MY NDA (2026) SXSW 2026

 Let me speak honestly and openly, because I can, because I did not sign an NDA (a non-disclosure agreement). Additionally, I want to speak openly because telling you that I went into this film prepared to hate it only to come out loving it, tells you how good it is.

The film is a look at non-disclosure agreements and what signing them means. Normally people are paid a lot of money not to talk about something because either they are trying to protect trade secrets or in the case of people like the President of the United States, they are trying to hide misdeeds. The film reveals how intrusive the NDAs are (some won’t let you even talk to your therapist)  and the issues that they cause in people’s lives.

This is a great film. Using the lives and experiences of several people it shows us what it all means. It’s an eye-opening look at something everyone mentions but no one understands, even some of the attorneys who draft them.

This is something you need to see- especially since with the current administration attempting to silence leaks by having governmental employees sign them.

Highly recommended.

ADVOCATE (2019) Hot Docs 2019

Excellent portrait of Lea Tsemel, Jewish-Israeli attorney she defends Palestinians regardless of what they did that includes petty crimes or attempted suicide bombing.  The film is a mix of reflection on her career and portrait of the woman in action. We watch her championing her clients, despite knowing what they are accused of and never giving anything less than her all.

Tsemel is a joy to watch and to listen to. Watching the film I wasn't sure we needed to have another portrait of a fighter of the downtrodden and then I saw her in action and fell head over heels with her. It takes a special kind of a person to be able to talk to the family of a man accused of stabbing 11 people about a plea bargain and not say your son is screwed. There was of course no doubt he did it but her attitude in discussing it is something rare. (I know I have a day job in criminal justice and can see how bad some attorneys can be.

A stunning film that is highly recommended

Boiled Angels:The Trial of Mike Diana (2018) Fantasia 2018

Mike Diana put out an underground comic called Boiling Angels that featured all sorts of nasty things which Diana hoped would push people's buttons and get people thinking about the sorry state of the world. A town in Florida found hat he was doing shocking and they charged and convicted him for obscenity- in 1992.

What happened to Diana should be unbelievable except that it really did happen, he really was charged, he really was convicted and really was ordered not to go near children and never to draw again. We would love to hope that it was a minor blip in the way of the world but the current state of America with simple battles about what is true make is almost a dead certainty that this is going to happen again.

Frank Henenlotter's micro budgeted feature is therefore a needed warning about what did and could happen. Talking to all the people involved, including the prosecution, who get to tell their story (which they are sticking to), BOILED ANGELS is everything you need to know about what happened and why. Because of it's warning the film is a must see.

As important and vital as I think the film is, I wish the film were better put together. While everything we need to know is here, the ordering is not quite the best. Bouncing through time in places the film feels more like a series of digressions. The use of Diana's art has mixed effect with some bits being spot on, and others just sort of laying there. The unevenness of the assembly made this a film I admire more than I like.

A must see because it is vital in a world where free speech is in danger, BOILED ANGELS plays again July 18th at Fantasia. For more information and tickets go here.

Ariela takes on THE JUDGE(2017) DOC NYC 2017

In Islamic history, no woman has ever been a judge before. Kholoud Al-Faqih started as a lawyer, but wanted to be a judge in the Shari'a court, which is the family court. Kholoud parents have a 6th and 8th grade education, but they have 12 kids and they paid for them all to go to university. They wanted them to have a good education, and believe that woman should have just as much education as men, so that they don't have to rely on anyone else.

Kholoud broke gender roles. Most people in the culture didn't believe she should be a judge. They believe woman and men have certain roles. Many believe woman are just there to have kids and pleasure men, and woman aren't educated and don't know their rights. Kholoud feels we live in the 21st century, not the 10th, and she won't live like we are in the 10th century.

I loved this documentary. It showed several cases that Kholoud had to deal with, as well as the sexism in Islamic culture. One of the crazier things I learned was how many men get away with murdering the wives. They call it an honor killing, and often when a woman is killed, people will say "what did she do to get herself killed?"

Khouloud shows that woman can do anything men can do. It's a very empowering film, and a must see documentary.

THE JUDGE screens for the last time November 13th at 10:30 AM. For more information and tickets go here.

In brief: ALL RISE (2015) DOC NYC 2015

Portrait of the Jessup, a moot court modeled on the United Nations' International Court of Justice. The film looks at the court through several law students who compete at the Jessup.  

Solid portrait of a competition that may very well determine who we will see at the ICJ in the future. I'm going to keep this review short because I don't have a great deal to say about the film. Actually I find I want to nitpick the slick handing of the material, moving cameras and speedy editing style, but I know that's more a result of seeing this film in the middle of 80 plus other features at DOC NYC and not a reflection of the film's considerable merits.  On its own terms this is a very good film and one that you should make an effort to see.

The film had it's world premiere over the weekend and screens one more time on on Thursday at DOC NYC. For more information and tickets go here.