THE TRUTH HURTS: REVIEWS OF “[CENSORED],” “FATHER THE FLAME” & “UNITED SKATES”

By KYLE SANDERS • OCT. 17, 2018 • CHIRP RADIO •

This month CHIRP volunteer Kyle Sanders is attending the 2018 Chicago Interntional Film Festival and reporting on what he discovers there…

In a world of “fake news,” it’s refreshing to see a resurgence of documentaries. Be it a study of an influential icon such as Ruth Bader Ginsburg or Fred Rogers, or the shocking yet true string of incidents that lead to Three Identical Strangers, 2018 has seen several releases of high-profile documentaries making huge gains at the box office. At this year’s Chicago International Film Festival, over twenty entries were included on the roster, including (due to festival restrictions, the following are “cluster reviews” only):

Father the Flame: The history of the pipe is a tale as old as time. This documentary introduces us to Lee Erck, a craftsman from Michigan who discusses his legacy of sculpting pipes to perfection, using briar wood imported from Tuscany, which connects us to other family histories combining tradition and artistry. What begins as one person’s love of the pipe, turns into an epic that travels the globe and spans centuries.