The Watchlist 003.
Back again with more documentaries for your watchlists. I’m on holiday at the moment so going to keep it short and sweet. This week have got three documentaries all loosely based around growing up.
Don’t forget you all have a 20% discount on rentals on Docs to Watch, use the code MAILER and apply it at checkout. You can check out all the films here.
01 THIS WEEK’S PICKS
Directed by Mullinkosson · 2018 · Available on Docs to Watch.
Don’t Be A Dick About It
Peter is autistic and has a pretty unique relationship with his brother Matthew. You get to spend one summer with them, anyone with a sibling can relate to the constant wind-up and squabbles. It’s cute, it’s funny, and sums up love/hate sibling relationships pretty perfectly.
Rent it here.
Directed by Bing Liu · 2018 · Streaming on BFI Player, Hulu or available to rent on Amazon, Apple TV.
Minding The Gap
Easily in my top 10 documentaries of all time. I first watched this thinking it was going to be a skate documentary. It is, for about ten minutes. Then it becomes a film about growing up, and the scars that pass from one generation to the next. I still rewatch it regularly.
Directed by Jeffrey Blitz · 2002 · Free on YouTube
Spellbound
One of the best docs you can find for free on YouTube. It follows kids from completely different corners of America as they make their way to the 1999 National Spelling Bee. A farm kid from Texas, a girl from a DC housing project, the son of Indian immigrants whose dad hired a thousand people to pray for him.
Pushy parents galore, and kids trying to do their best.
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02 OUT THIS WEEK
Some decent films starting some limited runs in cinemas.
In the UK: In the UK: Steal This Story, Please! is a portrait of Amy Goodman, who's been running the independent news show Democracy Now! since 1996 with no ads, no sponsors and no government money. She's reported from East Timor, Standing Rock and everywhere in between, usually while being pretty much assaulted by riot police or soldiers. It's at Bertha DocHouse until 20th August.
In the US: 40 Years of Fuckin' Up is the NOFX farewell doc, now I haven’t seen it yet but growing up NOFX was a staple of a lot of mixtapes during my skater period. The band own this film outright, they're distributing it themselves. Showing on over 200 screens, two nights only, 23rd and 26th August. That's apparently the only window fans will ever get to see it.
03 THIS WEEK ON DOCS TO WATCH
I'm speaking at a free webinar next Thursday with Keith from Show & Tell Film on why the documentary industry is so bad at social media, and what to do about it.
I'll be speaking a bit about how we approach things at Docs to Watch, how to cut a trailer that actually works on socials, and why you don't need a big following to reach a lot of people.
It's on 20th August at 9pm UK / 4pm ET / 1pm PT. Sign up for free here!
Thanks for reading!
I’ll see you next Friday.
Cheers, Patrick.