Top of the Docs #37 – LFF Special: ‘If It Were Love’ (2020) Reminisces on Human Touch

By: Emily Maskell
Columns, Featured, Festivals, Film, LGBTQ+, Reviews, Top of the Docs, , , , Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #37 – LFF Special: ‘If It Were Love’ (2020) Reminisces on Human Touch

If It Were Love is an intense film following the touring show of Crowd from theatre to theatre. The fly on the wall documentary observes these performers behind the scenes.

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Image from the documentary Time (2020). It is a black and white image of a couple kissing in a car.

Top of the Docs #36 – LFF Special: ‘Time’ (2020)

By: Joel Whitaker
Columns, Festivals, Top of the Docs, , , Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #36 – LFF Special: ‘Time’ (2020)

Garrett Bradley, a first-time filmmaker, brings us perhaps the most damning indictment of the system yet, with her film Time.

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Image from the film 'The Year of Discovery'. A car is on fire in a city street, with a large gathering of people stood away from it.

Top of the Docs #36 – Berwick Special: The Year of the Discovery (2020)

By: Joel Whitaker
Top of the Docs, Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #36 – Berwick Special: The Year of the Discovery (2020)

Luis Lopez Carrasco’s second feature explores this supposedly glorious year in Spanish history through the lens of Cartagena.

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Image from the film The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On. A man peers out of a window holding a microphone.

Top of the Docs #35 – The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987)

By: Joel Whitaker
Film, Top of the Docs, Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #35 – The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (1987)

The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On follows Kenzo Okuzaki, a sixty-two-year-old veteran, who took part in Japan’s campaign in New Guinea during World War Two.

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Image shows Mayor Marty Walsh delivering a press conference.

Top of the Docs #34 – TIFF Special: City Hall (2020)

By: Joel Whitaker
Columns, Festivals, Top of the Docs, , Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #34 – TIFF Special: City Hall (2020)

Veteran documentarian Frederick Wiseman takes his unique lens and applies it to his home-town of Boston, taking us right to the heart of City Hall.

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Image depicts a pregnant woman being filmed giving birth in a small apartment.

Top of the Docs #33 – Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974

By: Joel Whitaker
Columns, Top of the Docs, Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #33 – Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974

In his film Extreme Private Eros: Love Song 1974 (1974) Kazuo Hara throws this general rule out of the window, creating an intensely intimate portrait of his ex-wife, radical activist Takeda Miyuki.

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Image shows a protest march for the victims of asbestos related illnesses in Sennan, Japan, with family members holding banners and pictures of loved ones.

Top of the Docs #32 – ‘Sennan Asbestos Disaster’ (2016)

By: Joel Whitaker
Columns, Top of the Docs, Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #32 – ‘Sennan Asbestos Disaster’ (2016)

In his 2016 documentary Sennan Asbestos Disaster, Kazuo Hara tracks the eight-year long struggle of people seeking state compensation for asbestos related damage in Sennan, Osaka.

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Image shows DJ Spooky performing in front of three large screens.

Top of the Docs #29 – ‘Rebirth of a Nation’ (2004)

By: Joel Whitaker
Columns, Featured, Film, Top of the Docs, , , Leave a Comment on Top of the Docs #29 – ‘Rebirth of a Nation’ (2004)

Perhaps the most innovative exploration of the film has been DJ Spooky’s live performance remix of the film, Rebirth of a Nation.

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