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Glasgow Film Festival · 2012

Glasgow Film Festival 2012

Stranger Than Fiction

Documentaries that will amaze and inform in equal measure.

Programme

16 films · 12 reviews

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At Night I Fly

“It’s a place where everything that is fucked up gets deposited. And that’s why I’m here,” says Marty, one of the maximum security inmates in California’s New Folsom Prison. But the Marty of today seems very far from fucked up - he’s one of many articulate, eloquent inmates who has benefitted from the prison’s long running Arts in Correction programme. The group’s acting, rapping and writing help hardened ex gang members get in touch with their humanity – something of utmost importance in this most dehumanizing of institutions. The roaming, meditative camera takes us into every corner of prison life, a life governed by routine and boredom. It’s also ruled by the ever present threat of violence, as racial tension runs high and stabbings are frequent. Above all, New Folsom is about mind over matter, with many of the prisoners struggling to come to terms with the bleakest of sentences: life without the possibility of parole.

(Country: Sweden, Denmark; Year: 2011; Director: Michel Wenzer)

Autumn Gold (Herbstgold)

A group of athletes aged between 80 and 100 train to compete in track and field events.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2010; Director: Jan Tenhaven; Stars: Alfred Proksch, Gabre Gabic, Herbert Liedke)

Better This World

Review preview for Better This World

The film effectively outlines a very worrying situation.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A dramatic story of idealism, loyalty, and betrayal that reveals a great deal about the culture of protest and the paranoia of post-9/11 America.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Katie Galloway, Kelly Duane de la Vega; Writer: Katie Galloway, Kelly Duane de la Vega; Stars: Brad Crowder, David McKay, Brandon Darby) , Official site

Full review

The Bengali Detective

Review preview for The Bengali Detective

Rajesh is a real life private detective, the founder of Always Investigatings and Security Concern, and he runs it as if he learned everything he needed to know from Seventies TV shows.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
A private detective with a passion for disco tries to clean up the streets of Kolkata in a documentary like no other.

(Country: India, US, UK; Year: 2011; Director: Phil Cox; Stars: Rajesh Ji, Minnie Ji, Betu Ji) , Official site

Full review

Buck

In a story about the power of non-violence, master horse trainer Buck Brannaman uses principles of respect and trust to tame horses and inspire their human counterparts.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Cindy Meehl; Stars: Buck Brannaman)

Carol Channing: Larger Than Life

Review preview for Carol Channing: Larger Than Life

Channing's friendliness and evident joie de vivre light up this film every bit as much as the bright lights, the dance routines and the fabulous costumes.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Director Dori Berinstein captures the magic and vivacity of the ninetysomething showbiz icon.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Dori Berinstein; Writer: Dori Berinstein, Adam Zucker; Stars: Carol Channing, Harry Kullijian, Betty Garrett, Tippi Hedren, Tyne Daly, Lily Tomlin, Barbara Walters, Phyllis Diller, Angela Lansbury)

Full review

Family Portrait In Black And White

Review preview for Family Portrait In Black And White

Despite the fantastic image this family first presents, the film's best trick is to reveal the ways in which it resembles any other.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A middle aged Ukrainian woman raises twenty seven children in a crumbling rural house, whilst racial prejudice threatens the security of many of the adoptees.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2011; Director: Julia Ivanova) , Official site

Full review

Gerhard Richter Painting

Review preview for Gerhard Richter Painting

Like Richter's creations, this deceptively simple film is many-layered.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A look at the creative process and inner life of the celebrated abstract painter.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Corinna Belz; Stars: Gerhard Richter)

Full review

How To Die In Oregon

Review preview for How To Die In Oregon

Make no mistake, this is a difficult film to watch - but it is also a surprisingly uplifting one.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A look at Oregonians who choose physician-assisted suicide - and those battling to bring in similar laws in other states.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Peter Richardson)

Full review

Into The Abyss: A Tale Of Death, A Tale Of Life

Review preview for Into The Abyss: A Tale Of Death, A Tale Of Life

An intriguing if uneven journey into a strange, violent and very sad part of modern America.

Owen Van Spall · 3.5 out of 5
Werner Herzog's powerful exploration of violence and its consequences, told through Death Row inmates and others close to their crimes.

(Country: USA; Year: 2011; Director: Werner Herzog; Writer: Werner Herzog; Stars: None)

Full review

Khodorkovsky

Review preview for Khodorkovsky

If you really believe Russia opened up with its famous perestroika, this film will change the way you see things.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary about the mystery surrounding the imprisoned Russian oligarch.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2011; Director: Cyril Tuschi; Writer: Cyril Tuschi; Stars: Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin)

Full review

The Mexican Suitcase

Review preview for The Mexican Suitcase

A film about photographers, by photographers, for photographers, and every bit of it a visual delight.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary about the mystery of missing negatives created by iconic photographer Robert Capa and his friends during the Spanish Civil War.

(Country: Mexico, Spain, US; Year: 2011; Director: Trisha Ziff; Writer: Trisha Ziff)

Full review

Sing Your Song

Review preview for Sing Your Song

It’s impossible not to admire Belafonte's courage and commitment.

Jeff Robson · 3 out of 5
Documentary charting the career of Harry Belafonte - singer, actor and political activist.

(Country: US; Year: 2011; Director: Susanne Rostock; Writer: Susanne Rostock; Stars: Harry Belafonte, Sidney Poitier, Marge Champion, Fran Scott Attaway, Julian Bond, George Schlatter, Adrienne Belafonte-Biesmeyer, Diahann Carroll, Mike Merrick, Julie Robinson, Coretta Scott King, Merv Griffin, Odetta, Gloria Lynne, Robert De Cormier)

Full review

This Is Not A Film (In Film Nist)

Review preview for This Is Not A Film

There is a charm and grace to this 'not' film that mirrors all of Panahi's previous filmic masterpieces.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Jafar Panahi's postcard from Iran.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2011; Director: Jafar Panahi, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb; Writer: Jafar Panahi; Stars: Jafar Panahi, Igi, Mrs. Gheirat, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Rakhsan, Sima, Micky, Hasan, Jafar Panahi, Igi, Mrs. Gheirat, Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Rakhsan, Sima, Micky)

Full review

Unfinished Spaces

In 1961, Fidel Castro commissioned Ricardo Porro, Roberto Gottardi and Vittorio Garatti to design ‘the most beautiful of art schools in the world’. They succeeded beyond his wildest dreams with the National Art Schools built in the grounds of a lavish golf course previously frequented by the rich and privileged. The spectacular, futuristic school became a centre of artistic excellence until 1965 when the revolution changed, the construction was halted and the trio went into exile. Unfinished Spaces reunites the three architects forty years later for emotional recollections of what happened and beautiful images of decaying buildings that deserve to be preserved. A masterful mixture of archive history, politics and hope.

(Country: USA; Year: 2011; Director: Benjamin Murray, Alysa Nahmias; Stars: Vittorio Garatti, Roberto Gottardi, Ricardo Porro)