what (not) to doc

Coming to HBO tomorrow, Thursday, October 24:
SAUDI WOMEN’S DRIVING SCHOOL

Director:
Erica Gornall

World Premiere:
GlobeDocs 2019

Select Festivals:
Margaret Mead

About:
After the ban on women drivers is lifted in Saudi Arabia, several women embrace this newfound freedom.

Since 1957, women were not permitted to drive in Saudi Arabia, the only nation in the world with such a ban. Women protested this restriction over the years, facing imprisonment and the loss of other freedoms. In September 2017, King Salman issued a decree that the ban would be lifted, effective in June 2018, though activists continued to be persecuted. Erica Gornall’s hour-long project references these continued abuses several times and profiles some activists, while also sharing the experiences of several everyday women whose lives will change with this expanded freedom. Among these stories are a car dealer who has been waiting to learn to drive for years; a chatty Uber driver who happily engages her mostly male customers in discussions around women’s rights; a racecar driver who has waited a long time to legally compete in her own country, and a middle aged widow who nervously but happily takes on driving to free her mother and herself from dependence on taxis and other family members for simple daily tasks. While these profiles are engaging, and the joy demonstrated is at times infectious, Gornall’s film wisely touches on deeper issues at play in Saudi society when it comes to restrictions on women’s liberty, chiefly the continued existence of guardianship laws. These laws position all women, regardless of age or marital status, as subservient to the men in their lives – their fathers, husbands, or brothers – and requires women to seek explicit permission to make major decisions including travel, education, and marriage. While the driving issue might seem resolved, the film makes the case that selective freedoms like this still remain partial and incomplete without full equality under the law.

Coming to theatres this Friday, October 25:
LIBERTY: MOTHER OF EXILES

Directors:
Fenton Bailey and Randy Barbato

World Premiere:
HBO (October 2019)

About:
A tribute to the Statue of Liberty.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to POV tonight, Monday, October 21:
BLOWIN’ UP

Director:
Stephanie Wang-Breal

Premiere:
Tribeca 2018

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, AFI Docs, DMZ Docs, Camden, Big Sky Doc, Hot Springs Doc, Antenna Doc, New Orleans, AFI Fest, San Diego Asian, Martha’s Vineyard

About:
A look at a unique NYC courtroom that assists sex workers and trafficked women.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres and to Netflix today, Friday, October 18:
TELL ME WHO I AM

Director:
Ed Perkins

World Premiere:
Telluride 2019

Select Festivals:
London, Hamptons

About:
After a teenager loses his memory following a motorcycle accident, his twin brother selectively retells their past.

In 1982, 18-year-old Alex Lewis woke from his motorcycle crash with his memory wiped, only recognizing his identical twin, Marcus. He remembered nothing else – not his strange parents, girlfriend, or any details of the past. Returning to their unsettling, sprawling home, Alex depended on Marcus to fill in the blanks. Soon, Marcus realized this presented an opportunity to edit their shared history, to benefit them both. In Ed Perkins’ film – which follows a 2013 book by the same name – Alex and Marcus speak directly to the camera, separately for the first two sections, then together for the emotionally cathartic third, relating this singular situation. Very well constructed as a mystery, and in some ways mirroring Alex’s own experiences of having to reconstruct the past based on only partial information, the film contains extremely disturbing surprises that are best experienced with no foreknowledge.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, October 18:
SERENDIPITY

Director:
Prune Nourry

World Premiere:
Berlin 2019

Select Festivals:
Tribeca, Doc Fortnight, Mill Valley

About:
A personal reflection of the filmmaker/artist’s work after a breast cancer diagnosis.

Prune Nourry is a multidisciplinary French artist, based in NYC, whose work in sculpture, performance, and photography has focused on gender, women’s rights, reproduction, and their intersection with science. Her feature film debut is part of a multiplatform project that included a Paris solo show and book, and is informed by a breast cancer diagnosis. Before beginning chemotherapy, she has her eggs harvested and frozen for potential future use. This eerily echoes projects she has completed in the past following other women going through the same procedure, and serves as the lead-in to a meditation on other past work, as well as her artistic response in the present, going hand-in-hand with activities related to her treatment. It’s a precarious balance between artistic survey and personal chronicle of a life-threatening disease, and, to Nourry’s credit, she manage this for the most part.