true crime – Page 2 – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

SUBJECT – Review by Nell Minow

October 10, 2023December 17, 2023 Nell Minow Camilla Hall, documentary filmmaking, Hoop Dreams, Jennifer Tiexiera, Subject, The Square, The Staircase, the wolfpack, true crime

Over the past 25 years, documentaries have become not just a vital part of the world of film but an essential category of journalism, covering every possible aspect of culture, society, law, crime, politics, education, sports, history, science, and family life. While some documentaries are more explicitly presented as the perspective of the filmmaker, other ‘fly on the wall’ observational documentaries attempt to be objective. However, in reality every documentary is an edited version of reality.

Festivals Reviews

ANOTHER BODY (SXSW2023) – Review by Liz Whittemore

March 13, 2023March 13, 2023 Liz Whittemore another body, deepfake, documentaries, Reuben Hamlyn, Sophie Compton, sxsw2023, true crime

Sophie Compton and Reuben Hamlyn’s documentary film Another Body tells the story of one woman’s nightmare when she discovers that her face has been deepfaked onto pornographic videos on the internet. Becoming a DIY detective is her only hope to solve the mystery in a very different kind of whodunit.

Reviews

SEXPLOITATION – Review by Carol Cling

September 28, 2022October 6, 2022 Carol Cling Amanda Todd, documentary, Maria Demeshkina Peek, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Sextortion: The Hidden Pandemic, true crime

“Stranger danger!” Generations of kids took that rhyming parental warning to heart, learning that seemingly friendly grown-ups weren’t necessarily as benign as they appeared to be. Of course, that was before social media utterly transformed the way young people engage with each other — and the world. And in the days before discovering so-called online friends aren’t necessarily friendly — or even who they claim to be.

Festivals Reviews

HOLY SPIDER (MIFF 2022) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

August 16, 2022August 17, 2022 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Ali Abbasi, Holy Spider, iranian films, melbourne international film festival, MIFF 2022, Saeed Hanaei, true crime, Zar Amir-Emrahimi

Based on the true story of Saeed Hanaei who was responsible for killing 16 women across 2000 and 2001, the gritty true crime surfaces of the film barely disguise the intensity with which Ali Abbasi and his collaborators seek to reveal something much bigger about Iranian society, using this case as a shocking lens to see broader problems when it comes to gender politics. Tight, taut and not one beat out of place, Holy Spider captivates from start to finish; it gets its claws in and refuses to let go

Reviews

GIRL IN THE PICTURE – Review by Susan Granger

July 12, 2022July 16, 2022 Susan Granger documentary, Franklin Delano Floyd, Girl In The Picture, Joe Fitzpatrick, Matt Birkbeck, netflix, Sharon Marshall, Skye Borgman, true crime

Skye Borgman’s documentary Girl in the Picture is the tragic tale of a 20 year-old, blond-haired woman who barely knew her own identity. Her body was found on the side of the road in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, in April, 1990. Hospital staff noted many ‘older’ bruises on her body, along with scratches on her chest, and immediately suspected her husband Clarence. Known as Tonya Hughes, she was an exotic dancer with a two year-old son, Michael. Problem was: the real Tonya Hughes died 20 years ago.

Reviews

GIRL IN THE PICTURE – Review by Liz Braun

June 30, 2022July 7, 2022 Liz Braun documentary, Franklin Delano Floyd, Girl In The Picture, Joe Fitzpatrick, Matt Birkbeck, netflix, Sharon Marshall, Skye Borgman, true crime

The extraordinary layers in this true crime story are carefully peeled back in a fashion that hooks the viewer almost immediately and never lets go. This is a particularly bizarre and unsavoury set of events — and it’s complicated — but with in-person interviews and recreations, filmmaker Skye Borgman moves seamlessly back and forth in time to drop shock revelation after shock revelation. This is a dip into the heart of darkness as to the fate of women and children — violence, vanishing, kiddie porn and other horrors — and for all that some mysteries are cleared up, the movie ends with many questions unanswered.

Festivals Reviews

THE GIRL FROM PLAINVILLE (SXSW 2022) – Review by Leslie Combemale

March 12, 2022March 13, 2022 Leslie Combemale chloe sevigny, Colton Ryan, Conrad Roy, elle fanning, hulu, lisa cholodenko, liz hannah, Michelle Carter, pippa bianco, series, sxsw 2022, The Girl From Plainville, true crime, Zetna Fuentes

The Girl From Plainville is inspired by the texting suicide case in which 17 year old Michelle Carter was convicted of involuntary manslaughter for coercing her boyfriend Conrad Roy to kill himself. There was a documentary on the subject called I Love You, Now Die released in 2019, but this narrative brings something more, because it can be as subjective as it wants to be. Elle Fanning as Michelle Carter is so magnetic you can’t take your eyes off her, and Chloë Sevigny, who plays Conrad’s tortured and grieving mother Lynn Roy, is as heartbreaking as Fanning’s is chilling.

Reviews

CROPSEY – Retroview by Jennifer Merin

July 9, 2021July 10, 2021 Jennifer Merin barbara brancaccio, cropsey, documentaries, Josh Zeman, staten island, true crime, urban legends

‘Cropsey’ is an urban legend that haunted Barbara Brancaccio and Joshua Zeman while they were growing up in Staten Island, NY. In this 2009 documentary, the filmmakers return to their childhood environs to investigate the myth about the elusive boogeyman, wacko and supposed satanist who allegedly lived in the abandoned ruins of the notorious Willowbrook Mental Institution, which he used as a base for abducting and killing local children. Ultimately, the discovery of the body of a missing girl proved the legend to be true.

Festivals Reviews

THE LOST SONS (SXSW 21) – Review by Leslie Combemale

March 18, 2021March 18, 2021 Leslie Combemale documentaries, Paul Fronczak, sxsw 21, the lost sons, true crime, Ursula MacFarlane

In Ursula MacFarlane’s documentary, The Lost Sons, lead subject Paul Fronczak, searching for his own identity, walks the line between curiosity and egocentricity in a way that is often off-putting. Fronczak’s personality is part of what is being examined in this convoluted true-crime story about newborn abduction, family secrets, and identity. The film will be most appreciated by diehard genealogists, but it has an extended running time that is far too padded to keep any other armchair detectives or true crime nuts engaged.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Zellweger’s TV true-crime series: THE THING ABOUT PAM – Brandy McDonnell reports

February 15, 2021February 15, 2021 Brandy McDonnell betsy faria, nbc, renee zellweger, series, the thing about pam, true crime

NBC has granted a straight-to-series pickup to The Thing About Pam, based on one of the most popular true-crime stories to come out of its venerable Dateline series and its companion podcast. Zellweger, who will also executive produce, will make her broadcast TV series debut in the six-episode series.