Exciting news! I am introducing a new element to our chashama viewing experience: the perspective of the filmmaker. While my commentaries and interpretations remain the central driving force behind the blog, the opportunity to learn the filmmaker’s intentions will enhance our understanding of the film’s purpose and provide background to the creative process. Today, I’m looking at the historically educational documentary “Virtual JFK” and the disturbingly comedic “Le Chat Noir.”
Koji Masutani’s “Virtual JFK” provides a new angle on history in a look back to John F. Kennedy’s presidency: the “what if” angle. The film stimulates an onslaught of alternative possibilities to widely held historical interpretations. It’s a smart documentary that could be used as a supplemental learning tool for educational purposes, with the potential to encourage and excite discussions in and outside the classroom. Masutani hopes the audience will “consider the possibility that a devastating war in Vietnam could have been avoided had Kennedy not died in 1963 and had been re-elected in 1964.”
“Virtual JFK” is Koji Masutani’s first non-student film. It took him three years to gather never-before-seen footage and never-before-heard audio from the Kennedy administration. His documentary will get history buffs all tingly and eager to speculate over “what if.”
Tristan Convert’s “Le chat noir” is a lot of fun to watch. It has an Edgar Allan Poe-meets-Twilight Zone edge to it. It is filmed well and incorporates various shots that entices the audiences to voyeuristic activities. The lack of a dialogue is not unnerving since it’s not needed to convey the plot. Not to mention the music soundtrack. The Savage Resurrection’s psychedelic rhythms and lyrics add to the film’s heightened tension. The best part, though, is the actor. He’s hilarious with his obsession with his toy train set, a psycho and annoying black cat. This film will remind people why a dog is a man’s best friend and how it is bad luck for a black cat to cross your path.
Convert explains the genius—and perhaps madness—behind the creation of his film, “Le Chat Noir:” it was his first time experimenting with a “dysnarrative story based on images, feelings and ambiance, in a thriller/funny/horror genre.” His style involves jumpy continuums and psychologically induced horror. He wants it to be an interactive movie where the audience “feels more than just sitting in the front of a show.”
Last week, I had the privilege to screen some of the amazing entries to the chashama Film Festival. And here I thought life after college would be boring! I just learned that those four entries were accepted into the festival. Exciting, right? I’m so impressed by how multicultural the festival is. Of the four films that I wrote about last week, “Marathon Beirut, For the Love of Lebanon” hails from a filmmaker in Asia, “But Some Are Brave” is from a filmmaker in Africa, “Ein weites Feld (Expansive Grounds)” was made by a filmmaker in Europe, and “Dirty Step Upstage” comes from a filmmaker in the USA.
Now that the films selected for the festival have been announced, I have the official green light to begin our chashama experience. Remember, I am serving as your awesome, all-knowing film guide. So, without further ado, here is a look into “Her Special Day.”
Written and directed by Casey Moore, “Her Special Day,” is an American short film that will send chills rippling down your spine. It’s not Freddy Krueger scary, but definitely “The Omen” (1976) creepy. The opening scene recalled a particular passage from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein where the monster comes across a little girl playing by the lake. The film also opens with a little girl playing near a lake, and the entire time, I was half-expecting Frankenstein’s monster to sneak up from behind! Throughout the film, you’re bothered by an uneasy feeling that something is clearly wrong. I don’t want to say anything spoiler-y. I will just end off by warning you, that after watching “Her Special Day,” you will feel the need to constantly look over your shoulder – and keep a close eye on your parents.
The best part of this job is that I get a sneak peek at some of the exciting entries to this year’s festival. This past weekend, I curled up on my couch and watched two documentaries, a short animation, and one feature film. I’m biased towards the horror/thriller genre, so my personal fave is “Dirty Step Upstage.” Director Amber Moelter keeps the viewer guessing: is it a real documentary or a fictional thriller? It reminded me of Jacob Aaron Estes’ gritty and brooding “Mean Creek” (2004). Both films share a sense of suspense and mystery that ooze through the films. The characters are ominous, secretive, and oblivious, driven by obsession, fame, and revenge. With all the proper thriller elements in place, a slow documented pace adds an underlying tension to the film. The visuals are supplemented by a soundtrack that is both memorable and infectious.
“But Some Are Brave,” an animated short, reminded me of the films shown on PBS. Grace Channer added raw and dark elements to her animation that would probably prohibit it from being aired on TV. Definitely more appropriate for a mature, adult audience. The short is vividly colorful with no dialogue, and the sounds recall the drumming often heard during folklore storytelling. Channer’s animation has the cool appearance of moving paintings. Without words, the viewer is left to interpret each scene in his or her own way.
The documentaries transport the viewer across seas to Germany and Lebanon. Gerburg Rohde-Dahl’s “Expansive Grounds” documents the construction of the massive Holocaust memorial in Berlin, Germany, and explores the current German perspective about the Holocaust. Behind the lens is the daughter of a Nazi supporter. The documentary provides a channel for her and other adolescents of the Nazi regime to express their disillusions and ignorance regarding the Holocaust. Like the massive memorial, the documentary represents another symbol for the German guilt.
Deborah Harse’s “Marathon Beirut,” also touches on political unrest and how people learn to cope. Footage and interviews illustrate the motivation behind the creation of the marathon, and how the love for Lebanon keeps the marathon going. This documentary inspires hope and demonstrates love for a country.