Docs In Theaters: ‘Teenage,’ ‘Big Men,’ ‘Bible Quiz,’ ‘Exposed’ and ‘The Anonymous People’
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.
The Anonymous People
Written and directed by Greg D. Williams
Featuring Kristen Johnston, Tara Conner, Chris Herren and Roxanne Kibben
Official Synopsis: The Anonymous People is a feature documentary film about the 23.5 million Americans living in long-term recovery from addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Deeply entrenched social stigma and discrimination have kept recovery voices silent and faces hidden for decades. The vacuum created by this silence has been filled by sensational mass media depictions of people in active addiction that continue to perpetuate a lurid public fascination with the dysfunctional side of what is a preventable and treatable health condition. Just like women with breast cancer, or people with HIV/AIDS, courageous addiction recovery advocates are starting to come out of the shadows to tell their true stories. The moving story of The Anonymous People is told through the faces and voices of the leaders, volunteers, corporate executives, and celebrities who are laying it all on the line to save the lives of others just like them. This passionate new public recovery movement is fueling a changing conversation that aims to transform public opinion, and finally shift problematic policy toward lasting recovery solutions. [Kino Lorber]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing at the Quad Cinema in New York City.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical openings, check the Screenings page on the doc’s website.
Bible Quiz
Directed by Nicole Teeny
Executive produced by Marco Williams (Two Towns of Jasper)
Official Synopsis: Bible Quiz follows seventeen-year-old Mikayla as she memorizes thousands of Bible verses on her quest to win the National Bible Quiz Championship and the heart of JP, her quiz team captain. This John Hughes-eque documentary explores coming of age in the midst of faith, doubt, fierce competition, and teen love. [Slamdance Now]
Winner of the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature at the 2013 Slamdance Film Festival.
Nonfics Rating: ★★★ [Review by Dan Schindel]
Now playing at the Alamo Drafthouse Vintage Park in Houston, TX.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical openings, check the Bible Quiz page on the Slamdance Studios website.
Big Men
Written, directed and produced by Rachel Boynton (Our Brand Is Crisis)
Executive produced by Brad Pitt (The House I Live In; God Grew Tired of Us)
Official Synopsis: A good movie gives you a ticket to a secret world and Big Men delivers again and again, taking you into rooms you have no business entering. You’ll eavesdrop on meetings about oil deals worth billions of dollars and watch heavily armed militants preparing to strike. It’s a fast-paced tour through the high-powered world of African oil deals — a quest for money and power and influence that affects us all. The film’s central story follows a small group of American explorers at Dallas-based oil company Kosmos Energy. Between 2007 and 2011, with unprecedented, independent access, Big Men’s two-person crew filmed inside the oil company as Kosmos and its partners discovered and developed the first commercial oil field in Ghana’s history. Simultaneously the crew filmed in the swamps of Nigeria’s Niger Delta, following the exploits of a militant gang to reveal another side of the economy of oil: people trying to profit in any way possible, because they’ve given up on waiting for the money to trickle down. So what happens when a group of hungry people discover a massive and exquisitely rare pot of gold in one of the poorest places on earth? Watch your back: it’s every company, government and man for himself and everyone wants to be BIG. [Boynton Films Production]
Nonfics Rating: ★★★★ [see our best of True/False 2014 list]
Now playing at the IFC Center in New York City.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical openings, check the Screenings page on the film’s website.
Exposed
Directed by Beth B (Salvation!: Have You Said Your Prayers Today?)
Featuring performances by Rose Wood, Julie Atlas Muz, Mat Fraser, Dirty Martini, Bunny Love, Bambi the Mermaid, World Famous *Bob* and Tigger
Official Synopsis: Beth B takes us into the 21st century underground and reveals a secret world where cutting-edge performers are taking hold of a taboo art form, Burlesque, and driving it to extremes that most people have never seen. It’s satire. It’s parody. It’s a populist blend of art and entertainment that gives new meaning to the word “transgression.” Above all, it’s a lot of fun, and it will blow your mind. [Beth B Productions]
Nonfics Rating: n/a
Now playing at the IFC Center in New York City.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical openings, check the Screenings page on the doc’s website.
Teenage
Directed by Matt Wolf (Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell)
Written by Wolf and Jon Savage (Joy Division)
Produced by Ben Howe (Wild Combination: A Portrait of Arthur Russell) and Kyle Martin (Tiny Furniture)
Executive produced by Jason Schwartzman, Philipp Engelhorn (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and Michael Raisler (Beasts of the Southern Wild)
Edited by Joe Beshenkovsky (Objectified)
Featuring Alden Ehrenreich and Ben Rosenfield
Narrated by Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, Jessie Usher and Julia Hummer
Official Synopsis: Teenagers didn’t always exist. They had to be invented. As the cultural landscape around the world was thrown into turmoil during the industrial revolution, and with a chasm erupting between adults and youth, the concept of a new generation took shape. Whether in America, England, or Germany, whether party-crazed Flappers or hip Swing Kids, zealous Nazi Youth or frenzied Sub-Debs, it didn’t matter — this was a new idea of youth. They were all “Teenagers.” A hypnotic rumination on the genesis of youth culture from the end of the 19th century to the first half of the 20th, Matt Wolf’s Teenage is a living collage of rare archival material, filmed portraits, and diary entries read by Jena Malone, Ben Whishaw, and others. Inspired by Jon Savage’s book and set to a shimmering contemporary score by Bradford Cox (Deerhunter / Atlas Sound), Teenage is a mesmerizing trip into the past and a riveting look at the very idea of “coming-of-age.” [Oscilloscope Laboratories]
Nonfics Rating: ★★★ [Review by Landon Palmer]
Now playing at the Landmark Sunshine in New York City. Opens in Los Angeles on March 21st.
For details on current and upcoming theatrical openings, check the See the Film page on the film’s website.
