Filmworker (USA, 94 min.) Dir. Tony Zierra The mad artistry of Stanley Kubrick gets the doc treatment in Filmworker. This documentary is supposed to be a film about Kubrick’s devoted assistant Leon Vitali, but, by the midpoint, it becomes apparent that Vitali isn’t as interesting a subject as Kubrick is, so director Tony Zierra inevitably shifts
Barbara Kopple's Harlan County, USA set the standard for other fictional films about class struggles and the populist documentary films of Michael Moore.
The Oslo Diaries (Canada/Israel, 97 min.) Dir. Mor Loushy, Daniel Sivan The late Shimon Peres gives his final interview in The Oslo Diaries. Appropriately enough, directors Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan afford the former President and Prime Minister of Israel the last word in the documentary. As the credits begin to roll, they ask Peres if
Always at the Carlyle (USA, 92 min.) Dir. Matthew Miele Always at the Carlyle opens in theatres beginning July 6. 1
Mathieu Peirre Dagonas is the new executive director of the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC). He has 15 years of political affairs experience, which includes working in senior provincial government roles. In 2011, Mathieu led the team that won Mike Crawley the position of president and national campaign manager of the Liberal Party of Canada. He has
Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist (UK, 80 min.) Dir. Lorna Tucker Vivienne Westwood seems like a real pain in the ass. It would be an understatement to call her a difficult subject. She doesn’t want to talk about America. She doesn’t want to talk about the Sex Pistols. When director Lorna Tucker interviews Westwood in a
Watching powerful films and talking about sexual violence as a longstanding institutional problem, we can hope to reach a more forthright way to understand, and bring about change.
The Cleaners (Germany/Brazil, 88 min.) Dir. Dir. Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck A tough investigative doc that slowly, inexorably, turns into a cinematic essay about contemporary anger and hatred, The Cleaners reveals how Facebook censors images and texts worldwide. German directors Hans Block and Moritz Riesewick track down a group of “content moderators” in Manila who decide what
Design Canada (Canada, 74 min.) Dir. Greg Durrell The question of a “brand identity” is difficult to tackle. Corporate values, principles, history, and mandates combine with consumer-friendly concision. Now imagine this entity has thirteen unique departments, one of which considers itself a distinct brand-within-a-brand, two official languages and countless unofficial ones, a sprawling geographical range,
American Animals (USA, 100 min.) Dir. Bart Layton American Animals spins the phrase “based on a true story” on its head. This innovative and exhilarating docu-drama hybrid from Bart Layton (The Imposter) masterfully straddles genres and art forms while examining a crime gone wrong. As with The Imposter, American Animals is a fast-paced and electrifyingly stylish film that puts