Me Rambling About Films

It’s been a while since I slept so well.  I slept peacefully, knowing I had a whole day of successful traveling and orientation to Park City on Sunday.  It’s wealthy from the ski industry and beautiful due to mountains.  The three documentaries and two short films I saw today have left me winded and inspired.

I saw The Square, Life According to Sam, The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear, Head over Heels, and Buzkashi Boys. All had Q&As with the filmmakers, crew, and sometimes actors.

The Square was my favorite of the day.  It was a documentary that followed the events of the Egyptian protests from the fall of Mubarak to current day.  What I appreciated most about this film was the fact that it was information disseminated through a different gatekeeper than an American news corporation.  Besides that, for being a doc, it had many qualities reminiscent of a narrative film.  It had an incredible story, it followed a few protagonists, and was beautifully directed for needing to be on the fly with a lot of shots.  I love when a documentary can have beautiful cinematography without the sacrifice of reality.  It didn’t feel superficial or staged despite being so pretty.  The cast and crew all found each other at “the square” where the protests played out.  That attests to the passion the filmmakers had for the story of the Egyptian protests that are still going on today. I got a photo with Khalid Abdalla. Super inspiring guy.

Life According to Sam followed 13-year-old Sam who has an extremely rare disease called Progeria.  It makes children age at an accelerated rate, leading to death before age 20 due to complications akin of elderly, like stroke or heart attack.  A beautiful and inspiring film, given the fact Sam has an amazing outlook and personality.  He left a recorded message for the audience saying thanks!

The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear gives an incredible view into life in Georgia, the country in Eastern Europe.  It gathers stories from individuals through an interview format as if the people in the documentary are being interviewed to become actors in a film.  The interviews themselves become the film, and then the viewer is given a quick peek into each of their lives.  By the end, I felt like I could grasp life in this country having originally known absolutely nothing about Georgia.

Watching three really emotional films in one day that all follow real people and real events is difficult! I love Sundance.