“Navalny” and other contenders for the documentary Oscar on the Firehouse screen

At the end of September, a cinema hall dedicated entirely to documentary films finally opened in Manhattan. Small, with only 67 seats, it is located in Chinatown, in a historic building that once housed the fire brigade, as the name of the hall now reminds us - Firehouse. Here, from February 10 to 16, you can see on the big screen all five feature-length documentaries nominated for this year's Oscar. Each is a gripping drama about real-life destinies in today's world. 

All That Breathes is a film about two brothers, Nadeem and Saud, who are trying to save a unique hawk bird from complete destruction: the Black Kite, an essential component of the ecosystem of their native New Delhi. Unrest in society, poisoning of the environment and the devotion of the brothers, who spend day and night in the basement, in their “bird hospital”.     

Another aspect of ecology is revealed by Fire of Love - about the famous volcanologists Katya and Maurice Kraft, who loved volcanoes and each other with equal passion and tragically died during one of their desperately brave expeditions, in 1991, from a volcanic explosion. All this is against the backdrop of eerily beautiful images of nature. All the Beauty and Bloodshed centers on the life and work of artist and activist Nan Goldin, who in recent years has also become known for her fight against the Sackler family, which many believe is responsible for the opioid crisis in America.  

For you and me, two American films are of particular interest. The first one is called “Navalny” and it has already been shown on CNN channels. American critics called this chronicle of the confrontation between man and power “inspiring and deeply significant.” The second, A House Made of Splinters, was filmed in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lisichansk, before the war, in an orphanage where several women try to create a temporary home for children from broken families and where we get to know four of them better. They play, dance, whisper, wonder about the future, take care of the younger ones, tell scary stories - real ones... This gentle, thoughtful and at the same time tragic film in Russian received first prize at the Sundance Festival, where it was shown in January 2022 of the year. What now with these children and their teachers? It's scary to think about.  

The Oscars ceremony will be held for the 95th time on March 12. Firehouse will host a special screening of the ceremony on its screen to mark the occasion. Schedule on the website www.dctvny.org/s/firehousecinema 

Author: Maya Pritzker 

Photo: still from the movie “House of Pieces”