Welcome to The Watchlist 002.
If you’re new here, it’s pretty simple. Every week there’s a pick of great docs, some new releases across digital and cinemas, along with a little update about what’s happening on Docs to Watch.
First bit of news, on 20th August I'm speaking in my first ever webinar with Show & Tell Films!
I'll be chatting about what the documentary industry gets wrong on socials, why your trailer might not reach anyone (and how to fix it), and ways to find an audience on a small / non-existent budget. So come watch me freak out about public speaking.
It’s free and you can sign up here.
01 THIS WEEK’S PICKS
Directed by Matt Mahurin · 2004 · Available on Docs to Watch.
I Like Killing Flies
This is an absolute gem, and a lesson in tiny budget documentary making. Sometimes you really don’t need more than a great character, a camera and a mic.
It’s about Kenny Shopsin and his tiny restaurant in New York. He’s a grumpy, swear-y chef who comes out with these philosophical pearls of wisdom, as he runs a restaurant with 900 items on the menu. Chaotic but life-affirming.
Rent it here.
Directed by Peter Middleton and James Spinney · 2016 · Available to rent on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play.
Notes on Blindness
Another doc filled with philosophical wisdom, but with a lot less swearing. In 1983 theologian John Hull started going blind, and kept an audio diary as it happened.
Thirty years later, directors Peter Middleton and James Spinney had actors lip-sync to those recordings, reconstructing his world into a really gorgeous doc.
The trailer does the film way more justice than my words can.
Directed by D. Smith · 2023 · Available to rent on Amazon, YouTube, Google Play.
Kokomo City
There’s a pretty amazing story about how this documentary was made. Five directors turned D. Smith down when she asked for help, so she bought a camera and shot it alone. She also cut it herself on iMovie. Mad.
It's about four Black trans sex workers in New York and Atlanta, talking straight to camera about their lives, the danger, the work.
02 OUT THIS WEEK
Some decent films starting some limited runs in cinemas.
In the UK: Ask E. Jean is the story of E. Jean Carroll, the advice columnist and gonzo journalist who became the only woman to beat Trump in court. Twice.
Also keep an eye out for How to Feed a Dictator, which played Sheffield DocFest in June. I’d never thought about how strange it must be being a private chef to a dictator, and this doc has gathered five who catered for Saddam Hussein, Idi Amin, Pol Pot, Pinochet and Kim Jong-il. Pretty crazy.
In the US: American Doctor comes to the screens in the US on 14th August, I haven't had the chance to watch it yet, but it follows three American physicians, Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian, who volunteered in hospitals in Gaza, and carried the evidence of the war crimes the Israeli army was committing to Congress.
03 THIS WEEK ON DOCS TO WATCH
I’ve already mentioned the webinar, so if you do want to watch me freak out about how my hair is looking on zoom on the 20th August (and learn a bit about documentary marketing on social media) you can sign up here.
Other than that it’s been business as usual, I’m hoping to confirm a few more films for Docs to Watch soon. More news on that asap.
Don’t forget you all have a 20% discount to use on Docs to Watch for rentals. Use the code MAILER at checkout. It can be applied to any of the 6 films I’ve got from Oscilloscope.
Thanks for reading!
I’ll see you next Friday.
Cheers, Patrick.