New to VOD this week:
RESISTANCE IS LIFE
Director:
Apo W Bazidi
Premiere:
Cleveland 2017
Select Festivals:
SF DocFest, Hot Springs Doc, Dances With Films, San Diego, Mallorca, Heartland
About:
As Kurdish resistance fighters struggle against ISIS, refugee life is demonstrated through the eyes of an eight-year-old.
In the Kurdish city of Kobane, located on the border of Syria and Turkey, resistance fighters managed to defeat encroaching ISIS forces. Refugees from the conflict include Evlin and her family, who are shown in daily life in the refugee camp they’ve called home since. While the Kurds there celebrate the resistance fighters of the YPG and YPJ – male and female forces, respectively – Evlin snaps amateur photos of camp life, and offers wise-beyond-her-years thoughts on the conflict. The film cuts between these at times poignant but largely uneventful scenes and the resistance fighters, still defending their city, particularly the YPG, which saw the majority of victories. While quietly engaging and even hopeful in its celebration of Kobane’s resistance, the crisscrossing between refugees and resistance feels fragmented, and Evlin, while precocious, unfortunately isn’t compelling enough to serve as a focal point for an entire feature.
what (not) to doc 