ARMED ONLY WITH A CAMERA: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud (USA 2025) ****
Directed by Brent Renaud and Craig Renaud.
The film follows the story of American filmmaker and journalist Brent Renaud, who was killed on March 13, 2022, while reporting on the war in Ukraine. After his death, his brother and longtime collaborator, Craig Renaud, brought Brent’s body and his final footage back to their home state of Arkansas. The doc features vérité footage from their reporting in Iraq with the Arkansas National Guard, the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the conflict in Somalia, migration routes from Honduras to the United States, and Brent’s final work in Ukraine. Brent often has the victims speak to the camera. This is emotional and often very hard to watch footage.
“The way you hold your camera…. It shows you are holding it from your heart. You and I, we can change this world.” These are the words of one injured Somalian in the hospital after his arm was blown off. The doc is a worthy tribute not only to Brent Renaud but to all reporters who risk their lives in their duty to inform the world of the atrocities.
THE DEVIL IS BUSY (USA 2024) ****
Directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Christalyn Hampton
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the challenges faced by abortion clinics and the people who work to keep patients safe escalate beyond belief, with often angry protestors who only see their selfish point of view. The film follows Tracii, the head of security at a women’s healthcare clinic in Atlanta, over the course of a single day, starting from the early morning when she is first on site. As new legal restrictions and constant protests surround the clinic, Tracii works to protect patients seeking abortions and other medical services, including routine checkups and preventive care. The film, being shot in a cinéma vérité style, depicts both the urgency and credibility of the current problem. The documentary shows the daily safety measures taken by Tracii and the staff, making the doc more personal by showing them checking the building for intruders, coordinating with security guards who escort patients, and using numbered systems to keep identities private. Tracii also shares her own background, supports nervous patients, and deals with protestors who gather outside. You just have to love the work Tracii and her staff are doing!
PERFECTLY A STRANGENESS (Canada/Chile 2024) ****
Directed by Alison McAlpine
Beautifully shot with an opening shot of donkeys at night, PEFRECTLY A STRANGENESS is a wordless meditation of technology and nature. The subjects of the doc are 3 donkeys. Donkeys are often depicted as abused animals in films, but in this doc, they (the dobkeys are also given star billing) have their day as they tour around an observatory, wondering what the hell is going on. Yes, there is extreme beauty in what can be viewed in this doc. The doc was largely filmed at La Silla Observatory, a European Southern Observatory (ESO) site in Chile, with some shots filmed further north at ESO's Paranal Observatory. La Silla Observatory is an astronomical observatory in Chile with three telescopes built and operated by the European Southern Observatory (ESO). Several other telescopes are also located at the site and are partly maintained by ESO. The observatory is one of the largest in the Southern Hemisphere and was the first in Chile to be used by ESO.
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