Reviews

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…

The painful and often tragic stories of refugees seeking to make their way to places of safety make for familiar documentary viewing, but Juliette de Marcillac’s striking Nightwatchers (Veilleurs de nuit) dwells more unusually on a snowy Alpine border where many migrants make a perilous night-time trek through the cold and snow to try and cross from Italy into France.

The conjoined storylines of a local construction worker and a Chinese engineer, both involved in building a bank in the Central African Republic and both with major issues concerning their personal lives, provides a fascinating – and beautifully shot – insight into day-to-day existence in a country where circumstances are tough and where rumours of civil war are rife.

A beautiful and grim fairy tale about a Russian bird of paradise looking for a place to spread its wings. The film testifies to the power of art and shows why so many of those in power within Russia are rightfully afraid of the country’s artists and creatives.

Cutting edge science, the prehistoric past and the rituals of indigenous folk collide in Dane Dodds’ delicate, compassionate and strikingly assembled documentary film !AITSA, set against the stunning backdrop of The Karoo, a vast desert area in South Africa the size of Germany.

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.

If you’ve ever wondered whether or not plants have feelings, then take a look at Light Needs, world-premiering at CPH:DOX and offering sublime insight into the secret life of plants, those who care for them and the special relationship they share. It is a film packed with love, humour and a sensuous attention to detail.

An engagingly playful Los Angeles-based hybrid feature doc which is rendered even more striking by its astute use of sign language and subtitles by a director who is, herself, d/Deaf. The film dwells upon a series of mysterious tuba thefts and therefore silence and sound are key components in O’Daniel’s unique and impactful experience.

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.

Some ideas can be surprisingly simple, and the perfect execution of such an idea can result in something brilliant. That happens in The Hearing, a documentary which gives an unexpected twist to the asylum application procedure in hyper-correct Switzerland.