SFFILM: San Francisco Film FEstival 2022

[Chris Knipp]

CHILDREN OF THE MIST

DOCUMENTARIES: INTERNATIONAL

Children of the Mist
Diễm Hà Lệ (Vietnam 2021, 93 min)
Living in isolation from the modern world in the mountains of Vietnam, feisty Hmong teenager Di must decide if she will succumb to tradition or bravely choose a different fate.

The Devil’s Drivers
Mohammed Abugeth, Daniel Carsenty (Qatar/France/Lebanon/Germany 2021, 93 min)
"On the left side is Israel; on the right side is Palestine.” Drivers Hamouda and Ismail risk prison or worse to smuggle Palestinian workers into Israel through gaps in the border wall.

La Guerra Civil
Eva Longoria Bastón (UK/USA/Mexico 2022, 102 min)
The legendary boxing rivalry between Mexican Julio César Chávez and Mexican American Oscar De La Hoya sets the stage for an examination of identity, tradition, and nationality in Eva Longoria Bastón’s gripping documentary.

Midwives
Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing (Myanmar/Canada/Germany 2022, 89 min)
Amidst Myanmar’s escalating civil war, a Buddhist midwife and her Muslim apprentice overcome personal and professional differences to care for their patients at a village clinic in this nuanced documentary.

No Simple Way Home
Akuol de Mabior (South Sudan/Kenya/South Africa 2022, 85 min) NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE
First-time filmmaker Akuol de Mabior examines the legacy of her father, John Garang de Mabior, revered as the founding father of South Sudan.

Nothing Compares
Kathryn Ferguson (UK/Ireland 2022, 97 min)
Profiling Irish singer-songwriter Sinéad O’Connor’s speedy rise to fame and ensuing controversial stances, this documentary serves as an essential reminder of just how ahead of her time she was.

DOCUMENTARIES: USA

Bitterbrush
Emelie Mahdavian (USA 2021, 91 min)
Seasonal cattlewomen Hollyn and Colie contemplate their itinerant lives as they herd livestock through the majestic mountain ranges of the American West in this illuminating observational documentary.

Black Mothers Love & Resist
Débora Souza Silva (USA 2022, 102 min) WORLD PREMIERE
anda Johnson and Angela Williams, mothers of young Black men victimized by police brutality, come together and build a network of community-led support, mutual aid, and healing in this trenchant documentary.

The Exiles
Violet Columbus, Ben Klein (USA/Taiwan/France/China 2021, 96 min)
Never-before-seen footage of Chinese dissidents enmeshed in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and their bittersweet reflections 30 years later anchor this hybrid of cine-memoir and archival excavation focused on Who Killed Vincent Chin? documentary firebrand Christine Choy.

Fire of Love
Sara Dosa (USA/Canada 2021, 93 min)
A couple’s passion for one another is inextricably bound with the explosive geology that is their life’s work in this stunning documentary portrait of volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft narrated by Miranda July.

I Didn’t See You There
Reid Davenport (USA 2022, 76 min)
Oakland resident, filmmaker, and disability activist Reid Davenport reflects on matters of visibility, family, and the freak show in his latest personal documentary, winner of Sundance’s Directing Award for US Documentary.

The Janes
Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes (USA 2022, 101 min)
Timely and fascinating, this examination of a 1960s-era underground abortion collective is a meditation on national anxieties and a capsule of unsung heroes.

Jeannette
Maris Curran (USA 2022, 78 min) WORLD PREMIERE
Filmed in striking vérité, this portrait of competitive bodybuilder and queer single mother Jeannette unfolds as a nuanced story about coping with trauma in the wake of the Pulse Nightclub shooting.

Master of Light
Rosa Ruth Boesten (USA/Netherlands 2022, 84 min)
Classical painter George Anthony Morton strives for success while struggling to reacclimate to his Kansas City hometown and reconnect with family members after a period of incarceration.

Mija
Isabel Castro (USA 2022, 88 min)
Young Mexican American music manager Doris Muñoz strives to support her undocumented family while defining her own career as a musician and discovering new talent in singer-songwriter Jacks Haupt.

Navalny
Daniel Roher (USA/Germany/Russia 2022, 98 min)
During a flight from Siberia to Moscow in August 2020, someone poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny with a deadly nerve agent. This riveting documentary explores the question of who tried to kill him and why.

Riotsville, USA
Sierra Pettengill (USA 2022, 91 min)
This stunning essay film employs a treasure trove of archival US military recordings and 1960s broadcast TV as the foundation for a piercing interrogation into the origins of the militarization of American police.

Sell/Buy/Date
Sarah Jones (USA 2022, 97 min)
Tony Award®-winning performer and playwright Sarah Jones transforms and updates her solo show into a richly empathetic hybrid documentary as she travels the country to interview real-life sex workers. Executive produced by Meryl Streep.

The Thief Collector
Allison Otto (USA 2022, 94 min)
A surreal 20th-century mystery unfolds in this fascinating documentary that unpacks the audacious 1985 heist of a Willem de Kooning painting from an Arizona museum and its shocking recovery 32 years later.

TikTok, Boom.
Shalini Kantayya (USA 2022, 90 min)
For young people, TikTok is the most popular platform for creating personalized content. But behind the cute videos lurk issues of censorship and data mining. This documentary deftly explores both sides of the TikTok boom.

We Feed People
Ron Howard (USA 2022, 90 min)
Acclaimed director Ron Howard helms this uplifting documentary profiling renowned chef José Andrés and the World Central Kitchen, his nonprofit dedicated to feeding people in the wake of natural and humanitarian catastrophes.