In the Same Breath
For years, if not decades to come, the “COVID documentary” will sustain as a genre as more and more filmmakers from around the world look keenly into the ways this…
Mayor
How do you run a city when you don’t have a country? The documentary Mayor answers the question by following Musa Hadid, the charismatic and compassionate mayor of Ramallah, as he…
Mr. SOUL!
A joyful tribute to the local television program SOUL! and its creator, the impresario Ellis Haizlip, the documentary film Mr. SOUL! is a loving celebration of Black creative achievement and…
My Name is Pauli Murray
You may not know the name Pauli Murray. But you should. An increasingly towering figure in mid-twentieth century law—Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Thurgood Marshall cited them as an intellectual influence—Murray…
Philly D.A.
The Philadelphia District Attorney at the heart of this Independent Lens docuseries is Larry Krasner. Elected to his role in 2017, the criminal justice reform-minded lawyer approached his role as…
Bo Burnham: Inside
To describe Bo Burnham’s comedy special, which doubles as a multimedia tour de force, an artistic manifesto, and a lockdown diary, is to deny it its power. For, even if…
Dopesick
According to the CDC, in the twelve-month period ending in April 2021, opioids accounted for more than 75,000 deaths in the United States (up 30 percent from the 12-month period…
Hacks
HBO Max’s Hacks became a word-of-mouth hit this year thanks to the brilliantly funny intergenerational pairing of Jean Smart as standup legend Deborah Vance and Hannah Einbinder as Ava Daniels,…
Reservation Dogs
The remarkable contribution of Reservation Dogs to an arguably indefensibly short list of authentic depictions of Native Americans on the small screen lies in the breadth and specificity that it…
Sort Of
Sabi is set on changing their life. They really should leave that part-time nanny job behind. They really should dump that homo-ish boyfriend of theirs. They really should move to…