Monday, May 1, 2023

BLUSH (2022) and ANHELL69 (2022) Hot Docs 2023


BLUSH
An audio recording of two friends making their first trip a a K-Market totally glammed up is turned into an animated film of two astronauts traveling the universe to go shopping.

Seemingly out of place film for Hot Docs is turns out to be a delight. What the hell is this doing at a doc fest- this should be playing every fest.

This is a small joy of a film.


ANHELL69
Essay/documentary about the LBGT community in Columbia. It is one part a celebration of the people it profiles and one part a look remembrance of people lost.

ANHELL69 is a one of a kind film. It is a mix of straight documentary interviews of people in the LGBT community in Columbia mixed with hypnotic essay sequences about death, ghosts, and related things that put us into a headspace that is unlike any other.  This is a trip inside the mind and body of director --- that has a tactile quality to it. We aren’t in a theater watching this film but in a city, or in the rooms where the interviews are happening.  I was transported to another place which looks like a city somewhere but in reality has the feel of being somewhere else.

I’m kind of in love with ANHELL69 simply because it made me feel and experience things in a completely new way. Watching several of the sequences I wasn’t sure where I was or what I was seeing. Not because it was alien but because the way that – was process the sound and images was somehow different. The way music and image and dialog and image and narration and image and silence and image mixed created a visceral reaction that opened up my mind and senses

While not for all audiences, ANHELL69 is a singular cinematic vision and recommended.

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