Today I went to a special showing of the Academy Award Nominated Documentary Shorts. Surprisingly, all five of the nominees were very good. Not as surprising is that ALL were incredibly depressing films. After they ended, I wondered how many depressed folks see these five and then begin having suicidal thoughts! Yes, they were that depressing. Now having a depressing documentary is not a bad thing--often the films are about social problems and being depressing isn't bad. But ALL of them being depressing? Next year I wouldn't mind seeing at least one that isn't about old people waiting to die, cancer, homelessness, poverty or dying African children--like this year's crop! But, again, they ALL were quite good.... "Redemption" is a film about a seldom discussed topic--folks in New York City who survive by collecting plastic, glass and aluminum drink containers and redeeming them. New York is one of the few states in the US that offers to redeem these items--at a nickle a pop. So, these out of work folks spend much of their time rooting through bags of garbage on the street corners to separate out these items. It's a sort of win-win situation--as they earn money and items get recycled. The film follows many of these people and I was surprised how many let their lives be followed and how they were so talkative to the filmmakers. It's also interesting that in spite of the government telling us how good the economy is, there is a HUGE increase in these pickers in recent years! It is a very good film. Do I think it will win? No. But it's still worth your time and I appreciate the effort the folks took to make it.

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source: Redemption

Today I went to a special showing of the Academy Award Nominated Documentary Shorts. Surprisingly, all five of the nominees were very good. Not as surprising is that ALL were incredibly depressing films. After they ended, I wondered how many depressed folks see these five and then begin having suicidal thoughts! Yes, they were that depressing. Now having a depressing documentary is not a bad thing--often the films are about social problems and being depressing isn't bad. But ALL of them being depressing? Next year I wouldn't mind seeing at least one that isn't about old people waiting to die, cancer, homelessness, poverty or dying African children--like this year's crop! But, again, they ALL were quite good.... "Redemption" is a film about a seldom discussed topic--folks in New York City who survive by collecting plastic, glass and aluminum drink containers and redeeming them. New York is one of the few states in the US that offers to redeem these items--at a nickle a pop. So, these out of work folks spend much of their time rooting through bags of garbage on the street corners to separate out these items. It's a sort of win-win situation--as they earn money and items get recycled. The film follows many of these people and I was surprised how many let their lives be followed and how they were so talkative to the filmmakers. It's also interesting that in spite of the government telling us how good the economy is, there is a HUGE increase in these pickers in recent years! It is a very good film. Do I think it will win? No. But it's still worth your time and I appreciate the effort the folks took to make it.

"Redemption" is an American 35-minute documentary short film from 2013, so this one will have its 5th anniversary next year. For the two directors Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill, this is their second collaboration that was nominated for an Oscar. While the first takes place at the other end of the world, this one here depicts a domestic tragedy. It focuses on the men and women in New York city who are forced to collect returnable bottles and cans to make a living. The most depressing thing is that this is the western world here where it happens, that part of the world that is supposed to be rich enough to offer its citizens a dignified existence. But it is not the case. The one reason why I enjoyed this one so much and why it hit so close to home is because I live in Berlin, a European metropolis, and the issue is the exact same here. You see people, especially senior citizens all the time collecting bottles as their pension is simply not big enough to grant them an existence without an additional income. I think it really is so sad. Anyway, back to the focus here: The people in the center of this documentary all seem to be nice and honorable human beings, which makes it fairly depressing to see them do what they have to do. To me, it is so degrading, especially when the really fight for a few cents, and I really hope I will never get into a situation like that. And those who aren't gentle probably changed because of their "profession" for the worse. The woman near the end who wants a better like for her children is as heartbreaking as most other scenes during these 35 minutes. It's a film that should really shake us up, but it probably won't because honestly the fact how few people saw it and how difficult it is to get a hand on it makes it pretty difficult to get its message through. Nonetheless, I definitely recommend this one. Highly and you don't want to miss out here. One of 2013's most touching, short and long.

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