Screen Time is your curated weekly guide to excellent documentaries and nonfiction programs that you can watch at home.
Premiering August 27 on POV is Zaradasht Ahmed's Nowhere to Hide, which follows nurse Nori Sharif through five years of dramatic change in one of the world’s most dangerous and inaccessible areas—the "triangle of death" in central Iraq. Initially filming stories of survivors and the hope of a better future as US and Coalition troops retreat from Iraq in 2011, conflicts continue with Iraqi militias and the simultaneous rise of ISIS.
Among the American Masters episodes streaming this month is Pamela Tom's Tyrus, a profile of Tyrus Wong, a Chinese-American artist who thrived during the golden age of Disney animation and was one of the principle sketch artists behind the classic Bambi.
Streaming on Mubi, The Last Time I Saw Macau, from João Pedro Rodrigues, João Rui Guerra da Mata, tracks the directors' journey to Macao, a multicultural labyrinth-city. The Oriental childhood memories of one–fictionalized recollections of a vivid reality–enter into dialogue with the other's memories taken from films, book or paintings–vivid memories of a fictionalized reality.
Premiering August 28 on iTunes, Jonathan Berman's Calling All Earthlings explores the first UFO cults, led by pilot/inventor/Howard Hughes confidante George Van Tassel, who moved to the Mojave Desert in the 1950s with his family and later had an encounter with extraterrestrials, who instructed him to build a rejuvenation machine he called The Integratron. He soon attracted a corps of like-minded eccentrics to make the pilgrimage to Joshua Tree in search of alternative signs from the universe. Calling All Earthlings is a project of IDA's Fiscal Sponsorship Program.
Premiering August 28 on HBO is The Shop, executive-produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter. The series offers unfiltered conversation and debate in barbershops across America, featuring a cadre of distinguished individuals from sports and entertainment who speak honestly on a host of culturally relevant topics.
Premiering August 31 on Sundance Selects, Pick of the Litter, from Don Hardy and Dana Nachman, follows five puppies in a two-year journey to become guide dogs for the blind. Introducing viewers to an unforgettable cast of canine personalities and the dedicated individuals who work with them, Pick of the Litter is a big-hearted celebration of the unique bond between humans and dogs.