Sugar: The sweetest poison?
Should sugar be regarded as a toxin equal to that of tobacco? Two documentaries focus on the sweet drug’s damaging effects and on the sugar industry’s attempt to trivialise them.
The houses we were, the cities we are
Two important but very different documentaries from 2018 showcase the power of the short film form.
The overlooked «in-betweener»
Two highlights of Doclisboa 2018 were documentaries from an often-overlooked category – the mid-length film.
Taking down a regime
South Korean citizens made history when – armed with lighted candles and demands of justice – they brought down president Park Geun-hye and her conservative party in 2017. Director Nungcool and her crew documented the experience.
The Cuban veteran for whom the Revolution lives on
As his country slowly moves past its communist decades, a Cuban veteran is stuck in the past.
Intimacy versus American convention
UTØYA: Between the two recent films depicting the Utøya massacre, Reconstructing Utøya is the one that succeeds.
A hilarious examination of the human condition
An intimate portrait of a sarcastic elderly Palestinian woman’s life, relationships, regrets and bitterness enlightened by flashes of dark humour.
To set out for the Moon
Hamada turns the attention to the rocky, wind-eroded desert of the Western Sahara, where the Sahrawi people have resided in refugee camps for more than 40 years.
Orwa Nyrabia – International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA)
IDFA: The new artistic director at IDFA talks about the new features of the documentary industry and how watching a documentary can turn into a life-changing experience.
A pop doc out of the ordinary
BIOGRAPHY: «Why are you a problematic pop star? » director Stephen Loveridge asks M.I.A. in his documentary. The answers provided by the film point towards more than an uncompromising and sometimes challenging personality.
A powerful cry for justice
Forensically detailed catalogue of state-sponsored killings paints a dark picture of the life and death for poor, black youngsters in Rio’s sprawling shanty-towns.
How the toleration of crime can change everything
A film revealing the many faces of decades of organised crime in Southern Italy.