It’s been a busy but fun weekend at 2024 MSPIFF! I have seen a total of five films so far: three documentaries (Unbroken, Call Me Dancer, and Broken Eyes) and two narratives (The Movie Teller, Àma Gloria), all of them #directedbywomen Woot!! The weather was wonderfully Summer-like with sunny skies and temps in the 70s, but yet The Main Cinema in Minneapolis was packed all weekend long!

It was fun seeing friends I hadn’t seen in a while at the fest!

UNBROKEN documentary

Would you hide me? It’s a thought-provoking question at the heart of Unbroken… originally titled ‘Would You Hide Me’ Filmmaker Beth Lane went to Germany to trace the steps of those who have helped her mother and six of her Weber siblings.

Some might have heard the story of seven Jewish children who miraculously escaped Nazi persecution and made it to America together as one family, but this film gave detailed accounts of how it happened through well-researched archives and interviews with various family members. Beth’s aunt Ruth is definitely the highlight with her raw honesty and dry sense of humor.

The line-drawn animations combined with strong sound design make the story come to life even more. The animations are so artistic and gorgeous to look at, but more importantly, it’s an effective storytelling device. It does a great job visualizing some of the sequences depicting events told from fractured memories laden with trauma.

I love how Lane’s moments of surprising discovery are captured live, such as seeing the original photo of her grandpa and meeting the grandson of the Worin farmer Arthur Schmidt who hid her family. Those deliberate choices made the doc more affecting, while she also doesn’t shy away from telling some of the darkest ordeal one of her aunts had to endure. Lane drives her question of ‘Would you hide me?’ by asking some young people she encountered in a German neighborhood whether they would risk their lives like Mr. Schmidt did to save others.

During Q&A, Lane shared that her superpower as a first-time director, surround herself with experts, ppl who know more than her. I’m impressed with her directorial debut which is unabashedly personal yet tackles a universal theme that good will ultimately overcome evil. Unbroken is a deeply engaging, profound, and heartfelt tribute to one woman’s family and those who have helped them.

Àma Gloria

Every year I’d see a film where I was simply transfixed by a performance of a kid actor and it’d be hard to top the performance of Louise Mauroy-Panzani. She stars as six-year-old Cléo who’s been raised by her dotting nanny Gloria (Ilça Moreno Zego) since she was a baby. I love the opening with Cléo during an eye exam which instantly establishes the close bond between the two. Cléo absolutely adores Gloria and she’s everything to her, so naturally she’s devastated when her mother’s passing calls Gloria to return home to her native Cape Verde.

Her sensitive single dad (Arnaud Rebotini) who works long hours daily, sees how much Cléo misses her nanny and finally agrees that she spends her Summer holiday with Gloria. Most of the film takes place on the island in Cape Verde as Cléo shares a roof in Gloria’s tiny home (as Cléo describes matter-of-factly) with her two children, Nanda and César. The heavily pregnant Nanda tries her best to be nice to Cléo but César doesn’t bother to hide his resentment as Gloria treats Cléo like her own daughter.

This is such an exceptional solo directorial debut from Marie Amachoukeli-Barsacq who based the story on her own childhood experience with her nanny. The filmmaker sensitively tackles the issue of maternal love and the complexity of the characters’ circumstances that involve race (Cléo is Caucasian while Gloria is of African or Creole origin), culture, belief system, and socioeconomic status. Cléo has to quickly realize that Gloria’s world doesn’t revolve around her, though a child her age wouldn’t understand that being a nanny is just a means to an end. Gloria has big dreams of running a seaside hotel that she’s hoping would be ready for tourist season, but construction is stalled as there’s no money.

Mauroy-Panzani portrays Cléo with adorable childlike innocence and wide-eyed curiosity, but also captures the selfish and even disturbing nature of her character. One particular scene of her and Nanda’s baby drew gasps from the audience. I was even more astonished when I learned that this is Mauroy-Panzani’s first-ever acting role, while this film marks Zego’s first feature debut. Their performances are natural and the strong bond between Cléo and Gloria is wonderfully convincing.

I find this movie so immersive and deeply touching thanks to Amachoukeli-Barsacq’s capable direction, incorporating the use of gorgeous watercolor animation and great sound design to enhance storytelling about the bittersweet nature of growing up. Inès Tabarin’s cinematography deftly captures Cléo’s emotions with her close-ups and the wide shots showcase the stunning raw beauty of the island. Watching this made me feel nostalgic about my own nanny who helped raise me… Ama Gloria is a rare film that feels personal but also offers escapist entertainment.

Stay tuned for more #MSPIFF24 reviews in the coming days!

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