It’s a lovely time of year. Winter has passed, spring is in full bloom (though, someone should probably tell Maine that) and summer will be soon upon us. It’s also that time of year when the Points North Institute is really gearing up for this year’s Camden International Film Festival, a premiere documentary film festival that finds its home every September in the beautiful Camden-Rockland area.
It’s that time of year when they are screening hundreds for films, preparing their summer filmmaker retreat, filling out the festival schedule with the best new documentaries around and even screening several films for the public in their Camden Selects series. With that on my mind as I eagerly await this year’s passes going on sale, I wanted to look back at the line up from 2017 and share some of the best documentaries to come out this year that are absolutely worth your time.
1. A River Below
This film completely subverted my expectations, as the film is designed to do. The filmmaker, Mark Grieco, takes us to the Amazon to hear the story of a famed biologist and T.V. personality on their quest to save the endangered pink dolphin. In the murky South American jungle, not everything is as it seems.
Be warned, if you are a die-hard animal lover (the kind sporting a PETA bumper sticker and swearing off all animal products) this is a tough one. Similarly, if you just can’t handle any minor gore. I won’t lie, there are some tough scenes. But this film has so much to teach us, both about its subject and, in a sly way, about the art of filmmaking as well.
2. No Man’s Land
Does anyone still remember when a bunch of heavily armed ranchers took over a state wildlife refuge in Oregon for a while? If you’re weirdly into Law Enforcement like I am, and are glued to the T.V. at the slightest mention of the FBI, you might remember this little standoff. The film No Man’s Land, directed by David Byers, takes us behind the barricaded doors of the occupied headquarters and shows us what life was like for the men, women, and children who tried to take a dangerous stand against the federal government.
This film is an exercise in compassion. It is really easy, regardless of your political lean, to see these guys as gun-toting lunatics. But Byers, who describes himself as somewhat of a hardcore liberal, takes care to humanize the occupying ranchers and to give a fair look at their side of the story. In the end, we don’t really see anyone as a bad guy, just idealistic and misinformed.
If you know how this siege ended, you know there are going to be some pretty intense scenes in this film. Fair warning.
3. The Work
Again, this film is also an incredible work of compassion. In Folsom prison (yes, that Folsom prison), men from all over come together for an intense 4-day therapy session conducted and experienced alongside several of the prison’s level-4 offenders. Drug dealers, gang members, violent criminals and murderers all seeking redemption and healing, and helping dozens of lost and broken men from the outside find the same.
This film is heavy, to say the least. I suggest everyone see this film, but men, in particular, will likely have a much stronger experience. That is not to sound sexist, and I know several women who saw this film at the same showing as me who enjoyed it. However, this film takes a deep dive into many issues (such as father-son relationships and an unobtainable view of masculinity) that many men across America struggle with.
I don’t cry at movies. I don’t tear up at much at all, really. But in the row of guys, I watched this screening with, there was hardly a dry eye by the end, myself included.
These films are only a sampling of the films at the festival last September that have come out this year. If you’re looking to get into documentaries or just looking for your next fix, these films are a wonderful place to start.
