In our Documentary competition section, picking just one or two films to recommend would be simply too difficult. Stories about dancers, bands, forgotten tribes or Filipino oligarchs will keep you in the cinema for the whole day.
The Kingmaker, dir. Lauren Greenfield
"I tend to work in a more hanging-out-with-the-character kind of way. And then you have this woman, who seems so charismatic and kind, and generous, only to suddenly start talking about her lovely friends, Saddam Hussein and Gaddafi. I needed to give some context to what she was saying, because when you are making a documentary, people believe that what you put forward is the truth. When I realised she is an unreliable narrator, I needed to bring in other people. That's her power – she is incredibly convincing" – said Lauren Greenfield on our festival blog."I think that’s what I have always been trained to do as a documentary filmmaker and as a photographer – you try to document and understand the people you are with. She is somebody who can laugh at herself but I never laugh at my subjects.”
143 Sahara Street, dir. Hassen Ferhani, Algeria, France, Qatar 2019, 100’
A tiny cafe in the Sahara. One table, coffee, omelettes. Malika the elderly owner listens to the stories shared by travellers. The film was a prize-winner of this year’s Locarno festival.
After Munich, dir. Francine Zuckerman, Canada 2019, 78’
The massacre during the Munich Olympics in 1972. For the first time, this story will be told through the eyes of four women directly affected by that day.
Born2Drive, dir. Daniel Fahre, Norway 2019, 88’
A fast and furious documentary about 15-year-old Oliver Solberg, the world’s youngest rallycross driver. A riveting film, even for those who don’t have much to do with cars.
Citizen K, dir. Alex Gibney, USA, UK 2019, 128’
The Oscar-winning director creates a film portrait of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and post-Soviet Russia, where nothing is true and everything is possible. Alex Gibney’s latest documentary was screened at the Venice and Toronto film festivals.
In My Blood It Runs, dir. Maya Newell, Australia 2019, 84’
Ten-year-old Dujuan is from the Arrernte indigenous people. He is a healer, a good hunter and speaks three languages, but the colonial school system only sees a backward Aborigine.
KULT FILM, dir. Olga Bieniek, Poland 2019, 80’
This is not a film about the band’s history. We watch them in a way that enables us to get closer to them. No one has been this close before.
Lil’ Buck: Real Swan, dir. Louis Wallecan, France, USA 2019, 85’
An exuberant documentary about an extraordinary dancer who combined a fluid street dance style from Memphis with classical ballet: Lil’ Buck, who has toured with the likes of Madonna.
Lonely Runners: Moving On!, dir. Martin Repka, Slovakia 2019, 82’
The story of the extraordinary friendship of three great Slovak modernist poets who formed the legendary literary group The Lonely Runners in 1963. A story of an inspirational friendship.
Never Happened, dir. Barbora Berezňáková, Slovakia, Czech Republic 2019, 80’
Once upon a time, in a Central-Eastern European country, the son of the president was kidnapped. A story about crimes committed in the newly established democratic Republic of Slovakia.
Our Little Poland, dir. Matěj Bobřík, Poland 2019, 70’
Every year a group of a dozen or so Japanese students decide to sign up for Polish Language and Culture Studies at the University of Tokyo. One of the tasks is to stage a play in Polish.
Overseas, dir. Sung-A Yoon Belgium, France 2019, 90’
A training centre for Filipino women deployed abroad to work as domestic workers. Among other things, they prepare themselves for the abuse they will likely face.
The Gift, dir. Giuliano Fratini, Italy 2019, 89’
In 1983, Andrei Tarkovsky is shooting Nostalgia in Italy when his permit to work abroad expires and he is required to return home. Instead, he decides to break with the Soviet Union.
The Kingmaker, dir. Lauren Greenfield, USA, Denmark 2019, 101’
Imelda Marcos, wife of the former president and dictator of the Philippines, is 90 today. Despite many setbacks, she persistently works to restore her family to greatness.
The Last American Colony, dir. Bestor Cram, Mike Majoros, Puerto Rico, USA 2019, 90’
Puerto Rico, which many see as the last colony in the Western Hemisphere, is still a US unincorporated territory. A moving story about the universal human need to fight for one’s identity.
Words Can’t Go There, dir. David Neptune, USA, Japan 2019, 89’
The extraordinary journey of John Kaizan Naptune, a surfer from California who became a master player of the shakuhachi Japanese flute and an innovator of this traditional instrument.
