Nonfics is not able to review every documentary and nonfiction film released in the U.S. That’s why Docs In Theaters is here to provide at least a guide to all the new releases, without critical thoughts. Where available, we will link to our own review of the film or a review at our sister site, Film School Rejects.
Apocalypse: A Bill Callahan Tour Film
Directed by Hanly Banks
Produced by Andrew Goldman (The History of Future Folk)
Official Synopsis: This strikingly shot concert documentary follows enigmatic Drag City singer-songwriter Bill Callahan on a two-week tour from California to New York. For the past 25 years, under both the Smog moniker and under his own name, Callahan has cultivated a legacy as both a pioneer in the lo-fi movement and one of the country’s finest troubadours. The film is built on impressionistic scenes of Callahan’s life on the road combined with his cryptic musings (“I started playing music when I was 20, and time stopped for me then in a good way”), creating a voyeuristic glimpse into his meticulously constructed universe of disaffection and disorder. It is an austere and beautiful portrait of both the musician and the multifarious American landscape. [Factory 25]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing at the Rerun Theater in New York City.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical showings, check the Factory 25 website.
Also currently available on VOD and iTunes.
Documented
Directed by Jose Antonio Vargas
Co-directed by Ann Raffaela Lupo
Executive produced by Matthew Hiltzik (em>Paper Clips), Sean Parker and Liz Simons
Official Synopsis: In 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in an essay published in the New York Times Magazine. Documented chronicles his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his journey through America as an immigration reform activist; and his journey inward as he re-connects with his mother, whom he hasn’t seen in person in over 20 years. [Next Goal Wins Apo Productions]
Winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the 2013 Hawaii International Film Festival
Special Jury Mention at the 2013 San Diego Asian Film Festival
Nonfics Rating: ★★★ [Review by Dan Schindel]
Now playing at Village East Cinemas in New York City. Opens next week in Los Angeles and Tempe.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical showings, check the Screenings section on the film’s website.
Farmland
Directed by James Moll (Oscar winner for The Last Days and Emmy winner for Survivors of the Holocaust)
Produced by Moll and Christopher Pavlick (And the Oscar Goes to…)
Official Synopsis: Most americans have never stepped foot on a farm or ranch or even talked to the people who grow and raise the food we eat. Farmland will take an intimate look at the lives of farmers and ranchers in their ’20s, all of whom are now responsible for running their farming business. Through this film from award-winning director, James Moll, you’ll step inside the world of farming for a first-hand glimpse into the lives of young farmers and ranchers. Learn about their high-risk/high reward jobs and passion for a way of life that has been passed down from generation to generation, yet continues to evolve. Director James Moll traveled across the country meeting young farmers and ranchers. [Farmland Official Website]
Nonfics Rating: ★★★
Now playing in limited release nationwide.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical showings, check the Find a Theater section on the film’s website.
Journey of a Female Comic
Directed by Erick M. Crespo and Kiki Melendez
Starring Kiki Melendez
Official Synopsis: The film chronicles the ups and downs of a Hollywood actress/comedian as she struggles to make it in Tinsel Town. It’s a comical portrayal of what it takes to achieve success in a town where people confuse Fame with Greatness, with an all-star cast of some of greatest Latino Actors in Hollywood. Kiki Melendez’s journey is one of epic humorous proportions. [Journey of a Female Comic Official Website]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing in Los Angeles and San Diego.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical showings, check the Screenings section on the film’s website or the Theaters section on the film’s website.
More Than the Rainbow
Directed and produced by Dan Wechsler
Featuring Matt Weber, Todd Oldham, Ralph Gibson, Zoe Strauss, Eric Kroll, Dave Beckerman and Ben Lifson
Official Synopsis: After three decades turning his lens on New York City, taxi driver turned street photographer Matt Weber has seen it all. More Than the Rainbow not only chronicles the life and times of Weber but becomes a vibrant conversation about the photographic medium, artistic expression, and New York City. There is no telling how many stories Weber has attempted to capture since he first started taking pictures out of the window of the cab he used to drive. But his quarter century-plus devotion to candidly depicting the lives of his fellow New Yorkers, many of them from the fringes of society, has yielded a remarkable document of a New York that most of us will never experience.
Shot partially in gorgeous 35mm and largely scored to the music of Thelonious Monk, More Than the Rainbow interweaves verité, still photography and revealing interviews with Weber and fellow photographers like Ralph Gibson, Zoe Strauss, and Eric Kroll, as well as designer Todd Oldham to create an evocative documentary that is a poetic celebration of the world’s greatest city and the individuals who walk its streets. [First Run Features]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing at the Angelika Film Center and Lincoln Plaza Cinemas in New York City.
NOW: In the Wings on a World Stage
Directed and produced by Jeremy Whelehan
Executive produced by Kevin Spacey (Shakespeare High)
Starring: Spacey, Sam Mendes
Official Synopsis: Kevin Spacey, Sam Mendes and the Bridge Project Company go on the road in NOW: in the Wings on a World Stage. In over 200 performances, and across 3 continents, Kevin and the troupe reveal some of the most intimate moments behind the scenes of their staging of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy, “Richard III.” Their story and experiences weave around, and reflect on, excerpts from the play from their various locations, from Epidaurus to Doha, and provides a great opportunity for those who have never experienced Spacey on stage to witness his immersive and captivating interpretation of Richard III. NOW chronicles the first collaboration between Spacey and Mendes since both won Academy Awards® for their work on American Beauty. [Kevin Spacey]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing at the IFC Center in New York City, the Gene Siskel Film Center in Chicago, the Roxy in Missoula and the Avalon Twin in Washington, D.C.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical showings, check the U.S. Theatrical Schedule section on the film’s page on Kevin Spacey’s website.
Speak The Music: Robert Mann And The Mysteries Of Chamber Music
Directed and produced by Allan Miller (Small Wonders)
Starring Robert Mann
Official Synopsis: In this compelling documentary Oscar-winning director Allan Miller gives us an intimate look at the musical life of violinist Robert Mann. A founding member and first violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet, for 51 years Mann has been one of the most important influences in chamber music. The documentary includes rare footage of Juilliard String Quartet performances, Mann’s renowned coaching sessions, and interviews with many of classical music’s greatest performers, all revealing Mann’s profound influence as a chamber musician, teacher, and composer. [First Run Features]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing at the Quad Cinema in New York City.
Unclaimed
Written and directed by Michael Jorgensen (Hitler’s Stealth Fighter)
Official Synopsis: Could an American MIA be struggling to find his way home? After enduring a traumatic childhood and serving two tours in Vietnam, Tom Faunce embarks upon an emotional quest to uncover the true identity of a man claiming to be an American soldier living in a remote village in Vietnam, decades after the war’s end. As a veteran and Christian missionary, Tom firmly believes in the military creed “leave no man behind” and lives by a personal oath to spend the rest of his life helping those in need. He can’t turn his back on the man he meets in present-day Vietnam, despite a government’s denial of the man’s claim. His struggle to repatriate the man whom he believes could be a fellow soldier forms a deeply moving and haunting tale of two men whose lives intersect through the burdens of war. Unclaimed offers a compelling reason to revive awareness of the POW/MIA discussion. [Myth Merchant Films]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing at the Quad Cinema in New York City and the Laemmle Music Hall in Los Angeles.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical showings, check the See the Film page on the film’s website.
