New to VOD this week:
BAREFOOT: THE MARK BAUMER STORY
Director:
Julie Sokolow
World Premiere:
Heartland 2019
Select Festivals:
Washington DC Environmental, Omaha, Rhode Island, Cinequest, Byron Bay, Tallinn Black Nights
About:
An activist attempts to walk barefoot across America to raise awareness about climate change.
As the US presidential election was heating up in 2016, Mark Baumer, a young artist/poet and climate change activist living in Providence RI decided to try to get attention for the serious threat of climate change through a sacrificial barefoot walk across America. With self-deprecating humor, he made short videos about his experience on a blog, acting crazy, showing off the wear and tear on his feet, interacting with people along the way. Intercut with his videos are developments in the election as he goes along his journey, with Mark responding to Trump’s win and horrible cabinet choices for energy and chief of staff. On the day of the presidential inauguration, the 100th day of Mark’s journey, he was killed by a driver who swerved into the shoulder where he was walking. Sokolow benefits from Mark’s self-documentation – though his videos are annoying and a little of them go a long way. While Mark’s story is tragic, it’s also fairly straightforward and, as a result, it struggles a bit to sustain feature treatment.
what (not) to doc 