by Rosalie Kicks, Editor in Chief & Old Sport

Documentaries are such an interesting genre of filmmaking.

A filmmaker could spend literally their entire life creating a documentary. For some reason, I imagine documentarians as hoarders. Never willing to part with scraps as they don’t know if that will be the important piece to completing the puzzle. As someone that has made a documentary herself, I find the overall process to be an adventurous journey. One sets out to tell a particular story, but through the collection of visuals, interviews, and artifacts, the final product ends up being something drastically different from the original intent. This is truly a medium in which the editing plays such a pivotal role to the story the audience member walks away with. 

More importantly though, documentaries can be our window to the unknown and teach us about a life unlike ours. Here’s some documentaries I caught at the Sundance Film Festival and hopefully coming to a screen near you soon.

Fire of Love
Written by Shane Boris, Erin Casper and Jocelyne Chaput
Directed by Sara Dosa

This is a story about the love between two people and their shared infatuation with volcanoes. 

This was truly an interesting story. For over two decades the couple, Katia and Maurcie Kraftt traveled the world documenting their volcanic adventures and discoveries.Through the use of the dynamic duos’s archival footage, it is easy to see not just their passion for their work but for one another. I never thought about volcanoes much before, let alone ever having the urge to get near one. After watching this documentary I can confidently say that any further knowledge I learn of these erupting mountains will continue to be from motion pictures. 

I love that these two individuals found one another. It left me feeling that there truly is someone out there made for you. To each their own in regards to dreams, but how many can say they die doing what they love? I hope to never forget the dedication of the Kraffts.

Fire of Love will screen at this year’s South by Southwest Film Festival on March 11 and will be distributed later this year by National Geographic Films. 

Lucy and Desi 
Directed by Amy Poehler 

As a fan of Lucille Ball, I did not find that this documentary covered much new ground. However, if you’re like me (a fan of the “Ricardos”) this is one of those flicks that is simply mandatory viewing.

Lucille was one of the greats and I will watch anything and everything about her. What I enjoyed most about Poehler’s documentary was the use of old audio tape recordings from Lucy and Desi. It truly felt like they were speaking from the beyond.

Lucy and Desi will be released on Prime, March 4. 

The Janes
Directed by Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes

Sundance had a number of films this year regarding women’s rights, specifically in regards to abortion. Unfortunately, the topic is more necessary than ever given the current state of affairs. I managed to catch Phyllis Nagy’s narrative flick, Call Jane prior to watching the documentary The Janes, therefore, I had a bit of a primer going in. 

The documentary tells the story of a Chicago based group of women known as Jane, that assisted other women in obtaining safe, illegal abortions in the 1970s. With the use of flyers and word of mouth, they built an underground network that offered safe houses and an option for women that had no other place to turn. Overall, I think it is an important documentary, especially with what we are facing now as a nation in terms of a female’s right to choose. What stood out for me from both The Janes and Call Jane was that the reason for much of women’s suffering in terms of medical care is due to it being a male dominated field. I know this seems like something I should have thought about previously, but I guess it took being hit on the head to make me understand the nightmare of it all. Overall, I found The Janes got lost in itself a bit and bogged down with the details but one still leaves with a clear message: the fight is not over. 

The Janes will be released by HBO Documentary Films later this year. 

I Didn’t See You There
Directed by Reid Davenport 

This is a film that everyone should watch as it is likely to put you in an unfamiliar situation of those that much too often go unnoticed. 

After a circus tent pops up outside of Reid Davenport’s apartment complex, he felt inclined to not just tell his own story, but to share the history of those deemed “freaks”. As a visibly disaled person, Reid uses the camera to show his personal perspective and existence by filming from his wheelchair. This film was eye opening for me as it made me realize how often as a society we don’t take the time to think about others and often actively choose not to see them. Reid shares his experience of attempting to do mundane tasks that many of us take for granted, like crossing the street. 

His documentary shows that often his biggest obstacles are not the ones he was born with but the individuals he encounters each day.

I Didn’t See You There is still seeking distribution. 

Framing Agnes
Written by Chase Joynt and Morgan Page
Directed by Chase Joynt 

This documentary utilizes a talk show style format to share six unknown stories from the archives of the UCLA Gender Clinic in the 1960s. Various trans actors embody these six individuals from the UCLA gender health research study in order to share their accounts, but also had context to how it has framed them now in the present. 

I always find it wonderful to hear and learn about individuals that have had such contrasting experiences to my own. What made this documentary even more fascinating was the way in which it connects the stories from the past with those living today with the overall goal to open the door for other trans stories to be told.  

Framing Agnes is still seeking distribution. 

Sirens
Written and Directed by Rita Baghdadi

This documentary seemed confused as to what it wanted to be. 

What I was expecting was to learn about the first and only all-woman Middle Eastern thrash metal band, “Slave to Sirens”. Instead, it wound up being more about the relationship between the two guitarists and their journey of self-discovery and sexual awakening.

As much as I enjoyed spending time with these individuals, it was not the story I signed up for. The band’s tale took a backseat which I felt was extremely disappointing. Living in Beirut, Lebanon “Slave to Sirens” find themselves in an environment with constant turmoil and unrest all the while just trying to make the music that gives them a purpose. The filmmaker managed to only scratch the surface, leaving much of their adventure untold. Part of me wonders if the initial intent was to document the band but, through the course of filmmaking, this other story emerged. 

Sirens is still seeking distribution.