"The Looking Glass Bird" is a documentary piece with artistic styling, telling the story of the Sahrawi people living in the Western Sahara, and more importantly the place that women occupy in this society. There are some beautiful visuals throughout, and some of the people involved are both interesting and intensely articulate on their plight, but the film falls down in not giving enough information about the background of these people. Because of this, it would not be a fit for WildSound.
The story of the Sahrawi people is a fascinating one, and it's a hugely rich choice of subject matter. Their sense of displacement is strongly echoed in many of the beautiful shots of where they live, and the gentle, slow movement of the people – especially Memona – capture this sense of helplessness. However, it's not a widely known issue across the world, and when looking at submissions for international festivals this should be understood. There is very little opening description to help guide us into their world, and there is very little information about the political background. This is important, because much of the conversation deals with the forced nomadic life these people are leading, and without the knowledge of how they were displaced by other more powerful nations it lacks weight.
It also would help to give more information around the women's experience traveling to different countries. It's clear that seeing a developed country like Spain is a hugely affecting experience for these women, but more clarity around this would have helped – is it a rite of passage? Where do these women visit in these countries? How long are they away?
It is fortunate, then, that the participants in the film are so good, so knowledgeable, and so capable of articulating their desire for something more. The conversation between the women about their place in the world, about the role of women, and about their yearning to experience the "single life" as witnessed in Spain, is fascinating. Similarly, their argument about who has suffered more in this mess – them or their parents – is beautifully put. When the point is made that the only reason their parents seem to suffer more is because they knew a life before this sparse existence is both heart-wrenching and completely logical. The women that you've found to appear in this piece are fantastic characters.
Technically, the film has some beautiful shots of the stone town they occupy, but there could be more shots of the surrounding landscape, whether it's desert or anything else. It would help to bring forward even more this sense of isolation. The structural device of the three teas is also a strong one, but could be shortened a little more, as it goes on for a little too long each time.
Overall, "The Looking Glass Bird" has fantastic elements, but is too close to its subject to understand that a wider audience would need more supplementary information to truly understand these people's plight. Some balancing of factual narration with the almost fairytale narration of the young girl would help this, while a broader use of shots would also have helped it center itself better.
WILDSound film festival
The story of the Sahrawi people is a fascinating one, and it's a hugely rich choice of subject matter. Their sense of displacement is strongly echoed in many of the beautiful shots of where they live, and the gentle, slow movement of the people – especially Memona – capture this sense of helplessness. However, it's not a widely known issue across the world, and when looking at submissions for international festivals this should be understood. There is very little opening description to help guide us into their world, and there is very little information about the political background. This is important, because much of the conversation deals with the forced nomadic life these people are leading, and without the knowledge of how they were displaced by other more powerful nations it lacks weight.
It also would help to give more information around the women's experience traveling to different countries. It's clear that seeing a developed country like Spain is a hugely affecting experience for these women, but more clarity around this would have helped – is it a rite of passage? Where do these women visit in these countries? How long are they away?
It is fortunate, then, that the participants in the film are so good, so knowledgeable, and so capable of articulating their desire for something more. The conversation between the women about their place in the world, about the role of women, and about their yearning to experience the "single life" as witnessed in Spain, is fascinating. Similarly, their argument about who has suffered more in this mess – them or their parents – is beautifully put. When the point is made that the only reason their parents seem to suffer more is because they knew a life before this sparse existence is both heart-wrenching and completely logical. The women that you've found to appear in this piece are fantastic characters.
Technically, the film has some beautiful shots of the stone town they occupy, but there could be more shots of the surrounding landscape, whether it's desert or anything else. It would help to bring forward even more this sense of isolation. The structural device of the three teas is also a strong one, but could be shortened a little more, as it goes on for a little too long each time.
Overall, "The Looking Glass Bird" has fantastic elements, but is too close to its subject to understand that a wider audience would need more supplementary information to truly understand these people's plight. Some balancing of factual narration with the almost fairytale narration of the young girl would help this, while a broader use of shots would also have helped it center itself better.
WILDSound film festival
