Docs to Watch Directors Roundtable: A review

Docs to Watch Directors Roundtable at SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2022

Last Wednesday, the Lucas Theater hosted ten phenomenal documentary filmmakers with high hopes for the Oscars. The panel kicked off with much excitement as SCAD unveiled a brand-new award, the Daring Documentarian Award. Evgeny Afineevsky of “Freedom on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom,” was the award’s first honoree and made a surprise appearance at the Lucas Theater.

Scott Feinberg of the Hollywood Reporter moderated the ninth annual Docs to Watch Roundtable and introduced the following directors on stage: Matthew Heineman (“Retrograde”), Ondi Timoner (“Last Flight Home”), Shaunak Sen (“All that Breathes”), Sara Dosa (“Fire of Love”), Ryan White (“Good Night Oppy”), David Siev (“Bad Axe”), Kathlyn Horan (“The Return of Tanya Tucker: Featuring Brandi Carlile”), Daniel Roher (“Navalny”), Margaret Brown (“Descendant”), and Brett Morgen (“Moonage Daydream”).

“We are living in the Golden Age of documentary.”

Feinberg began the panel by addressing the setbacks and drastic narrative changes brought by the Covid-19 epidemic. Heineman beautifully stated, “If you end up with the story you started with, you weren’t listening”. This means a lot, coming from the director who dodged a Taliban sniper bullet after President Biden recalled the Afghan troops while producing his documentary.

Morgen, who directed “Moonage Daydream” also faced a near-death experience during his production, as he suffered from a heart attack and briefly flat-lined. This medical emergency resulted in him editing the entire film alone during the pandemic.

Roher (“Navalny”) added that he was forced to sneak across European borders due to strict lockdowns.

Daniel Roher at SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2022. (Photo credits: Madi Wellborn)

The panelists ultimately recognized that the pandemic shaped and inspired them as filmmakers. Siev, for example, created “A love letter to Bad Axe,” documenting the struggle his family business faced during the lockdown.

Timoner stated that her five-minute memorial video quickly spiraled into thirty-two minutes because her “dad was still alive in Avid”. Dosa and Morgen harnessed the power of archival footage due to the inability to film in person. White wrote his first screenplay. Siev juggled humans and animals behind the lens. Additionally, two friends reunited, Horan and Carlile, to bring a music legend back to life.

Directors roundtable at SCAD Savannah Film Festival 2022. (Photo credits: Madi Wellborn)

The pandemic was an unexpected event that challenged the world. These directors stepped up with strength and unmeasurable creativity to fight for stories needing to be told.