OVID’s August Releases: Our First Ever DOC MONTH Featuring 30 Documentaries Including 24 Exclusive Streaming Premieres!

OVID.tv, which Wired.com said has established itself by “catering to niche audiences” and “film buffs” and Vulture.com stated is “an intriguing mix of documentaries and arthouse-type movies (current and classic),” is proud to announce its wide-ranging selection of films coming in August with 30 documentaries (and one short fiction film) as part of its first ever DOC MONTH including 24 Exclusive Streaming Premieres.

Highlights include two new documentary features by Vitaly Mansky (Sunrise/Sunset, 24 hours in the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and Putin’s Witnesses, chronicling the origins of the Russian president’s regime) as well Mila Turajlić’s The Other Side of Everything, which won Best Documentary at International Documentary Festival Amsterdam 2018. The Independent has hailed this Serbian filmmaker as “one of the most galvanizing voices for political action in contemporary documentary cinema.” 

There are also two docs on climate change by David Abel (Entangled and Lobster War), and one short fiction film, Killing Time by Fronza Woods along with her short doc Fannie’s Film. Stop, by Spencer Wolff, examines the class-action lawsuit that challenged the New York City Police Department’s practice of stop & frisk; Sophie Fiennes’ Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow bears witness to the incredible creative process of German artist Anselm Kiefer; and much more!

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(Image from Aminatou Echard's Jamilia, premiering on OVID on August 19th)

Wednesday, August 4th

Sunrise/Sunset: Dalai Lama XIV
Directed by Vitaly Mansky
Featuring the Dalai Lama
Kino Lorber | Documentary | Russia | 2009

The daily life of the Dalai Lama is brought home with remarkable intimacy in Sunrise/Sunset. Granted total access to His Holiness for 24 hours, this is a day in the life of the Dalai Lama from when he wakes up at 3AM until his bedtime at dusk. Starting with his morning fitness routine and continuing on through the private audiences, press conferences, and blessings he imparts every day, it is a comprehensive and compassionate document of his everyday habits.

“Sometimes the people call me a living Buddha or a God King, but I always say, this is nonsense. Through this film you will realize, I am a normal human being, nothing special. Just a normal Buddhist monk.” —The Dalai Lama

Putin’s Witnesses
Directed by Vitaly Mansky
Icarus Films | Documentary | Russia | 2018

Examines the early life of Vladimir Putin and the political machine that brought him to power.

“Exiled Russian docmaker Vitaly Mansky reassembles his own first-hand footage from the early days of the Putin presidency, to damning, gripping effect.” —Variety

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2018, Grand Prix for Best Documentary

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Thursday, August 5th

Bontoc Eulogy
Directed by Marlon Fuentes
Sentient.Art.Film | Documentary/Drama Hybrid | USA | 1995

Drawing on the Smithsonian’s archive of the “living exhibits” of Filipinos at the 1904 St. Louis World’s Fair, the only film from Marlon Fuentes nests a narrative of discovering family lore, ethnography of the Bontoc people, and stylized enactments in a far-reaching inquiry into historical erasure.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Friday, August 6th

Killing Time
Directed by Fronza Woods
Women Make Movies | Short Narrative | USA | 1979

An offbeat, wryly humorous look at the dilemma of a would-be suicide unable to find the right outfit to die in, examines the personal habits, socialization, and complexities of life that keep us going.

“An unforgettable ten-minute short plumbing the art of everyday horror.” —Village Voice

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Fannie’s Film
Directed by Fronza Woods
Women Make Movies | Short Documentary | USA | 1979

A 65-year-old cleaning woman for a professional dancers’ exercise studio performs her job while telling us in voiceover about her life, hopes, goals, and feelings. A challenge to mainstream media’s ongoing stereotypes of women of color who earn their living as domestic workers, this seemingly simple documentary achieves a quiet revolution: the expressive portrait of a fully realized individual.

“Stunning. A brutal, brilliant allegory for women and film.” —New York Times

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Tuesday, August 10th

In Mansourah, You Separated Us
Directed by Dorothée-Myriam Kellou
Icarus Films | Documentary | France | 2019

The director returns to Algeria with her father Malek to learn about how his village was destroyed during the Algerian War of Independence (1954–1962) and his family relocated by force.

Malek serves as guide and translator for the viewers and his daughter, who does not speak Arabic and is shocked by the silence surrounding the deportations. The film sheds light on a largely silenced, yet essential part of Algerian-French colonial history.

“Timely, intimate and personal; evocative and respectful… a vivid and emotional portrait of the forgotten.” —Amber Wilkinson, Eye for Film

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Tadmor
Directed by Monika Borgmann and Lokman Slim, Icarus Films, Documentary, 2016
Lebanon/France/Switzerland/Qatar/United Arab Emirates

Former Lebanese detainees break their long-held silence about the horrific years they spent imprisoned in Tadmor, one of the Assad regime’s most dreadful prisons in Syria.

“[I was] unable to tear my eyes away. A much-needed spotlight on a dark history that should not be overlooked. [With masterful cinematography, Tadmor] speaks volumes on the lasting impacts of systematic torture and degradation; the pain and trauma echoing in the silence cannot be unheard.” —Al Jadid: A Review of Arab Culture & Arts

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Tinghir-Jerusalem
Directed by Kamal Hachkar
Icarus Films | Documentary | France/Israel/Morocco | 2011

Filmmaker Kamal Hachkar searches for the lost community of Berber Jews in Morocco.

“Beautiful; touching. Records a little known historical period of peaceful plurality and its subsequent loss.” —Al Jadid: A Review of Arab Culture & Arts

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Wednesday, August 11th

East Punk Memories
Directed by Lucile Chaufour
Featuring musicians Kelemen Balazs, Toth Miklos, Mozsik Imre, Marton Attila, Papp Zoltan Gyorgy, Vanyi Tamas, Rupaszov Tamas, Horvath Attila, Erds Jozsef, Vojtko Dezs, Asztalos Ildiko and Torjek Tunde with their punk bands Aurora, Bandanas, CPG, ETA, Kretens and Modells
Icarus Films | Documentary | France | 2014

Candid, home movie-esque Super 8mm footage that Chaufour filmed in Hungary during punk’s heyday is paired with contemporary interviews of the same musicians today. They bring a generation of experience to this resonant discussion of the position their music and culture has played in their country’s political evolution with the passage of time.

Young Jury Award, Cinema du Reel International Documentary Festival

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

The Other Side of Everything
Directed by Mila Turajlić
Icarus Films | Documentary | Serbia | 2017

A locked door inside a Belgrade home has kept one family separated from their past for generations. An intimate conversation between the director and her mother, the dynamic activist and scholar Srbijanka Turajlić, reveals a house and a country haunted by history. What begins as the chronicle of a childhood home grows into an elegant portrait of a charismatic and brilliant woman in times of great political turmoil.

“A historic step for Serbian cinema… Powerful and honest.” —Vice Magazine

Best Documentary, 2018 International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
Best Writing, 2018 International Documentary Association (IDA) Awards
Best Director of a Documentary, 2018 RiverRun International Film Festival
World Premiere, 2017 Toronto International Film Festival

The Ugliest Car
Directed by Grzegorz Szczepaniak
Deckert Distribution | Documentary | Poland | 2017

The youngest protagonist of the documentary is a Wartburg automobile over 50 years old. The car is still on the road, driven by Bogdan, who is inside it with his mother Kazimiera. This road movie which takes place between the concentration camp of Majdanek, Poland, and a former Nazi labor factory in Germany is actually a journey into the past, retracing the memories from the war.

It is also a portrayal of a unique relationship between mother and son. Bogdan devotes almost all his time to Kazimiera—except for the moments when he proudly presents the quaint ugliness of the car to the people he accidentally meets.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Thursday, August 12th

Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton
Directed by Stephen Silha and Eric Slade
Kino Lorber | Documentary | USA | 2013

James Broughton’s remarkable story spans a lifetime of acclaim for his joyous experimental films and poetry celebrating the human body, finding his soulmate at age 61 and finally, his ascendancy as a revered bard of sexual liberation.

Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow
Directed by Sophie Fiennes
Kino Lorber | Documentary | France | 2010

Starting in 2000, German artist Anselm Kiefer began constructing a series of large elaborate structures, comprising 48 buildings, a labyrinth of tunnels, bridges, lakes and towers. The film bears witness to an incredible creative process.

“A mesmerizing spectacle… A trip you’ll never forget.” —Salon

Anne Clark – I’ll Walk Out Into Tomorrow
Directed by Claus Withopf
Deckert Distribution | Documentary | Germany | 2017

Anne Clark, English poet and spoken word-artist, has been celebrated worldwide on stage for more than 30 years. She set standards as an iconic eloquent, yet modest rebel and is a pioneer of electronic music. The filmmaker Claus Withopf has accompanied Anne Clark for almost a decade and gives deep insight into her life and work.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Friday, August 13th

Stop
Directed by Spencer Wolff
Featuring David Ourlicht, Michael Bloomberg, and Ray Kelly
Kino Lorber | Documentary | USA | 2014

Stop is a feature length documentary about Floyd v. City of New York, the class-action lawsuit that challenged the New York City Police Department’s practice of stop & frisk, and resulted in the landmark decision finding the practice unconstitutional.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Like Any Other Kid
Directed by Victoria Mills
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2017

Follows the intimate relationships between incarcerated youth and staff who use love and structure to teach youth offenders how to take responsibility for themselves.

“If we have a lot of young people imprisoned, there is obviously something wrong from the beginning. Like Any Other Kid is showing us a big lesson on the principles of what nations and society has to be.” —Toni Navarro, Director, The Barcelona Film and Human Rights Festival

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Seats at the Table
Directed by Chris Farina
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2018

Portrays a remarkable college class which connects university students with incarcerated students discussing Russian literature at a maximum security juvenile facility.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Tuesday, August 17th

Entangled
Directed by David Abel
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2021

How climate change has accelerated a collision between one of the world’s most endangered species, North America’s most valuable fishery, and a federal agency mandated to protect both.

“Analyzes the dilemma with clarity, evenhandedness, and empathy.” —The Boston Globe

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Lobster War
Directed by David Abel
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2019

Climate-changed ocean temperatures shift New England’s lobster fishery across national boundaries, sparking international tension.

“Beautiful… Compelling.” —Cape Cod Times

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Wednesday, August 18th

No Fear No Favor
Directed by Mirra Bank
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2020

African communities on the front lines of the poaching crisis fight to protect their wildlife for future generations.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Dark Eden
Directed by Jasmin Herold & Michael Beamish
Deckert Distribution | Documentary | Germany | 2018

On a journey for an answer to the question, “How high is the price for a better life?,” the directors explore Fort McMurray in the far north of Canada, home of the largest industrial project and the third largest oil reserve on the planet. People from all over the world come here to earn sky-high salaries at the sacrifice of the environment. Film and reality collide as the directors find themselves in their own personal nightmare.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Thursday, August 19th

I Cannot Tell You How I Feel
Directed by Su Friedrich
Icarus Films | Documentary | USA | 2016

Su Friedrich takes up the camera in a new chapter of her quest to film the battleground of family life. Her mother Lore—who played the lead in The Ties That Bind (1984), a film about her experiences growing up in Germany during the Second World War—plays the lead again, this time kicking and protesting against being moved at the age of 94 from her home in Chicago.

“A moving, tragic, frequently funny, and profoundly empathetic consideration of mortality and filial responsibility.” —Fandor

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Jamilia
Directed by Aminatou Echard
Icarus Films | Documentary | Kyrgyzstan | 2018

This mesmerizing film, shot in Kyrgyzstan on richly saturated Super-8 footage, is a search for Jamilia, the title character in that country’s famous novel by Chinghiz Aitmatov, about a young woman who rebels against the strict rules of her society.

Over the course of its haunting narrative, director Aminatou Echard introduces contemporary Kyrgyz women who, in talking about this literary heroine, reveal their own private lives and desires, the social rules they chafe under and their ideas of freedom.

“The honesty, determination and authenticity of the women Echard has interviewed will win one over.” —Asian Movie Pulse

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Mrs. B., A North Korean Woman
Directed by Jero Yun
Icarus Films | Documentary | France | 2016

This documentary shows the reality of a woman who left everything behind, including her husband and two sons, to seek a better life, and who, in some ways, has known the worst. And speaking of “the worst,” Mrs. B. (whose name is never revealed) knows everything there is to know about the trafficking of North Koreans.

Over a decade, she has learned the tricks of the trade herself and runs a trafficking business from her small farmhouse in northern China. Now, she plans to return to Seoul herself, seek refugee status, see her Korean husband and sons again, and then send for her Chinese husband and his octogenarian parents.

“Reveals sentiments very much out of sync with the mainstream representations of North Korea, its people and its relationship with its neighbors… Powerful.” —The Hollywood Reporter

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Friday, August 20th

The Revisionaries
Directed by Scott Thurman
Kino Lorber | Documentary | USA | 2012

In Austin, Texas, fifteen people influence what is taught to the next generation of American children. Once every decade, the highly politicized Texas State Board of Education rewrites the teaching and textbook standards for its nearly 5 million schoolchildren. And when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas affects the nation as a whole.

The Revisionaries follows the rise and fall of some of the most controversial figures in American education through some of their most tumultuous intellectual battles.

“Of all the scary movies you may see this month, none will be more chilling than Scott Thurman’s documentary about the Texas State Board of Education.” —New York Daily News

A Home Called Nebraska
Directed by Beth Gage and George Gage
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2020

People in Nebraska wholeheartedly welcome refugees and show that the newcomers enrich their communities, their economies, and their lives.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Tuesday, August 24th

Let Them Eat Dirt
Directed by Rivkah Beth Medow and Brad Marshland
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2019

Looks at the role microbes play in the development, physical and mental health of our children, and argues that good health may begin with kids playing in the dirt.

“This timely program is informative without being alarming.” —Booklist

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Wednesday, August 26th

Bikes vs Cars
Directed by Fredrik Gertten
Kino Lorber | Narrative | USA | 2015

Activists and thinkers fight for better cities, and refuse to stop riding bicycles despite the increasing number of riders killed in traffic.

“A revelatory doc about urban transportation.” —IndieWire

The Best of Both Worlds 
Directed by John de Graaf
Bullfrog Films | Documentary | USA | 2019

Explores the concept of cohousing as expressed through first-hand observations of residents of four cohousing communities—including the first one in the United States—and observations by architect Charles Durrett, who brought the concept to the US from Denmark.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Thursday, August 26th

Café
Directed by Hatuey Viveros Lavielle
Icarus Films | Documentary | France | 2014

Jorge is about to become the first person from his village to graduate from law school. Chayo, his pregnant and unmarried teenage sister, faces the most difficult decision of her life. Their father, Antonio, died last year. Meanwhile their quiet and methodical mother, Tere, does her best to support them, selling handmade napkin holders for 15 pesos (about $1) apiece.

“Confirms Hatuey Viveros’ status as a specialist in the cinema of intimate spaces.” —Ambulante

Best Film, 2015 Visions du Reel Film Festival
Best Documentary, 2015 Cinema Tropical Awards
First Prize and Best Documentary Scene Prize, 2015 Montreal First People’s Festival

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Friday, August 27th

John Berger or The Art of Looking
Directed by Cordelia Dvorák
Deckert Distribution | Documentary | Germany | 2016

Art, politics and motorcycles: on the occasion of his 90th birthday, John Berger or the Art of Looking is an intimate portrait of the writer and art-critic whose groundbreaking insights on seeing have shaped us for already five decades. His four-part BBC series Ways of seeing opened a whole generation’s eyes.

OVID EXCLUSIVE – SVOD PREMIERE

Complete list of films premiering on OVID this month (in alphabetical order):

A Home Called Nebraska, Beth Gage and George Gage (2020)
Anne Clark – I’ll Walk Out Into Tomorrow, Claus Withopf (2017)
Big Joy: The Adventures of James Broughton, Eric Slade, Stephen Silha (2013)
Bikes vs Cars, Fredrik Gertten (2015)
Bontoc Eulogy, Marlon Fuentes (1995)
Café, Hatuey Viveros Lavielle (2014)
Dark Eden, Jasmin Herold & Michael Beamish (2018)
East Punk Memories, Lucile Chaufour (2014)
Entangled, David Abel (2021)
I Cannot Tell You How I Feel, Su Friedrich (2016)
In Mansourah You Separated Us, Dorothée-Myriam Kellou (2019)
Jamilia, Aminatou Echard (2018)
Fannie’s Film, Fronza Woods (1979)
John Berger or the Art of Looking, Cordelia Dvorák (2016)
Killing Time, Fronza Woods (1979)
Let Them Eat Dirt, Rivkah Beth Medow and Brad Marshland (2019)
Like Any Other Kid, Victoria Mills (2017)
Mrs. B., A North Korean Woman, Jero Yun (2016)
No Fear No Favor, Mirra Bank (2020)
Lobster War, David Abel (2019)
Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, Sophie Fiennes (2010)
Putin’s Witnesses, Vitaly Mansky (2018)
Seats at the Table, Chris Farina (2018)
Stop, Spencer Wolff (2015)
Sunrise / Sunset, Vitaly Mansky (2009)
Tadmor, Monika Borgmann and Lokman Slim (2016)
The Best of Both Worlds, John de Graaf (2019)
The Other Side of Everything, Mila Turajlić (2017)
The Revisionaries, Scott Thurman (2012)
The Ugliest Car, Grzegorz Szczepaniak (2017)
Tinghir Jerusalem, Kamal Hachkar (2011)