Written by Laura Dattaro For New York City middle schoolers, high school is a looming presence. The students must not only choose which schools they’d like to attend, but take tests, go on interviews, write essays, and audition to land a seat at a desk. In the documentary Tested, which had its world […]
Written by Megan Scanlon In 2007, NFL quarterback Michael Vick was sentenced to prison for his horrific operation of a dog fighting ring. Twenty-two pit bulls were rescued as living evidence following a debate surrounding their euthanization, a stance PETA was cemented to. The NYC premiere of The Champions tells the story of […]
Written by Laura Dattaro In less than a century, humans could turn Mars into a liveable planet. According to a NASA astrobiologist interviewed in Ian Cheney’s documentary Bluespace, we could pump Mars’ atmosphere full of greenhouse gases until it warmed up and liquid water flowed. Any life capable of living with that much […]
Written by Megan Scanlon The New York City premiere of Women He’s Undressed treated its audience to the world of Oscar-winning costume designer Orry-Kelly. Director Gillian Armstrong, who couldn’t be there in person, sent a message to the audience, “I do hope you enjoy our little story of his big life.” Fantastically stylized, […]
Written by Eugene Rosenberg The Great Alone focuses on the greatest champion of one of America’s most unique sporting institutions – Alaska’s Iditarod sled dog race. The film follows four-time champion Lance Mackey and his team of dogs over some of Alaska’s most ruggedly beautiful terrain as he competes in the 2013 event. […]
Written by Laura Dattaro A Good American is a difficult film to watch in New York City. A chronicle of a revoluationary security program that may have been able to prevent the September 11 terrorist attacks, the documentary is rife with emotional footage, from the audio of a voicemail left by a passenger […]
Written by Eugene Rosenberg While seemingly well-worn territory, Raiders! takes the familiar “making of a movie” documentary topic into a bold new dimension of meta-reference while fusing several contemporary popular cultural phenomena: homemade remakes of famous movies, the proliferation of viral videos, and growing dedication of genre fan bases. The film itself details […]
Written by Susan Keyloun Shot over a three-month period, Sisters in Law, a Cannes award-winning documentary which marks its 10th anniversary as part of the DOC Redux line-up, follows two feisty, no-nonsense women in the small village of Kumba, Cameroon as they fight against injustice and inhumanity. Prosecutor Vera Ngassa and Judge Beatrice […]
Written by Eugene Rosenberg Saturday night’s sold out screening of The Lost Arcade proved something of a homecoming for a lost tribe -Manhattan’s diehard arcade video gamers. For the last two decades the film’s subject, the “lost arcade” known as Chinatown Fair, provided the last refuge and a sense of place for NYC’s coin […]
Written by Krystal Grow When does a manufactured item become a unique, organic object? How can animal bones in museum cases become beautiful landscapes? What can we learn about human nature by examining the things we throw away? Photographer Rosamond Purcell has spent her entire career asking these questions, and has made remarkable […]