15. “What We Leave Behind”
Director Iliana Sosa pays homage to her grandfather 89-year-old Julián Moreno with her heartfelt documentary “What We Leave Behind.” Sosa documents his final 17-hour bus ride from Primo de Verdad, Mexico, to visit family in El Paso, Texas. He has taken this journey every month for years, initially to work as a bracero and later to visit his family. But now the elderly Moreno is done. He’s chosen to spend his final years building a house in Mexico that he can leave behind for his family. While Sosa’s doc is an intimate and poetic portrait of her grandfather, it also explores inexorable human bonds between Mexico and the United States. In tracing her grandfather’s story, Sosa explores the emotional, physical, and monetary costs of migration, the uneasy peace at the US-Mexico border, and generational diasporic experiences. Moreno is a man of few words but one whose impact extends far beyond himself. – MG
14. “I Didn’t See You There”
Shot entirely from the physical perspective of director Reid Davenport‘s electric wheelchair, “I Didn’t See You There” places the viewer directly into the world as he experiences it. A masterful way to highlight both the ableism Davenport faces every day and the beauty his unique perspective allows him to see as he navigates his life in downtown Oakland, California, and on a trip to his hometown of Bethel, Connecticut. Davenport’s narration brings his internal emotions to the surface, while his contemplation of the history and legacy of P.T. Barnum and the freak shows he pioneered adds a layer of context to the myriad ways in which Davenport is othered on a daily basis. Davenport’s poetic prowess behind the camera positions him as a rising artistic voice, while “I Didn’t See You There” serves as both a singular self-portrait and demonstrates the power of documentary as a form of activism. – MG
13. “Three Minutes – A Lengthening”
A stunning work of archival editing and research, Bianca Stigter’s documentary “Three Minutes – A Lengthening” takes a mere three minutes of color home movie footage shot by David Kurtz of the Jewish inhabitants of Nasielsk, Poland, in 1938 and unearths a world of memories, family histories, and even tragedies. Filmed just a few years before this community was torn apart by the Holocaust, Stigter and Kurtz’s grandson Glenn Kurtz examines every minute detail of the footage in order to identify the many faces in the crowd. The journey from identification to tracing the story of their lives is as compelling as can be harrowing. As antisemitism in this country is on the rise, films like this that celebrate Jewish lives while also reminding us of the horrors from the past are essential. Life is tenuous, and “3 Minutes – A Lengthening” shows us just how precious even a few moments can be. (our review) – MG
12. “Master of Light”
Black classical painter George Anthony Morton, the subject of Rosa Ruth Boesten’s soulful “Master of Light,” learned to paint while serving a 10-year stint in federal prison for selling drugs before studying at the Florence Academy of Art. Through interviews with the artist and vérité moments during his everyday life, Boesten uses Morton’s life to explore the socio-economic realities, inescapable cycles of trauma, and the state of mental health care in this country that shaped him. Through her light touch, the director eschews, reducing Morton’s sometimes painful history to merely degradation and struggle. Like the classical style of Morton’s paintings inspired by Rembrandt, Boesten finds his inner light, which always shines through. This is not a cautionary tale but the life of a man who has done the work in learning his craft and in healing himself. What makes the doc how it grounds Morton as an ordinary man whose talent leads him to redefine what it means to be considered a success, what it means to grow, and whether we ever honestly can, or should, leave our past behind us. (our review) – MG
11. “The Janes”
Tia Lessin and Emma Pildes’ timely film “The Janes,” about the Chicago abortion activists known as the Jane Collective, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in January, just a mere months before news leaked that the Supreme Court majority planned to overturn both Roe. vs. Wade (1973) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) in June. This ruling would set abortion rights in the United States back fifty years. Through new and archival interviews, the filmmakers trace the story of the collection’s direct action activism, which between 1969 and 1973 aided an estimated 11,000 women and girls in receiving safe and affordable, though illegal at the time, abortions. That many seeking these medical services were low-income and women of color, highlights that those who are most vulnerable in our society are most affected by the Supreme Court’s regressive ruling. What felt like a searing reminder of where we once were and how far we’ve come since became a rallying call to keep fighting. (our review) – MG
