In this city full of film festivals, AFI Docs may be the one must-see event; a destination for professionals and moviegoers looking for the best in new non-fiction filmmaking. Though a few of the higher-profile titles were not available for preview, including The Look of Silence (June 18 at E Street and June 20 at the AFI Silver Theater), director Joshua Oppenheimer’s highly anticipated sequel to the best film of 2013, The Act of Killing, I watched a handful of selections playing and, well, it’s a good year for the fest.
Director Les Blank’s 1974 profile of musician Leon Russell, A Poem is Naked Person (June 20 at the AFI) has been one of the most elusive of documentaries, unable to get an official release for 41 years. The festival also gives area audiences a first look at In Transit (June 19 at the AFI Silver Theater and June 21 at E Street), the final film by master documentarian Albert Maysles, who passed away in March of this year. I watched as much of this year’s lineup as I could and still barely made a dent in a program that features over 60 full-length documentaries. But I didn’t feel that any of them were a waste of time, so if none of the titles I’ll be previewing for you over the next few days grabs your interest, just pick something else—I’m sure it will be fine. See the complete list of features here.
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Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon
An Ivy League humor magazine published since the 19th century unwittingly sowed the seeds of modern comedy when editors Douglas Kenney and Henry Beard joined the team in the late ’60s. A recent documentary about the history of Saturday Night Live (whose startup team was made up largely of Lampoon alumni) takes some of the edge off the era, but director Douglas Tirola gleefully reminds the viewer of its thoroughly offensive, racist, sexist, and (sometimes) hilarious material, including what may be the best magazine cover in American history. Archive footage and interviews with Lampoon survivors tell the story of what sounds like it was the best job in the world, until it fell apart. If, like me, the magazine and its various offshoots helped shaped your sense of humor, you’ll want to see this, even if some of the bits may not be as funny as you remember them.
Thursday, June 18 at 8:30 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theater and Sunday, June 21 at 7:30 p.m. at the Naval Heritage Center. Director Douglas Tirola will appear at both screenings.
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Adolescence can be painful and harrowing even for so-called “ordinary kids.” So it’s especially moving to watch teenagers on the autism spectrum navigate the treacherous waters of a formal dance. Director Alexandra Shiva’s film follows the teens and young adults (along with a few older subjects) in a Columbus, Ohio program for the autistic. It would be uncomfortable enough to watch the growing pains of typical adolescents, but the struggles of young people who lack the social skills that you and I (may) have is even more touching. How to Dance in Ohio isn’t revelatory, but if you’ve ever felt social awkwardness, you’ll appreciate the bravery of these young people.
Watch the trailer.
Saturday, Jun 20 at 1:30 p.m. at Landmark’s E Street Cinema and Sunday, Jun 21 at 12 p.m. at AFI Silver.
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The late Marlon Brando made hundreds of hours of personal audio recordings over the course of his life, including oral memoirs, self-hypnosis guides, and even intimate documents of pillow talk with lovers. Director Stevan Riley uses these tapes, never before heard in public, as the basis of this impressionistic portrait of Brando by Brando. Home movies, backstage footage, and film clips provide visuals and are supplemented by rare interviews and an homage to acting teacher Stella Adler. But the most startling visual is what the disembodied actor calls the digitization of his face: in the ’80s, special effects whiz Scott Billups captured a ghostly image of Brando ruminating on the digital future of acting and reciting Shakespeare. Spend some time in a darkened theater with the floating computerized ghost of a legend.
Thursday, June 18 at 9:00 p.m. at E Street and Saturday, June 20 at 6:30 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theater.
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Director Chad Garcia’s film documents a theory that the Chernobyl disaster was an attempted genocide perpetrated by the builder of a seven-billion dollar antenna called the Duga used to transmit a short-wave signal that sounds like a woodpecker. As intriguing as this conspiracy is, the film is only part-political thriller. Garcia’s real subject isn’t an electronic broadcast but Fedor Alexandrovich, the bug-eyed, bird-like Ukrainian artist who investigates his theory, in between making avant-garde films (naked) and approaching the Duga carrying a torch and wearing nothing but Saran Wrap. This is what I wanted Room 237 to be: a portrait of obsession. The Russian Woodpecker paints a bleak picture of a people horrified by the return of the Soviet system, but even if Alexandrovich’s theories remain unproven, the film works on at least two levels: as a startling look at a nation in crisis with powerful footage of Ukranian protesters; and as the portrait of a strange man whose paranoia may be completely justified.
Watch the trailer.
Friday, June 19 at 2 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theater and Saturday, June 20 at 9:15 p.m. at Landmark’s E Street Cinema.
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New Yorker subscribers drawn to the magazine’s insightful long-form journalism, contemporary fiction and astute arts writing often throw up their hands and are happy if they just get to the cartoons. Director Lea Wolchok went behind the scenes of the journal’s storied cartoon department, following current cartoon editor Bob Mankoff as he weeds through 1000 drawings every week to find the 15 that will make it to print. Editor-in-chief David Remnick declares his magazine’s interest in a diversity of voices, and while he makes good on this in print, the movie doesn’t exactly show this multitude. Whatevs. Very Semi-Serious is a pleasant niche documentary—and props to whoever decided to use the Penguin Cafe Orchestra as a music cue—it perfectly suits the film’s tone and ever so slightly elevates its subject from harmless distraction to unassuming art.
Watch the trailer.
Saturday, June 20 at 4:15 p.m. at the AFI Silver Theater.
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Stay tuned for more AFI Docs coverage, including films for foodies (including City of Gold, an excellent portrait of Los Angeles Times food critic Jonathan Gold) and for music lovers (including All Things Must Pass, the story of Tower Records).
