Happy Bubday! Today Vice released the official trailer for the “Lil Bub & Friendz” documentary, and boy does it look great. So much Bub, and spaceships, and magical times. The film will premiere at the 2013 Tribeca Film Festival this spring. We can’t wait. [Vice]
I watched this 17-minute documentary called “Dirty Girls” and my heart fell out of my chest for these girls. Shot by then-high school senior Michael Lucia in 1996, the film investigates a group of 13-year-old girls with a reputation for being “dirty” –as in unwashed and unclean. The “Dirty Girl” crew is spearheaded by two sisters, Amanda and Harper, who just don’t give a fuck what other people think of them. The girls make a riot grrl zine that they distribute around school — and some of the worst criticism they get is (surprise, surprise) not from boys, but from other girls, many of whom appear to espouse an “alternative” aesthetic, too.
Man, high school. Keep reading »
The psychedelic ’60s and ’70s seemed like a sweet time to be a cult leader. Case in point: Father Yod, the legendary leader of the Source Family, a Los Angeles cult, a guy who gave himself multiple wives and was chauffered around in a Rolls-Royce. The Father preached peace, love and psychedelics, and spread the word on his solo records and through his band Yo Ho Wah 13. And dude rocked a sweet flowing beard. Yod — real name James Baker — had been a highly decorated Marine in his former life, and as the head of the Source Family, opened the first vegetarian restaurant, called Source Restaurant, in L.A. Plus, he has a pretty epic death story. In 1975, he attempted to hang glide off a 1,300-foot cliff, even though he had no previous hang-gliding experience. He crash landed (could have seen that one coming) and died several hours later. This new documentary about Yod and his followers, “The Source Family,” will be out this May. [BoingBoing]
When he wasn’t otherwise occupied writing poems about the president, James Franco has been busily producing a documentary about Kink.com, the premiere web site for BDSM porn. “Kink,” which is debuting now at the Sundance Film Festival, explores the production company that runs Kink.com and their film shoots in San Francisco’s Armory. Franco and his collaborator, cinematographer Christina Voros, showcase the various folks who are drawn to this quirky profession, like Maitresse Madeline, and get the scoop straight from the horse’s ball-gagged-mouth about how some people misunderstand sadomasochistic sex play to be abuse. I’m pleased to hear that “Kink” explains “safe words,” too. Can’t wait to see this when it comes out in theaters! Damn, James Franco, you are really making me like you.
People who say they read Vogue for the articles are missing the point. Vogue is about fashion, fashion, fashion — and the keepers of the fashion pages are the fashion editors. A new HBO documentary, ”In Vogue: The Editor’s Eye,” chronicles Vogue fashion editors past and present. In addition to well-loved Grace Coddington, “In Vogue” features interviews with past editors Babs Simpson, Tonne Goodman, Phyllis Posnick, Jade Hobson, Carlyne Cerf, Polly Mellen and Camilla Nickerson. We want to know everything about Polly Mellen, who refers to herself as “the spoiled brat of the fashion world.” The documentary airs December 6 on HBO. We’ll be watching!
I’m not even sure “cult hit” is the right way to describe “Arrested Development,” but that is neither here nor there. Obsessed fans, of which there are many, will be delighted to know there’s going to be “Arrested Development” documentary and the trailer is finally out. It looks to be as much about the characters on the show as it is about the fans. This will be unique, as fan docs go: it was filed after the show got canceled, but before the forthcoming “revival season” of the show airs on Netflix. It’s a self-funded project and you can keep track of how it’s going on their website. Insert-an-”Arrested Development”-joke here, nerds. [YouTube via BuzzFeed]
On this week’s episode of “What We Missed,” I totally bite it! So clutzy. Also, Ami and Jessica were both super pumped about a new documentary they saw called “Girl Model,” which takes a disturbing look at how model scouts go to small Eastern European villages and scout girls as young as 12 and 13, sending them to places like Japan to work. Keep reading »
I just watched the trailer for “Donkey Love,” a documentary about remote parts of Colombia where the deep, dark secret is that lots of men have sex with donkeys. Then I watched three more times in a row just to make sure I was understanding it correctly. Julie is of the opinion that this film is a hoax as evidenced by how flippant filmmaker, Daryl Stoneage, comes off in the trailer. He’s does have a real, “Hey bro, let me watch while you abuse your animals and laugh about it,” kind of a vibe. Um, why is he laughing? But I’d have to see the entire film to more of a sense of its veracity. Keep reading »
The other day, I watched “Fela Kuti: Music Is The Weapon,” a 1980s’ documentary about Nigerian musician and activist Fela Kuti. Kuti’s life has been turned into a hit Broadway play called Fela (see it if you can), and his songs of revolution, strife and struggles of everyday life in Nigeria still resonate today. “Music Is The Weapon” chronicles Kuti’s 1983 failed run for president of Nigeria, and the intimidation and torture he and his family endured at the hands of police. Kuti’s family was rather, um, nontraditional; in the ’70s, he married 27 women — members of his extended band and dancers for his performances — in one large Yoruba ceremony. He called them his “queens,” and apparently he only kept 12 wives on tap in his commune (dubbed the Kalakuta Republic) at any given time, rotating them in and out of matrimonial service. After police pressure on the Kuti compound increased, many of his wives deserted him.
After a stint in prison in 1985 he divorced all of his wives, claiming that he no longer believed in marriage. The women featured in “Music Is The Weapon” were some of Kuti’s closest companions and advisers, the mothers of his children and followers of his belief in radical change for Nigeria. They also had incredible style — as these shots of the women in full performance makeup — prove.
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