One more day at SILVERDOCS . . . will the Sassistas! make it?
Flannista dropped off Sista C at the airport about two hours ago. We are now waiting for Justista to arrive for a couple of days. While we wait, we're heading back to SILVERDOCS. That's Flann's dog-eared scheduled pictured above. It's been a gratifying week. We'll post more from the venue. Thanks for standing in line with us. Click here for the link to SILVERDOCS if you want to read the latest.
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Day Four of SILVERDOCS and the best day of the festival so far! Yesterday, Sista C and I saw eight movies and every single one we rated a 4 or a 5.
"The Central Pack Effect" (see trailer above) was about the impressive array of migratory birds in New York's Central Park each season . . . and the equally colorful New Yorkers who are compelled to watch, including a seasoned bird-watching group leader with terminal breast cancer. Will this season be the last for her to see the birds she's been watching for more than 30 years? A must-see.
"The Revisionaries" presents a behind-the-scenes look at the battle of what material is being taught in history and science books that will influence an entire generation of children. The documentary focuses on Don McLeroy, a dentist, an evangelical Christian and avowed Young Earth Creationist (he believes dinosaurs were on Noah's Ark) who became the Chairman of the Texas State Board of Education and word-by-word began to re-write textbooks to reflect his particular ideology. Believe it or not, he participated in a panel discussion afterwards last night. To its credit, the audience graciously gave him the respect he failed over and over again to demonstrate to those in Texas who disagreed with him.
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Day Three of SILVERDOCS and another day of enlightenment although, as Sista C says, "We're still on a quest to find that ONE documentary that will knock our socks off or worth a two-bottle-of-wine conversation." Here's Sista C's take on a doc she saw yesterday called, "The Vanishing Spring Light".
This film is about a community in China, Silk Road Avenue, that is scheduled for regentrification by the government. A frail but feisty Grandma Jiang has lived there since childhood and is facing eviction when she takes a brutal fall that leaves her needing the care of her children. This is a portrait of a life forgotten, and a fractured family who feels the burden of caring for elders who were once venerated in the community.
"A Girl Like Her" tells a story that many of us don't know. In the '50s and '60s, more than a million unmarried American women lost children to enforced adoption. With minimal or no sex education, pregnant singles were commonly ostracized into leaving their homes and enduring shame-filled pregnancies in distant institutions. Comprised almost entirely of vintage footage from the 50's and '60s, this documentary about forgotten mothers falls short because it's just too damn preachy. Yes, it's sad that so many white, upper-class women were sent away to "institutions" and then had to give up their kids, but the self-righteousness of the story-telling kept getting in the way. There's documentary filmmaking and there's propoganda. This felt like propoganda.
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Day Two of SILVERDOCS and another adventure into the best and worst of human nature. Two films were stand-outs yesterday and they could not be more opposite.
The first is "Planet of Snail" (see trailer above), about the deaf and blind South Korean poet, Young-Chan. The intimate and small details made this documentary a wonder of creative productivity and erotic happiness. Who knew so much happiness could be accessed from touch, taste and smell? If you own an iPad, go to the film's website, Planet of Snail and click on "Love is Touch" and learn how to use finger braille to communicate just as Young-Chan does in this film.
Jarring in comparison to "Planet of Snail" is the Sundance Grand Jury Award winner for documentary, "The House I Live In" written and directed by Eugene Jarecki about America's War on Drugs. In the past 40 years, that war has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and destroyed impoverished communities at home and abroad. Yet drugs are cheaper, purer and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong, and what can be done? Why is our war on drugs "a halocaust in slow motion"?
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What a wonderful first day of SILVERDOCS 2012! A day marked by "imposters" of all kinds.
Let's start with the Wilsons -- the family pictured above and featured in the documentary, "Virgin Tales". All seven children of the evangelical Christian Wilson family, founders of the Purity Ball, take the concept of purity of body and mind very far . . . even their first kiss will be at the altar. Are these kids happy? They seem to be . . . or are they just pretending to please what appeared to be parents a little too interested in their personal lives? The patriarch is a member of the Family Research Council staff which means he would never approve of the Sassistas! Despite that, the seeming emotional imprisonment of a couple of his kids pulled at Flann's heart strings.
All is not what it seems in "The Imposter" (see trailer above), a documentary that knocked Flann's socks off. A young boy disappears and more than three years later reappears. Or does he? Why does his family accept someone who is obviously not their lost son? Who is telling the truth? Who is lying? This story seems completely impossible . . . if it weren't true. Astonishing. A must-see.
Anyone who does not believe in global warming after seeing "Chasing Ice" is a human imposter, to be sure. This film which won the best cinematography award at Sundance is beautiful AND terrifying. In one scene, a chunk of glacier the size of lower Manhattan, but 2.5 time taller, "calves" off -- the first time any human has witnessed such a huge event . . . and there is was documented before Flann's eyes. Again, amazing and horrifying. A must-see.
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It's that time of year again! That time when the Sassistas! sit in dark theaters for most of the day for a week and watch documentaries that alternatively challenge our thinking, break our hearts or slap us upside the head. Yes, it's time for SILVERDOCS! Check out the "sizzle reel" above!
Sadly, SILVERDOCS will be missing one key component this year, namely Matissta, who must continue her ongoing web development education in the evenings and weekend. Stepping up to the SILVERDOCS plate, however, will be our own Sista C, who is flying in on Wednesday to join Flannista in this documentary marathon.
This year marks the 10th year for SILVERDOCS which has grown into a national venue (after Sundance) for "must-see" documentaries. Oscar documentary winners such as "Taxi to the Dark Side," "Man on Wire," "No End in Sight" and "Grizzly Man" all played at previous SILVERDOC festivals. This year, SILVERDOCS will be showing several of the 2012 Sundance Documentary winners, such as "The House I Live In", "Searching for Sugar Man," "The Queen of Versailles" and "Detropia". Flannista and Sista C plan to see each one and hope that Matissta might be able to join us on Friday and Saturday evenings.
Flannista will be on her own today at SILVERDOCS and will post from her iPhone when she can. In the meantime, check out the film roster (in the link in the first paragraph) and let us know which documentaries you believe are "must-sees"!
See you at "The DOCS" . . . what Sista C calls our annual week of films that examine the worst and best of what it means to be human.
BREAKING DOCS SASS! BREAKING DOCS SASS!
Last night, Matissta and I attended Opening Night at SILVERDOCS that featured, "Don't Stop Believin': Everyman's Journey" by Romana S. Diaz about the Filipino singer Arnetl Pineda who becomes lead singer for the rock band, Journey. Guess who was there at the center of attention? The ACTUAL lead singer? Nope, someone even MORE FAMOUS!! Michaele Salahi with Neal Schon, Journey lead guitarist and former flame (who knew)? She was clinging to him the ENTIRE NIGHT -- "lovin', touchin', squeezin"!!
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Just when we think we've come a long way, baby, the Sassistas! see a documentary that proves that women still have a very, very, very long way to go.
The Sassistas! ended Day Two of SILVERDOCS 2011 with "Miss Representation," a frank and unflinching look at gender inequality behind and in front of the cameras. Drop everything and take a look at the trailer by clicking here.
Young females plug into several kinds of media, and more often than not, women are portrayed as objects. They are seen physically instead of intellectually. "Miss Representation" uses both statistics and interviews to get convey its main point: the way mainstream media depicts women is partially responsible for the reason why so few women hold positions of power in the United States. Women are portrayed as catty bitches in reality television and as fighting f*ck toys in cinema (Angelina Jolie, anyone?). And those depictions trivialize women, making it more difficult to take them seriously as potential leaders.
Pause a moment and take in this detail: within four weeks of becoming Speaker of the House, John Boehner appeared on the cover of all five major news magazines. Nancy Pelosi never appeared once on the cover of these same magazines during the four years she was Speaker of the House. Remember when Hillary Clinton cried during her campaign to be President? And when John Boehner cried on "60 Minutes"? Guess who got the worse press?
The Sassistas! were stunned by the depth and breadth of media bias against women and are seriously thinking of donating this film to our local elementary school. Also, we believe if every journalist on the planet was just like Rachel Maddows, the world would be a perfect place.
We know that you are aware of how the media objectifies women. Today, get it all out of your system. Give us your own examples of "Miss Representation," and let's start now to influence a new generation of women who realize their full potential.
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WELCOME TO SILVERDOCS 2011 WITH THE SASSISTAS! The above video is the trailer for this year's edition. Click here to access the full slate of documentaries.
Yesterday, on Day One of SILVERDOCS, the Sassistas! viewed 14 shorts and three full-length films. The shorts were divided into two themes: "Between Us" -- about unforgettable and odd relationships -- and "Magnificent Obsessions" -- about people with quirky habits and skills.
We can sum up the subject of the three full-length features with two words: ONE MAN.
"Buck" (featured in the video trailer posted here) profiled the real-life inspiration for the best-selling book and film, The Horse Whisperer, Buck Brannaman. Based on his own harrowing experiences while growing up, Buck helps fix "horses with people problems," and proves that a quiet, gentle healing soul can emerge from profound childhood abuse.
"Donor Unknown" tells the story of 23-year-old JoEllen Marsh who was raised by two loving mothers in Pennsylvania who used a carefully chosen anonymous sperm donor to conceive her. When JoEllen discovers an online registry that connects her to several other young adults fathered by the same donor, she sets out to meet not only her half-siblings, but also her biological father when he publicly reveals his identity. This is the story that "The Kids are All Right" should have told because only in Hollywood do fathers turn out to be Mark Ruffalo. The best way to describe the biological father is to muse about whether or not he's visiting Planet Earth today between hits of pot in the trailer he lives in with four dogs and assorted birds. Far out, dude!
Retired Master Sgt. Jerry Ensminger is the subject of "Semper Fi: Always Faithful," a searing and shocking look at what he discovered when investigating the death of his 9-year-old daughter from a rare form of leukemia: that the very organization that was supposed to protect its own -- the Marine Corps -- had been covering up one of the worst cases of toxic water contamination in history. The Sassistas! met Jerry yesterday and not only kissed him right on the cheek but also thanked him for his continued service to our country even in retirement.
All in all, it was the best DAY ONE in our SILVERDOCS experience, and we are very much looking forward to DAY TWO.
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