CANNES, France—Two tribes, the Didinga and the Logir, on different sides of a vast patch of fertile vegetation, which they must share in order for their cattle to graze, but each tribe cattle-raids the other and tit-for-tat reprisals are bloody because nobody wants to really share. This dispute over natural resources, which takes place in South Sudan, echoes many others before it throughout ... more >
ARCHIVES
CANNES FESTIVAL: “For the sake of peace,” produced by Forest Whitaker
Peace-building starts in the community
Directed by Christophe Castagne and Thomas Sametin
Project Recover, an NGO that searches and repatriates the remains of the lost pilots and sailors from the South Pacific, at the heart of “To What Remains,” currently showing in theaters | DOCUMENTARY
This past week marked eighty years since the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941, which lured the United States into WWII. Sixteen million Americans answered the call to join the armed forces against the Axis of Nazi Germany, imperial Japan and fascist Italy. Over 400,000 servicemen lost their lives in the Atlantic and Pacific theaters, with approximately 80,000 more still ... more >
“People often use the term feel-good movie like it’s dismissive, if our audience comes out of the theater feeling good then we’re completely happy” JULIE COHEN AND BETSY WEST on the making of “JULIA”
Filmmakers Julie Cohen and Betsy West make documentaries about extraordinary women. Their Oscar-nominated 2018 “RBG” followed around the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Cohen and West have returned with “Julia,” which traces the rise of Julia Child from her Southern California beginnings to becoming the world’s first celebrity chef. “Like a lot of people in my generation, I ... more >
DOCUMENTARY REVIEW: “Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are)” forces us to take a probing look at our Civil War history
The brutal truth about these “United” States of America is that the country was founded on oppression and division, all of which that culminated in an sometimes-false rewriting of history. Case in point: the Civil War was fought over the right to own slaves; this fact is undebatable. Rachel Boynton’s documentary, “Civil War (or, Who Do We Think We Are) is a relevant film about how the ... more >
DOC PREVIEW: “Rita Moreno, a girl who just decided to go for it”
Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera
Over a long career Rita Moreno defied both her humble upbringing and relentless racism to become a celebrated and beloved actor, one of the rare EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) Award Winners of our time. Born into poverty on a Puerto Rican farm, Moreno and her seamstress mother immigrated to New York City when Moreno was five years old. After studying dance and performing on Broadway, Moreno was ... more >
FIRST LOOK: “Driving while black: race, space and mobility in America”
A new documentary offering from PBS
“Driving while black: race, space and mobility in America” is a two-hour documentary film by historian Dr. Gretchen Sorin and Emmy–winning director Ric Burns that will air on PBS this Tuesday. Recounting the history and personal experiences—at once liberating and challenging—of black people on the road from the advent of the automobile through the seismic changes of the sixties and beyond ... more >
“All in: the fight for democracy,” directed by Lisa Cortés and Liz Garbus, not only seeks to reveal ongoing voter suppression fraud but also inspire Americans to protect their democracy | REVIEW
Music by Meshell Ndegeocello and Gil Talmi
There’s no other way to begin than to say Lisa Cortes and Liz Garbus’s new documentary “All In: The Fight for Democracy” is the most important film of 2020. Voter suppression. Let these words sink in. Voter suppression has been in play for hundreds of years. As the film reminds us (or rather, those who need to be reminded), the constitution starts with three words, “We the People.” But who are ... more >