Tag: Documentaries

Sports, Streaming, Television

Grammy Award-Winning Artist Common to Narrate USA Men’s Basketball Docuseries

Jamal Michel

I told myself I wouldn’t begin this news about the dope new docuseries coming to Peacock mentioning LeBron James and I’ve clearly already failed. While James’ absence from the USA Men’s National Basketball team isn’t new, the real highlights of the highs and lows of the Olympics have been shouldered by the NBA’s new elite squad, specifically younger players like Devin Booker, Jayson Tatum, and Bam Adebayo.

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Sports, Streaming, Television

Megastars Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert’s ‘We Got Love’ Arrives This September

Jamal Michel

This September, we’ll get an inside look at the life journey and goings on of power couple Teyana Taylor and Iman Shumpert with their new docu-series We Got Love Teyana & Iman on the E! network. The dynamic duo embark on the ultimate life journey, navigating the many realities of married life, raising children, and creating work as career artists. We Got Love Teyana & Iman takes an authentic and unfiltered inside look at the life of Teyana, Iman, and their daughters Junie B, Baby Rue, as well as their tight-knit entourage of family and friends.

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Movies, Sports

U.S. Women’s Soccer Team Fights for Equal Pay in ‘LFG’ Documentary Trailer

Laura Sirikul

CNN Films & HBO Max has released the official trailer for LFG, an upcoming documentary about the U.S. Women’s soccer team’s fight to for equal pay. It’s hard to believe after winning four Olympic Gold medals and four World Cups over the past 30 years, the women’s soccer team are being underpaid compared to their U.S. Men’s Soccer team, who have zero championships to their name. In 2019, just three months before the Women’s World Cup, the U.S. Women’s team filed a gender discrimination lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation over this pay discrepancy.

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Interview, Movies

Tribeca Film Festival: ‘Accepted’ Filmmaker, Dan Chen

Patrick Strange

Hoyyy! It’s Kuya P back again with an interview covering one of the great films coming out of the Tribeca Film Festival! I recently sat down for a conversation with Director, Dan Chen to discuss his documentary film, Accepted that will make its world premiere at the Festival! Check out our conversation and then head over to the Tribeca Film Festival website to find out how you can view the film from wherever you may be!

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Interview, Movies, Television

Culture House’s Raeshem Nijhon Talks About the Importance of Representation

Jamal Michel

The last several years have seen numerous fallouts from Hollywood industry titans with regard to representation and the arts. NBC cancelling the 2022 Golden Globes amid the problems the HFPA essentially created for itself is a reminder of the strides still to be had for the industry. Enter Raeshem Nijhon, executive producer and founder at Culture House, a black, brown, and women-owned premium film and TV production company.

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Movies, Theatre

Watch the Trailer for Roadside Attractions’ ‘Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It’

Sophia Soto

Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It comes out in theaters on June 18. The documentary about the acting legend, which has a total runtime of 89 minutes, features George Chakiris, Héctor Elizondo, Gloria Estefan, Tom Fontana, Morgan Freeman, Mitzi Gaynor, Whoopi Goldberg, Norman Lear, Eva Longoria, Justina Machado, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Karen Olivo.

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Interview, Streaming, Television

‘My Love’ Filmmaker Jin Moyoung Hopes to Inspire Change Through Love

Laura Sirikul

Netflix recently released a six-episode documentary series all about romantic love called My Love: Six Stories of True Love. The series follows six couples from Brazil, India, Japan, Korea, Spain, and the U.S. for over a course of a year, pre-pandemic. A local director in that country follows each couple, who have been together from anywhere from 40 to 60 years, on their daily routines and showcases the sparks that still light their relationships. It’s not an easy task to put all of these stories together. That’s where executive producer Jin Moyoung comes in.

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Interview, Sports, Television

Executive Producer Shelly Leslie Talks James Jordan Docuseries ‘Moment of Truth’

Jamal Michel

Moment of Truth tells the never-before-seen story behind the murder of James Jordan, NBA star Michael Jordan’s father, and captures the history of the social injustice in Robeson County, North Carolina, where two teenagers, Larry Demery and Daniel Green, were charged and convicted of the crime. IMDb TV announced the April 2  premiere date for the original true-crime docuseries, directed by Matthew Perniciaro and Clay Johnson. The five-part series analyzes and presents new compelling information on the 1993 murder of James Jordan, the crime that shocked the nation, creating a media frenzy and countless speculations and baseless conspiracy theories.

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Movies, Reviews1 Comment

NOC Review: ‘They Call Me Babu’ Visualizes an Untold Story

Elvie Mae Parian

The archival documentary filmmaking style is able to take us to times long past that can’t necessarily be recreated with the same sensitivity and grace through mere recreation — as opposed to just seeing footage of the actual subject matter in question. Unlike casting an actor to portray someone else’s experience or reinterpreting events through animation, using archival footage helps to see the real faces that once lived in spaces that no longer exist, to actual haunting, horrifying scenes of war in places where peace now exists. This synthesizes both the preservation of both art and history, because beyond just pinning names to a person on a list, archival footage can help better visualize untold stories and those who lived through them. 

They Call Me Babu is an documentary that composites archival footage to tell the story of Alima, a nanny who worked for a Dutch family in the former Dutch East Indies — Indonesia — during the 1940s. It originally premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) to audiences within the Netherlands. It was also slated to debut and tour in other regions in 2020, if not for the disruption of many events due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

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Movies, Podcasts

Southern Fried Asian: ‘First Vote’

Southern Fried Asian

With less than three weeks to go for the 2020 Presidential Election, Keith sits down with filmmaker and subjects from the new documentary, First Vote: director Yi Chen, podcaster Kaiser Kuo, and professor Dr. Jennifer Ho on this special election edition of Southern Fried Asian.

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Interview, Music, Podcasts, Streaming

‘Song Exploder’ Host Hrishikesh Hirway Breaks Down the Making of the New Netflix Series

Lauren Lola

Song Exploder is a new documentary series from Netflix where a variety of music artists discuss the making of and story behind their songs. From conversations with host and executive producer Hrishikesh Hirway, to archival footage of the artists at work, each episode dives deep into how songs like R.E.M.’s “Losing My Religion” and Alicia Keys’ “3 Hour Drive” came into existence. Continue reading “‘Song Exploder’ Host Hrishikesh Hirway Breaks Down the Making of the New Netflix Series”

Movies, Podcasts

Southern Fried Asian: ‘Far East Deep South’

Southern Fried Asian

On June 5, the Oxford Film Festival will host the virtual world premiere of the documentary feature, Far East Deep South, a film about a Chinese American family discovering its unexpected history in Mississippi. Before its premiere, the filmmakers, Larissa Lam and Baldwin Chiu, sit down for this month’s episode of Southern Fried Asian.

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Crowdfunding, Music

Kickstart This: ‘Radical: The Savior Faire of French Hip-Hop’

Shawn Taylor

First, I’m hoping that all you NOCers (and your loved ones) are as safe and as healthy as you can be. We are in some strange and uncharted territories, but hopefully this little slice of community can keep us connected.

I am fully aware that many of us are in dire financial straits. Many of us have lost jobs, lost other sources of income — many of us may find ourselves in new and unfamiliar caretaking roles. #LifeInTheTimeOfCOVID19

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Movies, Podcasts

The Middle Geeks Episode 9: ‘For Sama’ and the Human Cost of War

Swara Ahmed

This month on The Middle Geeks, we discuss Waad Al-Kateab’s stunning documentary For Sama, which provides visceral insight into the Syrian Civil War and the experiences of citizens under siege. The film has been nominated for numerous accolades, including the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. In much lighter topics, we discuss the upcoming return of Zari (Tala Ashe) on Legends of Tomorrow, and the news that Iranian and other people of color will be leads in Middle Earth on Amazon Prime’s Lord of the Rings series!

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News, Podcasts

‘Long Distance’ Podcast Evolves for Season Two

Keith Chow

Last year, we introduced you to one of the most exciting new podcasts to hit your AirPods! Long Distance is the first and only independent documentary podcast series about stories in the Filipino diaspora, and its new season will feature a companion video series, Long Distance TV, that will highlight important elements in the podcast’s stories. Both the podcast and video series will premiere on November 5.

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Podcasts

Southern Fried Asian: CAAM’s #DiverseSouth Project

Southern Fried Asian

In February, the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) held its first convening of Asian American filmmakers in the South. Dubbed, “Beyond Borders: Diverse Voices of the American South,” the event brought together these filmmakers and organizers to Durham, North Carolina to build community. On a new episode of Southern Fried Asian, Keith talks to two of the filmmakers — Matthew Hashiguchi and Hanul Bahm — as well as CAAM’s Talent Development & Special Projects Manager Sapana Sakya.

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Movies10 Comments

Sweet 16: Top Films of 2016

Dennis R. Upkins

For the better part of a decade, this has become an annual tradition for yours truly.

From January to December I compile a list of the best, artistic and most progressive films, television shows, and music albums. One of the reasons I do this is to provide resources to readers who are looking for cerebral, fun, and progressive media. It does exist as my lists have continued to prove. Don’t say I never gave you anything. You’re welcome.

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Comics, Movies, Sci Fi, Streaming2 Comments

‘Brave New Souls’ Free Online Screening for Black History Month

Brandon Easton

In honor of Black History Month, I will allow three days of free online screenings of the documentary Brave New Souls: Black Sci-Fi & Fantasy Writers of the 21st Century.

From Sunday, February 1 at 12:00am (EST) through Tuesday, February 3 at 11:59pm (EST) you’ll be able to watch the documentary free of charge!

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Interview, Movies11 Comments

Sikh Captain America: The Man Behind the Shield

Alice Wong

Is America ready for a Sikh Captain America — a superhero fighting hate crimes and intolerance? In the wake of 9/11, the massacre of Sikh Americans in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, and America post-Ferguson, my answer is a resounding yes! If superheroes can battle aliens, cyborgs, and fellow villainous superheroes, why can’t there be one that fights for social and racial justice?

In 2013, cartoonist Vishavjit Singh wore a Captain America costume for the first time with a royal blue turban to match his ensemble. The short documentary Red, White, and Beard is a quirky, lighthearted glance into Sikh Captain America and the man behind this growing phenomenon.

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Movies1 Comment

Red, White, and Beard Documentary Launches

Keith Chow

Back in 2013, cartoonist Vishavjit Singh made a splash on the internet when he took to the streets of New York in a customized turbaned Captain America uniform. A year later, a team of filmmakers followed Singh on one of his Captain America runs and the result of that journey, a short documentary feature called Red, White, and Beard, debuts in one week at its eponymous website.

Also, come back later in the week for Alice’s review of the film. In the meantime, check out its trailer and description after the cut.

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