Antenna, the , should have been celebrating its tenth anniversary in cinemas in 2021. We’ll have to wait until next year now for that party. But the good news is, festival director David ‘Dudi’ Rokach has curated a special collection of the best of past fests for SBS On Demand.
It's a broad collection, each likely to reward in a different way, from the unexpected treatment of a skateboarding storyline in Minding the Gap ("one of the most powerful and moving films of the last decade", says Rokach) and the family dynamics of América, as three brothers in Mexico work out how to care for their 93-year-old grandmother, to documentaries tackling climate change, a nuclear bunker, and the mysterious death of UN secretary-general Dag Hammarskjöld. Powerful Australian storytelling is in the line-up too, with David Gulpilil starring in Another Country.
We spoke to Rokach about his selections, and the enduring appeal of the documentary form.
Why do you think the documentary form has become increasingly popular in recent years?
Many people credit big streamers like Netflix and Amazon, but I think it’s quite the opposite. They were late to the party. It’s documentary filmmakers that deserve the credit. For a long time, there was a bit of a stigma around documentaries, that they were educational and depressing, but that’s just not true. In the last couple of decades, there’s been an explosion in creativity and imagination from filmmakers. After years of being marginalised, documentaries now take centre stage at some of the world’s leading film festivals, and audiences are just as likely to turn on a documentary for entertainment as a narrative film.
Do you think docos are more important than ever right now, in our crisis-ridden world and with the proliferation of fake news?
Definitely. But not in terms of replacing long-form journalism. In a fragmented and noisy environment of constant news feeds, documentaries are best not when they simply document a ‘true story’, or search for an ‘objective truth’, but when they present the distinct point of view of its makers. Their unique voices and creativity can often completely change the way we see and understand the world we live in. And what can be more important than that in times of crisis?
How does the focus on human stories, highlighting our unique circumstances and our shared dreams, allow room for hope?
What I love most about documentaries, as opposed to fiction films, is that you can’t fully reduce real people to issues or ideas. Even if you try, the nuances and complexities will slip in. So if we look carefully, we will see that, always, where there are people, there is hope.
What do you most hope folks get from enjoying this collection?
I carefully curated it to be viewed not as a list of films, but as a whole. Although it’s impossible for ten films to encompass everything that Antenna is about, I tried to demonstrate the different possibilities of what documentary cinema can be.
Here are Dudi’s top picks, and why you need to watch them:
Another Country
Beloved actor David Gulpilil (Walkabout, Rabbit-Proof Fence) returns to his Country, Ramingining in Arnhem Land, with filmmaker Molly Reynolds, as they explore the disruption of First Nations culture in Australia. “This film is brilliant,” Rokach says. “It captures, in a poetic and cinematic way, a completely fresh look at the dynamic between white and Indigenous people.”
Another Country is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Faces Places
The late, incomparably great pioneer of the French New Wave Agnès Varda hit the road with artist JR, for this film. They created giant paste-up murals of the folks they encountered across the length and breadth of the country. “This is simply an uplifting and playful masterpiece made by one of the most imaginary filmmakers in the history of cinema, Agnès Varda, about connection and creativity,” Rokach says. “Do we need anything more than that?”
Faces Places is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Minding The Gap
Chinese–American director Bing Liu traces the lives of three young men living it up in Rockford, Illinois, who bond over their shared joy of skateboarding. “When I first came across this, I thought, ‘oh no, another coming-of-age boys-on-skateboards documentary’,” Rokach admits. “But it completely surprised me. Done so intimately and tenderly, with so much compassion, it’s one of the most powerful and moving films of the last decade.”
Minding The Gap is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Gospel Of Eureka
It can seem like LGBTQA+ culture and religion are sometimes locked in a death match in the US, but co-directors Donal Mosher and Michael Palmier explore a sweet spot on the Venn diagram playing out in the south. “One of the most optimistic and funniest films on the list, it not only introduces us to a special place where two different communities co-exist harmoniously, but also celebrates the flamboyant as a bridge between religious faith and sexual orientation,” Rokach says. “A real treat.”
The Gospel Of Eureka is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
América
Filmmakers Erick Stoll and Chase Whiteside document three Mexican brothers’ commitment to caring for their 93-year-old grandmother with dementia. “This totally affected me emotionally,” Rokach says. “It’s a funny film, beautifully made, and more than anything it makes us think of the ways we, and our society, care for our ageing loved ones.”
América is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Putin’s Witnesses
Exiled director Vitaliy Manskiy was once the head of documentaries for Russian national television. His doco offers an unrivalled glimpse into the early days of the Russian President’s increasingly iron grip. “We see, in front of our eyes, the rise to power of one of the world’s most influential and controversial leaders,” Rokach notes. “It’s a pulse-pounding political exposé, with unbelievable personal access.”
Putin’s Witnesses is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Cold Case Hammarskjöld
Danish director Mads Brügger joins forces with Swedish private investigator Göran Björkdahl to probe the plane crash that killed Dag Hammarskjöld, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations. “This is a crazy film in the most positive way possible,” Rokach says. “It plays like a thriller that’s funny and scary at the same time and, as the director says, it’s ‘either the world’s biggest mystery, or the world’s most idiotic conspiracy theory’.”
Cold Case Hammarskjöld is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Let The Fire Burn
Jason Osder’s powerful doco explores the Black Liberation organisation MOVE’s battle with the City of Philadelphia, leading to a fateful clash in 1985. “Watching this film again, I couldn’t keep my eyes off it,” Rokach reveals. “Masterfully made entirely out of found footage, it brings to life so vividly a forgotten and shameful history of police brutality against Black people that unfortunately remains relevant so many years later.”
Let The Fire Burn is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
The Age Of Consequences
Jared P. Scott’s powerful film explores the connection between the worsening climate crisis and global security. “Making a connection between climate change to war and migration, it’s eye-opening, looking at a well-known and discussed issue, but from a completely different angle,” Rokach says.
The Age Of Consequences is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
Into Eternity
Michael Madsen’s mesmerising doco takes us deep down into Onkalo, a vast underground bunker built in Finland to contain the toxic waste created by nuclear power. With the contents harmful for up to an incomprehensible 100,000 years, the film asks what future generations might make of such a place. “This was the first ever film we selected and the first winner of Antenna’s Best Documentary Award,” Rokach says. “An imaginative, multi-layered and provocative documentary, it uses the cinematic language of the most ambitious fiction films and captures the essence of the festival.”
Into Eternity is now streaming at SBS On Demand.
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