documentary review
What happens when Ai Weiwei, one of the most prominent artist-activists of our time, decides to direct an Italian production of a Puccini opera? Of Turandot, no less, with its orientalism and famously tacked-on happy ending. Surprisingly, it all goes swimmingly! Well, except for the upcoming pandemic that any audiences
documentary review
Several years ago, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin directed a movie about the efforts to save the soccer team that was trapped from deep inside that cave in Thailand. It was called The Rescue. One of the oddities of their career is that several of their feature documentaries could
documentary review
It’s probably not coincidental that there are multiple documentaries releasing this year that deal with WWII propaganda. Andres Veiel’s Riefenstahl premiered a year ago at last year’s Venice Film Festival and Luuk Bouwman’s The Propagandist premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, also last year. Both
Wiseman Wednesday
Wiseman Wednesdays is a new (hopefully) semi-regular feature at reDocumented. Model screened at the 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival. “’Cause he loves the modelss, and he hugs the models, goes to the lunch with models, ‘cause it’s all he’s got to say. And when he sleeps with models,
film festival review
Adapting books into documentaries comes with a unique set of issues. Especially so when you’re adapting what is essentially an a to z encyclopaedia of over one thousand women who have made an impact, large or small, on the horror genre. Like Xavier Burgin’s Horror Noire: A History
film festival review
When I was asked by a friend what my favourite film of this year's Melbourne International Film Festival was so far, I answered, "The 80-minute wordless documentary about trains." The response was, "That tracks." Bonus points for the accidental pun, but also, yes, it
film festival review
Göran Olsson’s latest documentary, the expansive Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958–1989, does not directly reference the news of today. But it does sit in the shadow of it. It would be impossible not to. Names that are now so integral to the conversation on a daily basis
film festival review
The Librarians is one of those documentaries that’s kind of hard to assess. In a way, it’s like arguing with a baby. Sure, your points might be totally accurate and compelling and maybe you made those points with veracious integrity. But ultimately, you’re still arguing with a
documentary review
The request at the centre of Deaf President Now! is hardly a radical one. Even for 1988, long before “DEI” and “woke” were corporate bugaboos. That a school, Gallaudet University in Washington DC, for the deaf and hard-of-hearing should have a president who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and that at
music documentary
Nobody needs me to sit here and talk about John Williams. We all know who he is and what he has achieved. He is that rare sort of below-the-line film technician that even casual filmgoers recognise not just the work of but his name, too. A symbol of an era
documentary review
Iraq. Syria. Hong Kong. Ukraine. Palestine. All parts of the world that have experienced war or large-scale protest in the last two decades and which have had a significant number of documentaries (and narrative features, too!) made about them. Too numerous to count, really. Some won Oscars. Others were made
documentary review
As these things go, Meredith Monk is probably one of the more notable faces of the avant-garde art movement. A composer, choreographer, dancer, filmmaker and singer (whatever your thoughts on all of those descriptors may actually be, she does them), Monk somehow broke through into a broader public consciousness as