A Sister's Tale Documentary Review

‘A Sister’s Tale’ Documentary Review

In her, An Incomplete List of What the Cameraperson Enables, Kirsten Johnson proposes several actions and connections that portraying a subject in camera allows. One is the chance to be closer or farther (through the lens) than is physically possible. Leila Amini uses her cameras to capture the experiences of …

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Mistress Dispeller Documentary Review

‘Mistress Dispeller’ Documentary Review

In China, when there is suspicion of an affair, people hire a private investigator to terminate the relationship. It is a growing profession called Mistress Dispeller. When facing the infidelity of her husband, Mrs. Li decides to tell her brother, who connects her with Wang Zhenxi, a professional mistress dispeller. …

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Tata

‘Tata’ Documentary Review – A Highly Emotional Work of Forgiveness (TIFF)

Documentary filmmaking allows authors to connect with audiences through their memories. Docu-essays and diaries transport memories to the screen in a proposition of developing and expanding the feelings of the past. As we watch the first minutes of Tata, the film by Radu Ciornciuc and Lina Vdovîi, we travel back …

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Smiles and Kisses You Documentary Review

*smiles and kisses you* Documentary Review (Edinburgh)

The documentary genre is well acquainted with the strangest facets of the human experience, but *smiles and kisses you* – the sophomore documentary feature from director Brian Carberry – broaches an unorthodox relationship with an almost reckless candor. The film follows Chris, a 36-year-old gas station cashier in rural North …

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Made in Ethiopia Documentary Review

‘Made in Ethiopia’ Review: Documentary Explores Capitalism’s Growth in Rural Ethiopia

Ethiopia is considered one of the biggest economies in Africa. It has the sixth-largest Gross Domestic Product (GDP). It also has a population of approximately one hundred million people, and it has an increasing population density. These factors make the country attractive to international investors. Xinyan Yu & Max Duncan. …

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1-800-On-Her-Own Documentary Review

‘1-800-ON-HER-OWN’ Documentary Review: Ani DiFranco Still Has Something to Say

Inside the entertainment business, industries switch. When we look back at the phonographic market, it is changing. For example, independent artists, a small percentage of the pool then, could live throughout their CD sales and concerts at small gigs. It is a reality that changed completely. Today, streamers’ royalties do …

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Group Therapy Documentary Review

‘Group Therapy’ Review: Six Comedians Get Honest and Vulnerable About Mental Health

Comedy is one of the great cultural forces. It is, in many ways, the great equalizer. In the hands of a talented performer, comedy speaks truth to power, whether that means mocking our leaders or finding commonality in the human experience.  It’s the latter of these that filmmaker Neil Berkeley’s …

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Linda Perry Let It Die Here Review

‘Linda Perry: Let It Die Here’ Review: An Immeasurably Moving Documentary

There is a reason you’ve probably never heard the name Linda Perry. The singer/songwriter has spent her life hiding from the spotlight, hiding from shame and her perfectionism, but mostly hiding from herself. She is best known for being behind the vocals of 4 Non Blondes and their 1992 mega-hit …

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they're here documentary review tribeca

‘They’re Here’ Review: An Inventive Documentary That Respects Its Subjects

In the first minutes of They’re Here, we meet Cookie, a sympathetic old lady from New York who enthusiastically talks about her past experiences with Unknown Flying Objects (UFOs). She answers the directors, Daniel Claridge and Pacho Velez, saying she was taken fourteen times, only in her current home. Cookie …

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