— by BEV QUESTAD — Religion, culture and politics menacingly collide in this documentary over the life of a proposed political bill in Uganda and the life of David Kato. In what turns out to be a more dangerous culture of vigilantes and extremists than they had bargained for, filmmakers [...]
Author Archive
Review: Saving Mr. Banks
— by BEV QUESTAD — We get caught up in our own difficult stories, in patterns of expectation that recycle old troubles, but the trick is to change our mindset. Walt Disney will reveal his difficult childhood story that ironically fueled his happy-ending films and magical kingdoms. He als[...]
Review: Pad Yatra: A Green Odyssey
— by BEV QUESTAD — I never like to read or watch anything more than once, but this adventure doc I could watch over and over. It is the story of a 440 mile eco-trek through the Ladakh region bordering the Himalayas. Vistas of land without telephone wires, clear sounds of nature with its [...]
Opinion on Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars
— by BEV QUESTAD with MICHAEL FUNG — Robert Greenwald’s investigative documentary, “Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars,” has been released for free viewing (you can view it in its entirety by clicking here). The film documents the case of Tariq Aziz, who was killed by[...]
Unmanned: America’s Drone Wars: Full Film
— by BEV QUESTAD — This investigative documentary was posted by Robert Greenwald last week (Oct. 30, 2013 into my email) and it is just as disturbing as it is factually based. It is the story of a 16-year old boy, Tariq Aziz, who signed up to work for two non-profits involved in document[...]
Review: Alias Ruby Blade
— by BEV QUESTAD — Abigail Disney, niece of Walt, searches for true-life Peter Pan/Cinderella stories and supports their production into the best human rights films on the face of the Earth. “Ruby Blade” is one of the best. It has all the courage, perseverance and magic that makes a [...]
Review: Tall as the Baobab Tree
— by BEV QUESTAD with ARDELLE ANDERSON — After a son falls from the village baobab tree and breaks his leg, there is no money for the necessary medical care – unless dad sells a daughter off for marriage. This re-enactment film is based on a true story, acted out by local rural Senegal[...]
Review: Enzo Avitabile Music Life
— by BEV QUESTAD — So often there are docs about musicians with frustratingly little of their music to demonstrate why a film was made about them in the first place. But it isn’t this way with “Enzo.” This portrait film of his musical gifts is more like going to an actual concert i[...]
Review: Running Wild
— by BEV QUESTAD — In 1988, at age 65, Dayton Hyde looked at his life and asked himself what he really wanted to do. Then he gathered his credit cards, applied for a loan and left his wife and family on their Oregon ranch and headed to South Dakota. There Hyde bought 11,000 acres [&helli[...]
Review: Inuk
— by BEV QUESTAD with ARDELLE ANDERSON — This is a film about loss and the road to recovery in a frozen land where the harsh environment serves as a keen metaphor to life’s challenges. It is also about the power of human relationships – and how, like the icy hand of the frozen north,[...]
Review: Gideon’s Army
— by BEV QUESTAD — “If you are trying to rescue people from hell you have to kinda go to hell to do it,” Jonathan Rapping, Georgia law professor, patiently explains to Brandy, a warrior in America’s shaky battle in the criminal justice system. She’s been a public defender for thr[...]
Review: Salma
— by BEV QUESTAD — Salma was 13 when she was locked up in a room with one window. For nine years, she stayed there without friends, schooling or a walk outside. The custom in her southern Indian village is to lock up all girls once they reach puberty. To limit the internment the girls [&[...]