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Tribeca 2015: TOTO AND HIS SISTERS Review

Romanian documentary Toto and His Sisters (Toto si surorile lui) is a great example of how fact can be far more captivating than fiction.

Writer/director Alexander Nanau takes an unflinching look on the lives of three siblings – Ana-Maria (17), Andreea Violeta (14) and Toto (10) – who must take care of themselves and each other amid an abysmal, poverty-stricken, drug-riddled environment. With absent fathers and an imprisoned mother, the trio must find ways to feed and clothe themselves, get an education and avoid becoming pulled into the treacherous grip of heroin addiction, continuously looming over them.

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MONKEY KINGDOM Review

Although its characters are not as adorable, kind and tender as Disneynature’s trailer for Monkey Kingdom would like you to believe, the documentary still manages to have us rooting for some of the more ruthless members Temple Troop, a family of Sri Lankan toque macaque monkeys, by its end.

Opening with the aptly selected theme song, “Hey, Hey We're The Monkees,” from the 1960s Monkees television show, the film offers up a montage of these playful “temple monkeys” bounding back and forth between ancient ruins and tree branches and swinging from each other’s tails.

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Tribeca 2015: THE BIRTH OF SAKE Trailer

The first trailer for Erik Shirai‘s upcoming documentary The Birth of Sake has been released, which is set to make its premiere this week at the Tribeca Film Festival. The film follows one of the few remaining traditional sake breweries in Japan,

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Tribeca 2015: THE DIPLOMAT Trailer From HBO Docs

HBO has released a new trailer for its upcoming documentary The Diplomat, ahead of its premiere at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, kicking off this week in New York City. The film take a look at the life of Ambassador Richard Holbrooke

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Tribeca 2015: Bullfighter Doc GORED Gets a Trailer

A new trailer has been released for Ido Mizrahy‘s upcoming documentary Gored, which looks at famed bullfighter Antonio Barrera and his career as the most gored bullfighter ever.

The film will be making its premiere April 16th at next week’s Tribeca Film

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DIOR AND I Review

Frédéric Tcheng’s feature-length documentary Dior and I offers an unprecedented look inside one of the few high fashion (haute couture) houses that still employ some of the most talented seamstors and seamstress in the world, tirelessly working in traditional studios (ateliers) assembling by hand what will hopefully become runway-ready frocks.

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SNL Doc LIVE FROM NEW YORK! Gets a Release Date

Premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival, Live From New York!, the upcoming documentary about Saturday Night Live has received an official release date from Abramorama. The film, directed by Bao Nguyen, will screen in select cities beginning June 12th.

Here’s the

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AMY WINEHOUSE Doc Gets a Trailer

A24 debuted the first trailer for Asif Kapadia‘s (Senna) upcoming Amy Winehouse documentary Amy, which takes a took at the famous musician’s life, career, and her untimely death in 2011.

Amy is slated to hit theaters sometime this Summer.

 


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THE BIG GOLD DREAM Review

These days, the concept of record labels and bands being on indies versus majors has all but faded away with the advent of the internet and easy, cost-effective methods to self-distribute music. Back in day, bands would strive to get signed and often be presented with the decision of staying on a small indie label or heading to a major label, most likely gaining more fame and wealth but a the cost of their artistic integrity.

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HEX HOLLOW Trailer

In 1928 a Pow-wow doctor  by the name of John Blymire believed he was hexed by another Pow-wow doctor named Nelson Rehmeyer. Blymire and two of his associates killed Rehmeyer, and the subsequent trial drew national attention as people were shocked to

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Gravitas Picks up Sneaker Doc SNEAKERHEADZ

Gravitas Ventures announced today that they have acquired David T. Friendly and Mick Partridge‘s documentary Sneakerheadz, which takes a look at the hobby/obsession/addiction of sneaker collecting. The doc was picked up after premiering at this year’s SXSW and will be released day and date

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SXSW 2015: MADE IN JAPAN Review

Music is universal. It crosses borders. It breaks through language barriers. It creates a sense of community. One can get a sense of just how popular a style of music is just by looking at English-speaking artists who are selling out venues in foreign countries where English isn’t even the native language. It doesn’t matter if they don’t understand the words because the people like the sound, and somehow they connect with it.

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Rodney Ascher’s THE NIGHTMARE Acquired by Gravitas

One Sundance film I was really bummed to miss was Rodney Ascher‘s (Room 237) latest, The Nightmare. This horror documentary takes a look at people that suffer from sleep paralysis, an affliction in which people who are sleeping “regain consciousness but are

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THE WRECKING CREW Review

Within the first 10 minutes of Denny Tedesco’s music doc, The Wrecking Crew, it seemed like I was watching one of those Life Magazine infomercials for a music collection. I was being bombarded by bite-sized chunks of hits songs from the ’50s and ’60s, accompanied by low-res footage and ancient-looking interviews. After looking into the creation of the film, I learned that this was actually completed in 2008 and is just now being released in theaters and on VOD, due to licensing issues with the ridiculous number of pop songs featured in the film.