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CategoryShort Films

Posted BIPOC

AFI Fest: Golden Age Karate

From a very young age, Jeff Wall showed that he had the chops to be an athlete. When his mom enrolled him in karate classes he thrived. He won pretty much every competition he entered into and quickly moved up the ranks to earn his black belt. It wasn’t enough to just compete, he wanted to share his love with others. In Sindha Agha’s short film Golden Age Karate, we see Wall teach karate to elderly residents at a local nursing home. He empowers his students by teaching them something new and helping them get in tune with their bodies. This delightful and heartfelt documentary short is a glimmer of hope in an era of generational strife.

Golden Age Karate premiered at the 2021 AFI Fest as part of their Meet the Press programming.

Posted BIPOC

Double Exposure Film Festival: Elena

Elena is a 20-something social worker living in the Dominican Republic. She’s the daughter of a Haitian sugar cane worker and is struggling to get her government issued ID so she can continue her work. An ID would allow her to vote, give her more rights as a citizen and open up educational and career opportunities for her. But there is a deep-seated animosity that Dominicans feel towards Haitian immigrants. It’s one that is deeply entrenched into the history of the Hispaniola and is not changing anytime soon.

Directed by Michèle Stephenson, Elena is a moving short documentary about the strife between Haitians and Dominicans as told the story of one woman. I’m half Dominican and have studied the history of my mother’s homeland over the years. Anyone who has read Edwidge Danticat’s The Farming of Bones or knows anything about Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo’s  government imposed massacre of Haitian immigrants will know that this has been a longstanding problem on the island. For others, Elena will serve as a gentle and worthwhile introduction to this ongoing conflict. Stephenson chose a great subject for this poignant documentary. I was thoroughly invested in Elena’s story and by the end felt I like I made a new friend.

Elena was part of the 2021 Double Exposure Film Festival.

Posted Documentaries

Double Exposure Film Festival: The Vet Van

Directors Sarah Jenks and Lizzie Mulvey new short documentary The Vet Van follows two low income families as they receive help from a local vet mobile. Lucy the yellow lab is dropping weight quickly. Tabitha has just been diagnosed with Parvo. Their humans seek help from the vet mobile which offers the most affordable options. These dogs bring so much joy to their respective families. But what happens when these much beloved dogs get seriously ill, and treatment, even at a lower rate, is still too expensive?

The Vet Van packs an emotional punch. It’s impossible to watch without shedding a tear or two. In just 30 minutes, the documentary does much to shine a spotlight on an unregulated industry and the low income families who pay the biggest price.

The Vet Van is part of the 2021 Double Exposure Film Festival Short Cuts program.

Posted Documentaries

SXSW: Sophie and the Baron

Directed by Alexandria Jackson, Sophie and the Baron is a sweet documentary about an intergenerational friendship that developed into a unique artistic collaboration. Baron Wolman was Rolling Stone’s first chief photographer. Throughout the 1970s he captured iconic images of Woodstock and performers like Johnny Cash, Jim Morrison, Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, just to mention the Js! Sophie Kipner is an artist who specializes in blind contouring. For Wolman photograph was a means of quieting the chaos. For Kipner, blind drawing was a way to get out of the way of her own artistic expression. These two artists unite in a one-on-one collaboration where Kipner reimagines Wolman’s photographs through her unique art style.

Sophie and the Baron is simply  a delight! And I would love to see a full-length documentary on Baron Wolman’s career.

Sophie and the Baron had its world premiere at the virtual 2021 SXSW Film Festival. Visit the official website of the film for more information.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Slamdance: I think it’s enough, isn’t it?

As the COVID-19 pandemic rages on and the number of deaths rises, we’re quickly becoming numb to the tragedy. We have to remember that the people who’ve died are not just statistics. They were individuals with friends and families, with hopes and dreams. These are people who still had a life ahead of them only to have it ripped away by the virus.

Director Emily Shir Segal brings one story to light with her four minute short film I think it’s enough, isn’t it? She narrates the story of how her father came to die of COVID as we watch home videos of them from years past. The juxtaposition between images of happier days and the story of a sad and lonely end aptly demonstrates just how cruel this pandemic truly is.

I think it’s enough, isn’t it? screened as part of the virtual 2021 Slamdance Film Festival.