First of all, you might think, why 2021-2002 and why now? Well, I have a planner that is my assistant, my manager, my coach, and my mentor … it is called the W Planner, and since it is undated and customizable, I make my “planning year” equal to 11 months (winning a month a year in planning). So the 2021-2022 year was from August 2021 to June 2022, and hence I have made my lists at the end of this “W Planner Year”.
Here are the list from bottom to top:
5. Road Runner
It’s not where you go. It’s what you leave behind… Chef, writer, adventurer, provocateur: Anthony Bourdain lived his life unabashedly.
4. At Berkley
If you don’t know Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930), then you don’t know documentary film making. He is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is “devoted primarily to exploring American institutions”.[1] He has been called “one of the most important and original filmmakers working today”.
Wiseman uses Observational Mode to craft the theme of the film, which is a prominent style within direct cinema but he doesn’t like to agree:
What I try to do is edit the films so that they will have a dramatic structure. That is why I object to some extent to the term “observational cinema” or cinéma vérité, because observational cinema, to me at least, connotes just hanging around with one thing being as valuable as another, and that is not true. At least, that is not true for me, and cinéma verité is just a pompous French term that has absolutely no meaning as far as I’m concerned. Wiseman has been known to describe his films as “Reality Fictions”, usually in defense that his films are pieces of art
If you are not used to cinema verite, then be ready to be bored to death, unless that is what you are looking for .. being submerged in the topic of the film … in this case it is University of California at Berkley.
3. The Alpinist
I get rock climbing and solo climbing and free climbing when you become a hero and a brand ambassador … but being a solo free climber breaking world records one after the other with hating cameras or celebrity .. that was shocking to me.
I could not stop watching this documentary once I started, and it ends with an existential shock, which I won’t give away for you.
2. The Mole Agent
It is not clear if this is a documentary or a film, but I would like to consider it a documentary. If you have a member of the family growing old, or if you have the concern of being old one day and entering into a nursing home, it is important to take a moment to be there within this documentary, that will make you rethink the meanings of life.
1. I Am Greta
One of the iconic faces of the 21st century bringing the topic of global warming to its appropriate level of urgency. We will remember her more if Global Warming doesn’t stop and we and our children suffer the consequences.
She has done her part. What are you doing?
Wissam Charafeddine 