LAFF ‘08 NOTEBOOK | Top Docs: “Trinidad,” “No Name,” “Pressure Cooker,” “Loot” and “Boogie Man” by Michael Lerman (June 28, 2008)
"Trinidad" directors Jay Hodges (left) and PJ Raval (right) at the Los Angeles Film Festival earlier this week. Photo by Eugene Hernandez/indieWIRE
“Everyone feels the need to express themselves and they hope that when they do the world accepts them.” Truer words were never spoken by director PJ Raval whose first feature, “Trinidad” (co-directed by Jay Hodges), premiered in competition at the Los Angeles Film Festival in the past week. In Raval’s case, he was speaking about the subjects of his film, a group of transgender women who undergo sex-change operations in a small Colorado town. But, he might as well have been talking about himself, Hodges and their competition-mates, a strong group of documentary filmmakers with very distinct stories to tell about the world around them. The diverse pool of talent drummed up by programmers Rachel Rosen and Doug Jones has offered plenty of hope for the future of independent documentaries and, ironically enough, the ones that float to the surface favor aptitude with classic filmmaking models over innovation. The first, of course, is the aforementioned Raval and Hodges film, profiling the lives of three women who have decided to situate themselves in the gender-reassignment capital of the world, Trinidad, CO, in the hopes of pursuing some of the best care, both physically and emotionally, for their operations and voyage into their new lives. Dynamic and heartfelt in their portraits, Raval and Hodges clearly took great care in choosing their subjects and utilize a sweet, yet haunting inquisitive tone that doesn’t let itself get bogged down by the issues and manages to let the characters paint the bigger picture of homophobia in the world around them. Confronting the bigger issues head-on, but doing it with taste and class is director Sarah Friedland in her film “Thing with No Name,” an in-depth discussion of the AIDS epidemic in South Africa through the lives of two infected Zulu women undergoing drug treatments that are new to the region. Setting itself apart from like docs with its non-preachy, incredibly informative approach, “Thing with No Name” is a carefully paced piece of work that displays Friedland’s skill for storytelling and passion for the importance of the issue. The chilling information about the lack of resources unfolds carefully through bursts of hope and failure and the audience is taken along for the ride. Despite the fact that this is her first feature, Friedland’s film boasts of the intimate restrain of seasoned filmmaker, supporting itself with beautiful cinematography and the power of humanity.
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AFI Fest
AFI Fest '09
AN EDUCATION
Now Playing New York, Los Angeles and other select cities Where is it playing? When does it open by you? www.sonyclassics.com/aneducation/dates.html From Nick Hornby, Writer of ABOUT A BOY and HIGH FIDELITY "Wonderfully fresh and original" Joe Morgenstern, WALL STREET JOURNAL "One of the best films of the year" Kenneth Turan, LOS ANGELES TIMES A Lone Scherfig film Starring Peter Sarsgaard and Carey Mulligan as Jenny http://www.aneducationfilm.com http://www.facebook.com/aneducation |
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Um, relatable is in fact a word, albeit spelled wrong.
Thanks for the good coverage. Please though, may I never again see the non-word “relatable.”
Betsy A. McLane