Musée Magazine's Best of 2019: The Documentaries
Film Still from “Cunningham”, Dir. Allan Kovgan, courtesy of magnolia picture.inc
Top ten enticing documentaries of 2019 picked by the team at Musée, featuring a selection of works from an international roster of artists, documentarians, and filmmakers.
Film Still from “Walking on Water”, Dir. Andrey Paounov, courtesy of Kino Lorber Pictures.inc
Walking on Water - Dir. Andrey Paounov
Chronicles Christo’s “The Floating Piers” installed in 2016 on Lake Iseo, Italy.
Film Still from “Varda by Agnès”, Dir. Agnès Varda, courtesy of m2k Films inc.
VARDA BY AGNÈS – DIR. AGNÈS VARDA
Her last film – composite of talks given to audiences and students about her Work and her process. She died shortly after it was completed.
Film Still from “Toni Morrison:The Pieces I Am”, Dir.Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, courtesy of magnolia pictures.inc
TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM – DIR. TIMOTHY GREENFIELD-SANDERS
A beautiful collaborative documentary with Morrison and Greenfield-Sanders. She died shortly after the film was released.
Film Still from “Nomad:In the Footsteps of Bruce Chatwin”, Dir.Werner Herzog, courtesy of Sideways Film.inc
NOMAD: IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF BRUCE CHATWIN — DIR. WERNER HERZOG
Herzog memorializes his long relationship with Chatwin by tracing the places chronicled in Chatwin’s writing.
Film Still from “Rolling Thunder Revue”, Dir. Martin Scorsese, courtesy of Netflix, inc.
ROLLING THUNDER REVUE – DIR. MARTIN SCORSESE
A pseudo-documentary of Bob Dylan’s 1975 concert tour.
Film Still from “Cunningham”, 2019, Dir. Allan Kovgan, courtesy of magnolia picture.inc
Cunningham – Dir. Alla Kovgan
Documentary of the iconic choreographer Merce Cunningham based on archival materials from between 1942 and 1972 augmented by 3-D recreations of notable dances staged and artfully filmed by Ms. Kovgan
Film Still from “Shooting the Mafia”, Dir. Kim Longinotto, courtesy of Cohen Media Group inc.
Shooting the Mafia – Dir. Kim Longinotto
Chronicle of the Sicilian photographer Letizia Battaglia who boldly refutes female traditional roles and becomes a photojournalist in the crime-ridden 1970’s when Palermo was totally controlled by the Cosa Nostra.
Film Still from “Emanuel”, Dir.Brian Ive, courtesy of Cornelius Film. LLC
Emanuel – Dir. Brian Ivie
Documentary about the extraordinary aftermath of the mass shooting in the Emanuel AME church in Charleston, S.C. which killed nine members of the all black congregation. The grace and compassion of the church members was beyond belief.
Film Still from “The Apollo”, Dir.Roger Ross Williams, courtesy of HBO Films.inc
The Apollo – Dir. Roger Ross Williams
The backstory of the legendary Apollo Theatre in Harlem and the talent that it spawned is so rich and integral to the history of New York City in general and Harlem in particular.
Film Still from “Watson”, Dir. Lesley Chilcott, courtesy of Obscured Pictures inc.
Watson – Dir. Lesley Chilcott
Biography about the intrepid champion of the high seas, Paul Watson, who founded Sea Shepherd, a small intrepid, highly effective navy to save everything that matters in our oceans.
