#SXSW: “RECOVERY”
Review by David Baldwin
It is February 2020, and Jamie (Whitney Call) is celebrating her birthday at home with her friends and her sister/roommate Blake (Mallory Everton). The pair are happy and excited for all the things they plan to do in the months ahead. Flash to March, as the COVID-19 pandemic sets in and everything changes overnight. Weeks into lockdown, they discover a letter informing them of a COVID outbreak at their Nana’s (Anna Sward Hansen) retirement community. Fearing for ...
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#SXSW: “BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUSION”
Review by David Baldwin
It is 1999, and James (Harry Shum Jr.) is working late nights as a Video Archivist. One evening, he discovers a bizarre broadcast that aired over top of the regular programming he archives. He watches curiously multiple times, trying to understand who or what it is. Once he finds out there may be more pirated broadcasts in existence and how they may have a personal connection to him, James becomes obsessed with uncovering the truth.
At first glance, I assumed ...
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#SXSW: “DEMI LOVATO: DANCING WITH THE DEVIL”
By Mr. Will Wong
SXSW attendees were lucky enough to get to see all four episodes of DEMI LOVATO: DANCING WITH THE DEVIL tonight as the Opening Night Selection of the Festival this year. The four-part YouTube Docu-Series is directed by Michael D. Ratner who also directed Justin Bieber's SEASONS Docu-Series.
Global Superstar Lovato made headlines in 2018 when she overdosed shockingly and the Series is about that moment, very piece that led to it and why Lovato got there. The Series ...
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#FIRSTLOOK: NEW TRAILER FOR “CONRETE COWBOY”
TIFF '20 selection CONCRETE COWBOY arrives next month on Netflix! See this new Trailer!
Synopsis:
When fifteen year-old Cole (Caleb McLaughlin) is expelled from school in Detroit, he is sent to North Philadelphia to live with Harp (Idris Elba), his estranged father. Harp finds solace in rehabilitating horses for inner city cowboys at the Fletcher Street Stables, a real-life black urban horsemanship community that has provided a safe haven for the neighborhood residents for more than 100 ...
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#FIRSTLOOK: “FARM CRIME” SEASON 2
Named by NOW Magazine as one of the top shows of 2018, FARM CRIME is back for a second season.
Synopsis:
Comprised of six episodes, Farm Crime Season 2 explores the largely unseen dark side of Canada's agriculture industry. The series covers a range of cases; from an invasion of the Asian giant hornet AKA ‘murder hornet’ in British Columbia to the heartbreaking story of a missing mare in Ontario and a million-dollar sting operation in the secretive world of Nova Scotia’s baby ...
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#HOTDOCS: SPECIAL PRESENTATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR 2021 HOT DOCS
The 2021 Hot Docs Festival will take place this year April 29 - May 9, 2021. 13 Special Presentations were announced today, some featuring very well-known subjects. The Documentary Festival will use an at-home VOD platform this year in adapting to the Pandemic.
Some of the Films just announced:
7 YEARS OF LUKAS GRAHAMD: René Sascha Johannsen | P: Sara Stockmann | Denmark | 2020 | 77 mins | International Premiere
Danish band Lukas Graham has an uncanny ability of setting ...
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#SXSW: “THE END OF US”
Review by David Baldwin
Nick (Ben Coleman) and Leah (Ali Vingiano) have been growing apart when we first meet them. One evening, Leah decides she has finally had enough and breaks up with Nick. She wants him to move out of the home they share, but the morning after brings a new unforeseen hiccup – a statewide stay-at-home order called due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the broken- up couple is stuck living together, unsure of what the future holds for themselves and whatever remains of ...
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#SXSW: “THE LOST SONS”
By Amanda Gilmore
This shocking Documentary tells the story of Paul Fronczak and his family. In 1960s Chicago, the Fronczaks had their baby stolen from the hospital. Fifteen months later a toddler is abandoned in New Jersey. The FBI claimed this toddler was Paul Fronczak, but was he?
The Lost Sons is a compelling watch that keeps its audience gripped from beginning to end. Director Ursula Macfarlane documents this unbelievable story to the screen with powerful ...
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#SXSW: “EXECUTIVE ORDER”
By Amanda Gilmore
In a dystopian near-future Brazil, an authoritarian government orders all citizens of African descent to move to Africa. This creates chaos that results in Antônio (Alfred Enoch) being separated from his pregnant partner Capitu (Taís Araujo). Although Antônio isn’t aware that Capitu is still in Rio de Janeiro with an underground resistance movement, he stays in their apartment and refuses to leave the country without her.
At ...
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#SXSW: “THE OXY KINGPINS”
By Amanda Gilmore
This informative Documentary uncovers the story of how a network of pharmaceutical manufacturers, distributors, and retailers worked together to create the opioid crisis.
Co-Directors Brendan FitzGerald and Nick August-Perna dive deep into the corruption from people at the top to the victims. We get to hear from people who illegally sold oxycontin, a lawyer attempting to hold the corporations accountable and one recovering addict. Through these ...
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