SELF-PORTRAIT AS A COFFEE POT — MUBI.COM
Shot predominantly in artist William Kentridge’s Johannesburg studio during the pandemic, this nine-part series explores the creative process and the importance of the studio in Kentridge’s practice. Using his signature techniques of charcoal drawn animation, insertion of himself into the frame and footage of the artist at work with many of his regular collaborators, the series, which premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival, is, in Kentridge’s own words, “intended as a polemic experience about a way of working, a confidence in giving an image the benefit of the doubt, and seeing what emerges ... At its heart this is really a series about the optimism and agency of making, itself.”
THE BIKERIDERS — RENT OR BUY FROM APPLE TV+
Tom Hardy, Austin Butler and Jodie Comer star in director Jeff Nichols’ bittersweet ode to the freedoms and challenges of 1960s-era motorcycle gangs. Inspired by the seminal photographic book by Danny Lyon, the film tells the story of the turbulent life of the Vandals and their leader, Johnny (Hardy), shining light Benny (Butler), and his wife, Kathryn (Comer), who begin as members of a group that seeks to explore the unchained freedoms of life on the road but are eventually consumed by darker, more violent forces as the world around them changes.
THE TRUTH VS ALEX JONES — SHOWMAX
In the fraught era of the first Trump presidency, few commentators wielded as much power as far-right Infowars host Alex Jones, whose conspiracy-fuelled rants proved a powerful tool in galvanising a fringe group to participate and gain power in the US political universe. Director Dan Reed’s documentary, filmed over four years with unprecedented access, follows the court case brought by family members of the victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting against Jones, who steadfastly, loudly and outrageously claimed that the incident had been a false flag operation intended to besmirch the reputation of gun owners. The court case eventually ended with a historic decision that went against Jones, awarded the families a record $1.5bn in damages and forced him to declare bankruptcy.
WOMAN OF THE HOUR — NETFLIX
She’s known for her comedic roles but there’s not much funny about Anna Kendrick’s directorial debut. It tells the true story of the appearance on a 1970s US TV dating show of serial killer Rodney Alcala. Kendrick plays The Dating Game bachelorette Cheryl Bradshaw and Daniel Zovatto is the seemingly quiet and pleasant Alcala.
RIVALS — DISNEY PLUS
Dame Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster about rich Brits in the countryside indulging their worst adulterous, greedy and power-mad tendencies gets a suitably campy adaptation in this series. David Tennant enjoys himself immensely as villainous Tony Baddingham, whose long-standing rivalry with Rupert Campbell-Black (Alex Hassell) spirals increasingly out of control to the shock of new countryside arrival Declan O’Hara (Aidan Turner) and his family.
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