2012 CIFF: Under African Skies

So the nice weather has prevented me from seeing as many films as usual and travel plans will unfortunately make this my last film at this year's event, but once again, and it goes without saying, this year's Cleveland International Film Festival was a tremendous experience. I urge you to head down to Tower City, catch a flick or two, and take part in our wonderful festivities. Although I am sad to see my own participation end this year, it couldn't have ended with a better film, whose subject is someone I've now long admired.

In 1986, after becoming obsessed with a cassette tape of a South African performer, Paul Simon traveled to Johannesburg to play with local musicians and record the amalgamation of American pop and African music that would come to be known as his magnum opus Graceland. While the album was a tremendous success and helped heightened awareness of the evils of apartheid, many saw Simon's involvement as a breach of the U.N.'s cultural embargo with South Africa. Now, 25 years later, Simon travels to South Africa to discuss the events with Dali Tambo, a member of the African National Congress who staunchly opposed the collaboration. Meanwhile Paul Simon reorganizes old friends including Ray Phiri, Joseph Shabalala and the rest of the members of Ladysmith Black Mambazo for a reunion celebration. "Under African Skies" is an incredible jubilation in Simon's groundbreaking album and the wondrous native music which led to its conception, and also an intriguing tale of the wicked modern segregationist system and how a great artist came to be involved with it and several of its victims. The film was made by documentary stalwart Joe Berlinger  who does an excellent job of meshing old footage and newly shot ones, which are given great immediacy through the closeup camerawork. In ignoring the inanities of politics and being true to his own talent and vision, Paul Simon was able to make known the great artists of a culture, bring awareness to a serious social problem, and leave a lasting and masterful mark on the music world.

2012 CIFF: Pelotero

Tonight I volunteered for a short shift at a less hectic but still bustling Monday evening at the film festival, which I concluded with a wonderful documentary on my other great passion, baseball. Ever since the San Francisco Giants won the National League pennant in 1962 with Juan Marichal, Manny Mota, and Felipe and Matty Alou, Dominican players have been exploited by a league where they now make up 1/5th of its players. Much in the style of "Hoop Dreams", filmmakers follow Ross Finkel, Trevor Martin, and Jonathan Paley follow two top prospects, both from the humblest means and poised for big bonuses as they approach the big signing day set by MLB, which is July, 2nd following their 16th birthdays. The story is intelligently written and told clearly by narrator John Leguizamo and like Steve James' great documentary, "Pelotero" (ballplayer) follows intriguing personalities and goes to incredible and shocking places which no one could have anticipated. In an era when interest in the great sport seems to fading, "Pelotero" shows the fierce and sometimes unscrupulous determination of a culture motivated by poverty, which is roundly taken advantage of.

2012 CIFF: Of Two Minds

So I got a late jump on this year's Cleveland International Film Festival, and only saw one film today, but once again found myself taken by the sheer energy from the mass amounts of people who made their way down to Tower City today to catch a flick. The film I caught today in a packed theater was called "Of Two Minds", and was a documentary following four people with bipolar disorder, which was then followed by an informative panel discussion involving the filmmakers, a local specialist with the disorder, and two members of local mental health communities. Here is my review:

In the most elemental description, bipolar can be defined as a brain disease characterized by cycles of heightened mania followed those of deep, stifling depression. Although millions of Americans are afflicted with manic depression, and it is more than likely that a loved one suffers from the illness, a major social stigma is still attached to the disease. "Of Two Minds" follows four people diagnosed with bipolar disorder over an extended period as we witness their struggles and progressions with the disease. Directed by Doug Blush and Lisa Klein, the film is an insightful look into the misunderstood affliction. While I enjoyed the first hand approach taken by the filmmakers, I think the film would have also benefited from more of a professional input delving deeper into causes, symptoms, and treatments for the disease. Still, "Of Two Minds" informally addresses an all too often misconstrued disorder and does so with intelligence and warmth.