Films

Marc Silver’s documentary “WHO IS DAYANI CRISTAL?”, winner of 2013 Sundance Film Festival cinematography award and an official selection at 2013 New York Film Festival, will be released in the U.S in Spring 2004 by Kino Lorber.  The body of an unidentified immigrant is found in the Arizona Desert. In an attempt to retrace his path and discover his story, director Marc Silver and Gael Garcia Bernal embed themselves among migrant travelers on their own mission to cross the border, providing rare insight into the human stories which are so often ignored in the immigration debate.

Following a team of dedicated staff from the Pima County Morgue in Arizona, director Marc Silver seeks to answer these questions and give this anonymous man an identity. As the forensic investigation unfolds, Mexican actor and activist Gael Garcia Bernal retraces this man’s steps along the migrant trail in Central America. In an effort to understand what it must have felt like to make this final journey, he embeds himself among migrant travelers on their own mission to cross the border. He experiences first-hand the dangers they face and learns of their motivations, hopes and fears. As we travel north, these voices from the other side of the border wall give us a rare insight into the human stories which are so often ignored in the immigration debate.

Who Is Dayani Cristal? tells the story of a migrant who found himself in the deadly stretch of desert known as “the corridor of death” and shows how one life becomes testimony to the tragic results of the U.S. war on immigration. As the real-life drama unfolds we see this John Doe, denied an identity at his point of death, become a living and breathing human being with an important life story.

http://youtu.be/RdJQWmvtmqQ

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HERBLOCK: THE BLACK & THE WHITE, directed by Michael Stevens (HBO’s “Thurgood”) will debut Monday, January 27, 2014 on HBO.  The film traces the life of Herbert L. Block, who started cartooning in his teens in Chicago and went on to win four Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his 55 years at the Washington Post.

“Michael and I are happy that this film has found a home at HBO, where Herblock’s remarkable story will be presented to a new generation of viewers,” says George Stevens.

“This is the story of a courageous journalist who stood ready to take on the big guys on behalf of the little guy,” says Michael Stevens. “He stood for fairness and justice and was unafraid to challenge Senator Joe McCarthy, expose Nixon’s duplicity in Watergate, or attack corruption in government or the corrosive influence of money in politics.”

HERBLOCK traces the life of Herbert L. Block, who started cartooning in his teens in Chicago and went on to win four Pulitzer Prizes and the Presidential Medal of Freedom during his 55 years at the Washington Post. For the better part of the 20th century, his cartoons were a must read for those in Washington and Syndicated across the country. The film features interviews with political and journalism luminaries such as Ted Koppel, David Brooks, Gwen Ifill, Tom Brokaw, Jules Feiffer, Tom Friedman and Bob Schieffer, as well as comedians Lewis Black and Jon Stewart, who describes Block as a “touchstone” for political comics and satirists today.

The documentary journeys through Block’s career as his cartoons comment on everything from World War II, the Red Scare and the fight for Civil Rights, to Vietnam and Watergate and the conflicted media world of today, concluding with an unexpected end to the journey of the cartoonist-journalist known to millions as simply Herblock.

http://youtu.be/J3fTy8S6Jmc

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THE DOG, directed by Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren, which premiered at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival is set to be released in Summer 2014 by Drafthouse Films and Cinedigm.  THE DOG is described as a documentary portrait of the late John Wojtowicz, whose attempted robbery of a Brooklyn bank to finance his male lover’s sex-reassignment surgery was the real-life inspiration for the classic Al Pacino film “Dog Day Afternoon”.

THE DOG is a feature-length documentary about John Wojtowicz, the real-life bank robber behind the film Dog Day Afternoon. In August 1972, John robbed a bank in Brooklyn to pay for the sex-change operation of his lover, Ernie. Things didn’t go as planned, and as John and his collaborator Sal Naturile tried to leave the bank with the loot, they found themselves surrounded by the New York City Police Department, the FBI, and hundreds of spectators. What was supposed to last only a few minutes became a 14-hour standoff, involving 9 hostages and unfolding live on television. The story would later reach an even broader audience through Al Pacino’s unforgettable performance in Sidney Lumet’s classic 1975 film.

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THESE BIRDS WALK directed by Omar Mullick and Bassam Tariq, documents the struggles of street children in Karachi, Pak­istan, and the samaritans looking out for them. The film which had its world premiere at the 2013 True/False Film Festival and an Official Selection at the 2013 SXSW Film Festival and hot DOCS Canadian international documentary film festival, opened at the Village East Cinema in New York City on Friday November 1, 2013, with other cities to follow.

In Karachi, Pak­istan, a run­away boy’s life hangs on one crit­i­cal ques­tion: where is home? The streets, an orphan­age, or with the fam­ily he fled in the first place? Simul­ta­ne­ously heart-wrenching and life-affirming, THESE BIRDS WALK doc­u­ments the strug­gles of these way­ward street chil­dren and the samar­i­tans look­ing out for them in this ethe­real and inspi­ra­tional story of resilience.

Now playing – Village East Cinema, New York, NY 
11/08/2013 – Hippodrome, Gainesville, FL 
11/08/2013 – Roxy, Missoula, MT 
11/29/2013 – Laemmle Music Hall Los Angeles, CA

 http://youtu.be/UaLSrOvHo_Q

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Whoopi Goldberg’s directorial film debut, and homage to the iconic African-American standup comedienne Jackie “Moms” Mabley, WHOOPI GOLDBERG PRESENTS MOMS MABLEY is set to debut on HBO on MONDAY, November. 18, 2013 (9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT). 

Other HBO playdates: Nov. 18 (4:45 a.m.), 21 (1:45 p.m.), 24 (5:45 p.m.), 26 (11:15 a.m.) and 30 (1:30 p.m.). HBO2 playdates: Nov. 20 (8:00 p.m.) and 28 (3:00 p.m.), and Dec. 24 (4:45 p.m.).

“Moms Mabley has been a huge inspiration to me and so many others, but not a lot of folks outside of the comedy world know about her legacy,” says Goldberg. “There are a lot of us who wouldn’t be working today without pioneers like her. HBO gave me my first break on TV, so it’s only fitting that Moms has a home there now.”

Featuring recently unearthed photographs, rediscovered performance footage and the words of entertainers and historians, the film includes interviews with Eddie Murphy, Joan Rivers, Sidney Poitier, Kathy Griffin, Harry Belafonte, Bill Cosby, Quincy Jones, Arsenio Hall, Jerry Stiller and Anne Meara, who emphasize how Mabley paved the way for female comedians and performers everywhere in provocative stand-up routines that challenged racism, sexism and ageism.

In addition, archival footage showcases Mabley in performance at the Playboy Mansion with Sammy Davis, Jr., and on “The Ed Sullivan Show” and “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.”

Born Loretta Mary Aiken in Brevard, NC on March 19, 1894, Jackie “Moms” Mabley was one of the most successful entertainers to perform on the black vaudeville stage, also known as the “chitlin’ circuit.” Mabley’s monologues touched on traditional topics such as family, as well as more controversial subjects that were typically avoided by comedians of the era, regardless of race, including infidelity, poverty, welfare and alcohol.

Mabley’s successful career spanned five decades (though white audiences generally did not learn of her until the early 1960s). In 1939, she became the first female comedian to play the Apollo Theater in Harlem, where she earned $10,000 a week at the peak of her career. Mabley performed at Carnegie Hall in 1962, and appeared on such mainstream TV programs as “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” (1967), “The Ed Sullivan Show” (1969) and “The Bill Cosby Show” (1970).

Jackie “Moms” Mabley passed away from heart failure at age 81 on May 23, 1975 in White Plains, NY. She was survived by her children, Bonnie, Christine, Charles and Yvonne Ailey.

http://youtu.be/_Av5MkVfdLY

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Frank Simon’s documentary WEEKEND OF A CHAMPION, described as an entertaining vérité look at world champion driver Sir Jackie Stewart as Roman Polanski follows his attempt to win the Monaco Grand Prix will be released in the US by Submarine Deluxe. WEEKEND OF A CHAMPION which had its world premiere at the 2013 Cannes International Film Festival, will be released theatrically across the country beginning November 22nd in NYC, with a nationwide rollout to follow.

In 1971, Motor Racing fan Roman Polanski spent a weekend with world champion driver Sir Jackie Stewart as he attempted to win the Monaco Grand Prix.  Polanski was given intimate access to Stewart’s world for three days, both on the track and off.  The result is an extraordinarily rare glimpse into the life of a gifted athlete at the height of his powers. 

Forty years on, Polanski and Stewart meet once again.  In a remarkable post-script, they discuss the sport, both past and present, with a unique and unmatched perspective.

Presented by Brett Ratner’s RatPac Entertainment’s documentary arm Rat Documentary Films, who first acquired and restored the film, WEEKEND OF A CHAMPION will also be released later on Netflix after its theatrical run. 

http://youtu.be/8DeQcpcV_R8

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IT’S BETTER TO JUMP, a documentary film about the ancient walled city of Akka in northern Israel, inhabited by Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Baha’i, and focuses on the aspirations and concerns of the Palestinian inhabitants who call the Old City home, opens in NYC on November 22, 2013 at The Quad Cinema. The film, directed by Patrick Alexander Stewart, Gina M. Angelone, and Mouna B.Stewart, will also be featured in a number of film festivals including the Boston Palestine Film Festival on October 21st and the Other Israel Film Festival in New York on November 19.

IT’S BETTER TO JUMP is about the ancient walled city of Akka in northern Israel, inhabited by Muslims, Christians, Jews, and Baha’i.  But its history goes all the way back to rule of the Egyptian Pharaohs.  As Akka undergoes harsh economic pressures and vast social change, the present-day situation is causing Arab families to leave the places where they have grown roots for dozens of generations and shaped a rich culture for over a thousand years. This film focuses on the aspirations and concerns of the Palestinian inhabitants who call the Old City home.

Atop a forty-foot, centuries-old seawall in this ancient port city, young people dare to stand along the one-meter thick structure and risk their fate by jumping into the roiling waters below. This perilous tradition has continued for many generations and has become a rite of passage for the children of Akka. Within their current dilemma, jumping from the ancient seawall becomes not only an expression of extreme exhilaration, but also a matter of self-determination. 

 http://youtu.be/zhYiZuRSUxg

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