Sydney Film Festival Reactions/Reviews
This week I was fortunate enough to be given the opportunity to attend two screenings as part of the Sydney Film Festival. I chose to head along and see two very different but important documentaries Sherpa and The Hunting Grounds.
On Tuesday evening I saw Sherpa directed by Jennifer Peedom which explores the relationship between foreign climbers (“client”) and the local sherpa guides. Initially the film sets out to explore this interaction through the story of Phurba Tashi Sherpa. who holds the record for most ascents at 21, however on April 18 of last year an even more undeniable story would unfold before the documentary teams eyes. It was on this day that a large block of ice would break away and crash down the Khumbu Icefall, the most dangerous section of the entire climb, killing 16 sherpas (more in one day than had ever died in an entire year previously). From here the documentarians switch focus to explore the strained relationship from the sherpa perspective, with a focus on the drastically unequal risk and reward given to the sherpas and “clients”.
It’s not often that the visual imagery of a document based on Everest can be overshadowed by such a riveting and compelling story but Peedom has achieved just that with this film. I highly suggest checking this one out if it is screening near you, particularly if you’ve ever considered an Everest trip.
The second film I saw was The Hunting Groundwhich is the follow by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering to their highly successful and impact film The Invisible War, which explored sexual assaults in the US military. This time the documentary pair set their sights on another multi-million dollar American industry, the US College system.
The film revolves around two key figures in Andrea Pino and Annie Clarke, a pair of students come activists following their own assaults on the University of North Carolina campus. As the film progresses the audience is introduced to more and more victims, both female and male, who recount their stories and unveil a nationwide epidemic of institutionalised lack of action.
Adding to the impactful visuals of emotional faces the directors chose graphics to highlight the problem, two in particular stood out. The first being one that showed the startlingly high number of cases at individual colleges right throughout the nation and compares that to the astonishingly low explosions rate. The second montage of images showed a list of punishments handed down to students found guilt, one of which was an essay explaining why what they had done was wrong.
This was an incredibly heavy and difficult film to watch but again is highly recommended for everyone! We need to change the culture within universities and greater knowledge of the problem is the first step.
As always I love to hear readers thoughts on Twitter @Appsy_JAM or Facebook on my page J.A.M.