Next week the One Take Film Festival kicks off its third year
of celebrating documentary filmmaking, with four days of nonfiction movies,
music, discussions, and parties. The festival spawned from The Little’s ongoing
One Take documentary film series, and presents a varied and enlightening lineup
curated by Program Directors Linda Moroney and Bri Merkel.
The range of
subjects covered in each installment of the OTFF collectively offer a snapshot
of where we are as a culture through the societal issues we face. This year’s
theme, “nothing but the truth,” centers on the continued quest for truth in a
time when the facts seem to grow murkier each day.
“Truth is
our theme this year, just as it seems to be for our entire country right now,” Moroney said in an interview with CITY. “Unlike Hollywood
films, documentary shows us truth in all of its complicated, challenging, and
nuanced glory. We get to be active participants in these movies. And yes,
documentary films are movies!”
And just
like the hunger for documentary films themselves, the festival has grown each
year, Moroney said. “This year we have more films,
more sponsors, more community partners, more venues.”
But the
films themselves remain the stars of the show, and they’re sure to give
audiences plenty to chew on — with the hope that viewers will continue to
digest what they’ve seen over some post-film cocktails and conversation.
The festival
also continues its tradition of spotlighting alternative forms of nonfiction
storytelling, in past years exploring the possibilities of VR filmmaking and
this year diving into the world of podcasting with the “Ear Docs” panel discussion on Saturday, April 27.
And in a
festival first, One Take will be premiering “The Biggest
Little Farm” with a live score performed by Emmy-winning composer
Jeff Beal, leading The Empire Film and Media Ensemble. That screening, at the
Eastman School of Music will be followed by a Q&A moderated by film critic
Jack Garner. Note: due to the venue, seating for that event will be limited.
What follows
is just a taste of the festival’s offerings for 2019. For more information and
a full schedule of films and festival events visit otff.org.
The riveting
“Midnight Traveler” follows the
journey taken by Afghan director Hassan Fazili’s after
the Taliban put a bounty on head, forcing him to flee the country with his wife
and two young daughters. Shot entirely with the family’s smartphones, the
intimate and emotional film puts a vital human face to the refugee crisis.
Producer and co-director Emelie Mahdavian
will participate in a Skype Q&A following the screening. (Thursday, April
25, 6:30 p.m.)
Penny Lane’s
provocative and very funny film about the Satanic Temple, “Hail Satan?” finds this likeable collection of rebels and
outcasts to be far less interested in devil worship than in fighting against
tyranny wherever they see it. The group’s valiant efforts to uphold the
separation of church and state in particular has made them the scourge of evangelical
Christians everywhere, as they battle against the religious right’s attempts to
enshrine America as a Christian nation. (Thursday, April 25, 9:30 p.m.)
Alison Klayman’s “The Brink” observes the infamous Steve Bannon over the course of about a year, beginning
when Trump fired him from his position as White House Chief Strategist and
concluding with the 2018 midterm election. The picture it paints of the
conservative political firebrand is as fascinating as it is troubling. (Friday,
April 26, 6:30 p.m.)
As someone
whose skin starts to crawl whenever I hear the term “social media influencer,”
I admit to being somewhat apprehensive about Liza Mandelup’s “Jawline,” which focuses on Tennessee
teen Austyn Tester and his quest for internet stardom. The compassion with
which Mandelup tells this story goes a long way,
showing Tester to be a well-meaning (if fame-hungry) kid who sees social media
celebrity as a means to escape a dead-end life in his rural hometown. (Friday,
April 26, 9:15 p.m.)
With “Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am,” director Timothy
Greenfield-Sanders uses archival footage and interviews with contemporaries —
as well as Morrison herself — to deliver a stirring portrait of the
trailblazing writer through her life and literary works. A panel discussion
with WOC Art Collaborative members Tamara Leigh, Tianna Maรฑรณn,
and Delores Jackson Radney will follow the screening.
(Saturday, April 27, 6:30 p.m.)
“The Proposal” chronicles the efforts of artist-turned
filmmaker Jill Magid to create an exhibition inspired
by the late Mexican architect Luis Barragรกn, a task
that proves more challenging than anticipated when she discovers that Barragรกn’s entire archive of professional work is owned by
one woman in Switzerland. What follows is a compelling examination of art and
accessibility. (Sunday, April 28, 12 p.m.)
This article appears in Apr 17-23, 2019.
