Cannes Film Festival 2021 Day 2: The Velvet Underground (2021)
★★★★☆
Cannes Film Festival 2021: Day 2
documentary
Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation (2020) – on demand
★★★★☆
Truman and Tennessee: An Intimate Conversation is a fascinating documentary by Lisa Immordino Vreeland about two groundbreaking giants of contemporary literature and the creative process.
Notturno (2020) – on demand
★★★★☆
Filmed over three years in war zones in Iraq, Kurdistan, Syria and Lebanon, Notturno (Nocturne) by Gianfranco Rosi is a documentary oddity.
Billie (2019) – On demand
★★★★☆
Billie is no bio-pic in the conventional sense. James Erskine’s documentary transcends the clichés and presents a new angle on the Billie Holiday legend.
African Apocalypse (2020)
★★★★☆
The BFI London Film Festival 2020 premiered African Apocalypse, a brilliant new documentary by British-Nigerian poet and activist Femi Nylander that uncovers a hidden part Africa’s colonial history.
BFI LFF 2020: One Man and his Shoes (2020)
★★★★☆
One Man and his Shoes, the debut documentary feature by Yemi Bamiro, is a fascinating dissection of a cultural phenomenon – trainers.
The Brink (2019) – ON DEMAND
★★★★☆
Alison Klayman’s The Brink is a must-see documentary following dangerous eminence grise Steve Bannon over the crucial period of the US midterms and the EU elections.
Camino Skies (2019) – Q&A on 13 May and ON DEMAND
★★★★☆
Cathartic documentary following six strangers walking the pilgrim way to Santiago de Compostela.
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019) – On demand
★★★★★
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am is Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ spellbinding tribute to a literary treasure that makes you feel as if you have lost a friend.
The Kingmaker (2019)
★★★★☆
The Kingmaker, Lauren Greenfield’s revealing documentary about Imelda Marcos, the former First Lady of the Philippines, is a fascinating and horrifying must-see.
Aquarela (2018)
★★★★☆
Aquarela, Victor Kossakovsky’s unforgettable, visionary documentary, immerses you in water in all its forms.
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
★★★★☆
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound by Midge Costin is one of those fascinating documentaries that take you behind the scenes to explain how things happen that are so crucial but you had never previously noticed.
The Last Black Man in San Francisco (2019)
★★★★☆
In The Last Black Man in San Francisco, writer/director Joe Talbot takes a true story and turns it into a poetic and haunting version of itself – a brightly lit, lyrical, stylised drama.
Hitsville: The Making of Motown (2019)
★★★★☆
Hitsville: The Making of Motown is an enjoyable, nostalgic celebration of the 60th anniversary of the iconic record label Tamla-Motown.