Alicia Wolf

[allielee03]

Everyone returns to the ground someday...why not grow new life from the remains?

A will for the woods (co-directed by Amy Browne, Jeremy Kaplan, Tony Hale, and Brian Wilson) follows a story about a man named Clark Wang who was diagnosed with cancer and wanted to arrange a green burial for himself. What exactly is a green burial, though? This is an alternative burial process that uses only biodegradable materials when burying the dead without embalming with toxic products. The burials usually take place in a natural setting, such as woods, with a rock or plant marking the grave. This allows for burial grounds to stay as natural settings, so lands do not have to be cleared into fields for burial.

This documentary was an inspirational way to inform the public about the green burial movement; using a dying man's wishes to inspire others to have natural burials is much more powerful than just following the movement itself. It was a very emotional look at his life and how he wanted to have his death mean something, and it really made you want to follow in his steps so that his wishes could be real.

With that said, I do wish the filmmaker allowed us to get to know the character a bit better. I feel like much of the film was just skimming through some of his life, focusing on his arranging of the funeral. The arrangements were important to the story, but I also think the audience would be more inspired if we got to know Clark more- everyone around him seemed so touched by his presence, and I didn't really feel that way at all. It was like the filmmaker was trying to inspire admiration for him through the admiration of others, and it really wasn't effective for me. All I really knew about him was that he really liked folk dancing and classical music, which didn't make his death a moving moment for me. 

I also think some more information about green burials would have been nice. They did a good job introducing the concept, but I would have liked to see more about the various techniques used, or maybe how burials are managed this way in other parts of the world. If I were to do this film differently, I would have incorporated this type of information throughout the film.

Finally, I think that actually showing the funeral at the end was a great touch. The film could have easily ended with him passing away, but actually showing his green burial kind of brings his ideas to life and gives the audience a live look at what a green burial is compared to a typical burial. Throughout the film you were left to just imagine the different things he was planning and discussing about green burials, and seeing it take place in the end helped to solidify everything.

[allielee03]

What do you do when the unimaginable happens?

This Time Next Year by Jeff Reichert and Farihah Zaman was a documentary film about the aftermath of hurricane Sandy in Long Beach Island, New Jersey a year after its occurrence. This film was very surprising to me because I never realized how long it took to clean up after hurricanes. There was still debris throughout the area and houses in ruins a year after the hurricane hit. It is hard to imagine not being able to live in your house for so long because it has to be fixed, and you can only go there to visit or do work on it.

I thought it was inspirational how one of the families just goes about their normal routine, and doesn't worry about when the house will be completed; they accept that it will get done eventually, and they don't want it to affect their normal lives. I also thought it was amazing how the entire town pulled together and helped each other rebuild their houses. Additionally it was nice to see the town generally continue to move forward even though the town was in ruins, especially when they still had a high school prom.

I think the purpose of this film was to show people how immensely a natural disaster can affect peoples' lives; most people don't realize how long it takes to recover and the amount of money, time, and effort it takes to rebuild your entire home and recover the things you lost within it.

I liked how the film started out with footage of Long Beach Island a year after the storm, and then flashed back to show you how the year progressed. I think this helped to do more than just call your attention to the seriousness of natural disasters by inspiring you with the sense of community that was displayed throughout the film.

[allielee03]

Ocean view off of Mount Battie at Camden HIlls Campsite!

[allielee03]

Buga-what?

This was another one of my least favorite films at CIFF; I was confused at several parts about what was going on, and I felt like everything was dramatized because there was nothing serious filmed. They all talked about all of the chaos that was going to happen and was happening, but we never saw any of it. I felt like we were watching a boy trying to get famous in a crazy town who isn’t even that good at magic, and a crazy old man who attached himself to this boy so he can get famous as well. I really don’t even understand why the old man was included in the film; yes, he was funny, but he brought nothing to the story other than to make us laugh at times and just make us utterly confused about what he is saying and doing the rest of the time. The storyline was jumpy as well. I guess I would have liked to see some more truth and other sides to the story, because I felt like most of it was made up or dramatized for the film. A as I said, we never saw anything on film that the people were discussing even though the filmers were there when it was all happening. 

[allielee03]

We need more of India’s artists, not less!

            Tomorrow we Disappear is a heart-touching film following the lives of some incredible street performers in Kathputli, India, the very last colony of India’s traditional artists. The filmmaker revealed the political controversy in Kathputli that is causing the street performers to no longer be able to do the things that they love: magic, puppet shows, acrobatics, etc. This film did an incredible job at tugging on your heart strings, because the identities of these people are completely being erased, and I could not imagine that happening to me. I liked how the filmmaker made you gain a liking for each character first by showing the audience their incredible talents, and then giving you glimpses of their personalities. Then, when the problem was presented, you had more sympathy for the characters, because you felt like you knew them and connected with them. If he had just followed the story of the problem they are facing in the beginning, it would not have been as effective. 

[allielee03]

I finally know who General Tso is!

The Search for General Tso was a very interesting, creative, and informative film. It was never dull or boring, and it didn’t just tell you where General Tso chicken came from, but it took you on a journey to figure this out; that was what I liked the most about the film. We were brought around the world, saw the different cultures and histories, and saw the histories of how these cultures were brought into our own. The filmmaker did a very good job at relaying this information; I think if it weren’t presented in the way he presented it, the film could have been simply informative, but not interesting. I think his idea to find the origin of this favorite American dish was ingenious, and is great knowledge for Americans to know!

[allielee03]

If you ever need a good nap...

Desert Haze was one of my least favorite films at the festival; the scenery was beautiful, but the storyline was a bit hard to follow, and the film was very slow. I think the problems that she was unveiling in the western US were interesting, but they jumped around a lot, and I didn’t really understand the significance of certain scenes. Her intentions were good; I think she was trying to show the west in a very different, untraditional way. When people think of the west, it is usually cowboys and gun slaying, like old western films. You never really think of the problems that were discussed in this film, and you don’t really think of the fact that people in the west lead normal lives that aren’t that different from our own. 

[allielee03]

Heroes are created when bravery ensues

Point and Shoot was a great film for its storyline; Matt’s story was absolutely incredible, and the filmmaker introduced him to the world as the hero he always wanted to be. The filmmaker’s technique in doing this was great. I liked how he first introduced Matt as an awkward man and child through his interviews and home movie clips, and then used a combination of his go pro videos and interviews to develop the change of his character. The filmmaker did a great job with showing Matt’s metamorphosis into “manhood”. I loved the scene where Matt was trapped in the war prison, because the use of animation reflected his confusion and delirium after months of being trapped in there. It really showed you how his thoughts were changing. I also liked how the animation was blurry when he was hit in the head, like he was fading in and out of consciousness. I also liked how he used the interviews to supplement the go pro videos, so you had a storyline to go off of, but he didn’t do this so much that it made the videos seem incomplete; it was all continuous. I think the film completely served its purpose: to show the world Matt’s story and fulfill his childhood dream of being a brave and adventurous man that every boy can look up to. 

[allielee03]

Okay, maybe my childhood wasn't that bad...

Waiting for August had an incredible storyline, and I think the filmmaker did a great job at revealing the life of lower class Romanians. I loved how the filmmaker just followed the children and let their story play out naturally instead of including herself by interacting with them; it gave the film a much more realistic feel. I think she included the perfect amount of emotion, and included enough about their lives to give us the perfect snapshot without being too invasive and detailed. I also liked how she stepped back and filmed from a distance when the children were interacting with their friends and other people outside of the home; it helped with the realistic and unobtrusive feel. Finally, the fact that the film was personal and close to home for her made it feel much more important to me; she was indirectly telling us a story about things she saw or experienced in her life, and wanted to share this with the world, which was sweet. It made me appreciate how hard those mothers work and the things that they give up just to give their children better lives. This made me appreciate the life I had as a child, because even though I consider my childhood pretty rough, my dad didn't have to give up so much to give my brother and I the lives we had. At least he was always around when we needed him, and we could be kids instead of raising ourselves. 

Photo: A little bit of music before Waiting for August

[allielee03]

Culture Shock

The Iron Ministry did a very good job at immersing you into the ways of the Chinese railway. The blackout at the beginning of the film was an awesome way to set the mood of the film, and it was a little suspenseful because the entire theatre was dark and you were just waiting for something to happen

I think the filmmaker’s other techniques were good in some ways, but not in others. For instance, the way he just filmed most of the time without talking to people and always had the background train noises be all that you heard made you feel like you were there on the train, but got a little boring at times. However, when he was talking to people, it kind of broke the “feel” of the film; you no longer felt like you were there on the train because it is apparent that there is someone behind the camera, but it also held your interest a little more.

I also liked how the filmmaker got up close and personal; he was invading the space of the other people on the train, but they didn’t even care. It just shows how everyone on the train is so packed in together that they no longer have a personal space, and you have to learn to be okay with that if you want to be on the train.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIQTx67YGpU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM9kBxF6im8#t=13

Finally, the fact that there was no storyline made you a bit lost at times, but kept a sort of air of mystery and left you wanting more information. For example, I kept wondering, why do people have carcasses on a train? And why are there so many people on this train, isn't that a fire hazard? There are people sleeping on the floors, why do they allow this?

  Overall, the film was a bit slow, which made it seem longer than it was, but it was a big eye opener and really immersed you into their culture.

[allielee03]

Kickoff CIFF!

Let Ciff begin with the Doc/Tech series!

Guest Speaker: Susan Meiselas (Magnum Foundation)

Guest Speakers from left to right: Rachel Falcone (Sandy Storyline), Sue Schardt (AIR/Localore), Tricia Finneran (Story Matters, Map Your World), Susan Meiselas (Magnum Foundation)

The presentations featured in Doc/Tech were an interesting mix of ways to include the public in art and media. I thought the most interesting thing was the extreme difference of opinions between Sue and Susan; Susan believes that photography is still the best way to reach an audience, whereas Sue is incorporating a lot of technology and a huge network of connections between radio stations to reach her audiences. It is interesting to see the difference in impacts of the old-fashioned media versus new media. I really liked the Map Your World idea as well, because it is a good way to allow children to see the impact they are making in their communities, and make their community problems a bigger picture and visible to the world.

[allielee03]

Friday Night Lights!

Photo of the pavilion of lights outside of the Friday night party. I had a good time listening to some music and talking to filmmakers and other students around the campfire!

[allielee03]

Expedition to the End of the World is a great documentary for its thought provoking capabilities. The filmmaker did not expose much about his intentions for this film, or what he was trying to achieve in making it; much of it was left to viewer interpretation. This really caused me to think throughout the entire film about what point the filmmaker was trying to make, and what I was supposed to take away from this film. I think he was trying to expose raw and natural beauty, which is meant to affect different people in different ways. I also think the information provided from the scientists and artists throughout the film was purely supplementary, to show the importance of the things he filmed, and allow the viewers to learn and think about some major controversial subjects surrounding the things he filmed. 

I really liked how the filmmaker focused the camera onto little details throughout the film. It was almost as if he were trying to portray that there is more to this place than just the big picture. I also liked how the filmmaker used dramatic music with dramatic scenes that quickly switched to softer music and vice versa. It broke up the silence a bit, and grabbed your attention. The bits of comedy between the crew members did a good job at breaking things up as well.

Finally, the film-making style was a great fit for this film; the entire film was centered around following a crew and documenting their research. It made the film more personal, and connected it to something real, tangible, and important.