Kees Driessen

In his second 3D documentary (and fourth 3D feature), German director Wim Wenders once again proves himself a master of the third dimension, with his in-depth exploration of the über-sized and immersive work of compatriot artist Anselm Kiefer. Like his Pina (2011), this new documentary does not feel experimental at all, but fully accomplished. As if 3D documentaries weren’t the exception, but a well-established part of the arthouse mainstream.

With their documentary Occupied City, director Steve McQueen and screenwriter Bianca Stigter have made their own contribution to the sacred tradition of Holocaust remembrance. Strikingly, in a film that tells of the city’s occupation by the Nazis 80 years ago, yet one which eschews 2WW archive, relying instead on contemporary images and measured voiceover, it is the hometown of Amsterdam itself that ‘never forgets.’

Stylistically bold and as timeless as it is topical, All You See explores the alienation that migrants experience coming to the Netherlands. It was a strong opening film for IDFA, where it world-premiered in November 2022, as its main question concerned every documentary in the programme: we look at people, but do we see them?

The partly animated documentary Behind the Lines, world premiering in Visons du Réel Grand Angle Competition, shows the professional and personal life of Syrian female political cartoonist Amani Al-Ali, who uses her powerful pen to fight both war and patriarchy.

Two parts of Peter Mettler’s planned seven-part series While the Green Grass Grows world premiered in International Competition at Visions du Réel. Centred around the last days of his mother and father respectively, the films are a meditative experience with a calm and clear flow. This is about filming time – time spent with loved ones, time spent with beauty – and moulding it, repeating it, and combining it into the flow of memory, contemplation and art. And as easy as floating down a river.

Watching Alberto Martín Menacho’s debut observational feature Antier noche without any prior knowledge, I found it hard to see why these seemingly mundane aspects of village life in Spain were being documented. Reading a bit more background information helped. But only to a degree…

An amazing portrait of a homophobic Polish Catholic activist who changes his heart and his mind to become an active member of the LGBTQIA+ community. Director Hanka Nobis took a big gamble by following young Antek, a member of the Polish Catholic Brotherhood, for a long time, suspecting he was different from the others, but what happened next is the stuff clickbait is made of.

Emily Norling’s Megaheartz, about how she and her friends struggle with love and life, has a big heart, but its chaotic depiction of chaotic lives leaves the viewer with little to hold on to.

A puzzling documentary thriller… On the surface, it’s about French director Armel Hostiou trying to uncover who in Kinshasa set up a false Facebook profile in his name. But by digging up layer after layer of fakery, the film itself ends up looking suspiciously unreal, but in a most interesting way...

Dearest Fiona, an art film by Fiona Tan having its world premiere in Berlinale’s Forum section, consists of two very different elements. We see scenes from silent Dutch documentaries, showing life at the beginning of the 20th century. And we hear an actor reading letters her father wrote to her around 1988/89. I went looking for a way to connect the two. The production company behind the film is called Antithesis Films. That’s an interesting name. Let’s use that as a starting point…