Our Top 5 Documentaries at Flatpack Festival's Online Edition
As life grinds to a halt and global Coronavirus lockdown sets in, we’re choosing to support our favourite documentary festivals, screenings and launches that have been forced to go online, by pointing you in their direction.
Like so many other festivals around the world, Birmingham’s weird and wonderful Flatpack Festival has been forced to shift it’s fourteenth edition online. But while other festivals have drowned their audience in labyrinthine programming, myriad payment options and arbitrary geographic restrictions, the Flatpack team have successfully curated a limited online selection, free to everyone, everywhere, without losing its distinctive eclectic flavour.
Aptly named “The Home Entertainment Edition” and running from the 1st to 17th of May, the fabulous quirkiness of this year’s slimmed down programme is just as addictive and an endless internet rabbit-hole.
If isolation is beginning to get the better of you, look no further.
With short films ranging from animation to music video and from hybrid cinema to documentary, there truly is something for everyone. But if you’re in search of a quick documentary fix - here’s our top 5.
And don’t forget to vote your favourite! Winners will be announced live on the 16th May.
1. A Protest, A Celebration, A Mixed Message by Rhea Storr
Director Rhea Storr tries to deconstruct the complex web of stereotypes and clichés associated with black people in Britain’s rural spaces. It’s a difficult task, particularly when it concerns her so personally. But by axing her film on the nearby Leeds West Indian Carnival and with the help of some sharp editing and entrancing sounds, her film grabs the viewer’s attention and keeps it throughout.
Available until 13th May 2020
2. Tony Fraginals by Ben Young
Anthony Godby Johnson was a 1990s New York City miracle: a boy who escaped years of horrific abuse only to discover that he was dying of AIDS. A boy who authored his own autobiography. A boy who earned friends and fans worldwide—and who did not exist.
Featuring Oprah Winfrey and the remnants of Anthony Godby Johnson's long-forgotten television special alongside the first public glimpse of the hoaxer behind the myth, “Tony Fraginals” is an eery, creepy and surprising retelling of a fraudulent story.
Available until 10th May 2020
3. Broken Orchestra by Charlie Tyrell
When the Philadelphia public-school system began losing almost all the funding for its music-education programs in 2007, thousands of instruments in need of repair were forced into retirement, and community members moved to action. So was born the Symphony for a Broken Orchestra, a music and art project begun in 2017 that raised awareness for the issue, helping to get those broken instruments back into Philadelphia students’ hands.
Available after Flatpack here
4. Jesa by Kyungwon Song
Jesa is a Korean tradition honoring ancestors and in this charming, highly detailed stop motion, director Kyungwon Song decides to interview her parents to learn more about the ritual feast.
If you missed this gem while it was showing at Visions du Réel, here’s your second chance to catch it for free!
Available until 13th May 2020
5. Throat Singing in Kangirsuk by Eva Kaukai, Manon Chamberland
Eva and Manon practice the art of throat singing in their native arctic land, in the small village of Kangirsuk. Together with evocative shots of the surrounding landscape, this is a rare introduction to an alien pocket of the world.
Available after Flatpack here
To discover the rest of the Flatpack collection, start exploring their site from here.
