Another fun filled day of activities, food for days and finally a full list of films to see today. On the list are five films, each one covering s different aspect or culture and the final culmination of my evening will be with the documentary from Morgan Spurlock on Comic-Con. As a prolific nerd and purveyor of geek culture, this will be the crowning achievement of the evening and festival.
I had a much start to the day and with a hearty breakfast from Main Squeeze (fantastic local/organic restuarant) and then a chai from Lakota, I realized that I actually had back to back to back to back films today, which started with a film that framed, gorgeously I might add, the heated debate over a community center that just happens to be located just 2 blocks from where the World Trade Center used to stand.
Building Babel @ The Ragtag Cinema
If there is one thing that I love about documentary films, it is that they can court controversy while maintaining and establishing an open dialog about the subject matter. We have seen it on the news and heard about it from politicians using the galvanizing language of “9/11 Mosque” or “Victory Mosque” and all discussion has been heated and one sided. Director David Osit set out to follow the early ground work of the Islamic Community Center called Park51, Osit documents contractor and developer Sharif el-Gamal and the controversy that he courts with a post 9/11 New York.
The film is a strong character driven story. Osit tried to avoid the pitfalls of making a politically charged film, rather he lets the natural progression of the development and struggles of the Islamic Center as it tries to bridge that divide between those that see Muslim and Islam as the enemy. At every turn they are seiged by biased news anchors, his inbox is filled with death threats and everyone seems to be out to stop the construction. It isn’t the outside factors that stop the progression, but we see that it is internal strife and leadership that leads the project off course. Sharif is a noble man, one who wants to bring the muslims of Lower Manhattan a place where they can come and feel like a community, a place where they have a safe haven, but while the intentions were noble, his lack of organization is shown to be the downfall.
Osit crafted a well done documentary that avoided driving the narrative and subject matter towards the political side. What we got instead is a gorgeous look at the man behind the most controversial development in the country. We learn about him and his intentions. We learn about how family and his wife shaped him into the man he is today. But most of all, we learn that through all his strife, his faith and resolve are never shaken. A wonderful way to start out the Saturday viewing schedule and a fantastic documentary.
The Waiting Room @ The Blue Note
Yet another controversial and poignant topic about our current system falls on to the shoulders of Health Care in this nation. Let’s make no mistake about this subject, it is incredibaly sad that in this great country of ours that people, citizens, are not able to get affordable health care or even have decent access to it. We have failed as a nation to provide the basic right of health to our citizens and instead of taking out the pitchforks and creating a bedlam of scathing expose, documentary filmmakers * decided to show what it is like for those that don’t have available health care. So run on sentences be damned, this was an incredible film that just let the stories and problems of those filmed drive the narrative.
This is the movie that John Q with Denzel Washington wishes it was. Instead of latching onto one patient or one over-dramatic subject, The Waiting Room gives us a view of one emergency waiting room in Oakland, CA and what goes on during one particularly busy day in the ER. There is no grandstanding from experts about how shitty our healthcare system is or statistical facts thrown out there to prove a point. The documentary and filmmaker Peter Hicks and Project Producer Bill Hirsch, let the stories of those they follow paint us a picture of what it is like to be an American with limited access to medicine. The Waiting Room is filled with a colorful array of patients and nurses; an anxious father worrying about the health of his daughter, a habitual patient who comes in and out of the ER far too often, a man with chronic ailments that force him to the limits of his little finances and a sassy nurse that keeps all the patients in check, while adding a bit of levity to the tense waiting room. We see people being wheeled in from accidents and people worrying about how they are going to pay their bills when the times come. All these people are just struggle to stay healthy, but are so left behind by the system that they can’t afford it.
The highlights for me that drive the brow beaten, uninsured folks is a patient who needs dialysis, but gets the runaround so much that he just says “fuck it” opting to forgoe the treatment as it is not worth all the heartache and hassle. But it’s not just about the patients, as the doctors that devote their lives to helping others is stressed and tested again and again. They take joy in the little victories, but seem disheartened when they lose a patient to trauma. We see them pushed to their limits when the system is holding them back from making the right choices and that speaks volumes about how fucked the system is.
The Waiting Room is one of the most effective films about our Health Care system that doesn’t just throw testimony after testimony at us, but lets the stories and anguish of those that live the system tell us all about it. To have the filmmakers grace us with the first ever showing of the film at the True/False Fest is a indicator at how amazing the Fest and seeing filmmakers wanting to showcase their projects.
The Vanishing Spring Light @ The Ragtag Cinema
Going into this movie, I had no idea what to expect. I read the synopsis beofre hand, but frankly any movie that showcases China in any light, I will be there to see. On that topic I might have to trade in a ticket for SS Red showing…hmmmm. The Vanishing Spring Light is directed by a gentleman called Fish, who has a real name but I like Fish a lot, and the documentary is acually part one of a four part series over a certain city in China and a particular street in China.
The Vanishing Spring Light is a focus on one surly old woman named Grandma Jiang, who operates a Mah-jongg parlor out of her home and deals with where her life is at currently. We are introduced to her as a chain smoking woman who openly talks about wishing she had died in a recent tumble down some stairs, a rather dark and ominous wish that seems to be closer to reality as the film progresses. This is a methodical and slow study about dignity in the era when China seems to be letting the past die off and the old are forgotten. The Vanishing Spring Light is an intimate portrait on family dynamics and the presence of death with Grandma Jiang, all while trying to have an outlook of the future that might not be real to her.
It’s a hard film to sit through, not because of the subject matter although for some it might be hard, but rather the film is a long, unedited endeavor that has a unique cinematic prsentation, although could benefit from editing. Lingering shots on Jiang when she is in the midst of pain, showing the agony and slow slipping of her mortal coil. But in these shots, we see humanity at its most vunerbale. A long and arduous film, but the persistence and character driven film makes up for the shortcomings of the documentary and frankly, I can’t wait to see the other three films in the four part series.
Detropia @ Globe Theater
Detroit has become this focal point for all the things that are wrong in America and the economy. It was a city that was/is the heart of the automotive industry, a sprawling city that was one of the fastest growing in the nation. Greed, capitalism, unions, labor, crime, and cheap labor has taken it’s toll on the once great beacon of industry, leaving it in ruins. When we hear about Detroit, it is never really a good thing. It is usually the latest news on what manufacturing company is movign their operations overseas or what company has folded up and laid off its workforce. It is a sad reality that we face and to tackle and show the damage that has been done to the city is left in the capable hands of directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady. These two directors tackles the controversial notion of Christian indoctrination and fanaticism with “Jesus Camp” and they take a beautifully touching and visually arresting look at the Motor City.
Grainy night time shots of Detroit are used to mask the despair and condition of the Motor City and when shown in the sunlight you truly see the damage that has befallen the city. Buildings in ruined, marked in graffiti and the empty lots of manufacturing plants that were once filled to the brim with auto workers making a living. The rough shots of landscape are filled with the stories and images of those that make a living there. We meet an auto worker union president who is just struggling to get his workers a livable wage along with keeping the plant from shutting down. A young blogger who is on a mission to document the decline of her city and looking for a future. A bar/restaurant owner who is putting out hope that things will get better and that the city will rebound and return to order. A government that is grasping at straws to fix their debt and keep everything from falling further down the whole. Every one in this city is shown as struggling, but their spirits are never broken, just bruised.
The directors created a unique patchwork of stories and struggles that highlight the state of Detroit and what it will take to get them back on their feet. While shot after shot of the documentary is gorgeous, it is marred with despair, only made all the more real with statistics that frame the downfall of Detroit. Through all the negative images, there is a bright spot that needs to be mentioned and that is the American Spirit. Through all the problems that the city faces, the people never lose sight of the fight and show pride in their city. Hope and pride are two things that can never be taken from them and that makes this film all the more powerful.
Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope @ Jesse Auditorium
Now we come to the final film of the night and one of the films that had me on pins and needles as the True/False Fest began. While I was supposed to see this on Friday night, a bit of serendipty led me to Saturday’s showing which would have Morgan Spurlock making an appearance as he didn’t come in on Friday. So with an opportunity to talk to the man who made a loving ode to geek culture, I will keep this short as my full review will cover all my excitement and praise.
I will say one thing, I have never smiled, laughed and cheered as much as I did in this movie, than all the movies I have seen put together. This is a movie made with love and care that spoke to the geek culture and established that yes, “Geeks will inherit the Earth”. Never have I been in a crowd so in love and onboard with the subject than this film and if I wasn’t cheering and yelling at every scene I might have shed a tear as to how touching it was to witness. Spurlock even brought on stage two of the films stars, Holly who was the designer/cosplayer geek and hometown native Skip Harvey who took to Comic-Con to show off his work and nab a comic artist job.
This too me was the highlight of the festival and I can’t wait to give this a full review once the Festival is over.
For now, I will leave you with some photos of my brush with fame.
CoMo native Skip Harvey
Design Geek Holly
Holly signed my Commander Shephard card
The man who made it all possible, Morgan Spurlock
