Day 2, part II

Today’s only half over, and it’s been a busy one for the FilmCatcher crew. This morning, we did back-to-back interviews with Tanaz Ershaghian, director of Be Like Others, a fascinating documentary about young men in Iran who undergo gender-reassignment surgery—with the full blessing of the Shiite theocracy. We also spoke with the magnificently articulate Ellen Kuras, cinematographer extraordinaire (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Neil Young: Heart of Gold, and The Ballad of Jack and Rose). She’s here to promote her directorial debut, Nerakhoon (The Betrayal), a gorgeously impressionistic film that tells the story of a family’s escape from Laos during the Vietnam War to the mean streets of Brooklyn, and its subsequent impact on their sense of identity. The film is an astonishing piece of work, beautiful to look at and to contemplate, especially given the meditative voiceover of co-director Thavisouk Phrasavath. It very much put me in mind of the French director Claire Denis.

Posted on 01/19/08 by: DGSmith 10:59 AM