“So one thing from another rises ever; and in fee-simple life is given to none, but unto all mere usufruct.” – Lucretius, On the Nature of Things, Book III The above quote was once used by great Italian documentarian Franco Piavoli to open his masterful 1982 film, The Blue Planet. In that instance, it is deftly applied …
The Highway of Tears refers to a section of Highway 16 in British Columbia where 18 official and at least 40 unconfirmed women have gone missing or been found murdered. The majority of them have been indigenous women, and the area itself reflects a dark history of abuses and systematic racism. It is 724 km stretch of road with countless gravel roads in different states of disrepair shooting off of it like small tributaries. Without a car this area is treacherous, and few of the towns along the huge stretch of country have doctors, schools or opportunities for employment. There is barely any transit for those without cars (and with high levels of poverty, many don’t have them), leading many to resort to hitchhiking.
Before 1979, Iran had a history of iconic female singers. Qamar al-Molouk Vaziri was in 1924 the first woman to sing in front of a male audience and still “retain her good reputation”. It was a time when “women wore burkas and men were on opium”, sighs one of the protagonists of the documentary from the Iranian Ayat Najafi. Singers such as Delkash and Googoosh, as well as Sayeh Sodeyfi, performing in the film, were widely listened to, but have since then been made illegal. After the revolution, female solo-singing in public was banned on the grounds of “exceeding a certain vocal range” and “sexually arousing men in the audience”, and thereby breaking the rule of decency and of not deviating from their normal condition.
From Canada comes a fascinating new documentary about the daring extraction of 6 American Embassy workers from Tehran during the 1980 Iranian Hostage Crisis.
It was 2004 and I was fifteen years old when I read Charles R. Cross’ Heavier than Heaven. I remember finishing the last chapters, sprawled on the floor of my family’s cottage as I cried so hard I started to dry heave. At the time I was unaware of the controversy that surrounded the adaptation, both in how Cross took liberties in certain facts (some information was later disproved, or at least not substantiated) and the decision he made to create what was ultimately a fictional take on Kurt’s final days up until the point he killed himself. Like many teenager before and since, Kurt Cobain represented a romantic and ultimately tragic figure to look up to – for better or for worse.
“Sexual assault has always been a part of the college experience,” laments a university administrator in Kirby Dick’s troubling documentary, The Hunting Ground. Unfortunately, this grim pronouncement is borne out by the statistics, which state that 20% of all female students will be assaulted during their college tenure. Through powerful interviews and a barrage of sobering data, Kirby exposes the epidemic of sexual abuse on campus, as well as the systemic efforts to cover it up. It’s a harrowing story about survivors reclaiming their sense of empowerment, both psychologically and legally.
From harmony comes peace. Michael Obert’s luminous documentary, Song from the Forest, is a celebration of one man’s harmony that resonates from the heart of the jungle. At the same time, there’s an undeniable melancholy lacing every frame. The result is a deceptively complicated film that captures the inscrutable beauty of finding one’s place in the world and the economic realities of preserving it.
Tomorrow We Disappear has a vibrant, human immediacy that commands attention and, ultimately, delight. This feature documentary by filmmakers Jimmy Goldblum and Adam Weber chronicles part of the story of the Kathputli Colony in New Delhi, the last artist colony in India. Composed of some 3000 families, its residents – magicians, acrobats, puppeteers, and street performers – are faced with relocation when the city decides to “redevelop” the slum area they live in. The documentary, filmed over several years, captures both the way of life of these artists and their responses to this impending change.
Watching the new documentary Merchants of Doubt is fascinating and frustrating in equal measure. On the one hand, this is an entertaining examination of American spin doctors and their impact on public opinion. On the other hand, it paints a bleak picture for the prospects of ever neutralizing their impact. Still, Robert Kenner’s creation has enough gallant heroes, despicable villains, and ideological intrigue to rival any political thriller. It’s a fast-paced tutorial on the politics of punditry.
Amidst the chaos and uncertainty of an indifferent universe, virtuoso pianist Seymour Bernstein found order in his music. Ethan Hawke’s new documentary, Seymour: An Introduction, follows the reclusive Bernstein as he prepares for his first live performance in 35 years. Through powerful ruminations on his craft, we glimpse the inner workings of an artist whose love for music permeates every fiber of his being. Hawke gives us a terrific primer on one of classical music’s most talented and confounding figures.
The story at the center of Welcome to Leith is so surreal that it’s hard to believe you’re watching a documentary. When Craig Cobb first moved to the minuscule town of Leith, North Dakota – population 24 – residents thought he was just an unassuming old man who enjoyed his privacy. In reality, he was a neo-Nazi planning to buy up parcels of land and turn the town into a refuge for white supremacists. Welcome to Leith packages this strange tale in the form of a riveting war film, with the Leith residents battling against Cobb in an attempt to retake their formerly serene hamlet.
When Wim Wenders first saw Sebastiõ Salgado’s photographs, he knew he was looking at the work of an artistic genius. Salgado used his camera to document various indigenous peoples throughout the world, exploring the depths of little-known cultures and lifestyles. Much of his early work celebrated the heterogeneous nature of humanity, but as Salgado became more interested in the plights of war-ravaged nations, his photographs became darker and more provocative. The Salt of the Earth, co-directed by Wenders and Salgado’s son Juliano Ribeiro, delineates one man’s tumultuous relationship with humanity. As evidenced by Salgado’s extraordinary photographs, human beings are at once the most beautiful and the most appalling creatures to have ever walked the Earth.
In The Act of Killing, his previous documentary, director Joshua Oppenheimer employed an innovative technique to explore the atrocities committed under Indonesia’s military dictatorship. The film followed several death squad leaders who were responsible for exterminating thousands of accused communists. Oppenheimer provided these men with financing and production crews, allowing them to recreate their appalling actions on film. It was his hope that by confronting their past in this manner, the men would experience some level of remorse or moral responsibility for their actions. The Look of Silence, Oppenheimer’s companion piece to The Act of Killing, is not nearly as experimental or original as its predecessor. This is not to say that the film is without power. On the contrary, in some ways Silence cuts even deeper than its companion.
Storm In The Andes Written & Directed by Mikael Wiström Sweden, 2015 After her death in 1988 the Guzmán family spoke little of Aunt Augusta, and before her passing she was rarely discussed in the family home. Along with her husband Abimael she was one of the founding members of Shining Path, the Maoist guerrilla movement who engaged in a long and …
Life is Sacred Directed by Andreas M. Dalsgaard Columbia, 2015 Chances are when one conjures Colombia to mind a less than salubrious image springs to mind – staggeringly wealthy drug kingpins, endemic kidnapping plots, paramilitary foisted crime and corruption. Andreas M. Dalsgaard challenges these preconceptions with his instructive documentary Life is Sacred, a welcome opportunity to learn and see the quiet and hard-fought …
Burden Of Peace Written & Directed by Joey Boink & Sander Wirken Netherlands/Guatemala/Spain, 2015 One of the centerpieces of this years London Human Rights Film Festival is the domestic premiere of Burden Of Peace – a behind the scenes, four years in the making biography of activist turned Guatemala Attorney General, Claudia Paz y Paz. Following the first …
It was early afternoon on Friday, May 23rd 2014. I walked into TIFF Bell Lightbox, knots in my stomach, my eyes still welling with tears. “Just take a deep breath,” I kept telling myself. “You’ll be fine.” Up the escalator I rode, around the corner, and into the lavish Luma lounge. I approached the table, …
Backstreet Boys: Show em’ What You’re Made of
Directed by Stephen Kijak
USA, 2015
At the height of their face The Backstreet Boys represented with their harmonious voices and cherub good looks a newfound idealism in the American landscape. Not without talent, their selling point as much their image as their sound: they were chosen to be branded. Offering context to the tumultuous early years and how their experienced shaped their identity and worth over the years, the new documentary Backstreet Boys: Show em’ What You’re Made of documents the production of a new album from the former boy group.
Harmony Korine, the director behind such films as Spring Breakers, Mister Lonely and Gummo is starting the new year off right, with a 10-minute documentary. The film, The Legend of Cambo, is part of the Profiles series for Vice. The episode follows Cambo, a man who lived alone in the woods of Alabama for two …
As is usually the case, 2014 held a rich vein of great nonfiction cinema … that went mostly untapped by any wide audiences. But just because documentaries are perpetually under-served by popular (and even critical) attention doesn’t mean that we should neglect these films. This is a celebration of all the best docs to come …
The first character of the cinema was the mass: In La sortie des usines Lumière, credited as the first ever film, a crowd of factory workers leave a factory. While on repeated viewings you could begin to pick out the quirks and personalities of certain subjects, the real character was the group, the mass, the …
One of the most consistently controversial categories in the Oscar race is the Best Documentary category, a branch that has snubbed Steve James, Werner Herzog and Errol Morris in past years. This year however, Steve James did make the list with his documentary Life Itself, based on the life of Roger Ebert, along with the …
Perhaps the new documentary Pulp: a Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets is best summed up by Pulp’s frontman, Jarvis Cocker: “Life is a random process, but you can add narrative to it.” Director Florian Habicht tries to impose a narrative upon his mishmash of concert footage, band interviews, and fan testimonials, but it never coalesces. Ultimately, some top-notch concert cinematography, a few intriguing visuals, and Cocker’s delightful cheekiness make this a must-see for Pulp fans, and a must-skip for general audiences.