Documentary filmmaker David Gelb draws on a vast archive of footage and audio to allow the Marvel icon to tell his story in Stan Lee. Stan Lee is an icon but he never set out to be known for his work in comic books. No, this was a guy who hoped to write the Great American Novel. Suffice it to say, his path would lead him to fame but not because of novels. Through his…
"Stan Lee – Tribeca 2023"Category: Film Festival
Take Care of Maya is a documentary that follows the Kowalski family and their daughter’s battle with a rare illness, CRPS. Please note that the film comes with a few content warnings for child abuse, suicide, etc. I cannot stress enough that the documentary is not an easy watch by any means. What should have been a routine visit to Johns Hopkins All Children’s Hospital ended up becoming something much worse. The medical team suspected…
"Take Care of Maya – Tribeca 2023"
An Israeli profiler profiles a recent Palestinian assassin in The Future, leading to some very intense conversations with each other. The film stars some time after a young Palestinian student, Yaffa (Samar Qupty), shoots the Israeli Minister of Space and Tourism at point blank. This comes as an Israeli spacecraft is on the brink of landing on the moon. Anyway, Dr. Nurit Bloch (Reymonde Amsellem) is brought in to profile the university student to find…
"The Future – Tribeca 2023"
A married gay couple have to navigate a custody battle over their son during a divorce that starts getting messy in Our Son. Gay couples are no different than straight couples. They can fall out of love and end up getting divorced–yes, even after fighting for the right to get married. However, it’s just as messy for gay parents as it is for straight parents when it comes to custody over their children. When we…
"Our Son – Tribeca 2023"
Maestra marks the feature directorial debut of Maggie Contreras, who previously produced Gilbert with Maestra producer Neil Berkeley. Music takes center stage in this documentary–conducting an orchestra, that is. It’s a particularly timely doc given the recent success of Todd Field’s TÁR, starring Cate Blanchett. Anyway, this film focuses on five women who make their way to Paris for the four-day La Maestra competition. The competition is for women who are going against the grain…
"Maestra – Tribeca 2023"
Chasing Chasing Amy is a beautifully made documentary about a filmmaker’s journey while making a documentary about Chasing Amy. It’s one thing for a making-of documentary but this is something else. Filmmaker Sav Rodgers discovered Kevin Smith’s Chasing Amy when he was 12 years old and it changed his very life. There are many other films starring Ben Affleck but Rodgers would repeatedly watch this film. It’s enough that he would do a TED Talk…
"Chasing Chasing Amy – Tribeca 2023"
Against All Enemies is the most terrifying documentary to be playing a film festival since Alt-Right: Age of Rage premiered in 2018. Thematically, the film is on par with Alt-Right: Age of Rage with way too many jaw-dropping moments to count. I mean, how is it that they got this much footage on camera with the Proud Boys, 3 Percenters, and Oath Keepers. These militias think they’re doing the right thing but much like the…
"Against All Enemies – Tribeca 2023"
Breaking the News follows a group of women and LGBTQ journalists as they launch The 19th* in order to change the status quo in news. Do you ever wonder why something makes the news and another thing doesn’t? It always comes down to a publisher or editor believing one to be more important than the other. That’s how I see it anyway. I think back to watching the news cycle over the years. Look at…
"Breaking the News – Tribeca 2023"
After the death of their mother, three siblings return home in Trust, leading to no shortage of family issues as the fighting begins. Trust was an Audience Award winner during the 2022 Cinequest Film Festival. In watching the film, one can understand why audiences resonated so much. It’s understandable that every family has their own drama. One can only hope that it’s nothing like the Abelman family drama. Throw three neurotic children under the same…
"Trust – LA Jewish Film Festival 2023"
While Closed Circuit is a documentary that is about a terrorist attack, the film manages to find the humanity when it comes to the survivors. June 8, 2016 is a date that many people will remember and likely for the rest of their lives. It is on this date that people were running and screaming at the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv, Israel. The market had only been open since 2015 prior to two gunmen…
"Closed Circuit – Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema 2023"