Documentaries wield power
Inform your social conscience from your couch
Filmmaker Elise Pearlstein shared one of the documentaries she produced with her kids — and they promptly stopped flushing the toilet.
The doc, Last Call at the Oasis, is a compelling look at water use and issues throughout North America. And Pearlstein, senior vicepresident of documentary films with Participant Media (the company behind An Inconvenient Truth), told us it had a colossal impact on her preteens, who are now keen to conserve the precious resource.
Great docs introduce us to global communities and conundrums we may never have considered. They turn passive screen time into an opportunity for social action — or at least enlightenment. And they’re instantly available on online. (Yes, there’s a higher purpose to Netflix than binge-watching Friends.)
It used to be that only film connoisseurs were in the know about exclusive festivals featuring informative films. But documentaries have gone mainstream.
Now you can inform your social conscience from your couch. To prove it, we talked to Pearlstein, who also produced Food, Inc., and Katarina Gligorijevic, a Canadian film producer and consultant with Reel Canada, a non-profit that shows docs in classrooms.
These pros shared their top picks for documentary films that will expand your family’s world view: Sharkwater: Gligorijevic says this award-winning Canadian documentary, about the practice of finning sharks, is among the most popular that Reel Canada screens in schools. “It has led to advocacy, which is what good docs are supposed to do,” she says. Indeed, conservationists say the doc played an epic part in banning shark finning in many places around the world, including the European Union in 2013. Prom Night in Mississippi: This Canadian-U.S. doc looks at a group of Charlestown high school seniors as they prep for the city’s first non-segregated prom in 2008. Canadian director Paul Saltzman made the film with his own money because he was so passionate about exploring racial tension in this town. Mighty Jerome: Have you heard of homegrown track star Harry Jerome? Not many people have. That’s why Gligorijevic thinks we all need to watch this doc. Once clocked as the fastest man in the world, the black B.C. athlete overcame racism and then a severe leg injury in the early 1960s that doctors said would leave him unable to compete again. He defied those predictions and won the bronze medal in the 100-metre finals at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, making Jerome a Canadian hero. The Times of Harvey Milk: This is the film that inspired Pearlstein to go into the documentary business. She watched the doc — about the career and assassination of San Francisco’s first elected gay councillor, Harvey Milk — when she started film classes. Pearlstein says it showed her how film could bring pressing social issues to a broad audience. To Russia With Love: Another good pick for those interested in LGBT issues, this film looks at violence and discrimination against gay athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Filmmakers question whether participating countries with gay-rights legislation at home turned a blind eye to what was going on in Russia. He Named Me Malala: Participant Media is a partner on this documentary (with Image Nation, National Geographic and Fox Searchlight), so Pearlstein has had a sneak peek at the film, which will be in theatres Oct. 2. The doc is an in-depth look at the life of renowned girls’ education activist and the youngestever Nobel Peace Prize winner, Malala Yousafzai.
“You see Malala joking with her brother, talking about soccer, having a hard time with some school subjects — but also how incredibly heroic and inspirational she is,” Pearlstein says. “I think it will open kids’ eyes to the importance of girls’ education globally.”
Now it’s your turn to play film critic. Which lifechanging documentary would you add to our list? Brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger founded a platform for social change that includes the international charity Free The Children, the social enterprise Me to We and the youth empowerment movement We Day. For Postmedia News