Without Arrows (2025)- Familial Connections Anchor This Indigenous Documentary
releasing on DVD and on demand today, Without Arrows is the second documentary made by an indigenous director with a focus on the indigenous people and culture. Specifically, this takes a look at the family unit, exploring relationships and dynamics over a period of time. It is always interesting to see directors essentially turn the lenses on themselves, allowing either them or their family and friends to be the center piece of the documentary. Already in 2025, I reviewed Time Passages, which is a filmmaker putting his family dynamics on screen and using a span of time to show where he was, to where he is now. Last year, filmmakers explored themselves in a range of documentaries, including Resonator, Much Ado About Dying, Chasing Chasing Amy, and perhaps most notably, No Other Land. All these films have another thing in common. None of them have audio description.
So, I’m often left to the specific choices the director makes when cutting together this look into a family unit. For filmmakers looking to make their first foray, it seems like the easiest thing would be to turn the camera on what it is that you are most familiar with. That even led me to question whether the documentary Hummingbirds was really actually non-fiction, since it was made by two young content creators who are used to shooting videos that show their audience exactly what they want them to see. it is close to non-fiction, but even with that, aren’t all documentaries edited to construct a story? Even though I feel the directors of Hummingbirds probably did more staging than necessary, I’m still, once again, left with only the experience I get without audio description.
So why bother. Why do I talk about films I can’t fully understand or follow? Primarily because no one else is. While I really struggled with Without Arrows, to a point where I can’t even project what grade I might give it, I think it is important to at least create metrics for under the radar films and filmmakers. The critics that most of these directors would prefer to do a review of their work on YouTube are too busy chasing views to bother with most of the releases of the year, choosing only to tackle the most “of the moment” films and shows. That is one reason.
The other reason is that in general, more people in Hollywood need to be aware that blind people exist. In a day when diversity, equity, and inclusivity are being turned into the hot new curse words, what they represent and stand for is exactly what I am fighting for. Accessibility on a broader scale from Hollywood. While 17 states are actively suing for the constitutional right to discriminate against the disabled, it is still important for me to say “what about us?” When it comes to film. The reality is, a film like without Arrows had a low budget, and likely didn’t budget in audio description and (perhaps) captioning. Even if the filmmaker did, it would still be up to the distributor, to make sure that track made it onto all the video-on-demand platforms, and physical media releases. I understand all the reasons films like this don’t get audio description, for the same reason an indigenous filmmaker could write about the challenges in simply being an indigenous filmmaker making films about their own culture.
But that’s the thing, isn’t it? because within a week, I’ve seen two documentaries aimed at expanding the visibility and awareness of indigenous populations. And disability doesn’t have a specific age, sex, or ethnicity. So, regardless of whether you think your target audience might be a specific demographic, within that demographic, are blind and low vision viewers. So, if without Arrows isn’t necessarily meant to connect to me as a white male, someone who would identify as indigenous, or perhaps even match the same tribe, might need accessibility. they might be the ones interested, they just don’t have a platform to request it, or membership and recognition that it would matter.
It’s not really a review of without Arrows in the traditional sense, but it was without audio description, which would be a little like handing me the keys to a car and seeing what happens. Sure, I might be fine. It might be an open field with nothing to crash into. Or, I could be in the car for three seconds before I hit another vehicle. The range of being able to take away or understand a film as intended is so broad, sometimes this is the review.
Final Grade: Unwatchable Due To Lack Of Audio Description
