The year of 2016, for good or for bad, is coming to an end. There are many ways to reflect on a year gone by – and one of them is by appreciating the art that was made during it. So here we present you with three magnificent pieces of non-fiction cinema which, each in its own way, ponder on an array of transcendental themes and questions about today’s world.
1. 13th
This fierce and brilliant piece of work is titled after the Thirteenth Amendment of the United States Constitution, which literally reads that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States”. Directed by Ava DuVernay, the documentary gives a meticulous account on the history of systemic racial abuse in the United States. To get its point across, it uses well-sourced archive material and stirring interviews of figures such as Angela Davis or Jelani Cobb. With a wide array of relevant data and a powerful selection of soundtrack and visuals, DuVernay’s message is clear: through mass incarceration, slavery is still alive and well in the United States.
2. Cameraperson
This is a documentary about documentary making. Cameraperson is a memoir of the acclaimed cinematographer Kirsten Johnson’s own footage and life. Through a thread of outtakes and offhand clips, the film is the raw account of Johnson’s process to achieve other documentaries of sometimes beautiful and sometimes harsh realities – but with a behind-the-scenes feel to it and a jumbled style. With imperfect shots and interfering sounds, she shows the human within the professional. In that sense, we also take a peek into her personal life, with scenes relating to the loss of her mother, who had Alzheimer, or her own experiences as a mother of twins. In this way, the movie is an intimate story of the world told through the eyes of someone who grows to feel like a friend as we watch on.
3. Fire at Sea
Directed by Giafranco Rosi, Fire at Sea portrays life in the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, where migrants from Africa and the Middle East arrive by the hundreds in overly crowded and precarious boats. It alternates scenes from the everyday life of an Italian little boy, Samuele, with the witness of the local doctor that treats the migrants at the shore and with scenes and stories from the refugees themselves. The documentary, filmed in fixed camera positions and no narrative voice over, contrasts the mundane with the astonishing through an organic and bare look. It also leaves a sense of continuity: the same sea that local fishers have feared of sailing during war time, is also the sea where hundreds die running from the horrors of conflict. As one Nigerian refugee exclaims in a scene, “the sea is not a place to pass by… the sea is not a road… oh, but today we are alive! It is risky in life not to take a risk, because life itself is a risk”.
So there you have it; some 2016 introspective films for you to watch over this winter break while the skies are dark and the freezing wind is blowing outside your window. And, of course, if you have any other documentary recommendations, leave them on the comment section below!