what (not) to doc

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrow, Thursday, August 22:
ANBESSA

Director:
Mo Scarpelli

World Premiere:
Berlin 2019

Select Festival:
Hot Docs, Maryland, Mountainfilm Telluride, Woods Hole, Human Rights Watch, Berkshire

About:
A portrait of a rural Ethiopian boy as he contends with modern development.

10-year-old Asalif lives on the outskirts of Addis Ababa with his mother in a small structure with intermittent electricity. Sprouting up around them but financially out of reach for his family is a new complex of condominiums, whose inhabitants frequently throw out treasure that the creative Asalif scavenges to repurpose into lights and toys. At night, he hears hyenas in the distance, and during the day, he occasionally listens to tall tales from the older men at the local bar. In her likeable but too understated portrait, director Mo Scarpelli observes Asalif’s childlike wonder as he explores his rapidly changing environment, plays – and fights with – local boys, and, less successfully, injects a dose of magical realism by reimagining Asalif as a would-be lion – the film’s title in Amharic – on the prowl, defending his limited domain.

Coming to NYC’s Rooftop Films tomorrrow, Tuesday, August 20:
THE HOTTEST AUGUST

Director:
Brett Story

World Premiere:
True/False 2019

Select Festivals:
SXSW, Hot Docs, CPH:DOX, BAMcinemaFest, Sheffield, DOXA, Montclair, DokuFest, Open City Doc, Sarasota, Maryland

About:
An exploration of climate change and late-stage capitalism.

Filmed two Summers ago throughout New York City, director Brett Story’s film is a panoramic study of working-class anxieties. While semi-poetic narration occasionally is employed, the bulk of the film consists of everyday New Yorkers discussing things on their mind, touching on the economy, the environment, and other issues of the day, revealing a depressing amount of casual racism, cynicism, and ignorance that is meant to stand in microcosm for Trump-era America. While some of the unidentified subjects and their commentary – and the subtle links Story draws between them in the film’s edit – are compelling in their own way, their overall impact is muted by their episodic nature. As a result, the film succeeds in creating a sense of uneasiness, but not feeling particularly satisfying in the end.