Martina Navratilova, WInning[/caption]
Winning is the compelling and inspiring story of the journeys of five legendary athletes – tennis champion Martina Navratilova, golf great Jack Nicklaus, Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci, track and field star Edwin Moses, and Dutch Paralympian Esther Vergeer.
The film will be hitting movie theaters starting September 8 at Cinépolis Chelsea in New York City.
Through candid interviews and footage of their most exciting championship moments, Winning reveals their dreams, challenges, triumphs and explores why some athletes achieve greatness. As they reminisce about the highs and lows of their careers, these iconic athletes share a unique and intimate window into their lives.
Winning features rare archival footage of the athletes’ childhoods, as well as some of their most memorable and historic moments at the Olympics, Wimbledon, The Masters, US Open, British Open, French Open/Roland Garros, PGA Tour and The Paralympics.
The film features interviews with the athletes’ families, coaches, agents and competitors including Olympic Gold Medalists, Bart Conner and Derrick Adkins, track and field Olympians, Benn Fields and Herb Douglas, tennis star, Pam Shriver, legendary coaches, Sven Groeneveld and Robert Lansdorp, Duke University Professor of Sports Psychology, Greg Dale, Barbara Nicklaus, Jana Navratilova and former Olympic gymnastics coach, Paul Ziert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HM2D2qScrADocumentary
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Sports Legends Navratilova, Nicklaus, Comaneci, Moses and Vergeer Featured in Documentary WINNING | Trailer
[caption id="attachment_23529" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Martina Navratilova, WInning[/caption]
Winning is the compelling and inspiring story of the journeys of five legendary athletes – tennis champion Martina Navratilova, golf great Jack Nicklaus, Olympic gymnast Nadia Comaneci, track and field star Edwin Moses, and Dutch Paralympian Esther Vergeer.
The film will be hitting movie theaters starting September 8 at Cinépolis Chelsea in New York City.
Through candid interviews and footage of their most exciting championship moments, Winning reveals their dreams, challenges, triumphs and explores why some athletes achieve greatness. As they reminisce about the highs and lows of their careers, these iconic athletes share a unique and intimate window into their lives.
Winning features rare archival footage of the athletes’ childhoods, as well as some of their most memorable and historic moments at the Olympics, Wimbledon, The Masters, US Open, British Open, French Open/Roland Garros, PGA Tour and The Paralympics.
The film features interviews with the athletes’ families, coaches, agents and competitors including Olympic Gold Medalists, Bart Conner and Derrick Adkins, track and field Olympians, Benn Fields and Herb Douglas, tennis star, Pam Shriver, legendary coaches, Sven Groeneveld and Robert Lansdorp, Duke University Professor of Sports Psychology, Greg Dale, Barbara Nicklaus, Jana Navratilova and former Olympic gymnastics coach, Paul Ziert.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HM2D2qScrA
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Documentary Fairy Tale SPETTACOLO to Open in New York on September 6th
Spettacolo is described as a documentary fairy tale directed by Jeff Malberg (Marwencol) and Chris Shellen, about a tiny Italian farming village that turns their lives into a play. The film which had it’s world premiere at the 2017 SXSW Film Festival, will open in theaters in New York on September 6th, 2017.
Once upon a time, villagers in a tiny hill town in Tuscany came up with a remarkable way to confront their issues: they turned their lives into a play. Every summer, their piazza became their stage and residents of all ages played a part – the role of themselves. Monticchiello’s annual tradition has attracted worldwide attention and kept the town together for 50 years, but with an aging population and a future generation more interested in Facebook than farming, the town’s 50th anniversary performance just might be its last. Spettacolo tells the story of Teatro Povero di Monticchiello, interweaving episodes from its past with its modern-day process as the villagers turn a series of devastating blows into a new play about the end of their world.
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VIDEO: Watch Trailer for PROSPERITY Documentary Featuring Pedram Shojai (aka Urban Monk)
Prosperity is the new documentary film following Pedram Shojai as he explores how every day spending can affect the world around us. The film directed by Mark van Wijk will open in select theaters nationwide beginning September 29, 2017, in New York at IFC Center and Los Angeles at Music Hall.
Dr. Pedram Shojai is an author, filmmaker, founder of Well.Org, Urban Monk, husband and father. Prosperity is a feature documentary about his journey across the Americas to discover a more sustainable way for us all to do business and thrive on our Planet. ‘The Urban Monk’ tracks the organic roots of Rodale Publishing; the food revolution of Whole Foods Market; Guayaki’s waged war for rainforest redemption; Terra Cycle’s scheme to drain the oceans of plastic; architect CookFox’s carbon-reducing skyscraper design, alongside many others. Through these companies and more, the documentary explores an exploding conscious business movement, one fueled by social responsibility, transparency, millennials, and the realization that business-as-usual can’t go on. The film unveils effective ways for everyone to be a part of this movement and really drive the positive change needed in the world.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGwySLuQdHQ
image via screen grab
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Documentary MAMA AFRICA: MIRIAM MAKEBA on South African Singer to Be Released in US | Trailer
The documentary Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba by Mika Kaurismaki on South African singer Miriam Makeba will be released in the US by ArtMattan Films, the film distribution arm of ArtMattan Productions
Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba by Mika Kaurismaki introduces to a new generation of Americans the world-famous South African singer Miriam Makeba and her legacy. Miriam Makeba (1932-2008) spent half a century traveling the world spreading her political message to fight racism, poverty and promote justice and peace. Through rare archive footage of her performances and through testimonies of her contemporaries and supporters including Harry Belafonte, Stokely Carmichael, Hugh Masekela, Paul Simon, Angélique Kidjo and many others – we discover Miriam Makeba’s remarkable journey.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=maTw6zAJQEw
THEATRICAL DATES:
ADIFF DC – 8/18/17 Parkway Theater, Baltimore – 8/18 to 8/24 Austin Film Society – 9/23 & 9/30 Virginia Film Festival – 11/10 & 11/12 Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema, Toronto – 2/27/18
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VIDEO: Watch Trailer for TROPHY, Documentary on the World of Big-Game Hunting
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Trophy[/caption]
Shaul Schwarz’s (Narco Cultura) and Christina Clusiau’s provocative new documentary Trophy is a startling exploration of the evolving relationship between big-game hunting and wildlife conservation that emerged a critical favorite of the 2017 Sundance and SXSW film festivals. The film will open in New York at the Quad Cinema (and in Los Angeles) on Friday, September 8. The traditional theatrical release will be complemented by exclusive, one-night event screenings on September 26 in approximately 100 cities across the country.
Endangered African species like elephants, rhinos and lions march closer to extinction each year. Their devastating decline is fueled in part by a global desire to consume these majestic animals. Trophy journeys viewers across lush African forests and vast plains and into the world’s largest hunters’ convention in Las Vegas as it investigates the powerhouse industries of big-game hunting, breeding and wildlife conservation. Through the eyes of impassioned individuals who drive these industries—from a Texas-based trophy hunter to the world’s largest private rhino breeder in South Africa—the film grapples with the consequences of imposing economic value on animals. What are the implications of treating animals as commodities? Do breeding, farming and hunting offer some of the few remaining options to conserve our endangered animals? Trophy will leave you debating what is right, what is wrong and what is necessary in order to save the great species of the world.
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VIDEO: Watch Diana Describe Herself as a ‘Rebel’ in First Clip from PBS Docu DIANA – HER STORY
PBS today released a video clip from Diana – Her Story, a new documentary featuring rare video of Diana, Princess of Wales, speaking openly and candidly about her life and troubled marriage, along with new revealing interviews with some of her closest confidants. What emerges is the story of a shy young girl who was swept onto the world stage in 1980 and who died tragically in 1997 as one of the most famous women in the world, an independent, modern “people’s princess.” The film is produced by Kaboom Film & TV and is directed by Kevin Sim (“Once Upon a Time In Iran,” “Beslan”) and executive produced by Charles Furneaux (“Touching The Void,” “The Shooting of Thomas Hurndall,” “Treblinka”). Diana – Her Story premieres on Tuesday, August 22, 8:00-9:00 p.m. ET on PBS.
In 1992, Diana, whose marriage was in trouble, was becoming increasingly isolated from the royal family. Believing that her popular appeal was her greatest strength, she hired speech coach Peter Settelen to help improve her public speaking and reinvent her public persona in the midst of personal strife. In a series of disarmingly frank videos shot by Settelen at Kensington Palace, a private Diana comes into view as she ultimately reveals her version of the events. Playful, charming and unguarded, she tells stories from her life in intimate detail, sharing how she went from shy teenage girl to unhappy newlywed to a young woman searching for her own voice and place in the world.
Diana – Her Story places the events of Diana’s life into historical context, revealing a nation hungry for what seemed to be a fairytale marriage between Charles and Diana. Further insight is provided through new in-depth interviews with those closest to Diana, including long-term trusted confidant James Colthurst, ballet teacher Anne Allan, private secretary Patrick Jephson and personal protection officer Ken Wharfe. The multi-layered and nuanced portrait of Diana that emerges is of a naïve teenage girl who ultimately transformed herself into someone the crown would fear as more popular than the monarchy itself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3dO2ub626o
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THY FATHER’S CHAIR, Vérité Documentary on Orthodox Jewish Twins Gets Fall Release Date | Trailer
Antonio Tibaldi and Alex Lora’s Thy Father’s Chair, a vérité documentary focused on Orthodox Jewish twins, who are extreme hoarders, is set for release in theaters in the Fall. The film opens Friday, October 13, 2017, at the Village East Cinema in New York City – a week before its Los Angeles theatrical premiere on Friday, October 20, at Laemmle’s Music Hall.
Thy Father’s Chair brings audiences into the world of Abraham and Shraga, Orthodox Jewish twins who live a secluded existence in their inherited Brooklyn home. Since the death of their parents, they have stopped throwing away anything, hosting stray cats and accumulating all sorts of stuff.
Enraged by the situation, the upstairs tenant threatens to stop paying them rent unless they proceed with a radical cleaning of their apartment, forcing Abraham and Shraga to open their doors to a specialized cleaning company.
What ensues seems, at first, a traumatic invasion of privacy, with the twins fighting to preserve their memories. But little by little, the relationship with the head of the cleaning company begins to deepen — and by painfully separating from most of their belongings, Abraham and Shraga discover a path to a new life.
By the end of the film, the twins are pushed to find new solutions to many unanswered questions: how free are you within the boundaries of your heritage? How do you begin to let go of the past and live your life in the present? How do you confront the loss of your parents and become responsible for yourself?
Thy Father’s Chair is the fourth collaboration between Antonio Tibaldi and Alex Lora. The previous films they made together, [S]comparse, Odysseus Gambit and Godka Cirka, played at Sundance and several top international film festival and won several awards. They are currently developing other nonfiction and fiction projects together.
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Showtime to World Premiere ERIC CLAPTON: LIFE IN 12 BARS and LOVE MEANS ZERO at Toronto Film Festival
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Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars[/caption]
Showtime will world premiere two riveting films, “Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars” and “Love Means Zero” at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, directed by Oscar(R)-winner Lili Fini Zanuck (Rush, Driving Miss Daisy), is an unflinching and deeply personal journal into the life of legendary 18-time Grammy(R) winner Eric Clapton. Also debuting at TIFF is Love Means Zero, the story of the celebrated yet controversial tennis coach Nick Bollettieri, directed and produced by Jason Kohn (Manda Bala (Send a Bullet)). Following their debuts at TIFF, both documentaries will premiere on Showtime in 2018.
These two films join the esteemed Showtime Documentary Films portfolio that focuses on the lives and legacies of culture-defining and at times controversial figures, including Whitney. “Can I Be Me”, The Putin Interviews, Becoming Cary Grant, the Emmy(R)-nominated Listen To Me Marlon, Risk, which takes viewers closer than they have ever been before to Julian Assange and tells the WikiLeaks story from the inside, and an upcoming documentary film on John Belushi’s life and career.
Told through his own words and songs, Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars is a moving and surprising film about one of the great artists of the modern era – a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, and the only artist ever inducted three times into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Spanning more than half a century of legendary popular musical innovation, the film contextualizes Eric Clapton’s role in contemporary music and cultural history. This rare and deeply intimate film reflects on Clapton’s traumatic childhood, his long and difficult struggle with drugs and alcohol and the tragic loss of his son and how he always found his inner strength and healing in music. The documentary features extensive interviews with Clapton himself, along with his family, friends, musical collaborators, contemporaries and heroes – including late music icons B.B. King, Jimi Hendrix and George Harrison. The film is directed by Oscar-winner Lili Fini Zanuck with Passion Pictures’ John Battsek (One Day In September, Searching for Sugar Man) amongst the producers. BAFTA winner Chris King (Amy, Senna) serves as editor.
[caption id="attachment_23416" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Love Means Zero[/caption]
Love Means Zero presents an in-depth look at famed tennis coach Nick Bollettieri. At 85 years old, Bollettieri is a living legend. At his academy in Florida, he raised a generation of champions. Courier. Seles. Agassi. No other coach has matched his success, his dominance or his fame. His greatness, though, came at a terrible price. Broken marriages, financial ruin and perhaps most devastating, a fractured relationship with his surrogate son and most cherished student, Andre Agassi. When Agassi refused to participate in a documentary about his ex-coach, a simple biographical film turned into an investigation of a relationship lost. Love Means Zero not only tells the story of this celebrated yet controversial coach, but also explores the cost of his all-consuming drive for greatness. The film is directed and produced by Jason Kohn. Amanda Branson Gill, Anne White, Jill Mazursky and David Styne also serve as producers.
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ONE OF US, Documentary Exploring Hasidic Judaism, to World Premiere at Toronto International Film Festival
The documentary One of Us, by Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (Jesus Camp, Detropia) will have its world premiere at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival and will launch on Netflix in the Fall.
One of Us explores the opaque world of Hasidic Judaism through a cadre of fascinating characters. Through unique and intimate access over the span of three years, acclaimed observational filmmakers Ewing and Grady delve into the lives of three brave individuals who have recently made the decision to leave the insular ultra-orthodox community at the expense of all else, including relationships with their family members and – in one case – their personal safety. With a sensitive and compassionate eye, One of Us chronicles the achingly cinematic journey of people in search of a personal freedom that comes only at a very high cost.
“We have always been drawn to stories that put the nature/nurture debate into stark relief. Are some of us just born with an unshakable need to question the status quo, despite the consequences?” said filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. “The three brave people we chronicle in One of Us buck the exacting rules of their ultra-orthodox community to experience the world for the first time as true individuals. Their journey is a profoundly human one that took us by surprise. We hope audiences are as affected by this story as we are.”
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Ai Weiwei’s Refugee Crisis Documentary HUMAN FLOW Sets Fall Release Date
Human Flow, a moving documentary that looks at the global refugee crisis, directed by world-renowned artist Ai Weiwei, will open in theaters on October 13. It will be released concurrent with the Public Art Fund’s thematically linked New York exhibition Ai Weiwei: Good Fences Make Good Neighbors. The film will also be featured at the upcoming 2017 Venice International Film Festival.
Over 65 million people around the world have been forced from their homes to escape famine, climate change and war in the greatest human displacement since World War II. Human Flow, an epic film journey led by Ai Weiwei, gives a powerful visual expression to this massive human migration, elucidating both the staggering scale of the refugee crisis and its profoundly personal human impact.
Captured over the course of an eventful year in 23 countries, the film follows a chain of urgent human stories that stretches across the globe in countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, France, Greece, Germany, Iraq, Israel, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, and Turkey. Human Flow is a witness to its subjects and their desperate search for safety, shelter and justice: from teeming refugee camps to perilous ocean crossings to barbed-wire borders; from dislocation and disillusionment to courage, endurance and adaptation; from the haunting lure of lives left behind to the unknown potential of the future. This visceral work of cinema is a testament to the unassailable human spirit and poses one of the questions that will define this century: Will our global society emerge from fear, isolation, and self-interest and choose a path of openness, freedom, and respect for humanity?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rWgC5pCR1AE
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Toronto International Film Festival Announces 2017 Documentary Program, Opens with GRACE JONES: BLOODLIGHT & BAMI
[caption id="attachment_23395" align="aligncenter" width="1200"]
Grace Jones: Bloodlight & Bami[/caption]
The Toronto International Film Festival’s 2017 documentary program presents a distinct collection of works from award-winning directors, and will open with Sophie Fiennes’ Grace Jones: Bloodlight & Bami, a film that captures the legendary performer on and off stage.
The lineup features celebrated filmmakers, including Morgan Spurlock, who reignites his battle with the food industry in Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!; Brett Morgen, with his portrait of primatologist Jane Goodall in Jane; Greg Barker, who grants viewers unprecedented access into President Barack Obama’s foreign policy team in The Final Year; Frederick Wiseman, who takes us behind the scenes of a New York institution in Ex Libris – The New York Public Library; and Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, who follow three Hasidic Jews who attempt to enter the secular world in One of Us. The TIFF Docs Program is made possible through the generous sponsorship of A+E IndieFilms.
“Resistance is a key theme in this year’s documentaries,” said TIFF Docs Programmer Thom Powers. “We pay witness to rebels challenging the status quo in art, politics, sexuality, religion, fashion, sports and entertainment. They speak powerfully to our times as audiences seek inspirations for battling powerful and corrupt systems.”
The theme of resistance plays out in a diverse range of films, including Jed Rothstein’s The China Hustle, executive produced by Alex Gibney and Frank Marshall, which confronts a new era of Wall Street fraud; Matt Tyrnauer’s Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood, which profiles the sexual taboo breaker Scotty Bowers; Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman’s Silas, which portrays Liberian activist Silas Siakor; and Erika Cohn’s The Judge, which follows the first female Shari’a judge, Kholoud Al-Faqih, practicing law in the West Bank.
We gain insights into high-profile figures in the worlds of entertainment and sports in films such as Chris Smith’s JIM & ANDY: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman featuring a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton, which examines Jim Carrey’s immersion into the role of Andy Kaufman; Lili Fini Zanuck’s Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars, which delivers the definitive biography of the rock legend; and Jason Kohn’s Love Means Zero, which investigates the controversial tennis coach Nick Bollettieri and his history with Andre Agassi.
Several films deepen our understanding of black cultural figures, including Sam Pollard’s Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me on the complex career of the multi-talented Rat Pack performer; Kate Novack’s The Gospel According to André on the trend-setting fashion writer André Leon Talley; and Sara Driver’s BOOM FOR REAL The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat on the formative years of the acclaimed artist.
TIFF Docs upholds its tradition of featuring films and filmmakers from around the world with films such as Violeta Ayala’s Cocaine Prison on the drug trade in Bolivia; Mila Turajlić’s The Other Side of Everything on the dissident activism of her Serbian mother; Hüseyin Tabak’s The Legend of the Ugly King on the Kurdish filmmaker Yilmaz Güney; Sabiha Sumar’s Azmaish: A Journey through the Subcontinent on the politics of India and Pakistan; and Gustavo Salmerón’s Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle on his eccentric family in Spain. The TIFF Docs closing film is Emmanuel Gras’ Makala, which won the Grand Jury prize at Cannes’ Critics Week and portrays the heroic struggles of a subsistence laborer in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The 42nd Toronto International Film Festival runs September 7 to 17, 2017.
2017 TIFF Docs Program include:
Azmaish: A Journey through the Subcontinent Sabiha Sumar, Pakistan North American Premiere BOOM FOR REAL The Late Teenage Years of Jean-Michel Basquiat Sara Driver, USA World Premiere The China Hustle Jed Rothstein, USA World Premiere Cocaine Prison Violeta Ayala, Australia/Bolivia/France/USA World Premiere Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars Lili Fini Zanuck, United Kingdom World Premiere Ex Libris – The New York Public Library Frederick Wiseman, USA North American Premiere The Final Year Greg Barker, USA World Premiere The Gospel According to André Kate Novack, USA World Premiere Documentary Program Opening Film. Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami Sophie Fiennes, United Kingdom/Ireland World Premiere JIM & ANDY: the Great Beyond – the story of Jim Carrey & Andy Kaufman featuring a very special, contractually obligated mention of Tony Clifton Chris Smith, USA/Canada North American Premiere Jane Brett Morgen, USA World Premiere The Judge Erika Cohn, Palestine/USA World Premiere The Legend of the Ugly King Hüseyin Tabak, Germany/Austria World Premiere Lots of Kids, a Monkey and a Castle Gustavo Salmerón, Spain North American Premiere Love Means Zero Jason Kohn, USA World Premiere Documentary Program Closing Film. Makala Emmanuel Gras, France North American Premiere OF SHEEP AND MEN Karim Sayad, Switzerland/Qatar World Premiere One of Us Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, USA World Premiere The Other Side of Everything Mila Turajlić, Serbia/France/Qatar World Premiere Sammy Davis, Jr.: I’ve Gotta Be Me Sam Pollard, USA World Premiere Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood Matt Tyrnauer, USA World Premiere Silas Anjali Nayar and Hawa Essuman, Canada/South Africa/Kenya World Premiere Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! Morgan Spurlock, USA World Premiere
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VIDEO: Watch Trailer for A LIFE IN WAVES, Documentary on Electronic Music Pioneer, Suzanne Ciani
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A LIFE IN WAVES[/caption]
A Life in Waves explores the life and innovations of composer and electronic music pioneer, Suzanne Ciani. Gunpowder & Sky will release the SXSW 2017 documentary on VOD nationwide August 4, 2017.
From her earliest days learning the piano, to her multi-million dollar advertising ventures, to her successes in the world of New Age music, to her recent re-connection with her beloved Buchla synthesizer, the film is a journey into Suzanne’s mind, offering a feminine glimpse into the often complicated world of electronic music.
Utilizing a wealth of archival footage and Suzanne’s endless catalog of music, A Life in Waves is a nostalgic, visually-compelling look at one woman’s journey, and the trials she overcame to succeed in a traditionally male-dominated art form.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puLTePqBlQI