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Articles by Bedatri D. Choudhury

A man stands at the top of stairs while birds fly around him. All images from Shaunak Sen’s ‘All That Breathes.’ Courtesy of Cinetic Media.
Shaunak Sen's 'All That Breathes': A Great Gray Triangulation of Air, Birds and Men
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Mable Haddock is a Black woman with a brown headband and a black shirt; she is seated at a table at a conference. Courtesy of Sharon La Cruise.
Remembering Mable Haddock: Fierce Advocate, Unforgettable Leader, Guardian of Collective Legacy
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A woman, with her back to the viewer, stands before a triptych of paintings of a World War II-era Japanese American family. From 'Emerging Radiance,' created by filmmaker Tani Ikeda and artist Michelle Kumata. Courtesy of Tribeca Festival.
From AR to VR: A Documentary for Every Reality
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Maryanne Amacher is a white American composer and installation artist. She is wearing a gray jumpsuit and working in a room with musical equipment. From Lisa Rovner’s ‘Sisters with Transistors.’ Courtesy of Metrograph.
Screen Time: Week of July 25, 2022
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Teenagers living with disabilities enjoying their afternoon out on a field at Camp Jened. From James Lebrecht and Nicole Newnham's 'Crip Camp.' Courtesy of Netflix.
Screen Time: Week of July 18 2022
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Alice Diop is a Senegalese-French woman wearing a multicolored jacket. She is sitting in a library, speaking to Pierre Bergounioux, an older white French male writer. They're both being filmed. From Alice Diop's 'Nous.' Photo by Sarah Blum. Courtesy of Mubi.
'Not Just the Filmer Filming the Filmed': The Ethical Softness of Alice Diop's Documentaries
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The eyes of a Black male driver reflected in a car's rearview mirror. From Geeta Gandbhir and Sam Pollard’s 'Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power.' Courtesy of Tribeca Festival.
Tribeca 2022: Cheerful, Creative Cacophony
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Daniel is a Black male sitting on a brown couch in his apartment in Cicero, IL. He is wearing a gray sweatshirt and brown pants. From Margaret Byrne’s ‘Any Given Day.’ Photo by Margaret Byrne.
Screen Time: Week of July 4 2022
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An archival black-and-white photo from the sets of SOUL!, the first nationally broadcast all-Black variety show on public television. From Melissa Haizlip's 'Mr Soul!'. Courtesy of PBS.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of June 27, 2022
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A black-and-white image of the members of the underground network of abortion providers, the Janes, from August 1972. Image from Emma Pildes and Tia Lessin’s ‘The Janes.’ Courtesy of HBO.
Screen Time: Week of June 27 2022
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Hollyn Patterson and Colie Moline are two white women wearing cowboy hats and shirts. We can see their backs as they ride horses against the lush greenery of rural Idaho. From Emelie Mahdavian’s ‘Bitterbrush.’ Courtesy of Alejandro Mejia/Magnolia Pictures.
Screen Time: Week of June 20 2022
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Margaret Ratliff is a white woman. Her back faces the camera as she looks at a billboard advertising the TV series ‘The Staircase.’ From Jennifer Tiexiera and Camilla Hall’s ‘Subject.’ Photo courtesy of Susan Norget Film Promotion.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of June 13, 2022
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Four men doing the Dabkha dance in front of a screen showing their footage of the Syrian revolution. From Rami Farah's 'Our Memory Belongs to Us.' Courtesy of Hot Docs.
An In-Person Hot Docs 2022: Of Memory, Longing, Reconstructing, Questioning
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Filmmaker Hao Wu is a Chinese American male. Seen here sitting eating at a table with his child, his family members, and partner. From Hao Wu’s ‘All in My Family.’ Courtesy of Netflix.
Screen Time: Week of June 13 2022
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Actors Mona Maris and David Newell in a production still from the 1934 film ‘White Heat.’ From Anthony Banua-Simon’s ‘Cane Fire.’ Courtesy of Cinema Guild.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of May 30, 2022
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A line of uniformed policemen silhouetted against streetlights. From Mike Shum’s ‘Police on Trial.’ Courtesy of FRONTLINE (PBS).
Screen Time: Week of May 30, 2022
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Detail from a black stone statue in Paris’ Père-Lachaise Cemetery, showing enclasped fingers of a figure. From Heddy Honigmann’s ‘Forever.’ Photo by Cobos Films, BV. Courtesy of Icarus Films.
Screen Time: Week of May 23, 2022
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Still from Super 8mm video footage of a young Jasmin Mara López held by her mother, Sandra. From Jasmin Mara López’s ‘Silent Beauty.’ Courtesy of Hot Docs.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of May 16, 2022
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Luma is a cow with black-and-white patches on its body. She is standing in a cowshed and we can see only the front portion of her body. From Andrea Arnold’s ‘Cow.’ Courtesy of Cow Films Ltd. An IFC Films release.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of May 9, 2022
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A middle-aged Filipino male activist sits on a fallen tree trunk; he is wearing shorts and a blue t-shirt that says "Palawan para-EnviFORCER." . Photo from Karl Malakunas' 'Delikado.' Courtesy of Hot Docs.
Screen Time: Week of May 9, 2022
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A silhouette of a woman holding a child against a sunset sky. From Hnin Ei Hlaing’s 'Midwives,' which recently played at Hot Docs. Courtesy of Hot Docs.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of May 2, 2022
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Pro-choice clinic escorts hold hands and stand in front of pro-choice posters, gathering to pray at Reproductive Health Services in Montgomery, Alabama. From Dawn Porter’s 'Trapped.' Courtesy of the film team.
Screen Time: Week of May 2, 2022
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Shanona is a middle-aged Black woman, seen here holding her son, a Black boy wearing a gold toy crown. From Loira Limbal’s ‘Through the Night.’ Photo by Naiti Gámez. Courtesy of POV.
Screen Time: Week of April 11, 2022
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Members of the film crew—consisting of three white men and two women—of ‘Who We Are’ filming Jeffery Robinson—a Black man in a black blazer and pants—in front of Memphis’ Lorraine Motel. Photo courtesy of Sony Pictures.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of April 4, 2022
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A black-and-white image of filmmaker Marina Goldovskaya filming at a Community Party convention in Russia. Photo courtesy of Esther Shubinski.
Marina Goldovskaya: A Woman with a Movie Camera and a Big Heart
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A cartoon of Uncle Sam holding a Vietnamese soldier between chopsticks. From Emile de Antonio’s ‘In the Year of the Pig.’ Courtesy of Amazon.
Screen Time: Week of April 4, 2022
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Michelle Materre is an African-American woman with short gray hair. She is standing in front of the signage of the Toronto International Film Festival. Photo courtesy of Julie Dash.
Always Tilting to Greet the Sun: Remembering Michelle Materre
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Shaista is a young Afghan man singing and dancing along with two other male friends in a refugee camp in Kabul. From Elizabeth and Gulistan Mirzaei’s Oscar-nominated short, ‘Three Songs for Benazir.’Courtesy of Netflix.
Essential Documentary Reads: Week of March 14, 2022
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A child stands in front of artist Aves Aras’ multi-colored art installation made of paper and glue. From Craig and Brent Renaud’s ‘State of the Art.’ Photo by Thomas Willis. Courtesy of PBS.
Screen Time: Week of March 14, 2022
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Volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft are a white couple seen here wearing blue jackets, against volcanoes emitting smoke. From Sara Dosa’s ‘Fire of Love.’ Courtesy of Sundance Institute.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of March 7, 2022
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A close up of Angela Davis, an African-American female activist, with an Afro. From Shola Lynch’s ‘Free Angela & All Political Prisoners.’ Courtesy of the film’s Facebook page.
Screen Time: Week of March 7, 2022
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A black-and-white archival photograph of two young Black customers at the Automat. From Lisa Hirwitz’s ‘The Automat.’ Courtesy of Film Forum.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of February 28, 2022
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Mr. Bachmann is an elderly German school teacher, seen here with two smiling female students. From Maria Speth’s ‘Mr. Bachmann and his Class.’ Courtesy of Madonnen Film
Essential Doc Reads: Week of February 21, 2022
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Stunt performer Johnny Knoxville is seen getting hit by a bull in a stunt. From Jeff Tremaine’s ‘Jackass Forever.’ Courtesy of Paramount Pictures.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of February 14, 2022
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Zachary Drucker appears in 'Framing Agnes' by Chase Joynt, an official selection of the NEXT section at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ava Benjamin Shorr.
Sundance 2022: Omicron Drives a Virtual Revival
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Alex Long of East Baltimore speaks at a community gathering about the need to stop gun violence. Photo courtesy of Andre Lambertson.
Where Are They Now? Pare Lorentz and Enterprise Documentary Fund Grantees
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An Association of Professional Camerawomen member in the mid-1980s using a 1982 Ikegami HL-79D portable electronic camera.
The Evolution of Documentary Film Cameras from 1982 to 2022
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Ady Barkan is a white male American activist seen here sharing an affectionate moment with his child. Image from Nicholas Bruckman’s ‘Not Going Quietly.’ Courtesy of Michael Dwyer/POV.
Screen Time: Week of January 24, 2022
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Alvin Ailey is a legendary Black male dancer, photographed on stage, in a ballet pose. From Jamila Wignot’s ‘Ailey.’ Courtesy of Jacob's Pillow / Licensed from Harvard (John Lindquist rights)
Screen Time: Week of January 10, 2022
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John Wilson is a white male filmmaker wearing a colorful sun umbrella around his head. He is holding a video camera with palm trees in the background. From ‘How To with John Wilson.’ Image courtesy of Joe Buglewicz/HBO.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of January 3, 2022
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A protagonist looks into a hand-held mirror in Lee Grant's 'What Sex Am I?" Courtesy of Criterion Channel
Screen Time: Week of January 3, 2022
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Film still of Jacques Costeau underwater in scuba diving gear. Courtesy of National Geographic
Essential Doc Reads: Week of December 6, 2021
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Rebecca is a elderly white woman flying a kite in Detroit, on a bucket list adventure. Image from Sian-Pierre Regis’ ‘Duty Free.’ Courtesy of PBS, Independent Lens.
Screen Time: Week of November 22, 2021
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Terrick Trobough is a young white male actor wearing a white shirt, sitting on a church bench. He is wearing a cross. Image from Robert Greene’s ‘Procession.’ Courtesy of Netflix.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of November 15, 2021
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Meera and Shyamkali are two South Asian journalists looking at filmed footage on a cellphone. From Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh’s ‘Writing With Fire.’ Courtesy of Music Box Films
Essential Doc Reads: Week of November 8, 2021
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Brothers John and Art Cullen are two white men standing in a printing press, reviewing a hot-off-the-presses copy of 'The Storm Lake Times.' Image from Beth Levison and Jerry Risius’ ‘Storm Lake.’ Courtesy of 'Independent Lens'/PBS.
Screen Time: Week of November 8, 2021
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A masked Black woman funeral worker at a funeral at Franklin Avenue Baptist Church, New Orleans. She is standing next to a casket. From the 'Frontline' documentary ‘Death Is Our Business,’ directed by Jacqueline Olive. Courtesy of PBS Frontline.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of November 1, 2021
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Monica Del Carmen is a Mexican woman dressed as a cop sitting in a police car. From Alonso Ruizpalacios’ ‘A Cop Movie.’ Courtesy of Netflix.
Screen Time: Week of November 1, 2021
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An image of a pair of eyes displayed on a screen atop a skyscraper. From Todd Chandler’s 'Bulletproof.' Courtesy of Grasshopper Film.
Essential Doc Reads: Week of October 25, 2021
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A close-up photo of Jin Zhou, a young Chinese woman, and her infant son Chenxi Huang. From Wang Qiong’s ‘All About My Sisters.’ Courtesy of the dGenerate Collection at Icarus Films.
The Many Stories Around Us: A Report on New York Film Festival 2021
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