Documentary

Film Review and Stream: John Mayer “Someday I’ll Fly” (USA, 2014)

There is something about singer and guitarist John Mayer. Clearly, he is talented. He is a 19-time Grammy award nominated recording artist, and of those nominations, he has won 7, the last win in 2009 for his song “Gravity”,, for which he won the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance. But for some, his tabloid fodder…

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Film Review: Double Play: James Benning and Richard Linklater (USA, 2014)

This documentary is essential viewing for budding filmmakers and young creatives alike. A quiet, patient film by Gabe Klinger, it explores the friendship and work of filmmakers Richard Linklater and James Benning. Combining filmed discussions between the pair over a few days together in Texas and extensive archival footage, Double Play: James Benning and Richard…

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Film Reviews: Paul McCartney: Live Kisses (US, 2012) & BBC Electric Proms: Paul McCartney (UK, 2007)

Paul McCartney: Lives Kisses and BBC Electric Proms: Paul McCartney see the former Beatle performing songs, having fun and getting nostalgic. They also show two very different sides of Macca. The former sees him taking a leaf out of his parents’ songbook and doing covers of the easy-listening tunes that featured on his Kisses On…

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Exclusive Interview: Beth Harrington talks about her documentary The Winding Stream at SXSW!

Larry Heath sits down with director Beth Harrington to talk about her documentary film The Winding Stream, which premiered at SXSW Film Festival last month. She tells us about how and why she got interested in telling the story of “the Carters, the Cashes and the Course of Country Music”. Find out more about the…

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Film Review: My Father and The Man In Black (Canada, 2012)

When audiences flocked to watch the Johnny Cash biopic, Walk The Line, they did not learn much about his one-time manager, Saul Holiff and they probably didn’t mind. But the pair had a troublesome relationship which started off with the two arguing and becoming enemies (and their association ended in a similar fashion) plus they…

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The Iris Interview at SXSW: John Feige, Director of Documentary Above All Else.

Taken straight from the film’s official website, Above All Else is an intimate portrait of a group of landowners and activists in East Texas who tried to stop construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, a $7 billion dollar project slated to carry tar sands oil from Canada to refineries on the Texas Gulf Coast. Risking…

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SXSW Film Review: Road to Austin (USA, 2014)

Concert movies are a rare breed. It goes without saying that if you’re not a fan of the music of that particular musician or band, then you’re probably not going to have a fun time. Road to Austin, however, is somewhat of an oddity – because even if you’re not familiar with any of the…

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Film Review: The Missing Picture (Cambodia, France, 2013)

“Sometimes silence is a scream.” Such is the conclusion the unnamed protagonist of The Missing Picture comes to, after pondering his father’s starvation-suicide at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. The unusual style of this poetic documentary is anchored by the intricate clay figurines made for the film, representatives of the Old and New people…

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The Iris Interview: Greg ‘Freddy’ Camalier – Director of Muscle Shoals (USA, 2013)

The new documentary Muscle Shoals tells the story of a little town of the same name in Alabama, USA, where an incredible amount of iconic music was recorded at Rick Hall’s FAME Studios. We’re talking tracks by everyone from The Rolling Stones to U2 and Aretha Franklin (all of whom appear in the film)… to…

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Film Review: Muscle Shoals (USA, 2013)

The Muscle Shoals documentary is as soulful as the music that came out of the Alabama County of the same name. The documentary is filled to the brim with the rich musical history of the town that gave the world The Swampers, and countless hits from The Rolling Stones, Aretha Franklin and way too many others…

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Film Review: 20 Feet from Stardom (USA, 2013)

Darlene Love. Merry Clayton. Lisa Fischer. Claudia Lennear. Táta Vega. Judith Hill. Jo Lawry. Stevvi Alexander. The names of these women may not seem familiar, but I can guarantee that you have heard at least one, if not all of them sing. How? Because all of these women are backup singers, and among the most celebrated of…

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BIFF Film Review: The Act of Killing (Denmark, Norway, UK, 2012)

Viewers going in to see this documentary were warned that it was going to be grizzly. But none were prepared for the disturbing images this film produced. Most of which were re-enactments and fantasies, but they were all horrific and true. The Act of Killing focuses on a group of retired gangsters in Indonesia. In…

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