Movie Review
by Sergio Martinez
The
documentary genre cannot be absent from the film festival scene. In fact, most
festivals with a general mandate include documentaries among their categories.
A festival dedicated exclusively to this genre, however, has its challenges,
but in its 28 years of existence, the Rencontres internationales du
documentaire de Montréal / Montreal International Documentary Festival has
successfully overcome them, arousing unusual enthusiasm among many young
people.
The value
of this film genre lies precisely in its ability to convey real stories to an
audience that undoubtedly needs information about events that affect us all in
different ways: climate change, humanitarian crises in war-torn regions, or
sometimes also issues that may have a more segmented resonance, but no less
significant for that: gender violence, the effect of certain diseases, or
simple human problems of coexistence or merely existential issues.
The RIDM
(as it is known by its French acronym) has successfully focused on these
themes, and this year's edition was no exception. In this regard, we will
analyze in greater detail two of the films that most caught our attention,
namely the opening and closing films of the festival.
LETTERS
FROM WOLF STREET: A look at migration
Dir. Arjun
Talwar (Poland-Germany)
The
filmmaker himself tells his story as an immigrant from India who decided to study
film in Poland. After some ups and downs, he manages to make a film that
recounts his experience as a film student and his attempt to integrate into
Polish society. The documentary captures the viewer's attention, who can learn,
among other curious things, why the street is named as it is (not after a wolf,
but after the surname of a notable neighbor, which allows us to know that, as
in Spanish and English, the reference to the powerful animal is also found in a
surname in the Polish language).
Talwar's
exchanges with the postman are perhaps the most interesting examples of the
relationship between him, as an immigrant, and a Polish native and worker. This
aspect also has other facets in the filmmaker's relationship with a gypsy who,
despite being a native of the country, has suffered discrimination on more than
one occasion. The film presents its darkest side when it shows a massive
demonstration by Polish nationalists who—naturally—do not welcome the arrival
of immigrants, whom they resent because, according to them, they would alter
the identity of the Polish nation. (A message that is already familiar in many
places, as we well know).
This is a
documentary in which the director has skillfully interwoven his personal
experiences, sometimes in an intimate tone, while also portraying the
collective feelings of those who, for various reasons, have settled in a
country with a culture very different from their own—people who, like Talwar,
have developed a genuine affection for Polish society.
The film is
well made, and one can see from the use of various techniques and image
handling that the director is a recent film school graduate, as it is clear
that he has put the techniques he learned into practice. And the important
thing is that he has used them well, without turning the film into a showcase
for filmmaking techniques. We hope this film will be distributed in North
America, as it would be relevant to the current debate on migration.
LES BLUES
DU BLEUET (THE BLUES OF THE BLUEBERRY)—Life revolving around the small fruit
Dir. Andrés
Livov
The
relationship one may have with blueberries in an urban environment is likely
very utilitarian: this small dark blue fruit is appreciated in baking, and its
consumption as a fruit has increased in recent years as its health benefits
have been revealed. However, beyond our immediate interaction with them at the
supermarket, we don't give the fruit much thought. Here, Andrés Livov,
originally from Argentina, offers us not only a reflection on the fruit itself,
but also on the entire rural life that revolves around blueberries.
Set in the
Lac Saint-Jean region in northern Quebec, the film offers a very lyrical view
of life around the cultivation of the fruit, from the time when large forest
fires, more than a century ago, helped fertilize the soil, facilitating the
growth and expansion of blueberry cultivation.
From
“Madame Patate” to the musicians of the small town and including the seasonal
workers who come every summer from Mexico and Central America, the film shows
us the whole culture of blueberries, with its sorrows and joys, but above all
with an existential sense of connection to the land and work. These are the
lives of the people in the region where the slightly tart and sweet blueberry
is grown and harvested. When we buy it again at the supermarket, we will also
be remembering the men and women who make it possible for it to reach our
tables. And, of course, Livov, who with his documentary has given a human face
to this small fruit.
THE AWARD
WINNERS
Some of the
main awards at this year's International Documentary Festival were as follows:
Grand Prize
for International Feature Competition
Imago by Déni Oumar Pitsaev (France,
Belgium)
Special
Jury Prize for International Feature Competition
Waking
Hours by
Federico Cammarata and Filippo Foscarini (Italy)
A special
mention was given to Evidence by Lee Anne Schmitt (United States).
Grand Prize
for National Feature Competition
Partition by Diana Allan (Palestine, Lebanon,
Quebec/Canada)
Special
Jury Prize for National Feature Competition presented by Télé-Québec and
Post-Moderne
Kindergarten
by
Jean-François Caissy (Quebec/Canada)
New Visions
Award presented by FIPRESCI and the Société civile des auteurs multimédia
(SCAM)
Soul
of the Foot by
Mustafa Uzuner (Canada, Turkey)
Magnus
Isacsson Award presented with the participation of DOC Québec, ARRQ, Funambules
Médias, Cinema Politica and Main Film
Spare
My Bones,
Coyote! by Jonah Malak (Quebec/Canada)
