Mmm…South Australian salt flats….
As ever, be sure to refer to our comprehensive, super-sweet, blah blah &c. guide to Silverdocs for all your documentary needs!
Opening tonight:
Act of God, in which people who’ve been struck by lightning proffer “anecdotes [that] may have you zoning out between crashes of thunder,” Tricia Olszewski reports.
Intangible Asset No. 82, about a quest to find South Korea’s greatest drummer. Justin Moyer calls it “a testament to the power of music and mysticism.” Harrumph!
Ella Es El Matador, a film about female matadors that centers on the charsimatic Maripaz Vega. Sarah Godfrey says: “It’s impossible not to immerse yourself in the action.”
Ma Bar, about 73-year-old Scottish power-lifter Bill McFayden. According to Justin Moyer, it “packs the primal emotional punch of a feature film.”
Winnebago Man, about the angriest man in the world on the worst day of his life. Jule Banville calls it “a classic This American Life quest.”
Voices from El-Sayed, about a community of deaf in the Negev desert…and the new technology that wants to change their way of life. The film, Chris Klimek says, “finds the right balance between narrative and atmosphere, giving us in 73 unhurried minutes a beautifully detailed portrait of a hidden place.”
The Horse Boy, in which the parents of an autistic boy lead him on an equestrian trek across Mongolia in search of shamans. Hilary Crowe: “Through interviews with anthropologists and autism experts and unflinching footage of Rowan’s hectic healings, the filmmakers undermine not just Western medicine but also the conventional view that autism is a disability instead of a blessing.”
RiP: A Remix Manifesto, in which Brett Gaylor makes copyright policy seem, according to Aaron Leitko, “vital, interesting, and surprisingly entertaining.”
The Archive, about Paul Mawhinny, owner of the world’s largest collection of vinyl LPs. Despite the film’s apparent lack of irony, Jeff Winkler calls it “a hipster’s wet documentary.”
Shorts Program 2: Lost & Found, in which we learn a great deal about Australian salt flats, Cuban prisons, Polish post offices, and…self-storage units.
Tonight at Silverdocs: Ella Es El Matador, Winnebago Man, Voices from El-Sayed, and More was originally published on City Desk on Jun. 17, 2009, at 12:15 pm
