no down time for newportFILM! hot off a successful summer, we’re already gearing up for a fall and winter full of extraordinary documentaries. co-founder & artistic director, andrea van beuren, just wrapped up the week at the toronto international film festival scouting for thought-provoking documentaries to bring back to newportFILM fans in rhode island. andrea says, “i attend toronto for its excellent documentary programming, and being in the fall, it gives me an early preview of what docs will be playing at many US festivals throughout the next year.”
here are the top 5…
1. 9.79* filmmaker daniel gordon investigates the 1988 olympic race that resulted in disgrace for canadian sprinter ben johnson, a gold medal for the USA’s carl lewis, and major controversy over drug testing. riveting.
2. LOVE, MARILYN an intimate look into the never-before-seen letters, diaries and notebooks of marilyn monroe. appearing on screen to perform marilyn’s words are renowned contemporary actresses, including marisa tomei, uma thurman, and glenn close.
3. NO PLACE ON EARTH this extraordinary testament to survival from emmy-winning producer/director janet tobias brings to light a story that remained untold for decades: that of thirty-eight ukrainian jews who survived world war II by living in caves for eighteen months.
4. STORM SURFERS This pulse-racing real-life adventure follows two of Australia’s greatest surf legends on their quest to hunt down and ride the pacific’s biggest and most dangerous waves. with 3D cameras installed on their boards, ross clarke-jones and tom carroll defy middle age by pushing the limits of what they — and cinema technology — can do.
5. VENUS AND SERENA an intimate documentary that takes us inside the lives of tennis superstars venus and serena williams, during a year when debilitating injuries and life-threatening illness threatened to take them out of the game once and for all.
