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| Bruce Sinofsky and Joe Berlinger during the Paradise Lost 3 Q&A |
The last couple of days were probably my slowest of the entire festival. Since my volunteer shifts over the weekend limited my free time, I only saw one film each over the last two days. However, I can confidently say that one of those films is one of the best I’ve seen at the festival so far.
Here is my round-up.
9/11 Remembrance
Instead of the usual trailer reel, all the screenings on Sunday (the tenth anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001) were proceed by a short documentary describing how the attacks affected the film festival.
It was definitely a very touching piece, especially after how it was decided to continue with the film festival (albeit in a more sombre fashion) after all the screenings were cancelled following the attacks.
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Paradise Lost 3 is the third, and best, of a series of documentaries that track the saga of the West Memphis Three, who were convicted of murdering three boys in 1993, even though they have always maintained their innocence.
Even though it has the title of Paradise Lost 3, the film provides all the information necessary to bring new viewers up to speed, which includes reusing interviews and footage from the first two films. This, combined with the new revelations that are made about the case, has made this film the definitive documentary about the West Memphis Three.
The West Memphis Three were actually released on a plea bargain following the completion of the film, which mentioned via a brief intertitle at the end. A new ending of the film is actually in the process of being made and it will be added to later cuts of the film (a reason for me to watch it again).
Paradise Lost 3 was definitely the best documentary, and one of the other all best films, I have seen at the festival this year.
10/10
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| Burning Man Q&A |
Burning Man
This film is a jumbled mess, but in a good way.
Burning Man is a film about a man, who is grieving the recent death of his wife to cancer. The film is present in a non-chronological fashion and I have to admit that it was quite confusing at first. However, as the film went on, I began to understand that the film was about more than just straight-forward narrative and that there was a reason for the order the scenes were in.
It was definitely an interesting selection.
8/10
