| Peter Watkins’LA COMMUNE (PARIS 1871) And a whole lot more… |
| OVID, the curated streaming destination for documentary and art-house films, announces its wide-ranging selection of 34 films coming in April. Many of the films are premieres and available only on OVID.tv. Among them, marking the 150th anniversary of the event is Peter Watkin’s monumental epic LA COMMUNE (PARIS 1871), never before available on any streaming platform. Other April highlights include feature films by Pablo Larraín (April 2nd, THE CLUB), François Ozon (April 7th, POTICHE, starring Catherine Deneuve), Terence Davies (April 16th, THE DEEP BLUE SEA, starring Rachel Weisz), and Nanni Moretti (April 30th, MIA MADRE, starring John Turturro). Documentary highlights feature ARGUING THE WORLD on April 13th about four mid-century, not uncontroversial American public intellectuals, and the recent theatrical release MARKIE IN MILWUAKEE on April 14th, the story of a Midwestern transgender woman as she struggles with the prospect of de-transitioning under the pressures of her church, family and community. Details on all 34 films coming to OVID in April follow: |
| Friday, April 2nd |
| God OVID Exclusive Directed by a collective of seventeen young Chilean filmmakers from the group MAFI – Mapa fílmico de un país (Filmic Map of a Country), led by Christopher Murray, Israel Pimentel, and Josefina Buschmann; PRAGDA, Documentary A cinematic mosaic depicting Pope Francis’ 2018 visit to Chile, God explores the constant tension between the social creation of God in different communities and the tensions that define modern-day Chilean society. |
| The Club Directed by Pablo Larraín; Music Box Films, Feature Living in exile in La Boca, Chile, four disgraced priests and a nun (Antonia Zegers) receive a visit from a clerical counselor (Marcelo Alonso). “A bold, blunt, yet clinically intelligent film … it’s all at once a gripping thriller, an incendiary social critique and a mordant moral fable.” –The Playlist |
| Tuesday, April 6th |
| Beatrix Farrand’s American Landscape OVID Exclusive Directed by Stephen Ives; Bullfrog Films, Documentary Follow award-winning public garden designer Lynden B. Miller as she sets off to explore the remarkable life and career of America’s first female landscape architect, Beatrix Farrand. Farrand was responsible for some of the most celebrated gardens in the United States and helped create a distinctive American voice in landscape architecture. |
| City Dreamers OVID Exclusive Directed by Joseph Hillel; First Run Features, Documentary Follows the careers of four female architects—Phyllis Lambert, Blanche Lemco van Ginkel, Cornelia Hahn Oberlander, Denise Scott Brown—who worked to redesign urban landscapes to make them more sustainable and accessible. U.S. Premiere: New York Architecture & Design Film Festival, October 2019 |
| Wednesday, April 7th |
Potiche
Directed by François Ozon; Music Box Films, Feature
Starring Catherine Deneuve
A witty and sparkling comedy about a housebound ‘trophy housewife’ (Catherine Deneuve) who steps in to manage the umbrella factory run by her tyrannical husband. To everyone’s surprise, she proves herself a competent and assertive woman of action. Gerard Depardieu plays a union leader and her ex-beau who still holds a flame for her.
The Midwife
Directed by Martin Provost; Music Box Films, Feature
Starring Catherine Deneuve
Claire is a tightly wound midwife who forms an unlikely friendship with Béatrice, her late father’s free-spirited mistress. Though polar opposites, the two women come to rely on each other after Béatrice reveals that she has brain cancer.
Thursday, April 8th
Bettie Page Reveals All
Directed by Mark Mori, Music Box Films, Documentary
The pinup model and cult icon recounts how her free expression overcame government witch-hunts to help launch America’s sexual revolution.
My Comic Shop Country OVID Exclusive
Directed by Anthony Desiato; First Run Features, Documentary
Explore the business, fandom, and community of comic book stores across the United States.
Sex in the Comix
Directed by Joëlle Oosterlink, Music Box Films, Documentary
Burlesque performer Molly Crabapple guides us through the colorful history of the erotic comic strip, including its current comeback and controversial place in society.
Friday, April 9th
La Commune (Paris 1871) OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere
Directed by Peter Watkins; Icarus Films, Historical Drama
Based on a thorough historical research into the Paris Commune of 1871, this film leads to an inevitable reflection about the present. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the Commune.
| The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere Directed by Geoff Bowie; Icarus Films, Documentary A look at Peter Watkins and his uncompromising devotion to his ideals, plus a look into the making of “La Commune.” 2001 Toronto International Film Festival |
| Tuesday, April 13th |
| Arguing the World OVID Exclusive Directed by Joseph Dorman; First Run Features, Documentary The story of four brilliant and engaging men— Irving Howe, Daniel Bell, Nathan Glazer and Irving Kristol—caught up in the central struggles of our time. This enthralling film creates a vivid picture of intellectual life in the 20th century. |
Derrida’s Elsewhere OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere
Directed by Safaa Fathy; Icarus Films, Documentary
Investigates the parallels between the personal life and the life work of arguably the most important philosopher of the 20th Century, Jacques Derrida.
| Wednesday, April 14th |
| Markie in Milwaukee OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere Directed by Matt Kliegman; Icarus Films, Documentary Assembled from over 10 years of footage, Markie in Milwaukee tells the story of a midwestern transgender woman as she struggles with the prospect of de-transitioning under the pressures of her fundamentalist church, family and community. |
Revenge of the Mekons
Directed by Joe Angio; Music Box Films, Documentary
Explores the history of the British punk band The Mekons from their creation in 1977 to the present moment Among the celebrated fans who appear on screen to testify to the power of their music and artistic innovations are authors Jonathan Franzen (The Corrections) and Luc Sante (Low Life), musician/actor Will Oldham, film director Mary Harron (I SHOT ANDY WARHOL), comedian/ musician Fred Armisen (Portlandia), and critic Greil Marcus (Mystery Train).
| Thursday, April 15th |
| In the Aisles Directed by Thomas Stuber; Music Box Films, Feature Starring Franz Rogowski A man gets a new job in a supermarket and falls in love with his married co-worker. |
Transit
Directed by Christian Petzold; Music Box Films, Feature
Starring Franz Rogowski
In an attempt to flee Nazi-occupied France, a man assumes the identity of a dead author but soon finds himself stuck in Marseilles, where he falls in love with Maria, a young woman searching for her missing husband.
| Friday, April 16th |
| Chavela Directed by Catherine Gund & Daresha Kyi; Music Box Films, Documentary The life of the beloved singer Chavela Vargas, who gains worldwide fame for her beauty and charm and her interpretation of traditional Mexican ranch |
The Deep Blue Sea
Directed by Terence Davies; Music Box Films, Feature
Starring Rachel Weisz
Flashbacks reveal the destructive love affair between the wife (Rachel Weisz) of a British judge and a rakish RAF pilot (Tom Hiddleston).
| Tuesday, April 20th |
| Dateline – Saigon OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere Directed by Thomas D. Herman; First Run Features, Documentary The inspiring story of a small group of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists – David Halberstam, Neil Sheehan, Malcolm Browne, Peter Arnett, and the great photojournalist Horst Faas – who fought to report a truth that was vastly different from the rosy version put forth by the White House during the early years of the Vietnam War even as their own government sought to discredit them. |
Time of the Locust OVID Exclusive, Streaming Premiere
Directed by Peter Gessner; Icarus Films, Documentary, 1966
Compiled from American news film, Vietnamese National Liberation Front combat footage, and unreleased material filmed by Japanese Television camera units, this now classic film provides one of the strongest treatises against the war in Vietnam.
| Wednesday, April 21st |
| Antarctica: A Year on the Ice Directed by Anthony Powell; Music Box Films, Documentary A visually stunning chronicle of what it is like to live in Antarctica for a full year, including winters isolated from the rest of the world, and enduring months of darkness in the coldest place on Earth. |
When a Tree Falls (Amama)
Directed by Asier Altuna; Music Box Films, Feature
A rebellious video artist rejects her father’s desire to have his children keep and maintain the family farm in rural Basque country and moves to the city to pursue her passion.
| Thursday, April 22nd — Brazilian Features |
| Good Manners OVID Exclusive Directed by Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra; Distrib Films, Feature Starring Isabél Zuaa, Marjorie Estiano, Miguel Lobo Brazil A mysterious and wealthy woman hires a lonely nurse named Clara to be the nanny of her soon-to-be born child. When a full moon brings about the birth of a werewolf, Clara makes it her mission to care for the monstrosity and protect it from others. |
Three Summers OVID Exclusive
Directed by Sandra Kogut; Distrib Films, Feature
Starring Regina Casé, Rogério Fróes, Otavio Müller
Brazil
Over a trio of summers, a caretaker for luxury condominiums (Regina Casé) relies on her resourcefulness and her eye for opportunity to take advantage of whatever comes her way in this humorous and inventive episodic feature.
| Friday, April 23rd |
| The Bridesmaid OVID Exclusive Directed by Claude Chabrol; First Run Features, Feature Starring Benoit Magimel, Laura Smet, Aurore Clement, Bernard Le Coq It’s love at first sight when bridesmaid Senta falls into the life handsome young Philippe at the wedding of his younger sister. Though their passion for each other is as obvious as it is unquestionable, Philippe soon discovers that Senta’s life is shrouded in mystery and her stories surrounding her past anything but believable. When one day she asks Philippe for a terrible proof of his love, Philippe must come to terms with who his lover might really be. |
La Petite Lili OVID Exclusive
Directed by Claude Miller; First Run Features, Feature
Starring Ludivine Sagnier, Nicole Garcia, Bernard Giraudeau, Jean-Pierre Marielle, Robinson Stévenin, Julie Depardieu, Yves Jacques, and Michel Piccoli.
| Tuesday, April 27th |
| Haida Modern OVID Exclusive Directed by Charles Wilkinson; Bullfrog Films, Documentary Portrait of Haida artist, Robert Davidson, whose art and activism point the way towards a renewed connection with the natural world, perhaps saving us from ourselves. |
| No Time to Waste OVID Exclusive Directed by Carl Bidleman; Bullfrog Films, Documentary Celebrates legendary 99-year-old park ranger Betty Reid Soskin’s inspiring life, work and urgent mission to restore critical missing chapters of America’s story. |
| We Are the Radical Monarchs OVID Exclusive Directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton; Bullfrog Films, Documentary Follows the Radical Monarchs, a group of young girls of color on the frontlines of social justice. |
| Thursday, April 29th |
| Beyond Hatred OVID Exclusive Directed by Olivier Meyrou; First Run Features, Documentary In this deeply moving, award-winning French documentary, a family reflects on the murder of their 29-year-old son and tries to move beyond feelings of hatred and revenge. Filmed in classic verité style, this story of one family’s courage after terrible loss is “powerful, simply but boldly constructed” and “loaded with tension.” –BBC |
| The Third Harmony OVID Exclusive Directed by Michael Nagler; Bullfrog Films, Documentary Drawing on interviews with veteran activists like civil rights leader Bernard Lafayette, scientists like behaviorist Frans de Waal and neuroscientist Marco Iacoboni, Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, political scientist Erica Chenoweth, futurist Elisabet Sahtouris and others, the film helps to better grasp just what nonviolence is and how it works. |
| Friday, April 30th |
| Mia Madre Directed by Nanni Moretti; Music Box Films, Feature Starring John Turturro, Margherita Buy, Giulia Lazzarini, Nanni Moretti, Beatrice Mancini |
Margherita, a well-known director working on her latest film, suffers an existential crisis when she has to come to terms with her mother’s terminal illness and re-evaluate everything she thought she knew about life.
Mozart’s Sister
Directed by René Féret; Music Box Films, Feature
Starring Marie Féret, Marc Barbé, Delphine Chuillot, David Moreau
Nannerl Mozart, Wolfgang’s older sister, was a musical prodigy until her brother’s talent overshadowed her own abilities as a composer and harpsichordist.
Complete list of films premiering on OVID this month (in alphabetical order):
Antarctica: A Year on the Ice, Anthony Powell (92min, 2013)
Arguing the World, Joseph Dorman (106min, 1989)
Beatrix Farrand’s American Landscape, Stephen Ives (62min, 2019)
Bettie Page Reveals All, Mark Mori (102min, 2012)
Beyond Hatred, Olivier Meyrou (86min, 2005)
Chavela, Catherine Gund & Daresha Kyi (93min, 2017)
City Dreamers, Joseph Hillel (96min, 2018)
Dateline – Saigon, Thomas D. Herman (96min, 2018)
Derrida’s Elsewhere, Safaa Fathy (68min, 2000)
God, Christopher Murray, Israel Pimentel, and Josefina Buschmann (63min, 2019)
Good Manners, Juliana Rojas & Marco Dutra (135min, 2017)
Haida Modern, Charles Wilkinson (85min, 2019)
In the Aisles, Thomas Stuber (126min, 2018)
La Commune (Paris, 1871), Peter Watkins (345min, 2000)
Le Petite Lili, Claude Miller (104min, 2003)
Markie in Milwaukee, Matt Kliegman (92min, 2019)
Mia Madre, Nanni Moretti (107min, 2015)
Mozart’s Sister, René Féret (120min, 2010)
My Comic Shop Country, Anthony Desiato (85min, 2019)
No Time to Waste, Carl Bidleman (52min, 2019)
Potiche, François Ozon (103min, 2010)
Revenge of the Mekons, Joe Angio (95min, 2013)
Sex in the Comix, Joëlle Oosterlink (52min, 2012)
The Bridesmaid, Claude Chabrol (111min, 2004)
The Club, Pablo Larraín (98min, 2015)
The Deep Blue Sea, Terence Davies (98min, 2011)
The Midwife, Martin Provost (117min, 2017)
The Third Harmony, Michael Nagler (44min, 2020)
The Universal Clock, Geoff Bowie (76min, 2001)
Three Summers, Sandra Kogut (94min, 2019)
Time of the Locust, Peter Gessner (13min, 1966)
Transit, Christian Petzold (102min, 2018)
We Are the Radical Monarchs, Linda Goldstein Knowlton (97min, 2019)
When a Tree Falls (Amana), Asier Altuna (103min, 2015)
