Coming to NYC’s Anthology Film Archive this Friday, March 2: WHERE ARE YOU TAKING ME?
Kimi Takesue’s singular and compelling exploration of Uganda was commissioned by the International Film Festival Rotterdam and had its world premiere there in 2010. The documentary also screened at other notable fests, including Los Angeles, MoMA’s Documentary Fortnight, and Planete Doc.
Uganda emerges as a diverse, multifaceted place in Takesue’s observational documentary. Eschewing talking heads, the film instead reveals a sense of place and its corresponding themes through a number of often extended static takes, with the camera trained on individuals, or on the hustle and bustle of city life in various locations, from a beauty parlor to boxing gym. At times, it seems her subjects may not know they’re being captured, while at others, Takesue receives a knowing look, or even a flirtatious wink – subverting common ethnographic approaches historically taken in documenting Africa. Even when the film handles thematic territory that is sadly all-too-common in films about many African nations – Uganda’s violent civil war – it once again does so in an atypical manner, with former child soldiers briefly relating their stories via voiceover as the camera presents their still faces in close-up. Expectations are constantly upended about where exactly Takesue has taken us and why, creating an engaging and curious interplay between the director and the audience throughout the film.
what (not) to doc 