At the International Documentary (IDA) Film Festival, there was a wonderful array of documentaries that provided a new insight into the human psyche. As the stars strolled down the red carpet, they took time to express their creative processes.
In an interview with Jacob LaMendola, director of “Long Shot,” he revealed that the documentary took five years to create. He explained that he wants viewers to “know what it’s like to be with the people in the film,” and assures that as viewers watch the film they will “feel” the message.
An interview with Violeta Ayala displayed a fierce passion for social justice that could be felt through her film “The Fight”. When asked what kind of emotional toll the video took on her, Ayala was quick to express her pride saying, “I feel proud that I represent the people of my country,” going further to specify, “I feel proud as an indigenous woman from the Andes that I can tell my own story.” The emotional and mental health of the people in the film was also brought to light which she answered “That is why I am very proud too. The film is not about their disability – it’s about the power of people to change their own history.” She hopes to have a psychological effect on viewers as she declares that “It is a film about courage – about the moment you say ‘Enough is enough’ and ‘we the people, we can change our concepts, our own history, our future.”
The best feature DINA is a PSYCHITECTURE favorite as this film elicits the viewer’s empathetic understanding of those who are near diverse as humans like all of us, falling in love, experiencing abuse and dysfunctional family relationships. In a PSYCHITECTURE lens, DINA presents its subjects as transcending their disability so we can experience the couple as anyone we can relate to in the challenges of intimacy in love and healing from abuse and trauma. In a scene when Dina and her mother go for the proverbial pre-wedding manicure, Dina’s mother cannot tolerate Dina’s anxiety, thus, shuns Dina leaving Dina to apologize for fear of her mother’s abandonment. In this pivotal scene you can understand how Dina is vulnerable to fall for an abusive man. The way the story reveals Dina’s abuse history as a lead up of her current challenges to finding out about the gruesome event in the end is a mirror to how we learn about psychological histories as usually not until later- until trust is built- in this case with its audience. DINA is a compelling evocation of real life in healing from relationships that transcends disability in a story telling fashion that is both light and comedic. The cinematography’s tone is a sensory experience that draws the viewer into a surreal world that is so still so grounded and relatable.
