Japanese filmmaker debuts Parkland school shooting documentary
Following the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, that claimed 17 lives in early 2018, Japanese filmmaker Emily Taguchi and her team spent months with members of the grieving community, documenting their recovery and activism in the wake of ...
Ron Howard frames Pavarotti story through arias for new documentary
Director Ron Howard did not know much about opera, but he understands drama when he sees it, and Italian tenor Luciano Pavarotti's life was packed with it. So when it came to making a documentary about the late, beloved "king of the high C's," Howard ...
Film explores rural New Mexico health care amid poverty, opioid crisis
Northern New Mexico is known for tourist attractions such as artsy Santa Fe, eclectic Taos and the healing dirt of El Santuario de Chimayo. The region's relaxing spas and skiing options present middle-class and wealthy visitors the opportunity to bask in the allurement of ...
'Shinjuku Tiger': A story of one man and his mask
Spend enough time on the streets of Shinjuku, and you'll eventually spot a flamboyantly dressed figure in a tiger mask carrying fake flowers, stuffed animals and a boombox. This is Shinjuku Tiger, the subject of a documentary of the same name out this week. Tiger-san, ...
Michael Jackson family slams documentary renewing sex abuse claims
Michael Jackson's family on Monday lashed out against a new documentary renewing focus on allegations the singer sexually abused young boys, calling the subsequent social media outrage a "public lynching." Dubbing the late King of Pop an "easy target," the Jackson family said they were ...
Bangladesh bans film about 2016 Islamist cafe siege fatal to 22, cites damage to reputation
Bangladesh has banned a film based on a 2016 cafe attack claimed by the Islamic State group that left 22 people dead, saying it would damage the country's reputation. The Film Censor Board denied the theatrical release of "Shonibar Bikele," a decision the movie's director ...
Thai filmmaker creates an intimate portrait of girl group BNK48
Thai filmmaker Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit wasn't sure whether to believe it when he was offered unfettered, behind-the-scenes access into the normally closely guarded and secretive world of one of Asia's biggest pop idol bands. Turns out the director got closer than he could have ever dreamed. "There ...
'In Pursuit of Silence': A documentary looks at what it'll take to finally get some peace and quiet
The 1964 tune "The Sound of Silence" by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel is a bona fide classic, but it never really identifies just what this "sound of silence" is. That task instead falls to "In Pursuit of Silence," the documentary about this surprisingly ...
Documentary to capture views of young Okinawans on U.S. Futenma base issue
As Okinawa continues to be roiled by tensions over a plan to move a key U.S. air base within the prefecture, filmmakers from Iwate Prefecture are using their next documentary to give younger Okinawans a greater voice. Movie director Shinya Todori and his twin brother ...
Filmmaker makes her case for a nuclear phase-out in latest documentary
Masako Sakata, an award-winning Japanese documentary film director, took the long route to answer a gnawing question: How is it that Japan is still wedded to atomic power while Germany decided to phase out its nuclear plants by 2022 in the wake of the ...
Soundtracking the thrill of the climb in Jennifer Peedom's 'Mountain'
With "Mountain," director Jennifer Peedom has done for the mountaineering film what Marks & Spencer's did for food advertisements years ago: taken the concept and beautified it to such an extent that it provokes a visceral response. Salivating over the movie's visual perfection is ...
When filmmaker Marina Zenovich sought to make a documentary about Robin Williams, she found that she could do it largely in the late comedian's own voice. "Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind," uses a wealth of archival footage to put viewers inside his thought process ...
