Dor's Documentary 2012 Wrap Up Post AKA HOLY SHIT, WHAT A GREAT YEAR FOR DOCS!

You may have already rolled your eyes at how thoroughly and sanctimoniously I bragged about how many "older" movies I caught up on in 2012, the statistic I am actually most proud of is how many documentaries I saw this year, theatrically no less.   If there were any doubt in the past, I can safely say the documentary film has emerged as my very favorite genre.

I saw 104 documentaries in theaters this year.  Not all of them were released. Most of these were at film festivals.

I mention that number so that you can see the personal experience behind my statement that it was an utterly fantastic year for documentary film - both industry-wide and just personally, for me.  The latter can be attributed to three awesome institutions:

Full Frame

My third visit to the intimate haven for non-fiction in Durham NC introduced me to treats like Beauty is Embarrassing, Samsara, and How to Survive a Plague.  But even lesser-publicized gems like Radio Unnameable, Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet and the inexplicably underrated Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare are films I might have missed had I not made the trek down there. Can't wait to return to this laid back doc-lovers paradise for another four days of non-fiction bliss this April!

Hot Docs

This has been on my Film Festival bucket list for some time, thanks to my Toronto BFF Alison's insistence that it's a veritable utopia for a doc fan like me.  Well, like she often is, Alison was dead right.  While I couldn't spare the vacation days to do Hot Docs the right way, I did squeeze in a 10-movie weekend there by flying up after work on Friday and back before work on Monday.    It's only thanks to that quick trip that I saw standouts like the energizing We Are Wisconsin and the devastating Call Me Kuchu. This year, I vow to stay longer.

DocNYC

A documentary film festival six blocks from my apartment, in the best city in the world, held at my favorite movie theater the IFC Center?  The only way this could be more tailored to me personally is if they had a competition category for just short films shot by cats, for or about cats.  (They don't. Not yet. But you get my point.)  Standouts there? West of Memphis, Shenandoah and No Business Like Show Business.  That last one the a gorgeously-shot story of a troupe of yodeling Swiss farmers and the drama that comes along with rapid success.  Pretty great stuff.

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Now, before I get to naming my favorite documentary films of 2012 (and a few to watch for in 2013) I've got some special categories I added, 'cause I can.

Most criminally under-seen: 

Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare follows a number of industry professionals from journalists to doctors to expose how the business of healthcare in the US is incentivized to keep people sick, and the growing numbers of people motivated to change that.  I was expecting this to be political and complicated but I found it to be surprisingly hopeful and relatable.  It deserved a better title and much wider audience.

Best at piquing my interest in a subject I didn’t care about:

Indie Game: The Movie – great job of making the world of independent video game development totally dramatic and compelling

The Zen of Bennett – I knew nothing about Tony Bennett but I loved watching him  record his duets album

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - I don't eat fish at all but this movie was so well-done that I found myself a bit hungry for it

Biggest “Holy shit this really happened” Jaw Droppers:

Queen of Versailles

The Imposter

The Final Member

Biggest Disparity between Appeal of Subject and Film Quality

Meaning – films that weren’t bad at all, but also weren’t quite as compelling or good as their subjects.

Searching for Sugarman

Radioman

Central Park Five

But now, without further ado...

My Favorite Documentaries of 2012:

In no particular order!

Planet of Snail – tender, beautifully-shot tale of an unconventional couple and how they enrich each other’s lives daily

Jiro Dreams of Sushi – made sushi appealing for this non-fish eater by delving into the honor, family, hard work and utter craftsmanship behind the Michelin-rated restaurant in Japan

Samsara – Triumphant, non-narrative, life-affirming, gorgeous film that reminds me I am not traveling enough

How to Survive a Plague – Equal parts maddening and inspirational story of Act-Up, the organization formed to fight AIDS when the US government wasn’t doing enough

The Invisible War – devastating, emotional and comprehensive film exposing the prevalence of rape in the military as well as the systemic issues that keep perpetrators from being reported and prosecuted as well as that keep survivors from receiving proper care.  Well-deserved Sundance 2012 Audience Award-winner.

The Zen of Bennett – Charming, sweet, and superbly-produced portrait of a living legend

West of Memphis – Frustrating, satisfying and totally necessary conclusion to West Memphis 3 case exposing the dark side of humanity and the toll that took on the lives of three innocent young adults

Beauty is Embarrassing – A delightful, quirky film that oozes with as much creativity as its subject, artist Wayne White.

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet – Hugely inspirational story of a guitar prodigy whose musical career was seemingly cut short by Lou Gherig’s disease.  Wonderful story of a loving family and a man who uses music as a way of survival.

The House I Live In – Dense, intelligent, thought-provoking look at the war on drugs and its impact on economy, race and family in the US.

Honorable mentions! Other notables include The Revisionaries, The Law in These Parts, Marina Abromovic – The Artist is Present, Indie Game, Brooklyn Castle, $ellebrity, The American Scream, Only the Young

My “best of” list would have looked very different if I could’ve included a number of films that won’t be released til next year.  As such…

The four reasons 2013 will also be a great year for docs:

Far Out Isn’t Far Enough: The Tomi Ungerer Story

The Act of Killing

Call Me Kuchu

Vivan las Antipodas!

Doc NYC Adventures Thus Far

Annoying cell-phone users (and a few loud late-comers I haven't mentioned yet) notwithstanding, I have had a lovely experience at Doc NYC so far.

It's my first year attending this festival which seems to have been created and set up just for me.  A week of documentary film, including several hot titles I regrettably missed at other festivals?  Held at the IFC Center, mere blocks from my apartment? YES, PLEASE.

I've caught three films so far - Venus and Serena, Ethel and Bettie Page Reveals All.  Enjoyed aspects of all three - Ethel stands out as the best one so far. I've been so far struck by the passionate audiences and the relative ease / low stress element of attending screenings.

I'll write more later about my impressions of the films and the sheer awesomeness of the festival.

Anybody in New York who doesn't have their tickets already should be planning on seeing what all is still available for the rest of the festival which goes until the 17th.  Do not miss out! As for me, I am super psyched to see West of Memphis tomorrow, The Central Park Five next week, and like 15 more movies in between.

Know what else I am super excited for? Getting exactly six hours of sleep before my alarm goes off tomorrow for a five-movie day.  But don't worry - if I get tired, I'll just wake myself up by taking flash pictures of my last movie.  That doesn't bother anyone, right?

Bad Behavior at the Movies

Tonight I can say I've seen it all.  I thought I had seen it all before, but I was wrong. Now, I've seen everything.

Nearly sold-out crowd for a midnight documentary.  People are jazzed up. Some are dressed up like the subject, as a kind of tribute. Everyone's cheering for the intro, folks are into the movie.

So everyone will behave, right? Surely they've come to actually, I don't know, watch the movie?

Not so fast. Two people seemed to have other agendas. Mr. Texto on the left, several rows in front of me, lost focus with the film not even 15 minutes in, and instead of having the decency to just graciously nod off, the emboldened sonofabitch thought he might see if anything on his mobile phone could entertain him further. Answer, unfortunately, was yes, as he proceeded to distract himself (and ~100 of his fellow movie-goers) every ten minutes for the next hour.

But our little attention-deficit poster child only gets takes the 2nd place trophy in the Most Annoying Person at the Midnight Movie contest I was holding in my own mind tonight.

No no - the big prize goes to Sally McSnapperson who, I presume, loved the movie so much that she felt the need to further document it by taking photographs with the camera of her smartphone.  She held the damned thing up to the light a few times, and an eager audience of filmgoers watched that shutter close more than once.  Sad news, though - the pics didn't turn out to her liking.  Don't worry though, guys, she wasn't going to give up that easily.  She could do better. The flash! She switched that feature on and went to town.  I'd say ten flash pictures from a two-minute period of the film are now sitting idly in her phone, ready for her to swipe through fondly as she rides the subway back to New Jersey or wherever the hell she crawled out of.

I'd now like to address the people sitting to her immediate left and right, as well as the full row directly behind her.  Were you just a bunch of raging pussies, or had someone actually bound your fingers for some reason, rendering you completely incapable of tapping the budding shutterbug?  I won't hear any excuses of just being too drawn into the film to have noticed it, because even if such captivation was possible, this was not the film to inspire such a comment.

Yours truly was of course the brave soul who wandered from the back row of the theater down to the middle of the third row to tap the crazy person on the shoulder and hiss "EXCUSE ME BUT THE LIGHT FROM YOUR CAMERA IS EXTREMELY DISTRACTING." She gave me a look of immediate compliance mixed with pure mortification that indicated it hadn't crossed her mind that there were other actual humans sharing the same space as she.

Because I'm a good person I will choose to forgive, but I will never forget.

The Movies You Must Watch at DOC NYC

Doc NYC, as the name suggests, is a documentary film festival happening November 8^th thru 15^th in Manhattan.  At the SVA theater (a Tribeca Film Fest mainstay, in Chelsea) and the IFC Center (where I basically live), to be precise. I’d launch into an impassioned spiel about how much I love this fest, but truth be told, I’ve actually never attended Doc NYC.

I’m poised to change that starting this year, and in a big way. I’ve just bought tickets to 17 movies that are screening there (plus a few shorts I presume).   Crazy doc lady?  You say that like that like it’s a bad thing.

Anyway, I’m one thousand percent positive this festival’s gonna rule, and not just because the popcorn at the IFC Center is basically my version of crack.  It’s that Thom Powers guy – the one who founded and runs the festival along with his wife RaphaelaNeihausen.  I trust his taste since I’ve been enjoying the doc slate he programs at the Toronto International Film Festival for many years.

I’ve been seeing docs all year long, so I’ve got a leg up on this festival.  Here, then, is my list of films that I can heartily recommend.

(CAVEAT: I haven’t seen West of Memphis or Ethel, but based on buzz from past festivals, these films should also be on your radar.)

Artifact

This follows Jared Leto’s band 30 Seconds to Mars as they record a new album while being sued by their record label for a staggering 30 million dollars.  It’s not a perfect film by any means, but it is of particular interest to anyone who wants to stare into that guy’s gorgeous, gorgeous eyes for two hours, or anyone who has even a basic interest in what happens behind the scenes in the music industry.  The biggest reason to see this film, though, is that it offers something sort of rare for a documentary film – a truly unique theatrical experience.   Moviegoers generally know that watching a horror movie or a comedy is a lot more fun in a big crowd, but it’s widely accepted that most documentaries can be enjoyed just as much on your iPad as in a packed multiplex.  Not so with Artifact.  It was positively delightful to watch this one surrounded by 30 Seconds to Mars devotees who cheered for the first solid minute and snickered at seemingly innocuous lines that must be inside jokes. If you’re at all inclined to see this, make a point to see it at the opening night of Doc NYC.

Ping Pong

Of all the subgenres of documentary film out there, competition films and docs about senior citizens are high up there on the charm scale.  Ping Pong is a funny, lighthearted combination of those.  There’s an international Over 80’s Table Tennis championship to be won. You’ll meet a host of characters from around the globe as they vie for the top spot in their age bracket.  If you need to take a break from serious topics, you could do a lot worse than this, which is sure to bring a smile to your face if not a twinge of the inadequacy of your own fitness routine.

Radioman

This is the story of Radioman, a NYC personality – one of those people you always see and think huh, what’s his deal? This guy loves movies. Particularly, movie sets. He has gained a reputation with top Hollywood actors and directors as the guy who was as common to see around a movie set as a boom mike or the craft services table – so much so that they started giving him walk-on roles. This film won’t change your life, and you may leave it with more questions about this guy than answers, but you’ll chuckle along the way. Mainly it’s fun to watch as huge star after huge star shows up in the documentary to talk about their love for the guy.  And this will go over particularly well here since the film is chock full of NYC sights.

Gypsy Davy

I’ve seen quite a few outstanding personal documentaries lately and this one’s no exception.  The film starts off on a very small scale – one woman’s quest to learn more about her father who left when she was a small child. From there, the viewer gets a front seat to this journey as she discovers more about the man she barely knew.  I was mostly surprised by the universality here. Sure, most of us couldn’t say our Alabama-raised dad missed our formative years on account of his gallivanting around the globe as a flamenco guitarist, leaving in his wake more than one splintered family, and even inspiring a line in a famous pop song.  But - learning to love someone despite of their shortcomings? Reconciling that good can come from bad?  These are the types of lessons that shine through in the film and allow it to resonate with audiences.  I’ve been pulling for this little movie since Sundance and I absolutely recommend it.

Jason Becker: NotDead Yet

Part rock biography, part inspiring survival story, solid heart.  Jason Becker was a guitar prodigy from an early age, and his supportive and loving family nurtured his talent throughout his childhood, which paid off big time when his dream came true and he was selected to play with David Lee Roth on tour and record an album with him.  Those dreams were cut short by a diagnosis of Lou Gehrig’s disease at the age of 22.  Who could have imagined that staring at a future of rapid decline and paralysis, Jason Becker’s creative aspirations were far from over?  You won’t meet a more determined man.  His story provides of the most striking, yet humble, kind and unassuming examples of unending triumph over adversity that you’ll see in any film – fiction or non-fiction. Loved it, loved it, loved it. 

Far Out Isn’t FarEnough: The Tomi Ungerer Story

If you can only see one movie at Doc NYC… um,  try harder. See more! There are so many good ones to see!

But okay, seriously.  If you need to place a priority on which film is absolutely unmissable? Don’t worry, I’ve got you covered – this is the movie, right here. 

Not only does it make my top three docs of 2012 list but it will surely end up on my top ten films of the year. There were rainbows doing cartwheels through fireworks in my brain when I watched this freaking movie.  I knew exactly zero about the subject before I sat down to watch, so I had no predisposition to the film at all.  But it truly blew me away – both the fascinating man they profile as well as the expertise they apply in crafting his story.

If you want to know more about why I loved this movie, feel free to read the gushing review I posted of it after I saw it at TIFF.

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And so, New Yorkers, go forth and buy tickets! It’s time to take full advantage of what your city is offering you. DOC NYC is the kind of event that makes you proud to live here – so don’t just nod at the poster as you run past the IFC Center on your way down to the F train and think “wouldn’t that be fun.” Go online, book some tickets, and treat yourself to some really great docs. 

Get excited, New York! @DOCNYCFEST tickets go on sale soon.

I've been looking forward to Doc NYC since egregiously missing it last year for AFI.  Here are the docs I'm going to see.  Pretty psyched about it.  Open to comments.  Pretty embarrassed to have missed a few of these at 2+ other festivals (Ethel, West of Memphis especially).

Am MOST excited about No Business Like Show Business 'cause it's about yodeling which I think is kind of cool.  And Central Park Five which I was super sad to have missed at TIFF.   Also Drivers Wanted, since it's about NYC cab drivers and I tend to love to watch documentaries about things that are part of my daily life, since it usually means I never think of them the same way again.

My tentative schedule, to make things very easy for my myriad stalkers:

11/9 6:45 Ethel (SVA)

11/9 12 AM Bettie Page Reveals All (IFC)

11/10 11 West of Memphis (SVA)

11/10 1:45 Oma & Bella (IFC)

11/10 4:15 Fight to Live (IFC)

11/10 7 PM Shenandoah (IFC)

11/10 9:45 Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me (SVA)

11/11 2:15 Drivers Wanted (IFC)

11/11 4:45 No Business Like Show Business (IFC)

11/11 7:15 A Girl and a Gun (IFC)

11/11 9:30 Turning (SVA)

11/12 7:00 Family Ties (IFC)

11/12 9:15 Code of the West (IFC)

11/14 7:45 Eddie Adams: Saigon ’68 (IFC)

11/14 9:30 Home Movies & Other Memories (IFC)

11/15 7:00 Central Park Five (SVA)

11/15 9:45 Portraits (IFC)

Tomorrow I will post a long thing I typed out about the great movies playing Doc NYC that I have already seen, that everyone else needs to see.