Documentaries and their viewers continue changing. For a thorough overview of what’s happening, check out writer Eve Batey’s insightful Vanity Fair article, which includes savvy observations from the Bay Area’s Chris Metzler, a highly respected documentary maker and a programmer for SF Documentary Fest; looks at the surge in conservative-focused documentaries; and examines the rise of streaming and heightened demand for documentary storytelling.
Given that some documentaries fail to present multiple views, it’s heartening for fans of traditional nonfiction filmmaking that PBS’ “Independent Lens,” which launched in 1999, is still going strong. Showcasing a variety of topics and provocative ideas, the series remains reliable, pertinent and necessary. In addition to discussing three notable documentaries coming down the PBS/KQED pike in January and streaming on the PBS app, this week Pass the Remote also looks at “Porcelain War,” a documentary co-directed by Bay Area native Brendan Bellomo hitting select Bay Area theaters this week.
Director-executive producer Darius Clark Monroe’s “Dallas, 2019” follows the grand tradition of the great documentarian Frederick Wiseman by fully immersing viewers into the world of its subject, in this case the city of Dallas in the year before the pandemic. The five-part docuseries (Monroe filmed over a five-week period) focuses on the diverse people in the urban hub, the challenges and changes they are facing, and their goals. In the process, it echoes concerns and ideals pertaining to many American cities. It covers numerous factions and people—workers on the front line, a court commissioner, a community organizer, a high school graduate, to name a few. As it shows, it takes a community of unique residents to make a city. (Airs at 9 p.m. Jan. 4 on KQED World)
Anyone who can’t distinguish NFT from NFL, nor Blockchain from Blockbuster, may want to consider watching Emmy-winning director Nicholas Bruckman’s eye-opening “Minted.” Bruckman surveys every fascinating facet of the non-fungible token (a techie phenomenon in which digital assets are sold and traded) that continues to shake up the digital art world.
“Minted” begins by introducing NFT superstar Beeple (South Carolina graphic artist Mike Winkleman), who shockingly sold an NFT for a staggering $69 million. Beeple, who continues to move the needle forward, thrived even while crypto currency scandals tarnished NFTs’ reputation and celebrities jumped aboard to carve out a slice from the pie.
“Minted,” which hits the jackpot, shakes down all the terminology and breaks down how the system works in an easy-to-digest way even neophytes can follow. Concise and precise, it covers so much ground and so many ideas in under 90 minutes, it makes your head spin like a CryptoPunk (a Google search will tell you what that is). (Airs at 10 p.m. Jan. 6 on KQED 9)
In “Without Arrows,” a deeply personal, introspective documentary, Delwin Fiddler Jr., a grass dancer, returns home to his ancestral land on the Cheyenne River South Tribe Reservation in South Dakota. His arrival ushers in painful memories of a tragic family death that partially drove him to live in Philadelphia for 11 years. The intimate story filmed over the course of years reveals much about his Lakota family. Viewers witness them celebrating traditions, gathering to play cards, and dealing with a suffocating blanket of melancholy. Directors Jonathan Olshefski and Elizabeth Day gained the confidence of the Fiddler relatives; they honor this Indigenous family while never sugarcoating obstacles they face and traditions they’re trying dearly to preserve and protect. “Without Arrows” is both effective and affecting, a realistic view of life on the reservation and beyond. (Airs at 10 p.m. Jan. 13 on KQED)
The Sundance award-winning “Porcelain War,” Bay Area native Bellomo’s collaboration with Slava Leontyev, shows how important art can be during wartime. It takes viewers into the lives of courageous Ukrainian artists: Leontyev, a ceramics artist serving in a special military unit; Anya, his partner and an artist; and Andrey, their creative friend and photographer. “Porcelain War” transitions between wartime and Slava and Anya’s project of creating fragile, small porcelain figurines. The documentary debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for U.S. documentary feature. (Opens Jan. 3 at the Smith Rafael Film Center in San Rafael and Metreon in San Francisco)
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