Documentary of the Week

Werner Herzog has explored extremes of human behavior in films like Grizzly Man and Cave of Forgotten Dreams. His new documentary Lo and Behold: Reveries of the Connected World explores the internet, artificial intelligence and where modern technology is taking us.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

You probably never heard of Orry-Kelly, but you would know his work as a fashion designer for Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Ingrid Bergman and others. In the documentary “Women He’s Undressed,” filmmaker Gillian Armstrong (“Little Women”) explores the career of Orry-Kelly and the secrets he kept as a gay man during a period of virulent homophobia.

Flint’s boxing sensation Claressa Shields was nicknamed "T-Rex" for her short arms and ferocious fight. In the documentary "T-Rex," filmmakers Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari follow Shields, at age 17, along with her hometown coach Jason Crutchfield as they train for the 2012 Olympics, the first to allow women boxers.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

T-Rex is streaming free at PBS Independent Lens. Here is a trailer: 

Sharon Jones performs a revivalist style of soul music with The Dap-Kings. The new documentary Miss Sharon Jones! follows her over a year as she battles cancer and prepares for a comeback show at New York’s Beacon Theatre. Two-time Oscar winning director Barbara Kopple ("Harlan County USA”) delivers the feel-good film of the summer.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

When football player Steve Gleason is diagnosed with the paralyzing disease ALS, he and his wife Michel Varisco adapt to a new life. In “Gleason,” director Clay Tweel chronicles their struggles to cope with the illness, raise a new son and start a foundation to raise money for ALS victims. The film is especially poignant on the topic of fatherhood, as Gleason creates a video diary to leave for his infant.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the official film page.

In the documentary Zero Days, Oscar-winning director Alex Gibney investigates the top secret world of cyber warfare. He speaks with anonymous sources at the National Security Agency and other former U.S. government officials on the record to explore the origins and purpose of computer virus known as Stuxnet, which spread all over the world in 2010 and caused explosions at the Natanz nuclear facility in Iran. Now that this new weapon has been unleashed, what can we expect in the future?

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

At the age of 93, Norman Lear still has the energy and curiosity of a 9-year-old. Oscar-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (“Jesus Camp”) trace the ups and downs of his career from creating the hit TV shows “All in the Family,” “Maude,” and “The Jeffersons” to founding the non-profit People for the American Way. Lear stands as an inspiration for being vibrant at any age.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

At the age of 93, Norman Lear still has the energy and curiosity of a 9-year-old. Oscar-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady (“Jesus Camp”) trace the ups and downs of his career from creating the hit TV shows “All in the Family,” “Maude,” and “The Jeffersons” to founding the non-profit People for the American Way. Lear stands as an inspiration for being vibrant at any age.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the film web site.

The documentary “Life, Animated” chronicles how journalist Ron Suskiind learned to communicate with his autistic son Owen from Disney films. Oscar-winning director Roger Ross Williams follows Owen as an adult as he moves out from his parents home. The film makes inventive use of Disney clips and original animation.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.

New Zealand filmmakers David Farrier and Dylan Reeve grew intrigued by online videos of grown men participating in tickle competitions. But when they contacted the production company, Jane O’Brien Media, they receive a torrent of homophobic attacks and threats. They travel to the U.S to investigate who’s behind the mysterious company. What started as a lark becomes a journalistic thriller.

— Thom Powers and Raphaela Neihausen

For more information, click here to visit the official film web site.