Happy Flag Day, and happy mid-June! In honor of the former, I recommend watching the Emmy-winning short documentary The Flagmakers (available to stream on Hulu and Disney+). However, my favorite uses of the American flag in a documentary can be found in Grey Gardens (Max and The Criterion Channel) and The Battle of Midway (Tubi and IndieFlix). Juneteenth also occurs this week, and for that occasion, I recommend the following docs: Slavery by Another Name (Kanopy), 13th (Netflix), and Descendant (Netflix). Also, for more inspirational Black stories, here are some documentary picks from Robert Daniels for FSR: Amazing Grace (Max and IndieFlix) and The Heart of the Game (PlutoTV).
We also have a couple of filmmaker birthdays to recognize this week. Jørgen Leth, who co-directed The Five Obstructions (Kanopy) with Lars von Trier and directed the documentaries A Sunday in Hell (DAFilms.com) and 66 Scenes from America (DAFilms.com), celebrates his birthday on Friday, June 14. Robert B. Weide, the Oscar-nominated director of Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth (unavailable to stream) and Kurt Vonnegut: Stuck in Time (Hulu) and producer/co-writer of The Marx Brothers in a Nutshell (unavailable to stream) and W.C. Fields: Straight Up (unavailable to stream), turns another year older on Thursday, June 20. Additionally, Nancy Hamilton’s Oscar-winning documentary The Unconquered, about Helen Keller, turns 70 years old on Saturday, June 15.
Before getting to this week’s Pick of the Week, highlights, and listings, I want to give a shoutout to Vince Mancini’s substack, The #Content Report, and his interview with Lance Oppenheim about Ren Faire. If you watched that former Nonfics Pick of the Week docuseries on my recommendation or otherwise, you need to check out this exclusive scoop on the latest developments between King George, Jeffrey Baldwin, and the Texas Renaissance Festival:
Nonfics Pick Of The Week: Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. (2024)
You know a documentary is going to be good when its title refutes its film-ness. Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. is the kind of documentary that had me thinking about Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One and then it flashed an image of the Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One poster during a succession of influences displayed in a montage. This film — it is a film even if it’s not a movie — is directed by Jeremy O. Harris and is partly about his Tony-nominated show Slave Play. It’s also partly about the making of Slave Play, though there was no behind-the-scenes crew documenting him and his work at the time, so it’s kind of backward in its process. The film is also partly about the making of the documentary Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.
Eventually, Harris and the documentary are deep in their own heads as layer upon layer of metatextuality are stacked atop each other, Synecdoche, New York style. There’s no way for Slave Play to be properly adapted as a dramatic feature, as is acknowledged, so for a while, this documentary becomes the solution to sharing the work with a wider audience. Much of the play is communicated through titles and performances, though it’s far from complete, so it’s never a film of the play, Hamilton style. Harris shows himself as uncertain about what this documentary is. At one point he says he wants it to be like Portrait of Jason (and then a shot from Portrait of Jason appears). During the end credits, he includes a bit that he says wouldn’t be in the documentary.
While Harris might be unsure of what Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. is, I came away understanding it, I think. It gave me an understanding of Slave Play, I think. It gave me an understanding of Harris, I think. It gave me a greater understanding of documentary, I think. And the separations between plays and movies and documentaries (if we can’t engage with movies, as Harris says, but we can engage with plays, I also think documentaries can engage with us). Slave Play could only be represented on film as a documentary this playful and complex and welcoming of discussion. I’m not done thinking about it or discussing it. I love that about it.
Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. premieres on Max on Thursday, June 20.
Other Documentary Highlights
Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown (2024)
Is there anything left to say about the Jonestown massacre that hasn’t already been documented? The latest installment in the One Day in… franchise offers three episodes worth of storytelling about another highly covered tragedy (previously they tackled 9/11 and the JFK assassination), and there’s probably not a lot that is new as far as the information and testimonials go. For those unfamiliar with the story, though, Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown doesn’t paint a big enough picture to be an introduction. On its own, I’ll say it’s still amazing how much footage was captured at the time. Much of this material could have been better without talking-head-interruptions, yet some of the emotional interviews make for great television separately. The two didn’t have to be so intercut with one another.
Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown debuts on Hulu on Monday, June 17.
Federer: Twelve Final Days (2024)
Roger Federer may have been one of the best tennis players of all time, if not the best, but as a documentary subject, he’s surprisingly dull. Federer: Twelve Final Days is directed by Asif Kapadia and Joe Sabia, but the feature is not representative of the former’s best work, which includes Senna and the Oscar-winning Amy. Following Federer in his last weeks before retirement, this documentary is disappointingly only for his fans. Fortunately for the filmmakers, there are a lot of those.
Federer: Twelve Final Days premieres on Prime Video on Thursday, June 20.
The Grab (2022)
Blackfish director Gabriela Cowperthwaite is back with another issue film, this one much bigger and broader. The Grab is the kind of documentary that’s so overwhelming in scope that it may render its audience numb. I felt like sitting on my hands and waiting for the apocalypse, or World War III, that will be fought over access to grain and livestock. While watching, I thought a lot about Food, Inc. 2, another of the final Participant Media films released this year. Both docs are about the food industry, but Food, Inc. 2, while terribly unfocused, is more manageable in terms of its message. It tells viewers how to shop and eat better. The Grab tells them that giant corporations and a few major governments are aiming to take over the world’s food and water markets. Is it a necessary watch? Yes. But it’s incredibly daunting.
That should be reversed. Is it daunting? Yes. But it’s incredibly necessary. The best thing that The Grab does is not report on the issue at hand but follow the journalists doing the actual investigation and research. The film celebrates the importance of journalism through its showcase of the Center for Investigative Reporting and especially Nate Halverson, who has been the lead on this story after it stemmed from a seemingly simple query about China buying up a quarter of the world’s pigs. The documentary ends with the reporters affirming their work matters even if few people will read it. The Grab also matters even if it’s overwhelming and even if it’s taken a couple of years to come out despite arguably being an urgent story.
The Grab hits theaters and digital/VOD on Friday, June 14. Check out an exclusive clip from the film below.
Here to Climb (2024)
With all the climbing documentaries released since the success of Free Solo, it’s surprising a film about Sasha DiGiulian took as long as it did. She’s an appealing subject, sometimes to a fault for many in the climbing community and the general public. Directed by Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg (Joan Rivers: Piece of Work), Here to Climb profiles DiGuilian, accompanies her on some climbs (and attempts), and allows her to do some more self-promotion and set the record straight on some things, including her flaws. It’s a fine doc. The climbing parts are decent, but overall it’s about how DiGuilian has had so many more obstacles outside of the difficulties of her profession: cyberbullying, internet trolls, an eating disorder, hip surgery, and more.
Here to Climb premieres on Max on Tuesday, June 18.
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini (2024)
This three-part docuseries about the other “real Gone Girl” story unfortunately comes on the heels of the extraordinary American Nightmare. The tale of Sherri Papini’s disappearance should intrigue and shock true-crime fans, especially if there are any who aren’t already familiar with the case. Beyond that, though, there’s not much to the storytelling, and that’s shocking in and of itself considering Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini is co-written and produced by the exceptional filmmaker Erin Lee Carr (Mommy Dead and Dearest). There’s one essential interview sadly missing from what would be a definitive take on the story, and another interview, with an accomplice, is far from satisfactory.
All three episodes of Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini debut on Hulu on Thursday, June 20.
Documentary Release Calendar 6/14/24 - 6/20/24
Friday, June 14, 2024
The Grab (2022) - A feature documentary directed by Gabriela Cowperthwaite (Blackfish) about a global conspiracy to control the world’s food and water supply. (In Theaters and VOD)
Queendom (2023) - A feature documentary about a young queer artist in Russia. (In Theaters and VOD)
The Relentless Patriot (2024) - A feature documentary about patriotic artist Scott LoBaido. (In Theaters)
Tell Them You Love Me (2023) - A feature true crime documentary about a professor’s relationship with a nonverbal man with cerebral palsy. (Netflix)
Saturday, June 15, 2024
Accident, Suicide or Murder Season 5, Episode 5: “Among Us” - The latest episode of this true-crime series involves the deaths of a group of hospital patients. (Oxygen True Crime)
Cherry Blossom Time in Japan (1936) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores the culture and religions of Japan. (TCM)
Cold Case Files Season 3 - The third season of the crime series about unsolved cases. (Netflix)
Sunday, June 16, 2024
Sins of the South Season 1, Episode 6: “Blue Ridge Bloodshed” - The latest episode of this true-crime series involves a triple murder in a Christmas tree farming community. (Oxygen True Crime)
World Eats Bread Episode 3: “Tortillas in Guatemala” - The latest installment of this docuseries about the roots of bread around the world focuses on tortillas. (National Geographic)
Monday, June 17, 2024
Clotilda: The Return Home (2024) - A feature documentary about descendants of the last American slave ship. (National Geographic)
Cult Massacre: One Day in Jonestown (2024) - The third installment of National Geographic’s One Day in America franchise is a three-part docuseries about Jim Jones, his notorious cult, and their death by “Kool-Aid.” (Hulu)
June 17, 1994 (2010) - A medium-length 30 for 30 documentary directed by Brett Morgen about the O.J. Simpson chase and arrest. (Netflix)
Tuesday, June 18, 2024
Agents of Mystery Season 1 - A series about an investigative team tackling strange, unsolved cases. (Netflix)
Chopper Cops (2024) - A docuseries about a police aviation unit in Florida. (Paramount+)
Clotilda: The Return Home (2024) - A feature documentary about descendants of the last American slave ship. (Hulu and Disney+)
Disco: Soundtrack of a Revolution (2023) - A three-part docuseries about disco music. (PBS)
Here to Climb (2024) - A feature documentary about professional climber Sasha DiGiulian. (Max)
Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution (2024) - A feature documentary about LGBTQ+ stand-up comedians. (In Theaters)
Power of the Dream (2024) - A documentary about the WNBA. (Prime Video)
Sin City Tow (2024) - A docuseries following tow trucks in Las Vegas. (Discovery)
Wednesday, June 19, 2024
Black Barbie: A Documentary (2023) - A feature documentary about the origins of the first Black Barbie doll. (Netflix)
Dynamic Planet (2023) - A three-part docuseries about scientists and animals on the front line of climate change. (PBS)
Triumph: Jesse Owens and the Berlin Olympics (2024) - A documentary about the success of Jesse Owens at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany. (History)
Thursday, June 20, 2024
The Accidental Twins (2024) - A documentary about twins separated at birth in Colombia. (Netflix)
America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (2024) - A seven-part docuseries following the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders through the 2023-2024 season. (Netflix)
Born to Be (2019) - A feature documentary about Dr. Jess Ting and his work at the Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. (Kino Film Collection via Prime Video)
Federer: Twelve Final Days (2024) - A feature documentary directed by Asif Kapadia (Senna) and Joe Sabia about the last days of Roger Federer’s career as a tennis pro. (In Theaters and Prime Video)
Ghost: Rite Here Rite Now (2024) - A concert film and documentary starring the band Ghost. (In Theaters)
MGM Parade Show #13 (1955) - This installment of the Hollywood-focused docuseries showcases the MGM films The Great Waltz and I’ll Cry Tomorrow. (TCM)
Midnight Jack the Movie (2024) - An “anti-documentary” about comedian Jack Tempchin. (In Theaters)
Perfect Wife: The Mysterious Disappearance of Sherri Papini (2024) - A three-part docuseries about the disappearance of a California woman. (Hulu)
Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play. (2024) - A feature documentary following Jeremy O. Harris and the production of his Broadway show Slave Play. (Max)
Sneak Peak At What’s Coming Soon
6/21 - Hummingbirds - A feature documentary about two filmmakers/friends in Laredo, Texas. (In Theaters)
7/12 - Eno - A feature documentary directed by Gary Hustwit (Helvetica) about the legendary recording artist Brian Eno. (In Theaters)
7/19 - Hollywoodgate - A feature documentary about the Taliban occupation of the former CIA base known as Hollywood Gate. (In Theaters)
7/19 - Skywalkers: A Love Story - A feature documentary about a couple who are “rooftoppers,” as they climb skyscrapers and other heights. (Netflix)
7/26 - Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - A feature documentary on Cymande, “the greatest band you’ve never heard of.” (In Theaters)
8/9 - Sugarcane - A feature documentary about abused and missing children at an Indian residential school. (In Theaters)