Written & Directed by Angad Bhalla Produced by Lisa Valencia-Svensson & Bhalla Released by First Run Features USA/Canada/UK. 81 min. Not rated The feature documentary Herman’s House brings together two disparate worlds: that of 35-year-old New York City artist Jackie Sumell and 69-year-old Herman Wallace, serving a life sentence in the Louisiana State Penitentiary—40 of […]
Directed by Rodney Ascher Produced by Tim Kirk Released by IFC Films USA. 102 min. Not rated You’ve all seen The Shining, haven’t you? Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 1980 horror film gave Jack Nicholson a role (or an entire hotel) to chew on while Shelley Duvall ran around frantically, followed by a newly-created Steadicam. (It was […]
Directed by Alan Govenar Produced by Documentary Arts Released by First Run Features USA. 88 min. Not rated While some will find the message in this documentary to be overplayed, most will find it inspiring. Sidiki Conde, unable to use his legs after having polio at the age of 14, doesn’t miss out on life. […]
Directed by Janet Tobias Produced by Tobias, Rafael Marmor, Paul Laikin, Nadav Schirman, Susan Barnett & Zita Kisgergely Written by Tobias & Paul Laikin Released by Magnolia Pictures UK/Germany/USA. 83 min. Rated PG-13 With Chris Nicola, Sima Dodyk, Sonia Dodyk, Sam Stermer, Saul Stermer, Kati Laban, Balázs Péter Kiss, Dániel Hegedus, and Balázs Barna Hidvégi […]
Written & Directed by Ramona S. Diaz Produced by Diaz & Capella Fahoome Brogden English & Tagalog with English subtitles Released by Cinedigm Entertainment USA. 105 min. Not rated Even if you can’t name off the top of your head hits by the band Journey, as soon as one of their songs cranks up—on Glee, […]
Edited, Written, & Directed by Eric Walter Produced by Andrea Adams, John R. Blythe & Walter Released by IFC Midnight USA. 98 min. Not rated At its heart, My Amityville Horror is about what happens to a normal person put through extraordinary, horrifying, and traumatic experiences, and how he comes out on the other side. […]
Produced & Directed by Mark Kitchell Written by Tom Turner Released by First Run Features USA. 114 min. Not rated Anyone up to speed with environmental history has read Aldo Leopold’s essay, within he describes killing a wolf and watching the “fierce green fire” fade from its eyes. This evocative and contemplative documentary, tracing the […]
Written and Directed by Gregory Marquette Produced by Walter T. Shaw Released by Freestyle Releasing Rated PG. 92 Minutes Philosopher Daniel C. Dennett once said, “There’s nothing I like less then bad arguments for a view I hold dear.” The same sort of logic can be applied to filmmakers, and documentarians, for sure. It’s not […]
Directed by Roberta Grossman Produced by Grossman, Sophie Sartain & Marta Kauffman Written by Sartain Released by International Film Circuit USA. 73 min. Not rated Hava Nagila (The Movie) entertainingly traces the origins of the ubiquitous song and how it became worldwide kitsch. The global popularity of the song is made abundantly clear, but most […]