Song of Souls

The International Feature-Length Competition is a testament to the development and growth of documentaries from submissions across the world. This category presents documentaries that bring novelty to the language of cinema by telling stories with depth and complexity. These films, to us, can serve to build a discourse in documentary film, placing a perspective that defends its own ideas. The films in this category are packaged with creative storytelling and approaches that not only convey issues, but also use documentary as a medium for social reflection and intervention.

This year’s films have moved on from the heady days of the global pandemic, when face masks, isolation, and social distancing were common themes that emerged in each work. This year’s entries are strong and diverse in terms of style, subject matter, and regional distribution. This category showcases documentaries that remind us of the diversity of humanity and the common struggle for a meaningful, safe, and peaceful life.

We have selected 12 films that capture the breadth of human experience from China to Mexico, Armenia to Myanmar.

General note on Competition
To continue taking part in documentary development and exploration in Indonesia–and the world–is Festival Film Dokumenter (FFD)’s main objective. FFD’s Competition Program is the main channel in assessing these dynamics. This year, more than 400 films were submitted. Through those numbers, topics about tradition are still on the pedestal. However, the way of perceiving and contextualization regarding the issues presented became a fairly fresh offer from several submitted films.

The presentation of perspectives and aesthetic overtures against conventional patrons became the lively scene of this year’s film submissions. These propositions lead us–at least–to take a look at the filmmakers’ heads and the way they see the world in continuous flux. From Latin America to Eastern Europe, they all share a common thread: human prowess in responding to nature and life.

Within 4 categories, this year’s 28 finalists not only present a diverse palette of storytelling and viewpoints, but also respond to the mundane everyday matters that revolve around them. The seemingly constant life becomes the birthplace of a documentary that is rather dynamic. A trip to the distant memory of history, a glimpse of the unknown future, as well as a celebration of day-to-day life become the supporting verbs of the documentaries in this program. All in all, the films in this program introduce us to fragments of life that, hopefully, can be our basis in celebrating what stays unchanged and what needs to be changed.

– Gerry Junus & Rugun Sirait