REAL-LIFE DRAMA, HISTORY, TRAGEDY ON FILM
This silent documentary from 1922, a period when the lines between fiction and non-fiction in cinema were still only barely there, is a delight. Director Robert J Flaherty followed an Inuit family in the Canadian Arctic as they fished, hunted and went about their lives. Nearly 100 years on, it’s a fascinating study of an unusual lifestyle, as well as of filmmaking at that time. You can watch Nanook of the North on Youtube.
Among the first non-fiction films chronicling the pandemic, Epicenter zooms in on where the Covid-19 outbreak began and Wuhan city's efforts to contain it. The 50-minute feature looks at the human side of the fight. The race to establish lockdowns (just before the lunar new year), healthcare workers (many only children with ageing parents) deployed into action and the first signs of worry over what has become a global, invisible threat. Available on Docubay.
This 2020 documentary puts forward new facts about the murder of civil rights leader Malcom X, that resulted in the reopening of the case 54 years on. Directors Rachel Dretzin and Phil Bertelsen follow the work of Abdurrahman Muhammad, a historian and tour guide in Washington, DC, who investigated the assassination for 30 years. Watch the film on Netflix.
This nine-hour film is one of the most immersive experiences of the horrors of the holocaust. Director Claude Lanzmann interviewed survivors, witnesses and perpetrators over 11 years. Released in 1985, it was a huge critical success, hailed as a masterpiece. Shoah is available on Youtube.
This 2010 film by American documentary maker Michael P Nash attempts to examine the consequences of countries running out of food and water as a result of natural disasters associated with climate change. The story builds, with inputs from activists, politicians and local populations in areas already hit by rising sea levels and storms of growing frequency and intensity, as the filmmaking team travels across 48 countries. Watch it on Mubi.
Plays from the UK’S National Theatre (youtube.com/user/ntdiscovertheatre): The UK’S preeminent theatre body is running the National Theatre At Home campaign on its Youtube channel. Through April and May, it will stream one play every Thursday. They’re starting with One Man, Two Guvnors (a lovely chance to see a young James Corden). There’s also Jane Eyre, Treasure Island and Twelfth Night on the cards. Plays stream at 7pm GMT, which is roughly 12.30am on Friday mornings
British filmmaker Asif Kapadia’s 2010 documentary on the Brazilian motor-racing champion Ayrton Senna was made for everyone, sports fan or not. The struggle for safety, the complex dynamics of competitive sport and big money — it all makes for a riveting watch. Senna is available on Youtube.
Text by Dipanjan Sinha and Rachel Lopez