Beautiful documentary on a dying occupation on the French-Spanish Border
Yves, is the elderly eponymous hero of the story. An ageing shepherd in the hills of the Pyrenees who is in the twilight of his career and life - the two are hand in hand. His life has been one of simplicity, but now being upended by an old foe. It could read like an old west narrative, and yet this is more of a tale of mortality. As it seems the bear of the title could very well be the death of him and his occupation.
This is a clash of order and chaos; the shepherds are the order of the land whilst the bears are the chaos - unabashed, unregulated. Yves and his community are pining for help amidst the clouds.
The clash of the old with the new; shepherds have their means of working the landscape whilst the introduction of an old method which was removed and now returned brings hardship to a traditional method. Coupled with an ageing work-force with little or no apprentices following in their footsteps, the younger generations having moved to urban landscapes.
Yet for all the wide shots of misty mountains, sun-kissed hills and verdant forests, perhaps the most telling image is a close-up of the weathered lines on Yves’ face. They say every picture tells a story and you can see in the weathered face of Yves as he looks into another fire, the light upon his face shows the years worked and how the last embers of his being and belonging.
Visually arresting and ravishing in the cinematography by director Max Keegan and Clement Beauvois; they capture the natural world in all its beauty. This coupled with a delicate score by Amine Bouhafa evokes the passing of time mixed with an appraisal of tradition and community.
The Shepherd and The Bear is out from Conic Film on limited release from 6th February.
A new documentary examines the Catholic clergy molestation scandal in Louisiana, screens at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival this June. The film is directed by Lindsay Quinn Pitre.
A harrowing and hard watch of a film over its 82 minute run time, about the lengths and depths of depravity men of the cloth went to hide their illicit behaviour.
The film is produced by Michael Brandner Sr, who in 2018 discovered a set of love letters from a priest to his younger brother, Scot. Scot committed suicide in the early 1990s at the age of 29.
After the first twenty minutes of talking head personal accounts of individuals who suffered molestation at the hands of clergymen. The film then shows the legal ramifications as attorneys of New Orleans brought claims against the church. The church faced so many clerical claims it had to file for federal bankruptcy protection in May 2020.
The case has cost the Archdiocese more than $40m in fees which remain unresolved.
Tellingly, the film is left open-ended as this is an ongoing case with more people still to come forward. It allows you to see the story come to the viewer at this pace which is deliberate under the circumstances.
Heartfelt due to the personal nature of the Brander situation, this is a film that is a good companion to the Alex Gibney documentary Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence In the House of God (2012) which itself delved into the claims of abuse in the catholic church and touched upon in the Oscar winning film, Spotlight.
This is a poignant documentary that is as much about healing as about the horrific acts put upon this vulnerable individuals.
God As My Witness has its World Premiere at the 33rd Raindance Film Festival on 26th June.
My thanks to Raindance for the screening link for review.
First documentary feature from Edinburgh based film director set in Spain
Inma De Reyes has crafted a fine modern-day document of an almost antiquated artefact of a bygone era in her hometown of Castellon, Spain. The Spanish title is El Nino Y El Traje De Luces.
Bullfighting is one of the most identifiable elements of Spanish heritage and yet it is a dying form of entertainment in the modern world with animal rights activists fighting for better care of the poor animals and also the stardom that came with the pastime waning due to the rise of better money in more mainstream sports such as football and basketball.
De Reyes over the course of five years follows a young boy, Borja, as he navigates his puberty into young manhood with the dream of becoming a bullfighter while helping his single mother who works hard to provide for her and brother Erik. The other mainstay in his life is his grandfather, Matias, a man who could not fulfil his dream of bullfighting and so vicariously lives through his grandchildren.
The five year format - reminiscent of Linklater's Boyhood (2014) - does not use intertitles to inform the audience of a new year, instead we have the raising of a musical score to signify a movement in time sometimes bringing light to a new year or a dark cloud such as the passing of a loved one during the global pandemic.
In terms of the lead character, Borja's expressive eyes allow us to see how he takes in this awe-inspiring arena of sport. He is very much aware of the opportunity to be something else in the world is being afforded in contrast to the underprivileged nature he finds himself in.
While filmed through the documentary medium, this is essentially a coming-of-age story for Borja and his younger brother; as they come to terms with the pressures of the decisions made in teenage years to better themselves and the hard work your parents do to keep the negativity of the world away from their children, and yet these obstacles cannot be ignored the older you become.
Empathetic in its tone and delicate handling of the complex sport while embracing the romantic notions bullfighting elicits in the Spanish cultural landscape; The Boy and the Suit of Lights is a film with lessons to learn and where even the best laid plans get changed.
Financed by Screen Scotland, Chicken and Egg, Rustic Canyon and Women Make Movies;
The Boy and the Suit of Lights receives its World Premiere at Sheffield DocFest on Friday 14th June in the International Feature Competition.
World Premiere scheduled for 18th March at the CPH:DOX Copenhagen International Documentary
Written and directed by Lisa Jackson, known for her ground-breaking cross-genre work, Wilfred Buck is a hybrid feature documentary that follows the extraordinary life story of the eponymous charismatic and irreverent Cree Elder, who overcame a harrowing history of displacement, racism and addiction by reclaiming ancestral star knowledge and ceremony.
The film serves as a rich mix of nostalgia and heritage as we navigate the indigenous communities across the American north. Cree is seen as a respected gentleman, who espouses a wealth of his knowledge upon those who wish to learn with a smile on his face and his effusive spirit radiating to all who encounter him.
The technique utilised is a mixture of documentary footage but also the knitting of library footage from the archives of Native Americans through televisual history to tell the stories Cree spoke of in his memoir. He speaks how a large group of people so built upon a foundation of community are now dispersed across the states with sun dances and rituals taking place all over the country.
Cree travels the country and we follow him as he drives the highways, he is an expressive talker but not a loud one. He talks with authority and assuredness combined with a passion and a somewhat yearning for what life could have been; yet this seeing new generations of people growing up gives him a push to improve their lives and learn from his mistakes.
You always find with documentaries or ask yourself a question as to why is this being produced, what lesson can be learnt from this viewing experience. The notion or hypothesis should be that the layman or blank canvas of a viewer can witness a story being told and you come out with a greater understanding of the subject at hand with a balanced argument. Wilfred Buck has had to overcome struggles and obstacles from societal circumstances which affected his own mind and being; yet those circumstances are not the reason he finds himself in despair, he recognises his own failings and being complicit in hitting rock bottom.
Beautiful camerawork around meteorites and rock formation along with space constellations that firmly the establishment and belief that we are all stars and in one with the universe. This melts into the work Buck does giving planetary lectures and inspiration through a greater understanding of our place in the universe.
Screening as part of the Second Italian Doc House season at Bertha Doc House
A collaboration between contemporaries, screenwriter Valentina Cicogna and director Mattia Colombo; this true crime documentary stars protagonist and forensic pathologist Cristina Cattaneo; who is portrayed as a fiercely passionate activist for the dead.
Working in Milan and administering autopsies to those who have passed on; Cattaneo is a unique person with a singluar voice. As she works, many bodies arrive with no identification or name - from the homeless, to the young and old, to migrants who seek a better life and die tragically in the sea.
Cattaneo and her team are stringent in the belief that all people deserve the right to a burial no matter who that person may be and what life they may have led. The lack of dignity to some dead is startling as the people who may have known these unknown people adds to the grief, even more startling is the faith that the grieving put in a television show over the police in the search for answers.
Much like Colombo's last film A Steady Job (screened at first Italian Doc House), this is a document to a time that is changing amidst a global pandemic. Cattaneo wears a mask in her work but due to the crisis, she and everyone she encounters is wearing a mask all except those she treats in death.
The engaging character of Cattaneo is one that keeps you involved with the film that is as concise and precise as the doctor. Shot with clarity and accomplishment, this film serves as a reminder that life is too short and no matter how it ends, respectfully the life should be cherished in its conclusion. There is a care and attentiveness required for the dead that we have lost in the land of the living - Cattaneo strains to make that point clear to her peers and students.
Special mention to the music by Zeno Gabaglio which offers a touching sombre piece to this sensitive topic which handles its subject matter with such dignity.
Pure Unknown screens at BerthaDocHouse on Saturday 27th January 3pm with a filmmaker Q&A afterwards.
Brand new documentary released by Dogwoof on Friday 27th October
This new documentary directed and edited by Madeline Gavin, is sobering and equally heart-breaking. It delves into the recollections of North Korean's who have taken the brave step to leave the totalitarian regime and seek a new life over the border in either China or South Korea.
The regime of North Korea goes to great lengths to paint a picture that all is rosy in their country, one newspaper, one television channel, one dictator leadership, and the lengths to keep the population in the country with barbed wires and the bullying tactics of the police force through this feedback is startling to the viewer. The crossing across the Yalu River is daunting and petrifying, using footage by those seeking refuge which makes this as thrilling as any found-footage film as we witness first hand the struggles.
The film follows the efforts benevolent pastor Kim can sometimes get double digit requests for people wanting to move and he obtains footage of apartments in North Korea, built with no lifts and they use wood for cooking and heating. Two stories run parallel one is the five person family Ro who give up everything to seek freedom and reunite with family in Seoul, South Korea and the other a mother Soyeon Lee awaiting the news of her son escape attempt.
You see elders and youngsters fighting back tears as they recall the journey to get to safety, how they are taught that the western world and America are the most evil people in the world and yet the majority of North Koreans live in poverty and squalor.
The realisation upon most of the evacuees' faces as they learn of the true depiction of the Kim regime is refreshing, and how in this world which has a whole heap of problems to deal with constantly, anyone born must have the will to move where they wish. North Korea denies their citizens that basic liberty and then lie to them to make them think this is as good as it gets. Those who soldier on to China or Thailand learn the truth.
An eye-opening document that the whole world should see and by focusing on the people and not the politics makes the documentary both brave and frightening and most importantly accessible to the plight suffered.
Beyond Utopia is out from Dogwoof in selected UK/Ireland cinemas from Friday 27th October
Anna Hints' Estonian film is the official entry for the Academy Awards in 2024 for Best Foreign Language Film.
Hints' film can be best described as one of neo-realism in this vain millennial age in which we live. A film depicting the talks that women have in an Estonian sauna, conversing about their lives, the struggles in life from cancer to abuse to dealing with the everyday worry of body image and consciousness.
One woman is the focal point as a conduit for us the audience, listening rapt to her friends while the women speak to her with just their bodies on display and their heads cut off by the frame, slowly though the frame becomes larger and the women are more seen as the film progresses. The filmmaker is making a statement here that the woman speaking are all women, sometimes unseen by society and yet living with such difficulty because of that same society putting such constraints upon them in terms of expectations when it comes to beauty and ability.
The film is broken up with views of Estonian life in the cold climate, how the sauna is constructed, folk music being performed and viewed. One clever scene, shows how the smoke begins in an empty sauna and how quickly it takes over the space and the women in a sense become hidden; and that what they speak of is private in this confessional booth of a hot room.
The film plays as a metaphor for how women are hidden or shunned from society, yet the sauna is a place to cleanse yourself of the pain and it is a blessing such as baptism was. It is no mistake that the film starts with a mother cradling her new born baby skin to skin.
Ironically, I have got this far into a film review featuring naked females and not mentioned the nakedness. However, there is nothing titillating or violating about the depiction of the female form in this instance, it is an exercise in showing that all forms of female are perfect just with minor imperfections, those same imperfections that certain members of society put far too much emphasis upon. You learn that all women are beautiful in their own right, each body is beautiful and to quote one women's story, 'a human is a human'.
Sweat it out! Sweat it out!
Sweat the pain out!
Out! Out! Out!
There is also something about the sound of natural laughter between a group such as when one woman talks about being on Tinder and dick pics, there is an absurdity to the situation she describes that makes people giggle but the infectious nature of it makes it grow to a chorus of giggles that envelopes you with warmth.
Open, raw and forthright - this is a film to be cherished, embraced and held in close regard. One of the best in recent years that says so much about so many things without a threat of politicisation or grandstanding.
The film has one standout story - a graphic retelling of a rape by one of the women. It is told with such bravery and honesty, that at the ending of the recollection, the rest of the sauna is silent as was this viewer. The mother asks, 'I want to protect my daughter from all this. How do I do that?' and I suppose that is the problem the film is addressing, we have come a long way but still so far to go. The film ends with the women after the sauna walking to a nearby natural waterway, spiritually returning to the calming water for peace, we start our life's journey in the calm water of our mother's womb and seek that tranquility throughout life.
A triumphant film that is revitalising in the power of the human spirit to overcome all the obstacles life throws at you, so often these women are alone in their struggle. However, they are strong and the stories they tell speak volumes of where we are still and how far women still have to go for equality.
SMOKE SAUNA SISTERHOOD is the closing film of this years Fragments Festival at Genesis Cinema, Mile End, London this Sunday 1st October 5pm. Tickets are still available.
Smart documentary on protest song that still rings true
Bella Ciao is a song that has become the Italian national anthem of protest - a chorus that rings around the world in times of adversity. From the mosques of Istanbul to the mountains of Chile, the song holds a special resonance to those who hold it dear.
The history of the song is as rich as the song's lasting appeal from a song of defiance to one used as the theme music to Netflix hit television show Money Heist. The film starts with a showing of the song being used around the world from Iran to Turkey and back to the homeland of Italy.
The film takes a long period telling the story of the Partisans, those who opposed fascism. Veterans speak of giving to their country for the freedom, and how the mistakes of having a sixteen year old fight in a war are being repeated around the world by insurgents and ongoing warfare. Yet these veterans speak of how they did not sing the song during the war, and it only became an anthem some 15 years after the conclusion of World War 2 by the youth movement and uprising in the Eastern bloc of late 1950s and early 60s - as a song for the masses.
The song was given a life of its own and its own mythology began to circulate in the 1960s and the film shows many stories from around the world expressing how the song came into their life and remains.
This documentary is as stirring as the song it lauds, giving life and reason to a song that has stood the test of modern warfare and an ever changing society. The film is indicative of how we express our identity through song and singing alike giving us a sense of belonging and unity.
Bella Ciao receives its UK premiere as part of the Cinecittà Italian Docs series at London's Bertha DocHouse on Sunday 25th June at 3.30pm with a Q&A with director Giulia Giapponesi.
Directed by Francesco Patierno, this is based upon an autobiography by writer and narrator, Fuani Marino, who attempted suicide by falling from the fourth floor of a building a few months after giving birth to her daughter, Greta.
Suffering from post-partum depression, Fuani makes the case that this was a build-up of pressures and emotions that led to her attempt to take her own life and leave the darkness she found surrounding her world.
Told with a mixture of archive photographs from her own family albums, with up to date photos and videos along with stock library footage; in unison Patierno and Marino craft a gripping and intense viewing experience that is both first-hand but welcoming to the audience to understand where Marino has been and is going.
The loss of her writing (left) hand following the accident is tragic for any writer, having to re-learn that skill and not being able to recognise your handwriting as your own is hard. What is telling is that Marino has now recovered and she is not trying to hide her suicide attempt - in her words the writing of the memoir on which this film is based was in fact a political statement on behalf of all those who choose to remain silent.
A gripping and intense watch that is rewarding in its naked honesty on a taboo subject; she lived so she could tell the tale.
New documentary highlighting the plight of full time employment in Southern Italy, screening as part of Cinecittà Italian Docs
A Steady Job (Il Posto) focuses on graduate nurses
and healthcare workers in Italy who compete for just a few vacancies in their desperate search for job
stability. Filmed largely before, but ultimately impacted by, the coronavirus pandemic, it provides a
disturbing overview of the labour market in Italy – a portrait of a tragically broken system.
Filmed in the hand-held form focusing on those trying to find work for these graduates, travelling to job fairs on long journeys, the documentary has this unfortunate air of resignation about the downfall of government to give jobs in a vital industry.
As the film notes in the beginning, one in two adults in Southern Italy are unemployed and so they travel on coaches to these job markets in the hope of gaining employment abandoning family with dreams still in their hearts.
A telling scene is when the man who arranges the trips for these hopeful souls is driving home with his business partner and he stops saying is it worth it for him to do this anymore in this recrutiment industry - the weight of the world and the burden he feels weighs heavy upon his shoulders. This moment is shot as an excised scene from Michael Mann's The Insider.
The ending of the film which poses more questions than supplying answers for those seeking employment, shows the individuals walking zombie-like with a melancholic ethereal electronic score underneath - this is a generation of souls lost without a direction in this world.
Filmed largely before but ultimately more impacted by the global pandemic, this overview of the Italian health system is both sombre and tragic. This film grips the audience and becomes an alternative road movie of sorts.
A Steady Job (Il Posto) will have its UK Premier and screen as part of the Cinecitta Italian Docs season at London's Bertha DocHouse on Saturday 24th June with a Q&A with directors Mattia Colombo and Gianluca Mattarese
New documentary by Mira Erdevicki follows three Roma people living in the UK and how Brexit and Covid has affected their lives.
This eye-opening documentary by Slovakian director shows this reviewer, an Anglo-Saxon middle-class individual a view to a world I am unfamiliar with. It is about three gypsies who have come to the UK to seek progress and raise a family in a better world.
We see Denisa, the first Roma British lawyer who helps migrants affected by post-Brexit legislation; Petr who has been awarded the MBE for community policing and Ondrej, a teaching assistant who wants to study psychology.
All are supporting their family, all have hopes and dreams yet these are scuppered firstly by the decision of the British populace to leave the European Union and then Covid which restricted their movement on a different level.
The determination of the trio is undeniable, their character never waivers and the belief that they can make a difference is powerful. There is no agenda foisted upon the viewer in this document, merely the three people speak for themselves serving as vital cogs within the community at large from Leicester to Peterborough to London suburbs - hard working people who are valued for their industry and personality.
As a time capsule of those moments in 2020 when we were moving through a difficult social and world-changing event, Ondrej's footage of Leicester as a ghost town as he states it reminds us of what we were experiencing.
Shot mostly by the three people themselves with hand-held point of view perspective mixed with telling voiceover of the individuals, this is a powerful document for those who have not seen such lifestyle or are ignorant of other people's hardships and what they must overcome to fulfil their dreams and aspirations.
Leaving To Remain is out on 28th April on limited release by Verve Pictures
My thanks to EmFoundation PR for the review opportunity.
Debut film that was nominated for Outstanding Debut British Film at recent BAFTA's out March 3rd in cinemas.
A fascinating documentary into a life in remote Norway of a man diagnosed with electrosensitivity, a condition that effects approximately 3% of the world's population according to statistics from World Health Organisation.
Director Marie Liden who shoots intimately and with humility towards her subject, William aged 40. William has been diagnosed with the condition in his adult life, so we find him amid the turmoil of adjusting to the everyday abnormality he finds himself in - having to be cut off from the family in a man-made cave to stave off the threat of electricity.
In essence, this shows how to live off the grid but when the grid is everywhere, the melancholy felt by the lead character is paramount you really get a sense to the loss of interaction he is feeling, his being alone hits home and for us who had to endure lockdown for a number of months for a great number of people that sense of not belonging and being cut off is an everyday occurrence and one that is real and haunting.
As William dons a blanket, he appears as a nomadic folk ghost wandering around his makeshift home, listening to an ever-burgeoning CD collection of music. He sits in a parking lot while his mother shops and his use of a meter to show the levels of radiation makes clear the pressure and fear of radiation upon him is.
This documentary is a real winner, full of charm and craft but also a message that perhaps we do take our life for granted too often. Think of those others who are less fortunate be it less in terms of monetary value but also the missing out on the everyday interaction with people.
Electric Malady treats William nobly and without judgment, it is tactful in considering his situation.
Out in cinemas from 3rd March, seek this heartfelt documentary screening at ICA London and DocHouse
Directed by Margaret Brown, whom directed The Great Silence about the Deepwater Horizon and the falllout of that disaster. Here Brown shows another tragic disaster this time focusing on the long known history of a sunken slave ship off the coast of Mobile, Alabama called the Clotilda.
The film is about the attempts to find the remains of a slave ship, supposedly set on fire by slave masters as the transportation of slaves from one country to another had been abolished in 1805 but slavery was still occurring within the United States up to the Civil War
Brown directs with such assuredness and command of the material and resources at her disposal helped by folklorist Kern Jackson, Professor at the University of South Alabama.
The film delicately weaves the narrative about how important it is for the direct descendants of the people who were brought to the Americas from Africa, eventually settling in Africatown, to know the truth about their story, which has been passed down from generation to generation as a story of resilience and survival, providing hope to the generations that follow. This is indicative of the African-American experience claiming their story and their freedom may have come at a price, but their history remains theirs alone.
Featuring readings from Zora Neale Hurston's Barracoon: The Story of the Last Black Cargo, a memoir from a survivor of the ship, read by people who ferment within the narrative. Brown makes sure that the message of legacy and folklore is passed down from person to person, this coupled with VHS recordings of survivors harkens back to a by-gone era.
Yet there is hope amidst the systemic racism pervaded upon the survivors by the Timothy Meaher family and their surviving family from attempting to wrong foot historians and divers from the true location of the wreckage, to the allowing of huge industrial plants to be built in and around Africatown making the residents unfortunately victims of pollution and environmental danger by way of lead and mills being ever present since their creation, not to mention the destruction to the surrounding water of the gulf region.
From these troubles and the stigmatism of reparations by way a means of accountability to some souls, the message of rising up and reclaiming the narrative is indicative by the end; the ability to curate the story in a new found Heritage house bodes well for the future.
A dark chapter in the slave history of America is finally rising up from the depths, providing hope to those legacies now and for those descendants now. This powerful tale of storytelling has made this film a frontrunner for the Best Documentary Feature at next years Academy Awards, and it is hard to argue.
Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project is out on all digital platforms from 6th November 2020
This documentary by Matt Wolf examines the life of Marion Stokes, a woman who recorded television 24 hours a day everyday from 1975 until her death in 2012. While this starts as a document about a life unknown outside of the Philadelphia region, Stokes is a trailblazer, a follower of a trend. The film slowly morphs into a document about how America has become desensitised in it's viewing habits with cable news becoming the mouthpiece for a nation.
From the Iranian hostage crisis in 1980 with the prisoners released on the day of Reagan's inauguration to 9/11 and the response time of networks to a tragedy that would hit them all. The first half takes it upon itself to explain Marion Stokes' background, her flirtation with the Communist party and the possibility of a move to Cuba which was then jettisoned when common sense took over. Marion would appear on regional television in think piece shows where people of intellect would discuss topics at great length from racism, socialism, voter rights and so on. It was on this show that she met her future husband, John Stokes, a man who would give her a bigger world view, travelling to Europe - a place she only ever dreamed of in books. Marion was forthright, stubborn, belligerent and this had an effect on the relationship she had with her son, a man who grew up to not obtain as great an intellect as hers, which she freely admitted. Yet Marion would read voraciously, books, a dozen newspapers everyday and started recording her news in 1975 but it really came to ahead in 1979 when the American hostage crisis in Iran took place, she started watching and was struck by how the narrative altered from the outset and throughout the long process. She noticed the point that the narrative would alter from day to day, like a long-running television drama series, combustible storylines, complex characters and altering narrative. Marion and the news networks realised they had a hit on their hands, by making news the star of daily night-time schedules the networks could create the narrative and status quo - the art of fearmongering came front and centre.
The hostage crisis took place in 1979 and into 1980 followed by the Soviet-Afghanistan conflict which prompted the USA boycotting the Moscow Summer Olympics. It also coincided with the birth of CNN in 1980 and the birth of 24/7 news coverage for the beginning of a new decade and new Presidency, under Ronald Reagan. An administration who knew how the media was as important as the bills passed to meld the public into their wishes of unknowing subordinates. Marion was also a visionary, someone who was aware of trends in technology and media, able to see what companies were going places prompting her to urge her husband's board to invest in the early infancy of Apple and Steve Jobs at just $7 a share to begin with. This foresight led to great riches for the rest of her life. Soon though, the recording prompted a reclusive nature to come to the fore, Marion becoming an obsessive and a collector, the film makes it clear that she is not a hoarder, despite having nine flats to keep hold of all the VHS tapes she and her husband had. The second half of the film follows this tale of isolation, the watching of news and how Marion in effect become the first couch potato of the late 20th century, digesting daily news and noting how the big stories of the day and relevant time would be crafted by news agencies - the most important facet was that of racism in news media; black crime but most importantly, crime upon black people by authority figures especially police such as the Rodney King assault and the following riots across Los Angeles.
Director, Matt Wolf
Marion's husband passed away in the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century and this took a toll on her as she had lost her soul-mate, yet the recording did not stop by Marion nor her devoted staff. The only problem posed as years went by was how technologies changed with the advent of digital media in more households it became harder and harder to source VHS tapes themselves in the greater Philadelphia area. Following her death, the videos stopped recording and her son, struggled with how best to carry on her legacy and after 18 months of worrying, the Digital Institute in San Francisco took the bold step of buying all the VHS tapes, all 30,000 tapes in their entirety shipping them off to the West Coast, the intention to digitise all of them and then archive them into a digital storage available online. The idea being that many local stations - those that Marion recorded - did themselves not have their own archive owing to costs and storage logistics, but Marion had the first 32 years of CNN at her disposal and all of closed captioning, an invaluable tool and resource for those who want it. America loves television, and this is evidence again - for social anthropologists, historians and media scholars, the digital library Marion's tapes provide will be an unbelievable look into the history of America through a lense. Recorder: The Marion Stokes Project is released by Violet Pictures in 6th November 2020.
SUPER SIZE ME 2: HOLY CHICKEN available on Demand in UK
from 9th December
When Morgan Spurlock went on a life changing odyssey involving eating nothing but McDonalds for one calendar month, many could not believe what would happen and the gradual sea change he helped document in the renowned Super Size Me.
What started as a joke, became a global phenomenon turning Spurlock from a guy with a punchline of an idea into a respected film-maker culminating in garnering an Academy Award nomination (losing to Born into Brothels) for Best Documentary Feature.
Spurlock is back and this time he is attempting to open up a fast food restaurant serving fried chicken which is now grilled chicken (the same thing), and going into how branding warps consumers minds with key words and colour spelling. All at a perfectly reasonable price.
Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken (graphics by the team behind Despicable Me) is available on demand in the UK from this Monday 9th December from Samuel Goldwyn Films.
My thanks to AR:PR Publicity for the preview opportunity.
Following on from my review of Follow The Money last week and on the eve of the film's European Premiere at the East End Film Festival at the Hackney Picturehouse on Saturday 17th June, I was granted the opportunity to interview Ben Unwin - one of the three intrepid British travellers - who follow a single $10 dollar bill across America where they encounter all manner of people from the centre of America to a shining sea in California.
Where did the idea for the film come about?
Steve and John met to watch football and Steve told him that he was writing a book about his experiences following a ten dollar bill around the states. John thought it would be a great idea for a documentary and told me about it. We then got Steve drunk and persuaded him to do it again!
When was this filmed? Did you plan the trip and say a specific time or was it a now or never situation to commit to?
We filmed it a few years ago but due to work commitments and being self funded it took around three years to edit and do all the post production. I guess we filmed it at the time as that was when we had the money to do it. I had just earned some extra money that I had never expected cutting a commercial and I thought well it is now or never.
From left to right: Steve Boggan, John Hardwick, Ben Unwin
Watching the film it is like a documentary on how to make a film when you guys look at each other in point of view or at the conclusion when you don't know what to do? Was it fun or stressful?
I won’t deny that there were stressful moments most probably due to lack of sleep. We had to spend one night sleeping in the car and I remember thinking I am too old for this shit. However in general I loved the experience. At the risk of sounding pretentious how often does one have a truly existential experience with the process of decision making being removed form everyday life?
You say in the film you preferred to not know what was coming. Was that the same for everyone?
For me yes and I think in general for all of us. Perhaps late on in the process it may have worn a bit thin for Steve but then he had been through the whole process before.
Had you travelled to America previously? How different was this trip?
John had studied in America for a year, Steve had been a reporter there and I had lived in LA for a bit trying to make films. I had not experienced this amount of variety before though and that was what has made it a lifelong memory. I mean when else am I going to hang on a ranch with genuine cowboys?
What was the most surprising experience?
In reality the fact that no body said no to being in the film. Americans just love a big idea and their warmth and hospitality never ceases to amaze me.
Did any interview have to be cut? (i.e. the Texas trip in the bar?)
I would not say cut exactly but very careful thought was put it as to what to include and what to leave out. One individual had some views about Obama not being born in America. In an hour long program about them you would delve into this but when you only have five minutes to show on them that is not fair. They were decent kind-hearted people but just misinformed by certain media. I figured of you include that in a five minute segment it is what the viewer will remember about them rather than a true reflection of their characters. Obviously if they had been screaming members of the KKK that would be different but this was not the case.
What did you take away from the whole trip?
That you can’t use phrases like “Americans think this or that”. The USA is like a hundred different countries under one flag. A person from Nebraska is very different from and person from Chicago. Having said that I was constantly amazed at how warm people were. At the end of the day real people may have differences of opinion but we just have a beer together and get on with it. We don’t end up shouting at each other like politicians.
Have you been pleased by the critical response at film festivals?
Very much so and it has made me confront some of my own prejudices. In Mississippi we won the Audience Award which was a great honour (and relief as they have lot of guns there and I did not want to be run out of town!) and also the fact that we were able to have great discussions after the film. I found myself having a beer with a Christian Pastor who was a staunch advocate of gay rights. You have to delve below the surface and you find that there is always a better story below the headlines. Also a guy in Kentucky (where we won best documentary) told me how great it was to see a documentary where Native Americans were portrayed in a uplifting light. You can’t help but feel good when you get that kind of response.
What is the hope for this film in terms of release?
We just want as many people to see the film as possible. At the end of the day you don’t make documentaries to get rich but if in some small way it makes people feel a little bit better about how we can interact with one another and get on then I will be happy with that. I will also take an Oscar though if it’s on offer.
What is next for the three of you or in a solo role?
We are all good friends so I am sure we will think of something. John has been mainly directing drama recently (Including the film Svengali, The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret and Delicious for Sky). Steve has another great book out called Gold Fever and is working on another. As for me I am researching two projects one about the USA and one about Sport. I dare say we will all combine on something in the future but I am definitely not sleeping in the same car with them again! Follow The Money won Best Documentary at the Louisville International Film Festival, Audience Award at FSFX, Mississippi and was Highly Commended by the LA Film Review of Los Angeles. If you have a spare evening then please attend the European Premiere at the East End Film Festival on Saturday 17th June and support British documentary film-making, Follow The Money is the sort of film that will leave you with something everlasting.
Appearing at the East End Film Festival on June 17th at the Hackney Picturehouse, an incisive unique documentary by three British film-makers, Follow The Money marks its European premiere.
Follow the Money tells the story of three British men - John Hardwick, Steve Boggan, Ben Unwin - who travel to America and decide to follow a $10 dollar bill around the United States of America interviewing and following people who gain possession of the note. They start in the very centre of America and from there they encounter people of all creeds and colours, shapes and sizes. From farmers to rodeo riders, from British students in Texas to transgenders in California.
The film which begins on a whimsical idea becomes this other narrative of people becoming happy with their existence, it is an element of luck that they encounter the man who in his words 'hitch-hiked from Iran to America for 19 months' and now runs a highly thought of guitar store in San Francisco.
The most thoughtful moments come from a Native American in Dakota who says the intrepid trio are on a journey searching for bliss or the transient man who is happy to still being chasing his dream albeit when living out of his car. They encounter people who have to encounter race relations, sexual relations, notions of being gay in America to poor people.
What comes across the film which is shot through hand-held cameras, mobile phones using a lovely Sepia old-time filter for the showing of moments from a by-gone era - is a genuine warmth for the country they are visiting and navigating.
You also get a sense of the bewilderment of travelling with the wind, not knowing where you are going to end up and yet there is a good feeling towards these foreign strangers from all Americans, there is a can do attitude from all who are happy to share stories and tales with the interviewers.
In this day and age of fear and terrorism, the sense of Love Thy Neighbour comes firmly across through the power of story-telling, story sharing and friendship with a fascination over the unbelievable. Follow The Money is a feel good documentary that will leave you with moments of reflection and pride instead of the usual negative emotional tropes associated with the documentary form.
Follow The Money screens as part of the East End Film Festival on Saturday 17th June
A glowing documentary that follows the post-NFL career of New Orleans Saints specials teams player, Steve Gleason, who shortly after retirement is diagnosed with ALS - Amyotrophic Lateral Sceloris or Lou Gehrig's Disease - and how his once physical body quickly detoriates and a sound literal mind slowly vanishes over a year.
The director Clay Tweel is lucky in respect that an unsung player such as Gleason becomes this incredible walking and talking document about the human spirit and how we can overcome. Tweel is the director and editor of the film, yet the narrator and producer of the content is Gleason himself; a sportsman who does not suffer from vanity or brand awareness, Gleason documented much of his life by means of videotaping or camera phone from his teenage years to college days to archiving his off-season trips overseas when experiencing adventure holidays.
This zest for life continues for Gleason in his retirement and led to him meeting his rock, Michel, a free spirit too who becomes his wife and mother to their son, Rivers. Their relationship is one of enlightenment and joy, and then Steve starts feeling pains in his arms and chest.
After the diagnosis, Michel becomes pregnant and they go on a two month road trip to Alaska, on this trip Steve's body starts diminishing which hurts Michel yet Steve is eager to not have it stop him experiencing life to the full. Steve starts a video blog for his unborn child - teaching him about relationships and family, and also a video diary of his day-to-day realisation that he is slowly going more inward as the condition takes hold.
What set Steve Gleason apart from other NFL players was his determination and drive to achieve, Gleason played linebacker at college for Washington State, however, he was considered too small for the position in the professional game yet his speed and desire to win led him to be drafted by the New Orleans Saints who utilised him as a special teams gunner, a player who specifically attacks the punter when he kicks the ball away to attempt a turnover or block to regain possession for the offence.
In the annals of the Saints franchise, Gleason has a play for which he is synonymous - the blocked punt of the Atlanta Falcons' punter in the first few minutes of the first game back at the New Orleans Superdome following the horror of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The game was September 25th 2006, and Gleason's play became christened 'The Rebirth' and helped galvanised a city and fanbase that desperately needed something to cheer about. Much is made about the way Gleason played, with a hunger and a controlled anger, coming from a broken home his Dad alludes to the fact that the field of play allowed Steve to be cathartic and let out his anger.
Gleason's Dad also says maybe the illness stems from the way Steve played - so hard, so fast - yet ALS is apparent in adults not on the physical level of Gleason and there is no discussion on the CTE discussion so prevalent in the NFL currently.
Nonetheless, the film is a moving document on the treatment of ALS and the fight Gleason shows is paramount to him overcoming his illness as best he can becoming more of an inspiration in retirement than he did when playing - his foundation Team Gleason raises money to help similar ALS sufferers to go on trips with family and he went to Congress to pass the Gleason Act meaning the technology to help ALS sufferers talk via computers be available on Medicare; a legacy perhaps far more reaching than a blocked punt. The punt was a second was a moment; the Act will live on and help far more people.
The film takes time to show the tragedy of the illness on the Gleason family, how Michel has to cope with a newborn child and an ill husband; the living grief she suffers as a chasm slowly comes between their loving relationship yet she is able to grow as an artist and be extrovert in that respect whilst supporting Steve.
There is also a telling sub-text on the dichotomy and difficulty of father-son relationships; how Steve's with his own father has altered over time due a difference of opinion on faith and religion, yet they have slowly grown closely together due to the illness. This is juxtaposed with the closeness Steve - who will be unable to touch and talk to his new son - and how he endeavours to create a vital relationship by way of his video diary and creating a bond by any means. Gleason due to his intellect also becomes an insightful interviewer such as the moment he asks Eddie Vedder (of Pearl Jam, Gleason's favourite band and huge supporters of his cause) about his own absent father bringing the rock and roll star to tears himself.
A complex subject is given a touching and emotional documentary which at times will have you tearing up, yet Gleason remains an uplifting film about the overcoming of obstacles in your life, how only you yourself can create the legacy you want to leave behind and how debilitating illness does not necessary mean the end of the road. This is as much a film about patience and how it pays off if you have it.
Gleason is released in cinemas on Friday 17th March from
