Doha Tribeca Film Festival 2009 showcases 10 independent feature documentaries

November 1, 5:02 AMWorld Film ExaminerSusan Z. Swan

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A bus wrap promotes the Doha Tribeca Film Festival in Qatar (Courtesy Doha Tribeca Film Festival)

The first annual Doha Tribeca Film Festival has excelled in its goals to highlight the work of independent filmmakers. (Part I of this coverage of their indie support is just a click away at Independent documentaries take center stage at Doha Tribeca Film Festival.)  In Part II of this coverage, let's take a peak at the 10 feature-length independent documentaries that are screening from 29 October thru 1 November in Doha, Qatar.

Big River Man (Directed by John Maringouin, USA/UK)
After swimming the lengths of the Danube, the Yangtze and the Mississippi, 53-year old Slovinian Martin Strel decides to take on the crocs, piranhas, and toxic waters of the Amazon – all 3,375 miles of it across 66 days. Big River Man combines environmental campaigning and adventure with the occasionally dysfunctional personality of Strel and his family into a film that is an inspiration. Sundance Film Festival awarded Big River Man the 2009 World Cinema Cinematography Award for Documentaries. (See Amanda Palmer's interview with Martin Strel and his son, Borut, about their experiences from Al Jazeera's Fabulous Picture Show. ) (100 minutes) 
 

Movie poster, Big River Man, documentary
(Courtesy, Doha Tribeca Film Festival, image.net)

Capitalism – A Love Story (Directed by Michael Moore, USA) 
Moore’s documentation of the flaws of American society continues with this powerful, infuriated new crusade to explain the causes of the "global economic meltdown."  Capitalism: A Love Story is the story of the dysfunctional love affair with capitalism which has brought the U.S.A. and the world to the brink of another Depression. The film contrasts anecdotes of the impact of the “financial coup d’etat” of the past year on everyday people with evidence of the corporate greed that has greatly rewarded the captains of industry in the U.S. today. (105 minutes)

Home (Directed by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, France)
Lush aerial photography of more than 50 countries captures planet Earth as our Home, a poem to the great beauty that exists and the equally great danger that has humans heading the planet rapidly toward “the depletion of natural resources and the catastrophic evolution of the Earth’s climate.” Time magazine’s testament to the power of this film is their naming director Arthus-Bertrand as their 2009 Environmental Hero, for Home and for his work with GoodPlanet, a non-governmental organization whose goal is to “inform people about sustainable development.” The film is available in streaming video on the "Homeproject" channel of YouTube  (93 minutes)

Kobe Doin’ Work: A Game in the Life (Directed by Spike Lee, USA)
Lee turns his lens toward Los Angeles Laker basketball legend Kobe Bryant, using a wireless body mic and up to 30 cameras to capture what it means for this 2008 Most Valuable Player to go to work, from practice to locker room to a game. This film captures the intensity of the game as well as a multi-dimensional look at Bryant as a person, a team mate, and a family man. Kobe Doin’ Work premiered at the Tribeca ESPN Sports Festival. ESPN has a page dedicated tothis film with an interview with Spike Lee. (83 minutes)
 

Still, Kobe Bryant in Kobe Doin' Work 

Only When I Dance (Directed by Beadie Finzi, Brazil/UK)
For a working-class teen in Rio de Janeiro to make it in the refined world of classical ballet seems impossible. To Irlan Santos da Silva and Isabela Coraci, this is the passion of their hearts and Mariza Estrella is their mentor determined to support them, even when it means grueling work. Only When I Dance is Beadie Finzi's intimate one-year-in-the-life portrait of Irlan and Isabela, full of grace, pain, and the will to succeed no matter what. (78 minutes; Portugese, English & French) 

Racing Dreams (Directed by Marshall Curry, USA)
Curry follows three national-level teen go-kart racers – Annabeth Barnes, Josh Hobson, and Brandon Warren – in their bids to compete for the World Karting Association’s national championship, as a stepping stone to NASCAR racing. Racing Dreams won the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival award for Best Documentary and is lauded for its fine balance between the adrenalin-rushed action sequences on the track and the behind-the-scenes looks into the lives of these teens and their families. (96 minutes)

Still, The September Issue (2009)
(Courtesy Doha Tribeca Film Festival & images.net)

The September Issue (Directed by R. J. Cutler, USA)
Behind the scenes of Vogue magazine sits “iconic" editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, billed in the film as “the single most important figure in the 300 billion dollar fashion industry.” Cutler documented Wintour and her team through the 9 months dedicated to creating the September issue of Vogue, an issue eagerly awaited by 13 million fashionistas each year. Picture The Devil Wears Prada (2006) but with Wintour holding far more power than Merle Streep’s character did – and a staff who is more concerned with getting the job done than looking like fashion plates. The power politics exposed in The September Issue are almost a match for those in Cutler’s Oscar-nominated documentary of Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign, The War Room. (90 minutes)

South of the Border (Directed by Oliver Stone, USA)
In January 2009, Oliver Stone and a film crew headed off to Venezuela for a “conversation” with Hugo Chávez of Venezuela as a starting point for critiquing U.S. media coverage of Latin American countries. Stone, being who he is, ended up parlaying this single conversation into interviews with 6 other presidents (and 1 ex-president) of countries somewhat south of the borders of the U.S. : Lula da Silva of Brazil; Christina Kirchner of Argentina (as well as her husband and ex-president, Néstor Kirchner); Fernando Lugo of Paraguay; Rafael Correa of Ecuador; Raúl Castro of Cuba; and Evo Morales of Bolivia. South of the Border premiered at the Venice Film Festival in September in the company of Hugo Chávez. Expect controversy and accolades for Stone as a result of his look at a Latin America which collectively wishes to stand on its own, a move crafted by the Bush administration as anti-American. (78 minutes)
 

Movie poster, Turtle: The Incredible Journey
(Courtesy Doha Tribeca Film Festival & image.net)

Team Qatar: Up for Debate (Directed by Liz Mermin)
Take 5 high school students, add a team of debate coaches from Oxford, and a goal to have their first competitive debate at the World Schools Debating Championship in Washington, D.C.—and the result is Team Qatar, a suspenseful competition movie with unexpected riches from the team’s conversations on life, religion and politics. (89 minutes)

Turtle: The Incredible Journey (Directed by Nick Stringer)
For those who think “The Incredible Journey” is about a cat and two dogs, be prepared for a change of species. This incredible journey is one made by a turtle, the loggerhead turtle, who, as a species, went from land to sea 200 million years ago to escape the dinosaurs and now is being threatened by the new predators, humans. This time, there’s nowhere else to go and the loggerhead turtles have become an endangered species. Directed by Emmy-winning producer and director Nick Stringer, with astonishingly beautiful cinematography by Rory McGuiness, narration by Miranda Richardson, and score by Henning Lohner, Turtle: The Incredible Journey is a saga of a species, tracing the migration path of these giant sea turtles from their hatching to their return home for nesting, with all of the dangers in between. (81 minutes)