November 19, 2014

Trixie and Monkey Talk Love, Success, and Burlesque at DOC NYC

  Written by Jacob Appet On Monday night, DOC NYC screened the world premiere of Kirsten D’Andrea Hollander’s Us, Naked: Trixie & Monkey.  The film takes us into the private lives of two modern-day burlesque performers who go by the names Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey.  Their unique performances combine impressive acrobatic feats […]

November 19, 2014

Justice, Journalism and A Murder in the Park

Written by Maggie Glass A young black man, Anthony Porter, is arrested for a double murder and put on death row. A passionate journalism professor and his students investigate the crime, find an alternate suspect, and successfully petition for Porter’s release just days before his scheduled execution. An ostensible triumph for justice — and yet, […]

November 19, 2014

Citizenfour: Portrait of a Whistle-Blower

    Written by Jenna Belhumeur What happens when technology outpaces democratic oversight? Citizenfour answers just that. In Laura Poitras’s documentary, which screened Tuesday night at Chelsea’s Bow Tie Theater, viewers are invited into the fateful Hong Kong hotel room where Edward Snowden facilitated the publication of shocking NSA classified documents. Poitras appeared after the […]

November 18, 2014

Merchants of Doubt: A Call to Action Against Disinformation

  Written by Krystal Grow When you’re responsible for manufacturing some of the most harmful and toxic products on the planet, presentation is everything, and nothing is as appears. Director Robert Kenner, who uncovered the capitalist complex behind the food processing industry in Food Inc., returns with another captivating documentary that exposes disturbing connections between […]

November 18, 2014

Soft Vengeance and “A Persistent Fight for Equality”

Written by Jenna Belhumeur In Abby Ginzberg’s documentary, Soft Vengeance: Albie Sachs and the New South Africa, viewers are taken through the fight against South African apartheid via the life of one of the country’s most noted activists. Following the film’s screening on Sunday at the SVA Theater, Ginzberg was joined onstage by Sachs for […]

November 18, 2014

Rubble Kings and the Untold Story of South Bronx Street Gangs

  Written by Maggie Glass The War Pigs. The Jolly Stompers. The Savage Nomads. The Aliens. The Renagade Turks. In the 1970s, New York City was ruled by gangs, each with its own identity, fashion sense, and style of violence. With the idealism of the 60s fading, the city was experiencing swift urban decay and […]

November 18, 2014

A Deep Dive into the Life of Greg Louganis at DOC NYC

  Written by Jacob Appet Cheryl Furjanic’s Back on Board: Greg Louganis screened Sunday night at DOC NYC to a sold-out, overjoyed crowd.  The film blends archival footage with present-day interviews to paint a beautiful, complex portrait of an iconic Olympic champion. Greg Louganis, the only athlete to ever win consecutive Olympic gold medals in […]

November 18, 2014

Confronting Fate in Lucy Walker’s The Lion’s Mouth Opens

  Written by Megan Scanlon The Lion’s Mouth Opens, directed by Lucy Walker, tenderly and bravely confronts the neurodegenerative cognitive and behavioral downward spiral that is Huntington’s Disease. Walker and the subject of the film, actress and filmmaker Marianna Palka, were present for a Q&A in front of a packed DOC NYC audience on Sunday […]

November 18, 2014

David: A Case Study in Classic Documentary Film Making

Written by Krystal Grow The Synanon House in Santa Monica had a front door that faced the California freeway, and a back door that led to the rolling waves of the Pacific ocean. But in between the streets and the shoreline, a radical experiment in drug rehabilitation was happening, and an equally unheard of style […]