Mandel Maven's Nest Reel Life: Flick Pix





Nora Lee Mandel is a member of New York Film Critics Online. Her reviews are counted in the Rotten Tomatoes TomatoMeter:
Complete Index to Nora Lee Mandel's Movie Reviews

My reviews have appeared on: Film-Forward; FF2 Media; Lilith, FilmFestivalTraveler; and, Alliance of Women Film Journalists and for Jewish film festivals. Shorter versions of my older reviews are at IMDb's comments, where non-English-language films are listed by their native titles.


TV Recommendations


As of mid-2014, I am marking my own stricter application than others to fiction features of the Bechdel-Wallace Test
Originally suggested by Allison Bechdel, as inspired by her friend Liz Wallace (so her name was added to the symbol as of 2016), in her comic strip Dykes to Watch Out For in 1985 to note a film that features (1) at least two named female characters; (2) who talk to each other; (3) about something besides a man. Symbol first designed by the Swedish chapter of Women in Film and Television; thanks to The Hot Pink Pen for the updated image. But my own criteria consider a substantive interaction about substance and gender for when a film features more than female relationships.


My Best Films of 2021
My Best Films of 2020
My Best Films of 2019
My Best Films of 2018
My Best Films of 2017
My Best Films of 2016
My Best Films of 2015
My Best Films of 2014
My Best Films of 2013
My Best Films of 2012
My Best Films of 2011
My Best Films of 2010
My Best Films of 2009
My Best Films of 2008
My Best Films of 2007
My Best Films of 2006
My Best Films of 2005
My Best Films of 2004
My Best Films of 2003
My Best Films of 2002
My Best Films of 2001

Reviews by Nora Lee Mandel in my idiosyncratic categories of how I think of of flicks:
CHICK FLICKS
IMPACT OF 9/11 ON NYC THROUGH MOVIES
IMAGES OF DENTISTS AND PREVENTIVE TOOTH CARE IN MOVIES (carrying on the work of Dr. Irwin D. Mandel z”l)
JEWISH WOMEN IN (and missing from) THE FLICKS
MASTERPIECE THEATER: MOVIES AS MEDICINE
For the MIDDLE-AGED AT HEART: HURRAH FOR GROWN-UPS!
For the MUSIC (and/or the dancing)
NEW YORK NEW YORK: IT'S A HELLUVA TOWN
NOIR NIGHT OUT
OGLING TEENS AND '20SOMETHINGS
POPCORN EATERS
ROMEO AND JULIET (and friends) ACROSS THE ETHNIC DIVIDE
SCI-FI and FANTASY from A DISTAFF POV
And then there's RUSSELL CROWE (with commentary on the actor)


Friends don't let friends watch bad movies! -- John Ridley

It is not enough to like a film. You must like it for the right reasons. -- Pierre Rissient

Mothers of America/let your kids go to the movies! -- Frank O’Hara, Ave Maria


MY BEST FILMS of 2021 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
Night of the Kings (La nuit des rois) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Minari
200 Meters (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings/ in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Never Gonna Snow Again (Sniegu juz nigdy nie bedzie) (Kino Lorber)
Atlantis (Kudos to writer/director/cinematographer Valentyn Vasyanovych) (preview courtesy of Grasshopper Film)
Judas and the Black Messiah (Kudos to Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield) (HBO Max)
Limbo (preview courtesy of Focus Features)
Berlin Alexanderplatz (Kudos to Welket Bungué) (preview courtesy of Kino Lorber)
High Ground (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Luzzo (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA/ Kino Lorber release)
There Is No Evil (Sheytan vojud nadarad) (seen courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Charlatan (Šarlatán) (seen courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Stories from the Chestnut Woods (Zgodbe Iz Kostanjevih Gozdov) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Let It Be Morning (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
Spencer (seen courtesy of Neon)
The Good Boss (El buen patrón) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)

Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Broken Keys (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
The White Tiger (Netflix)
The Mauritanian (preview courtesy of STX Entertainment)
The Father (preview courtesy of Sony Classics)
The Sign Painter (Pilsēta pie upes) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Final Set (Cinquième set) (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Big Hit (Un Triomphe) (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Looking For A Lady With Fangs and A Moustache (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release Abramorama)
About Endlessness (Om det oändliga) (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Mass (seen courtesy of Bleecker Street)


BEST FEMALE POV
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2021 New York Film Festival
Fiction
Beginning (Dasatskisi) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Nomadland (Kudos to Frances McDormand and cinematography by Joshua James Richards) (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Herself (Kudos to star/co-writer Clare Dunne) (Amazon)
Buladó (Coming of Age Division) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Identifying Features (Sin señas particulares) (seen courtesy of Kino Lorber at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Two of Us (Deux) (Kudos to Barbara Sukowa) (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
My Little Sister (Schwesterlein) (Kudos to Nina Hoss) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
And Tomorrow The Entire World (Und morgen die ganze Welt) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Tove (streamed with 2021 Nordic Women in Film/ Juno Films)
Land (Kudos to star/director Robin Wright, cinematographer Bobby Bukowski, and score) (preview courtesy of Focus Features)
Hope (Håp) (Kudos to Andrea Bræin Hovig) (preview courtesy of KimStim)
My Zoe (Kudos to writer/director/star Julie Delpy) (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment and Museum of Moving Image)
And Breathe Normally (Andið eðlilega) (Netflix) (with 2021 Nordic Women in Film)
Kuessipan ("to you" in the Innu language) (seen at 2020 Athena Film Festival /streamed in virtual cinema)
Spring Blossom (Seize printemps) (Kudos to writer/director/star Suzanne Lindon) (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center courtesy of KimStim Films)
My Wonderful Wanda (Wanda, mein Wunder) (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ seen courtesy of Zeitgeist Films)
The Perfect Candidate (courtesy of Music Box Films)
Bipolar (只是一次偶然的旅行) (Kudos to the editing) (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
We’re All Going To The World’s Fair (Coming of Age) (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA) (theatrical release by Utopia, then HBO Max)
Gull (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit (Als Hitler Das Rosa Kaninchen Stahl) (Coming of Age) (at 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Gipsy Queen (Kudos to Alina Seban) (streamed courtesy of Goethe Institute Pop-Up Houston/KINO! Germany NOW! 2021 Discover New Talent)
Shapeless (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Justice of Bunny King (Kudos to Essie Davis) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Souad (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Novice (Kudos to Isabelle Fuhrman) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Queen of Glory (Kudos to Nana Mensah) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Perfume De Gardenias (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Ballad of a White Cow (Kudos to Maryam Moghaddam) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Our Own (Les Nôtres) (courtesy of Oscilloscope Films)
Holler (courtesy of IFC Films)
Mama Weed (La Daronne) (Caper Division) (preview courtesy of Music Box Films)
Cinema Sabaya (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
Passing (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Netflix)
Lost Daughter (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ Netflix)
Hive (Zgjoi) (seen courtesy of Zeitgeist Films)

Documentary
A Woman's Work: The NFL's Cheerleader Problem (PBS’s Independent Lens) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Her Socialist Smile (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (seen courtesy of director John Gianvito and Grasshopper Film)
Purple Sea (Das Purpurmeer) (streamed in German Film Office/ Anthology Film Archives 2021German Documentary Showcase)
A Portrait in Red (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Ecstasy (Êxtase) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Delphine's Prayers (Les Prières De Delphine) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight/ theatrical premiere at BAM)
The Witches of the Orient (Les Sorcières De L’orient) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight/ theatrical release at Film Forum)
Night Shot (Visión Nocturna) (Kudos to filmmaker Carolina Moscoso) (preview at 2021 Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/Cinema Tropical)
”Four Portraits by Paige Taul”: 10.28.30; 7-7-94; It makes me wanna; and It’s a condition (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
For Paradise (short) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Still Processing (short) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival/ also at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Radiograph Of A Family (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Apart (streamed in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Daughter Of A Lost Bird (streamed in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Spirit Women (Mujeres Espíritu) (short) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Rebel Hearts (seen courtesy of Discovery+)
Rita Moreno: Just A Girl Who Decided To Go For It (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ seen courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
Sisters on Track (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ Netflix)
LFG (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/HBO Max)
The Queen of Basketball (short) (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ New York Times “Op-Doc”)
Playing With Sharks (Disney+)
End Of The Line: The Women Of Standing Rock (Fuse)
Jacinta (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ Hulu theatrical and streaming release)
A Rifle And A Bag (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
A Night of Knowing Nothing (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival/ at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
My Name Is Pauli Murray (Amazon Prime)
All About My Sisters (Jia ting lu xiang) (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ seen courtesy of Icarus Films)
Elena (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/also at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Luchadoras (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
United States Vs. Reality Winner (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)
Writing With Fire (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Julia (courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
Love It Was Not (Ahava Zot Lo Hayta) (courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Be My Voice (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)


Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes

Fiction
Preparations To Be Together For An Unkown Period Of Time (Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre) (preview courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
14 Days, 12 Nights (14 Jours, 12 Nuits) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Scales (Sayidat Al Bahr) (Allegorical Division) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Agnes Joy (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Tahara (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Slalom (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Ema (seen courtesy of Music Box Films and MUBI)
El Planeta (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA/ theatrical release by Utopia)
Short Vacation (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Bebia, à mon seul désir (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Stop-Zemlia (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA/ theatrical release by Altered Innocence)
Moon (Selene), 66 Questions (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
India Sweets and Spices (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Anne at 13,000 Ft. (Kudos to Deragh Campbell) (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Comets (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
180 Degree Rule (Khatte farzi) (Kudos to Sahir Dolatshahi) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
QueenPins (Comedy Division) (preview courtesy of STX films)
Bergman Island (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ seen courtesy of IFC Films)
The Intruder (El prófugo) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Petite Maman (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Cusp (at 2021 DOC NYC Festival/ Showtime)
Titane (Horror Division) (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)

Documentary
Duty Free (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Ahead of the Curve (streamed at 2021 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York/ theatrical release by Wolfe Video)
Knots: A Forced Marriage Story (courtesy of Global Digital Releasing)
Rebel Dykes (courtesy of 2021 Newfest)
The Conductor (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ CNN)
No Ordinary Life (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
RIP Seni (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Since You Arrived, My Heart Stopped Belonging To Me (Desde que llegaste, mi corazón dejó de pertenecerme) (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The Unrelinquished (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Exposure (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)
Subjects of Desire (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)
The Business of Birth Control (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)


BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES


Fiction
Here We Are (Hine Anachnu) (Kudos to writer Dana Idisis and cast) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Circus of Life (Zindagi Tamash) (Kudos to writer Nirmal Bano and cast) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Cowboys (at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Lucky One (2019) (streamed with 2021 Nordic Women in Film)
I Carry You With Me (Te Llevo Conmigo) (Kudos to cinematographer Juan Pablo Ramírez and editor Enat Sidi) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ at 2020 and replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by Sony Picture Classics)
Should the Wind Drop (Si le vent tombe) (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Between Dog And Wolf (Entre perro y lobo) (docu-fiction) (preview at 2021 Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/Cinema Tropical)
Panquiaco (docu-fiction) (preview at 2021 Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/Cinema Tropical)
Do Not Hestitate (Kudos to writer Jolein Laarman) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tragic Jungle (Selva Trágica) (Kudos to cinematographer Sofia Oggioni) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ on Netflix)

Documentary
Grandfather (Tote/Abuelo) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
The Calm After The Storm (Como El Cielo Despues De Llover) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Taming The Garden (streamed in 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Legend of the Underground (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/HBO)
The Rifleman (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Speer Goes To Hollywood (at Film Forum)
Slow Hustle (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival/ HBO)
Blue Box (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival/ DOC NYC Film Festival)
Mr Bachmann and His Class (Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse) (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Silence Of The Mole (El Silencio del Topo) (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Bad Attitude: The Art of Spain Rodriguez (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)


BEST ROMANCES
Little Fish (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Leona (preview at 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum and shown at 2020 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
The Killing of Two Lovers (Kudos to Clayne Crawford) (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Undine (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ IFC Films release)
I Am Afraid to Forget Your Face (short) (streamed at 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Heaven Reaches Down to Earth (short) (streamed at 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Glob Lessons (Friendship Division) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
I’m Your Man (Ich Bin Dein Mensch)
Gaza Mon Amour (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Oasis (Oaza) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Pig (seen courtesy of Neon)

Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
À l’abordage! (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Long Story Short (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Sublet (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ 2021 Israel Film Center Festival/ courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Mark, Mary & Some Other People (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
God’s Waiting Room (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)


BEST PANDEMIC ROMANCES AND LIFE
as of yet (My coverage of this Nora Ephron Award winner at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
7 Days (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Together (preview courtesy of Bleecker Street Films)
The Year Of The Everlasting Storm (preview courtesy of Neon)


BEST COMING OF AGERS
The Crossing (Flukten over grensens) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Pebbles (Koozhangal) (Kudos to landscape cinematography) (streamed at 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Surviving You, Always (short) (streamed at 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Sweet Thing (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)


Runners-Up: COMING OF AGERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Better Days (Shaonian de ni) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Masel Tov Cocktail (short) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Minyan (at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum/ seen courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Ibrahim (preview at 2021 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Giants Being Lonely (Boo sexism) (preview courtesy of Metrograph)
One in a Thousand (Las mil y una) (Kudos to legible subtitles) (preview at 2021 Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/Cinema Tropical)
Shepherd: The Story Of A Jewish Dog
A Chiara (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


Runners-Up: COMING TO TERMS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Swan Song (Senior Division) (courtesy of 2021 Newfest/ theatrical relaease by Magnolia Pictures)
Moffie (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Cry Macho (Kudos to cinematographer Ben Davis) (HBO Max)


BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSE
Catch The Fair One (Kudos to Kali Reis) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
First Date (Comic Division) (preview courtesy of Magnet Releasing)


Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Blizzard of Souls (Dveselu putenis) (Kudos to cinematography) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Crisis (preview courtesy of Quiver)
Khorfakkan (streamed courtesy of NYU Abu Dhabi Institute)
The God Committee (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ Vertical Entertainment)
Black Widow (Kudos to Florence Pugh) (Disney)
Settlers (Kudos to Brooklynn Prince and Ismael Cruz Córdova) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival, courtesy of IFC Films)
No Sudden Move (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ HBO Max)
Yakuza Princess (preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
My Son (Peacock)
Old Henry (courtesy of Shout Factory)


BEST NEO-NOIRS
Azor (streamed at 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Riders of Justice (Retfærdighedens ryttere) (courtesy of Magnet Releasing)
No Man of God (preview courtesy of RLJ Entertainment)
The Dry (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Naked Singularity (courtesy of Screen Media)

Runners-Up: NEO NOIRS I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Rage (Kudos to score/sound design) (courtesy of Gravitas Ventures)
Ghosts (Los fantasmas) (preview at 2021 Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/Cinema Tropical)
Waikiki (at Mother Tongue Film Festival/ Seattle International Film Festival)


BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC
La Llorona (Kudos to sound design and Gaby Moreno’s version of traditional title song) (courtesy of Shudder)
A Machine To Live In (hybrid doc-fiction) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Apples (Mila) (streamed at 2021 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Dune (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (HBO Max)


BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
The Disciple (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (coming to Netflix)
The Cantor’s Last Cantata (short) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
STTLMNT Laura Ortman (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Perfect Fifths (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Tiny Tim: King For A Day (Kudos to the animation) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival) (Theatrical release via Juno Films)
Forbidden Strings (documentary) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Best Summer Ever (Kudos to cast and crew) (streamed at 2021 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Tina (HBO)
In The Heights (Kudos to the choreography) (preview at 2021Tribeca Film Festival/ HBO Max)
Ailey (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ seen courtesy of Neon)
Framing Britney Spears and Controlling Britney Spears (The New York Times Presents on FX)
Songs That Flood The River (Cantos que inundan el río) (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival) /see with Edna (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)
Jagged (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival/ seen courtesy of HBO Music Box)
The Job of Songs (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)
Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson (The New York Times Presents on FX)
The Beatles: Get Back (Disney+ docu-series)


Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Don't Rush (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Creation Stories (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ronnie’s (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival/ Greenwich Entertainment release in 2022)
In My Own Time: A Portrait of Karen Dalton (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Annette (Amazon)
Listening to Kenny G (at 2021 Camden International Film Festival/ preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival courtesy of HBO Music Box)


BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
Play, Pause, Repeat (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Luca (On Disney+)
Navozande, The Musician (short) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Cryptozoo (Kudos to Animation Director Jane Samborski) (preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Archipelago (Archipel) (documentary essay) (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Flee (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)


Runners-Up: Animation I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Number 7 Cherry Lane (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Blush (short) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)


BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
One Night in Miami (at 2021 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
Dear Comrades! (Dorogie tovarishchi) (Boo to white on white subtitles) (preview courtesy of Neon and Film Forum)
Monsters (Arracht) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Memories Of My Father (El Olvido Que Seremos) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Quo Vadis, Aida? (Kudos to Jasna Djuricic) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
Adventures of a Mathematician (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Dara of Jasenovac (preview courtesy of 101 Studios)
Wojnarowicz: F**k YOU F*ggot F**ker (Kudos to the documentary editing) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Good Traitor (Vores mand i Amerika) (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
All The Dead Ones (Todos os Mortos) (Boo to white on white subtitles) (preview at 2021 Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/Cinema Tropical)
Liborio (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
A Crime on the Bayou (documentary) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival/ theatrical release by Shout Studios)
Oslo (HBO)
12 Mighty Orphans (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Many Saints of Newark (HBO Max)
King Richard (HBO Max)
The Hand of God (È stata la mano di Dio) (Netflix)
Belfast (Kudos to cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos) (seen courtesy of Focus Features)


BEST COMIC RELIEF from Depressing Movies:
French Exit (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
New Red Order (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Friends and Strangers (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Werewolves Within (Kudos to Sam Richardson) (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ courtesy of IFC Films)


BEST OF THE CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
Brighton 4th (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bad Luck Banging Or Loony Porn (Babardeala cu bucluc sau porno balamuc) (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
Acasă, My Home (Kudos to the associated Social Project) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
My Darling Supermarket (Meu Querido Supermercado) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Assassins (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The Truffle Hunters (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
‘Til Kingdom Come (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)/ see with: Kings of Capitol Hill (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Victory Day (Den’ Probedy) (2018) (streamed in German Film Office/ Anthology Film Archives 2021 German Documentary Showcase)
SPK Complex (SPK Komplex) (2018) (streamed in German Film Office/ Anthology Film Archives 2021 German Documentary Showcase)
Winter Journey (Kudos to Bruno Ganz) (docu-drama) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Who’s Afraid of Alice Miller? (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
The Red Orchestra (Die Rote Kapelle) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Enemies of the State (at 2020 and replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival) (IFC Films release in theaters and On Demand)
Miracle Fishing: Kidnapped Abroad (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)
In The Same Breath (seen at 2021 MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight/ in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center) (HBO)
Cane Fire (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight/ then streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Nemesis (Kudos to cinematography and editing) (seen at 2021 MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Inside The Red Brick Wall (seen at 2021 MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Shared Resources (Kudos to collaborators Deborah & Albert Lord) (seen at 2021 MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
When You’re Lost in the Rain (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Last Days Of Spring (La Última Primavera) (hybrid) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
maɬni – towards the ocean, towards the shore (preview courtesy of Grasshopper Film/ at 2020 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Swimming Out Till the Sea Turns Blue (Yi zhi you dao hai shui bian lan) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release by Cinema Guild)
State Funeral (ГОСУДАРСТВЕННЫЕ ПОХОРОНЫ/Gosudarstvennyye Pokhorony) (seen at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ theatrical release at Film Forum and MUBI stream)
Five Years North (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival/ theatrical release by Optimist)
Searching For Ana Velford (Buscando Ana Velford) (short) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Too Long Here (Aqui Demasiado Tiempo) (short) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Nitrate (short) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Annotated Field Guide of Ulysses S. Grant (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival/ Anthology Film Archives in The Films of Jim Finn)
The Meaning of Hitler (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival/ IFC Films release)
Street Gang: How We Got To Sesame Street (preview courtesy of Screen Media FIlms)
We (Nous) (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Ancient Woods (Sengire) (Kudos to director Mindaugus Survila) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival/ seen at 2019 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ Film Forum)
Final Account
The Lost Leonardo (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ theatrical release by Sony Pictures Classics)
Ascension (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tigre Gente (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The American Sector (preview courtesy of Grasshopper Films)
The Neutral Ground (at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ on PBS POV) See with Civil War (Or, Who Do We Think We Are) (Peacock/MSNBC/ M Tuckman Media release)
Missing in Brooks County (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at 2021 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival/ 2021 theatrical release) (PBS’s Independent Lens)
Sabaya (preview courtesy of MTV Documentary Films)
Usedom: A Clear View Of The Sea (Der freie Blick aufs Meer) (preview courtesy of Big World Pictures)
In the Shadow of 9/11 (PBS Frontline
The Seer and The Unseen (preview courtesy of Utopia Media) – pair with “the invisible hand” in Oeconomia (streamed in German Film Office/ Anthology Film Archives 2021 German Documentary Showcase)
The Velvet Queen (La panthère des neiges) (Kudos to director Marie Amiguet and score by Warren Ellis) (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival courtesy of Oscilloscope Labs)
After Antarctica (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
The Rescue (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Courtroom 3H (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
3212 Un-Redacted (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Attica (at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival/ Showtime)
Nothing But The Sun (Apenas El Sol) (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Newtok (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Uppercase Print (Tipografic Majuscul) (docu-drama) (preview courtesy of Big World Pictures)


Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Kindertransports to Sweden (Dem Leben entgegen – Kindertransporte nach Schweden) (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
17 Blocks (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Stray (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Central Airport THF (Zentralflughafen THF) (2018) (streamed in German Film Office/ Anthology Film Archives 2021 German Documentary Showcase)
What Remains/Re-visited (Was bleibt/Šta ostaje) (streamed in German Film Office/ Anthology Film Archives 2021 German Documentary Showcase)
Gunda (seen courtesy of Neon/ at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Bicentenario (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
On a Clear Day You Can See the Revolution from Here (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Everything That Is Forgotten In An Instant (Todo Lo Que Se Olvida En Un Instante) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
No Ordinary Man (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival) (Theatrical release via Oscilloscope)
A Demonstration (short) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Dark Red Forest (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Faya Dayi (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA/ theatrical release by Janus Films)
A Once and Future Peace (streamed in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Dark Hobby (seen courtesy of Paradise Filmworks)
All These Sons (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ascension (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Scars Of Ali Boulala (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
No Straight Lines: The Rise Of Queer Comics (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bring Your Own Brigade (CBSN)
Dream (Nofinofy) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
My Body (Il Mio Corpo) (documentary/fiction hybrid) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Zinder (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Silent Voice (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Transnistra (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Phases of Matter (Maddenin Halleri) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
There Will Be No More Night (Il n'y aura plus de nuit) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Don’t Touch Me (Noli Me Tangere) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Roots (Koreni) (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Ostrov – Lost Island (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Underdog (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Eagles (Águilas) (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Nonstop (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Storm Lake (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Accepted (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
They Won’t Call It Murder (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The Box (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Dial Home (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The Facility (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ also at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
To Be Reconciled (short) (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Convergence: Courage In A Crisis (Netflix)
The First Wave (seen courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films/ at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Four Hours at the Capitol (HBO Max)/ with Day of Rage: How Trump Supporters Took the U.S. Capitol (New York Times Visual Investigations)
And I Was There (short) (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
Skies Above Hebron and Mission Hebron (shorts) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (New York Times Op Doc) (both at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
The Bubble (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Mole (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Young Plato (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
100Up (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
We Are Russia (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Forest For The Trees (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Try Harder! (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
Paris Calligrammes (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival/ theatrical release via Icarus Films)
Terra Femme (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
”Four By Bill Morrison”: Sunken Films; Curly Takes A Bath By The Sea; Wild Girl; and The Ring (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival) Plus Buried News (short) (streamed in 2021 Kronos Festival)
Image And Memory (Yaõkwá) (short) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival).
Claydream (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival) (Oscilloscope will theatrically release in 2022)
Stuntman (Disney+)
What We Left Unfinished (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Grocer’s Son, the Mayor, the Village, and the World…(Le fils de l'épicière, le maire, le village et le monde) (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Bottled Songs 1-4 (streamed at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Faithful: The King, The Pope, The Princess (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Our Memory Belongs To Us (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Prism (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ seen courtesy of Icarus Films)
Mr. Saturday Night (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival/ courtesy of HBO Music Box)
Film, The Living Record Of Our Memory (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Alien On Stage (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Dean Martin: King Of Cool (at 2021 DOC NYC Festival/ TCM)


BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Irmi (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ The Jewish Museum)
Shooting the Mafia
Francesco (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Bill Traylor Chasing Ghosts (preview courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Kenny Scharf: When Worlds Collide (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival/ Greenwich Entertainment release)
The New Bauhaus: The Life and Legacy of Moholy-Nagy (seen courtesy of Opendox)
City Of Ali (seen courtesy of Abramorama)
Wolfgang (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The First Step (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Death Of My Two Fathers (preview at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Fauci (courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films & Disney+)
Becoming Cousteau (at 2021 Camden International Film Festival/ seen courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films)
Citizen Ashe (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival/ seen courtesy of CNN Films/ at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Torn (at 2021 Camden International Film Festival/ seen courtesy of National Geographic Documentary Films/ also at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Fourth Window (HaChalon HaReviee) (My commentary on the Jewish women) (streamed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
The Man Who Paints Water Drops (L'homme qui peint des gouttes d'eau) (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)


EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
MLK/FBI (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and at 2021 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
The Reason I Jump (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Human Factor (preview courtesy of Sony Picture Classics/Dogwoof)
On Broadway (preview at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Still Life in Lodz
Rock Bottom Riser (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA/ Cinema Guild release)
All Light, Everywhere (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA/ also at at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Under Siege (Bajo Fuego) (streamed in 2021 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Our Resistance (Kawsakunchik) (short) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
The Celine Archive (streamed via Women Make Movies: Stories of Asian and Asian-American Women)
Inhabitants:An Indigenous Perspective
Dreamland: The Burning of Black Wall Street (CNN)/ Tulsa Burning: The 1921 Race Massacre (History Channel)/ Rise Again: Tulsa and The Red Summer (National Geographic)
The Outsider
America After 9/11 (PBS’s Frontline)
No Responders Left Behind (Discovery+)
The Mushroom Speaks (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Expedition Content (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
15 Minutes of Shame (HBO Max)
Burning (streamed at 2021 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival courtesy of Amazon/ at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
What If? Ehud Barak on War and Peace (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
The First 54 Years: An Abbreviated Manual for Military Occupation (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ streamed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
With No Land (previewed at 2021 Other Israel Film Festival)
River's End (seen courtesy of Giant Pictures)
Boycott (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Refuge (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Keep It A Secret (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
F@ck This Job (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Festival)
The Gig Is Up (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Art of Making It (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Who We Are: A Chronicle Of Racism In America (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival/ seen courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics)
End of the Line (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Photograph (preview at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)


BEST FOR THE CINEMATOGRAPHY/STYLE:
Samichay: In Search of Happiness (Samichay: En busca de la felicidad) (Kudos to cinematographer Hugo Carmona) (preview at 2021 Neighboring Scenes: New Latin American Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center/Cinema Tropical)
”Two By Rajee Samarasinghe”: The Eyes of Summer (Gimhanaye Netra) (2020) and Imitation of Life (Jeevithaye Mayawa) (2020) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival) and “An Evening with Rajee Samarasinghe” in Modern Mondays at MoMA: Show Me Other Places (2021); everyday star (2021); The Queen of Material (2014); FOREIGN QUARTERS / 异乡居所 / YI XIANG JU SUO (2017); Misery Next Time (2021); The Spectre Watches Over Her (2016) the past (2021); The Exile / පිටුවහලයා / Piṭuvahalayā (2018); If I Were Any Further Away I’d Be Closer to Home (2016); Untitled (2019); black widow summer set (2015) (shorts)
Madalena (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Mighty Flash (Destello Bravío) (streamed at New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Last Days at Sea and No Kings (Sem Deus Sem Demônio) (streamed at 2021 Camden International Film Festival)
Ahed's Knee (Ha'berech) (at 2021 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ seen at 2021 Others Israel Film Festival courtesy of KinoLorber Films)


BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:
Emma Stone in Cruella
Saul Williams in Akilla’s Escape (seen courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
Alexis Louder in CopShop (seen courtesy of Open Road Films)


BEST REVIVALS/RESTORATIONS IN NEW PRINTS especially of films I hadn’t seen before
Ellen Friedland and Curt Fissel’s Flory’s Flame: The Story of Flory Jagoda (2015) (In memoriam streamed through Museum of American Jewish History)
Edgar G. Ulmer’s The Light Ahead (Fishke der Krumer) (1939) (4K digital restoration by The National Center for Jewish Film) (premiere at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Chung Mong-hong’s The Doctor (2006) (in Non/Fiction: 20 Years of Doc Fortnight at MoMA)
Eryk Rocha’s Sunday Ball (Campo de Jogo) (2014) (in Non/Fiction: 20 Years of Doc Fortnight at MoMA)
Zhang Yimou’s To Live (1994) (with novel by Yu Huah in NEA Big Read Program through Museum of the Moving Image)
Mostafa Derkaoui's About Some Meaningless Events (De Quelques Événements Sans Signification) (1974) (2018 4K digit restoration by Filmoteca de Catalunya in Barcelona and the Atelier de l'Observatoire (Art et Recherche) of Casablanca) (seen at 2020 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ also at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Pantelis Voulgaris’s Little England (Mikra Anglia) (2014) (courtesy of Corinth Films VOD)
Arlene Bowman’s Navajo Talking Picture (1985) (seen at MoMA’s 2021 Documentary Fortnight)
Deborah Gee’s Slaying the Dragon (1988)/ with Elaine H. Kim’s Slaying the Dragon: Reloaded (2011) (seen via Women Make Movies Stands With the AAPI Community)
Christopher Harris’s Reckless Eyeballing (2004) (short) (new 2K digitization) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Anand Patwardhan & Jim Monro’s A Time To Rise (1981) (short) (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
Lisa Miller’s Country Noise (Landrauschen) (2018) (streamed courtesy of German Film Office)
Wim Wenders’s The Goalie's Anxiety at the Penalty Kick (Die Angst des Tormanns beim Elfmeter) (1972) (2014 restoration by Wim Wenders Foundation) (streamed in New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective in MoMA)
Chantal Akerman’s The Meetings of Anna (Les Rendez-vous d'Anna) (1978) (streamed in New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective in MoMA)
Horace Ové’s Playing Away (1986) (Digitally remastered by British Film Institute) (streamed in New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective through MoMA)
Mani Kaul’s Duvidha (1973) (streamed in New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective in MoMA)
Humberto Solás’s Lucía (1968) (2017 restoration by Cineteca di Bologna) (streamed in New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective through MoMA)
Lee Chang-dong’s Peppermint Candy (1999) (streamed in New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective in MoMA)
Óscar Catacora’s Eternity (Wiñaypacha) (2017) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Sergio M. Rapu’s Eating Up Easter (Haka Puai te Kainga) (2019) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Martin Witz’s Gateways To New York: Othmar H. Ammann And His Bridges (2018) (streamed at 2021 Architecture & Design Film Festival)
David Nawrath’s Atlas (2018) (streamed courtesy of German Film Office)
Andrew Williamson’s The Land of Eb (2012) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Jacqueline Hazen’s Island To Island (2017) (documentary short) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Curtis Taylor and Nathan Mewett’s Until The End (Yulubidyi) (2017) (narrative short) (streamed in 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Terrah Guymala’s The Greedy Emu (Ngalkangila Ngalwurrburn) (2017) (narrative short) (streamed at 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival)
Wieland Schulz-Keil’s The New Deal for Artists (1981) (40th anniversary re-master seen courtesy of Corinth Films)
David Riker’s La Ciudad (1998) (streamed at Mexico on the Hudson of Cinema Tropical, the CUNY Mexican Studies Institute, and Oscilloscope Laboratories Virtual Cinema)
Holly Fisher’s Deafening Silence (2012) (streaming in 3 X HOLLY FISHER at Anthology Film Archives Vimeo Showcase)
Joan Micklin Silver’s Hester Street (1975) Restoration (2020) (at 2021 New York Film Festival/ courtesy of Cohen Film Collection)
Ulrich Köhler’s In My Room (2018) (streamed courtesy of German Film Office)


NOTABLE FILM-RELATED EXHIBITS
at Museum of the Moving Image - through 9/26/2021, with weekly screenings of 2001: A Space Odyssey (organized by DFF - Deutsches Filminstitut & Filmmuseum): Genesis and 50th Anniversary Exhibition in Queens, where it was conceived:



MY BEST FILMS of 2020 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
Martin Eden (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Les Misérables
Corpus Christi (Kudos to Bartosz Bielenia)
Sorry We Missed You (preview at Film Forum)
Bad Education (HBO/ preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Homemade (collection of 17 shorts on Netflix by Covid-19 quarantined directors)
Stump the Guesser (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Foreigner (Extranjero) (short) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)

Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
All Rise (seen at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival) (Kudos to Kevin Harrison Jr.)
Run This Town (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope Films)
Red Moon Tide (Lúa vermella) (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains (Chun Jiang Shui Nuan) (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Pacified (Pacificado) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Gets Good Light (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Notes, Imprints (On Love): Part I (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Exile (Exil) (streamed courtesy of German Film Office)
News of the World
The Personal History of David Copperfield
Another Round (Druk) (Kudos to Mads Mikkelsen) (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Sound of Metal (Kudos to Riz Ahmed)
A Sun (Yangguang puzhao) (Netflix)
Tigertail (Netflix)
Monsoon (VOD)
Nafi's Father (Baamum Nafi) (at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)


BEST FEMALE POV
My coverage of female filmmakers at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival

Fiction
Invisible Life (A Vida Invisível) (Kudos to co-writers Murilo Hauser & Inés Bortagaray & director Karim Aïnouz, and cinematographer Hélène Louvart)
Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de la jeune fille en feu) (Kudos to cinematography and writer/director Céline Sciamma) (capsule review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Seberg (Kudos to Kristen Stewart)
Proxima (Kudos to Eva Green) (preview at 2020 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Never Rarely Sometimes Always (Kudos to Sidney Flanigan and Talia Ryder, writer/director Eliza Hittman, cinematographer Hélène Louvart, and Planned Parenthood)
Rocks (Coming of Age Division) (seen at 2020 Athena Film Festival)
Red Fields (Mamy) (Music Division) (seen at 2020 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Pause (Pafsi) (Kudos to Stella Fyrogeni) (Always on Sunday of Hellenic Film Society USA with NY Women in Film & Television at Museum of the Moving Image)
Ankebût (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival) The Tiger Who Came to Tea (animated short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Cru-Raw (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Grey Zone (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Shadows (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tapes (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Toto (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Vera (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lucky Grandma (Kudos to Tsai Chin and the music) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Radioactive (Kudos to Rosamund Pike) (Amazon)
Miss Juneteenth (Kudos to writer/director Channing Godfrey Peoples and star Nicole Beharie) (VOD)
Song Without A Name (Canción sin nombre) (Kudos to actress Pamela Mendoza, music by Pauchi Sasaki, and cinemographer Inti Briones) (seen courtesy of Film Movement)
Point and Line to Plane (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Promising Young Woman (Kudos to writer/director Emerald Fennell and Carey Mulligan)
Saint Frances (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope)
Premature (Young Black Romance Division) (seen courtesy of IFC Films)
The Forty-Year Old Version (Kudos to Radha Blank) (Netflix)
Cuties (Mignonnes) (Netflix)
Ammonite (seen courtesy of Neon)

Documentary
Woman Make Film: A New Road Movie through Cinema (docu-series seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight/ then shown on TCM in Fall)
Sunless Shadows (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Welcome To The Jungle (trilogy of shorts) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
That Which Does Not Kill (Sans Frapper) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Delphine and Carole (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Personhood (premiered at 2019 DOC NYC Festival/ seen at 2020 Athena Film Festival)
Feminism is a browser (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Video Blues (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
In Her Boots (animation) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
I Dream of Vietnam (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
City Dreamers (Rêveuses de villes) (U.S. Premiere at 2019 ADFF NY/ seen streamed at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
Yours in Sisterhood (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (seen at Film Interrupted Series: Virtual Film Festival of Women Make Movies)
Girl from God’s Country (2015) (seen at Film Interrupted Series: Virtual Film Festival of Women Make Movies)
Through The Night (previewed at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ also shown at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The State of Texas vs. Melissa (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Call Your Mother (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Picture A Scientist (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Blood and Glory (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Charlotte Perriand, Pioneer In The Art Of Living (seen at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival at NeoConnect)
#Anne Frank – Parallel Stories (on Netflix)
My Mexican Bretzel (documentary/fiction hybrid) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Correspondence (Correspondencia) (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Extractions (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Plastic House (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
See You in My Dreams (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Time (Kudos to editor Gabriel Rhodes and composers Jamieson Shaw/Edwin Montgomery) (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ “Short List” at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival) (on Amazon Prime)
A Thousand Cuts (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ “Short List” at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival) (PBS Frontline)
Belly of the Beast (So, nu: re: comments by the Jewish woman director) (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival) (PBS Independent Lens)
Lessons of Love (Lekcja miłości) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
The Letter (Kudos to co-director Maia Lekow’s score) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
The Self-Portrait (Selvportrett) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Women in Blue (preview at 2020/ replay 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
On The Record (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival/ HBO Max)
Love & Stuff (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival/ with Absolutely No Spitting (short) at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film Society of Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Hysterical Girl (short) (NY Times Op Doc)


Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Buffaloed (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Beanpole (Dylda) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Zombi Child (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Assistant
Troop Zero (Coming of Age Division) (Amazon Prime)
Murmur (Depressing Division) (preview courtesy of Houseplant Films at Slamdance Film Festival)
Bull (Coming of Age Division) (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Ordinary Love (Depressing Division)
The Garden Left Behind (Kudos to Carlie Guevara) (Depressing Division) (preview courtesy of Queens Pictures)
Kinetics:The Desire To Move (seen at 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Asia (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ at 2021 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum/ theatrical release at Film Forum)
Military Wives (seen courtesy of Bleecker Street Films)
On The Rocks (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Pieces of A Woman (Netflix)
Once Upon A River (seen courtesy of Film Movement)
Fourteen (VOD)
Let Them All Talk (HBO)
Selah and The Spades (Amazon)
To The Stars (VOD)
Documentary
Advocate (Lea Tsemel, Orehet Din) (seen at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center/IFC Center, and Q & A at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
Vitalina Varela (Ethnographic Re-Enactment Division) (Kudos to cinematography) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Toxic Beauty (preview courtesy of White Pine Pictures)
We Are The Radical Monarchs (at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
Taylor Swift: Miss Americana (Netflix)
Aggie (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema (2017) (seen at Forest Hills Jewish Center Cinematek)
Beyond The Visible: Hilma Af Klint (preview courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Sisters Rising (seen at Film Interrupted Series: Virtual Film Festival of Women Make Movies)
The Undocumented Lawyer (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Athlete A (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ on Netflix)
The Go-Go’s (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Glimpses from a Visit to Orkney in Summer 1995 (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Finding Yingying (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Big vs. Small (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
For the Love of Rutland (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Once Upon A Time In Venezuela (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival) (streams on Topic)
Lost In Face (Kudos to animation by Frédéric Schuld) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
The Viewing Booth (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival/ showing at 2021 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Calendar Girl (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Nasrin (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival) (on Hulu 2021)
I Am Greta (“Short List” at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival/ Hulu)
A Love Song For Latasha (short) (Netflix)


BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
First Cow (Kudos to John Magaro and Orion Lee, cinematography, score, and incorporation of indigenous culture) (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Roads Not Taken (Kudos to Sally Potter’s directing, editing, and score, with guitar by Fred Frith)
Twelve Thousand (Douze mille) (Kudos to Arieh Worthalter) (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Fever (A Febre) (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Grandad Was A Romantic (animated short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Umbrella (animated short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Cypher (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Jack and Jo Don't Want To Die (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Father Soldier Son (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival) (documentary) (Netflix)
A Cops and Robbers Story (documentary) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)


BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS/SUSPENSE
The Traitor (Il traditore) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Bacurau (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Whistlers (La Gomera) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Wild Goose Lake (Nan Fang Che Zhan De Ju Hui) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Balloon (preview courtesy of Distrib Films US)
Escape from Pretoria (preview courtesy of Momentum Pictures)
Resistance
Wonder Woman 1984

Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I enjoyed despite quibbles
The Old Guard (on Netflix)
The True History Of The Kelly Gang (Kudos to Essie Davis and production design) (on VOD)
Invisible Man (on HBO) (Kudos to Elizabeth Moss)
Greyhound (on Apple+)
The Outpost (on VOD)


BEST NEO-NOIRS
A Patient Man (preview courtesy of Commuter Productions)

Runners-Up: NEO NOIRS I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Night Clerk (Kudos to Tye Sheridan) (preview courtesy of Saban Entertainment)
You Go To My Head (preview courtesy of First Run Features) (Kudos to Morocco mise en scène)
Spellbound (Les envoûtés) (preview at 2020 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Last Ferry from Grass Island (島嶼故事) (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
A White, White Day (Hvítur, hvítur dagur) (courtesy of Film Movement)
I’m Your Woman


BEST ROMANCES
Top End Wedding (Indigenous/Aussie Rom Com Division) (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Simple Wedding (Iranian/American Rom Com Division) (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)
Olympic Dreams (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Babyteeth (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Catch (El Salto) (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Better You (sci fi division) (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Farewell Amor (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Sister of the Groom

Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Weathering With You (Animation) (preview courtesy of GKids)
José
Inside the Rain (Mental Illness Division) (preview courtesy of Act 3)
Half Of It (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ Netflix)
Shithouse (Kudos to writer/director/star Cooper Raiff) (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Wild Mountain Thyme (seen courtesy of Bleecker Street)


BEST COMING OF AGERS
Waiting for Anya
Wendy
Abe (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
The Witch Hunters (Zlogonje) (seen at 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Ainu Mosir (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Black Ghost Son (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ham On Rye
Buoyancy (seen courtesy of Kino Lorber)
The Life Ahead (La Vita davanti a Sé) (Netflix)
Funny Boy (Netflix)
The Grizzlies (Netflix)
I’m No Longer Here (Ya No Estoy Aqui) (Netflix)
The Brat (Natkhat) (short) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)


BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC
Carmentis (short) (Kudos to writer/director Antony Webb and crew) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Light Side (satirical short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Look Then Below (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The End of Suffering (a proposal) (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Humongous! (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
August 22, This Year (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Vast of Night (Kudos to cinematography and production design) (Amazon)
His House (Netflix)
Two Distant Strangers (short) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)
New Order (Nuevo orden) (Dystopian Division) (courtesy of Neon)


Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Speed of Life (Romantic Division)
System Error (Humor Division) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Labor of Love (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Midnight Sky (Netflix)
Possessor (courtesy of Neon)
Bad Hair (horror satire) (Hulu) (seen courtesy of Neon)


BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
And Then We Danced (Kudos to Levan Gelbakhiani and Bachi Valishvili, and cinematographer Lisabi Fridell)
Throat Singing in Kangirsuk (Katatjatuuk Kangirsumi) (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
My Father The Mover (short) (Kudos to Stoan Move Galela) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Welcome To A Bright White Limbo (short) (Kudos to Oona Doherty) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Hamilton (On Disney+)
David Byrne’s American Utopia (on HBO)
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds With Shane Mcgowan (Kudos to the editing) (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Crutch (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Zappa (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Kudos to Viola Davis, Chadwick Boseman, ensemble, and director George C. Wolfe) (Netflix)


Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Felix in Wonderland (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Crescendo! (bio-doc short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Motorcycle Drive By (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Somebody Up There Likes Me (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
When I Write It (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
In the Air Tonight (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Shut Up Sona (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Universe (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Mr. Soul!


BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
Memoirs of Vegetation (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
MOTH (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
The Flounder (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Freeze Frame (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Chronosync (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Central Square (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Rain (Deszcz) (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Candy Shop (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Bathwell in Clerkentime (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Beyond Noh (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Friends (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Kapaemahu (short) (Kudos to Ana Tuisila) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ streamed at 2021 Smithsonian Mother Tongue Film Festival))
Wolfwalkers (Kudos to the music) (Preview courtesy of Apple+)
The Wolf House (La Casa Lobo) (see with Songs of Repression documentary)
Soul (Kudos to the music)
Grab My Hand: A Letter To My Dad (short) (streamed at The Wrap International Awards Screenings)


Runners-Up: Animation I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Over The Moon
Onward


BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
The Three Christs
Incitement (Yamim Noraim) (at 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
A Story from Africa (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Liliu (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Trial of the Chicago 7
The Endless Trench (La Trinchera Infinita) (Netflix)


Runners-Up: BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Joan of Arc (preview at 2020 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Sefarad (docu-drama) (seen at 2020 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Mank (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman)
The Glorias (Amazon)


BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:
Simon Pegg in Inheritance (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Andra Day in The United States vs Billie Holiday (seen courtesy of Hulu)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
Earth (Erde) (preview courtesy of KimStim and Anthology Film Archives)
Heimat Is A Space In Time (Heimat Ist Ein Raum Aus Zeit) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Booksellers (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (seen at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Always In Season at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
Thirst For Justice at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
The Young Observant (L'apprendistato) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Zero (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Wilcox (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Speak So I Can See You (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Take The Horse To Eat Jalabis (Ghode Ko Jalebi Khilane Le Ja Riya Hoon) (Hybrid Division) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Ma’Abarot (at 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum and seen at 2020 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Film About A Father Who (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Rewind (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Boys State (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA/ “Short List” at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Ridge (Säsong) (Hybrid Division) (seen at 2020 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
If We Say That We Are Friends (short) (streamed with 2020 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Home in the Woods (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival/ also streamed at (streamed at 2021 Prismatic Ground Film Festival)
The Lake And The Lake (Kere mattu Kere) (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Faire-Part (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Louie's Antiques (short) (with animation) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Winter's First Moons (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Perdikaki (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
T A R T A M U D E O (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Kanockatonanok (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Our Time Machine (seen at 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Conscience Point (2019) (PBS’s Independent Lens) (seen at Film Interrupted Series: Virtual Film Festival of Women Make Movies)
P.S. Burn This Letter Please (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Stateless (Apátrida) (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ PBS POV 2021)
Spaceship Earth (seen through Neon and Museum of the Moving Image)
Sixth of June (Le Six Juin) (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Solitary (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tā Moko – Behind The Tattooed Face (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tall Tales With True Queens (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tangled Roots (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
USA v Scott (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Vote Neil (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Painter and the Thief (seen through Neon and Scandinavia House)
Elephant (seen on Disney+)
Her Name Was Europa (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Here and There (Aquí y allá) (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Sanfield (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Why? (Apiyemiyekî?) (short) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Notturno (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Year of the Discovery (El año del descubrimiento) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Totally Under Control (courtesy of Neon; available on Hulu October 20)
Collective (Colectiv) (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ “Short List” at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Mole Agent (non/fiction hybrid) (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival) (available on Amazon Prime Video) (PBS’s POV)
Agents of Chaos with The Perfect Weapon (HBO)
Dope Is Death (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
9/11 Kids (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
The Jump (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Off The Road (Kudos to the score and the corridos) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Songs of Repression (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Neither Confirm Nor Deny (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Red Heaven (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival)
Things We Dare Not Do (Cosas Que No Hacemos) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival) (PBS POV 2021)
Two Gods (Kudos to score and cinematography) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Festival) (PBS Independent Lens 2021)
The Dissident (preview courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment)
The Way I See It (Peacock)


Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Slay The Dragon (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and shown at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
Afterward (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.)
The All-Americans (seen at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
Every Pulse Of The Heart Is Work (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Some Kind Of Heaven (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight) (see with follow-up short The Paradise Next Door)
1275 Days (preview courtesy of FilmRise)
Shoot To Marry (preview courtesy of Northern Banner at Slamdance)
The Last Sermon (streamed at 2020 Queens World Film Festival)
Crip Camp (Netflix) (at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight and 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Landfall (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ PBS POV 2021)
499 (preview at 2020/replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Echoes in the Arctic (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Pray Away (preview at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Welcome to Chechnya (HBO) (at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
76 Days (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ “Short List” at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival) (MTV)
537 Days (HBO)
Since I Been Down (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Smog Town (Yao Wang Fan Xing) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Last Out (preview at 2020/replay at 2021 DOC NYC Film Festival)
So Late So Soon (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
The Walrus and The Whistleblower (preview courtesy of Gravitas Ventures at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival) (streams on Discovery+ as of 3/4/2021)
The Infiltrators (doc/re-enactment docu-drama) (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope
Red Penguins
Dick Johnson Is Dead (Netflix)
Coup (hybrid) (streamed courtesy of German Film Office)


EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
Peshmerga (preview at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Citizen K (at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival) (preview courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment and Film Forum)
Quezon’s Game (docu-drama) (preview courtesy of ABS CBN)
American Muslim (at 2019 DOC NYC Festival and seen at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
Picture of His Life (preview at 2020 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
The State Against Mandela and the Others (preview at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Straight Flush/Corpse Cleaner (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Traveling While Black (360/VR) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Resonance (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Reiwa Uprising (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Immortal (Surematu) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
I Am A Town (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Arguments (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
During Revolution (Fi al-thawra) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Romaniotes: The Greek Jews of Ioannina (seen at 2020 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
The Final Hour (seen at 2020 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Viral Antisemitism In Four Mutations (preview courtesy of So Much Film)
Epicentro (seen at 2020 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Harvesters (short) (seen online through 2020 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
If We Say That We Are Friends (short) (seen online through 2020 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Bedlam (PBS’s Independent Lens) (seen at 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Waging Change (seen at Film Interrupted Series: Virtual Film Festival of Women Make Movies)
She Walks With Apes (on BBC America)/Jane Goodall: The Hope (on National Geographic)
Wake Up On Mars (Réveil sur Mars) (preview at 2020/ replay 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Banksy Most Wanted (preview at 2020/replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
Fatitude (seen at Film Interrupted Series: Virtual Film Festival of Women Make Movies)
AKA Jane Roe (on FX)
Seahorse (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
City Hall (at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Influence (seen at 2020 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Our Social Dilemma (Netflix)
Origin of the Species (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
In Silico (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Rebuilding Paradise (Hulu)
The Fight (as ACLU PR)
Coded Bias
My Octopus Teacher (Netflix)


BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
The Times of Bill Cunningham (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Created Equal: Clarence Thomas In His Own Words (recommending first half only) (preview courtesy of Manifold Productions/Blue Fox Entertainment.)
Raymond Pettibone: A Collection of Lines (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Mother, I Am Suffocating. This Is My Last Film About You. (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Why Can't I Be Me? Around You. (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Oliver Sacks: His Own Life (PBS’s American Masters) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/ seen at 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Still Burn (Algo Quema) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Councilwoman (streamed at 2020 LALIFF Connect of Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival)
And The Brave Shall Rise (short) (streamed at 2020 LALIFF Connect of Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival)
James Hubbell - Between Heaven and Earth (World Premiere at 2019 ADFF NY seen streamed at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival)
Harley (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2020/replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival)
La Madrina: The Savage Life of Lorine Padilla (at 2020/replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ on Peacock) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
With Drawn Arms (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ Starz)
Mr. Somebody (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
My Brother's Keeper (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Gloves Off (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Jørn Utzon - The Man & The Architect (at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival online)
Goff (at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival online)
Truus' Children (De Kinderen Van Truus) (streamed through De Sousa Mendes Foundation)
John Lewis: Good Trouble (at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival/ seen on Amazon Prime/ and at 2021 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
The Vasulka Effect (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Medicine Man: The Stan Brock Story (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Soros (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview courtesy of Abramorama)
Moments Like This Never Last (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival courtesy of Vice Media)
Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (Netflix)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
The Earth Is Blue As An Orange (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
The Lonedale Operator (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Makeshift (For Mekas) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
A Month of Single Frames/So Many Ideas Impossible To Do All (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
Code of the Freaks (seen at 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
10 Years With Hayao Miyazaki (NHK docu-series: Ep 1: “Ponyo is Here”, Ep 2: “Drawing What’s Real”, Ep. 3 “Go Ahead - Threaten Me”, Ep 4: “No Cheap Excuses”) (then shown on PBS channels)
Disclosure (on Netflix)
There Are Not Thirty-Six Ways of Showing a Man Getting on a Horse (No existen treinta y seis maneras de mostrar cómo un hombre se sube a un caballo) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Hopper/Welles (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Blue Code of Silence (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Television Event (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival/ at 2020/replay at Tribeca Film Festival)
Landfall (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Sit-In: Harry Belafonte Hosts The Tonight Show (at 2020/ replay at 2021 Tribeca Film Festival/ on Peacock)


BEST COMIC or OTHER RELIEF from Depressing Movies Despite Nonsense:
Deerskin (Le Daim) (preview at 2020 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Echo (Bergmál) (seen at MoMA’s 2020 Documentary Fortnight)
The Climb
12 Hour Shift (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Abducted (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Egg (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Can Change (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
John Bronco (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Piece Of Cake (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dear Santa (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview at 2020 DOC NYC Film Festival)
Palm Springs (Kudos to Cristin Milioti) (Hulu)
The Trip to Greece (seen courtesy of IFC Films)
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm (Kudos to “Maria Bakalova”/whoever she is) (So, nu: my comments on the Jewish woman) (Amazon)
Kajillionaire
I Used to Go Here (via Gravitas Ventures)
The Twentieth Century (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Films)
We Are Little Zombies (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Films)


BEST FOR THE CINEMATOGRAPHY/STYLE:
Los Conductos (preview at 2020 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Mirage (short) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)


BEST for the SCENERY
Unnúr (short) (preview at 2020 Tribeca Film Festival)


BEST REVIVALS/RESTORATIONS IN NEW PRINTS
D.W. Griffith, Isn't Life Wonderful (1924, silent, with piano accompaniment) (at 2020 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Paulette McDonagh & Sisters, Those Who Love (1926 silent short) and The Cheaters (1929 silent feature), both with piano accompaniment (at 2020 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (50th anniversary DCP restoration by Christopher Nolan at Museum of the Moving Image)
Alice Guy-Blaché’s The Consequences of Feminism (Les résultats du feminism) (1906, Gaumont) and Algie the Miner (1912); Harold M. Shaw’s The Land Beyond the Sunset (1912); and Charlie Chaplin’s The Immigrant (1917) (accompanied by world premiere of Alexis Cuadrado Group’s score in Silent Films/Live Music at the Winter Garden of Brookfield Place)
James Searle Dawley’s Frankenstein (1910) and Tod Browning’s The Unknown (1927) (accompanied by world premiere of Vernon Reid Ensemble’s score in Silent Films/Live Music at the Winter Garden of Brookfield Place)
Horace B. Jenkins’ Cane River (4k restoration created by IndieCollect, in association with the archive of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences, seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Films)
Rel Dowdell’s Train Ride (2000) (preview of 20th anniversary DVD courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures)
Luchino Visconti’s L’Innocente (1976) (preview of Film Movement Classic’s new digital HD restoration at Film Forum)
István Szabó’s Mephisto (1981) (new 4K digital restoration by the Hungarian National Film Archive and Hungarian Filmlab via Kino Lorber at Film Forum)
Manfred Kirchheimer's and Walter Hess’s footage in Free Time (at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center then Film Forum)
Elem Klimov’s Come And See (1985) (preview of new Mosfilm restoration via Janus Films at Film Forum)
Hassan BenJelloun’s Where Are You Going Moshé? (Où vas-tu Moshé?) (2007) (seen at 2020 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Lisa Steele + Kim Tomczak’s The Afternoon Knows What the Morning Never Suspected (2017) (streamed at 2020 Ann Arbor Film Festival)
Jorge Thielen Armand’s La Soledad (2016) (streamed at 7 Days of Cinema of Filmatique
Natalia Cabral andOriol Estrada’s You and Me (Tú Y Yo) (2014) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Eliza Hittman’s It Felt Like Love (2014) (streamed at 7 Days of Cinema of Filmatique
Matías Meyer’s Yo (2015) (streamed in “FICM Presenta en Linea” of Morelia International Film Festival)
Anna Muylaert’s Don’t Call Me Son (Mãe Só Há Uma) (2016) (streamed at 7 Days of Cinema of Filmatique
José María Avilés’s The Death Of The Master (La Muerte Del Maestro) (2018) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Alexandre Rockwell’s Little Feet (2014) (streamed at 7 Days of Cinema of Filmatique
Miguel Hilari’s The Corral and The Wind (El Corral Y El Viento) (2014) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Javier Fesser’s Champions (Campeones) (2018) (seen with 2020 ReelAbilities Film Festival New York)
Leandro Listorti’s The Endless Film (La Película Infinita) (2018) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Agnes Varda’s The Little Story of Gwen From French Brittany (short) (streamed courtesy of American Cinematheque)
Lisandra I. Rivera and Manolo Sarmiento’s The Death of Jaime Roldós (La Muerte De Jaime Roldós) (2013) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Vladimir Durán’s So Long, Enthusiasm (Adiós Entusiasmo) (2017) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Yulene Olaizola’s Shakespeare and Victor Hugo´s Intimacies (Intimidades Entre Shakespeare Y Víctor Hugo) (2008) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Raoul Ruiz’s The Golden Boat (1990) ) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Boris Benjamin Bertram’s The Human Shelter (2018) (streamed at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival)
Catherine Hunter’s Glenn Murcutt: Spirit of Place (2017) (streamed at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival)
Julio García Espinosa’s The Adventures Of Juan Quin Quin (Las Aventuras De Juan Quin Quin) (1967) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Eduardo Coutinho’s A Man Marked For Death - Twenty Years Later (Cabra Marcado Para Morrer) (1984) (streamed in The Cinema Tropical Collection)
Diego Ros’s El Vigilante (The Nightguard) (2016) (streamed in “FICM Presenta en Linea” of Morelia International Film Festival)
Laura Mulvey’s Riddles of the Sphinx (1977) and Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti (1983) (short) (seen at Film Interrupted Series: Virtual Film Festival of Women Make Movies)
Marco Orsini’s Gray Matters (2014) (seen at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival online)
Elizabeth Federici and Laura Harrison’s Space Land Time: Underground Adventures with Ant Farm (2011) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (seen at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival online)
Nuria Ibáñez’s Wild Stream (Una Corriente Salvaje) (2018) (streamed in “FICM Presenta en Linea” of Morelia International Film Festival)
Katherine Knight and Marcia Connolly’s Strange and Familiar: Architecture on Fogo Island (2014) (seen at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival at NeoConnect)
Loretta Dalpozzo and Michèle Volontè’s Mario Botta: The Space Beyond (2018) (seen at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival at NeoConnect)
Francesca Molteni’s SuperDesign: Italian Radical Design 1965-75 (2017) (seen at 2020 Architecture & Design Film Festival at NeoConnect)
Mohammad Reza Aslani’s The Chess Game of the Wind (Shatranj-e baad) (1976) (seen at 2020 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


MY BEST FILMS of 2019 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
To Dust (Kudos to Géza Röhrig) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Transit (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Never Look Away (Werk ohne Autor) (Kudos to writer/director Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and score by Max Richter)
Everybody Knows (Todos Lo Saben)
Rojo (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Nightingale (Kudos to writer/director Jennifer Kent, and Aisling Franciosi and Baykali Ganambarr) (seen courtesy of IFC Films)
Birds of Passage (Pájaros de verano) (preview at Film Forum)
La Flor (Parts 1, 2, and 3) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Long Day’s Journey Into Night) (Kudos to writer/director Bi Gan, cinematographers Yao Hung, Dong Jinsong and David Chizallet, production and sound design) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center
Kiss of the Rabbit God (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Do Not Care If We Go Down In History As Barbarians (Îmi este indiferent daca în istorie vom intra ca barbari) The Dead Nation - Fragments of Parallel Lives (Țara moartă) (at 2018 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema)
Ága (Kudos to music, cinematography and scenery)
Parasite (Gisaengchung) (Kudos to director/co-writer/lyricist Bong Joon-ho) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Saturday Fiction (Lan xin da ju yuan) (Kudos to cinematography and editing) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Irishman (Kudos to Steve Zaillian’s script, Robbie Robertson’s score with use of period music, Robert DeNiro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci, plus casting director for the supporting cast) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Pain and Glory (Dolor y gloria) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Marriage Story (Kudos to writer/director Noah Baumbach) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
A Hidden Life (Kudos to August Diehl and Valerie Pachner)
Brotherhood (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Live-Action)


Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
A Tramway in Jerusalem (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Donbass (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Pluto Moment (Ming wang xing shi ke) (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Wild Pear Tree (Ahlat Agaci) (Kudos to the use of scenery)
High Flying Bird (Kudos to André Holland) (on Netflix)
The Boy Who Harnessed The Wind (on Netflix)
Manta Ray (preview at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Unorthodox (Ha-Bilti Rishmi'im) (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (seen at 2019 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Dogman (Kudos to Marcello Fonte)
The Public (preview courtesy of Universal Entertainment)
Driveways (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Back Fork (Kudos to Josh Stewart)
Luce (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Noah Land (Nuh Tepesis) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Black Hat (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lost Bayou (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Limestone Cowboy (seen at 2019 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Dive (Ha Tzlila) (at 2019 Israel Film Center Festival)
Three Peaks (Drei Zinnen)
Jirga (Kudos to Afghan landscape, music, and sound design) (preview courtesy of Lightyear Entertainment)
Peanut Butter Falcon (Kudos to Zack Gottsagen and the music)
Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood (Not seen in 35 nor 70mm)
The Moneychanger (Así habló el cambista) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Fire Will Come (O que arde) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Motherless Brooklyn (Kudos to cinematographer Dick Pope, score by Daniel Pemberton for Wynton Marsalis on trumpet) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Laundromat (satirical version of the documentary The Panama Papers)
By The Grace Of God (Grâce à Dieu)
Adopt A Highway [“Dedicated to Anyone Who Ever Made A Mistaker”] (preview courtesy of RLJE Films)
Dark Waters
The Lighthouse (Kudos the cinematography, sound design, Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe)
Uncut Gems (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.)


BEST FEMALE POV
Fiction
Adult Life Skills (reviewed at FF2 Media) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Little Woods (Kudos to writer/director Nia Dacosta; Tessa Thompson and Lily James) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Daughter of Mine (Figlia mia) (Kudos to Valeria Golino, Alba Rohrwacher, and Sara Casu) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Slut In A Good Way (Charlotte a du fun) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Promise of Dawn (La promesse de l'aube) (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Sunset (Napszállta) (Way Back Division) (at 2019 Film Comments Selects of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Heiresses (Las Herederas) (Lesbian Division)
Invisibles (Les Invisibles) (preview at 2019 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Clemency (Kudos to Alfre Woodard and writer/director Chinonye Chukwu) (preview at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Flawless (Haneshef) (Kudos to Stav Strashko) (My commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Weekend (Romantic Division) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
House Of Hummingbird (Beol-sae) (Coming of Age Division) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Red Joan (Way Back Division) (So, nu: My commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Mary Magdalene (Way Back Division) (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Girls of the Sun (Les filles du soleil) (Kudos to Golshifteh Farahani) (at 2019 Rendez-Vous With French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center) (preview courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Wild Nights With Emily (Comic Docu-Drama Way-Back Division) (Kudos to writer/director Madeleine Olnek) (preview courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Hook Up 2.0 (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Pearl (Kudos to Julia Föry) preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Blow The Man Down (Noir Division) (Kudos to David Coffin’s chorus) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Jebel Banat (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
37 Seconds (Kudos to Mei Kayama) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Mademoiselle Paradis (Licht) (Kudos to Maria Dragus) (Way Back Machine Division (seen at 2019 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
3 Days in Quiberon (3 Tage in Quiberon) (Kudos to Marie Bäumer) (seen at 2019 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
One Day (Egy Nap) (Kudos to Zsófia Szamosi) (seen at 2019 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Several Conversations About a Very Tall Girl (Cateva conversatii despre o fata foarte inalta) (Lesbian Division) (seen at 2019 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Aniara (Sci Fi Division) (seen courtesy of MagnoliaPictures)
Mouthpiece (Kudos to director Patricia Rozema with co-writers Amy Nostbakken and Norah Sadava)
The Farewell (Kudos to writer/director Lulu Wang and Awkwafina)
Red Cow (Para Aduma) (Kudos to Avigayil Kovary) (at 2019 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Sweet Requiem (Kyoyang Ngarmo) (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Charlie Says (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Share (HBO/ at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Operative (Thriller Division)
Official Secrets (Thriller Division) (Preview courtesy of IFC Films)
Them That Follow (Kudos to Alice Englert) (preview courtesy of 1091)
Burn (Noir Thriller Division) (preview courtesy of Momentum Pictures)
Judy (Music Division) (Kudos to Renée Zellweger)
La Mala Noche (The Longest Night)(Kudos to score by Quincas Moreira and writer/director Gabriela Calvache) (at 2019 New York Latino Film Festival)
Harriet at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival (Kudos to Cynthia Erivo)
Bombshell (Kudos to Charlize Theron)
Little Women (Kudos to adaptor/director Greta Gerwig; Saoirse Ronan; costume and production design)
Girl on a Bike (short) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
The Body Remembers When The World Broke Open (Netflix)
Henrietta Bulkowski (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Animation)
Daughter (Dcera) (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Animation)
Saria (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Live-Action)


Documentary:
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The 5 Browns: Digging Through The Darkness (preview courtesy of Plow Productions at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Period. End Of Sentence. (short) (on Netflix)
Afghan Cycles (preview courtesy Gunpowder & Sky)
Maiden (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ask Dr. Ruth (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Scheme Birds (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Little Miss Sumo (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Leftover Women (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Circus of Books (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Barbara Rubin and the Exploding New York Underground (Nu - Note on this Jewish woman) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (preview courtesy of Juno Films)
In Search… (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
One Child Nation (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Bethany Hamilton: Unstoppable (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Wonder About Merri (at 2019 Dance on Camera Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Brigitte (short) (Kudos to director Lynne Ramsay) (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Waiting for Tearah (short) (seen at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
For Sama (On “Short List” at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
The Kingmaker (Showtime) (On “Short List” at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)


Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Moko Jumbie (Inter-Ethnic Romance Division) (preview courtesy of IndiePix)
Holiday (preview courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures)
Woman At War (Kona fer í stríð) (Kudos to Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir)
Greta (Horror Division)
The Wind (Frontier Horror Division) (courtesy of IFC Films)
Gloria Bell (re-make of Gloria - 2013)
Juanita (on Netflix)
Wild Rose (preview) (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Rafiki (Lesbian Division) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Flesh Out (Il Corpo Della Sposa) (Arranged Marriage Division) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Good Posture (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
East of the River (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Think She Likes You (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Night Swim (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lady Hater (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Third Wife (Kudos to cinematographer Chananun Chotrungroj) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Ladies in Black (preview courtesy of Sony Pictures)
The Chambermaid (La camarista) (at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA) (preview at Film Forum)
Ophelia
Ever After (Endzeit) (Zombie Division) (preview courtesy of Juno Films)
Shelter (Thriller Division)
The Ground Beneath My Feet (Der Boden unter den Füßen) (preview courtesy Strand Releasing)
Otherhood (Rom-Com Division) (Netflix)
Edie (Kudos to Mt. Suilven) (Preview courtesy of Music Box Films)
Sister Aimee (preview courtesy of Obscured Pictures)
Atlantics (Atlantique) (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
To The Ends Of The Earth (Tabi no Owari Sekai no Hajimari) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
A Girl Missing (Yokogao) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Sibyl (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Paradise Hills (Satirical Sci Fi Division)
Miss Virginia (preview courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
Dilili In/à Paris (Animation Division) (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
The Warrior Queen Of Jhansi (Way Back Division) (preview courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
Queen of Hearts (Dronningen) (Kudos to Trine Dyrholm) (preview courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures)
The Souvenir (Kudos to cinematography)
Hustlers (Kudos to Constance Wu)
Booksmart (Kudos to Beanie Feldstein)


Documentary:
Serendipity (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight and also shown at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Born in Evin (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Raise Hell: The Life & Times Of Molly Ivins (Preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
#FemalePleasure (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (Preview courtesy of Abramorama)


BEST ROMANCES
Ash is the Purest White (Jianghu Ernü) (Kudos to Zhao Tao) (at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Trouble with You (En liberté!) (at 2019 Rendez-Vous With French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Art of Seduction (Mademoiselle de Joncquiéres) (Kudos to the costumes by Pierre-Jean Larroque) (preview at 2019 Rendez-Vous With French Cinema of Film at Lincoln Center)
Photograph
Non-Fiction (Doubles Vies) (at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Aamis (Ravening) (Cannibalism Division) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Distances (Las Distancias) (Kudos to cinematographer Julián Elizalde) (seen at 2019 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Tomorrow Man
Always Be My Maybe (Netflix)
Plus One (Kudos to Maya Erskine and Jack Quaid) (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
In The Aisles (In den Gängen) (preview courtesy of Music Box Films)
The Reports on Sarah and Saleem
Arabic Friday (short) (Other Israel Film Festival)
I Lost My Body (J'ai perdu mon corps) (Animation - Netflix - dubbed)


Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Untogether (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
Berlin I Love You (”Transitions” features a Jewish woman) (Preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Lost & Found (”The Tent” features a putative Jewish woman) (Preview courtesy of Gravitas Ventures)
Brittany Runs A Marathon
Ode To Joy (Preview courtesy of IFC Films)
The Sun Is Also A Star


BEST COMING OF AGERS
All These Small Moments (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Amanda (preview at 2019 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Giant Little Ones (Preview courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
Too Late to Die Young (Tarde para morir joven) (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Place of No Words (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Piranhas (La paranza dei bambini) (preview at 2019 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Jojo Rabbit (Kudos to writer/director/star Taika Waititi)
Nefta Football Club (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Live-Action)


Runners-Up: COMING OF AGERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Genesis (Genèse) (preview at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Roads (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Shooting Life (HaSusita Shel Herzl) (seen at 2019 Israel Film Center Festival)
Young Ahmed (Le jeune Ahmed) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Waves


BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS
Arctic (Kudos to Mads Mikkelsen)
The Standoff At Sparrow Creek (Kudos to Jackson Hunt’s cinematography)
Hotel Mumbai
The Golem (Kudos to The Paz Brothers) (Preview courtesy of Epic Pictures)
The Hummingbird Project (Kudos to Kim Nguyen’s script & direction)
Monos (preview at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/ MoMA)
Us (Kudos to Lupito Nyong'o)
Gasoline Thieves (Huachicolero) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Shadow (Ying) (Kudos to music, costumes, production design, and battle choreography)
Skin (Kudos to actors Jamie Bell and Danielle Macdonald, and writer/director Guy Nattiv) (Preview courtesy of A24)
Fractured (on Netflix)
Joker (Kudos to Joaquin Phoenix, director Todd Phillips and score by Hildur Guðnadóttir)
The Aeronauts (Kudos to steam punk Felicity Jones, cinematography, production and costume design)
Queen & Slim (Kudos to Jodie Turner-Smith)
1917 (Kudos to cinematographer Roger Deakins)
The Report


Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I enjoyed despite quibbles
American Hangman (preview courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
The Vanishing (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Buffalo Boys (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
An Acceptable Loss (preview courtesy of IFC Films)
In Like Flynn (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)
Polar (For Mads Mikkelsen only) (on Netflix)
Velvet Buzzsaw (Art World Horror Division) (on Netflix)
Yardie (Kudos to the music)
Paul Sanchez Is Back! (Paul Sanchez est revenu!) (Kudos to score by John Cale) (preview at 2019 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Styx (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Sobibor (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2018 Russian Film Week) (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Super Deluxe
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (for action choreography only) (preview courtesy of Well Go Entertainment USA)
Domino (Kudos to score by Pino Donaggio) (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
The Outsider (Very Violent Division) (Kudos to Jon Foo) (preview courtesy of Cinedigm)
The Command (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Screwdriver (Mafak) (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center/ IFC Center and at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
Cold Blood (preview courtesy of Screen Media (Kudos to the scenery)
15 Minutes of War (L'intervention) (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)
Spider in the Web (preview courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
Wasp Network (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Parts You Lose (Kudos to cinematographer Evans Brown) (preview courtesy of Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Crown Vic (preview courtesy of Screen Media Films)
Red Sea Diving Resort (Netflix) (My commentary on the Jewish woman.)


BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC
High Life (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Only (Romance Division) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Shipment (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
See You Yesterday (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Little Joe (Kudos to co-writers/director Hausner and Géraldine Bajard, music/sound and production design) (preview at Jessica Hausner Retrospective: The Miracle Worker at Film at Lincoln Center)


Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC I Recommend Despite My Gripes
School’s Out (L’Heure de la sortie) (preview at 2019 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Changeover (preview courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
White Chamber (kudos to Oded Fehr) (preview courtesy of Dark Sky Films)
Cold Brook (preview courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
In Fabric


BEST NEO-NOIRS
Smaller and Smaller Circles (preview courtesy of Uncork’d Entertainment)
Never Grow Old (Western Division) (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Naples in Veils (Napoli velata) (Kudos to Giovanna Mezzogiorno and Naples) (preview courtesy of Breaking Glass Pictures)
The Wedding Guest


Runners-Up: NEO NOIRS I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Echo (Hed) (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Belonging (Aidiyet) (preview at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Initials SG (Iniciales SG) (Kudos to the music, especially Serge Gainsbourg) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Low Tide (Kudos to young cast and Jersey Shore setting) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Into the Ashes (Kudos to Luke Grimes, cinematographer John W. Rutland, and composer James Curd) (preview courtesy of RLJ Entertainment)
Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, une lumière) (Policier Division) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Good Liar
Sequestrada (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)


BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
A Tuba To Cuba (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)
Satan & Adam (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Inna Da Yard: The Soul of Jamaica (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Gay Chorus Deep South (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Stuck The Musical
Devil’s Pie – D’Angelo (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
All I Can Say (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Nureyev (preview at Film Forum)
The Black Godfather (on Netflix)
Yesterday (Kudos to Himesh Patel and script by Richard Curtis)
Seven Leagues (Siete Leguas) (at 2019 Dance on Camera Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Rocketman (Kudos to Taron Egerton, costume designer Julian Day, choreographer Adam Murray, and editor Chris Dickens)
Fiddler: A Miracle Of Miracles (preview courtesy Roadside Attractions & Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Blinded By The Light
Miles Davis: Birth Of The Cool (preview courtesy Abramorama Films/American Masters)
Cunningham in 3D (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Gift: The Journey of Johnny Cash (YouTube Original)


Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Her Smell (Kudos to Elisabeth Moss) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center
Redemption (Geula) (seen at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum / also shown at 2019 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Quiet One (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Apollo (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Teen Spirit
Guava Island (on Amazon Pime)
Blue Note Records: Beyond The Notes (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Echo In The Canyon (Kudos for attention to Jacques Demy’s 1969 Model Shop) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival/ preview courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment)
Other Music (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Pavarotti
The Other Story (Sipur Acher) (at 2019 Israel Film Center Festival) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The Rolling Thunder Revue (on Netflix)
The Lion King (in 2D) (For the music only)
David Crosby: Remember My Name
Woodstock: Three Days That Defined A Generation (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival/PBS)
ZZ Top: That Little Ol’ Band From Texas
Marianne & Leonard: Words Of Love (Nu - Exhibition and Documentary)
Fiddlin’ (preview courtesy of Utopia)
Mountaintop (preview courtesy of Abramorama in partnership with Shakey Pictures and Reprise/Warner Records)
Playing With Fire: Jeannette Sorrell and the Mysteries of Conducting (preview courtesy of Cinema Flix Distribution)
Western Skies
Bluebird (preview courtesy of Cleopatra Entertainment)
The Apollo (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival/HBO)


BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
Mapplethorpe (Gay Division) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Mustang (Kudos to the horses and scenery)
Honey Boy (Kudos to Shia LaBeouf)
A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood (Kudos to Tom Hanks)


BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
Peterloo
The Aftermath
All Is True
Dirty Bomb (short) (preview of Manhattan Film Festival)
Tolkien
One Nation, One King (Un peuple et son roi) (preview courtesy Distrib Films US)
Downton Abbey (Kudos to ensemble)
The Current War: Director’s Cut (Kudos to production design)
Just Mercy
Mob Town (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Midway (according to my husband The World War II Buff)
Richard Jewell
The Great War (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
The King
The Two Popes (glossing over abuses)
Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix)


BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
The Pure Necessity (Die Reine Notwendigkeit) (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Rezo (preview at Film Forum)
Penguin Highway (ペンギン) (at 2019 New York International Children’s Film Festival) (preview courtesy of Eleven Arts)
My Mother’s Eyes (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Funan (preview courtesy of GKids)
Another Day of Life (English dub)
Lady and the Tramp (Disney+) (CGI as animation)
Away (Projām) (at 2019 CineCina Film Festival)
Frozen 2 (2D) (Kudos to songs)
The Swallows of Kabul (Les Hirondelles de Kaboul) (Kudos to artistic director Eléa Gobbé-Mévellec) (seen at French Cinema Week NYC/Fi:AF Animation First)
The Tower (Wardi) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
White Snake (Baishe: Yuanqi) (dubbed) (preview courtesy of GKids)
Marona's Fantastic Tale (L'extraordinaire voyage de Marona) (preview courtesy of GKids)
This Magnificent Cake! (Ce magnifique gâteau!) (short) (preview courtesy of GKids)
Mémorable (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Animation)
Kitbull (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Animation)


Runners-Up: Animation I Recommend Despite My Gripes
How To Train Your Dragon 3: The Hidden World (2D)
Aladdin (2D)
Muteum (short in 2019 Sundance Short Film Tour)
Missing Link (Recommended by my 5-year-old grandkid)
Toy Story 4
Klaus (Netflix)
Abominable
Children of the Sea (preview courtesy of GKids)
Sister (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Animation)
Hair Love (seen in Oscar-Nominated Shorts 2020: Animation)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
Communion (Komunia) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Invisibles (Die Unsichtbaren - Wir wollen leben) (Docu-Drama) (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
The Venerable W (Le Vénérable W.) (at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Putin’s Witnesses (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Crosses (Las Cruces) (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Disappeared (Hane’elam) (So, nu: my identification of the Israeli women.) (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Turtle Rock (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Uppland (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Who Will Write Our History (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Roll Red Roll (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and also shown at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Land Mine: The Other Side Of Silence (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight)
To See Again (Volver A Ver) (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight)
Samouni Road (Kudos to animation by Stefano Massi) (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight)
The Next Guardian (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight)
Apollo 11 (IMAX)
Island of The Hungry Ghosts (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Time for Ilhan (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women and on 9/11 Islamophobia) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Blowin’ Up (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Buddy (So, nu: inspired by a Jewish woman.) (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight)
It’s A Hard Truth Ain’t It (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Silence of Others (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project (My commentary on 9/11 images) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
When Lambs Become Lions (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Brink
Framing John DeLorean (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Serengeti Rules (preview courtesy of Abramorama) (at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Walk Run Cha-Cha (short) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Angels Are Made Of Light (at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and seen at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Accept the Call (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
When We Walk (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Lavender Scare (PBS)
The Good, The Bad, The Hungry (On ESPN’s 30 For 30)
Sea of Shadows (preview courtesy of National Geographic)
Cold Case Hammarskjöld (preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Los Reyes
Midnight Traveler (preview at Film Forum)
American Factory (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival) (Netflix)
Ghost Fleet (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
College Behind Bars (capsule review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (clips shown at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival (PBS)
Stuffed (DVD/VOD preview courtesy of Music Box Films)
Trouble (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Bully. Coward. Victim: The Roy Cohn Story (So, nu: My commentary on the Jewish women) (brief review at FF2 Media) (seen at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and shown at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Poppy Crash (short-in-progress) (seen at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The Cave (Kudos to director Feras Fayyad) (seen at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Nightcrawlers (short) (seen at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival/ also at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Dark Suns (Soleils Noirs) (seen at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The Guardian Of Memory (El guardián de la memoria) (at 2019 Margaret Mead Film Festival)
Narrowsburg (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
63 Up (at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
FYRE: The Best Party That Never Happened (on Netflix)
Hail Satan! (preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Screwball (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Biggest Little Farm (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Inside My Heart (on Starz)
Wrestle (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Films
Praise the Lard (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Misericórdia (short) (preview at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (on HBO)
Last Night I Saw You Smiling (Yub Menh Bong Keunh Oun Nho Nhim) (preview at 2019 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Walking on Water (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Free Trip To Egypt (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview courtesy Kindness Films)
Heavy Water (Kudos to the surfing cinematography)
Honeyland (at 2019 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Back to the Fatherland (So, nu: more commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview courtesy First Run Features)
Chasing the Moon (Part 1 – “A Place Beyond the Sky”; Part 2 – “Earthrise”; Part 3 – “Magnificent Desolation”) (On PBS’s American Experience)
Jawline (Hulu)
The Great Hack (on Netflix)
I'm Leaving Now (Ya Me Voy) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Heading Home:The Tale Of Team Israel (preview courtesy Menemsha Films)
What You Gonna Do When The World’s On Fire? (at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Bitter Bread (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
American Trial: The Eric Garner Story (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
In Dry Water (short) (seen at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival) The Pickup Game (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
I'm Gonna Make You Love Me (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Love Child (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Blessed Child (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Scandalous: The Untold Story of The National Enquirer (My commentary on 9/11 references) (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
The Russian Five (on NBC SN)
Backwards (short) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
Feast of the Epiphany for second half on Roxbury Farm (Preview courtesy of Reverse Shot)
Ximei
The Hottest August (seen courtesy of Grasshopper Film)
Border of Pain (at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)


EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
Untouchable (preview of earlier version at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Jihadists (Salafistes) (for original footage only)
The Trial (seen at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Green Book: Guide to Freedom (on Smithsonian Channel)
Where the Pavement Ends (Kudos to sunsets and use of FOIA) (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight)
Take Light (seen at MoMA’s 2019 Documentary Fortnight)
Wall (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at Film Forum)
General Magic (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman)
Black Mother (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
The Most Dangerous Year (preview courtesy of Passion River Films)
For They Know Not What They Do (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Changing the Game (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival and at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival/ on Hulu June 1, 2021)
Tigerland (on Discovery)
Decade Of Fire (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Bikes of Wrath (preview courtesy of Demand.Film)
Breaking Habits (preview courtesy of Good Deed Entertainment)
Chasing Portraits (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum) (preview courtesy of First Run Features)
Carmine Street Guitars (at New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (preview courtesy of Abramorama)
The Abortion Divide (On PBS’s Frontline)
If The Dancer Dances (preview courtesy of Monument Releasing)
The Dog Doc (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Proposal (at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Picture Character (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Cat Rescuers (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (This activity was also featured on Animal Planet’s The Cat From Hell)
Life Overtakes Me (short) (on Netflix)
Ice on Fire (HBO)
Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center and also shown at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and at 2019 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Está Todo Bien (It’s All Good) (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Everything Must Fall (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
On the President’s Orders (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Edge Of Democracy (on Netflix)
No Box for Me. An Intersex Story (Ni d’Ève ni d’Adam. Une histoire intersexe) (preview at 2019 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
American Heretics: Politics Of The Gospel (preview courtesy of Abramorama)
Aquarela (Kudos to the cinematography and score)
The Deported (on YouTube Premium)
Unmasking Jihadi John: Anatomy of a Terrorist (HBO)
The Miracle of The Little Prince (Het Wonder van Le Petit Prince) (preview courtesy of (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Fantastic Fungi (Kudos to mushroom cinematography/fX) (preview courtesy of of Moving Art)
Don’t Be Nice (preview courtesy of Juno Films)
Born To Be (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish participants.) (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Who Is Afraid of Ideology? (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Pelourinho: They Don't Really Care About Us (short) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
PHX [X is for Xylonite] (short) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) dd>Receiver (short) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Liberty: Mother of Exiles (HBO)
Never Again Is Now
Letter to the Editor (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Saving Atlantis (Kudos to underwater cinematography) (preview courtesy of Gravitas Ventures)
Vas-Y Coupe! (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
The Longest Wave (Kudos to surfing footage) (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Capital in the Twenty-First Century (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Mr. Toilet: The World's #2 Man (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
The Lost Crown (HaKeter HaAvud) (at 2019 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival /seen at Forest Hills Cinematek)
A Reindeer’s Journey (preview courtesy of Screen Media Films)
Cause of Death (Sibat HaMavet) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
Breaking Bread (Kudos to the music) (My commentary on the Jewish woman participant) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
Moonlight Sonata: Deafness In Three Movements (HBO)
Chinese Portrait (preview courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Emanuel (Starz)


BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World Of Ben Ferencz (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Etgar Keret: Based On A True Story (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People (PBS’s American Masters) (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Jay Myself (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
What’s My Name: Muhammad Ali (HBO Sports) (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Halston (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Watson (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Martha: A Picture Story (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Meeting Gorbachev (at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival) (History Channel production)
The River and The Wall (Kudos to the scenery) (preview courtesy Gravitas Ventures)
The Spy Behind Home Plate (preview courtesy of The Ciesla Foundation)
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (PBS’s American Masters)
True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality (on HBO) (at 2020 Cinematters: Social Justice Film Festival)
While I Breathe, I Hope (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
My Father and Me (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Golda (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Martin Margiela: In His Own Words (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Mai Khoi & The Dissidents (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
Lifeline: Clyfford Still (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Comrade Dov (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
Samaritan (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (seen at 2019 Other Israel Film Festival)
Disappearance of My Mother (Storia di B. - La scomparsa di mia madre) (preview courtesy of Kino Lorber)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
The Competition (Le Concours) (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Instant Dreams (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Eyes Of Orson Welles (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (PBS’s American Masters)
Making Waves: The Art Of Cinematic Sound (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Love, Antosha
Friedkin Uncut (preview courtesy of Ambi Distribution)
I Am Patrick Swayze (for the dancing) (on Paramount Channel)
Buñuel In The Labyrinth Of The Turtles (Buñuel en el laberinto de las tortugas) (animated docu-drama seen with Buñuel’s Land Without Bread (1933) on DVD) (preview courtesy of GKids)
Varda par (by) Agnès (brief review at FF2 Media) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
He Dreams Of Giants (Pre/post, see with The Man Who Killed Don Quixote) (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)


BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:
Ismael Cruz Córdova in re-make of Miss Bala
Rebecca Schull in The Last (preview courtesy of CAVU)
Wendell Pierce in Burning Cane (preview at 2019 Tribeca Film Festival)
Olivia Cooke in Katie Says Goodbye
Sienna Miller in American Woman
Richard Dreyfuss in Astronaut (preview courtesy of of Quiver)
Julianne Moore and Michelle Williams in re-make of After the Wedding
Lee Pace in Driven (preview courtesy of Variance Films & Universal Pictures Content Group)
Peter Sarsgaard in The Sound of Silence
Tom Mercier in Synonyms


BEST FOR THE CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Anthropocene: The Human Epoch
The Bygone (Plus scenery and score) (preview courtesy of Gravitas Ventures)


BEST OF THE CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
Pity (Oiktos) (previewed in 2019 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Loro (preview at 2019 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Art of Self Defense (Kudos to Heather McIntosh’s score)
Give Me Liberty (Kudos to Lauren 'Lolo' Spencer)
It Must Be Heaven (seen at 2019 at CineCina Film Festival)


MOST DEPRESSING
The Family (Družina) (at 2019 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
An Elephant Sitting Still (Da xiang xi di er zuo) (Kudos to the cinematography) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Ray & Liz (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
All Creatures Here Below (preview courtesy Samuel Goldwyn Films)
Rosie (Kudos to Sara Greene) (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)
At War (En Guerre) (Kudos to Vincent Lindon) (preview courtesy of Cinema Libre Studio)
Gwen (preview courtesy of RLJ Entertainment)
Sócrates (preview courtesy Breaking Glass Films)
The Load (Teret) (preview courtesy Grasshopper Film)
Mother (preview at 2019 DOC NYC Festival)
The Painted Bird (Nabarvené ptáce)
Tremors (Temblores) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)


BEST COMIC RELIEF from Depressing Movies Despite Nonsense:
Pig (Khook) (at Iranian Film Festival/preview courtesy of Daricheh Cinema)
Stuck (preview courtesy of North of Two)
Ghost Light (preview courtesy of Giant Pictures)
Being Frank (preview courtesy of Film Arcade)
Sword of Trust (Kudos to Marc Maron’s blues guitar music)
Phil (preview courtesy of Quiver Distribution)
Tel Aviv On Fire (Tel Aviv Al HaEsh)) (So, nu: My commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2019 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Day Shall Come (inspired by The Newburgh Sting)
Corporate Animals (Satire)
Sink Or Swim (Le Grand Bain) (Preview courtesy of Level Films)
Knives Out (Murdery Mystery Parody Division)


BEST REVIVALS IN NEW PRINTS
The Nun (La Religieuse) (1966) (preview of 4K DCP restoration at Film Forum)
Life According to Agfa (Ha-Chayim Al-Pi Agfa) (1992) (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Général Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (Autoportrait) (1974) (seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Journeys from Berlin/1971 (seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Fragment of an Empire (Oblomok Imperii) (1929) (USSR silent, with piano accompaniment seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Forbidden Paradise (1924) (Ernst Lubitsch's silent, with piano accompaniment seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Faust (1926) (Murnau’s German silent, with piano accompaniment seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Fad’jal (1979) (seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Histoires d’Amérique: Food, Family And Philosophy (1989) (seen at 2019 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Underworld (1927) (Josef von Sternberg’s silent accompanied by Alloy Orchestra in Silent Films/Live Music at the Winter Garden of Brookfield Place)
War and Peace (Voyna i mir): “Part 1 Andrei Bolkonsky” (1965); “Part 2: Natasha Rostiva” (1966); “Part 3: The Year 1812” (1967); “Part 4: Pierre Bezukhov” (1967) (preview courtesy of Janus Films)
Tale of Tales (Skazka skazok) (1979) (preview at Film Forum)
Amazing Grace (preview of previously unreleased 1972 recording concert film at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Babylon (1980) (preview courtesy of Kino Lorber)
Glorious (Comme T’Y Es Belle!) (2006) (seen at 2019 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Christ Stopped At Eboli (Cristo si è fermato a Eboli) (Parts 1 – 4) (1979) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview of uncut restoration with new subtitles at Film Forum)
The Wandering Soap Opera (La telenovela errante) (preview courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Leaving Home, Coming Home: A Portrait of Robert Frank (My commentary on the Jewish women.)
Rage and Glory (1984) and Turn Left At The End Of The World (Sof Ha'Olam Smola) (2004) (in “Ari Nesher Retrospective” at 2019 Israel Film Center Festival)
The Profession of Arms (Il mestiere delle armi) (2001) (World Premiere of a New Digital Restoration) and The Fiancés (I Fidanzati) (1963) (seen in “Ermanno Olmi” retrospective by Istituto Luce Cinecittà at Film at Lincoln Center)
This Ancient Law (Das alte Gesetz) (1923) (E.A. Dupont’s silent accompanied with original score by violinist Alicia Svigals and pianist/composer and Donald Sosin, seen at FH QBPL and was at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum))
Chulas Fronteras (1976) & Del Mero Corazon (1979) (Preview of Les Blank restorations courtesy of Argot Pictures)
Mr. Klein (1976) (preview of restoration with new subtitles at Film Forum)
Cotton Club Encore (1984) (preview at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Soldier Girls (1981) (not new print) (director/cinematographer Joan Churchill included in tribute to the American Society of Cinematographers’ Centennial at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Sátántangó (1994) (Yes – all 432 minutes!) (at 2019 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


MY BEST FILMS of 2018 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
The Insult (Qadiat raqm 23)
Vazante (Kudos to director/co-writer Daniela Thomas, cinematographer Inti Briones and sound designer Vasco Pimentel) (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Princess (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Scrap Dolls (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
See You Up There (Au revoir là-haut) (Kudos to cinematography by Vincent Mathias, music by Christophe Julien, masks by Hélène Defline, and costumes by Mimi Lempicka) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Final Journey (Leanders letzte Reise) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
The Death of Stalin
The Seagull (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dead Women Walking (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Gauguin - Voyage To Tahiti (Kudos to Vincent Cassel)
BlacKKKlansman (My additional notes.)
Happy As Lazzaro (Lazzaro felice) (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Shoplifters (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Favourite (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
At Eternity’s Gate (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Chore (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
God Never Dies (Dios Nunca Muere) (short) (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Life and Nothing More (seen courtesy of CFI Releasing)
Monsters and Men (seen courtesy of Neon)
Paddington 2 (as seen on HBO)
On the Seventh Day (En el Séptimo Día) (seen courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Thunder Road (Kudos to writer/director/star Jim Cummings)
The Citizen (Az állampolgár) (seen courtesy of ArtMattan)
Icebox (on HBO)


Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
First Reformed (Kudos to Ethan Hawke) (special preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Colo (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image) (Kudos to cinematographer Acácio de Almeida)
Foxtrot (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Ava (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Cocote (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Nothing Factory (A Fábrica de Nada) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Outside In (Kudos to Laurie Metcalf) (preview courtesy of The Orchard)
Smuggling Hendrix (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Kuleana (seen courtesy of Hawaii Cinema)
Bye Bye Germany (Es war einmal in Deutschland...) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Nigerian Prince (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Yellow Birds (preview courtesy of Lionsgate)
The Catcher Was A Spy (So, nu: my commentary on the putative Jewish woman.)
Don't Worry, He Won't Get Far On Foot
The Captain (Derr Hauptmann) (My additional notes.)
Roma (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Burning (preview at New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Cousin (Ha Ben Dod) (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival/also shown at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
El Angel (Kudos to Lorenzo Ferro and production design)
Vice (Commentary on 9/11 treatment.) (Kudos to Amy Adams)
Ben Is Back (Kudos to Julia Roberts and Lukas Hedges)
Sollers Point (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)
The Family (La Familia) (seen on HBO; info courtesy of Film Movement)
Tyrel (preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
The Last Suit (El Último Traje) (seen courtesy of Strand Releasing)


BEST FEMALE POV
Fiction
In Between (Bar Bahar) (Kudos to writer/director Maysaloun Hamoud) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (seen in 2017 Film Movement 15th Anniversary Celebration at Museum of the Moving Image)
Marlina The Murderer In Four Acts (Marlina Si Pembunuh Dalam Empat Babak) (My additional notes.) (Western Division) (Kudos to director/co-writer Mouly Surya) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Game (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
The Guardians (Les Gardiennes) (Way Back Division) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Number One (Numéro une) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Sower (Le Semeur) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Custody (Jusqu'à la garde) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Closeness (Tesnota) (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Jellyfish (Kudos to Liv Hill) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lemonade (Luna de Miere) (Depressing Romanian Division) (Kudos to Mălina Manovici) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Beauty and the Dogs (La Belle et la Meute) (Kudos to Mariam Al Ferjani and writer/director Kaouther Ben Hania) (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope)
Everything Else (Todo lo demás) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Garden (Sommerhäuser) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
The Impossible Picture (Das Unmögliche Bild) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
Woman Walks Ahead (My historical commentary, previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Mary Shelley (Celebrating the Bicentennial of Frankenstein) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Duck Butter (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (Lesbian Division)
Diane (Kudos to Mary Kay Place) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Party's Just Beginning (Kudos to Writer/Director/Star Karen Gillan) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dead Women Walking (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tully (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
When She Runs (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bao (animated short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Late Afternoon (animated short) (preview at 2018
Mirette (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Love Letter (Michtav Ahava Lam ‘em Sheli) (short) (My commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Paper Roof (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
So You Like The Neighborhood (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Miracle (Stebuklas) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Summer 1993 (Estiu/Verano 1993) (Coming of Ager) (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Adrift (Adventure Division)
Dark River (Kudos to Ruth Wilson)
The Wife (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.)
Memoir of War (La douleur) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Support The Girls (Kudos to Regina Hall and writer/director Andrew Bujarski)
Skate Kitchen (preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
I Am Not A Witch
Colette (Kudos to Keira Knightly, the costumes and music)
Lizzie (Kudos to Chloë Sevigny, Kristen Stewart, and the sound design)
Wildlife (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (Kudos to production design and cinematographer Diego Garcia)
3 Faces (Se rokh) (Kudos to writer/director Jafar Panahi and actress Behnaz Jafari) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Private Life (preview and capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Mahogany Too (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Working Woman (Isha Ovedet) (Kudos to Liron Ben Shlush) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
Can You Ever Forgive Me? (Kudos to Melissa McCarthy, co-writer Nicole Holofcener, and director Marielle Heller)
A Private War (Kudos to Rosamund Pike, cinematographer Robert Richardson, editor Nick Fenton, and director Matthew Heineman) (see with Under the Wire
Becoming (Unga) Astrid (Previewed at Scandinavia House (almost) on the birthday of Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren)
Mary, Queen of Scots (Kudos to Saoirse Ronan and Margot Robbie, score by Max Richter, cinematographer John Mathieson, and the scenery)
Destroyer (Noir Division) (Kudos to Nicole Kidman)
Liz and the Blue Bird (Animation)
Night Comes On
Eighth Grade (Coming of Age Division)
On The Basis Of Sex (So, nu: On my commentary on the Jewish women - see with RBG) (My additional Note on a real lawyer.)


Documentary
Tongue Cutters (Tungeskjærerne) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Lives of Thérèse (Les vies de Thérèse) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Instructions on Parting (Of white, Christian, middle-class NH/UT POV) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Mama Colonel (Maman Colonelle) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Call Her Ganda (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Judge (at 2017 DOC NYC Festival/PBS Independent Lens 2018)
The Bleeding Edge (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Girl and the Picture (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Birth Control Your Own Adventure (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
RBG (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (See with On the Basis of Sex)
A Woman Captured (Egy nö fogságban) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image and also shown at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
The Other Side of Everything (Druga strana suega) (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
A Thousand Girls Like Me (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Facing the Dragon (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Worlds Of Ursula K. Le Guin (Kudos to animation by Molly Schwartz) (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (PBS’s American Masters)
In Her Footsteps (Acharayich) (preview at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
Over The Limit (seen courtesy Film Movement)
Bei Bei (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)


Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fiction
Blame (Preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Boy Downstairs (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (Preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
My Art at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Half Magic (Satirical Comedy Division)
Montparnasse Bienvenüe (Jeune femme) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Milla (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Nervous Translation (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Sunday’s Illness (La Enfermedad del Domingo) (Depressing Division) (Kudos to Susi Sánchez) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Kill Giants (Girl/Animated Divisions)
Virgins (Vierges/Ein Betulot Bakrayot) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
All About Nina (Kudos to Mary Elizabeth Winstead) So, nu: My commentary on the Jewish women. (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Amateurs (Amatörer) (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Blue Night (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Radium Girls (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Salam (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Puzzle (remake of Rompecabezas)
What Will People Say (Hva vil folk si) (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
A Family Tour (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Tzeva Adom: Color Red (short) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (seen at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
The Hate U Give (Coming of Age Division)
Vox Lux (Kudos to Natalie Portman)
Madeline’s Madeline (Kudos to Helena Howard) (courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories
Dumplin’ (on Netflix)


Documentaries
Yellow Is Forbidden (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tiny Shoulders: Rethinking Barbie (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Netizens (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Love, Gilda (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Women of the Venezuelan Chaos (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
On Her Shoulders (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Naila and the Uprising (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival) (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center) (included in PBS’s Women War & Peace II)
Generation Wealth
Kusama – Infinity (bio-doc preview courtesy of Magnolia Pictures and Film Forum)
Reversing Roe (seen on Netflix)
The Great Mother (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Heartbound (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Looking for Zion (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
China Love (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Under the Wire (see with A Private War)
Alicia (Depressing Coming-of-Age) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
We Are Not Princesses (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Hello Girls (short) (on PBS)
Brave Girls (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Commander Arian: A Story of Women, War & Freedom (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Feminist (Gudrun-konsten att vara människa) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Heat: A Kitchen (R)Evolution (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
See You Tomorrow, God Willing! (Hasta manaña, si Dios quiere) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Life Without Basketball (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Bad Reputation (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)


BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
Zama (Re-Imagined Colonial Division) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Rider (My capsule “Best of 2018” review) (at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Western (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
You Were Never Really Here (Very Violent Division)
O.G. (Violent Division) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Back Roads (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Knuckles (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Last Romantic (El Último Romántico) (Romantic Comedy Division) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Before Summer Ends (Avant la fin de l'été) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST COMING OF AGERS
A Ciambra
Ava (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Lean on Pete (Kudos to Charlie Plummer and the scenery)
Bag of Marbles (Un sac de billes) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
The Elephant and the Butterfly (Drôle de père) (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Life of Esteban (Het Leven van Estaban) (short) (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Breath (Kudos to Rick Rifici’s water cinematography)
Prickly Pear (Bajtra Tax-Xewk) (short) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Maltese Fighter (short) (Kudos to Malcolm Ellul) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Eve (Lejliet) (short) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
We The Animals (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Leave No Trace
Mid90s (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Capernaum (Chaos) (Kudos to director/co-writer Nadine Labaki)


BEST ROMANCES
Almost Paris (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Keep The Change (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (previewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Signature Move (Cross-Cultural Lesbian Division) (preview courtesy The Chicago Project)
Oh Lucy! (Dark Comedy Division) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
On Body and Soul (Testről és Lélekről) (seen on Netflix)
M (preview and coda at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Disobedience (previewed at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Cakemaker (Der Kuchenmacher) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women) (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Cold War (Zimna wojna) (Kudos to the songs) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Write When You Get Work (NYC Division) (Kudos to writer/director Stacy Cochran and ensemble cast)
The Charmer (Noir Division) (preview at Film Forum)


Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
The Female Brain (preview courtesy IFC Films)
The Leisure Seeker
If Beale Street Could Talk (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Asako I & II (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Love, Simon


BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS
Goldstone
The Guilty (Den skyldige) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Good Manners (As Boas Maneiras) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Stockholm (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Black Panther (streamed on VOD)
A Quiet Place
Searching


Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I enjoyed despite quibbles
Gringo
Unsane
A Violent Life (Une vie violente) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
This Is Our Land (Chez Nous) (Political Division) (preview courtesy of Film Forum)
First Man
Widows
Creed II (AKA Rocky VIII)
The Sisters Brothers (Kudos to cinematographer Benoît Debie) (My note on its pro-preventive dentistry.)


BEST NEO-NOIRS
The Great Buddha+ (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Sicilian Ghost Story (preview at 2018 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Boys Cry (La terra dell'abbastanza) (preview at 2018 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Third Murder (Sandome No Satsujin) (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Sweet Country (Kudos to director Warwick Thornton, cinematographer Dylan River, and ensemble)
American Animals


BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC
Cargo (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Night Eats The World (La Nuit A Dévoré Le Monde) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Slows (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Border (Gräns) (Kudos to music, sound design, make-up, and Eva Melander)


Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL/APOCALYPTIC I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Zoe (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Dark (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Laboratory Conditions (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sorry To Bother You (Social Satire Division)
Diamantino (Social Satire Division) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Above All Things (Romance Division) (seen courtesy of Choice Studios)


BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
Django (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Opera House (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Mama Africa (re-issue) (briefly reviewed in Final Roundup of the 2011 Tribeca Film Festival)
American Folk (Commentary on 9/11 treatment.)
Becks (Kudos to “lesbian folk rock” songs by Alyssa Robbins & Steve Salett) (Recommendation is not because the spouse of my 2nd cousin twice removed has a tiny part) (preview courtesy of Blue Fox Entertainment)
Sing Song (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
The Day I Beat The Sky (Le jour où j'ai battu le ciel) (short animation) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Souvenir (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Hybridos, the Spirits of Brazil (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Barbara (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Rock in the Red Zone (seen at 2018 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Azougue Nazare (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Howard (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bathtubs Over Broadway (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
United Skates (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Homeless: The Soundtrack (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
The Velvet Underground Played At My High School (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Elvis Presley: The Searcher (seen on HBO)
The King (Music-related sections only)
Milford Graves Full Mantis (at 2018 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center) (preview courtesy of Cinema Guild)
Veslemøy’s Song (short) (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
A Star Is Born
Stranger of the Dunes (short) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman) (seen at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
Teddy Pendergrass: If You Don't Know Me (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Maria By Callas
Mary Poppins Returns


Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Saturday Church (for the musical numbers) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Act & Punishment:The Pussy Riot Trials
Flip The Record (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Habaneros (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Untitled (Pow Wow) (short – part of the North Dakota Museum of Art’s “Songs for Spirit Lake” project) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Matangi/Maya/M.I.A. (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Nico, 1988 (Kudos to Trino Dyrholm) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Jeanette: The Childhood of Joan of Arc (Jeannette, l'enfance de Jeanne d'Arc) (preview at 2018 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Flock of Four (preview courtesy of Abramorama)
Hearts Beat Loud (preview courtesy Gunpowder & Sky)
Bohemian Rhapsody (Kudos to Rami Malek)
Dennis & Lois (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Show's The Thing: The Legendary Promoters Of Rock (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Quincy (on Netflix)


BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
Journey’s End
The Young Karl Marx (Le Jeune Karl Marx)
The Forgiven (preview courtesy of Saban Films)
Chappaquiddick
Blood & Glory (Modder en Bloed) (preview courtesy of Cleopatra Entertertainment)
In Times Of Fading Light (In Zeiten des abnehmenden Lichts) (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
Shock and Awe
The Front Runner
Green Book
22 July (on Netflix)
Black ‘47 (Depressing Division)


BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
Mary and The Witch's Flower (preview courtesy of GKids)
Have A Nice Day (Chinese Noir Division) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Black Barbie (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Next Door Spy (Nabospionen) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Cat Days (Neko No Hi) (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
The Number on Great-Grandpa’s Arm (Museum of Jewish Heritage/HBO documentary short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Tehran Taboo (preview at Film Forum)
KCLOC (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Liyana (Kudos to directors Amanda & Aaron Kopps, storyteller Gcina Mhlophe, and animator Shofela Coker) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight/also shown at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
Five Years After The War (Cinq ans après la guerre) (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Incredibles 2 (With Grandkid #1: First Movie in Theater – with big tub of popcorn)
Grand Bizarre (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Seder-Masochism (at 2019 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Ralph Breaks The Internet (NB: Rated PG) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish Princess.)
Mirai (preview courtesy of GKids)
Liz and the Blue Bird


Runners-Up: Animation I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Isle of Dogs
Lu Over the Wall (preview courtesy of GKids)
MFKZ (preview courtesy of GKids)


BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:

Sir Ben Kingsley in An Ordinary Man and Operation Enemy


BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
Did You Wonder Who Fired The Gun? (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and also shown at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Last Days In Shibati (Derniers Jours a Shibati) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
A Taste of Cement (Kudos to cinematographer Talal Khoury and his short Mediterranean) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Railway Sleepers (Mon Rot Fai) (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Playing Men (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
You Have No Idea How Much I Love You (Nawet Nie Wiesz, Jak Bardzo Cie Kocham) (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Polluting Paradise (Müll im Garten Eden) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The King of Twirl (De Majorette Koning van het Noorden) (short) (preview at 2018 New York International Children’s Film Festival)
In The Intense Now (No Intenso Agora) (seen at Film Forum)
Ramen Heads (preview courtesy of Gunpowder & Sky)
Jesser and the Sugarcane (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Abbeville (short) (Kudos to Equal Justice Initiative) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Spirit Lake (short – part of the North Dakota Museum of Art’s “Songs for Spirit Lake” project) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Find Fix Finish (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
The Long Season (Kudos to Leonard Retel Helmrich and Ramia Suleiman) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
’63 Boycott (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Black Memorabilia (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Rio Verde: El tiempo de los Yakurunas (Green River: The Time of the Yakurunas) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Leaning Into The Wind – Andy Goldsworthy
The Ancestral Sin (Sallah, Po Ze Eretz Yisrael) (seen at 2018 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival/ also screened at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
Makala (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
House Two (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tanzania Transit (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Feeling of Being Watched (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival and also shown at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Nana (preview courtesy of First Run Features)
After Auschwitz (preview courtesy)
Studio 54 (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Charm City (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Home + Away (preview at 2018 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival)
The River of the Kukamas (The El Rio de los Kukamas) (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Into My Life (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Wendy’s Shabbat (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
5 October (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Hey Ronnie Reagan (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? (My capsule “Best of 2018” review) (Commentary on 9/11 reference.)
What Haunts Us (seen on Starz)
The Distant Barking of Dogs (preview at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Voices of the Sea (Voces del Mar) (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Angkar (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
It Will Be Chaos (seen on HBO)
This is Home: A Refugee Story (seen on Epix)
Cielo (kudos to the night sky) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Three Identical Strangers (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Minding the Gap (My capsule “Best of 2018” review) (preview courtesy of Hulu and Kartemquin Films)
Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story (Docu-Series preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival, then on Paramount Channel)
Science Fair (preview courtesy of National Geographic)
Monrovia, Indiana (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Waldheim Waltz (Waldheims Walzer) (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (So, nu: my commentary on the director as a Jewish woman.)
Valeria Street (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Eye of the Needle (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Chooka (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Labyrinth (El Laberinto) (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
jeny303 (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Of Fathers And Sons (at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and also shown at 2018 DOC NYC Festival )
People’s Republic of Desire (seen at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and also shown at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
False Confessions (at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and also shown at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Panama Papers (seen at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival) (on Epix)
Out of Omaha (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Kleptocrats (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Cracked Up (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Laila at the Bridge (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Crime + Punishment (seen courtesy of “Short List” at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (available on Hulu)
Megiddo (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (seen at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
Free Solo
Bisbee ‘17 (seen in 2018 Contenders MoMA)
They Shall Not Grow Old (and Peter Jackson’s accompanying “Making of”)
306 Hollywood (Kudos to filmmakers and devoted grandchildren Elan and Jonathan Bogarín) (seen courtesy of El Tigre Productions)
The Sentence (“Shortlist” at 2018 DOC NYC Festival/HBO)
The Rescue List (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Patrimonio (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Of Fish and Foe (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Elephant Path (Njaia Njoku) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Grit (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Providers (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Fire on the Hill: The Cowboys Of South Central LA (Kudos to cinematography and score.) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Our New President (Amazon stream)


Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Tinselwood (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Mr. Gay Syria (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
Starting Over Again (seen at 2018 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Hale County This Morning, This Evening (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Meteors (Meteorlar) (preview at 2018 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Workers Cup (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Momentum Generation (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Crossroads (preview at 2018 Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival)
Far From The Tree (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
The Steel Mill Café (Buffet Željezara) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Beyond The One (Al Di Là Dell'uno) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Anote’s Ark (preview at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Unafraid (brief review at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center and updated Q & A at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
American Jail (seen on CNN)
Dark Money (preview courtesy of PBS Distribution/POV)
Fahrenheit 11/9 (preview courtesy of Film at Lincoln Center)
93Queen (as seen on PBS’s POV)
The Truth About Killer Robots (at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival and also shown at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Foreign Land (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
City of Joel (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Be/longing (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
A Murder in Mansfield (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival/ Investigation Discovery)
The World Before Your Feet (Commentary on 9/11 memorials) (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Dawn Wall
Distant Constellation (seen courtesy of Grasshopper Film )
The Last Resort (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival /preview courtesy of Kino Lorber)
The Last Race (seen courtesy of Magnolia)
16 Bars (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Other Rio (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Blessing (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (Kudos to director/cinematographer Hunter Robert Baker and music by Kevin Kiner and David Russell, especially lead guitar)


BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
The Peacemaker (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Seeing Allred (seen on Netflix)
Western Wild…or how I found wanderlust and met Old Shatterhand (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
13, a ludodrama about Walter Benjamin (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
George (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
When Paul Came Over The Sea: Journal of an Encounter (Als Paul über das Meer kam – Tagebuch einer Begegnung (preview courtesy of KINO! 2018 Festival of German Films)
McQueen (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Gospel According to André (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview courtesy of Greenwich Entertainment and Film Forum) (PBS’s American Masters)
Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center and Capsule, also shown at 2018 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Last Stop Coney Island: The Life and Photography of Harold Feinstein (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Breslin and Hamill: Deadline Artists (HBO) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (Commentary on 9/11 reference.) (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Witkin & Witkin (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Artist & The Pervert (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINEPHILES:
Filmworker (at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Prototype (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Room H.264: Brooklyn, NY, June 2016/Room H.264: Astoria, NY, January 2018 (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Exiled (L'Exilé) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Other Episodes/Missing Episode (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Measuring Change/L. Cohen/Readers (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Get Up and Go/A Spin Through Night City/Along The Elevated (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Hitler’s Hollywood: German Cinema In The Age Of Propaganda: 1933 - 1945 (preview courtesy of Film Forum)
Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival) (Note on 9/11 reference)
Cosmic Debris (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Saving Brinton (Bravo Mike Zahs)

- NYC Opening Night panel on women directors: Director Amy Adrion; interviewees Mary Harron & Chris Hegedus, and Women & Hollywood’s Melissa Silverstein. (I attended courtesy of FF2 Media)
Half the Picture
King Cohen (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
A Whale of A Tale (Okujirasama) (Preview courtesy Fine Line Media)
Introduzione All'Oscuro (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Searching for/Auf Der Suche Ingmar Bergman (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival and Capsule of Film at Lincoln Center)
They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead (at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/Netflix)
Creating A Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Hal (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Shirkers (on Netflix)
Jane Fonda in Five Acts (on HBO)
The Greenaway Alphabet (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Orange Years: The Nickelodeon Story (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Insufferable Groo (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)


EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
In The Land Of Pomegranates (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Ghost Hunting (Istiyad Ashbah) (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
West Of The Jordan River (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Out of My Head (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight) (also shown at 2018 Reelabilities Film Festival - NY)
Why Do They Hate Us? (Pourquoi nous détestent-ils) (seen at 2018 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Eating Animals (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Into The Okavango (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection (preview at 2018 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Man Who Stole Banksy (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
King in the Wildersness (on HBO)
The End of Fear (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Maineland (Kudos to Sean Price Williams’ cinematography) (preview courtesy of Abramorama)
Pressing On: The Letterpress Film
Five Seasons - The Gardens Of Piet Oudolf (preview courtesy of Argot Pictures)
The Cleaners (preview at 2018 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Hope Against the Haze (VR short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
I Am The Revolution (preview at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Piripkura (seen courtesy of Cinema Libre)
The China Hustle (seen courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)
Perfect (Parfaites) (seen courtesy of Upstream Flix)
Cooked: Survival By Zip Code (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Inside Lehman Brothers (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
The Smartest Kids In The World (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Stars In The Sky: A Hunting Story (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Harvest Season (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (PBS Independent Lens)
Exit: Leaving Extremism Behind (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival) (also available in German Film Office/Anthology Film Archives 2021 German Documentary Showcase)
Boys Who Like Girls (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
Bleed Out (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival/HBO)
Memory Games (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)
North Pole, NY (at 2018 DOC NYC Festival)


MOST DEPRESSING
Nostalgia
Where Is Kyra?


BEST COMIC RELIEF from Depressing Movies Despite Nonsense:
The Saint Bernard Syndicate (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Welcome Home (Velkommen til oss) (short) (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)
Under the Tree (Undir trénu) (Dark Comedy Division)
Ocean’s 8
Crazy Rich Asians


THEME OF THE YEAR: POETRY
Scary Mother (Sashishi deda) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
The Dreamed Ones (Die Geträumten) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image/ at 2016 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center) (poets Ingeborg Bachmann and Paul Celan)
Correspondences (Correspondências) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image) (poets Sophia de Mello Breyner and Jorge de Sena)
Gavagai (Kudos to the cinematography and Tarjei Vesaas’s poetry) (preview courtesy of Shadow Distribution
I Hope I'm Loud When I'm Dead (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Mixed Signals (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Luminous Shadow (Sombra Luminosa) (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Death of a Poetess (Mot HaMeshoreret) (So, nu: commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2018 Other Israel Film Festival)
The Kindergarten Teacher (preview from Netflix) (American re-make of the Israeli The Kindergarten Teacher (Haganenet) - So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)


BEST for the SCENERY
Let The Summer Never Come Again (at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Dérive Veneziane (long short) (seen at MoMA’s 2018 Documentary Fortnight)
In the Last Days of the City (Akher ayam el madina) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Djon Africa (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Drift (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Arcadia (short) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Ada Kaleh (short) (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST for the CREATIVE CINEMATOGRAPHY:
24 Frames (seen at Film at Lincoln Center)
Winter Brothers (Vinterbrødre) (preview at 2018 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA
Obey (preview at 2018 Tribeca Film Festival)


THANKS TO THEATRICAL REVIVALS/RESTORATIONS for my first-time viewings on big screens of:
Avanti Popolo (1966) (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Late Summer Blues (Blues Lahofesh Hagadol) (1988) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Siege (Matzor) (1969) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2018 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Room 666 (seen at 2018 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Case For The New Hangman (Prípad pro zacinajíciho kata) (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Illiac Passion (seen at 2018 Panorama Europe Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Wanda (restored print) (preview courtesy of Janus Films)
Rendez Vous in July (new 4K restoration) (centerpiece of Jacques Becker: Complete Retrospective at at Film Forum)
The Other Side Of The Wind (preview at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (See on Netflix with Morgan Neville’s making-of documentary They’ll Love Me When I’m Dead)
Ericka Beckman shorts restored: Cinderella and You the Better (preview and Capsule at 2018 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


MY BEST FILMS of 2017 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
Chapter & Verse (preview at 2016 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Sincerely (Atentamente) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
After the Storm (Umi yori mo mada fukaku) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Odyssey (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
White Sun (Seto Surya) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Graduation (Bacalaureat) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Nakom (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki (Hymyilevä mies)
Norman: The Moderate Rise And Tragic Fall Of A New York Fixer (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Holy Air (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Newton (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sambá (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Phone Calls (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Suitcase (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
World in Your Window (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Pineapple (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
King of the Belgians (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Stuff Of Dreams (La Stoffa Dei Sogni) (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
1945 (My capsule “Best of 2017” review) (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Journey (My additional note.) (Note on 9/11 reference)
Pop Aye (preview at Film Forum)
Columbus (Kudos to Haley Lu Richardson, writer/director Kogonada, and architecture in Indiana)
The Fencer (Miekkailija)
I Dream In Another Language (Sueño en otro idioma) (preview courtesy of Film Rise)
Crown Heights
The Teacher (Ucitelka) (My capsule “Best of 2017” review) (preview at Film Forum)
Woodpeckers (Carpinteros)
The Meyerowitz Stories (New And Selected) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish (?) women.) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
BPM (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Last Flag Flying (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Mudbound (Kudos to writer/director Dee Rees, cinematographer Rachel Morrison, and ensemble) (within Rees’s career perspective) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (Kudos to Frances McDormand & ensemble, and writer/director Martin McDonagh)
Stronger (Kudos to ensemble, especially Jake Gyllenhaal)
Gook
Dayveon
The Post (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)


Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Gold
The Founder
The Salesman (Forushande)
Trespass Against Us
Land of Mine (Under sandet) (My additional note.)
Arábia (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Person to Person (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Diamond Island (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Last of Us (Akher Wahed Fina) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Arábia (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Wound (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
King of Peking (Jing Cheng Zhi Wang) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Zookeeper’s Wife (So, nu: additional notes and my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Amerika Square (Plateia Amerikis) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Stanko (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Harmonium (preview courtesy of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Foster Portfolio (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Life Boat (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Pirates of Somalia (Dabka) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Navigator (Kartleseren) (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Brigsby Bear
Lucky
Molly’s Game
The Disaster Artist
The Other Side Of Hope (Toivon tuolla puolen)
One Week and a Day (Shavua ve Yom) (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)


BEST FEMALE POV
Fiction
A Quiet Passion (kudos to Cynthia Nixon and writer/director Terence Davies) (My capsule review) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
My Happy Family (Chemi Bednieri Ojakhi) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Lady MacBeth (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Their Finest
Ice Mother (Bába z ledu) (kudos to Zuzana Kronerová and writer/director Bohdan Sláma) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Wedding Plan (Laavor et hakir) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (New York premiere preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Woman of a Certain Age (short series preview in New Online Work (N.O.W.) Showcase at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Again (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Big Sister (Ahotcha) (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Don't Mess With Julie Whitfield (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Fry Day (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Joy Joy Nails (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Little Bird (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Viola, Franca (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
YOYO (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Maudie (kudos to Sallie Hawkins)
Moka (Noir Division)
The Beguiled (Noir Division)
The Midwife (Sage Femme)
Marie Curie: The Courage of Knowledge (My capsule review) (preview at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Strange Weather (kudos to Holly Hunter, music by Sharon Van Etten, and Mississippi locations)
Novitiate (kudos to Melissa Leo)
Polina (preview courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)
The Unknown Girl (La fille inconnue) (Noir Division) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
In The Fade (Aus dem Nichts)
Spoor (Pokot) (Kudos to Agnieszka Mandat-Grabka) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Battle of the Sexes (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.)
I, Tonya (Kudos to Margot Robbie and Allison Janney)


Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Moon in the 12th House (Yareach BeBayit 12) (preview at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
One Percent More Humid (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Flower (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
3 Generations
The Divine Order (Die göttliche Ordnung) (My report on its Nora Ephron Award win) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Beehive (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Dive (Salta) (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Landline (for the sororial relationship) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
The Rehearsal (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Amnesia (kudos to digital cinematography)
Victoria and Abdul (kudos to Judi Dench)
Félicité (For Kinshasa mise en scène) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Thelma (Supernatural Division) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Tribes of Palo Verdes (Kudos to surfer girl)


Documentary
Speed Sisters (preview at 2015 DOC NYC Festival) (My note on the dental connection.)
Mr. Bernstein (short) (preview at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr Story (commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Suitable Girl (briefly at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Am Evidence (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Hilda (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Heroin (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Love The Sinner (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Mother’s Day (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
New Deep South: House of JXN (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sick (Bolesno) (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Run Mama Run (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Spring (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
What Happened To Her (short) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Lindy Lou, Juror Number 2 (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Faces Places (Visages, villages) (Viva Varda with JR) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Rape of Recy Taylor (preview at 201s7 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Soufra (Needs dish names and recipe descriptions –other than buying the cookbook for $70) (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)


DOCUMENTARY Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
P.S. Jerusalem (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2015 DOC NYC Festival) (reviewed at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and at IFC Center)
All This Panic (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Apology (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Big Sonia (at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
A Better Man (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)


BEST FEMALE VIEW OF MALES
Beach Rats (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Detroit (Kudos to ensemble)
Nobody’s Watching (Nadie Nos Mira) (kudos to Guillermo Pfening) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Son of Sofia (O Gios tis Sofias) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Wetlands (for the NJ Noir atmosphere)


BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS
Alone in Berlin (seen courtesy IFC Films)
Sexy Druga (kudos to cinematography) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Hounds of Love (kudos to Emma Booth and score by Dan Luscombe) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Wall (kudos to Aaron Taylor-Johnson and editor Julia Bloch)
Wonder Woman
The Exception (kudos to chemistry between Lily James and Jai Courtney) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Two Sentence Horror Stories: MA (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
It Comes At Night (Post-Apocalyptic Division) (kudos to cinematographer Drew Daniels and score/sound design)
Logan Lucky (kudos to script by whoever is Rebecca Blunt)
Dunkirk in IMAX (kudos to cinematography, sound design/score)
Good Time (kudos to Queens locations, score by Oneohtrix Point Never (aka Daniel Lopatin), Robert Pattinson, and casting)
The Killing of a Sacred Deer (Deadpan Supernatural Division)
Get Out (Satirical Division)
Logan
I Don't Feel At Home In This World (Deadpan Comic Division)
All the Money In The World (Kudos to the ensemble)


Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I enjoyed despite quibbles
Visaranai (seen in India’s New Wave at Museum of the Moving Image)
Nocturama (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Buster’s Mal Heart (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Baby Driver (kudos to “choreography”)
Shot Caller (kudos to sound design)
Wind River (kudos to score, indigenous casting, and Rocky Mountains scenery)
Atomic Blonde (the violence vs. women just got too over the top)
The Legend Of Ben Hall (kudos to historicity and Australian scenery) (DVD/VOD preview courtesy of Vega Baby Releasing & Sony Pictures Home Entertainment)
6 Days (preview courtesy of Vertical Entertainment)
Rememory (kudos to Peter Dinklage) (preview on Google Play)
Hostiles (kudos to the NM and MT scenery)
Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Kudos to the production design)


BEST NEO-NOIRS
The Ardennes (preview courtesy of Flanders House)
Detour (kudos to writer/director Christopher Smith, trio of Emory Cohen, Tye Sheridan & Bel Powley, cinematographer Chris Ross, editor Kristina Hetherington, score by Toydrum) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Midnight Service (shorts series preview in New Online Work (N.O.W.) Showcase at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sweet Virginia (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Drowning (kudos to Avan Jogia and score by Radium Cheung and Jamin O’Brien) (preview at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Nile Hilton Incident (Die Nile Hilton Affäre) (kudos to writer/director Tarik Saleh, Fares Fares, editing, and cinematography) (preview courtesy of Strand Releasing)
The Limehouse Golem (kudos to scripter Jane Goldman, actors Olivia Cooke and Douglas Booth)


BEST ROMANCES
The Big Sick (Note on 9/11 reference)
The Mountain Between Us (kudos to the scenery)
God’s Own Country (My capsule “Best of 2017” review) (preview at Film Forum)

Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool
Band Aid (kudos to filmmaker/star Zoe Lister-Jones) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)


Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
World’s Apart (Political Division)
From the Land of the Moon (Mal de pierres) (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Autumn, Autumn (Chuncheon, chuncheon) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Pendular (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Vincent N Roxxy (for, literally, diehard fans of Emile Hirsch and Emory Cohen like me) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Lovers (Mature Division) (Kudos to score by Mandy Hoffman) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Europe, She Loves (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)


Runners-Up: BEST ANTI-ROMANCES
After Love (L'économie du couple)
Phantom Thread (Kudos to Vicky Krieps and the costumes)


BEST COMING OF AGERS
Lady Bird (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Wonderstruck (Kudos to casting emotive deaf actress Millie Simmonds as a deaf child; Kudos to director Todd Haynes and writer Brian Selznick for incorporating -- beautifully by cinematographer Edward Lachman-- my beloved Panorama of the City of New York - but no you can’t walk on it!) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Fanny’s Journey (Le voyage de Fanny) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish females.) (seen at Cinematek Forest Hills)


Runners-Up: COMING OF AGERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Kepler’s Dream


BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL
November ehk Rehepapp (kudos to cinematographer Mart Taniel, sound designer Marco Vermaas, composer Jacaszek) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Survivalist (Post-Apocalyptic Division) (kudos to Martin McCann, Mia Goth, and Olwen Fouere) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Ghost Story
Blade Runner 2049
Shape of Water


Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL I Recommend Despite My Gripes
The Bad Batch
Marjorie Prime (preview in Future Imperfect: The Uncanny In Science Fiction at Museum of Modern Art)
Downsizing (Kudos to production design)
Okja
Colossal


BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
The Lost City of Z (kudos to cinematographer Darius Khondji) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Afterimage (Powidoki) (preview at Tribute to Andrzej Wajda of Film at Lincoln Center and Polish Cultural Institute)
A United Kingdom
The Summer Is Gone (Ba yue)) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Death of Louis XIV (La mort de Louis XIV) (kudos to Jean-Pierre Léaud) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Cezanne and Me (Cezanne et Moi) (kudos to scenery, cinematography, costumes)
Frantz (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Promise (see with Joe Berlinger’s Intent to Destroy “making of” documentary for historical and cinemtographical context, preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tommy's Honour
Chuck (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Cloudy Sunday (Ouzeri Tsitsanis/Ουζερί Τσιτσάνης) (seen at 2017 New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival)
Stefan Zweig: Farewell To Europe (Vor Der Morgenröte - Stefan Zweig In Amerika) (at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
The Days that Confused (Päevad, mis ajasid segadusse) (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
13 Minutes (Elser)
Endless Poetry (Poesía Sin Fin) (Kudos to production design)
The Viceroy’s House
Breathe
LBJ
The Darkest Hour (Kudos to Gary Oldman and make-up/prosthetics)
The Man Who Invented Christmas (Kudos to ensemble, especially Christopher Plummer – bring tissues!)


BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
Strike A Pose (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bang! The Bert Berns Story (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
The Lure (Córki dancingu) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Mr. Gaga (preview at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
The Dancer (La danseuse) (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Smoke That Travels (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
The Paris Opera (preview at 2017 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Book of Clarence (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Patti Cake$ (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
I Called Him Morgan (at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Chasing Trane: The John Coltrane Documentary (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
When God Sleeps (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
I Am The Blues (My additional notes.)
Olancho (seen in 2017 Rural Route Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image where I presume I’m in this audience Q & A)
La Barracuda (Noir Division) (preview in 2017 Rural Route Film Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Step
Let’s Play Two
Trouble No More (at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rebels On Pointe (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Beatles, Hippies And Hells Angels: Inside The Crazy World Of Apple (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Sammy Davis: I’ve Gotta Be Me (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival) (PBS’s American Masters)
David Bowie: The Last Five Years (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival) (HBO)
Itzhak (seen at 2017 DOC NYC Festival) (PBS’s American Masters) (Commentary on the Jewish women)
Song of Granite
Eric Clapton: Life In 12 Bars (at 2017 DOC NYC Festival) (Showtime)
Long Strange Trip: The Untold Story of the Grateful Dead (Amazon)


Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Junction ‘48 (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Midsummer In Newtown (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Reset (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Restless Creature: Wendy Whelan (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Folk Hero & Funny Guy (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Beauty and the Beast (2D)
Mali Blues (Preview courtesty of Icarus Films)
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked The World (preview at Film Forum)
Sidemen: Long Road To Glory (preview courtesy of Abramorama)
Indivisible (Fantasy Division)
Extraordinary Ordinary People (preview courtesy of First Run Features and Masters of Traditional Arts)
May It Last: A Portrait Of The Avett Brothers (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)
The Greatest Showman


BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
My Life As A Zucchini (Ma vie de Courgette) (in French)
Half A Life (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Odd is an Egg (Odd er et egg) (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Girl Without Hands (La jeune fille sans mains) (in French)
Loving Vincent
Coco (3D)
The Breadwinner (preview courtesy of GKids)


Runners-Up: BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
My Entire High School Sinking Into The Sea (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Mune: Guardian Of The Moon (Mune, le gardien de la lune) (preview courtesy of GKids)
Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming


BEST for the CREATIVE CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Live Cargo (Note to Wire fans) (kudos to cinematographer Daniella Nowitz) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Icaros: A Vision (kudos to scenery, visual and sound design) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Super Dark Times (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Erlprince (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Kékszakállú (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Wonder Wheel (Kudos also for costume and production design: so stream with the sound off) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Call Me by Your Name (Gay Guy Teen With Older Hunk Division) (Kudos to cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom) (Commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST OF THE CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
Do Re Mi Fa (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Square (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:
Bryan Cranston in Wakefield
Denzel Washington in Roman J. Israel, Esq.
Bill Pullman in The Ballad of Lefty Brown (kudos to scenery, too)


BEST VILLAIN
”Rabbi David” (Aviv Alush) in The Women’s Balcony (Ismach Hatani) (at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
The Settlers (Ha'mitnakhalim) (Additional commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Dimona Twist (at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Hummus! The Movie (Commentary on the Jewish woman) (at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum; then at Mi>Forest Hills Jewish Center Cinematek)
Balloonfest (short) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
A Model Family in a Model Home (short) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Territory (Territorio) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Boone (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Animals Under Anaesthesia: Speculations on the Dreamlife of Beasts (short) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Reichstag 9/11 (short) (seen with additional Ken Jacobs’ shorts: Windbreaker (World premiere); Cyclops Observes the Celestial Bodies (U.S. premiere); Popeye Sees 3-D (NY premiere) in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Between Fences (Bein gderot/Entre Les Frontières) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Keep Quiet (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Uncertain (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Last Laugh (Commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Machines (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Broken (Kaputt) (animated short) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
#Bars4Justice (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
The Revolution Won’t Be Televised (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Through the Repellent Fence: A Land Art Film (Kudos to Postcommodity) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Austerlitz (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Gaza Surf Club (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
When Rabbit Left the Moon (short) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Plastic China (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Irrawaddy Mon Amour (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Tell Them We Are Rising (PBS’s Independent Lens) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Strong Island (PBS’s POV) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Quest (PBS’s POV) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Tickling Giants (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Night School (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Rat Film (kudos to director Theo Anthony) (preview at 2016 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Wind Knows That I'm Coming Back Home (El viento sabe que vuelvo a casa) (preview at 2017 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
A River Below (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
True Conviction (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Farthest (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Holdouts (short preview in New Online Work (N.O.W.) Showcase at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
New Deep South: House of JXN (short series preview in New Online Work (N.O.W.) Showcase at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
I LIVED: Brooklyn (short preview in New Online Work (N.O.W.) Showcase at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
In Transit (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (My additional notes.)
Skull + Bone (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Last Animals (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Watched (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Acorn and The Firestorm (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Swagger (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Safari (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Abacus: Small Enough To Jail (episode of PBS’s Frontline) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Muhi - Generally Temporary and additional review (Commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Blood Is At The Doorstep (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Water Warriors (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lost in Lebanon and additional review (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Grown-Ups (Los Niños) (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
City of Ghosts and additional review (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Icarus (seen on Netflix)
Spettacolo (preview courtesy of Grasshopper Film)
Motherland (Bayan Ina Mo) (preview courtesy of The Film Collaborative)
Trophy (preview courtesy of The Orchard)
Red Trees (Commentary on the Jewish women) (preview courtesy of Cohen Media Group)
Voyeur (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Tempest (Tempestad) (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and at IFC Center)
One of Us (Updates) (preview for 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Cocaine Prison (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Devil’s Freedom (La Libertad Del Diablo) (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Cradle of Champions (at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
EuroTrump (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Mole Man (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Sky & Ground (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Brimstone & Glory (kudos to cinematography and score by Benh Zeitlin and Dan Romer) (seen courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories)
Miss Kiet’s Children (De kinderen van juf Kiet) (preview courtesy of Film Forum)
Last Men in Aleppo (seen on Netflix)


Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Karl Marx City (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Obit (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bugs (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Sunshine Makers (preview at 2015 DOC NYC Festival)
Out There (documentary/fiction hybrid) (Notes on 9/11 reference) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
From False to Legal in One Take (De falso a legal una toma)/Prospector/Misters Without Blame (Nores sin señalar)/Sakura, Sakura/This Bogeyman/Inside the Inside (L’en-Dedans/Untitled) (seen in On Resistance: International Avant-Garde Films & Videos 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Betting On Zero (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Wolf and Sheep (documentary/fiction hybrid) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Mixed Feelings (seen at 2017 SR Socially Relevant Film Festival)
The Departure (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Copwatch (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
In Flint (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Far from Home (En otra casa) (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Nowhere To Hide (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Good Postman (Hyvä postimies) (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Warning: This Drug May Kill You (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Complicit (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
No Dress Code Required (Etiqueta NO Rigurosa) (My additional Note.) (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Almost Sunrise (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Force (also briefly reviewed 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Whose Streets?
Ex Libris – The New York Public Library (preview courtesy of Film Forum and NYPL)
Company Town (preview courtesy of First Run Features)
Sea Sorrow (as a PSA) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
No Stone Unturned (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Trust WHO (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
End of Truth (seen at 2017 Double Exposure Investigative Film Festival)
Naples ‘44
Traffic Stop (short) (on HBO)
Heroin(e) (short) (on Netflix)
Knife Skills (short) (seen on New Yorker)
Edith + Eddie (short) (seen on Topic)


BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Everybody Knows…Elizabeth Murray (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Something About Life (Nesto o zivotu)/A Short Family Film (Kratki obiteljski film) (shorts) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
Acts & Intermissions (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Tip of My Tongue (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
Maurizio Cattelan: Be Right Back (Note on 9/11 reference) (Compare and contrast with the fictional artists in The Family Fang) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Citizen Jane: Battle For The City (Commentary on the Jewish women) (review) (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Letters From Baghdad: The True Story of Gertrude Bell and Iraq (Commentary on the Jewish women) (at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
The B-Side: Elsa Dorfman’s Portrait Photography (My commentary on her as a Jewish woman) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Burden (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Shadowman (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Hondros (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Heroin (short preview in New Online Work (N.O.W.) Showcase at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ben-Gurion: Epilogue (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
Get Me Roger Stone (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Woody’s Order (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Jane (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Boom For Real: The Late Teenage Years Of Jean-Michel Basquiat (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Hall of Mirrors (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Caniba (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINÉPHILES:
Helmut Berger, Actor (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
How I Fell in Love with Eva Ras (Kako Sam Se Zaljubio U Evu Ras/Como Me Apaixonei por Eva Ras) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
My Journey Through French Cinema (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
David Lynch: The Art Life (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival) (Commentary on the Jewish women)
I Am Heath Ledger (for his personal videos/films) (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Tyrus (broadcast on PBS’s American Masters in honor of the 75th anniversary of Bambi)
Dawson City – Frozen Time (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center courtesy of MoMA)
Escapes
Arthur Miller: Writer (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Spielberg (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Vigilante: The Incredible True Story Of Curtis Sliwa And The Guardian Angels (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
The Iconoclast (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.) (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Harold and Lillian: A Hollywood Love Story (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (at 2015 DOC NYC Festival)
The Problem With Apu (at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)


EDUCATIONAL DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
Shalom Rabin (preview at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
My Scientology Movie (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Sacred (Commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival) (On PBS in 2017)
LA 92 (preview at 2017 DOC NYC Festival) (On National Geographic Channel) (I more recommend John Ridley’s Let It Fall: Lost Angeles 1982 – 1992, as broadcast on ABC, for unique interviews and archival photographs providing far more context and perspective.)
haveababy aka Vegas Baby (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Risk (at 2017 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Mariupolis (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Wasted! The Story of Food Waste (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
500 Years and Capsule Review (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Home Truth (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Black Code (preview at 2017 Human Rights Watch Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The House On Coco Road (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Birthright: A War Story
Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory (seen in New Adventures in Non-Fiction at Museum of the Moving Image)
Human Flow
School Life
Chasing Coral
Cuba and The Cameraman (at 2017 DOC NYC Festival)
Destination Unknown (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Aida’s Secrets (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2017 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Cries From Syria
I Am Another You


Best COMIC RELIEF from Depressing Movies Despite Nonsense:
The Giant (Jätten) (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Wilson
One Thousand Junkies [Cynical Division] (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Take Me [Cynical Division] (preview at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Shiva (Commentary on the Jewish women) (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
New York Is Dead (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lemon (short) (briefly reviewed at 2017 Tribeca Film Festival)
Lost in Paris (Paris pieds nus)


Most Depressing
I (Já), Olga Hepnarová (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Florida Project (Kudos to Willem Dafoe) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers
Loveless (Nelyubov)


BEST for the SCENERY
Documentary:
The Letters (Las Letras) (seen at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight)
The Challenge (preview at 2017 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)


BEST REVIVALS IN NEW PRINTS
Kaos (preview at Film Forum in Pirandello 150)
Granular Film - Beirut (short) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
L’en-Dedans (Inside the Inside) (short) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
A Kind Of Loving (preview at Film Forum in The Brit New Wave)
Maurice [note error in publicity materials: Phoebe Nicholls’ “Anne” is naïve not “shallow”] (preview courtesy Cohen Media)
Le Trou (preview at Film Forum)
The Four Sisters: Baluty; The Hippocratic Oath; The Merry Flea; Noah’s Ark (So, nu: my commentary on these Jewish women from Shoah.) (preview at 2017 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)

And thanks for theatrical showings for my first-time viewings on big screens of:
Recordando El Ayer (short) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
City in Flames (Stadt in Flammen) (short) (seen in 2017 First Look Festival at Museum of the Moving Image)
”Emiko Omori Retrospective” at MoMA’s 2017 Documentary Fortnight: Rabbit in the Moon (1999); Passion & Power: The Technology of Orgasm (co-directed with Wendy Slick) (2007); Ed Hardy: Tattoo the World (2010); To Chris Marker, An Unsent Letter (2012)
Notes sur l’émigration. Espagne 1960 (seen in 2017 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)


NOTABLE FILM-RELATED EXHIBITS
Agnès Varda: Visual Artist at Blum & Poe with Agnès Varda: Life As Art Special Talk at French Institute: Alliance Franҫaise in association with Rendez-Vous with French Cinema and at Film at Lincoln Center)

The Jim Henson Exhibition permanent installation at Museum of the Moving Image


MY BEST FILMS of 2016 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
Aferim! (kudos to the cinematography) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
A War (Krigen)
Embrace of the Serpent (El abrazo de la serpiente)
Dheepan (My edited capsule “Best of 2016” review) (My additional note.) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Thithi (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
El Clásico (kudos to scenery) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Love & Friendship (kudos to Kate Beckinsale, costumes and hair)
You Can Go (short) (kudos to S. Epatha Merkerson) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Simshar (kudos to director/co-writer Rebecca Cremona) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Home Care (Domácí péce) (kudos to director/writer/co-star Slávek Horák) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Neruda (kudos to editing and cinematography) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Sieranevada (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Paterson (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Manchester By The Sea (kudos to Casey Affleck, Michelle Williams, and Lucas Hedges, cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes, and writer/director Kenneth Lonergan) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Jackie (kudos to Natalie Portman, scripter Noah Oppenheim, director Pablo Larrain and scorer Mica Levi) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Fences (kudos to director/star Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, and the production design/use of the Pittsburgh locale)


Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
My Golden Days (Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse) (kudos to Lou Roy-Lecollinet) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Rams (Hrútar)
The Club (El Club) (no “Old Testament” references?)
The Project of the Century (La obra del siglo) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Cemetery Of Splendour (Rak ti Khon Kaen) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (kudos to the CPAP machines)
Valley of Love (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center) (kudos to Huppert, Depardieu and Death Valley)
Life After Life (Zhi Fan Ye Mao) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Louder Than Bombs
The Ticket (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Measure of a Man (La loi du marché) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Don’t Think Twice (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Tenth Man (El Rey Del Once)) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Hologram for the King (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Money Monster
The People vs. Fritz Bauer (Der Staat gegen Fritz Bauer) - long review; review in series - Enemy Territory – Fritz Bauer & Postwar Germany in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image) and at the Goethe Institut)
Captain Fantastic
Last Cab to Darwin (preview courtesy of First Run Features)
Island City (seen in India’s New Wave at Museum of the Moving Image)
I, Daniel Blake (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
A Man Called Ove (En man som heter Ove)
Toni Erdmann (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Denial (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Loving
Rules Don’t Apply (kudos to Warren Beatty, cinematographer Caleb Deschanel and Lorraine Feather & and Eddie Arkin’s title song)
Florence Foster Jenkins (kudos to costumes)
A Bigger Splash (kudos to locale)


THE RETURN OF THE “WOMAN’S” PICTURE
Sunset Song (kudos to Agyness Deyn and the Scottish scenery) (preview at 2016 Film Comments Selects of Film at Lincoln Center)
My King (Moi Roi) (Amour Fou Division) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center) (kudos to Emmanuelle Bercot)
The Dressmaker (Satirical Division) (kudos to Judy Davis and costumes by Marion Boyce and Margot Wilson) Best Woman-Directed Feature 2016
The Light Between Oceans (kudos to score by Alexandre Desplat and scenery)
Julieta (kudos to score by Alberto Iglesias) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Ali And Nino (kudos to the Azerbaijan scenery)


BEST FEMALE POV -- My favorite female-directed films of 2016, selected for FF2 Media.
Mi Madre (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Fits (kudos to Royalty Hightower and sound design) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Sworn Virgin (Vergine Giurata) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Always Shine (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Hold On (Houvast) (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Homeland (Hemland) (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Nkosi Coiffure (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Ping Pong Coach (乒乓) (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Father’s Day (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Anna (Per amor vostro) (kudos to Valeria Golino, director Giuseppe Gaudino, score by Epsilon Indi, and cinematographer Matteo Cocco) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Wednesday Child (A szerdai gyerek) (kudos to Kinga Vecsei and writer/director Lili Horváth) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Diary Of A Chambermaid (Journal d'une femme de chamber)
Parched (preview courtesy of Wolfe Releasing)
The Kind Words (Ha'milim ha'tovot) (preview for the 2016 Israel Film Center Festival courtesy of Strand Releasing)
Our Little Sister
Equity (kudos to Anna Gunn) Best Woman-Directed Feature 2016 (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Tale of Love and Darkness (Commentary on the Jewish women) (kudos to cinematographer Slawomir Idziak) Best Woman-Directed Foreign-Language Film 2016 (preview at 2016 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Aquarius (kudos to Sônia Braga) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Legal Smuggling with Christine Choy (short) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Krisha
The Innocents


Runners-Up: FEMALE POV I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Fatima (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Parisienne (Peur de rien) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Much Loved (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Kill Me Please (Mate-me por favor) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Happy Hour (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Califórnia (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Mother (Ema) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Children of the Mountain (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
All We Had (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
AWOL (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Meddler (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Things To Come (L’avenir) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
American Honey (kudos to the soundtrack)
Christine (kudos to Rebecca Hall)
Queen of Katwe (kudos to the African music soundtrack and locale)
Sand Storm (Sufat Chol)
Edge of 17 (caveat: the teens all look 25)
Dobro (short) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Baden Baden (preview at Anthology Film Archives, courtesy of MUBI)
White Girl
Hidden Figures (Way Back Machine Division)


BEST ROMANCES
Lolo (Rom Com Division) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Cleaner (Cistic) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image) (Obsession Division)
Southside With You (Way Back Machine Division)
From the Diary of a Wedding Photographer (Myomano Shel Tzlam Hatonot) (Anti-Romance Division) (short) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Tumbledown (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Summertime (La Belle saison) (Amour Fou Lesbian Division) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Perfect Strangers (Perfetti sconosciuti) (Anti-Romance Division) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)


BEST COMING OF AGERS
Songs My Brothers Taught Me (kudos to writer/director Chloé Zhao and cinematographer Joshua James Richards)
Hunt For The Wilderpeople (kudos to the cast, script, directing, scenery, and score) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Semele (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Babai (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
King Jack (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Morris From America (kudos to Markees Christmas) (preview for BAMcinemaFest 2016)
Little Men (kudos to Theo Taplitz & Michael Barbieri) (preview for BAMcinemaFest 2016)
Killa (The Fort) (seen in India’s New Wave at Museum of the Moving Image)
Moonlight (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


Runners-Up: COMING OF AGERS I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Viva (for the parents-figures with teen)
The New Kid (Le Nouveau) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Standing Tall (La Tête haute) (kudos to Rod Paradot) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Kicks (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Pele: Birth Of A Legend (kudos to the score) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
20th Century Women (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL
Neither Heaven Nor Earth [aka The Wakhan Front] (Ni le ciel ni la terre) (in Supernatural Division) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Demon (in Ghost Division) (Commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
April And The Extraordinary World (English version) (in Animated Division)
Reality + (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)


Runners-Up: BEST SCI FI/FANTASY/SUPERNATURAL I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Synchronicity (in Noir Romance Division)
Evolution (Bella e perduta) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Midnight Special
High-Rise (Satirical Dystopian Division) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Arrival (kudos to sound design, editing, and music by Jóhann Jóhannsson)
10 Cloverfield Lane
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
Passengers (Rom-Com Division)


BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS
Eye in the Sky
Remember (My additional Commentary on the Jewish women.)
Our Kind of Traitor
Hell or High Water (kudos to Jeff Bridges and score by Cave & Ellis)
In Order Of Disappearance (Kraftidioten) (kudos to Stellan Skarsgård, Bruno Ganz, and the scenery) (preview at 2014 Tribeca Film Festival)
Man Down
Hacksaw Ridge (kudos to cinematographer Simon Duggan)
Anthropoid


Runners-Up: ACTIONERS/THRILLERS I enjoyed despite quibbles
The Wave (Bølgen) (kudos to the scenery)
The Clan
Imperium
Snowden
Desierto (kudos to the score/sound design)
Miss Sloane (kudos to annoyingly eerie likenesses)


BEST NEO-NOIRS
Titli (Butterfly) (seen in India’s New Wave at Museum of the Moving Image)
Disorder (Maryland) (kudos to the sound design) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Dark Inclusion (Diamant noir) (My additional Commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Remainder (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Women Who Kill (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival) (Comedy Division)
Marshland (La isla mínima) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Department Q Trilogy: The Keeper Of Lost Causes; The Absent One; A Conspiracy Of Faith (kudos to Nikolaj Lie Kaas) (preview in The New Nordic Noir at IFC Center)
Old Stone (Lao Shi) (preview at Museum of the Moving Image)


Runners-Up: NEO-NOIRS I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Kirumi (Virus) (seen in India’s New Wave at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Fixer (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)


BEST HORRORS
Jeruzalem
Under the Shadow (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Bridgend (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to cinematography and sound design/score) (See with J.M. Williams’ 2013 documentary of the same name on the real town tragedy that inspired the feature.)
The Wailing
Train to Busan (Busanhaeng)


BEST USE OF THE WAY BACK MACHINE
Men Go To Battle (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to research into Civil War diaries and letters)
Elvis and Nixon (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Genius (Commentary on the Jewish woman)
Free State of Jones
Café Society (kudos to cinematography by Vittorio Storaro, production design by Santo Loquasto and costumes by Suzy Benzinger) (Commentary on the Jewish women)
Indignation (kudos to production designer Inbal Weinberg and costume designer Amy Roth)
Come What May (En mai, fais ce qu'il te plait)
Birth of a Nation
The Man Who Knew Infinity
Everybody Wants Some!!
The Witch
Silence (kudos to cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto/boo to torture porn)
Patriots Day


Best COMIC RELIEF from Depressing Movies Despite Nonsense:
The Treasure (Comoara) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Lobster (Dark Satire Division) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Men & Chickens (Mænd & Høns) (Noir Division)
Chevalier (Mocking Men Division) Best Woman-Directed Foreign-Language Film 2016
Hail Caesar! (Satire Division)


Runners-up: Best COMIC RELIEF from Depressing Movies Despite Nonsense:
The Nice Guys (Ultra-Violent Division)


BEST OF THE CINEMA OF THE ABSURD:
Pawel and Wawel (Pawel i Wawel) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Houston, We Have a Problem! (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
History’s Future (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Wiener-Dog


BEST MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries):
Marguerite (kudos to Catherine Frot)
A Magical Substance Flows Into Me (preview at 2016 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
As I Open My Eyes (À peine j'ouvre les yeux) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Bad Rap (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Girl Band (short) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Presenting Princess Shaw (Kudos to Samantha Montgomery and Ophir Kutiel)
The Beat of Love (Utrip Ljubezni) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Miss Sharon Jones! Best Woman-Directed Documentary 2016 (preview at 2015 DOC NYC Festival)
Argentina (preview courtesy of First Run Features)
Sonita (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and at IFC Center)
Dancer (preview courtesy of Sundance Selects)
The Jazz Loft According To W. Eugene Smith (preview at 2015 DOC NYC Festival)
Gimme Danger (kudos to the contextual clips) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Two Trains Runnin’ (kudos to music by Gary Clark Jr., Chris Thomas King, Valerie June, Buddy Guy, Lucinda Williams, Jimbo Mathus, Luther Dickinson/North Mississippi Allstars) (at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


Runners-Up: MOVIE MUSICALS (and music/dance bio-pics and documentaries) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Born to Be Blue
Contemporary Color (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Song Of Lahore (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Idol (Ya Tayr El Tayer)
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years (kudos to the restoration of the Shea Stadium concert)
La La Land (the leads can’t sing or dance)
Sing Street


BEST ACTORS/ACTRESSES better than their movies:
Emayatzy Corinealdi in Miles Ahead (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)


BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation)
The Orchestra (short) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Cafard (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
The BFG (kudos to Mark Rylance)
Kubo and The Two Strings
The Red Turtle (La tortue rouge)
Moana (in 2D) (kudos to a couple of songs)
A Monster Calls (kudos to production design)


Runners-Up: BEST ANIMATION (and use of animation) I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Finding Dory/Piper
Sausage Party


Runners-Up: BEST ANIMATION EFFECTS-RELATED I Recommend Despite My Gripes:
Pete’s Dragon (Boo to the fur!)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES:
I Am the People (Je suis le peuple) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Abandoned Goods (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Lou Beth Zayma: What Eyes Are Pretending To See (Ce Que L’œil Pretend Voir) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Rabin, The Last Day (My additional Notes.) (preview at 2016 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Toponymy (Toponimia) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
My Aleppo (short seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Long Story Short (short seen in An Evening with Natalie Bookchin at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
France Is Our Mother Country (La France est notre patrie) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Ettrick (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
The Great Wall (kudos to the relevance of Franz Kafka’s short story “The Building of the Great Wall of China”) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Memories from Gehenna (Souvenirs de la Géhenne) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
INAATE/SE [it shines a certain way, to a certain place./it flies. falls./] (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Behemoth (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Birth Of Saké (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Command and Control (episode of PBS’s American Experience) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Return (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
National Bird (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four Best Woman-Directed Documentary 2016 (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Win! (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Solitary (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival) (reviewed at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Prison Dogs (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Memories Of A Penitent Heart (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Spartacus and Cassandra (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Lampedusa in Winter (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Kate Plays Christine
Under the Sun (V paprscích slunce) (preview at Film Forum)
Hooligan Sparrow (My edited capsule “Best of 2016” review) (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and at IFC Center)
Jackson (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and at IFC Center)
Ovarian Psycos (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and at IFC Center)
When Two Worlds Collide (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
The Eagle Huntress (kudos to cinematographer Simon Niblett, photographer Asher Svidensky, scenery, and score)
The Crossing (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Starless Dreams (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Among the Believers (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (Notes on 9/11 references)
Raising Bertie (seen in "Kartemquin Films at 50" at Museum of the Moving Image)
Tower
Brillo Box (3¢ Off) (short) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (Nu - Note on: putative Jewish women)
The Illinois Parables (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Bending to Earth (short) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Flowers of the Sky (short) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Marathon: The Patriots Day Bombing (Note on 9/11 reference) (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Off The Rails (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Tickled


Runners-Up: Documentaries I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Over the Years (Über du Jahre) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
The Event (Sobytie) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Out of Norway (as the sequel to Imagining Emanuel I saw at Documentary Fortnight 2012, seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Scrumped (Extended Version) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Wake (Subic) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Eldorado XXI (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Other Side (preview at 2016 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
Academy of Muses (La Academia de las Musas) (preview at 2016 Art of the Real of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Show of Shows (kudos to University Of Sheffield’s National Fairground Archive) (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Daddy Don’t Go (preview at 2015 DOC NYC Festival)
My Love, Don't Cross That River (preview courtesy of Film Movement)
Lucha Mexico (preview at 2015 DOC NYC Festival)
Inside The Chinese Closet) (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and at IFC Center)
Growing Up Coy (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
Suited (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center) (My additional commentary on the Jewish female participants.)
Do Not Resist (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)
13th (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
I Had Nowhere To Go (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Cuba, Fatherland Or Death (Patria O Muerte) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Fire At Sea (Fuocoammare) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Portrait of a Garden (Appreciated in memoriam to Marco Polo Stufano) (preview at Film Forum)
Winter at Westbeth (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Super Girl (Note on the Jewish females) (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
City of Joy (Note on the Jewish woman leader) (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Ne Me Quitte Pas (in “Most Depressing” category) (preview at 2014 Tribeca Film Festival)
Those Who Jump (Les Sauteurs) (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)


BEST BIO DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or glosses:
Le Juif de Lascaux (Commentary on the Jewish women) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
City Of Gold
And When I Die, I Won’t Stay Dead (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Chi (Mr. Zhang Believes) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Call Her Applebroog (alternative link) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Last Man in Dhaka Central (The Young Man Was, Part 3) (seen at MoMA’s 2016 Documentary Fortnight)
Peter and the Farm (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Weiner (Commentary on the Jewish woman) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Magnus (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
After Spring (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Pistol Shrimps (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Team Foxcatcher (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Free as the Birds (short) (seen at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Vita Activa: The Spirit Of Hannah Arendt (So, nu: my additional commentary on this Jewish woman.)
Don’t Blink – Robert Frank (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Norman Lear: Just Another Version Of You
Gleason
Uncle Howard (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The White Helmets (seen on Netflix)


BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINÉPHILES:
João Bénard da Costa—Others Will Love the Things I Have Loved (João Bénard da Costa: Outros amarão as coisas que eu amei) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Ozoners (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Crystal World (short seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Cameraperson (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
I Don’t Belong Anywhere: The Cinema Of Chantal Akerman (preview at Film Forum)
De Palma (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Cinema Travellers (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
I Am Not Your Negro (preview for 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (Thanks to Maysles Cinema for walking tour of “James Baldwin’s Harlem”)
By Sidney Lumet (Our cousin Danielle Shapiro is thanked in the credits.) (Episode of PBS’s American Masters)
Mifune: The Last Samurai
Finding Kukan (seen at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
The Islands and the Whales (seen on BBC/shown at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)


Runners-Up: BEST DOCUMENTARIES FOR CINÉPHILES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Color Correction (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Spectrum Reverse Spectrum (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Pixel Jungle (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Here Come the Videofreex (My additional notes.)
Author: The JT Leroy Story
The Lovers and the Despot


Educational DOCS you can learn from despite gaps and/or flaws):
Colliding Dreams
Life, Animated (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
This Magic Moment (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Shadow World (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
Germans & Jews (So, nu: my additional commentary.)
Lo And Behold, Reveries of the Connected World
The Seasons In Quincy: Four Portraits Of John Berger (preview at Film Forum)
Rikers (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
The Beekeeper and His Son (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Trezoros: The Lost Jews Of Kastoria
Defying The Nazis: The Sharps War
Food Evolution (preview at 2016 DOC NYC Festival)
Zero Days
Blood on the Mountain
Bobby Sands: 66 Days
Seasons (Saisons) (French language version preview courtesy of Music Box Films)
Nuts!


DOCUMENTARIES – Best Reenactments
Maestà (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Story of Judas (Histoire de Judas) (preview at 2016 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Lost and Beautiful (Bella e perduta) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Francophonia
LoveTrue (preview at 2016 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Spirits Diary (Rakijaški dnevnik) (seen in 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
Sully (fictionalized docu-drama)
Notes On Blindness


BEST for the CREATIVE CINEMATOGRAPHY:
Bleak Street (La Calle de la Amargura) (kudos to cinematographer Alejandro Cantú) (preview at Film Forum)
Touched With Fire (kudos to cinematographers Kristina Nikolova and Alexander Stanishev)
Tikkun (Commentary on the Jewish women) (kudos to cinematographer Shai Goldman) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Neon Bull (Boi Neon) (kudos to cinematographer Diego García) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The 9th Life of Louis Drax
Nocturnal Animals (kudos to cinematographer Seamus McGarvey)


BEST for the SCENERY
The Visit (La Visite) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Tower (A Torre) (short seen in ”A Matter of Visibility: International Avant-Garde & Artists’ Cinema” at 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Kaili Blues (Lu bian ye can) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Mountain (Ha'har) (Commentary on the Jewish women) (preview at 2016 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Last Days in the Desert (kudos to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, and score by Danny Bensi & Saunder Jurriaans)
Les Cowboys (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Ornithologist (O Ornitólogo) (kudos to the birds) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Lion


BEST REVIVALS IN NEW PRINTS
Orchard Street (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Night Train (Pociag) (seen in 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
I Knew Her Well (Io la conoscevo bene) (preview at Film Forum)
Dekalog (preview courtesy The Criterion Collection)
Daughters of the Dust (preview courtesy Cohen Media)
Taipei Story (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Aux quatre coins, Le quadrille, and Le divertissement (Jacques Rivette shorts) (preview at 2016 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
The Russians Are Coming (Die Russen kommen) (seen at 2016 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
From the Branches Drops the Withered Blossom (Déjà s’envole la fleur maigre) (seen at 2016 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Comradeship (Kameradschaft) (seen at 2016 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Westfront 1918: Vier von der Infanterie (seen at 2016 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Children Must Laugh (Mir Kumen On) (seen at 2016 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
The Last Chance (Die Letzte Chance) (seen at 2016 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art)
Behind the Door (seen at 2016 To Save and Project: MoMA International Festival of Film Preservation of Museum of Modern Art) (kudos to live piano/flute/accordion accompaniment by Stephen Horne)

And thanks for theatrical showings for my first-time viewings on big screens of:
The Lighted Field and RIP: Chantal Akerman's video Trois strophes sur le nom de Sacher (seen in 2016 First Look and Cara Morton’s 16mm Across (shorts seen in A Matter of Visibility: International Avant-Garde & Artists’ Cinema at 2016 First Look at Museum of the Moving Image)
Benilde, or the Virgin Mother (Benilde ou a Virgem Mãe) and Past and Present (O Passado e o Presente) in Manoel de Oliveira’s Tetralogy of Frustrated Love in 35mm (preview at Film at Lincoln Center)
Yesterday Girl (Abschied Von Gestern – Anita G.) and Fritz Bauer - Death By Installments (Tod Auf Raten) in the series Enemy Territory – Fritz Bauer & Postwar Germany at the Goethe Institut
Blues By The Beach (seen at Cinematek Forest Hills)


NOTABLE FILM-RELATED EXHIBITS
Martin Scorsese at Museum of the Moving Image (organized by Deutsche Kinemathek - Museum für Film und Fernsehen, Berlin)

Laura Poitras: Astro Noise at the Whitney Museum of American Art


MY BEST FILMS of 2015 (By theatrical release date, then the order I saw them, many reviews yet to be written, particularly of festivals-viewed, non-theatrically distributed films):
White God (Fehér isten) (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Great Man (Le grand homme) (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
About Elly (Darbareye Elly) (briefly reviewed in Part 1 Recommendations at 2009 Tribeca Film Festival)
We Are Young. We Are Strong. (Wir sind jung. Wir sind stark.) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Wondrous Boccaccio (Maraviglioso Boccaccio) (kudos to the cinematography) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Way of Tea (Les Frémissements du Thé) (short seen at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Red Leaves (preview in 2015 New York African Film Festival at Film at Lincoln Center)
Taxi (My additional note.)
Arabian Nights: Volume 1 - The Restless One; Volume 2 - The Desolate One; Volume 3 - The Enchanted One (As Mil e Uma Noites: O Inquieto; O Desolado; O Encantado) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
99 Homes (kudos to Michael Shannon, Andrew Garfield, score by Antony Partos & Matteo Zingales)
Room
The Walk (in IMAX 3D) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Bridge of Spies (kudos to the cinematography) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Son of Saul (Saul Fia) (kudos to Géza Röhrig, writer/director László Nemes, cinematographer Mátyás Erdély and sound designer Tamás Zányi) (My edited capsule “Best of 2015” review) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
MacBeth (kudos to Shakespeare adaptation, cinematography, and scenery)
Spotlight (kudos to ensemble and script – plus the link to The Wire)
Mediterranea (seen courtesy of IFC Center)
Beasts of No Nation (kudos to Idris Elba and Abraham Attah)
Time Out of Mind (kudos to Richard Gere)

Runners-Up: MOVIES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
The Dune (at 2015 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Little Accidents
Anarchy (as in Shakespeare’s Cymbeline à la Sons of Anarchy) (preview at 2015 Film Comments Selects of Film at Lincoln Center)
Of Horses and Men (kudos to the cinematography) (preview at 2014 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Court (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Far From Men (Loin Des Hommes) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to the scenery)
Ashby (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to Mickey Rourke and Nat Wolff)
Virgin Mountain (Fúsi) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
The Dinner (I Nostri Ragazzi) (preview at 2015 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Good Kill (seen at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival; at the 2016 Fest, the Israeli short Operator was similar.)
Manglehorn
The Stanford Prison Experiment (kudos to Ezra Miller, Tye Sheridan, and Michael Angarano)
Holmes
Learning to Drive (go eat at an Indian restaurant after!)
Pawn Sacrifice
The Cut (Notes)
Experimenter (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Trash
Trumbo (kudos to Bryan Cranston and ensemble)
One Floor Below (Un etaj mai jos) (preview in 2015 Making Waves: New Romanian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Big Short (Kudos to the ensemble) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)

BEST FEMALE POV
Feature:
Beloved Sisters (Die geliebten Schwestern) (preview at 2014 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Timbuktu (preview at 2014 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (My additional note.)
Clouds Of Sils Maria (kudos to Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart) (preview at 2014 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Mommy (kudos to Anne Dorval and Suzanne Clement)
Gett: The Trial Of Viviane Amsalem (preview at 2015 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (kudos to Ronit Elkabetz)
Tsili (at 2015 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Kumiko the Treasure Hunter (kudos to the scenery and love for Fargo) [NB: My colleague Kyoko Hirano objected to stereotyped view of an Asian woman.]
Breathe (Respire) (preview at 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Fidelio, Alice’s Odyssey (Fidelio, l’odyssée d’Alice) (preview at 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Party Girl (preview at 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
The Kindergarten Teacher (Haganenet) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.) (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
The Lesson (Urok)
Chlorine (Cloro) (preview at 2015 Open Roads: New Italian Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Testament of Youth (kudos to the script, Alicia Vikander, and Kit Harington)
Grandma (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to Lily Tomlin)
Next To Her (At Li Layla) (kudos to co-writer/co-star Liron Ben-Shlush and Dana Ivgy) (seen at 2015 Israel Film Center Festival)
Mustang
No Home Movie (Go Skype your mother!) (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
I Smiled Back (kudos to Sarah Silverman)
Phoenix (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women)
Daughter (Dukhtar)
Difret
The Summer of Sangaile (Sangailes vasara) (seen courtesy of IFC Center) (briefly reviewed for 2016 Panorama Europe at Museum of the Moving Image)
The Second Mother (Que Horas Ela Volta?) (Showing 2016 in O Brasil: Contemporary Brazilian Cinema at at Museum of the Moving Image)
Joy (kudos to Jennifer Lawrence and writer/director David O. Russell) (So, nu: my commentary on “Joan Rivers”.)

Documentary:
The Muses of Isaac Bashevis Singer (preview at 2015 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
The Polgár Variant (at 2015 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum)
Trials of Spring (multi-media project preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest ’15: NonViolence & Revolt at Film at Lincoln Center) (included in PBS’s Women War & Peace II)
Burden Of Peace (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest ’15: NonViolence & Revolt at Film at Lincoln Center)
Mala Mala (preview at 2014 Tribeca Film Festival)
He Named Me Malala

Animation:
When Marnie Was There (with subtitles)
Inside Out (But 2D was weaker)

Runners-Up: BEST FEMALE POV Features I Recommend Despite my Gripes
My Friend Victoria (Mon amie Victoria) (preview at 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Tu dors Nicole (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Bare (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Being 14 (À 14 ans) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Catwalk (short seen at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Listen (short seen at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
A Mighty Nice Man (short seen at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to the cinematography and young Kylie McVey)
Heaven Knows What (preview at 2014 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center) (kudos to Arielle Holmes)
Train Wreck (NB: Doesn’t pass Bechdel Test)
The Diary of a Teenage Girl (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Apples From the Desert (Tapoukhim min ha'midbar) (seen at 2015 Israel Film Center Festival)
Brooklyn (My colleague Martha P. Nochinson reported on the reaction to my questioning the creative team at the 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center preview. I’m the first audience questioner at the press conference.)
The New Girlfriend (Une nouvelle amie)
Flowers (Loreak)
The Danish Girl (kudos to Alicia Vikander)
The Lady In The Van (for Dame Maggie Smith)

Runners-Up: BEST FEMALE POV Docs I Recommend Despite my Gripes
Code: Debugging The Gender Gap (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish women.)
Dior and I (only as a tribute to Florence Chehet, première for the atelier flou, and Monique Bailly, première for the atelier tailleur, and their seamstresses)
Everything Is Copy (preview at 2015 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)

BEST ROMANCES
Love at First Fight (Les Combattants) (preview at 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Christmas, Again (kudos to Kentucker Audley) (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)
Viaje (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
El Cinco (El 5 De Talleres) (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Far From the Madding Crowd (sigh for Matthias Schoenaerts)
Coming Home (Gui lai)
The High Sun (Zvizdan) (preview at Human Rights Watch Film Fest 2016 at Film at Lincoln Center and IFC Center)

Runners-Up: ROMANCES I Recommend Despite My Gripes
Felix and Meira (preview at 2015 New York Jewish Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center/The Jewish Museum) (So, nu: my commentary on the Jewish woman.)
Gaby Baby Doll (preview at 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Dixieland (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to interspersed real people interviews and actors Chris Zylka and Riley Keough)
Sleeping With Other People (preview at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Warning Labels (short seen at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival) (kudos to director Jennifer Morrison of House, M.D.and Once Upon A Time)
The Statistical Analysis of Your Failing Relationship (short seen at 2015 Tribeca Film Festival)
Uncertain Terms (seen in 2014 Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You at MoMA)
The Little Death
Results
Gemma Bovery

BEST ACTIONERS/THRILLERS
Black Sea (kudos to Jude Law)
’71 (kudos to Jack O’Connell, editing, cinematography, and music) (preview at 2014 New York Film Festival of Film at Lincoln Center)
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken (kudos to Amsterdam chase scenes)
The Connection (La French) (preview at 2015 Rendez-Vous with French Cinema at Film at Lincoln Center)
Haemoo (preview at 2015 New Directors/New Films of Film at Lincoln Center/MoMA)