As the 2014 edition of the International Film Festival Amsterdam is drawing to a close with 300 documentaries, it is imperative to x-ray some of the most seen and preferred documentary films and which are also gathering massive patronage at the Doc For Sale, a leading market place for creative documentaries, offering video all year round and excellent networking opportunities for buyers and sellers of quality documentaries.
Some of these documentary are also been nominated for the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, which takes place on Friday in the city of Amsterdam, in preparation for winding down the two-week long international festival.
Finding Fela
Finding Fela, a music documentary from West Africa, Nigeria, is directed by a director of note, Alex Gibney, from the United States of America and edited by Lindy Jankura. The award winning documentary is one of most watched documentaries at the ongoing film festival. The artistic prowess of Alex has no doubt leveraged the revolutionary music documentary among the packs at the festival. The documentary is all about the late Nigeria Afro beat King, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, who is known for his mixture of funk, jazz, highlife and traditional Yoruba percussion. The Afrobeat originator was the Nigerian singer and saxophonist, who used his medium to denounce the corruption and dictatorial tendencies of the Nigerian government. The price he had to pay was high, because between the 1970s and his AIDS related death in 1997, he was arrested 200 times, his home was set on fire and his mother was murdered. But never gave up. The Broadway musical, Fela, produced by Jay-Z and Will Smith, catapulted Anikulapo-Kuti to posthumous global stardom. Preparations for the musical form the frame work for Finding Fela, with original footage intercut with Anikulapo-Kuti’s contemporaries.
Chameleon
Chameleon is another African content from West Africa, Ghana. The documentary, which was directed and edited by Ryan Mullins, is presently enjoying massive viewing at the festival. Many fell in love with the story line of a Ghanaian popular journalist, Anas Aremeyaw Anas, who made his mission to bring crimes and wrong doings to light and get perpetrators in jail through investigative reporting. He is famous and infamous for his unorthodox methods, going under cover in all sections of society and using cameras as well as a pen – his stories appears in print media and on TV. Some admire him while others criticize him. And over the years has made enemies. So whenever he is in the public, he always wears a mask or disguise. Few people have ever seen his face. He remains unidentifiable in this film, with a sect in an isolated village. The film even outside IDFA, will remain a test of time in any film festival across the world.
Something better to come
Something better to come by is another documentary to watch and has remained one of the most popular films at the IDFA following the artistic nature of the production by the director of the film, Hana Polak. The story hinges on Yula, who is just like a regular teenager in almost every way: she experiments with make up, dyes her blond hair red and then blond again, tries alcohol and cigarettes and falls in love for the first time. So far so normal, but her living conditions are extraordinary to say the least. Yula lives on the Europe’s biggest landfill situated less than 20 kilometres from Moscow’s city centre. On this unearthly place, trucks lifts drive and to and fro shifting an endless supply of garbage. Together with her mother, a handful of other children, drunkard and outcasts, Yula spends her days foraging in the filth for food, for shelter material and for something to do. The Director, Polak, an award winning director, has done quite number of productions such as Railway Station Ballad, Children of Leningradsky ,Warsaw Battle, Love and Rubbish, among others. With this latest production from Polak, the sky is her limit.
Of Men and War
Laurent Becue-Renard’s Of men and War is also making a statement at the festival. His good work has showed that Renard still has documentary films in his kitty. The French film maker used Of Men and War to tell a story about an American soldier under statement for post-traumatic-stress disorder at the pathway home explains how small he felt upon his return to the United States. It’s an experience shared by almost all the men in the therapy group. When they finally got home from the tour of duty in Iraq, they were no longer the same men whom their wives had waved off. Almost all of them have terrific tales to tell. Some are about friend lost, many about the deaths of the innocent Iraqis. The storyline of the documentary is revealing, which must have drawn attentions to the film
At 60 KM/H
Facundo Marguery, the debut director of the inspiring documentary, has proved his mettle with the flick. At all the cinemas where the film was screened at the festival, the tickets are always sold and not for anything, but for what Margurery was able to package. The story is all about a Uruguayan named Mario Sabah, who decided to realize a long time dream for his 50th birthday and tour the world with his old Citroen Mehari, a light weight all terrain vehicle, 600 c, two-cylinder and 28 HP, with a maximum speed of 60 kilometres at miles per hour. So he quit his job and fixed up the blue Mehari that once served as the family wagon. Together with a camera and his two sons, he then embarked on a 150,000 kilometre journey across 45 countries and five continents. During this tour from which many expected him not to return, he was faced with all forms of chaos: rain, heat, dirt and so on.
35 Cows and a Kalashnikov
While many have criticized the film, many have commended the effort of Oswald Von Richthofen, the director of the film, for a well done job. The film is presently one of the leading films at the IDFA. And the rush for viewing at all the designated cinemas at the festival shows the quality of the film. The film was shot in Congo Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo, and South Sudan. The film showcases lifestyles, which tradition, religion and modern African society intertwine. In beautiful images accompanied by remarkable texts, music and expressive editing, this triptych paints loving ,attentive portrait of African pride
The Final Stretch
The Final Stretch, a mid length documentary, is another most watched film at the festival. Oscar perez, the producer and director of the film, is now confident following the impressive turnout the film has recorded in the last few days of the festival. The story line is inspiring and revealing.