The Perfect Neighbor 3 suns

In the U.S. Documentary category comes a documentary dealing with a subject that plagues America; that is, the proliferation of guns and the violence inflicted on our neighborhoods. In particular, is the use of Stand Your Ground laws that excuses the use of guns to settle disputes. Everyone remembers the 2023 case in Marion County, Florida of a young black mother being shot to death by her neighbor, an older white woman. The neighbor shot her through her own locked door as the mother was responding to the way her children were being treated by the woman as they played in the open lot next door. The filmmakers tell the entire story using police bodycam footage of their many interactions with the woman and the neighbors over a period of many months. The woman made numerous calls to the police to report the noisy children and the police had many responses and meetings with her. We get to see how the situation went on and on until it finally escalated in the death of Ajike Owens, the young mother. The movie is painful to watch as the dangers go unrecognized and especially upon seeing the reactions of the family when they realize that Ajike is gone. At the end a graphic explains how the passage of Stand Your Ground laws has led to an increase in gun deaths in the states where they were enacted. While it is a compelling story, the use of the police footage almost exclusively does get to be repetitive. After the film, the filmmakers and friends and family of Ajike were present for Q & A. The director, Geeta Gandbhir is a renowned filmmaker who also happened to be friends with the affected family. She almost immediately sought to document the event after the tragedy happened. The presence of the friends and Ajike’s mother at the showing emphasized just how real these events are and how devastating it is to the family. Four small children are now left without a mother because of the thoughtless actions of one individual. The film ends showing that the shooter was sentenced to 25 years for her crime.

Prime Minister 5 suns

Prime Minister is an engaging documentary in the World Cinema Documentary category, from New Zealand covering the five years of the administration of the country’s first woman prime minister, Jacinda Ardern. She was filmed from just before she became leader of the Labour Party in 2017 up to her departure in 2023. The filmmakers had access to her personal life,  filming her and her partner at home as well as in her office.  The film begins and ends with connections to America as she makes visits to Harvard University inferring she has a message for Americans. Her service was quite revolutionary as she was not married to her partner and she was pregnant as she was about to take office. She expressed how she was actually more afraid of winning the office than losing.  We see how things can rapidly change for elected officials and the same is true for Ardern. She came in planning to deal with climate change and abortion rights.  But during her time in office, the mass shooting at a mosque happened, forcing the country to deal with automatic weapons and hate.  New Zealand responded with a ban on such weapons.  Then there was the eruption of a volcano killing many.  Finally,  came Covid in 2020 and the government response.  New Zealand had the distinction of enforcing a shutdown that successfully eradicated the virus from the country and Ardern played a large role in this effort.  We also see the right wing response from those who believed the conspiracy theories and objected to the Covid vaccine. These were the same beliefs of the vaccine causing the deaths that we saw in America. It was refreshing to see how she redefined leadership in a modern country while at the same time dealing with the pressures of being a mother.  America could learn a lot by paying attention to this model. Be sure to look for this movie.