Documentary
Taming the Garden /2022/ Georgian
FiC Rating: 4/5Dir: Samlome Joshi The director opts to patiently capture the breath-taking process of dendrological disaster right from felling of giant tress, transporting it and replanting it in the arboretum of the tycoon. An unusual Environmental Documentary which shuns the conventions of the ecological doc: devoid of genre stereotypes, no political rallies to record the events, protests, opposition...
Samsara/2011/USA
FiC Rating 5/5
Dir: Ron Fricke
Why FiC Recommends?
1) A spiritual odyssey interspersed with spectacular images and meditative sermons, Samsara finds transcendence in the iconic architectures from the past, astounding natural landscapes and life’s vibrant rhythm in general.
2) Without uttering a word and solely relying on the staggering visuals Samsara pushes the boundaries of the medium and comes really close to echoing the heartbeats of our planet and for that Ron Fricke had to spend five years filming it on twenty five different countries in remotest of locations.
3) At it’s zenith Samsara reaches to a point where our existence, our spiritual tryst and mother nature converge together, it builds up a global togetherness
The Social Dilemma/2020/English
FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir:Jeff Orlowski
Why FiC Recommends?
1)Documentary that speaks about the dark side of social media unveiled by none other than the former employees of those social media giants.
2)The very idea of AI advent are always pictured with robots overtaking humankind or a war with an I robot but in reality its just as simple as you hovering over your social media wall.
3)Narration acompanied with a fictional drama makes it an interesting watch.
Boli li? Prvata balkanska dogma (Does it hurt? -The First Balkan Dogma) / Macedonian/ 2007
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Aneta Lesnikovska
Why FiC recommends?
1) “Does It Hurt? The First Balkan Dogma” builds a compelling story of both courage and deceit. The experimentation offers a special ‘look’ that does not leave you indifferent and that can provoke interesting debates and reflections.
2) The film was made in response to the 10th anniversary of the foundation of the Dogma manifesto. The film specifically highlights two things: In Macedonia, while arranging the idea of a dogme movie with fake situation which towards the end turns into a real film. The second issue is the secret filming with a mockumentary tone, where she captures the attention of the viewer through the use of both footage from the actual events involved and detailed re-creations with adding her narrative.
The Earth Is Blue as an Orange/ 2020/ Ukrainian / Russian
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Iryna Tsilyk
1) This is one of the best ode to cinema, a love letter to the medium which is superbly performed by everybody, although the cast is mostly non-actors.
2) Every member of the family has a passion for cinema, driving them to shoot, edit and screen a film inspired by their own life set against the backdrop of war in Donbass town (Ukraine) between 2014-2015.
Cuadecuc, vampir / 1971 / English / Spanish
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Pere Portabella
Why FiC recommends?
1) Cuadecuc, Vampir feels a lot like an ancestor of E. Elias Merhige’s Begotten (1990), blurring the worlds of horror and the Avant-garde.
2) ‘Cuadecuc, vampir’ is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Not only does it show how ‘The Count Dracula’ by Jesús Franco was made, but it hypnotizes, like you have landed yourself on the set and forces you to take advantage of it. It is also one of the favourite films of Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin.
Orozco The Embalmer (Orozco el embalsamador) / 2001 / Spanish
FiC Rating: 3.5/5
Dir: Tsurisaki Kiyotaka
Setting: Suburban/Small-town
Why FiC recommends?
1) Orozco the Embalmer’ is one of the most unrelentingly grim works in existence, the haunting evocation of the rigor mortis and its cadaverous expression ever made on film. This is an essential watch for the fans of Mondo films and Shockumentaries.
2) Tsurisaki Kiyotaka, one of Japan’s most infamous Pinku Eiga director/ death photographers, ventured into the Rue Morgue neighborhood of Bogota, which is one of the most dangerous areas of the Colombia’s capital.
Gates Of Heaven/1978/English
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Errol Morris
Why FiC recommends?
1) Documentary/Indie film on a pet cemetery may not sound appealing but Gates Of Heaven offers insight into the compassion humans feel for deceased animals, explores the meaning of life and death, and portrays fascinating characters throughout.
2) Werner Herzog dared to eat his shoe if the documentary was released in theaters. Later a short film was made of Herzog dining on his footwear titled “Werner Herzog Eats His Shoes”
Searching For Sugar Man/2012/English
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Malik Bendjelloul
Why FiC recommends?
1) Time and again documentaries have proven that real life can be stranger than fiction.This is one such story of two fans who set about to find their musical idol whose life is nothing short of an enigma.
2) The songs throughout the feature adds beautifully to the atmosphere of the proceedings and can be counted as another leading character in itself.
Mute Fire/2019/Colombian
FiC Rating: 4.5/5
Dir: Federico Atehortua Arteaga
Setting: Political
Why FiC recommends?
1) A mixture of personal trauma and Colombia’s traumatic reality, it digs the history of cinema’s origin in Colombia to fraternise with it’s ever turbulent political scenario and contains the subdued flame thriving inside Colombia’s soul.
2) This kaleidoscopic ride through images, archived and personal footages epitomise Colombia in a nutshell and this can actually change your perception of truth forever rewarding you with an epiphanic silence.
Gambling, Gods and LSD (2002)
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Peter Mettler
Why FiC recommends?
1) A three-hour experimental documentary trip around the world in search of transcendence in all its facets.It’s portrayed in such a way i don’t feel like I’m being sold anything or the story being too self-indulgent.
2) For the fans of Chris Marker, Herz Frank, Kenneth Anger, Frans Zwartjes, and Godfrey Reggio’s Koyaanisqatsi you will not be disappointed.
Davandeh (The Runner, 1984)
FiC Rating: 4/5
Dir: Amir Naderi
Why FiC recommends?
1) The most important film, sadly overlooked film that put Iranian Cinema in the spotlight after Dariush Mehrjui films.
2) Even its ending is very expressive. There is something inspiring about that ending and it makes me wanna do the same thing.
Supermen of Malegaon /2008/Hindi,Marathi
FiC Rating: 5/5
Dir: Faiza Ahmad Khan
Setting: Small Town
Why FiC recommends?
1) Aspirations don’t have any pre-conditions where it should arise from. A man from a small town wants to make movies and he makes it. He re-creates none other than ‘Superman’! He with his team runs a local movie industry.
2) It starts off as a funny take on the efforts by these amateur filmmakers, but slowly it starts growing on you and by the time it reaches the end you’ll be moved!