By: Jessica Goddard A well-paced timeline of the 1990s peace negotiations in the Middle East, The Oslo Diaries skillfully articulates the sense of both hope and skepticism in the period. Directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, the filmmakers use diary excerpts, historical footage, news clips, and participant commentary to paint a picture of simultaneous optimism and doubt surrounding the Oslo Accords.
By: Jessica Goddard Architectural opulence meets pop culture royalty in Matthew Miele’s Always at The Carlyle, a documentary about the literal ins-and-outs of the discreetly famous 88-year-old Upper East Side Manhattan hotel.
This season, so far, has been unpredictable in terms of audience approval.
The Accountant of Auschwitz proposes a moral dilemma about whether to follow through convicting a 94-year-old man with crimes against humanity for contributing to the horrors of the Auschwitz death camp. The man in question, former SS guard Oskar Gröning, is physically frail, stoic, and would undoubtably live out his final years in prison, but are these current details relevant when discussing justice for 300,000 people who were murdered for their culture?
Alain Ducasse is a sensational chef with incredible senses, and Gilles de Maistre communicates that well in his labour of love The Quest of Alain Ducasse.
Talk about a documentary that really dives into its subject! The Gospel According to André, a slick flick from documentarian Kate Novack, embodies the enthusiasm of fashion editor André Leon Talley.
By: Jessica Goddard Charming and endlessly sensitive, Thomas Piper’s Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf presents an underacknowledged art form with patience, intrigue, and warmth.
RBG, a sleeper hit about the life and career of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, seems as if it was directed by Ginsburg’s Wikipedia page. It was actually directed by ABC News producer Betsy West and documentarian Julie Cohen, but you could’ve fooled me. The filmmakers establish a consistent pace from the get-go, but West and Cohen also set RBG on autopilot as they lethargically follow a linear timeline through Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s…
Kusama: Infinity is an intelligible art doc. But instead of chronicling an artist’s past, it generally focuses on their psychological process.
1999 (DIR. Samara Grace Chadwick) A hauntingly dreamlike style of documentary and exploration of memory, Samara Grace Chadwick’s 1999 is artistically-conceived though low on information.