AFRYKAMERA

AFRICA MOVING

The set comprised of 5 short dance films:

ZOMBIES

Recommended. Techno mixed with African rhythms, flashy costumes, humour, e.g. when a hairdresser comments on a  spiky hair-do: "With your hair you could receive TV."

MUDANCA (UPHEAVAL)

Recommended. Poetic, hypnotising, with beautiful golden make-up.

INABITAVEIS (THE UNINHABITABLE ONES)

Watchable. The Brazilian film deals with homosexuality and the actors aren't particularly attractive. But the history behind it is thought-provoking: rebels got killed, other slaves stayed

MATATA

Recommended. Astonishing use of waste: flares in a scrap yard, wonderful dancers. Bizarrely exciting.

COMECA A FICAR TARDE (UNTIL LATE)

Recommended. History of the Congo depicted with artistry, appealing cinematography.

The set of 5 short films included as many as 4 mesmerising dance videos - wonderful on the big screen, less impressive when I tried to see them again online.

KING RICHARD

Recommended. The incredible true story of Venus and Serena Williams, who went from neglected by the tennis world black area dwellers to sports superstars, is brought to the big screen in an engaging family biopic. Sport tension is there. But it's years of hard work and planning ("If you fail to plan, you plan to fail") and the incredibly (I'm using the word on purpose) strong Richard's motivation not to have his daughters junked-up on the streets of gang-ridden Compton that make an impact. His viewpoint not to mind others but to make others mind you as well as tactics in career planning prove the best bet for success. Will Smith adopted original Richard Williams' stance, posture and speech manner (with the help of a dialect coach).

1970

Watchable. The first half of this Polish documentary is tedious, you need to listen hard to the 1970 phone conversations recordings, with no clue of who is who in the authorities and no certainty of what they're talking about. Doll animation doesn't show much - just people on the phone.  Archive footage is not that clear to a modern viewer either. But mid-way through the film you realize how dispassionately they're discussing the use of chemicals, firearms, letting people burn alive, their only concern being how Western media will show it. The archive footage doesn't reveal much of the massacre. The written information at the very end describes the full scope of the cold-blooded pacification.

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

WATCH DOCS

THE TROUBLEMAKER

Recommended. A video manual on how to organize a rebellion. Sadly, it's only going to work in a democratic country. Air view images make it visually attractive as well.

Seen online, cinematic reception might differ.

GDY KWIATY NIE MILCZA (WHEN FLOWERS ARE NOT SILENT)

Watchable. Frightening stories of torture in imprisonment and violence at protests. Very informative and down to earth. Incredible how supportive of each other people are in Belarussian prisons. Only babies crying in one of the homes mar the film. It's black and white but that's perfectly sufficient. Shot in 2020-2021.

Director Andrei Kutsila says now shooting with a normal big camera in the street would be impossible. The protests are over too, out of fear of violence or jail - 5, 7, 10 years for nothing. But the determination is still there. No one will forget it now. People feel Lukashenko's over. Only uniformed forces support him. Sometimes OMON or the police refuse to obey an order.

AFRYKAMERA

أميرة (AMIRA)

Watchable. Shot in Jordan, set in Palestine, scripted and directed by an Egyptian, it's a rare take on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The storyline offers all possible reactions and solutions to the presented identity drama within one movie which is engaging but feels over the top all the time. At the same time the guard's motivation remains unknown.

NOFINOFY (DREAM)

Watchable. It drags awfully and is all over the shop. The main story revolves round a barber and his dream to own a salon - like anywhere in the world. What stopped me from walking out were occasional bits of Malagasy life reaching the viewer from the backdrop: music - mostly Arabic rhythms, news broadcasts - the piece about 400 workers dismissed for an industrial action and made take off their uniforms and walk home naked is so outrageous it deserves its own documentary, climate: frequent rain and a flash flood from a swollen ocean, police brutality, prisons serving as money-making machines, a lesson on bringing up an unruly child. What should be in the front is in the back of this film. Pathetic.

WATCH DOCS

EN ROUTE POUR LE MILLIARD (DOWNSTREAM TO KINSHASA)

Recommended. The Kisangani's Six-Day War of 2000 was fought by Rwanda and Uganda over Congolese resources. More than 1000 locals were killed and 300 maimed. The disabled are fully functional - just watch the lady pounding food with the trunks of her arms, wear beautiful, colourful clothes, sing, dance - joie de vivre. Clear cinematography by director Dieudo Hamadi is stunning. The first half shows their inner strength against adversity, the second wrenches your heart at the indifference of those in power. 

AFRYKAMERA

ONCE UPON A TIME IN UGANDA

Recommended. I want Polish movie makers to travel to Wakaliwood and learn how to shoot action comedies for $200. They look more like computer games rather than films from a Kampala ghetto. The presented actors' movie scenes are tongue-in-cheek, just like the documentary itself. It blends genres, it's almost a documentary comedy. Top entertainment and proof that true talent knows no limitations - penye nia pana njia, as a Swahili proverb says. The film plays with cinematography, e.g. makes use of human silhouettes against spectacular landscapes and awe-inspiring light, "Coming soon" is written on two goats and Isaac Nabwana shoots "Bruce U" in China.

UN FILS (A SON)

Recommended. Curiously shot in area of Tataouine. This time it's not "Star Wars" but the story focuses round fatherhood too. It's not Tunesian law that shocks you in the film.

LE DERNIER REFUGE (THE LAST SHELTER)

Watchable. The last shelter is the Caritas centre in Mali. The title pertains to the fact only 1% migrants cross the Sahara successfully. The documentary is slow, though that reflects the slow pace of life in the centre and occasionally you're rewarded with picture-perfect shots of the desert at day or night. The migrants are between 16 and 48 years old and, especially the young ones, are so naive some go on to traverse the desert, though some return home, instead of risking being robbed, whipped or raped in Algeria or getting lost in the vast sands.

SNEKKER ANDERSEN OG DEN VESLE BYGDA SOM GLOMTE AT DET VAR JUL (FORGOTTEN CHRISTMAS)

Watchable. The set-up is a hamlet of awfully forgetful people. This unusual plot is marred by partly inadequate cast and by Polish dubbing. The film has all the Christmas atmosphere: a quaint village covered in snow, an Advent calendar, a big Christmas tree and people, Norwegian way, dancing round it. And here comes Santa - one of the worst ever: looking like a drunk and speaking, in Polish dubbing at least, in high pitch. Some other dwellers look and act too hostile for a tale for children. The quirky story saves the picture though. And you also get to hear a Norwegian Christmas song. 

ANIMAL

Recommended. Even the opening of this documentary consists of gruesome images of animals being killed. But the documentary is much more than the shock factor. Some serious food for thought about humanity.

HUMAN DOC

NOWE MIASTO

Recommended. A beautifully shot documentary about a futuristic project of moving Metro Manila to New Clark City, i.e. protecting the capital from earthquakes and typhoons while creating a smart city without current problems of Manila like traffic congestion or smog. But the dazzling facade hides very basic problems of resettling the deprived. Will the poor foot the bill of this amazing transformation? And who'll benefit? The documentary asks valid rhetorical questions.

UKRAINA! FILM FESTIVAL

ПЛОХИЕ ДОРОГИ (BAD ROADS)

Switched off. It drags and consists of people standing and talking or sitting and talking in humdrum voices, going round in circles on whatever the conversation subject is. 

ZHANYM, TY NE POVERISH! (SWEETIE, YOU WON'T BELIEVE IT)

Switched off. Remember "Borat! Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan"? This actually Kazakh comedy represents the same level as the American flick of 2006 which mocked the Kazakh nation. Gross, less sexual, more class B horror style brutal, yet equally dumb. 

Reviewed from the distributor's screener, cinematic reception might differ.

RIFKIN'S FESTIVAL

Watchable. Woody Allen dissects romantic relationships again. The lead is a neurotic man who's into classical black and white movies which he relives as his night dreams mixed with his own fears. So, if you're fond of French or Swedish classics, you can play spotting the references. But at face value it's just your regular Woody Allen all over again. With summertime San Sebastian in the background. 

TRANSATLANTYK FILM FESTIVAL

BOILING POINT

Recommended. A mastershot of behind-the-scenes of a posh restaurant. Very realistic as numerous work issues mix with the staff's personal problems. Totally engaging since it's also a picture of customer behaviours. It becomes so heated I thought I was going to pass out myself. The post-credit shows the picture of the group selfie from the film.

The festival all took place conveniently at one cinema. KinoGram was a comfy choice since you could stretch on a couch - and try not to fall asleep. Sadly, the festival staff, though courteous, rarely wore masks and basically flouted all Covid safety rules. As for the films seen by me, 12 were superb - an exceptionally high percentage. However, most translations from English were off, sometimes translators wouldn't even get the tenses right. There was no catalogue. The printed schedule clearly demonstrated which movie or event took place where and which overlapped. The problem was with the legibility of small print on colour backgrounds in the dimmed light of the concourse.

TRANSATLANTYK FILM FESTIVAL 

PAOLO COSTELLA Q&A

The Q&A followed a screening of "Per tutta la vita" - the film in which he wanted to offer viewers a chance to reflect on relationships. The story originated from the news from "Cronaca". Certain couple met a priest on holiday. A few months later they asked him to marry them off but he turned out to be an impostor and the wedding was cancelled. When I probed, he admitted he was generally suspicious of people, believing they have double lives but he was well-meaning for his characters, approaching them without judgment. He likes multithreaded, choral stories because the threads shed light on each other. That was the case also with "Perfetti sconosciuti" ("Perfect Strangers") which was written first separately, next weaving the threads together. He likes diverse films. But his movies are about one generation because it's his so he knows it best. He also thinks Italian urban middle class is experiencing an existential crisis. It's a crisis of values as well as distancing from the rest of the world - the loss of the values the class used to be based on. Church weddings aren't that obvious in real life. He's seen "Boże ciało" ("Corpus Christi") - a Polish production also tackling a false priest - he's drawn to melancholy but wanted to tackle many topics in his film. His actors' backgrounds represent various worlds too: TV, entertainment, theatre. He refused to explain the ending of "Perfetti sconosciuti" ("Perfect Strangers") insisting that the audience do their job. Both finales were to end with emotions, not events. Paolo Genovese directed the previous one, now he did, they just swapped. They both wrote together. Often the ego got the better of them but here they got on like a house on fire. Next coming is "Supereroi" ("Superheroes") about a struggle of a relationship with time and of what superpowers you need to have for a relationship to survive.

FLUGT (FLEE)

Recommended. This animated documentary is the Danish Oscar candidate. The story's incredible, with the protagonist living a secret life, having to hide the fact he has a family, now scattered all over Europe. Great music choice - Western and cheerful at happy moments of Amin's life - demonstrates where he felt good. Most importantly though, his case shows serious flaws within the asylum system. All refugee aid and protection is illusory, on top of huge numbers of people exploiting the vulnerable in the several countries they need to traverse. Powerful.

HINTERLAND

Recommended. Many returned from the Great War disturbed and changed men. So is their world. Distorted shapes and dark colours are German expressionism perfectly recreated in the 21st century. The set design and cinematography are Oscar-worthy. Even end credits transmute from German to English.