In the tradition of the seminar we will not be announcing the titles of the film before the screening – this habit of non-preconceptualization is a part of the Flaherty experience, but know that they will be amazing international non-fiction films. We will have a facilitated discussion after each screening in the Seminar’s longstanding tradition of deep discussion. We are excited for people to gather, watch, debate, make connections, and share.

From the programmers: “We approach documentary filmmaking as that which brings together bodies, minds and spirits across different spaces, worlds and temporalities. Beyond self-organizing and community-building, to commune is to communicate with mystical, animistic, and ritualistic capacities. Beyond affirming commonality, to commune is to connect with others and to be in touch with the unknowable. We turn to the fundamental value of cinema as an encounter with beings and worlds very different from our own.

Our programme seeks to explore how contemporary filmmakers and moving image artists are expanding the imaginative possibilities of communing through documentary forms. We want to highlight how filmmakers and artists, especially those connected to the Global South, are inheriting surprising legacies of historical efforts to commune. We’re intrigued by artistic explorations of communal capacities in spaces and situations such as the classroom, the ritual, the carnival, the film set, the potent site, the gathering and the protest.”