2010 Documentary Movies

Actor Stephen Hill portrays the legendary baseball player Jackie Robinson, who was the first black major-leaguer, in this documentary that mixes reenactments with archival footage in order to pay tribute to an amazing athlete who became a lightning rod for much of the country's ugliest prejudices and in the process became a symbol for desegregation and tolerance as well as the first player to have his number retired by every single big-league club. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Anselm Kiefer is a German artist who began earning an international reputation for his paintings, which combined photographic realism with impressionistic abstraction and used the juxtaposition of images to form an unapologetic commentary on Germany's history and failings. In 1993, Kiefer relocated from Germany to France, and in 2000 he bought an abandoned silk processing plant; there, Kiefer set up new facilities to create massive installations that employed both large-scale paintings, huge sculptures, objects found at refuse sites, and materials such as dirt and ash to create complex artificial environments. Filmmaker Sophie Fiennes allows Kiefer and his work to speak for themselves in the documentary Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, in which Kiefer talks about his life and work while Fiennes and her crew follow as the artist creates one of his installations, big enough that a team of assistants with heavy equipment must assemble the pieces under his direction. Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow was an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Travel to the locations responsible for inspiring Frank L. Baum, author of The Wizard of Oz, to write his classic tales of whimsy, witchcraft, wizardry, and friendship. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi

Graphic designer Daniel Goldstein leads the fight to prevent government and big business from razing an historic, Brooklyn, N.Y. neighborhood to make way for a more than a dozen skyscrapers and a new basketball arena for the New Jersey Nets. When the local government announced they would be using eminent domain laws to level the Prospect Heights neighborhood and make way for the Atlantic Yards project, the locals became deeply divided; while some saw the project as a way to bring jobs to the area, others were enraged at the thought of being forcefully evicted from their homes. Later, the government awarded the contract to Forest City Ratner -- a private contractor -- and the wheels of change were set into motion. As construction begins, tensions flare and it begins to appear as if the opponents of the project have run out of options. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

On March 1, 2010, Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi was arrested on charges of "propaganda against the Islamic Republic" (his crime was speaking out on behalf of activists protesting the dubious re-election of president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad), and he was sentenced to six years behind bars and banned from making films for twenty years. While Panahi's prison sentence was suspended after a few months in jail, Iranian officials have still forbidden him from directing movies, writing screenplays, giving interviews or leaving the country. In response, fellow filmmaker Mojtaba Mirtahmasb teamed up with Panahi to create In Film Nist (aka This Is Not a Film), in which Panahi ponders the past and current state of his career as well as the screenplay he was planning to shoot shortly before his sentence was handed down. As Panahi stages a reading of the script in his home (with Mirtahmasb capturing the action on video as other friends and family members occasionally function as "director" via messages and phone calls), Panahi demonstrates the blocking and camera angles he had in mind using taped diagrams on his living-room floor, and the two filmmakers explore the nebulous line between making a film and talking about how one would make a film in front of a camera. Panahi and Mirtahmasb were able to smuggle a copy of This Is Not a Film out of Iran in defiance of the government's ban on Panahi's work, and the picture was screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Ka Shen Kwan was born in Hong Kong in 1939, the daughter of a Chinese architect and a Scottish model. Ka Shen was a gifted dancer and vocalist, and was studying at London's prestigious Royal Ballet School when she was spotted by noted movie producer Ray Stark. Stark was looking for a fresh new talent to star in a film adaptation of Richard Mason's novel The World Of Suzie Wong, and he was had a hunch eighteen-year-old Ka Shen was the sort of woman he was looking for. After several screen tests, Ka Shen won the role of Suzie Wong, and took the stage name Nancy Kwan. The World Of Suzie Wong earned Kwan an Academy Award nomination and made her an overnight star; at a time when most Asian actors were stuck playing demeaning, stereotyped roles (and many roles for Asians were played by Caucasian actors in make-up), Kwan became one of Hollywood's first Asian stars and a big-screen sex symbol. Kwan's next picture was a box-office smash, a screen version of the hit Broadway musical Flower Drum Song, and Kwan worked steadily in major studio productions through the 1960s. In 1972, Kwan moved back to Hong Kong to look after her ailing father and ended up staying ten years, continuing to act while also launching a new career as a producer. Filmmaker Brian Jamieson offers an intimate look as Nancy Kwan's private and professional lives in the documentary To Whom It May Concern: Ka Shen's Journey, which features extensive interviews with Kwan as well as Sandra Allen, Joan Chen, France Nuyen and Vivian Wu. The film received its world premiere at the 2010 Cinequest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Embark on a journey into a community where one man's trash is truly another man's treasure as filmmakers J.P. Sniadecki and Verena Paravel explore a side of Queens, New York that most people never see. Take a look behind Citi Field and you'll see Willets Point, an industrial stretch of urban blight where chop shops and scrap yards thrive. If you're having trouble tracking down a part that could keep your car running, you're bound to find it amidst the heaps of rusted out metal that seem to stretch for miles. And if you're especially good at salvaging those parts, you can earn a decent living by selling them for a pretty penny. But as the city eyes the area for redevelopment, the folks who survive on the scraps find their livelihoods at stake, and their futures looking grim. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

One can argue that boxing is athletic competition reduced to its finest essence as two fighters use their fists to determine who the strongest athlete is. The growing phenomenon of the sport of mixed-martial arts (MMA) takes this notion, adds the showmanship of professional wrestling, and encourages would-be contestants by declaring that anyone with the strength and the nerve can step into the cage, regardless of their training and chosen style (or their lack thereof). While the sport of MMA has spawned multi-million-dollar businesses like the Ultimate Fighting Championship franchise, filmmakers Michael Tucker and Petra Epperlein offer a look at the lower levels of the game as two aspiring fighters from Louisiana struggle to make a name for themselves in this documentary. In Fightville, we meet Dustin "The Diamond" Poirier, who came from an abusive upbringing, first injured someone in a fight at the age of five, and has the anger and determination to take (and dole out) punishment in the ring on a regular basis. We're also introduced to Albert Stainback, a smart and talented fighter with a good eye towards conjuring an image but not the same athletic skillset, and Gil "The Thrill" Guillory, an MMA promoter with an eye for talent and no use for starry-eyed would-be fighters who can't give the crowd what they want and bring in return customers. Fightville received its world premiere at the 2011 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In 1978, when he was ten years old, Chico Colvard found his father's gun and was playing with it, imitating a cowboy he'd seen on television, when he accidentally shot his sister Paula Colvard. Paula was taken to the hospital, and convinced that she was dying, Paula made a startling statement to the doctor -- that for years her father, Elijah Colvard Jr., had been sexually abusing her, as well as her sisters, Angelika and Chica. Paula survived, but Elijah was in time found guilty of child sexual abuse and spent a year in prison. Chico hadn't had any contact with his father for many years when he discovered that Elijah was invited to a family reunion he would be attending. While Chico expected the event would give everyone an opportunity to confront the father about his crimes, the reality was quite different, as Elijah seemed content to act as if he'd done nothing wrong and his sisters were similarly able to ignore their father's betrayal. Chico brought a small video camera to the reunion, and the footage he shot that day became part of his documentary Family Affair, in which he examines a shocking and tragic real-life story of abuse and its emotional consequences. Family Affair received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Unitarian minister Marilyn Sewell makes the difficult decision to retire from the clergy, and contends with troubling childhood memories while striving for the intimacy and love she has always denied herself. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Filmmaker Jill Andresevic follows the relationships of five New York couples of varying ages over the course of one year in order to explore the many forms that true love takes. The youngest couple, Gabriel and Danielle, is a pair of starry-eyed high school kids who find their devotion tested as graduation looms ever closer. Meanwhile, divorced father Ethan dives into the dating pool and gay single Scott realizes his dreams of parenthood when he becomes the father of two infant twins. As elderly couple Albert and Marion sails into their golden years while celebrating 50 years of blissful matrimony, we discover that not all unions are quite as content by spending time with Chitra and Mahendra, an engaged couple who discover just how rough the waters can get once the honeymoon is over and the reality of married life starts to sink in. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Following four high school poetry teams as they gear up to compete in the biggest youth poetry slam on earth, this documentary from Jon Siskel details how the expression, pressure, creativity, and camaraderie of the competition all make the process an experience of both treasured highs and crushing lows. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi