Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, famously chose nonviolent resistance several years ago when the Israeli army arrived to facilitate Jewish colonization. The destruction of five family cameras are potent metaphors in a deeply personal documentary (Burnat shares director/writer/producer credit) that vividly portrays a conflict many of us think we know.
Jim and Dave, two brothers who don’t like each other very much, are forced to come together when their dad dies in Kansas City. Dave is pretty sure he has an Alonzo Mourning Skybox Series rookie card, but Jim has other ideas.
A contemporary re-imagining of the duel between Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr explores the idea of history as a contested narrative.
What if you could hire a substitute to ‘stand in’ for your recently deceased loved one? What kind of people would perform such a macabre task? What might result from both the surrogates and the grief stricken within fabricated scenarios? In his absurdist tragedy, ALPS, Yorgos Lanthimos takes a mordant and modernist approach to answering those questions.
Professional sports continues to morph into a casual wealthy man’s pursuit, though the common fan is as rabid a consumer of sports than ever. AMERICA’s PARKING LOT personalizes—and for Texas audiences, localizes—the shift by telling the story of Dallas Cowboys superfans Tiger and Cy, two Texas Stadium tailgaters who have to make hard decisions about the boundaries of their support when the ‘Boys’ $1.2 billion new home opens. First-time director Jonny Mars uses footage from four years of hard-core football partying, suffering and rebirth to show us what it truly means to take ownership of your passions.
Touring is the lifeblood of most musicians, but it makes Andrew Bird sick. Literally. ANDREW BIRD: FEVER YEAR tracks the frail, folksy, borderline genius indie popster’s insane road and creative life, interspersed with pristine footage from a show at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee. More than just a biopic of the quirky Bird, Xan Aranda’s film is a rich and poetic document of the dedication and philosophy of modern independent musicianship.
