SLAMDANCE FILM FESTIVAL 2025 - THE FILMS THAT MOVED ME

 

Look we all know the climate we are currently living in and beyond the films I am 1000% privileged to see and talk about here, one of my greatest takeaways from this weekend being in person at the film festival was the conversations I had with other filmmakers worldwide. I think it's one of the rare gifts a film festival like this provides and I am always so grateful to the Slamdance Film Festival and its community for allowing me the honor of being let in to bring this all to you. I was not sure how moving to LA would go over and if it would change or reflect a change coming in this festival. To the organizers' credit though this actually felt more like the festival I knew 8 years ago than it has in the past 5 years. 

That being said, with big changes comes big responsibility and this year's programming delivered in ways that stretch beyond impressive. This may have had the most impactful and life-affirming pieces of art I have ever seen at Slamdance. They have done an amazing job bringing this to a part of the society that wants answers, wants comfort, and yet still wants to be entertained.

Now you can be part of this community too. This is your opportunity to enjoy what I have enjoyed and beyond. As one of the best decisions this festival ever made, granted it was born out of the necessity to continue to be here during a pandemic, but it has now been adopted as a philosophy that I think has been for the better. Which is streaming this festival as part of its full channel line-up. Yes, it is a pricey experience but one you might need, especially if you are like me and see the world the way I see it. Also, the reality is not all of these amazing pieces of art will be readily available right away to be seen out there and this might be the only place you will be able to do so. You can go to the website: https://slamdancechannel.com/ and decide for yourself.

As usual, I want to help you with a couple blogs here by providing some choices and what I enjoyed. This year marked a very nice trend of extremely personal stories, in a landscape of categories from Documentary Features, to Unstoppable Features, Documentary shorts, narrative features, and narrative shorts. 

I will say there is an omission in this part that truly belongs in the blog but because it is one of "my favorites" it will be talked about in the next blog. So here we go...

DISPOSABLE HUMANITY

FOUND IN THE UNSTOPPABLE FEATURES CATEGORY

• Year:
  2025
• Runtime:
  94 minutes
• Language:
  English
• Country:
  Germany, Poland, Austria, United States
• Premiere:
  World Premiere
• Genre:
  Documentary, Investigative, Human Rights
• Subtitle Language:
  English
• Note:
  http://www.disposablehumanity.com/
• 
  

• Director:
  Cameron S. Mitchell
• Screenwriter:
  Cameron S. Mitchell, David T. Mitchell
• Producer:
  Cameron S. Mitchell, David T. Mitchell, Steve Way, Nic Novicki
• Cast:
  Cameron S. Mitchell, David T. Mitchell, Sharon L. Snyder, Emma Jane Mitchell, Susanne Knittel, Jörg Waßmer, Andy Hechler, Andreas Knitz

The Mitchell family, a family of Disability Studies scholars and filmmakers, has researched The Nazi Aktion T4 program since the 1990s. Through conversations with memorial directors, disabled people, and relatives of T4 victims they uncover the horrifying truth: that the Nazi Aktion T4 program, was in fact the program where the Nazis trained killing staff and designed the apparatus of mass murder that led to the Holocaust. Disabled people were the first victims to be killed under the Third Reich and in this investigative documentary, the Mitchells reveal how this history has been covered over and erased from international public memory.

In full disclosure, I knew about this film and some of its contents before I ever saw a frame of it. So I was excited to actually see it. I am also friends with the filmmaker and believe he may be the greatest eye behind a camera I have ever seen. So I freely admit I do carry some bias here but that being said, I loved how surprised I was by how stripped-down this is and how much more the edit is the star than the filming. Not to say there are not incredibly powerful framings or perfectly run steady-cammed tracking shots, because there are, but in some respects I have come to expect that from Cameron (and maybe take that for granted) but what really is at the core of this amazing piece of art and exploration two things: first the connection to a younger version of this trip some 15 years prior and how as adults and with time we see things differently, I loved getting that perspective and how reflectively that kind of hung in the air so to speak here. The other element is the immense amount of discovery that is uncovered and documented on screen here for the first time. Just astounding and heartbreaking to hear and see, and I love how Cameron chose to keep it raw and show it to us in its preserved state, right in our faces, on-screen often too.

There is an interesting aspect to doing that. As one might be thinking or even saying out loud, hasn't World War 2 and Nazi Germany been run over and discussed and filmed from all angles in nausea? The answer is NO because here's Disposable Humanity giving you an angle no one has explored in a film before. This documentary does so much technically to keep you engaged but all that strums up the emotional component that is so readily here and has so many powerful aha strokes that you are left confounded and somewhat terrified honestly. It also has this unique power that I think Cameron does well to cultivate, but also show relatable conversations and comparisons to bring this modern flare to the whole thing that resonates and echoes a pathway to a darker side of history doomed to repeat.

I loved that approach. I loved the personal touches here too, and how it all ties together. It is storytelling 101 to the highest degree but its the home movie magic and charm that wins us over and helps hit home the overall strong message. There are so many moments in which Cameron makes you his lens, and in turn makes you feel like a part of his family, and equally a part of the discoveries this documentary uncovers. That personal touch goes beyond what would be a History Channel-esque standard fair and delivers an emotional gut punch that through this auteur's vision, comes a beautifully crafted piece of art, shining a new light on disability and its role in one of the most atrocious and heinous moments in human history.

 

SILENT TREES

FOUND IN THE BREAKOUT CATEGORY

• Year:
  2024
• Runtime:
  84 minutes
• Language:
  polish, english , kurdish
• Country:
  Poland
• Premiere:
  US Premiere
• Genre:
  Documentary
• Subtitle Language:
  English

• Director:
  Agnieszka Zwiefka
• Screenwriter:
  Agnieszka Zwiefka
• Producer:
  Agnieszka Zwiefka, Zofia Kujawska
• Cast:
  N/A

When her mother dies in the forest on the Polish-Belarusian border, a 16-year-old Kurdish girl Runa has to quickly grow up to take care of her 4 younger brothers and helpless, depressed father. The family deals with trauma in a refugee camp and tries to establish a new life in Poland. Runa's greatest fear is being forced to return to Iraq, where Kurds face the threat of ISIS. She wants to live like her newfound European friends and become a lawyer. But just as her dream of going back to school comes true, another threat appears - the threat of deportation. Runa’s escape from everyday problems is a sketchbook filled with drawings that express what she feels. Gradually, her drawings come to life. The film is a partially animated coming of age story in the times of the global refugee crisis.

One of my favorite things about documentaries like this is when you see the filmmaker's discovery journey happen on screen. However, often with most films that doesn't happen till the tail end of Act 2 or even Act 3, if you even see it at all? In Silent Trees, you get the biggest punch in the face, within the first 15 minutes of Act 1. You also see where it might have gone when it starts too. I have had very few movie experiences where I was as shaken as much as the subjects were in dealing with what just happened. The smart filmmaking prowess of Agnieszka to recognize the impact, keep rolling, and then design the messaging and everything this film truly intended is another level of creativity, one in which has to be beyond applauded. It deserves careful thought, discussion, and study. However then you get to the true genius of Agnieszka's filmmaking prowess in that she doesn't rest on those laurels, instead, she pivots, and when she does we are introduced to the brightest star in the murkiest galaxy's corner, in Runa. 

Runa doesn't rule the screen or even command it and again to the filmmaker's credit rolling past or around her just makes us gravitate to her even more. She is almost always in the focus here. Some moments are captured in such a beautifully designed Cinema Verite style you get so engrossed in the entirety of the film's scope, even beyond this family. Gravitating the important message of the narrative's poignant and again, very modern and relative points. The interesting interludes of animation that accompany some of the more uncomfortable or private things we would love to see on screen, and like the noisy neighbors we are, allow us to breathe and realize we are watching something with a powerful fist and truthful narrative that has a lot to say. It surprised me how beautiful that all is when you sit with it for a moment and digest what you have just seen. Yes, you get engrossed with the overall message but the filmmaking power here is done similarly to Disposable Humanity, except we end up looking at one member of the family more than the others and that's not to despair about their worth here because they all play an awesome role too, for us.


BANR

FOUND IN THE NARRATIVE FEATURES CATEGORY

• 
  
• Year:
  2025
• Runtime:
  110 minutes
• Language:
  Chinese, English subtitles
• Country:
  China, Canada
• Premiere:
  World Premiere
• Genre:
  Romance, Family, Life
• Subtitle Language:
  English

• Director:
  Erica XH
• Screenwriter:
  Erica Xia-Hou
• Producer:
  Erica Xia-Hou
• Cast:
  Erica Xia-Hou, Sui Li, Baoqing Li

After 40 years of devotion, an elderly couple faces a heartbreaking farewell—he succumbs to a heart attack, while she battles Alzheimer’s, trapped in a cycle of fragmented memories and a desperate search for her family, as love fades into unrecognition.

The performances here are so authentic, and engaging, and the 3 actors do an amazing job taking the audience on an emotional rollercoaster. There are some moments when we are framed into a corner where we have no choice as an audience but to feel every inch of the action, reaction, and douse us in every emotion on display. I loved that choice by Erica Xia-Hou, and it shows that even as a 1st time director she has a great sense of how to uniquely strike us.  

There are also some nice lens flares and deepening shadows that ripple through the ambiance creating a nice foreboding and pseudo-documentary feel. I think there is a small lull between acts 2 and 3 that prevents us from really feeling the impactful climax but when we get there it is one not to be forgotten. There have been a lot of movies that tackle this subject and even tackle it in this manner but the really unique aspect is how real this all feels all the time. There is an intended sloppiness to this that kind of creates some great chaos and that's when this film is at its best. There are a couple framed, designed moments and while they add a little polish to this, it also gets in the way from time to time. This film is very effective in its eye-spy hidden camera like setups, which adds a layering and definition that few films with the power of these words and emotions here have achieved. The avant-garde look and feel work so well and the performances mirror that feel. 

COMPLICATED

FOUND IN THE UNSTOPPABLE FEATURES CATEGORY

• Year:
  2025
• Runtime:
  85 minutes
• Language:
  English
• Country:
  United States
• Premiere:
  World Premiere
• Genre:
  Documentary
• Subtitle Language:
  English
• 
  

• Director:
  Andrew Abrahams
• Screenwriter:
  N/A
• Producer:
  Andrew Abrahams, Donna Sullivan
• Cast:
  N/A
  
  

COMPLICATED takes the viewer into a hidden world of brave young people trying to thrive with a complex illness, mothers risking loss of custody to help them, and medical and child protective systems failing them at every turn. But through their advocating for themselves and researching their own disease genetics, a glimmer of hope appears on the horizon.

This movie turned out to be the one I had the most conversations about at the festival. It captures 2 incredibly powerful insights, first the facts and legalities of this diagnosis or lack of diagnosis in some respects and the misinformation about said diagnosis and the 2nd being the human factor and how this affects them. Which in turn affects you because you are on this journey here with them. It is something very nicely captured here but through all of that impact I did struggle a lot with some of the filmmaking choices here. I think the movie at times fights with what it wants to be or maybe more aptly tries to put too much in an already overflowing container and that made this a harder watch for me. 

That being said I am not sure there were many better ways to convey this duality than a talking heads standard fair documentary, but I do fear it may turn some folks off because it does have some static to it in where information after a while does get pushed out of the consciousness. What I do appreciate from Andrew, the director, is the boldness to stick with the choices he makes and if we as an audience can just give it a chance, I do think the incredibly powerful messaging rings through and hits harder than many of these types of documentaries have in the past. Also what is being discussed here is poignant, relative, and is very much a worldwide issue that most don't know about. So most of the information is necessary, That aside when this pulls you into the human aspects of it, it really strikes hard and unforgettably powerful. Like I said the conversations had here and beyond when talking about it are what are most important and there are few films like it that measure to that standard. The moments you feel helpless, sympathetic, empathetic, and hopeful are all present.  Then there are those moments that shock you with the statistics, opinions, and corruption. This all leads to a must-watch movie here. 

 PROJECT DAD

FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTARY SHORTS CATEGORY

• Year:
  2024
• Runtime:
  28 minutes
• Language:
  Swedish, English
• Country:
  Norway, Sweden, Estonia
• Premiere:
  No Premiere
• Genre:
  Drama, Comedy
• Subtitle Language:
  English
• 
  

• Director:
  Camilla Jämting
• Screenwriter:
  Camilla Jämting
• Producer:
  Camilla Jämting
• Cast:
  Camilla Jämting, Stefan Leo

Camilla doesn't have a typical dad; he is a pickup artist who teaches other men how to succeed in dating on Tinder, and he also engages in spiritual development, such as imaginative affirmations and icy topless walks inspired by Wim Hof. Camilla is an artist and a feminist, and there isn't much she and her dad agree on, but despite that, they share a strong bond. It is in the intersection of love, humor and frustration that the film unfolds. Camilla tries to understand how she and her dad could become each other's opposites and what it takes for a relationship to continue to exist in today's cancel culture.

To capture a relationship in the absurd manner and subjectivity and then make yourself vulnerable to it on screen, that is awesome and brave filmmaking from Camilla here. First, you have this very unique role reversal of sorts of father and daughter, then you throw in social media to perpetuate the father's continual occupational hazards so to speak and a daughter just looking to hold onto the relationship she values while watching this person grow further and further from what she believes. I love the loudness, in your face absurdities that strike you when you are watching, oftentimes right after and/or right before this very stilted, settled-down, conversational piece.

It's almost subliminal in nature but it is also this very nice tug of war of ideals and frustrations. This has a very strong 1st act that engages you, maybe even outrages you, and it all plays nicely to the end in a great confessional moment. Camilla's filmmaking strength is brightening the atmosphere often by going wider and allowing colors to enrich our pallets, then bringing us back in with a quick cut to a very nicely framed from the side or the front sit-down moment. There's a kind of 90s MTV Video aspect to that and it helps swallow a lot of the absurdity and also helps us not to totally villainize Dad here. I think in the end that is the most important distinction while we don't necessarily see his motivations we do see his love which has to be the truest triumph for Camilla here and for an audience it makes a damn good short documentary.    


 ONE REHEARSES, THE OTHER DOESN'T

FOUND IN THE EXPERIMENTAL SHORTS CATEGORY

• Year:
  2024
• Runtime:
  17 minutes
• Language:
  English
• Country:
  United States
• Premiere:
  World Premiere
• Genre:
  Experimental
• Subtitle Language:
  English

• Director:
  Jessica Hankey
• Screenwriter:
  Victor Kaufold, Jessica Hankey, Marjorie Annapav, Ann Randolph
• Producer:
  Gaby Hoffmann, Keren Hantman
• Cast:
  Marjorie Annapav, Ann Randolph

Marjorie Annapav works with an exacting performance teacher to transform her life into a play, rehearsing seduction, grief, and a mercenary marriage to artist William Copley.

Frequent readers of my reviews and viewers of our shows know I am a sucker for Meta movies. Basically, movies that examine processes or show us a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the process leads to the performance. This is truly one of the richest experiences in an actor's process one might have, and Jessica brings it to the audience boldly and constructs a beautiful weaving between blurred lines, and rehearsals that lead to performance. You go through the gambit of emotions, and how one thing works here but the other thing is worth trying even if it doesn't work, and then okay time to do something else. With the backdrop of how utterly important this is to Marjorie. I love that Jessica decides to move around and look at this from various angles as well as sizing up a frame big enough to keep the actor and coach in it.We never lose them on screen and that is a hard thing to accomplish.  

There are simply just so many gorgeous shots here too. This really feels like an artist painting a portrait of a moment in time. The heights of intimacy of the piece being worked on just allow for that much more engagement and watching a master of their craft construct a moment we will be moved by while moving us in the process of it, that's just magical and this film is full of those ideals and spots.   

40 WATTS FROM NOWEHRE

FOUND IN THE DOCUMENTARY FEATURE CATEGORY

• Year:
  2025
• Runtime:
  89 minutes
• Language:
  English
• Country:
  United States
• Premiere:
  World Premiere
• Genre:
  Music Documentary
• Subtitle Language:
  English
• 
  

• Director:
  Sue Carpenter
• Screenwriter:
  Sue Carpenter, Amanda Laws
• Producer:
  Sue Carpenter, Brandon Jay
• Cast:
  Sue Carpenter, Keith Morris, Mike Watt, Don Bolles, Bob Forrest, Tom Morello, Camille Rose Garcia

Based around vintage footage of pirate radio station KBLT shot in 1998, 40 Watts from Nowhere is the story of a young woman who loved music but hated commercial radio and decided to do something about it. After buying a pirate radio kit from a Berkeley activist, she set up shop in her apartment in Silver Lake, Los Angeles, growing the station into a 24/7 operation that hosted live performances by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and regular DJs Keith Morris (Circle Jerks), Don Bolles (Germs) and Mike Watt (Minutemen).

There is something about a documentary capturing a moment in time, like it was yesterday, and preserving the period within its framework for those who weren't there to live in it. Its a clever way to design nostalgia and when we get it from those who lived it and our lens is from the one who is responsible for it all, it becomes even more than just soaking in the past. Its like a vicarious VR goggle without the equipment. You sprinkle in a little civil disobedience, some incredibly obscure indie music, and names of some of the punk rock and indie rock scene's most notable disrupters doing anything but disrupting, instead essentially teaching musical history, and you get a fascinating version of history some would pine for in an instant. 

That's the thing that Sue does best with the footage and the stories, it's not just the organized chaotic storytelling for funny punchlines and anecdotes, which a documentary like this has formulated in the past, but there are these interesting parallels to now, and subtle life lessons that would ring true even for those who may not like this type of music. Even the music itself would be hard to define because we are given the many genres covered here by a radio station that kept redefining its own genre preferences thanks to the many eclectic tastes of its hosts. I love that it shows its diversity in the pacing and gives us not just the pure punk rock essence of this all. Like its predecessors in this documentary category, there are several segments where love is given to the music too. 40 Watts is not breaking new ground when it comes to this particular sub-genre of documentary but it doesn't have to, it stays true to its essence, and in turn creates its own footprint. That allows us as an audience to revel, relish, and absorb whatever we get from it and its true power is that there is something for everyone to get something from it

BLOQUE

FOUND IN THE NARRATIVE SHORTS CATEGORY

• Year:
  2024
• Runtime:
  7 minutes
• Language:
  English
• Country:
  United States
• Premiere:
  No Premiere
• Genre:
  Drama
• Subtitle Language:
  N/A
• 
  

• Director:
  Miguel Ortiz
• Screenwriter:
  Miguel Ortiz
• Producer:
  Elizabeth Alvarez
• Cast:
  Malick Koly, Kofi Opare, Gabrielle Scott, Johanna Stitt, Aubrey Johnson

Beating his drums into frustration, Malick struggles to find the right rhythms for his compositions. Only through an internal journey and a dip into his past will he find the right sounds to heal.

There is power in feeling what a character is feeling without dialog and in this case through frustration within a drum kick that allows us as an audience to manufacture and access our imaginations in a way we don't often get to in movies. Miguel Ortiz frames intimately and with in time fades and frantic cuts as well as anyone has with someone expressing themselves like this and living the juxtaposition that leads to their angst or artistry. Where I think Miguel transcends this done-before aspect is he does it with a duality that I think does so much to shock us, settle us, and also intrigue us to no end. Those images are brighter and wider and give us strengh in trying to piece together the puzzle inside our drummer's brain. I love that choice here. The opening sequence is also masterful as we pan into the frame in an extreme close-up, which gives an idea of what we are in for here. I love the vibrancy of color as a touch to give us all pause and continue our intrigue. Couple that with a powerful performance from Malick Koly where he gives us so much in his fingers and face that the one bit of dialogue kind of takes you aback and you have a powerful 7 minutes.

CONFESSIONS CHIN CHIN

FOUND IN THE NARRATIVE FEATURES CATEGORY

• Year:
  2024
• Runtime:
  71 minutes
• Language:
  Spanish
• Country:
  Spain
• Premiere:
  North American Premiere
• Genre:
  Comedy
• Subtitle Language:
  English

• Director:
  Carolina Perelman
• Screenwriter:
  Samuel Rotter, Carolina Perelman
• Producer:
  Samuel Rotter, Carolina Perelman
• Cast:
  Fernando Bodega, Enrique Gimeno, Ángela Aguilar, Nacho Scorza, Sara Batuecas, Ksenia Guinea, Fran Velez

    

Based on true stories. Vicente and Lolo, two queer actors in search of a better future, cross paths with Sofia, Roberto, and other characters in the enigmatic CAZADOR bar in Madrid. To the frenetic rhythm of jazz, amid overflowing drinks, they address topics such as artistic life, sexual freedom, relentless discrimination, the struggle for money, unconventional relationships, and harassment, unveiling their most intimate secrets.

You know when you start to watch as many movies as I do and you get that 1st time director vibe right away you almost don't power through and often times that leads to a terrible misstep on my part. So I have learned over the years to stay with it and in the case of Chin Chin it didn't disappoint. The unexpected turn and deepening evolution of relationships, dealing with loss, and being lost are all wayward sons here and effective in the conversational and 4th wall-broken narratives. However where this film gets a nice boost is through Carolina's careful manipulation of the framing, the nice Steadicam work, the over-the-shoulder shots, and the conventional two shots where both parties sit at the edge of each side of the frame with a shadow or light that blossoms between them. 

We see and feel Carolina's incredible command of what she wants us to see and what she allows in on. There is also a nice go-for-it mentality here, wherein I feel like Carolina is bold and daring and lets the actors just do their thing and works around it but never does a trick or cut to push the narrative. You add in one of the most beautifully timed and extractable soundtracks to layer in ambiance and create those stylish moments that enhance a beautiful production design, and you have a piece that feels much like free-flowing experimental jazz. The performances are also very on point with the 3 leads we follow mostly in Fernando Bodega, Enrique Gimeno, and Angela Aguilar. I like the confessional aspect of this but I really love it when all 3 dawn the screen in one of my favorite dinner table scenes of the year; very Woody Allen, Robert Altman-like. I think while this film takes a moment to get its footing when it does, it plants you into a very fascinating conversation and gives you some great music to go along with it. I am excited to see what Carolina does next.     


YOU CAN SEE ALL THESE FILMS UNTIL MARCH 7, 2025 OVER ON THE SLAMDANCE FILM CHANNEL AS PART OF THE 2025 FILM FESTIVAL HERE