It’s been a bit of a long road for Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv, whose new film about Golda Meir’s turbulent days during the Yom Kippur War of 1973 is dramatized in “Golda.” Working from a script by Nicholas Martin (“Florence Foster Jenkins”), the film casts Oscar-winner Helen Mirren as the embattled prime minister battling both foreign armies as well as an essentially all-male military power ... more >
NEWS
“GOLDA” director Guy Nattiv chats about working with Helen Mirren and bringing the past to life
The Israeli filmmaker will next co-direct a film with an Iranian star
If you want to learn more about the Manhattan Project, filmmaker Steve James has just the documentary for you: “A COMPASSIONATE SPY” | INTERVIEW
"The story was, the U.S. entered the war and we were heroes"
[DOCUMENTARY]
Thanks to a certain current blockbuster film, almost everyone is now familiar with J. Robert Oppenheimer, the so-called father of the atomic bomb. And while Christopher Nolan’s film starring Cillian Murphy does indeed touch upon the fact that Soviet spies worked alongside him at Los Alamos, what became of those spies is not discussed in “Oppenheimer.” However, “A Compassionate Spy,” the new ... more >
Revisiting “KOKOMO CITY” for its theatrical run with director D. Smith | IN CONVERSATION
We learned about this film at DC/DOX, and now you can catch it in theaters
At DC/DOX last June I saw “Kokomo City,” which details the lives of four Black trans sex workers facing multiple hardships. Director D. Smith, a trans woman and a Grammy nominee, spoke with me via phone during DC/DOX—and with the film now set to play in theaters this weekend, our conversation has been reposted. How did you decide to make this documentary? To do something like this, you ... more >
“PRUNING” starring Madeline Brewer; Jamie Boyle’s “ANONYMOUS SISTER”; “KATIE’S MOM”; “PETER CASE: A MILLION MILES AWAY”; “LAKOTA NATION VS. UNITED STATES,” a few hand-picked films to watch this summer
“PRUNING” Director : Lola Blanc In this psychological horror short, Madeline Brewer (“The Handmaid’s Tale”) stars as an agitprop right-wing commentator in the model of Tomi Lahren, who will seemingly press any button in order to generate outrage. “Pruning” shows that Brewer’s character knows better than to say what she does but still going ahead anyway in the name of fame (or infamy) and ... more >
“I really wanted to pull people into the room, invite them to be part of our family, and invite them to be there by my dad’s bedside”; ONDI TIMONER on the making of “LAST FLIGHT HOME” | INTERVIEW
500 hours of raw, personal footage about a father she loves
Ondi Timoner’s father Eli died in 2021 after an incredible career as a business executive. Even after a stroke in middle age—which resulted in his being exiled from the very airline he founded—Eli pressed on and lived his best life, leaving behind several children and grandchildren. Eli’s final years were difficult as he was in constant pain and suffering from COPD and congestive heart failure. ... more >
Two-time Oscar nominee Jay Rosenblatt on “HOW DO YOU MEASURE A YEAR?” | INTERVIEW
Over seventeen years a father captures on film a daughter coming of age
“How Do You Measure a Year?” is a familiar lyric from a song in the Broadway show “Rent”; it’s also the title of a fascinating and experimental short documentary from Jay Rosenblatt (“When We Were Bullies”). Each year on his daughter Ella’s birthday, Rosenblatt filmed himself asking her a similar series of questions, including: “How would you say we get along?” “What are your hopes for the ... more >
First ever DC/DOX FEST kicks off; we were there
Rising from the ashes of AFI DOCS, a vivacious new documentary festival offer
It’s always great to be first. This weekend the nation’s capital saw the premiere of DC/DOX, a new film festival dedicated to truth in filmmaking. Opening night kicked off at the National Portrait Gallery, where festival founders Jamie Shor and Sky Sitney spoke about the necessity of founding a new venue for documentaries in the capital in the wake of AFI DOCS, which used to be in D.C., having ... more >
