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New French Shorts 2020

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If you read my festival coverage, you’ll know that I am a proponent for short films. I enjoy the chance to take in a program or two of shorts when I attend film festivals. Shorts are more than just practice for aspiring filmmakers. Shorts get to the point quickly and often very effectively. Usually, the only chance you have to see shorts is by attending a festival. But Kino Lorber is screening a two and a half hour program entitled “New French Shorts 2020” from Young French Cinema, a program of UniFrance and the Cultural Services of the French Embassy. The program is made up of seven shorts varying in length and style.

Ahmed’s Song (30 minutes, directed by Foued Mansour) is the story of an attendant in the public baths who is nearing retirement and a young man on probation who is also sent to work in the baths. It is a chance for each of them to learn and grow—and to find new ways forward in their lives.

The animated film Sheep, Wolf, and a Cup of Tea (12 minutes, directed by Marion Lecourt) is an adventure in magical realism as a child going to sleep invokes a wolf from under the bed. Think of wolves in sheep’s clothing, and vice versa.

In Tuesday from 8 to 6 (26 minutes, directed by Cecilia de Arce) we follow Névine, a middle school monitor through her day as she tries to stand up for a troublesome student. She finds herself in the middle between students, teachers, and administrators.

The Distance between Us and the Sky (9 minutes, directed by Vasilis Kekatos) is the story of two men who meet at a gas station late one night. One is there to fill his tank, the other is trying to get a few euros to get home. It becomes very flirtatious as the two men banter back and forth. This film won the Short Film Palme d’Or and the Queer Palme at Cannes 2019.

The Tears Thing (25 minutes, directed by Clémence Poésy) tells of an actress who must go to a gun range to prepare for an upcoming role. She discovers that her instructor is a former girlfriend who abandoned her. How will that past impinge on the present?

Another LGBTQ+ themed film is Magnetic Harvest (24 minutes, directed by Marine Levéel). Mickael is a pig farmer who’s trying to get his organic certification. Living in a remote area, there’s little opportunity for romantic connections. He has an app on his phone that rarely shows nearby prospects. But through it all a returned neighbor, Paul, is beginning to work his way into Mickael’s life.

The Glorious Acceptance Speech of Nicolas Chauvin (26 minutes, directed by Benjamin Crotty) is marked as a “special bonus short”. It is mostly a time-bending monologue by the Napoleonic soldier who gave his name to super-patriotism. The film relishes anachronism as he tells his boastful story. Of course, he’s also confronted with the idea that he was a literary creation and never really existed. But for a man like Chauvin, what does reality even mean?

As my wife and I watched these shorts, we gave them separated scores (as if at a festival). For us the top film was Ahmed’s Song. It was a touching human story of wisdom that can flow between generations.

“New French Shorts 2020” is available on Kino Lorber’s Virtual Cinema site, KinoMarquee

Oscar-Nominated Short Documentaries

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Short films are important enough for the Academy to award three Oscars to shorts each year: Best Animated Short, Best Live Action Short, and Best Short Documentary. Most people haven’t had a chance to view these films, which may be harbingers of tomorrow’s filmmakers. But each year, shortly before the Academy Awards are presented, programs made up of these short films play in select theatres around the country. You can find where they will play near you at https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/theatrical-release/ . The films will also be available on VOD on Feb. 4. Here’s the line up for the Short Documeantaries.

In the Absence (29 minutes) from South Korea and the US, directed by Yi Seung-Jun. This film recounts the tragic sinking of a ferry in 2014 and the ways the government failed in its rescue attempts—failure that eventually contributed to the impeachment and removal of President Park Geun-hye. Made up of archival footage and interviews with survivors and families, this doc conveys the tragedy in the hundreds of lives (many children) lost.

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If you’re a Girl) (40 minutes) from the UK, the US, and Afghanistan, directed by Carol Dysinger. Girls are often not encouraged to go to school in Kabul, but many do anyway. We see some who along with learning to read, write, and do math, learn how to ride a skateboard. The school is known as Skateistan. Why teach them to skate? For one thing, it’s something that boys are applauded for, but girls are told not to do. It also teaches them courage and to trust their capabilities. And, it’s fun. By the way, Skateistan schools in Afghanistan are supported by the skating community around the world—who knew?

Life Overtakes Me (40 minutes) from the US, directed by John Haptas and Kristine Samuelson. Hundreds of immigrant children in Sweden have developed what has become known as Resignation Syndrome. They go into a catatonic state for several months. The reason seems to be the uncertainty in their lives. They come from traumatic backgrounds, and the constant possibility of deportation is just too much for them to bear, so they sink into a coma-like state. We watch as three families try to deal with their affected children, plus their own uncertain futures.

St. Louis Superman (28 minutes) from the US, directed by Sami Khan and Smriti Mundhra. Bruce Franks is a battle rapper, a Black Lives Matter activist, and member of the Missouri state legislature. He is not your typical politician. As he strives to pass a law that recognizes youth violence as a public health matter, he also is striving to come to terms with his own trauma, seeing his nine year-old big brother shot and killed.

Walk Run Cha-Cha (20 minutes) from the US, directed by Laura Nix. Paul and Millie Cao were youthful sweethearts in Vietnam during the war. After the war, Paul and his family fled, eventually reaching the US. Later he was able to bring Millie. After their years of work to establish lives in their new country, they have formed another bond in ballroom dance. They are more than just recreational dancers; they take lots of lessons and compete. This is a film that will feed fans of “So You Think You Can Dance?”

Among the nominees in this category, my favorite is Learning How to Skateboard…. It is a story of hope. Many of us in the west may cringe at the way women are often treated in some places around the world. Skateistan provides a vision of shaping women who will overcome the strictures of their society.

Photos courtesy of Shorts.TV

TIFF ’19: I Am in the World as Free and Slender as a Deer on a Plain

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In her directorial debut, Sofia Banzhaf (Black Conflux, Splinters) introduces us to a young and unnamed female protagonist (Micaela Robertson), showing us fragments of her journey with sexual exploration. Incredibly stoic throughout the film, she is almost emotionless as she interacts with her three sexual partners (Spencer Macpherson, Daniel Maslany, and Andy McQueen).

In fact, since the film opens on lifeless pigs hanging in the back of a truck, followed by the protagonist cooking a raw piece of meat, Banzhaf seems to insinuate that this is how the lead character views the males that she interacts with. This is an intriguing look at a reversal of the male stereotypes. Instead of presenting a callous male, we see a female who lacks an emotional connection to her sexual partners, and seems to have the “piece of meat” mentality towards them.

Too often, films depict their sexual encounters in very unrealistic ways. The sexual interactions in this film seemed very true to life, bringing with them a more genuine awkwardness and even discomfort, which I appreciated.

Sofia Banzhaf proves herself to be a thought-provoking artist, with her work frequently offering more insight than just what you see on the surface.

To listen to my discussion with Sofia Banzhaf about this film, please click here.

Saturday at #NBFF20

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Welcome back to the Newport Beach Film Festival presented by Pacific Sales. It was a full day for me, as you’ll see when you see the nine films I have to talk about. Okay, I’ll admit that six of them were shorts, but that still seems like a full day to me. Note that I’m including my votes for audience awards (Excellent, Good, Fair, Poor)

I started the day with a shorts program, “Irish Lads and Lassies Shorts”. NBFF always has a good representation of Irish films. (Screen Ireland and Culture Ireland are two of the Cultural Arts Sponsors of the festival.) Saturday is also a day with programs aimed at young people. These shorts all featured young actors and themes. The films in the program were:

  • All in Good Time, directed by Bonnie Dempsey. A story of two ten year-olds who magically communicate through notes in a bottle. The trick is they lived 100 years apart. Yet they manage to solve each other’s problems. (My vote: Excellent)
  • First Disco, directed by Helen M. O’Reilly. This is the story of a teenager who is due to go to her first school dance, but just got braces. How will she ever get the attention of the boy she has a crush on when she feels her looks are ruined? The film has a very pleasant soundtrack of 80s music. As I watched I though this would be a nice companion to the film Happy Face I saw at the festival on Friday. (My vote: Good)
  • Low Tide, directed by Ian Hunt Duffy. This one has a bit of a horror vibe. A father and son go out fishing, but on the way back the father demands his son jumps in the water to confront the sea monster below. It’s a life changing encounter. (My vote: Good)
  • Honest, directed by Matthew Roche. This one takes place in church. A young boy fears the Jesus at the front of the church, knowing that he is always watching him. It brings up questions of belief and what it means to us. (My vote: Good)
  • Cry Rosa, directed by Imogen Murphy. A mixed-race girl must deal with bullying in school because of her color. It is a story of finding the strength to prevail in embracing her identity and self-worth. (My vote: Excellent)
  • The Wiremen, an animated film directed by Jessica Patterson. In the 1930s as electrification is coming to rural Ireland, an imaginative girl thinks she sees a fairy circling a light bulb. Her grandmother warns her of the dangers of the electrical box, and tells a story of Wiremen, evil beings that come with electricity. But the girl is just too curious and may be in danger as she pursues the fairy. (My vote: Good)

The joys and trials of having a child are the focus of Babysplitters from director Sam Friedlander. Two couples both have a dilemma, they don’t agree on having a baby. Sarah (Emily Chang) is anxious to start a family, but her husband Jeff (Danny Pudi) is dragging his feet. When they meet with friends Don and Taylor, it turns out that Don (Eddie Alfano) is ready, but not Taylor (Maiara Walsh). They talk about if they could share a child, it would give them the joys of parenting, but still give them time to enjoy life. The plan becomes more and more complicated, and each complication brings new laughs. The sex scene removes romance and eroticism from the act with very funny results. Eventually the film makes it all work out with an affirmation of family and parenthood. (My vote: Excellent)

Go Back to China was another comedy about family. When spoiled party girl Sasha (Anna Akana) is forced to go to China to work in the family business, it is with great resentment. Her father (Richard Ng) is demanding and mercurial, but he also seeks to give Sasha and her various half-siblings the benefit of his lifetime of working. The father believes his financial support of his children is fulfilling his responsibility. But what of his absence and emotional abandonment all those years? It is a time of self-discovery for Sasha, as well as for her father. In the Q&A following the film, director Emily Ting, noted the autobiographical aspects of the film. She returned to China at age 24 to work in the family business. (The factory in the film is the actual factory the family owns. My vote: Good)

The Canadian Spotlight of the festival fell on A Colony (Une Colonie), a Quebec film from director Geneviève Dulude-De Clelles. This is a coming-of age, fish-out -of-water tale of Mylia (Emilie Bierre), who must go into town for high school. She has always been in a rural setting, and the large school setting is chaotic for her. She never quite fits in with the other girls, even with her cousin who is also at the school. She develops a friendship with another outside Jimmy (Jacob Whiteduck-Lavoie), a First Nations boy who lives nearby. Together they discover that “coloring outside the lines” may be the secret to finding happiness. There are some family issues and backstory that could have been fleshed out a bit, but overall, this was a nicely done film. (My vote: Good)

Oscar-Nominated Short Documentaries

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When it is time to award the best in films each year, the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences include three categories of short films in their Oscar presentations. Most people don’t get to see many shorts. They play at festivals, and occasionally in front of a feature film. But short films are an art form worth attention. Many (probably most) feature filmmakers started out making short film. To tell a story in such a brief format takes skill. All the Oscar-nominated short films will be playing in theaters in special programs. To see where the films will be playing near you, go to https://shorts.tv/theoscarshorts/theatrical-release/

Here is a look at the five Oscar-nominated short documentaries.

In Black Sheep (UK, 27 minutes, directed by Ed Perkins) a family of Nigerian immigrants moves out of London after another Nigerian boy is killed. Eleven year old Cornelius then discovers their new home is full of violent racists as well. After being beaten, he decides to become more like those who attacked him. He wears blue contact lenses and bleaches his skin. Soon he is accepted by the others, but then he is now part of the violence against blacks. How can he be true to his real identity? The film is told by a now adult Cornelius. His reflections are engrossing as he describes what he became at that time.

My reaction: Something about this film stirred something within me. I could not imagine someone becoming the very thing that injured him, especially to the extent that he did so. I had to take a walk after screening this film to try to clear that imagery and the emotions it brought up for me. That is the power this film held for me.

“We don’t run away from hard stuff. We don’t run away from suffering.” In End Game (USA, 40 minutes, directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman) we go inside two San Francisco institutions that care for the dying: UCSF Medical Center’s Palliative Care Team and the Zen Hospice Project. This is not just a story of hospice care, it shows some of the difficult decisions patients and families face and we hear them and the doctor and other professionals working through those decisions.

My reaction: This is indeed about facing the hard stuff. With death no longer a remote possibility, patients and families often struggle with how they want to spend those last months, weeks, days. The filmmakers treated these stories with respect and compassion. I’m especially grateful for the patients and families that were willing to allow this film to show this most difficult, emotional, and intimate time. This is my favorite among the nominees. End Game is a Netflix film and is currently available to stream.

Lifeboat (USA, 34 minutes, directed by Skye Fitzgerald) focuses on the refugee crisis in the Mediterranean by going with volunteers from the German non-profit Sea-Watch to search for and rescue boatloads of African refugees. In the film they encounter boats filled with about 1000 refugees—boats with no water or power. These are people who have been terribly exploited and are further exploited by the traffickers who have set them adrift. It is not a simple task to rescue them in an orderly fashion. But it is an act of great humanity and compassion. As one of them notes, when you see a crisis at a distance, you see a mass of people. When you get close, you see individuals.

My reaction: A note at the end of the film tells us that 1 out of 18 people who attempt to cross the Mediterranean will drown. When we hear about immigration crises, we often think in terms of the mass of people. (And some would encourage us to fear that mass.) This film reminds us that the crisis is about people who often see the possibility of drowning as preferable to the atrocities of the lives they are trying to escape. Each person—each individual—is a beloved child of God. We should learn to treat them as such.

Patriotism is front and center in A Night at the Garden (USA, 7 minutes, directed by Marshall Curry).  It shows archival footage of a “Pro American Rally” held at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1039. There were American flags, a huge portrait of George Washington, many Brown Shirts, and Nazi salutes. Just seven months before the start of World War II, 20,000 Nazi supporters were making the case that Americans should support Hitler’s policies. The antisemitism of this group is obvious when we hear speakers. It serves as a reminder that America has often had those who do not accept the diversity that has made the country what it is.

My reaction: A little bit of background would have been helpful. When we hear speakers in the footage, they are always speaking with an accent. This particular rally was held by the German-American Bund. It was a wide-spread movement, but never a particularly large group. But since white supremacy has been become more visible in recent years, it’s worth noting that it has been with us a very long time. That is not to say we should tolerate it, but rather to be sure not to treat it as passing fad.

Girls in India may not have access to what we would think of as basic supplies for menstruation. Period. End of Sentence. (USA, 26 minutes, directed by Rayka Zehtabchi) shows us the dilemma this causes in rural areas, where sometimes girls are shamed to the point of quitting school. The answer put forward here is a machine that allows women in such areas to manufacture and sell inexpensive pads made from local materials. In the process, it provides employment and empowerment for the women involved.

My reaction: First World people often can’t imagine that something like menstruation could create such issues. But when ignorance about such a normal thing (which we see early in the film) exists, it will inevitably cause problems for those who have the least power to fight against it. It is interesting to see something as commonplace (for us) as a menstrual pad to be able to bring such change to lives.

Oscar Watch – Possible Live Action Short Nominees

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This is the time of year when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences begins to winnow the fields of some of the Oscar categories, such as the short film categories. I’ve had the chance to see five of the films shortlisted in the Best Live Action Short category. Each of these films has multiple awards from film festivals. They all have a chance at getting an Oscar nomination. Nominations will be announced January 22. Here is a brief look at each, and my thoughts on them.

Madre (18 minutes, directed by Rodrigo Sorogoyen). A mother is in her apartment when she gets a call from her six year-old son who is on a trip to the beach with his father. The father has gone off and not come back. The boy is unsure even what country he is in. Slowly panic begin to fill the mother as she tries to find a way to get help to her son. Comments: The film does well to build the sense of fear and helplessness. A very interesting premise that is well executed.

Wale (20 minutes, directed by Barnaby Blackburn). A black English eighteen year-old is trying to establish a business as a mobile mechanic. But having learned the trade in a juvenile offenders prison is not a great recommendation. One man takes a chance on him, but when Wale begins work on the car he finds a body in the trunk. How can he avoid being framed for the crime? Comments: One of the joys of shorts is how they can so concisely tell their story—in this case a thriller that builds quickly once the discovery is made.

Detainment (30 minutes, directed by Vincent Lambe). The film is reenactments based on the transcript of interviews of two ten year-old boys who in 1993 abducted a toddler from a shopping mall and killed him. The two boys have different personalities that come out in the questioning, one is fearful, the other defiant and aggressive. Comments: This is a chilling story. The James Bulger case was world famous, in part because the two boys were tried as adults. It is hard to fathom what would lead two children to such a evil act. There is no psychologizing included. We just slowly get some of the facts.

Fauve (17 minutes, directed by Jeremy Comte). Another film with two ten year-old boys. As they play in fields and in an abandoned plant and quarry, they eventually get into trouble—trouble that they cannot get out of on their own, but there is no one to help. Comments: As you see the tragedy coming, it’s hard to continue watching, but we keep hoping that there will be some help that will arrive in time.

Marguerite (17 minutes, directed by Marianne Farley). The story of an aging woman and the visiting caregiver. After learning that the caregiver is in a same-sex relationship, the woman remembers back to a time in her past when she was in love, but never admitted it. When she confesses to the caregiver, the caregiver’s response is kind and tender. Comments: There is a great sweetness to this film (as opposed to the darkness that dominates the other films). The tenderness, kindness, and love of the caregiver makes this my favorite of these shortlisted films.

The Magical Mystery of Musigny: Mysterious Community

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Winner of the award for Best Story from the Los Angeles Animation Film Festival, The Magical Mystery of Musigny is a short film that tells the story of John, a man whose life has been irrevocably altered by sipping a glass of Musigny wine. However, because his experience is so powerful, he struggles to communicate its meaning to his wife, causing drama between the two spouses.

Directed by John Meyer (of whom the story is based on his own life experience) and animated by Emmett Goodman, Musigny is beautifully designed in a way that is reminiscent of the classic style of Al Hirschfeld. Very few films attempt to cover the complex art that is wine-tasting but, in a few short minutes, Musigny seems to capture its intricacies and expressions.

Though only three minutes in length, Musigny speaks to the beauty that can be found in the smallest aspects of life. For John, the experience of this particular wine is overwhelming in its complexity and magnificence. For him, the slightest taste from his glass becomes a transcendent experience, transporting him emotionally and spiritually to another place. As such, the simple pleasure of the moment becomes something much more profound.

Of course, John’s greatest struggle is attempting to explain the experience to his wife who believes that he simply drank too much. Similar to the challenges of attempting to explain one’s spiritual experience of faith, there is a divide that takes place between those that have reached out to the Divine and those that haven’t. How can one fully explain what it means to have their life changed when the other person remains unaffected? This is the very sort of divide that’s taking place between John and his wife… until she has the experience herself. Once she has partaken of the wine for herself, her eyes are opened and she understands what her husband has been trying to explain to her. At once, the mystery of Musigny is revealed and she is changed. There is a celebration that can finally be shared amongst them. In this moment, the film speaks to the nature of community based common experience. Even though John and his wife are affected differently by the wine, the very fact that they have both had an experience with it breaks down the barriers of communication. Despite their differences, their commonality takes priority, reviving their relationship and drawing them together. The beauty of the moment becomes overwhelming for both of them and they are united once again.

In the end, The Magical Mystery of Musigny is an entertaining piece that points to the power of small moments. Through the intricacies of wine, the film serves as a metaphor for the importance of shared experiences as the heart of community.

 

To hear full audio of our conversation with director John Meyer, click here.

Sunday at AFIFest 2018

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The American Film Institute, which oversees the AFIFest Presented by Audi, was created by Presidential mandate under President Lyndon Johnson, “to preserve the heritage of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers”. The festival is truly a celebration of film, its history, and its future.

I began my Sunday at AFIFest with Hotel by the River from South Korean director Hong Sang-soo. It is the story of an aging poet who, feeling the weight of mortality, asks his two sons to join him at the hotel he is staying at. Also at the hotel is a young woman who has just gone through a breakup and a friend who is caring for her emotionally. The men have a hard time dealing with their emotions, and frequently miss connecting with each other—both physically and emotionally. The women, on the other hand, are constantly in contact with one another.

I also took in one of the shorts programs. I am fond of catching shorts at festivals because this is often where future filmmakers are getting their start. AFIFest is a qualifying festival for Oscar consideration, so the winners of the short film competition here are eligible to be nominated in the shorts categories. The eight shorts I saw in this group were:

  • Hair Wolf (12 minutes, directed by Mariama Diallo). In a black hair salon, the staff encounters a woman who magically steals their black culture.
  • Concussion Protocol (6 minutes, directed by Josh Begley). This film is made up of clips of all of the more than 250 concussions sustained during the 2017-18 NFL season. Many of the clips are run in slo-mo and/or in reverse so we can see the contacts and often the severity of the damage.
  • Magic Alps (15 minutes, directed by Andrea Bursa and Marco Scotuzzi). When an Afghan refugee arrives in Italy with a goat, he causes a great bureaucratic conundrum. It is the refugee’s desire to take the goat to the mountains to see snow once more, but there are issues.
  • A Siege (Ostrom) (22 minutes, directed by István Kovács). In 1994 Sarajevo, a woman who just wants to have a sense of normality in her life must find a bit of water. There is desperation and hope. This was by far the best of the group in my estimation.
  • III (Impossible Figures and Other Stories) (12 minutes, directed by Marta Pajek). This animated film features a strange meeting of a man and a woman with some violent and erotic overtones.
  • Irish Prince (3 minutes, directed by Joey Garfield). An older Irish gentleman tells his friends about his first meeting with woman he would marry.
  • Cyclists (Biciklisist) (7 minutes, directed by Veljko Popovic). During a big bicycle race, two competitors imagine the real reward of winning—the woman waiting for the winner.
  • All Inclusive (10 minutes, directed by Cortina Schwingruber Illic). A series of clips of the activities on a cruise ship.

One of the films I was most looking forward to at the festival was Jinn (from director Nijla Mu’min. It is the coming-of -age story of a young black woman in her senior year in high school. It has an added dimension of also what it means to deal with religious conversion. When Summer’s (Zoe Renee) mother converts to Islam, Summer must work out what that means for her and her future. Add to it the boy she keeps seeing in class and in the Masjid. It shows some of the issues that come with converting to Islam—including the prejudice of friends. And while it focuses on Islam, there are clearly parallels to other faiths and what it means to bring religion into one’s life—and what it means to try to live by its tenets. Jinn is scheduled to open later this week.

Playing along with Jinn was a short film, X (13 minutes, directed by Yara Shahidi). A young black kid on a journey through various parts of L.A. and the realities of being black and young in America.

 

 

Day 2 at NBFF

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I always like to fit in some shorts at NBFF. From time to time I’ve seen shorts here that end up with Oscar nomination the following year. I started my day with a group of shorts called “Held Back & Shortly Set Free”, which was described in the program as “Insights into the human condition are plentiful in this collection of thought-provoking existential quandries.” There were five films in this program:

  • Noora (Norway, 20 minutes) – A girl from a strict religious home is set to marry an older leader in the sect, but she is in love with a local girl. Can she find the strength to escape the restrictive life planned for her? Directed by Tommy Naess.
  • Behind Barres (Australia, 12 minutes) – Struggling with injuries that may destroy her career, a dancer discovers strength in the dance within her mind. Directed by Sophia Bender.
  • Adele (Australia, 15 minutes) – A pregnant teen must struggle with her family’s cultural practices involving an illegally arranged marriage. Directed by Mirene Igwabi.
  • Joy Joy Nails (USA, 19 minutes) – Sarah manages a nail salon, but has her eye set on the boss’s son. The harmony of the shop begins to break down when a new hire may be stealing his affections. But Sarah discovers that the girl needs help and protection. Directed by Joey Ally.
  • All Exchanges Final (USA, 29 minutes) – This is the only comedy in the set—but still dealing with existential issues. As her sister is about to be taken off life support, a young woman gets a chance to swap souls to save her sister’s life. But instead of her own soul, she offers the soul of her six month old daughter. When her sister recovers, she knows what has happened and is furious. Whose life should be preserved? Directed by Annabel Oakes.

Prior to the start of the festival, I had the chance to preview The Girl and the Picture that played as part of a three film program, “Inspirational Short Docs”. It is the story of Madame Xia, one of the few remaining survivors of the Rape of Nanking. As an eight year old, she saw her family murdered by Japanese soldiers. She was also caught on film by missionary John Magee who documented some of the atrocities of the war crimes. In the film Madame Xia recounts her tale to her granddaughter and great-grandson. At the same time, John Magee’s grandson travels to Nanking connecting with his grandfather’s history. As director Vanessa Roth told me in a phone interview, “It is very much a film about bearing witness and storytelling itself.” (I’ll share more of my interview soon.)

The Turning Point is a documentary about the search for a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. Directed by James Keach (who also made Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me), the film mostly follows the clinical testing of a drug (Solanezumab) that was being developed by Eli Lilly. (Lilly provided a grant for the making of the film, but did not retain any editorial control.) The film also provides a bit of a primer on the disease and the scientific requirements for developing treatments. Alzheimer’s and dementia are already so ubiquitous that nearly everyone has some contact with it among friends and family. It is the great fear of many as they begin to reach their senior years. The film remains hopeful that a treatment will be developed.

Write When You Get Work, directed by Stacy Cockran, is the story of a young woman who has moved past the mistakes of her youth and has found a place working for a tony girls’ school in Manhattan. When she runs across you boyfriend from years ago, he is totally consumed with her. He works as a small-time thief. Soon he begins to work his way back into her life by making use of a family of one of the girls in his school. Is he to be trusted?

 

Oscar Watch – Best Documentary (Short Subject)

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The Oscar nominees for Best Documentary (Short Subject) show us some of the real life struggles that people face. Through these films we get a chance to examine issues of race, aging, drugs, mental illness, and chances for former prisoners to find new lives. Some of these films may be hard to watch because we know we are seeing real people dealing with real problems. Some of them offer hope, but not all of them. Some have enough controversy to allow us to consider our reactions to what we see and hear. All of these films, however, are worthy of our consideration.

 

Edith + Eddie (29 minutes), by Laura Checkoway, is about bi-racial nonagenarian newlyweds. It may seem amazing that these two people found happiness in each other so late in life, but the film takes us into their life together. But soon their marriage faces a severe challenge when part of Edith’s family (along with her custodian, a lawyer who has never met her) seek to move her out of her home to live in Florida. Such decisions often seem to be a battle between the rational and the emotional. This film focuses almost exclusively on the emotional aspect. We really don’t get background into the family dynamics and how Edith even came to have an appointed custodian. As I watched, it felt as though I was expected to see great injustice in the way Edith and Eddie were being treated, but having had to deal with this on a personal level, I knew that hard decisions are often necessary, even if it is emotionally devastating for those involved.

Mental illness is front and center in Frank Steifel’s Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405 (40 minutes). The focus is L.A. artist Mindy Alper who recounts her life struggling with mental issues, suicidal thoughts, and a ten year period of silence. She has now found an outlet for her feelings and thoughts in her art. There is a certain level of discomfort watching this film. In part that may be her idiosyncratic language skills, but also by the depth of the mental illness that we learn of in her first person narrative. But it is also a story of finding voice, and acceptance through her art.

Huntington, WV, is becoming the overdose capital of the world. Heroin(e) (39 minutes) by Elaine McMillion Sheldon is the story of three women working in different ways to deal with the manifestation of the opioid epidemic in that city. Fire Chief Jan Rader spends much of her days delivering the antidote for overdoses in hopes of saving lives for a second chance. County Judge Patricia Keller presides over Drug Court which monitors several people in recovery and often relapse. Necia Freeman started Brown Bag Ministry, which feeds the prostitutes selling their bodies for drugs—and creates a relationship that may move them off the street and into recovery. This is a story of people caring for some that much of the world might write off as lost. But because of their compassion, they are making a difference in peoples alives and in their community. Heroin(e) is currently streaming on Netflix.

Knife Skills (40 minutes) by Thomas Lennon is the story of trying to start a world-class French restaurant in Cleveland—staffed mostly by men and women recently released from prison. Edwins is both a restaurant and culinary school. The staff is learning from scratch about cooking, wines, serving. Those who enjoy the Food Network’s shows about going to various restaurants may like the twist found here. The owner of the restaurant has his own dark background that has led him to create this opportunity for people coming out of jail to give them a chance at a new life.

Perhaps the most controversial of the short docs is Traffic Stop (31 minutes) by Kate Davis. We watch on a police car video as a white police officer pulls over a twenty-six-year-old African American teacher on a routine traffic stop and how quickly it escalates to violence and an arrest. Is it abusive policing? Is it the woman’s fault for not complying with what the officer asked? My wife and I had two very different takes on what we saw. Because the case is still being litigated, there are many questions and perspectives that are left uncovered in the film. This is an HBO documentary and will be premier on HBO February 19, with and an early preview on HBO NOW, HBO GO and HBO On Demand on February 16th.

My favorite of the collection is Heroin(e), for it hopeful perspective on a very dark subject and the inspiration that these women provide for anyone who seeks to bring whatever change they can into the lives of others.

The Oscar Nominated Shorts will be playing in select theaters worldwide beginning February 9.

Photos courtesy of Shorts.tv