Béla Fleck's African Banjo

As odd as this sounds to say, Béla Fleck is the banjo version of a cross between Jimi Hendrix and John Coltrane. A simple listen over at Grooveshark.com and you'll understand what I'm talking about: the man can flat out jam... on a banjo. But I'm not here to talk mere music. It seems Fleck has a strong desire to remind listeners worldwide that his instrument of choice takes its roots from African culture and to do this, he's made a film.

Titled Throw Down Your Heart, this feature length documentary "follows American banjo virtuoso Béla Fleck on his journey to Africa to explore the little known African roots of the banjo and record an album. It’s a boundary-breaking musical adventure that celebrates the beauty and complexity of Africa – an Africa that is very different from what is often seen in the media today" (from film website).

The documentary has already made the festival circuit rounds and racked up two Audience Awards and some high praise. Now, it's making a tour through American cities and (hopefully) will have a DVD release date for those unfortunate enough to miss out. In the meantime, head over to the film's site to watch a trailer, learn more details and even listen to the music resulting from Fleck's quest.

Cute Old Couple Hoards Art

The summer is all about loving life and reminding yourself why you should appreciate every little moment. And with that focus in mind, I present you the trailer for Herb and Dorathy. Directed by Megumi Sasaki, this humble little film follows Herbert Vogel, a postal clerk, and Dorothy Vogel, a librarian. The two managed to build one of the most important contemporary art collections in history with very modest means. These two compiled a serious art collection too, grabbing over 2,000 pieces over thirty years. Needless to say, their apartment was nearly bursting with art before the two donated their entire collection to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

If you think that story could really warm your heart (and it should you insensitive jerks), head on over to apple to watch the trailer and prepare yourself for a nice, wholesome summer documentary.

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

I'm feeling in a sports mood today after watching the U.S. National team trounce the Spaniards in the Confederation's Cup earlier today (take that men who steal our women with your accents and dance moves!).  Unfortunately, there aren't any documentaries about football/soccer coming out, so I'll just have to talk about the next best thing: American Football.

If you head on over to Apple, you'll notice a trailer for a film titled Harvard Beats Yale 29-29.  Now I know that score sounds like it would be a tie, but evidently rules were different back in the good ol' days of college football (1968).  The documentary blends archival footage with interviews from players who participated in this bizarre game.

I've heard a lot about this documentary, but never seen it released anywhere (despite a release date that occurred earlier this year).  None-the-less, this looks like a fun, forget the troubles of steroid driven sports type film (and in Spain's case, the pain of coming one game short of a record unbeaten streak).  Since it's theater release date has already passed, make sure to check NetFlix or your other video rental service to know when you can watch it at home.

Muslims turn to rap

This is a last minute story, but I couldn't ignore it.  Tonight, on PBS' Point of View Documentary series, the film New Muslim Cool premieres nationwide.  The 90 minute piece follows Puerto Rican-American rapper Hamza Perez as he tries to live his life as an ex-felon turned Muslim.

Though the obvious issues of trying to be Muslim in post 9/11 United States will certainly be a topic of discussion, I'm hoping Jennifer Maytorena Taylor's documentary focuses on the unusual combination of a rapper-Muslim.  Yes, there are plenty of rappers who say they follow the teachings and practices of Malcolm X, but I think it would be an engaging story to see a Muslim man who is working to raise a religious community also try to carry a career as a rapper.

Don't get me wrong, I don't have many doubts about New Muslim Cool.  What I do have, is high expectations, and if you are as interested in this film as I am, check it out on PBS tonight.  If you miss the premier, don't worry, PBS is committed to replaying documentaries over multiple weeks, so head over to the film's website to see when you can view it next.

Networks air documentaries on Iran

In the midst of all the turmoil and protests resulting from the recent Iranian election, it's easy to forget that this week also marks the anniversary of a historical moment in that country's history: the 30th anniversary of the overthrow of the Shah and the establishment of an Islamic republic. However, this week both HBO and the National Geographic Channel are highlighting the nation with three different documentaries.

The best historical analysis of the U.S.-Iranian relationship most likely can be found on National Geographic. The British documentary “Iran and the West” airs tonight (Monday) at 8 pm. It's a two hour film that provides a detailed history of the past 31 years and includes interviews with President Jimmy Carter, from the Ayatollah Khomeini’s closest adviser and others that were closely involved in all the decisions from this period. Though I haven't seen it, it seems like a pretty even handed discussion of this rather tumultuous period and should be a great introduction for anyone who doesn't know a lot about the recent history.

HBO on the other hand is taking a more niche approach in the documentaries they air. The two films set for this week include The Queen and I and Be Like Others. The Queen and I is the portrait of an exiled documentarian who grew disillusioned with the ayatollah’s heavy-handed regime and becomes friends with the shah’s widow. It airs at 1:30am on Tuesday and at 2 pm on June 29. Both on HBO 2.

Be Like Others details Iran's bizarre but theoretically correct treatment of gay people: encouraging sex changes (which are sanctioned under Islam... homosexuality is not however). It airs at 7 pm on Wednesday on HBO2.

Both films most likely do not view Iran in a positive light, but they are certainly interesting case studies. So if you are interested in learning more about Iran, now seems like a great time to tune into the documentary world to get your fix.

Michael Moore's latest documentary

After patiently waiting what seemed like ages, finally, I can now proudly say the great Michael Moore's newest film has a trailer (no title, but it does have a trailer... err, sort of). The documentary, titled "Untitled Michael Moore Project", has a "teaser" up over at Apple.com with the notorious director looking to take on those involved in the recent economic meltdown. Currently, his film is slated for a nationwide release date in early October.

Now, whether or not you agree with the man, Moore has become the face of political-documentaries (if not the entire documentary genre) and has three of the top six highest-grossing documentaries of all time to his credit. Frankly, if you enjoy documentaries, you can't ignore the man, because as Mugatu from Zoolander would say: "he's so hot right now."

Ok, personally, Moore's previous films remind me more of flings I know I'll regret but still let happen anyway (you know what I'm talking about: the cute but crazy girl with anger management issues... or the handsome guy who says he's single and only wears a wedding ring as a joke). None-the-less, the guy makes great satire pieces and he looks to keep that up with this latest documentary. Will it be great? Who knows. But will it cause controversy and an endless stream of banter between pundits from both sides of the political aisle? Most definitely. Political activists... start your blogging!

Documentary causes Dole to go Bananas

The Los Angeles Film Festival is currently in full swing, but Swedish filmmaker Fredrik Gertten's film Bananas! finds itself battling a major controversy even before it premiers. Just a few days ago a judge declared Gertten's main character, Los Angeles attorney Juan J. Dominguez, a fraud for recruiting plaintiffs to lie. The accusation follows shortly after Dominguez won a $1.5 million settlement for the purported workers of Dole.

Bananas! is a feature length documentary that follows Nicaraguan workers who claim pesticides used on Dole banana plantations in the 1970s made them sterile. The judge presiding over the case says Dominguez recruited men to pretend they had been banana workers and to make false allegations against Dole. These men were even given fake work histories and told what it would have been like to work on a plantation at that time.

Now, because of these accusations, Dole representatives want Gertten to reflect the new information in his already completed documentary or face a defamation lawsuit. As you can assume, the Swedish filmmaker rejects such demands based on free speech. "I haven't seen any fraud. If I saw it, I would publish it," he said. "This film is valid. I hope Dole will understand it is a legitimate piece of work. ... I believe in freedom of speech and telling the story as I saw it."

For its part, the LA Film Festival has pulled the documentary from its prize categories and instead are using it to open a discussion about the perils of wrapping up production before a story has reached its conclusion. For more on the story, jump to the Associated Press for a detailed breakdown of the situation.

The Cove... or rather, when hippies attack

This is probably old news for some of you more staunch documentary followers, but the trailer for The Cove has now recently found its way into theaters and wow does it look good. Yes, The Cove sounds like another b-movie horror fest, and though it's technically a documentary, I must admit, I got the same thrills and chills from this trailer as I did while watching Jaws as a child.

If you can't make it to your local theater, I suggest heading over to Apple to watch this preview. Directed by Louie Psihoyos, the film follows a group of dolphin activists trying to uncover the secrets of a hidden cove in Japan. And no, they don't go in Michael Moore style with lips flapping. We're talking covert ops and spy technology that would make Jason Bourne and James Bond blush. If the film is even remotely close to the quality of this trailer, expect this to be one of the few documentaries to hit the main stream market in a major way.

Again, catch the trailer over at Apple.com.

Heavy metal and vineyards

So I'm browsing MTV's website to see if I can find any pop culture references to make me sound cooler than I am when I uncovered a gem of documentary news. It seems there's a trailer for a soon to be released movie on Tool frontman Maynard James Keenan's Arizona wine business. Now for those who may not know, there are two things that make no sense in that one sentence. The first, Arizona is a desert... how does wine grow in the desert?!?! The second, Maynard is the lead singer for Tool, a band known for scaring people with their dark music and lyrics... how does a guy like that get into the wine business?!?!

Brain aneurysms aside (and believe me, you think too long about those questions and you'll get one), the trailer for this documentary looks really polished. Now granted, Blood Into Wine: The Arizona Stronghold may be nothing more than Maynard drinking wine and looking sadistically calm, but I highly doubt it. Besides, I have to admit, even at his darkest, the guy is a genius.

Don't believe me? Head over to MTV.com to check out the trailer for Blood Into Wine... and if you know where a non-Arizonian can buy his wine, let me know.

Atlanta Film Fest Wrap-up

The Atlanta Film Festival finished up this past Saturday and after 10 straight days sitting in various movie theaters, I've spent the past few days enjoying sunlight and stretching my legs.  And now I must go back to my dark isolated room to write the reviews (what can I say, I'm a giver).

But before I do, I wanted to give you all my quick thoughts on the documentaries screened during the festival.  Atlanta, despite what many of you are thinking, is quite embracing of the documentary genre and the festival prroved it by screening over 30 documentaries.  Of those, I was able to catch 26 films (sadly I missed 6 very good ones).  Below is a list of the ones I enjoyed, the ones that were passable and the ones that I flat out hated.  Expect reviews to trickle in over the next month.

Thanks to Atlanta for being a great host and to the festival for putting together a great series!

The Good: These films made me fall in love with documentaries just a little bit more

• Art & Copy - My official festival selection!
  
• The Last Cup
  
• So Right, So Smart
  
• Faded Glory
  
• At The Edge of the World
  
• Motherland
  
• The People Speak
  
• Trust Us, This is All Made Up
  

The OK: These were were good but lacked innovative ideas or just plain fell into the common documentary traps

• Invisible Girlfriend
  
• Squeezbox
  
• Pip and Zastrow
  
• #1 With a Bullet
  
• General Orders #9
  
• Woman in Boxes
  
• Naming Pluto (a documentary short)
  
• Naturally Obsessed
  
• Maybe Me (a documentary short)
  
• Where You From
  
• Heart of Stone
  
• Not Quite Hollywood
  
• Neshoba
  

The Bad: These made me cringe for every documentary film fan... ever

• Training Rules
  
• Kassim the Dream
  
• Into Abyssinia
  
• I'm Like This Every Day (a documentary short)
  
• We Fun- officially the worst documentary I've ever seen

The Missed: These are already added to my Netflix account

• Tyson
  
• The Way We Get By
  
• Living is Winning
  
• Paolo
  
• The Road to Fallujah
  
• Prom Night in Mississippi