Sometimes you need hard-hitting investigative journalism or deep-undercover work or troves of archival footage to yield a compelling documentary. And, other times, all a director needs is something as simple as a conversation (or several dozen of them) to build a solid foundation for their project. Here are four such conversation-based docs I checked out at the fest.
Climate in Therapy (5/8)
What happens when you gather seven climate scientists for a weekend at a Seacaucus, NJ, Hilton Garden Inn, and ask them to tap into their feelings instead of facts or findings? This promising but not entirely satisfying documentary from director Nathan Grossman tries to answer that question. Ranging from engaged to resistant at the outset, the members of the group — led by their ever-patient facilitator, Richard — begin to explore how their work impacts their lives, relationships, and how see they world. Yet, at a brisk 64 minutes, the resulting film feels like it’s lacking. It was fascinating to watch incredibly smart, capable, data-driven individuals struggle with simple abstract exercises — when asked to draw a picture of what the planet will look like in the future, one participant “draws” a line graph — and seeing members have emotional breakthroughs was moving, but so much of what actually happened in the two-day therapy session is actually missing from the doc. Extending the running time to include more of the group’s conversations and revelations would have, in my opinion, helped flesh out each scientist’s narrative (for starters: how were they chosen, and why did they each agree to take part?) to give the viewer a better understanding of what went down. To borrow from the scientific method: the observation and conclusions are (mostly) there, but the hypothesis, research, and details of this psychological experiment are not.
Holloway (7/8)
I could have easily watched six more hours of this thoroughly engrossing documentary from co-directors Sophie Compton and Daisy-May Hudson, I was that engaged. Set against the backdrop of the decaying, soon-to-be-demolished walls of the titular UK women’s prison, the film follows six former inmates as they return to revisit their time served, and excavate (and begin to heal) trauma through a series of facilitator-led group-therapy exercises. For Sarah, Aliyah, Mandy, Brenda, Tamar and Gerrah — who resemble the archetypes of many fictional women-in-prison TV series (the brash youngster, the sage elder, the hippie, the tough gal, etc.) — what begins with skepticism, posturing and resistance gradually gives way to honesty, revelation and connection. Each woman’s story is complex and compelling, and all of them could easily have formed the basis for documentaries all their own. Together, though, they make for a raw and honest look at how adversity can breed strength and sisterhood.
My Missing Aunt (7/8)
Sometimes, the secrets buried in a family’s past are inadvertently uncovered through conversation, which is sort of what happens in this lovely doc from director Juyeon Yang. A tender and respectful tribute to her aunt, who died by suicide decades ago and was essentially scrubbed from the family’s history as a result, the film blends animation with old photos, interviews with her aunt’s former school friends, and difficult conversations with Yang’s own father, to piece together the story of a talented but quiet artist and poet, whose dreams were stifled by her parents and who found herself in an abusive relationship that may or may not have resulted in her death while still in university. The emotional excavation proves challenging and, in the process, Yang unearths some hurtful truths about the societal and familial expectations placed on South Korean women. But, in making the film, she also provides closure, facilitates understanding, heals many old wounds, and honors her aunt in a way the rest of the family never had before.
Walls – Akinni Inuk (6/8)
An intimate exploration of literal and figurative walls, and a celebration of friendship against the odds, this documentary spans years and countless conversations between its two principal subjects. Co-directed by Sofie Rørdam and Nina Panninguaq Skydsbjerg, the doc chronicles the quasi-mother-daughter relationship that’s forged between the latter and Ruth, an inmate at a prison in Nuuk, Greenland. Initially introduced through a program that supplied cameras to the inmates so they could capture their day-to-day lives, Nina and Ruth — who’s nearly two decades into an “indefinite” sentence for killing a man she says was abusive — begin having regular visits to talk and swap stories. As trust grows and their bond deepens, so do the topics they discuss, including their shared experiences of violence, abuse, and terrible childhoods. Unfolding a bit like mutual-therapy sessions, the documentary examines each woman’s evolution, and tracks their combined efforts to have Ruth granted parole. Quiet and effective, it’s a film about introspection, connection and, ultimately, perseverance in the face of seemingly unrelenting defeat.
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