Film
In a New Doc, Ukrainians Are Seen and Russians Overheard
Intercepted pairs intercepted phone calls by Russian soldiers to friends and family back home with images of post-battle scenes around Ukraine.
Dan Schindel
Film
26,000 Hours in a Chinese Garment-Making Hub
Wang Bing’s trilogy about young workers skillfully compresses five years of footage, replicating the rhythm of long hours at work and brief respites at home.
Film
Five Video Essays to Ring in Autumn
This month: sneaky video games, fast fashion, a suspicious new trend in homeschooling, and more.
Film
The Indie Roots of Confessional Film
In the late 1980s and '90s, a wave of independent directors turned cameras on themselves, utilizing documentary as a mode of confession and self-reflection.
Film
Five Video Essays to Watch in August
This month: Tetris competitions, “adulting” amusement parks, the pitfalls of activist art, and more.
Interview
A Deeply Personal Investigation Into Canada’s Residential Schools
Co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie discuss the making of their documentary Sugarcane, told from the perspective of Indigenous survivors.
Film
When the US Left Afghanistan, This Filmmaker Entered
Director Ibrahim Nash’at spent a year watching the Taliban transition from insurgency back to governance.
Film
Verbatim Reenacts Life With a Twist
The film series showcases how different artists have used reenactments, preserving dialogue and audio but playing with every other element.
Art
You Can’t Finish This Brian Eno Doc in a Single Lifetime
An algorithm organizes a unique ordering of scenes for each screening, meaning there are millions of versions of the film.
Film
Shunga Might Just Convince You That Pornography Is Art
Director Junko Hirata delves deep into the history and influence of the pornographic art form without cheap tittering at its illicit imagery.
Film
There’s Something for Everyone at This Year’s Japan Cuts
One of the most underrated film festivals in New York, each year it presents an accessible and engaging collection of recent Japanese cinema.
Interview
Power Traces the History of Policing in the US
Following the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, filmmaker Yance Ford was struck by the question: “What, exactly, do the police exist to do?”