what (not) to doc

New to VOD this week:
LAST BREATH

Directors:
Alex Parkinson and Richard da Costa

Premiere:
Glasgow 2019

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs

About:
A commercial deep sea diver is stranded on the seabed with only minutes of air left.

In September 2012, diver Chris Lemons descended the North Sea on a routine maintenance operation for an oil well from the ship The Topaz. In the inhospitable dark and freezing water, Lemons’ literal lifeline is an umbilical cord stretching back up to the surface. When a computer glitch tears away the cord, Lemons has only five minutes of breathable air – but rescue is at least 30 minutes away. Parkinson and da Costa milk the suspense for all its worth, presenting Lemons’ story via interviews with his fellow divers and loved ones, archival recordings, and passable reenactments, all to to the purpose of misdirecting audience expectations as to the diver’s ultimate fate. It’s more or less successful, tapping into the survival thriller genre, even as it overplays the drama, and may find appeal among audiences not typically drawn to nonfiction.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, May 7:
NAILED IT

Director:
Adele Free Pham

Premiere:
CAAMFest 2018

Select Festivals:
New Orleans, Freep, Disorient, Asian/Asian American fests in Boston, Atlanta, Austin, and Seattle

About:
An exploration of the dominance of Vietnamese in the US nail industry.

The stereotype of the Vietnamese nail salon worker has spread through popular US culture via stand-up comedy and the like, but the truth at the heart of these often demeaning impersonations is that the Vietnamese community dominates the $8 billion nail industry both as salon owners and workers. Director Adele Free Pham, herself part Vietnamese, seeks out the reasons how and why this immigrant came to become so closely associated with nails, clunkily narrating and including herself within the film at times. She finds the answers in the influx of refugees from the Vietnam War and the surprising involvement of actress Tippi Hedren, intriguing history that is not developed sufficiently. Pham attempts to cover too much in this hourl-ong project, moving beyond the sociohistorical to (fleetingly) address present day issues that have dogged the industry in general, such as concerns over the toxicity of nail paints and other materials, and Vietnamese businesses in particular, including racist backlash and accusations of non-hygienic practices.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, May 6:
OUT OF STATE

Directors:
Ciara Lacy

Premiere:
Los Angeles 2017

Select Festivals:
Hawaii, Berlin, San Diego Asian, Hot Springs Doc, ImagineNative, Portland, Big Sky Doc, Thin Line Doc

About:
Hawaiian prisoners living in Arizona find an unlikely opportunity to learn about their heritage and themselves.

Due to lack of space on the islands of Hawai’i, many local prisoners are shipped off to Arizona to serve out their sentences in a private prison. In Ciara Lacy’s simple but at times poignant portrait, she focuses on three Hawaiian men who meet in Saguaro Correction Center: Kalani, who serves a life sentence; and David and Hale, who both have shorter terms. Kalani serves as a guide for both David and Hale, reconnecting them with native traditions through dance, songs, and history, and reawakening a sense of pride in their culture. Once both men are released and return to the islands, they struggle with the cyclical nature of the issues that found them behind bars in the first place. Taking on more of an intimate, personal approach than one that focuses on larger systemic issues of racial or class bias in criminal justice, the film may feel somewhat underdeveloped at times, but remains worthwhile for the cultural specificity it brings to issues around atonement and forgiveness.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Friday, May 3:
IN SEARCH OF GREATNESS

Director:
Gabe Polsky

Premiere:
Chicago 2018

About:
An exploration of the qualities that lead to athletic excellence.

I previously wrote about the doc here.