CineRadical: A Monthly Brief on Documentary
October's unfiltered & essential docs and Dialogues
Welcome to this month's roundup of the documentary film landscape, a space where we delve into the stories that matter, both on and off the screen. Fresh off the reel from a busy month, we're exhilarated by the range of impactful narratives we encountered. As the days get shorter, so does the year’s remaining festival circuit: we're setting our sights on the upcoming autumn season, including intriguing line-ups at IDFA, Porto/Post/Doc, and Movies on War. Get ready for another month of critical viewing and compelling storytelling.
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NEWS
Porto/Post Doc announces 2023 main competition titles, 50 years of hip-hop celebration
French Director Clément Deneux takes top VR honours at 27th Ji.hlava IDFF
MajorDocs honours documentaries “Al Djanat” and “Apolonia, Apolonia”
INTERVIEW
Combatting Digital Violence: A Conversation with HateAid
With a Human Rights Film Festival Berlin workshop on Navigating Digital Aggression for Journalists and Filmmakers, Modern Times Review speaks with representatives of Germany's HateAid - the organisation combatting digital violence.
What would you do if you didn’t have to work?
Renowned filmmaker Erik Gandini talks to Modern Times Review about the meaning a society based intensively towards work. But also more existential questions like Basic Salary, individualism – and interdependence as a way forward.
FILMS
Al Djanat, The Original Paradise
MajorDocs
Director: Chloé Aïcha Boro
Director Chloe Aicha Boro returns to her Burkina Faso village to confront her family's dilemma: should they keep or sell their ancestral land? Witness how tradition and French-inherited law clash in this intimate portrait.
At Night, The Red Sky
Doclisboa
Director: Ali Razi
An intricate look into defiance and demand for change.
Knit’s Island
Astra Film Festival
Director: Ekiem Barbier, Guilhem Causse, Quentin L’helgoualc’h
A deep dive into virtual survivalist communities and the blur between reality and gaming.
My Muslim Husband
Astra Film Festival
Director: Daniel Barnuti, Alexandra Lizeta Barnuti
Witness the raw emotions and trials of a Romanian couple as they navigate love, family, and religion in a world full of opinions.
Project 02
Ji.hlava IDFF
Director: Adam Diller
Philosophical musings on the nature of truth and knowledge through the lens of man's manipulation of nature and Google's domination of the Internet.
The Diagonal Force
Doclisboa
Director: Annik Leroy, Julie Morel
Unearth the subtle connections between personal lives and external conflicts, as 'The Diagonal Force' leads you towards Hannah Arendt's celebration of human capacity.
The Hostage Takers
Ji.hlava IDFF
Director: Puk Damsgaard Andersen, Søren Klovbork
A shocking and brutal account of the fate of a Danish photographer held hostage held by Islamic State terrorists.
The Melusinas at the End of the River
Doclisboa
Director: Melanie Pereira
Delve into the complex identities formed by Luxembourg's immigrant youth.
The Sky is Mine
Visioni dal Mondo
Director: Ayoub Naseri
The hidden narratives of Afghan refugees in Italy.
The Standstill
Director: Nikolaus Geyrhalter
Nikolaus Geyrhalter combines artistry, reality, and a timeless message about our response to global crises.
ESSAY
Real bodies, fake bodies: the dichotomy of female objectification
From Kurdish villages to college campuses, gender-based abuse knows no boundaries.
The liminal spaces of art and cinema
Three DOKUARTS-screened films invite both the scholarly aesthete and the public intellectual to reevaluate the perennial dialogues at the intersections of art, cinema, and society.