Triangle

During the crazy rainstorm here in LA yesterday, I caught up on CBS Sunday Morning, one of my favorite weekend morning treats. The show featured a profile commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Waist Company fire, one of New York City's grimmest days. In a month where we've seen terrible tragedy in Japan and challenges to labor unions here in the U.S., this was a compelling reminder of a time when tragedy spurred labor reform.

In 2009, HBO aired a great documentary Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags, detailing the rise and decline of New York's garment industry. The film covered the Triangle fire, so it was no surprise that its filmmakers, Marc Levin and Daphne Pinkerson, expanded on the subject with a full documentary premiering tonight on HBO. Triangle: Remembering the Fire, details that horrific day when 146 mostly female garment workers perished, many of whom lept to their deaths from the top floors in front of horrified pedestrians. The event revealed terribly unsafe working conditions - including locked doors which could have saved many lives - and led to some of the first government legislation to protect workers, including safety and fire regulations, child labor laws and worker's compensation. The film pays tribute to all of the deceased workers in the hopes that we don't forget the price they paid.

It's another reminder of the protections people now have because of the suffering and heroics of those who came before us. Another reminder of how documentaries continue to tell their stories, so we don't forget them.

Queue

I am finally catching up on my DVR queue. After my Tivo died this spring, I realized my that new DVR doesn't have the incredible feature of allowing me to fast forward on slow speed while the captions are on to skim through a show. Thus, I have been backlogged on the copious amounts of documentaries in line to be viewed. Here are the recent highlights that I think are worth catching when they are re-aired:

HBO has been airing a number of great docs lately: Schmatta: Rags to Riches to Rags, details the rich history and unfortunate decline of the Garment District in NYC. Its rise helped build America's middle class and labor movement in the early 20th century; its decline has mirrored and helped to drive our current state of economic despair. In 1965, 95% of American clothing was manufactured here in the U.S.; today only 5% is. That's staggering.

Outrage examines the hypocracy of closeted gay politicians who vote against and speak out against gay rights issues. It's really wild. The film is directed by Kirby Dick, who also made This Film Is Not Yet Rated, about the strange and shielded methods behind the MPAA ratings system.

By the People: the Election of Barack Obama follows the candid, dramatic and moving moments behind this historic and inspirational campaign. The campaign success was driven not only by the charismatic Obama, but by a strategic, idealistic and largely youthful staff of devoted advisors and followers. My favorite is the little 9-year old volunteer who helped work the phones. Classic.

PBS has also had a number of strong docs on its programming lineup, including Inventing LA: The Chandlers and Their Times - a fascinating saga about the rise of Los Angeles - driven by the determination, power and hubris of the family that built the Los Angeles Times, now on a downward spiral. It's a really cool film for LA history buffs, particularly the Chandlers' sordid activities as the model for one of my favorite films, Chinatown, and the background of Dorothy Chandler's continued influence on arts and culture in the city. It's juicy stuff.

I also watched all four hours of the energetic Latin Music USA, which traces the history of Latin jazz, mambo, cha cha cha, salsa, Chicano rock, Tejano, Latin pop and reggaeton. Wow. All the way from the NYC clubs of the early 20th century to Santana's LSD-laced debut at Woodstock to Ricky Martin Livin' La Vida Loca at the Grammys. It had me dancing in the aisles (ok, my living room).

Finally, I am enjoying ESPN Films' 30 for 30 sports documentary series of 30 films celebrating the network's 30th anniversary. I watched The Band That Wouldn't Die, a heartwarming film directed by Barry Levinson about the Baltimore Colt's marching band, which kept the spirit alive for a football franchise return after the team's defection to Indianapolis in the '80s.

Whew.

September

September flew by.

Which is why I am writing a September update in October. I had difficulty finding time to blog about docs in between all of my actual doc adventures!

I finally finished my short doc - came down to the wire on that one, but I completed it and am fairly pleased with the results. Speaking of wire, check out the mesmerizing documentary Man on Wire now out on DVD. It's the wild tale of an eccentric Frenchmen's tightrope walk between NYC's Twin Towers in 1974, and now an Oscar-winning doc at that.

I volunteered on National Service Day, completely by accident. Volunteering is good - even the President thinks so. I moderated a documentary film screening and discussion of Valentino: The Last Emperor at the local senior center in town, not even realizing it was a national day of service. I love this doc - it is such a visually rich and stylized look at the final chapter of the iconic fashion designer's career and dynamic life with his partner, Giancarlo Giammetti. Plus there are pugs. A great effort by Matt Tyrnauer of Vanity Fair, and a good time was had by all.

I attended the terrific new Westdoc conference - I got to soak up the wonderful world of documentaries and meet many faces in this exciting arena. Yay!

I stumbled into a new year, and celebrated in part by screening The September Issue, RJ Cutler's behind-the-scenes look at the world of Anna Wintour and Vogue. Delicious!

I did a jig over to my local theatre's Irish Film Festival, and screened a few doc shorts - The Boys of St. Columb's, about the school that advanced some of Ireland's most famous sons in modern culture, and Raise The Last Glass, which follows the closing of the country's legendary Waterford crystal factory.

Finally, I enjoyed (like I hope everyone else did), the epic PBS doc, The National Parks: America's Best Idea. It was stunning on HD, and inspired me to start planning a trip to Yosemite to check out the park and the Ahwahnee Hotel. I adored visiting Yellowstone years ago and encountering the bison which blocked my car, so I can't wait to enjoy its California counterpart - and hope to make it to more of these treasured areas in the future.

I'm ready to move on to October and more doc fun!