by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

What makes The Linguists so entertaining are the stars’ contagious love of linguistics; between them they speak over 25 languages and have devoted their professional lives to traveling around the world – on screen they venture to Siberia, India, and Bolivia – documenting obscure languages on the verge of extinction. Their work is exciting because Harrison and Anderson are up against the clock: currently there over 7,000 languages spoken around the world, but one is disappearing every two weeks.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

Revealing the ending of a film is downright mean, but it’s obvious that Oscar-nominated director Morgan Spurlock does not find Osama Bin Laden in his latest documentary film Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?. Spurlock’s claim to fame is having exclusively eaten McDonald's for 30 days in his hit 2004 documentary Super Size Me, so I didn’t initially want to run to the theater when I heard he had made a documentary featuring him trekking around the Middle East on a fruitless search for Osama Bin Laden – despite the clever promotional milk carton with Bin Laden’s missing person photo on it that I received at the Sundance Film Festival. (Quite frankly, at that moment I was more interested in the chocolate inside the milk carton.)

But after seeing the documentary, I have to admit that I enjoyed it, simplistic though it may be. The appeal of the film, which is an inevitable hit now that it’s screening at theaters everywhere, is Spurlock’s style: he’s more of a goofy explorer on a madcap adventure than an award-winning foreign correspondent. Within the first few minutes, the film has a musical number with Osama Bin Laden and his followers dancing to MC Hammer’s early 1990’s hit “U Can’t Touch This.”

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

The experiences and emotions of young American girls are much more complicated, and even tragic, than most people, particularly men, would assume. Girls as young as eight are regularly confronting low self-esteem, eating disorders, broken families, peer rejection, drug addiction, and the eternal search of finding their place in an unforgiving world. But every summer girls from 8 to 18 find a reprieve from their daily struggles for one week at a truly original venue: Rock 'n’ Roll Camp for Girls!

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

“Rape has always been used as a weapon of war” is the opening line of the new documentary film The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. For 76 minutes the film exposes the incredibly brutal civil war that has raged for over ten years in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Not only have over four million people been killed, but over 250,000 women and girls have been raped, kidnapped, and tortured.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

- March 8th - Today we celebrate International Women's Day with our sisters and mothers, aunts and grandmothers, cousins and daughters, and most of all, with our writers, who have become family. On this important day, we find it appropriate that Jessica's review is of a film about a group of remarkable women in Argentina who found their voices and by doing so transformed themselves from victims into successful entrepreneurs. The women of Brukman are yet further proof that women who empower themselves cannot be stopped. - Ed.


Christmas should be a happy time for families to congregate over lengthy meals while watching little kids open presents, but in 2001 Argentina’s economy collapsed a week before the holiday. Almost immediately factories shut down, business owners fled the country, and low-paid workers were out of their jobs just when everyone needed a little extra money. Yuletide joy was harder to find than a job. However the amazing women featured in the documentary film The Women of Brukman didn’t let the crumbling economy destroy their livelihoods, their spirit, or their Christmas.

• Delicia works the presses, perfectly ironing every piece of clothing that leaves the Brukman factory. Photograph by Gunes-Helene Isitan. •

One day in late 2001, the workers of the Brukman garment factory arrived for their shifts, only to find that the factory’s owners had fled the country – neglecting to pay anyone! The predominately female workforce decided to go about their jobs just like it was any other day; no one had any extra money and, with the recent economic collapse, few employment opportunities elsewhere. Everyone assumed that the Brukman family would eventually return to Buenos Aires and want the factory back.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

Forty years of unending gang violence between rival gangs, the Bloods and Crips, has killed over 15,000 people in South Central Los Angeles. It seems counterintuitive that one of the most dangerous places in the United States is so close to one of the most famous places on earth; the sunny palm tree lined streets of Hollywood seem worlds away from the dangerous and economically depressed streets of South Central LA. But the sad reality is that children are regularly gunned-down while walking to school at 10 a.m. a mere twenty-five miles from Disneyland.

• Playboy Gangstas Crip, Nikko De. Photo courtesy of the filmmakers. •

The film’s director Stacy Peralta is no stranger to the rough side of Southern California; his rise to fame as skateboarder who revolutionized the sport on the seedy sidewalks of Venice Beach in the 1970s is chronicled in the documentary film Dogtown and Z-Boys (which he also directed) and in the feature film The Lords of Dogtown. Besides Peralta, this film has an extraordinary amount of star power behind it, especially for a documentary: actor Forest Whitaker narrates and NBA star Baron Davis, who was raised by his grandmother in South Central LA, financed and produced the film.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

If you want to see interesting independent films and the movie stars in them, the Sundance film festival, held in the picturesque ski town of Park City, Utah, is the place to go. The annual festival attracts movie stars, independent filmmakers, studio executives, journalists, and people who love movies. Sundance has gained a reputation as the premier American film festival for independent feature films and documentaries. Although the festival itself has an air of exclusivity, to me and most people who care about film, the independent films shown represent film at its best: a medium that transcends boundaries and moves people to a greater understanding of humanity, even if the world they’re watching is completely foreign to them.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

When thinking of Afghanistan, it is difficult not to be overwhelmed by despair. Violence claimed over 6,000 lives in 2007 alone. The quality of life for women continues to decline as a result of continuing violence and the country’s shattered infrastructure. Good news about Afghanistan rarely makes the nightly news. However, after watching the documentary The Beauty Academy of Kabul, which is widely available on DVD, I felt more hopeful about the future of Afghan women, because the film depicts a possible alternative to the oppression and poverty that characterize most women’s lives there.

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

Including the word “orgasm” in the title of your documentary film is a bold move. After seeing the film Passion and Power: Technology of Orgasm at the Mill Valley Film Festival, I wanted to talk to the equally bold women behind the film: Bay area filmmakers Wendy Slick and Emiko Omori. During our interview, Slick provided greater insight into the creative process of an independent documentary filmmaker who chooses to focus on women’s social and political freedoms as viewed through sexuality.

• Co-producer and co-director Wendy Slick •

by Jessica Mosby
- USA -

“Free Tibet” has become part of our lexicon due to countless bumper stickers adorning Volvos and fundraisers featuring Richard Gere. Despite the feminist persuasion of many Tibetan supporters, women in Tibet, particularly nuns, are rarely the focus of the movement. After seeing the film Daughters of Wisdom, which is currently on the film festival circuit, I was so inspired by Tibetan nuns and their spunk that I wondered why the “Free Tibet” movement doesn’t focus more on these incredible women.

• Ochi Drolma has been a nun since the age of 14 and is one of Kala Rongo’s founders who helped build its first temple structure. Photograph courtesy of BTG Productions. •

In Tibet, a man who devotes his life to religion is considered a source of pride for his family, but women are not encouraged to join a monastery, even if this is their only access to an education; rather, nuns are considered a burden to their families since they cannot help farm, will not have children who will help farm, nor can they be married off in exchange for livestock. The Kala Rongo Monastery is the only place in Tibet exclusively for nuns, many of whom join the monastery when they are children, to live freely amongst other women.

by Jessica Mosby
USA

The story of a young and adrift guy finding his way in a confusing world has been done – too many times. Though I usually would not go see a film about this sort of fellow, I found myself intently watching a film about just that at the Mill Valley Film Festival. In part it was the name that intrigued me, Four Sheets to the Wind, but what really inspired me to attend the screening was when I read that it was a film about Seminole-Creek Indians by a Seminole-Creek Indian. A niche market if there ever was one.

• Cufe (Cody Lightning) and Cora Smallhill (Jeri Arredondo). Photograph by Chuck Foxen. •

by Jessica Mosby
USA

• Ian Cheney and Curt Ellis become the kings of corn in their new documentary by exploring the factors that have led to America's obesity epidemic. Photograph by Sam Cullman, courtesy of Mosaic Films Incorporated. •

After watching the documentary King Corn, which is currently playing in select cities, I was shocked to learn that corn is indeed wreaking havoc on America’s health. Gone are the days of idyllic Midwestern family farms growing tasty organic vegetables. Today large corporate farms grow genetically-modified corn that is later used to create the real criminal: high-fructose corn syrup.

by Jessica Mosby
USA

When you think of Afghanistan, smiling women in shift dresses attending college is not the first image that comes to mind. Decades of violence has devastated the country, leaving little more than bomb craters, crumbling buildings, families struggling to rebuild shattered lives and oppressed women who suffered at the hands of the Taliban. After watching years of newsreels depicting the country in such extreme peril, I cannot envision any other Afghanistan.

• Image courtesy of
Tora Bora Pictures •

In the summer of 2004, Wazhmah went to Afghanistan with her friend and camerawoman Kelly Dolak to make a documentary film about the modern-day situation in Afghanistan. It was Kelly’s first international trip. After filming for three months in a country Wazhmah hardly recognized, the filmmakers had more than enough footage for the serious, issue-focused documentary they planned to make. But in the editing room something happened: they realized that the real story their documentary needed to tell was Wazhmah’s - specifically the physical and emotional process of returning to and connecting with her homeland after more than 20 years of living in the United States.

by Jessica Mosby
USA

100 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa will have been infected with HIV/AIDS by the year 2010. Another 26 million children will be orphaned by the virus. The idea that two ordinary people could affect, much less save, the lives of hundreds of children dying of HIV/AIDS in Africa seems naively idealistic. For many of us, myself included, our main contribution to the epidemic in Africa is buying a Red iPod.

• Image courtesy of
Dream Out Loud Films •

What really resonates is the ability of the children, even those that are HIV-positive, to still have hope while living in a country that isn’t exactly blazing any trails in its response to the virus. There are countless scenes of kids dancing, singing, chasing chickens, and having fun. The Cloetes have not only built a safe haven for children to live, they have created a future for hundreds of children that would otherwise be dead or living in extreme poverty.

by Jessica Mosby
USA

In an admirable effort to contribute to the dialogue on what to do to save the planet, Leonardo DiCaprio has recently released a documentary film, The 11th Hour, which he produced and narrates. However, if you are already feeling overwhelmed by the world’s problems and suffering, you probably shouldn’t see it. It might push you over the proverbial edge as surely as if you were a polar bear slipping unexpectedly off a melting glacier!

• Image courtesy of Warner Independent Pictures •

One problem is The 11th Hour’s narrative structure, or lack thereof: it is painfully short on the pizzazz needed to take environmentalism from the grassroots of individual action to an international movement. Instead, one expert pops up briefly on the screen (name, title, and credentials are dutifully noted) to lecture for a few minutes while seated in front of a black wall, then the film cuts to the next expert, and then the next. Occasionally the monotony of “expert” footage is broken up by cutting to montages of very basic news reels set to a musical score; at other times, digitally drawn diagrams appear, imposed next to an expert’s head to illustrate their points.

by Jessica Mosby
USA

• Image courtesy of IFC •

The documentary film, The Devil Came on Horseback, which is currently playing across the United States, spends 85 minutes answering that very question. The film is pure humanitarian propaganda: a call-to-action to stop the killing and displacement of innocent people.

by Jessica Mosby
USA

• Image courtesy of Little Dust Productions •

Viewed as a music documentary, Gypsy Caravan is an invigorating film that shines a spotlight on the rich musical heritage of the Roma people. Organized by the World Music Institute, the film follows the six-week tour of the five Romani bands: Antonio el Pipa and his Flamenco Ensemble (Spain); Esma Redzepova and Ensemble Teodosievski (Macedonia); Maharaja (India); Fanfare Ciocarlia (Romania); and Taraf de Haïdouks (Romania). The most inspiring part of the film is seeing the performers interact on and off stage during the 18-show tour. Over the course of six weeks, people who don't all speak the same language; who live in different countries and socioeconomic classes; and who do not play music that would seemingly complement each other jam on stage and lovingly impersonate one another off stage! For musicians who have never played together before, the five bands have incredible synergy. In almost every group scene, someone is singing or playing an instrument. The bands literally jam their way through hotel rooms, airports, bus rides, cigarette breaks, and even a photo-op at Niagara Falls. One regret that most viewers of Gypsy Caravan will have is that they didn't get to see the tour live; while the documentary attempts to capture the energy, being there in person must have been an unparalleled experience!