In the past year, I attended the Austin Film Festival and SXSW for the first time. Both were entertaining and allowed me to experience new films that I would not have seen otherwise. However, the best festival in town is Doc Days, a new documentary fest presented by the Austin Film Society at its art house theater. AFS screened seven films and only held one screening for each of them, with none of the showings overlapping. This strategy created a relaxed atmosphere and allowed festival-goers the opportunity to see every film and Q&A session. This was a refreshing change from the chaotic scheduling nightmare of traditional festivals.
I fell one short of my goal of seeing each film because my asshole friends invited me to their home for dinner Friday night. Below is a ranking of the six films that I was able to see. None of these films were bad, so rather than following my previous format of writing glowing compliments of the best film and dropping sick burns on the worst film, I'm going to write a brief analysis of my three favorites.
1. The Sentence
2. Minding the Gap
3. Of Fathers and Sons
4. The Gospel According to Andre
5. Hale County This Morning, This Evening
6. Opuntia
Best Picture: The Sentence
The Sentence is one of the most emotional movies I've ever seen. Shot over a ten-year period, the film demonstrates the evil of mandatory minimum sentencing through the eyes of three young children as they grow up without their mother.
After his sister was given a fifteen-year prison sentence for simply knowing about the drug crimes of her ex-boyfriend, Director Rudy Valdez began shooting video of his nieces so that his sister could watch them grow up. As he fights for his sister's release, he runs into glaring flaws in the justice system that work to keep people behind bars far longer than necessary. While this is a huge nation-wide issue that is draining the American economy, Valdez chooses to focus the film on the family members left behind and the irreparable damage they experience. Hopefully this story will influence politicians in all parties to reform the criminal justice system and put an end to mandatory minimum sentencing. The Sentence airs on HBO this October.
2nd Best Picture: Minding the Gap
Minding the Gap tells the coming-of-age story of three teenagers growing up in a declining rustbelt town as they deal with the poverty and domestic violence that pervade their world. Bing Liu, one of the three main characters, is the film's director, cinematographer, editor, and co-producer. He films his best friends over a six-year period and shows their development, or lack thereof.
The three friends bond over their love of skateboarding, which becomes their escape from the problems life throws at them. Over the course of filming, Bing discovers that domestic violence has heavily impacted each of their lives in different ways. The film paints poverty and domestic violence as generational issues that are passed down from parents to children. Some people are able to overcome the sins of their parents, and some are not. This film is a beautiful portrayal of the plight of middle America as the wealth gap grows ever larger.
3rd Best Picture: Of Fathers and Sons
Of Fathers and Sons is a fascinating look into the life of a radical jihadist family in war-torn Syria. Director Talal Derki is a Syrian refugee who returned to the country for two years to make this film. In order to gain access into the home of a radical family, he was forced to use a fake name and pose as a jihadist sympathizer.
The film focuses on a mine-disarming Al-Qaeda member as he raises his sons to follow in his footsteps. Each son is faced with the decision of furthering his education or dedicating himself to training as a soldier of the Islamic state. It is jarring to watch a young boy transform from a nice kid who questions his religion into a hardened soldier ready to sacrifice himself for the cause. This religion over facts mentality reminded me of some of my experiences growing up in the far-right conservative South. It made me realize that America has far more in common with Syria than we'd like to admit.
There is a glaring lack of women in this movie. In the post-film Q&A, Derki claimed that he never even saw the female members of the family during his two-year shoot. The father forced his wives and daughters to remain contained in the back of the house whenever people from outside the family were around. Their absence from the film seems to reflect the absence of their influence on the men in their families. The film leaves the audience wondering whether a peaceful nation could be achieved if women had an equal voice in Syrian society.
Conclusion
The three films discussed above are some of the best things I've seen all year, and I highly recommend checking them out. The average film quality at Doc Days was higher than the aforementioned local festivals, and the laid back atmosphere was a welcome change of pace. I am continually impressed by Austin Film Society's selection of diverse, unique films, whether it be at a festival or on a random Tuesday night. AFS plans to put on this festival annually, and I look forward to returning in future years.
Michael Dixon is a mild mannered accountant by day and a mild mannered movie watcher by night. He will not do your taxes for you. He lives in Austin, Texas with his lovely television and collection of fine whiskies. You can't purchase his book anywhere because it doesn't exist.
I fell one short of my goal of seeing each film because my asshole friends invited me to their home for dinner Friday night. Below is a ranking of the six films that I was able to see. None of these films were bad, so rather than following my previous format of writing glowing compliments of the best film and dropping sick burns on the worst film, I'm going to write a brief analysis of my three favorites.
1. The Sentence
2. Minding the Gap
3. Of Fathers and Sons
4. The Gospel According to Andre
5. Hale County This Morning, This Evening
6. Opuntia
Best Picture: The Sentence
The Sentence is one of the most emotional movies I've ever seen. Shot over a ten-year period, the film demonstrates the evil of mandatory minimum sentencing through the eyes of three young children as they grow up without their mother.
After his sister was given a fifteen-year prison sentence for simply knowing about the drug crimes of her ex-boyfriend, Director Rudy Valdez began shooting video of his nieces so that his sister could watch them grow up. As he fights for his sister's release, he runs into glaring flaws in the justice system that work to keep people behind bars far longer than necessary. While this is a huge nation-wide issue that is draining the American economy, Valdez chooses to focus the film on the family members left behind and the irreparable damage they experience. Hopefully this story will influence politicians in all parties to reform the criminal justice system and put an end to mandatory minimum sentencing. The Sentence airs on HBO this October.
2nd Best Picture: Minding the Gap
Minding the Gap tells the coming-of-age story of three teenagers growing up in a declining rustbelt town as they deal with the poverty and domestic violence that pervade their world. Bing Liu, one of the three main characters, is the film's director, cinematographer, editor, and co-producer. He films his best friends over a six-year period and shows their development, or lack thereof.
The three friends bond over their love of skateboarding, which becomes their escape from the problems life throws at them. Over the course of filming, Bing discovers that domestic violence has heavily impacted each of their lives in different ways. The film paints poverty and domestic violence as generational issues that are passed down from parents to children. Some people are able to overcome the sins of their parents, and some are not. This film is a beautiful portrayal of the plight of middle America as the wealth gap grows ever larger.
3rd Best Picture: Of Fathers and Sons
Of Fathers and Sons is a fascinating look into the life of a radical jihadist family in war-torn Syria. Director Talal Derki is a Syrian refugee who returned to the country for two years to make this film. In order to gain access into the home of a radical family, he was forced to use a fake name and pose as a jihadist sympathizer.
The film focuses on a mine-disarming Al-Qaeda member as he raises his sons to follow in his footsteps. Each son is faced with the decision of furthering his education or dedicating himself to training as a soldier of the Islamic state. It is jarring to watch a young boy transform from a nice kid who questions his religion into a hardened soldier ready to sacrifice himself for the cause. This religion over facts mentality reminded me of some of my experiences growing up in the far-right conservative South. It made me realize that America has far more in common with Syria than we'd like to admit.
There is a glaring lack of women in this movie. In the post-film Q&A, Derki claimed that he never even saw the female members of the family during his two-year shoot. The father forced his wives and daughters to remain contained in the back of the house whenever people from outside the family were around. Their absence from the film seems to reflect the absence of their influence on the men in their families. The film leaves the audience wondering whether a peaceful nation could be achieved if women had an equal voice in Syrian society.
Conclusion
The three films discussed above are some of the best things I've seen all year, and I highly recommend checking them out. The average film quality at Doc Days was higher than the aforementioned local festivals, and the laid back atmosphere was a welcome change of pace. I am continually impressed by Austin Film Society's selection of diverse, unique films, whether it be at a festival or on a random Tuesday night. AFS plans to put on this festival annually, and I look forward to returning in future years.
Michael Dixon is a mild mannered accountant by day and a mild mannered movie watcher by night. He will not do your taxes for you. He lives in Austin, Texas with his lovely television and collection of fine whiskies. You can't purchase his book anywhere because it doesn't exist.
Great blog once again, Dixon!
ReplyDeleteThanks Sandra!
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