While I didn’t get to be Ryan Gosling’s +1 at the gala or hear Robert De Niro’s post-“The Comedian” Q&A (my job was to drive over 170 films to six theaters, which left little time to actually ATTEND the festival), I did leave Palm Springs with an excellent list of films I plan on watching during the remainder of winter.
(To see the complete “Best of Fest” list, go HERE)
Starting at the Harris Theater on Feb 17, “I Am Not Your Negro” features the voice of Samuel L. Jackson, and is a documented journey through black history that connects the Civil Rights movement to the current #BlackLivesMatter movement. Using Baldwin’s elegant words with rich archival material, “I Am Not Your Negro” questions black representation in Hollywood and beyond, and challenges the very definition of what America stands for.
In a sad but timely tribute to Debby Reynolds and Carrie Fisher “Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds” is an affectionate, touching and candid portrait of Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher is an intimacy Hollywood documentary like no other: it’s as if we’re eavesdropping on a private conversation.
“No Dress Code Required” is an engrossing documentary feature that follows Víctor and Fernando, an unassuming Baja California couple who, in 2013, found themselves in the center of a social firestorm over their desire to get married. Weighing all their options, including having the ceremony performed in Mexico City where same-sex marriage was made legal in 2010, the pair opt to stay in their hometown of Mexicali and fight for their rights.
Mark your calendars for the not-to-miss collaboration of Gus Van Sant and Dustin Lance Black in their mini-series “When We Rise”, which airs February 27th on ABC. “When We Rise” is an impassioned seven-part docudrama that charts the rise of the Gay Liberation movement from its embattled origins in the 1960s to its 21st-century triumphs.
