City of God

Located in what can only be called a ‘ghetto’ in the deepest part of Brazils capital- Rio de Janeiro, sets the scene of Rocket. A young Brazilian growing up around ‘hoodlums’. His only dream- to become a photographer. From beginning to end, the viewer is captured in what can only be explained as a movie for South America as Tsotsi is to South Africa. A movie showing how the youths can so easily be caught up in the tragedies of a life less than ordinary. A life where around every corner you’re watching to see if someone might want to kill you, a life where drugs are the name of the game and the loser simply dies. No questions asked. You screw around with the wrong people and you find yourself six feet under.

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Capturing the Friedmans

A documentary about one of the most talked about American trials of the last few decades. An interesting and sometimes well-filmed documentary in which only at some points kept my interest but at others I felt myself drifting off into wonderland. I was unfortunately only subjected to the first half of the ‘doccie’, in which I only saw the lead up to the Friedman trial and then the night before he pleaded guilty.

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Angola Saudedas

He wrote, “Angola is hungry for a new future. After 27 years of war there’s been peace for 3 years now.”
He wrote, “Around here people ask, “Will Angola rise from the ashes and be rebuilt again?” ”

An unknown voice reads letters which take the viewer on a journey across different realities of Angola. Between street boys and fashion models we encounter a kaleidoscope of characters and colours that turn around the striking contradictions of poverty and plenty in one of Africa’s largest producers of oil and diamonds.
Poetry and musical lyrics are used in conjunction with each other and together, film and music create poems and fragments out of the enigma that is Angola. Angola Saudades from the one who loves you seems to be a people’s story told from the street up, one which captures a unique moment in Angola’s history, a country just coming to terms with the reality of peace.
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Fast, Cheap and out of Control

After being subjected to just over an hours worth of watching this interesting and yet quite disturbing documentary I was quite baffled as to what it was about. I left the room still insure of what to write about and then after taking a few days to let the documentary set into my brain- I still wasn’t sure what it was about. One thing is for sure, unlike the rest of the class I was some-what drawn to keep watching.

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Nanook of the North

An endless struggle, an endless hunt for food, the endless daily survival of the Eskimos of the North. Nanook of the north has been described as a landmark in both the history of documentary movement and cinema itself. One of the first films where there was movement. People were at awe just being able to see people moving on a screen. Audio meant nothing. Directors use this to their advantage. They make the audience make up their own minds as to what the narrative will be. What does Nanook say to Nyla? How does he interact with his sons?
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I Find Bliss In Ignorance- Academic Piece

An Academic piece concentrating on the production of ‘I find Bliss In Ignorance’

The issues of race, ethnicity, cultural and gender identities – amongst others – are the more fought over or contested in the light of the discourses of nation (Posel et al. 2001). By producing the documentary entitled ‘I Find Bliss In Ignorance’ I have tried to come to terms with ethics, democracy, representation and identity in a broader context. This essay will concentrate on how I dealt with these pressing issues of identity, representation, democracy and journalistic ethics within a certain context of development, and how I managed to make my documentary while keeping these ideals in mind.

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I Find Bliss In Ignorance

Vergelheo Das Neves
0823306216
vergelheo@hotmail.com
http://vergeblog.blogspot.com
A Verge Creation

I Find Bliss In Ignorance High Res (Windows Media)
I Find Bliss In Ignorance Low Res (Windows Media)

A self reflective piece highlighting the production of ‘I Find Bliss In Ignorance’

The idea of making my own documentary with my own ideas and scripts and my own way of thinking came across as an amazing opportunity to take my journalism and television skills to the next level. This was harder than I ever imagined. This self-reflective report will concentrate on the complications that arose while shooting and organizing the documentary as well as the role of myself in the production. Other areas of interest include how I have related this documentary to that of documentaries watched and analyzed in class while showing how I was able to multi-task within the documentary. In concluding I will mention if it was successful in its initial outcomes or if the documentary came out a little differently to what I expected.

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