Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend! Marilyn Monroe is at her most beatifically ditsy alongside Jane Russell in Howard Hawks’ dazzling 1953 Technicolor screwball musical seen here in a new digital restoration.
Films — by Genre
Music
Grandma Lo-fi: The Basement Tapes of Sigrídur Níelsdóttir
Amma Lo-fi
Meet the little old lady of Icelandic music who recorded her first album in her kitchen at 71 and produced 59 homemade albums before calling it a day. “Small-scale. Fun. Successful. Just like its subject.” — Twitch
Last Days Here
A riveting portrait of loss and redemption as 53-year-old, one-time 70s rock god (and now crackhead) Bobby Liebling attempts to swap an early death in his parents’ basement for musical resurrection.
Marley
“Stirring up an exhaustive portrait of the legend behind the music, Kevin Macdonald’s Marley is sure to become the definitive documentary on the much beloved king of reggae.” — Hollywood Reporter
Persuading the Baby to Float
The ongoing artistic collaboration between pianist Norman Meehan, poet Bill Manhire and singer Hannah Griffin has produced two sublime CDs. Keith Hill’s doco captures them mid-process and in performance.
The Sapphires
Fresh from its Cannes ovations. “A jewel-bright charmer [true story] about four spunky indigenous women whose powerhouse voices catapulted them onto the 60s-era world stage as Australia’s answer to the Supremes.” — Hollywood Reporter
Searching for Sugar Man
Amazing Sundance-winning doco about renewed appreciation for 70s Mexican-American singer-songwriter Rodriguez. “A hugely entertaining, emotionally touching, and musically revelatory experience.” — The Playlist
Shut Up and Play the Hits
The wonderful LCD Soundsystem documentary/concert film gets close to James Murphy and brings the dance band’s final concert at Madison Square Garden to a giant cinema sound system near you. “A thrilling experience.” — SPIN
Sing Me the Songs That Say I Love You: A Concert for Kate McGarrigle
Rufus and Martha Wainwright in a glorious and moving concert tribute to their mother Kate McGarrigle – with Emmylou Harris, Norah Jones, Teddy Thompson and Michael Ondaatje. “Uplifting and absorbing.” — Hollywood Reporter
Song of the Kauri
Mathurin Molgat’s comprehensive documentary about the past and future of the mighty kauri centres on an inspiring artisan: Northland luthier Laurie Williams.
Songs
As Canções
In Eduardo Coutinho’s irresistible documentary a rich array of inhabitants of Rio de Janeiro, men and women of all ages and ethnicities, tell us about their favourite song – then sing it themselves, a cappella.
Violeta Went to Heaven
Violeta se fue a los cielos
An intensely poetic biopic charting Chilean folksinger Violeta Parra’s epic journey from poverty to fame, underscored by Parra’s vulnerable, penetrating folk songs and a reverberating performance by Francisca Gavilán