Tagline: Can an artist change China?
Synopsis: Renowned Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei has garnered international attention as much for his ambitious artwork as his political provocations and increasingly public clashes with the Chinese government. [Synopsis courtesy of Sundance]
Earlier this week, the Directors Guild of America announced their nominees for best documentary. They’ve previously announced the nominees for film and television. Two women were nominated out of the five nominees which also includes Kirby Dick’s Academy Award nominated film The Invisibl...
Read More »So how good of an augur is the DGAs to the Oscars? Well, thus far only 2 of their nominees for Best Director landed Oscar nominations, but three of the filmmakers behind a trio of contending Best Documentary movies have been honored by their peers.
Read More »With each passing day, it's looking more and more like Kathryn Bigelow's "Zero Dark Thirty" is going to be the one to beat this awards season. As we cautioned earlier this week, this trajectory right now reminds us of David Fincher's "The Social Network," which got al...
Read More »Yesterday, the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences released the 15 films on the short list in the Documentary feature category for this year’s Oscars. Only three films on the shortlist are directed by women. That's just 20%.
Read More »Independent film may be flourishing in many parts of the world, including much of Asia, but ambitious Chinese filmmakers remain crushed by the cultural and political constraints of the imposing Communist government. That’s the thesis of Beijing Independent Documentary Festival artistic directo...
Read More »Months after "Beasts of the Southern Wild" reached its theatrical apex, Criticwire Picks returns to the Crescent City to look at the extremely positive reactions to the Ross Brothers' new documentary. Plus: a new documentary available on Netflix Instant, possible future successes with audiences and ...
Read More »If you were not familiar with the multimedia artist Ai Weiwei, the title of the new documentary “Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry” would almost seem like a countercultural taunt, perhaps with a hip-hop undercurrent. The reference is apt in regards to his art, which is at turns edgy agitprop and charmingly che...
Read More »This weekly column is intended to provide reviews of nearly every new indie release, including films on VOD. Specifics release dates and locations follow each review.
Read More »Continuing the recent trend of high performing documentaries, the saga of 1970s folk singer Rodriguez leads this week's upcoming releases.
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