Dogwoof
Film Review: Machines
In the digital age with so many distractions, it’s unusual just to stop and observe. Our attention spans are increasingly under assault and modern filmmaking inexorably reflects this. However, documentary filmmaking is an area which can offer a refreshing alternative. The most famous modern example is the ‘Qatsi’ trilogy, but Mauro Herce’s 2015 film Dead …
Film Review: All This Panic
Let’s be honest, I knew nothing about teenage girls when I was a teen, let alone now. The moral panic around their sexualisation, drug use, underage drinking and ‘relentless’ sex seems to all come from a snobbish older generational view. There’s next to no coverage, either in films or on TV, of what teenagers actually …
Film Review: Dancer
Regardless of whether you have any interest in ballet or dance, there’s something incredibly powerful about the athleticism, movement, poise and grace of a dancer. The amount of dedication, sacrifice, hard work and pain involved in reaching the top is staggering. It’s an art-form which has generated some fantastic documentaries of late. Pina, First Position, …
Blu-ray Review: Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
There are few people in the world today like Werner Herzog, let alone film directors. Whilst he made his name with early films such as Aguirre, the Wrath of God, The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser and Fitzcarraldo, it has been documentary film-making which he returns to again and again. It’s also a medium where he …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Sour Grapes
Wine has become big business. What was once a gentle hobby for the affluent has now become a huge global economy with hundreds of thousands of dollars changing hands for the rarest wines. With some auction houses specialising in this market, Burgundy often generates most money interest. Domaine Posnot is one of the most renowned …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Weiner
Anthony Weiner was an outspoken and media-friendly Democratic Congressman. He was hugely popular with the electorate and built up a reputation of campaigning hard on behalf of his constituents. His career was brought to an abrupt halt when he was forced to resign his position after a sexting scandal reached the press. Two years later, …
DVD Review: Heart of a Dog
Since the late 1960s Laurie Anderson has been busily creating and crafting her performance art and experimental music. The electronic pioneer is probably still best known for her single O Superman which brought her chart success in 1981. However, she’s been active across the cultural spectrum, from film-making to music and art. She’s remained prolific …
Sheffield Doc/Fest Review: Author: The JT LeRoy Story
JT LeRoy was born in West Virginia in 1980. Coming from a background of drug addiction, abuse and vagrancy, LeRoy’s story is a troubled one. In 1994 the self-styled ‘Terminator’ reached out to novelists and shared his writings. His first novel, Sarah, sparked a literary sensation and was swifty followed by The Heart is Deceitful …
Film Review: Mapplethorpe: Look at the Pictures
Art and controversy are regular bedfellows but occasionally an artist will create such a stir that it will resonate to a far greater audience than their work attracts. Robert Mapplethorpe did this but it wasn’t until after his death that he managed to achieve such popular notoriety. In Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato’s documentary, Mapplethorpe: …
DVD Review: Peggy Guggenheim: Art Addict
Throughout history, the role of the wealthy benefactor has been vital in giving artists the time and finances necessary to complete their masterpieces. However, society and the art world has changed significantly over the past century. Whilst those creating art no longer rely on rich patrons they do need collectors to buy their work and …