Phuong Le

Juru and Vitã’s documentary explores Rio de Janeiro’s Brazilian ballroom scene through footage of competitions and interviews with participants. The film portrays ballroom as a vibrant network of queer chosen families shaped by US ballroom culture, samba and Afro-Brazilian music, while also confronting conflict between houses and the exclusion of performers who do not conform to gender binaries. Its insider perspective and commitment to accountability are praised, although the review finds that its regional context is sometimes underdeveloped.

A Locarno Film Festival retrospective examines how the Hollywood blacklist of the 1940s and 1950s persecuted alleged communists, forced many film workers into exile and dismantled a previously influential Hollywood left. Films such as He Ran All the Way, Caged, High Noon, Salt of the Earth and The Intimate Stranger reveal recurring themes of surveillance, entrapment, racism, sexism and political fear, while the inclusion of informers Elia Kazan and Edward Dmytryk complicates a simple victim-versus-villain narrative. The blacklist’s legacy is connected to the 2025 suspension of Jimmy Kimmel after conservative backlash and Donald Trump’s pressure on critical television programs. The retrospective ultimately presents artistic resistance and creative integrity as resilient, but warns that the political conditions that enabled Hollywood’s capitulation remain relevant.

Vladlena Sandu’s debut feature, Memory, transforms her childhood experiences in Grozny during the 1990s Chechen wars into a hybrid documentary built from surreal tableaux, staged vignettes and diaristic voiceover. The film portrays terror, family violence, ideological education and political oppression through a child’s imaginative perspective, drawing stylistic comparisons to Sergei Parajanov and Andrei Tarkovsky. Its central theme is the loss of innocence, presented both as Sandu’s personal trauma and as a collective experience shared by children affected by war and repression.

Manuel Correa’s documentary follows three families seeking to recover relatives executed under Franco and later transferred from mass graves to the crypt of Spain’s Valle de los Caídos. It shows activists, geographers and architects using blueprints, digital mapping, 3D modelling and forensic technology to overcome the monument’s deliberate inaccessibility and official delays. The film contrasts clinical investigation with grieving relatives’ testimonies, presenting the effort as a struggle for justice and historical memory.

Francesca Scalisi’s documentary follows Valentina, a 27-year-old woman in Niscemi, Sicily, as she seeks independence while living under the shadow of a US military MUOS ground station. The film connects her conflicts with her over-protective family to the wider atmosphere of surveillance and militarization, including her encounters with troops and concerns about electromagnetic and health risks. It places local protests against the satellite communications system within a broader global struggle involving Africa, the Middle East and Palestine, while ultimately moving toward greater family solidarity and understanding.

Lisa Polster’s documentary examines an Austrian deportation camp on Bürglkopf mountain, where asylum seekers endure months or years of legal uncertainty, poor living conditions, limited legal support, strict curfews and social isolation. Through intimate interviews and restrained visual framing, the film presents the young men as individuals deprived of freedom, time and future prospects, contrasting their confinement with the idyllic Alpine landscape and nearby tourists. The documentary is presented as a gentle but powerful critique of the camp’s conditions and the broader treatment of asylum seekers.

A documentary follows Uruguayan sex worker and union leader Karina Núñez as she and fellow members of Otras push for social acceptance, improved labor conditions, and legal protections. The film emphasizes everyday struggles over sensationalism, highlighting challenges such as discrimination in healthcare and barriers to changing professions. Through scenes of organizing, mutual aid, and public advocacy, the story becomes a celebration of a community fighting for dignity and a better future.

The documentary contrasts idyllic images of Canary Islands tourism with interviews revealing the precarious lives of migrant and asylum-seeker workers who sustain the resorts. Scenes of leisure are juxtaposed with accounts of economic hardship, dangerous sea journeys and statelessness, alongside references to environmental threats such as volcanic activity and climate change, exposing the inequality and fragility behind the islands’ postcard image.

A documentary filmed over nearly a decade follows Chilean gold panner Toto Gesell as his son Jorge builds a trommel to ease his father’s arduous work. The film contrasts the slow construction of the machine with Toto’s declining health, underscoring the urgency of the project. Lush visuals of Tierra del Fuego frame an intimate portrayal of family, community, and a fading way of life, resulting in a richly detailed and warmly received documentary.

A documentary set in the French ski town of Montgenèvre exposes the harsh realities faced by migrants crossing the Italian border, contrasting the idyllic resort with scenes of fear, exhaustion and police intimidation. Volunteers working as nightwatchers provide essential aid while evading surveillance, creating a tense dynamic that unfolds with the urgency of a thriller. Through stark visual contrasts, the film highlights the hypocrisy in the treatment of asylum seekers as tourists return to the mountains while migrants remain trapped in perilous conditions.

A documentary shot in 2023 portrays the devastation of Homs through static images of ruins paired with residents’ testimony about trauma and loss. The film highlights the city’s transformation from vibrancy to destruction, contrasts suffering with the resilience of children, and underscores the enduring psychological impact of the Syrian conflict.

A documentary following a Syrian refugee sheltered by a Polish family highlights the dangers facing migrants in the militarised Poland-Belarus border zone and the quiet resistance of citizens providing aid. While showing compassion and courage, it is faulted for ethical lapses such as showing an identifiable deceased refugee and for offering limited insight into its central subject’s personal history.

A documentary set in the isolated valley of Dhorpatan follows two widows who remain in their mountain village through winter, contrasting their personalities and evolving relationship against striking cinematography. While the film offers captivating visuals and compelling interpersonal moments, its emphasis on landscape sometimes dilutes the emotional depth of the women’s story.

A bus explosion in Hong Kong sets off intersecting narratives in Herman Yau’s drama, blending a police investigation with a queer romance marked by poverty and social prejudice. The film’s visual contrasts stand out, but its dual structure leads to tonal imbalance, and its depiction of LGBTQ+ characters falls into shallow archetypes. Subtle nods to past political unrest appear, yet the film’s limited character depth undermines its thematic ambitions.

Set during the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the film portrays a dystopian city controlled by a protein-distribution megacorporation after a livestock disease bans meat production. Two Latino hustlers exploit the surrounding chaos to survive under systemic racial violence. Through varied visual formats, the film blends striking imagery with political undertones, emphasizing resilience against oppressive structures in Charlotte Zhang’s acclaimed debut.

A young man in Buenos Aires becomes trapped in compulsive dating‑app use, struggling to reconcile the thrill of online encounters with the vulnerability required for real intimacy. His contradictory behavior limits the film’s emotional depth, but the depiction of the city’s queer nightlife stands out through detailed visuals and sharp observations.

A documentary by Paula Rodríguez follows Mapuche academic Margarita Canio Llanquinao as she retraces the deportation route of Mapuche prisoner Katrulaf, blending historical testimony with contemporary Indigenous voices. Stunning landscapes contrast with accounts of violence committed by Chilean and Argentinian military forces in the 19th century, forming a collective oral history that preserves suppressed memories and warns future generations.

A documentary following Malaysian queer punk band Shh…Diam! highlights their resistance to discrimination, blending humour, activism and personal transformation. Lead singer Faris’s journey as a trans man anchors the story as the group confronts homophobia, participates in pro‑democracy and LGBTQ+ protests and navigates political shifts, including the rise and fall of Barisan Nasional. Despite setbacks, the film emphasises resilience and hope through moments of personal triumph and community solidarity.

Ado Hasanović’s documentary assembles his father Bekir’s wartime home videos and diaries into a portrait of life in Srebrenica during the Bosnian war, contrasting intimate footage of community and fear with archival recordings of the massacre. Bekir’s testimony and the brutal images captured by Serbian soldiers highlight the genocide’s human cost and the lasting trauma carried by survivors.

A debut feature by Max Morgan follows the developing bond between an Oxford theology student and a middle‑aged fisher, exploring shared trauma, sexuality, and class divides. Strong performances and textured cinematography highlight the characters’ inner turmoil, though an overabundance of themes leads to expository dialogue and a rushed ending. Despite these shortcomings, the film is regarded as an assured and visually distinctive first work.

A documentary by Viktor Nordenskiöld follows Ukrainian deputy minister Olha Stefanishyna as she works to advance Ukraine’s EU accession amid the pressures of war and political opposition, including resistance from Hungary’s Viktor Orbán and domestic legislative setbacks. The film highlights the complexities and slow pace of diplomacy but is criticised for insufficient scrutiny of its subject, including her connection to a corruption case.

A documentary by Inadelso Cossa revisits the psychological trauma of Mozambique’s civil war through interviews, reenactments and lyrical imagery. By returning to his childhood village and speaking with his grandmother and former witnesses, Cossa blends memory and history to reveal a fluid mix of fact, emotion and lived experience. The film’s nontraditional structure highlights the lingering effects of conflict while conveying the intertwining of pain and healing.

A documentary constructed entirely from footage of Argentina’s 1985 Trial of the Juntas presents a vivid historical record of the military dictatorship’s brutal repression. Edited from hundreds of hours of archive material, it emphasizes survivor testimony, exposing state‑sponsored violence and collective trauma while countering the junta’s attempts at erasure. The film’s structure and restrained presentation highlight the dignity of witnesses and underscore both the importance of remembrance and the warning posed to future generations.

A darkly comic drama follows Benji’s post-breakup spiral as he revisits memories of a closeted relationship with Jake, blending nonlinear storytelling with themes of identity, rejection and toxic masculinity. Strong performances and chemistry between the leads elevate the film, though heavy reliance on voiceover occasionally disrupts momentum. Despite moments of over-exposition, the film stands out as a thoughtful exploration of love and identity and a showcase for northern filmmaking talent.

A review of Nathalie Berger’s documentary Chagrin Valley depicting life inside an Ohio retirement home designed as an artificial suburban idyll. Through quiet, observational scenes, the film contrasts residents’ confusion and calm with the largely Black care staff’s extensive physical and emotional labour. The depiction highlights racial and socioeconomic divides and frames the institution as a microcosm of American life.

A documentary follows Opal and Lana, a young trans couple in Dundee, capturing their intimate domestic life and the safe haven they build against outside discrimination. Director Mark Lyken uses a quiet, observational style to highlight the couple’s affection, the significance of ordinary routines, and the importance of queer club spaces where they can find community and refuge. The film reflects themes of chosen family, resilience, and the need for supportive environments for trans people.