Reviewing Sundance docs At the Ready ("a rave and intimate portrait of America’s youths"), Homeroom ("conveys a sense of optimism"), and Taming the Garden (" striking, surreal').
Documentary Culture
Kevin Macdonald offers the ultimate COVID-19 supercut with Life in a Day 2020, but this crowd-sourced doc is a case of quantity over quality as the montage create a simplified portrait of a most difficult year.
"Sparks is to be lauded because they never sold out. Another of my favourite bits in the documentary is when they talk about being asked to write some music that you can dance to, and they do exactly that, seemingly as a big “fuck you” to the record company executive."
A standout selection at Sundance, Misha and the Wolves is a twist-upon-twist, reveal-after-after, jaw-on-the-floor thrill ride. It's a wild-but-true story masterfully told about the art of deception and the cost of lies.
Sundance 2021 winners include Flee and Summer of Soul with the Grand Jury Prizes for Documentary.
Reviews of Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It, Bring Your Own Brigade, Faya Dayi, and Playing with Sharks from the 2021 Sundance Film Festival.
"I think most people’s relationship to technology has shifted through the pandemic. On the one hand, we’re very grateful that we have the technology we have and, at the same time, I think we’re aware of what it doesn’t give us."
The recent CBC/Radio Canada CRTC hearings saw DOC advocate on behalf of Canadian documentary filmmakers during the broadcaster’s license renewal at a time when CBC is reducing investment in documentaries.
How rare and wonderful is it to watch a documentary and witness it immediately change the accepted history of a subject? Summer of Soul does just with portrait of 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival.
Sundance reviews for Cusp ("bold and bracing portrait of youth"), Ailey ("a beautiful act of remembering"), and Sons of Monarchs ("a provocative experiment in metamorphosis").