MINI has teamed with MIFF to present a selection of films under our Documentaries stream that highlight the universality of the human condition, inspired by its 'Big Love' attitude towards life.
Swati Bhat
Image: MIFF Official
We all have the ability to improve our own and others' lives, irrespective of age, creed, culture, ability, gender, or sexuality.
Explore our whole Documentary strand by clicking the button below, or continue reading to learn more about this year's MINI Selects titles.
Explore here MINI Selects titles
Invisible Beauty
Bethann Hardison, an influential Black model, booking agent, and fashion industry changemaker, is captured in an intimate self-portrait. A parade of voices, from Fran Lebowitz to Whoopi Goldberg, builds an image of the magnetic force who became a forceful catalyst for change, alongside evidence from Hardison herself.
The Echo
The joys, heartaches, and rhythms of daily life in rural Mexico as seen through the eyes of children and young women are captured in this double Berlinale prize winner. With this hypnotic and poignant picture of an often-overlooked part of Mexico, Prayers for the Stolen director Tatiana Huezo returns to factual filmmaking.
The Tuba Thieves
Alison O'Daniel blends together a number of mediums in her trailblazing film that reframes filmmaking from a d/Deaf and hard-of-hearing perspective, informed by her own experience as a hard-of-hearing filmmaker. On Sunday, August 13, don't miss the Deaf-led session, which will include an introduction and post-film discussion in Auslan with spoken-English interpreters!
A Still Small Voice
This Sundance US Documentary Directing Award winner is a stunning depiction of a hospital chaplain and the COVID patients under her care. Luke Lorentzen's fascinating look at healthcare workers and the sacrifices they make in pursuit of their calling follows the kinetic overload of Midnight Family.
On the Adamant
This sympathetic film, which won the Berlinale's Golden Bear, encourages viewers to spend time with the occupants of a floating art-therapy clinic in Paris as they seek help for their mental health. Nicolas Philibert, the director, chronicles their daily lives with sympathy rather than sentimentality.
Casa Susanna
Deep in the Catskill Mountains of New York in the 1950s and 1960s, there was a secret haven for transgender women and cross-dressing men to live freely. This must-see film, which won the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC's US Competition, is the latest from Queer Palm-winning filmmaker Sébastien Lifshitz.
Fledglings
Three children spread their wings tentatively as they say goodbye to their parents and start a boarding school for pupils who are blind or have impaired vision. Lidia Duda, a Polish documentarian, takes over the storytelling reins to the first-graders, whom we follow as they take their first, tentative steps towards conquering the sighted world.
The Eternal Memory
The love story of former journalist Augusto Góngora, who has Alzheimer's illness, and actress and politician Paulina Urrutia is told in this Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner. Oscar-nominated filmmaker Maite Alberdi depicts the Chilean couple's adjustment to their new reality with sensitivity and humour, brilliantly examining the complexity of personal and political memory.
