{"id":15606,"date":"2017-06-17T20:11:01","date_gmt":"2017-06-18T04:11:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/?post_type=blog&p=15606"},"modified":"2023-10-02T11:37:47","modified_gmt":"2023-10-02T18:37:47","slug":"12-fathers-day-docs-stepping-out-of-dads-shadow","status":"publish","type":"blog","link":"https:\/\/www.pbs.org\/independentlens\/blog\/12-fathers-day-docs-stepping-out-of-dads-shadow\/","title":{"rendered":"12 Father’s Day Docs: \u00a0Stepping Out of Dad’s Shadow"},"content":{"rendered":"

Relationships with our dads can be complicated, as reflected in a collection of diverse, very worthy documentary films we’ve selected for Father’s Day viewing consideration. All of the dads depicted here had a major impact on the lives of their children in one way or another, even if not in every instance for the best. A majority of the films we found focus more on father-son relationships, rather than father-daughter, but we did pull out a couple of strong films on that side of things.<\/p>\n

These are just some<\/em> of our recent favorites; feel free to suggest more in the comments.<\/span><\/p>\n

Jiro Dreams of Sushi<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

David Gelb’s lovely little film (which aired on Independent Lens<\/em>) is not just the portrayal of master sushi chef Jiro Ono, whose tiny 10-seat, 3-Michelin stars restaurant is based in a Tokyo subway station, but also a story of story of father and sons: Jiro’s youngest, Takashi, left Jiro’s restaurant to open a mirror image establishment while the older son, Yoshikazu, still works for his dad with the aim of eventually taking over the business (even while Jiro seems like he wants to work for eternity in pursuit of perfection). There’s a hint of resignation in Yoshikazu’s situation but mostly reverence for his legendary father.<\/span><\/p>\n

Streaming on Hulu and Amazon Prime (Dox or Magnolia Selects).<\/p>\n

<\/i><\/b>George Stevens: A Filmmaker’s Journey<\/i><\/b><\/a><\/p>\n

This tribute to a filmmaker father is a must for cinephiles: George Stevens Jr.’s’ portrait of his dad, Hollywood film director George Stevens. Alongside tons of clips from the many films in the elder Stevens’ lengthy career (which includes <\/span>Giant, A Place in the Sun, Gunga Din, Swing Time, <\/span><\/i>and many other classics), the film also includes precious home movies and private footage (Stevens shot the only color footage of the landing at Normandy), and more standard interviews with those who knew him. But ultimately this is the story of a son rediscovering who his father was, through multiple channels: a gifted artist and a good man.<\/span><\/p>\n