DOCUMENTARY SHORT NOMINEES
I watched these short docs at the Roxy this weekend. Here are the Documentary Shorts for 2014 and my "winner" prediction:
I watched these short docs at the Roxy this weekend. Here are the Documentary Shorts for 2014 and my "winner" prediction:
“Cavedigger” (Director Jeffrey Karoff). Synopsis: New Mexico
environmental sculptor Ra Paulette carves elaborately designed and
painstakingly executed sandstone caves, driven by an artistic vision
that often brings him into conflict with his patrons.
“Facing Fear” (Director: Jason Cohen). Synopsis: As a gay
13-year-old, Matthew Boger endured a savage beating at the hands of a
group of neo-Nazis. Twenty-five years later, he meets one of them again
by chance.
“Karama Has No Walls” (Director: Sara Ishaq). Synopsis: When
protesters in Yemen added their voices to those of other nations during
the Arab Spring, the government responded with an attack that left 53
people dead and inspired widespread sympathy throughout the country.
“The Lady in Number 6: Music Saved My Life” (Directors:
Malcolm Clarke and Nicholas Reed). Synopsis: At 109, Alice Herz Sommer
is the world’s oldest pianist…and its oldest Holocaust survivor. At the
heart of her remarkable story of courage and endurance is her passion
for music.
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” (Director: Edgar Barens). Synopsis: In a maximum security prison, the terminally ill Jack Hall faces his final days with the assistance of hospice care provided by workers drawn from the prison population.
While all 5 offer compelling stories on the human condition, my 2 top films were "The Lady in #6" and "Prison Terminal". The weakest of the group for me was "Facing Fear", which felt more like a long advertisement for The Museum of Tolerance. While the story of these two men is an interesting portrait of the clash of two teenagers on very different paths, it felt like there was more to the story than was included in the documentary. I thought "Karama Has No Walls" was an intense journalistic report of the government attack on demonstrators in Yemen, and the first hand video footage is difficult to watch, but the style of the film made it hard to feel it ever was more than an on-scene report. "Cavedigger" is a very interesting portrait of a sculptor who is doggedly pursuing his art, carving amazingly sculpted caves out of soft rock. Of the 5 films, this offers the lightest topic, but I was left feeling like there was more to tell about the artist than we learned in the film. It did have a finished polish to it that set it apart from the rougher cut "Karama", and it may be a fan favorite, but I could not connect to the story.
That leaves the final 2 films that I think are the top two Oscar contenders. "Prison Terminal" is a hard to watch story about hospice care in prison. With an increasingly elderly prison population, this end-of-life dying with dignity story is a captivating and difficult experience. I was left with questions about the inmate's story that we never were told, but that really wasn't the focus of the film. The access the filmmakers had to the death in prison of this World War 2 veteran sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a drug dealer is amazing as we witness his final days in a special hospice program run by other prisoners. I couldn't help feel that his story highlights the struggles of older veterans that returned from World War 2 without the mental health support that they needed to receive to be integrated back into society. The big question is have we learned from our past mistakes?
"And the Oscar goes home with:"
"The Lady in Number 6" I predict will be the Oscar winner. It is an intimate and touching documentary on the life of the oldest Holocaust survivor. This documentary seems to have the most current film-making techniques, taking the famous "Ken Burn's Effect" to the next level by animating the still images that tell the remarkable story of this 109 year old survivor and her encounters with history. I think this will be the voter's favorite of the five.
I do find myself thinking about one of the films final shot that was amazing and left me with that question of "how did they do that?" In "Cavedigger", we have a medium shot of the artist as he begins what probably will be his final cave, a 10 year project. The camera begins a long, smooth, pull out from the artist, and continues to move away until he is lost on the side of the mountain he is digging in. It was a beautiful shot, and the one production technique from all 5 films that I am still thinking about today.
Please comment if you have seen these films. Do you agree with my pick?
"The Lady in Number Six" did win best documentary short. It also became a tribute to it's star who unfortuately passed away on February 23, 2014 at the age of 110.
You can read more about her here.
“Prison Terminal: The Last Days of Private Jack Hall” (Director: Edgar Barens). Synopsis: In a maximum security prison, the terminally ill Jack Hall faces his final days with the assistance of hospice care provided by workers drawn from the prison population.
While all 5 offer compelling stories on the human condition, my 2 top films were "The Lady in #6" and "Prison Terminal". The weakest of the group for me was "Facing Fear", which felt more like a long advertisement for The Museum of Tolerance. While the story of these two men is an interesting portrait of the clash of two teenagers on very different paths, it felt like there was more to the story than was included in the documentary. I thought "Karama Has No Walls" was an intense journalistic report of the government attack on demonstrators in Yemen, and the first hand video footage is difficult to watch, but the style of the film made it hard to feel it ever was more than an on-scene report. "Cavedigger" is a very interesting portrait of a sculptor who is doggedly pursuing his art, carving amazingly sculpted caves out of soft rock. Of the 5 films, this offers the lightest topic, but I was left feeling like there was more to tell about the artist than we learned in the film. It did have a finished polish to it that set it apart from the rougher cut "Karama", and it may be a fan favorite, but I could not connect to the story.
That leaves the final 2 films that I think are the top two Oscar contenders. "Prison Terminal" is a hard to watch story about hospice care in prison. With an increasingly elderly prison population, this end-of-life dying with dignity story is a captivating and difficult experience. I was left with questions about the inmate's story that we never were told, but that really wasn't the focus of the film. The access the filmmakers had to the death in prison of this World War 2 veteran sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a drug dealer is amazing as we witness his final days in a special hospice program run by other prisoners. I couldn't help feel that his story highlights the struggles of older veterans that returned from World War 2 without the mental health support that they needed to receive to be integrated back into society. The big question is have we learned from our past mistakes?
"And the Oscar goes home with:"
"The Lady in Number 6" I predict will be the Oscar winner. It is an intimate and touching documentary on the life of the oldest Holocaust survivor. This documentary seems to have the most current film-making techniques, taking the famous "Ken Burn's Effect" to the next level by animating the still images that tell the remarkable story of this 109 year old survivor and her encounters with history. I think this will be the voter's favorite of the five.
I do find myself thinking about one of the films final shot that was amazing and left me with that question of "how did they do that?" In "Cavedigger", we have a medium shot of the artist as he begins what probably will be his final cave, a 10 year project. The camera begins a long, smooth, pull out from the artist, and continues to move away until he is lost on the side of the mountain he is digging in. It was a beautiful shot, and the one production technique from all 5 films that I am still thinking about today.
Please comment if you have seen these films. Do you agree with my pick?
UPDATE MARCH 2014
"The Lady in Number Six" did win best documentary short. It also became a tribute to it's star who unfortuately passed away on February 23, 2014 at the age of 110.
You can read more about her here.
No comments:
Post a Comment