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SXSW 2022 Film Dispatches, Vol. 1 (Reviews)

15Mar

By Matt Shiverdecker2 Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

SXSW 2022 Film Dispatches, Vol. 1 (Reviews)

The 29th edition of the SXSW Film Festival is back in-person (and online) this week in Austin, Texas, for the first time in three years. With nearly 100 feature films on the schedule and 76 World Premiere screenings happening over the course the week, there are plenty of opportunities to be entertained. With today's dispatch, I'll take a look at some of the best documentaries I've caught so far during the festival and I'll be back later in the week with more updates. The Pez Outlaw Before becoming obsessed with the wide variety of international Pez dispensers available overseas, Steve Glew had never been out of the country. Living with his family in rural Michigan and working in a factory as a machinist was a means to an end, but then his OCD manifested itself in collecting all ...

Catch Up With ‘Flee’ Before the Academy Awards (Review)

22Feb

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film, Reviews

Catch Up With ‘Flee’ Before the Academy Awards (Review)

Danish drama 'Flee' is one of the most unique nominees at this year's Academy Awards. It earned a nomination for Best International Feature Film, but also made history for its inclusion in the categories for Best Animated Feature and Best Documentary Feature. The film, which world premiered at Sundance last year, introduces us to a man in Denmark who finally breaks his silence on being a child refugee. Director Jonas Poher Rasmussen tells the intensely personal story of one his best friends from high school. We're introduced to him as Amin Nawabi, but that's a pseudonym. Combined with the animation, it allows Amin to tell his story, but remain protected. Born in Kabul, Amin's family was torn apart after their father was arrested and the country was torn apart by war. In...

Academy’s Documentary Branch Whittling Down Shortlist for 2022

1Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Features, Film

Academy’s Documentary Branch Whittling Down Shortlist for 2022

Earlier this week, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Scientists (AMPAS) announced the full list of feature films eligible for consideration as Best Documentary at the upcoming 94th Academy Awards. There are a total of 138 titles eligible for the category this year and members of the Documentary Branch begin voting today to whittle that list down to a shortlist of 15 films that will advance into the new year. The shortlist should be announced on Tuesday, December 21 and those 15 films will screen on their way towards a second round of balloting which will reveal the final 5 nominees in the category. One of the films you can likely expect to get nominated this year is "Flee" - the Danish film about a queer refugee from Afghanistan is the first to ever qualify in the Document...

31Jan

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Events, Film

12th Annual DOC NYC Festival Happening Now in Hybrid Format

Now in its 12th year, DOC NYC kicked off over the weekend and is taking place now in a hybrid format. This means that if you're in New York City, there are still screenings happening with hundreds of special guests for Q&As and interviews. The good news is that wherever you are in the United States, you can can actually buy tickets for individual screenings and grab yourself a pass that will allow you to watch some of the best documentaries of the year from the comfort and safety of home. According to their website, for the last nine years, the festival has screened the film that went on to win the Best Documentary award at the Oscars. 24 of the last 25 Oscar nominees were also on recent lineups. If you're a fan of documentary films from around the globe, this is the place to s...

“The Velvet Underground” Hits Apple TV and Select Theaters This Friday (Review)

16Oct

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Music, Reviews

“The Velvet Underground” Hits Apple TV and Select Theaters This Friday (Review)

Fresh off its successful screenings at the New York Film Festival, the first ever documentary from cinematic provocateur Todd Haynes is about to hit theaters and streaming this weekend. The director of "Velvet Goldmine" and "Carol" takes us on a deep dive into the history of one of rock and roll's greatest art rock bands, The Velvet Underground. If you're hoping for a straightforward approach, you won't get it here. Haynes returns to the more experimental techniques of his earliest work and features lots of split screens and rare archival footage presented in a collage method that would make Peter Greenaway proud. There are beautiful close-up establishing shots of each band member (Lou Reed, John Cale, Moe Tucker, and Sterling Morrison) that linger, capturing the intimate nature...

Edgar Wright’s Fandom Pays Off in “The Sparks Brothers” (Review)

18Jun

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Film, Music, Reviews

Edgar Wright’s Fandom Pays Off in “The Sparks Brothers” (Review)

First things first: you don't need to be familiar with the band Sparks to have a great time with Edgar Wright's fantastic new documentary. Before watching it, the extent of my musical knowledge about them came from enjoying their 1983 single "Cool Places," a duet with Jane Wiedlin of the Go-Go's. Hell, I didn't even know they were brothers or from America. https://youtu.be/WNKIba_yZJo Ron and Russell Mael have been making music together since the late 1960s and have bounced around to so many different record labels over the decades, but never found much chart success here in the U.S. They have been decidedly more successful in Europe, although still experienced a wide range of highs and lows when it has come to critical reception and sales. British filmmaker Edgar Wright (...

16Apr

By Matt ShiverdeckerNo Comments

Art, Film, Reviews

SFFILM Review: “Lily Topples The World”

After its recent world premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival, Jeremy Workman's superb new documentary "Lily Topples The World" won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary Feature. The film is being featured this week on the lineup of the 64th Annual San Francisco International Film Festival (SFFILM) and it's a must-see. 22-year-old Lily Hevesh started posting videos of her unique domino creations at the tender age of nine. Over time, her ideas became more elaborate and she has built a massive following on YouTube where her videos have reached over a billion views. Before watching the film, I never could have imagined that being a "domino artist" was something you could make a living from. Something tells me that your average person still could not, but a small handful (of otherwise ...