Sundance London: Don't Miss These Two Documentary Shorts!
This year’s Sundance London is taking place online from 7 to 9 August with a reduced selection picked in collaboration with Picturehouse Cinemas. “Boys State” is among the three feature films, with documentaries “Beyond the North Winds: A Post Nuclear Reverie” and “Junior Bangers” selected alongside six other shorts.
“Boys State” will be showing at 20:00 BST and all short films will be available from the 7th to the 9th of August.
Edit: “Junior Bangers” is also available to watch for free here.
Amongst Sundance London’s brilliant short film selection, our non-fiction eye was caught by two in particular: “Beyond the North Winds: A Post Nuclear Reverie” and “Junior Bangers”. Despite their brevity, both draw the viewer into a potent atmosphere, but in very different ways.
Beyond the North Winds: A Post Nuclear Reverie by Natalie Cubides-Brady
“Beyond the North Winds” is a hybrid documentary about the decommissioning of the Dounreay nuclear plant in Caithness, Scotland. The narrative traces the journey of a fictional researcher who disappears while writing a PHD on the reactor.
To the haunting crackle of a Geiger counter, we observe the reactor’s alien structure from a distance. Although it took just two years to build, it will take thirty to dismantle.
Before long the focus widens to include Caithness’ eerie landscape and the other manmade constructions that have receded into its hostile environment, including the ruins of an old witch’s house.
With patience, a subtle sensitivity and some particularly evocative cinematography, Natalie Cubides-Brady explores our relationship with technology, myth and the fleeting physical traces humanity leaves behind it.
Junior Bangers by Danny Lee
“Junior Bangers” is a hair-raising dive into the thrilling world of Birmingham’s 11-year-old boy racers.
Best friends Finlay and Harley compete against 11 other under-16s in mud-coated scrapheap cars, jumping through their empty window screens before throwing themselves around a chaotic circuit under the watchful gaze of their obsessive adult relatives.
Aside from some fantastic in-car footage, director Danny Lee captures the boys’ mood before and after the race, successfully demonstrating just how young they are.
This year’s Sundance London is taking place online from 7 to 9 August with a reduced selection picked in collaboration with Picturehouse Cinemas. “Boys State” is among the three feature films, with documentaries “Beyond the North Winds: A Post Nuclear Reverie” and “Junior Bangers” selected alongside six other shorts.
“Boys State” will be showing at 20:00 BST and all short films will be available from the 7th to the 9th of August.
