In the sphere of cinema, documentaries have always held a special place for its spectators. Over the years, the genre has also seen tremendous evolution, from the emergence of short films to the intriguing experimentation of docu-fictions. As the new editions of film festivals like the ongoing Sundance Film Festival and the upcoming International Film Festival of Rotterdam have the cinephiles eager to discover new films, we’ve put together a list of documentaries you must look out for from these festivals’ selection.
ALL THAT BREATHES by Shaunak Sen
Brothers Saud and Nadeem were raised looking at a sky speckled with black kites, watching as relatives tossed meat up to these birds of prey. Muslim belief held that feeding the kites would expel troubles. Now, birds are falling from the polluted, opaque skies of New Delhi and the two brothers have made it their life’s work to care for the injured black kites. Shaunak Sen’s intricately layered portrait reveals an evolving city and a fraternal relationship bonded by purpose.
URF by Geetika Narang Abbasi
Lookalikes are as much part of Indian popular cinema’s romance with stardom as the super celebrities they – sometimes more and sometimes less – resemble. The Juniors, as they’re popularly referred to, live a paradoxical existence all of their own. Geetika Narang Abbasi took the making of one such a lookalike extravaganza – Iqbal Suleman’s 2017 Amir Salman Shahrukh – as a starting point from which to describe the lives of several Juniors, and to wonder: how original can a human being ever be? Or, put another way: discover the true meaning of popular for popular cinema!
MURMURS OF THE JUNGLE by Sohil Vaidya
As whispering trees pass on stories of gods and ancestors, various inhabitants of a small village in Western Ghats speak. Gradually, a story unfolds that encompasses all of humanity and its symbiotic relationship to nature. Woods turn out to form a bridge between present and past.
CHAVITTU by Sajas Rahman and Shinos Rahman
Somewhere in the Indian state of Kerala, a theatre company prepares for its performance during festivities. They arrive early, rehearse their piece, and put the finishing touches to the scenery. In the meantime, the theatre slowly fills with other acts, family, and organisers who sometimes interfere with the theatre group. When evening has come at last, various acts are performed and speeches are given before the group can finally stand in the spotlights. This hybrid of documentary and dramatisation not only reveals the theatre makers’ creative process, but also provides a subtle look at a complex society in which caste still plays a role and some art forms are vulnerable.
WE MET IN VIRTUAL REALITY by Joe Hunting
Virtual reality for many is as far away a place as can be imagined. In his groundbreaking work, first-time feature director Joe Hunting examines this new frontier for human engagement with surprising tenderness. Following a number of couples who met in VR during the pandemic, Hunting leads with romance but opens an exploration of technology, borders, and imagination. One of the most visually singular and formally exciting documents of the COVID-19 lockdown, We Met in Virtual Reality is a powerful testament to the new paths to connection that creativity can forge.
AFTERSHOCK by Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee
An alarmingly disproportionate number of Black women are failed every year by the U.S. maternal health system. Shamony Gibson and Amber Rose Isaac were vibrant, excited mothers-to-be whose deaths due to childbirth complications were preventable. Now, their partners and families are determined to sound a rallying cry around this chilling yet largely ignored crisis. Directors Paula Eiselt and Tonya Lewis Lee follow Gibson’s and Isaac’s bereaved partners, Omari Maynard and Bruce McIntyre, as they fight for justice and build communities of support, bonding especially with other surviving Black fathers.
I DIDN'T SEE YOU THERE by Reid Davenport
As a visibly disabled person, filmmaker Reid Davenport is often either the subject of an unwanted gaze — gawked at by strangers — or paradoxically rendered invisible, ignored or dismissed by society. The arrival of a circus tent just outside his apartment prompts him to consider the history and legacy of the freak show, in which individuals who were deemed atypical were put on display for the amusement and shock of a paying public. Contemplating how this relates to his own filmmaking practice, which explicitly foregrounds disability, Davenport sets out to make a film about how he sees the world from his wheelchair without having to be seen himself.
Date 25-01-2022