OVID.tv, the leading streaming service for documentary and art-house films, announced its line-up of 24 films joining its growing library of films in August 2019, most of which are not available on any other platform.
August brings two more films by female directors:
Special Treatment starring Isabelle Huppert; and Academy Award winner Cynthia Scott's
Strangers in Good Company (Aug 2); the release of six Spanish-language titles from Central and South America (Aug 9); the Jan Svankmajer animated classic
Alice (Aug 13); six social issue docs including
War Photographer and
Trespassing Bergman (Aug 16); and a series of dance docs on the Ballet Russes, Cuba's ballet dancers, and choreographers Carmen de Lavallade, Martha Hill and Pina Bausch (Aug 23).
Friday, August 2
Special Treatment
Starring Isabelle Huppert
Directed by Jeanne Labrune; First Run Features, Feature
A disaffected call girl named Alice (Isabelle Huppert) and her psychiatrist Xavier (Bouli Lanners) lead similar lives. They both have clients, charge for sessions, and take on roles that serve the needs, psychological or otherwise, of those they serve.
"Mesmerizing French star Isabelle Huppert, with a history of playing sexually transgressive women, is at it again. You can't take your eyes off her." -The New York Times
Strangers in Good Company
Directed by Cynthia Scott; First Run Features, Feature
In this film by Academy Award winner Cynthia Scott, seven old women become stranded at a deserted farmhouse miles from civilization. They don't have much food, or a decent place to sleep. Or much in common. But these surprising, remarkable women turn a crisis into a magical time of humor and spirit.
"One of the most exhilarating movies ever made about people who've grown old but remain ageless inside." -Newsday
Friday, August 9
Elena
Directed by Petra Costa; Syndicado, Documentary
Elena - a young Brazilian woman - travels to New York with the same dream as her mother, to become a movie actress. She leaves behind her childhood, which was spent hiding during the years of the military dictatorship.
"An elegiac cinematic essay that is both haunting and unforgettable."
-Hollywood Reporter
The Other Side of The Wall
Directed by Pau Ortiz; Syndicado, Documentary
Two siblings have to believe in each other to find hope on the other side of
THE WALL that threatens to separate them.
Beyond My Grandfather Allende
Directed by Marcia Tambutti Allende; Icarus Films, Documentary
More than 40 years have passed since a military coup in Chile deposed the democratically elected government of President Salvador Allende. His granddaughter Marcia Tambutti Allende goes
IN SEARCH OF Salvador Allende the man.
"After decades of silence, Marcia draws an honest portrait without grandiloquence, taking into account the complexity, irreparable losses and the role of memory in three generations of an injured family." -France Inter
The Tiniest Place
Directed by Tatiana Huezo; Icarus Films, Documentary
The resilient residents of a small mountain village in El Salvador rebuild their homes in the wake of their country's bloody civil war.
"A profound expression of the twin powers of life and death...The subject of the Central American wars of recent decades has rarely received such a level of artistic treatment onscreen." -Variety
10th Parallel
Directed by Silvio Da-Rin; Icarus Films, Documentary
This film brings us deep into the Amazon and into close proximity with the rainforest's uncontacted populations to reveal the fascinating and complex issues at stake in the National Indian Foundation of Brazil's policy on isolated tribes.
"Recommended...will generate useful discussions about Latin American policies towards indigenous populations."
-Educational Media Reviews Online
El Velador: The Night Watchman
Directed by Natalia Almadan; Icarus Films, Documentary
Martin watches over El Jardin, a large cemetery used by Mexico's most notorious drug lords.
"The Mexican drug cartels have inspired countless films, but never one as final as Natalia Almada's documentary EL VELADOR. After this experience, everything else seems trivial." -Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun Times
Tuesday, August 13
Alice
Directed by Jan Svankmajer; First Run Features, Animation
In this surreal adaptation of Lewis Carroll's classic children's book, the familiar magical world and bizarre characters have undergone an unsettling transformation in the director's vision through the stop-motion animation of dead animals, puppets and other assorted objects.
"Explores Alice in Wonderland's dark undercurrents: it unearths the fears that animate dreams and nightmares."
-The New York Times
Friday, August 16
Ada For Mayor
Directed by Pau Fausz; Syndicado, Documentary
Follows Ada Colau for one year, from her time spent organizing the anti-eviction fight in Barcelona to the day she is sworn-in as its mayor.
"Insights into and urban revolution!"
-The Guardian
Jaha's Promise
Directed by Patrick Farrelly & Kate O'Callaghan; Syndicado, Documentary
The life and activism of Jaha Dukureh, a Gambian anti-female genital mutilation campaigner who returns to her country of birth to confront the harmful tradition that she and 200 million women and girls have undergone globally.
The Gold Spinners
Directed by Kiur Aarma & Hardi Volmer; Syndicado, Documentary
A story about the birth, glory, and disappearance of a peculiar, invisible, and mighty business empire - the film studio Eesti Reklaamfilm, the only company producing commercials in the Soviet Union.
Trespassing Bergman
Directed by Jane Magnusson & Hynek Pallas; Syndicado, Documentary
A group of filmmakers visit Ingmar Bergman's house on the remote Swedish island of Faro to discuss his legacy, and the art of filmmaking. Candid, funny and explicit interviews with the likes of Lars Von Trier, Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, Isabella Rossellini and Michael Haneke.
Dear Dr. Spencer: Abortion in a Small Town
Directed by Danielle Renfrew and Beth Seltzer; Icarus Films, Documentary
From the early 1920s until his death in 1969, Dr. Robert Douglas Spencer practiced medicine in a small town in the anthracite coal region of Pennsylvania. Dr. Spencer treated colds, set fractures, and provided basic medical care. But he was unique. He performed illegal abortions.
"Powerfully evokes what life without legal abortion would be like." -IndieWire
War Photographer
Directed by Christian Frei; First Run Features, Documentary
For over 20 years, photojournalist James Nachtwey has been visiting war-torn countries such as Kosovo and Rwanda, capturing the destruction on film.
"Startling...engrossing!" -The New York Times
Friday, August 23
The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen
Directed by Jennifer Abod; Women Make Movies, Documentary
Provides a window into the life of Angela Bowen who grew up in inner city Boston during the Jim Crow era, and went on to become a classical ballerina, a legendary dance teacher, a black lesbian feminist activist organizer, writer and professor.
Inspirational, informative, complex, humorous... a must-see!"
-Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Professor Women's Studies, Spelman College
Dream Girls
Directed by Kim Longinotto & Jano Williams; Women Make Movies, Documentary
A film on the spectacular world of the Takarazuka Revue, a highly successful musical theater company in Japan. Each year, thousands of girls apply to enter the male-run Takarazuka Music School. The few who are accepted endure years of a highly disciplined and reclusive existence before they can join the Revue, choosing male or female roles.
A tantalizing backstage glimpse." -Village Voice
Ballerina
Directed by Bertrand Normand; First Run Features, Documentary
In the grand tradition of the Ballets Russes comes a portrait of five Russian ballerinas from the Mariinsky Theatre.
A jewel." -The Washington Post
Ballet Boys
Directed by Kenneth Elvebakk; First Run Features, Documentary
Explores the world of three boys who from an early age have committed themselves tirelessly to classical dance.
Charm personified!" -Time Out
Carmen and Geoffrey
Directed by Linda Atkinson and Nick Doob; First Run Features, Documentary
This film is about the work of married American artists, Carmen de Lavallade and Geoffrey Holder who stepped forward in the 1950's to play a vital part in the newly energized world of modern dance.
"Exquisite!" -Village Voice
Dancing Dreams
Directed by Rainer Hoffmann & Anne Linsel; First Run Features, Documentary
In 2008, legendary choreographer Pina Bausch assembled 40 German teenagers for a unique staging of one of her most iconic dance works, the complex and intimate Kontakthof. Chronicling 10 months, this captivating documentary offers a first-hand look at the working methods and clear-eyed vision of a true dance genius.
"Exquisite!" -Village Voice
Miss Hill: Making Dance Matter
Directed by Greg Vander Veer; First Run Features, Documentary
Reveals the little known story of Martha Hill, a visionary who fought against great odds to make contemporary and modern dance a legitimate art form in America.
"Illuminating." -The New York Times
Prima Ballerina: Svetlana Zakharova plus Prima Ballerina: Ulyana Lopsatkina
Directed by Laurent Gentot; First Run Features, Documentary
Prima Ballerina is a double portrait of two icons of contemporary Russian ballet. Svetlana Zakharova of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow and Ulyana Lopatkina from the Mariinsky Theater in Saint Petersburg are perhaps unmatched in today's ballet, and might be ranked amongst the greatest ballerinas of all time.
Secundaria
Directed by Mary Jane Doherty; First Run Features, Documentary
A lucid, watchful portrait of young ballet dancers desperately trying to plié their way out of poverty and into Cuba's Ballet Nacional.
"A lucid, watchful portrait of young ballet dancers desperately trying to plié their way out of poverty and into Cuba's Ballet Nacional." -The Boston Globe
