A portrait of a reluctant rights advocate and elegant exemplar, the documentary Anita checks in with Anita Hill two decades after her historic Supreme Court testimony indicting prospective Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas of sexual harassment. Even in 1991, sexual harassment in the workplace was described—perhaps in the interest of courtroom neutrality—as one of a hundred un-pleasantries adults just have to suck up (no pun intended).

They've been derided for decades and hunted to the point of extinction by television network executives, even as their storytelling tropes have been absorbed into the primetime lexicon and their audience has remained as steadfastly loyal as ever. If there's a type of show that needs defending in TV's current "golden era," it's the daytime soap, and director Sako Brockmann gives it a pretty good shot with Soap Life.

Moons ago, after a festival screening his documentary Professor, director Daniel Kraus and I huddled under an escalator for an interview. This feature was the third in his “Work Series” and I was terribly impressed. His professor teaches religion in an Iowa university and is ‘likely the only Jew these students have ever met.’ Regularly skirting controversy the guy moves at a constant buzz, and Kraus follows him in these long, slow, painterly takes—it’s like Kraus can be patient because the Professor can’t.

Godfrey Reggio was a Christian Brother (“a male nun”) for 14 years in New Mexico before directing arguably the most popular experimental feature ever: Koyaanisqatsi. Yet, Reggio doesn’t like the term “experimental” because it’s too scientific. His films, in particular his newest, Visitors, is “experiential. This is an extra-mental activity and knowing we’re all in rush hour traffic outrunning our futures I suggest to audiences it’s not their seat belt but their soul belt they have to put on to be open to this.”

Jessica Yu’s 2007 documentary Protagonist can never get enough airplay for my taste, and thankfully Doc Club curator Thom Powers agrees, booking it with the dozen documentaries made by women in this month’s SundanceNow streaming titles. Every month SundanceNow spotlights a theme and January it’s women directors. SundanceNow offers services by single month, 6-month and year-long subscription installments so if you want to hold out for next month’s Oscar Dreams edition, the site can show you how.