VIMooZ

With the cost of movie-quality cameras becoming affordable in recent years, there’s hardly anything stopping somebody from picking up a camera and making a documentary about just about anything. In many ways, the last decade or so has really been the golden age of documentaries. With audiences paying more attention to big screen documentaries than ever, the quality of what is coming out from documentary filmmakers is astounding. Of course, that also means that more and more documentaries are being released to theaters than ever before – often unfortunately in limited release – and that means you’ve likely missed some great ones.

THE RUGBY PLAYER, which explores the unique bond between Mark Bingham, one of the passengers of United Flight 93 on 9/11, and his mother, Alice Hoagland, a former United Airlines flight attendant, makes its New York premiere at the 25th anniversary of NewFest, the NY LGBT Film Festival.

The rock and roll documentary “MUSCLE SHOALS” which premiered earlier this year at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival will open September 27, 2013 at the IFC Center in NY and nationwide on VOD, and October 11th in LA. At the heart of the story is Rick Hall who managed to convince musical superstars like Bob Dylan, Aretha Franklin, and Etta James to come to Alabama and record their hit albums. He is responsible for creating the “Muscle Shoals sound” and The Swampers, the house band at FAME that eventually left to start their own successful studio

The documentary “ANITA,” which recently screened as part of the Human Rights Watch Film Festival following its Sundance Film Festival debut earlier this year will be released this Fall by Samuel Goldwyn Films.

THE MUSLIMS ARE COMING!, directed by comedians Negin Farsad  and Dean Obeidallah will open in theaters in September, with New York on September 20 at the Quad Cinema. The film follows a band of Muslim-American comedians – “Muzzies” – lead by Farsad and Obeidallah as they visit big cities, small towns, rural villages, and everything in between to combat Islamophobia with the only weapons they have:  jokes! 

Sundance Selects will release John Maloof and Charlie Siskel’s feature documentary FINDING VIVIAN MAIER, which will have its world premiere in the Documentary section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival.

Jonathan Holiff’s award winning documentary MY FATHER AND THE MAN IN BLACK which explores the relationship between Johnny Cash and his longtime manager Saul Holiff (the director’s father who committed suicide after being estranged for 20 years) will open in New York City and Los Angeles on September 6, 2013.

New trailer was released for Martha Shane’s and Lana Wilson’s directorial debut AFTER TILLER which premiered earlier this year at the Sundance Film Festival. The film title refers to Dr. George Tiller, a Kansas doctor who provided late-term abortions and was assassinated by anti-abortion activist Scott Roeder in 2009. AFTER TILLER will be released in theaters September 20, 2013. 

Bill Siegel’s documentary THE TRIALS OF MUHAMMAD ALI, that premiered earlier this year at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival will be released in the US by Kino Lorber. The documentary film opens in New York at the IFC Center on August 23rd with a national rollout planned through the summer and fall.

Alex Gibney’s Lance Armstrong documentary, THE ARMSTRONG LIE which tells the unfolding story of Armstrong’s life and career over the last four years.will be released by Sony Pictures Classics. No exact release date was announced.

The documentary THE WAITING ROOM, directed by Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Peter Nicks, that goes behind the doors of Oakland’s Highland Hospital, a safety-net hospital fighting for survival while weathering the storm of a persistent economic downturn, premieres on Independent Lens on Monday, October 21, 2013 as part of the first PBS Independent Film Showcase.