documentary

"Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden from 9/11 to Abbottabad" by Peter Bergen

Joe Donahue — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:12:00 +0000

For more than two decades, he was the target of intense scrutiny, with an entire unit at the CIA dedicated to tracking his every move and trying to determine what violence he might perpetrate. When 9/11 confirmed Osama bin Laden's intentions, these same analysts and operatives were now blamed for failing to prevent it, though they had spent years warning about the possibility of an attack.

"The Human Tower" screening at MASS MoCA

Sarah LaDuke — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 15:50:00 +0000

MASS MoCA’s Winter/Spring 2013 documentary film series, Compete!, celebrates films about winning, losing, and how you play the game.

This Thursday’s film, The Human Tower, explores the history and culture of one of the world’s most spectacularly unusual team endeavors - the building of multi-story human towers. The filmmakers follow teams from India, Chile, and Spain - connected by the common themes of passion and teamwork that transcend race, age, and national borders.

The Human Tower is co-directed by Ram Devineni and Cano Rojas. Rojas will be at MASS MoCA this Thursday for a Q&A following the screening of the film in their Club B-10 at 7:30.

"Buzkashi!" screening at MASS MoCA

Sarah LaDuke — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 14:35:00 +0000

The documentary film, Buzkashi! is a story of three fascinating characters who are at the top of their sport of Buzkashi in Tajikistan, a former Soviet republic nestled in the Pamir mountains. Donning their protective equipment – including tank helmets from previous wars – they steer their horses to join the hundreds of others playing on the plateaus of this mountainous country.

The rivalries, alliances politics and intrigues surrounding the sport put ancient values of honor and integrity head-to-head with ego-driven hunger for power and wealth.

The film is screening at MASS MoCA in North Adams, MA tomorrow night at 7:30 as part of their Winter/Spring 2013 documentary film series, Compete!, the series celebrates films about winning, losing, and how you play the game.

Buzkashi! is written and directed by Najeeb Mirza. You may watch the trailer, here.

Any Questions? #79

Ian Pickus — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 23:25:00 +0000

WAMC's Ian Pickus and resident quizzer Mike Nothnagel begin a month of March Madness with this week's program, which focuses on documentaries.

"Beyond Iconic" screening at Upstate Films in Woodstock

Sarah LaDuke — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 14:45:38 +0000

James Dean walks down a drizzly street in Manhattan with his coat collar up against the wind and the rain. It’s an iconic image, captured by photographer, Dennis Stock.

Stock’s photographs of movie stars, jazz musicians, hippies, architecture, landscapes, and nature are such a part of the story of America in the 20th century that even if you've never heard his name - you have seen some of his work.

Beyond Iconic is a documentary film about Dennis Stock directed by Hanna Sawka. The film is screening this Sunday at 1:30pm at Upstate Films in Woodstock, NY. Hanna Sawka will be at the screening for a Q&A following, and then musicians Teri Roiger and John Menegon - who scored the film - will perform down the street at Center for Photography Woodstock.

Hanna Sawka joins us to talk about the film.

"Brooklyn Castle" screening at MASS MoCA

Sarah LaDuke — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 16:12:00 +0000

Tonight at 7:30 PM in their Club B10, MASS MoCA will screen Brooklyn Castle as part of their Winter/Spring 2013 documentary film series, Compete!, celebrating films about winning, losing, and how you play the game.

Brooklyn Castle is an engaging and heartwarming doc about the championship winning chess team at IS 318 - a below-the-poverty-line public school in Brooklyn. The film focuses on 5 incredible kids and their coaches and teachers as they battle their opponents as well as recessionary budget cuts that threaten all extracurricular activities at their school.

The film won an Audience Award at last year’s South by Southwest Film 2012 Documentary Spotlight and was one of the top 10 Audience Favourites at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival.

Filmmaker, Katie Dellamaggiore, will do a Q&A via Skype after the screening of Brooklyn Castle tonight at MASS MoCA and she joins us to talk about the film.

Ken Burns - The Dust Bowl

Joe Donahue — Wed, 21 Nov 2012 14:35:00 +0000

Ken Burns' latest PBS series is The Dust Bowl, it chronicles the worst man-made ecological disaster in American history, in which the frenzied wheat boom of the "Great Plow-Up," followed by a decade-long drought during the 1930s nearly swept away the breadbasket of the nation.

Split: A Deeper Divide - a film by Kelly Nyks

Joe Donahue — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 14:10:00 +0000

The release of the documentary, SPLIT: A Deeper Divide couldn't be more timely. The film is a thorough investigation into the partisanship that is paralyzing American politics. Writer, director and producer Kelly Nyks has spent eight years traveling the country to ask questions that go to the heart of why our democracy has become so passionately divided. The U.S. State Department used the film to launch an Election 2012 program that introduces high school students abroad to American democracy and our political process.

The Minister's War screening at Smith College

Joe Donahue — Wed, 31 Oct 2012 14:35:00 +0000

The documentary, The Minister's War, tells the story of a Unitarian minister, Waitstill Sharp and his wife Martha who left Wellesley, Massachusetts to help save thousands being persecuted by the Nazis in Eastern Europe during World War II. Who were these American heroes?

El Valador on POV

Sarah LaDuke — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 14:35:00 +0000

Produced by American Documentary Inc. and celebrating its 25th season on PBS; the award-winning POV is the longest running showcase on American television to feature the work of today’s independent documentary filmmakers. Thursday night on PBS, POV presents “El Velador” – The Night Watchman – a film by award winning director, Natalia Almada. El Valador was an official selection of the 2011 canne film festival directors’ fortnight and new directors new films festival.