which runs under 90 minutes. After her death in 2010, her son, Hepi, wanted to find out what it was that led her to champion Indigenous cinema. Without her,…
"Sundance 2019: MERATA: How Mum Decolonised The Screen"
Sea of Shadows puts the spotlight on the mission to save the Vaquita while battling poachers over their bid to catch Votoaba for their swim bladders. I don’t know how much of the American population is familiar with what’s happening below the border but it’s awful. It’s been some time since I’ve watched an environmental documentary but wow, Sea of Shadows is truly horrifying. “It’s a fucking disgrace that we are letting a species go…
"Sundance 2019: Sea of Shadows"
The Ochoa family gets profiled in Midnight Family as a result of the EMT service that they provide for patients with medical needs in Mexico City. Like any family, they have their own financial issues. In spite of this, they still keep doing what they love because it means helping those with a medical need. Things may be different below the border than they are in the US where certified volunteers run their own EMT…
"Sundance 2019: Midnight Family"