Juliana Kasumu’s BABYBANGZ is the rare documentary that treats technical artistry as important as storytelling. Through dreamy, floating camerawork and beautifully staged, photo-shoot-like infills, the director crafts an engaging milieu from which Anastasia Ebel, owner of the titular salon, can recount the path that led her to open the business. As Ebel frames her commitment to natural hair as a means of preserving a sense of community that’s disappearing via gentrification and using the space as a place where cultural education and informed dialogue can occur, her powerful words intertwine with Kasumu’s creative visuals and resonate with impeccable clarity. Grade: A-minus —Edwin Arnaudin

Aftershock, the new documentary feature from directors Paula Eiselt (93Queen) and Tonya Lewis Lee (The Watsons Go to Birmingham), is an often brutal but inspiring story about bereaved fathers Omari Maynard and Bruce McIsntyre who, after losing their wives (Sharmony Gibson and Amber Rose) to preventable birth complications, take action to raise awareness about this female health crisis. At the heart of the documentary is the relationship between the two widowers, and seeing the men meet for the first time is an honest and blistering documentation of two human beings connecting over shared grief. Witnessing the impact that comes from their actions — as well as those of family and friends who join in — makes Aftershock an essential watch, and the lone elements keeping the film from greatness are odd, often melodramatic music choices that play over what are already heart-wrenching moments. With the subjects offering so much unfiltered emotion over the film’s 90-minute runtime, it’s a shame that the directors lean on this emotionally manipulative crutch. Grade: B-plus —Josh McCormack

Prior to viewing director Joannie Lafrenière’s loving portrait Gabor, I knew nothing about Hungarian-born, Montreal-based photographer Gabor Szilasi. Through interviews with his wife, child, and colleagues, it’s clear why Gabor has been an influential artist, and Lafrenière’s deep respect for her subject results in a true celebration of his craft and warm presence. To describe Gabor as a piece of endearing content might be a bit of an understatement. In the wrong director's hands, the story could read as incredibly schmaltzy and manipulative, but both Lafrenière and Gabor are never seen putting on a facade for the camera. This thoughtful documentary enlightened me on the art of photography, and though certainly not a “warts-and-all” type story, it succeeded in leaving me with a smile on my face. Grade: B-plus —Gabe Lapalombella

Between Night Ride and Michael Workman’s Meantime, it’s interesting how two of the shorts I’ve covered for this festival both put their focus on a documentary filmmaker’s return home to capture their interactions with their aging parents. What makes Todd Karehana’s Night Ride the better of the two is how the director weaves this study of his mother and their shared grief through a distinct and often funny lens: that of assisting his mother look for stray cats to take care of, as this has become her new mission in life. At only nine minutes long, Night Ride proves to be a humorous look at quirky human behavior, but also a pretty effective meditation on grief. Grade: B-plus —JM

Resita Cox’s short Freedom Hill does not mince words. In just under 30 minutes, the director walks us through the sometimes uplifting, sometimes enraging ups and downs of life in Princeville, North Carolina, the “Oldest Town Chartered by Blacks in America.” With outspoken community activists and endearing locals as our guides, we get to know this small community and the long history of “topographical” and “environmental” racism that causes so much of its woes. Founded on the banks of the Tar River in 1885 by freed slaves, Princeville (originally called Freedom Hill) has endured a disproportionate amount of natural disasters due to its positioning in a floodplain — something Cox points out is a deliberate tactic of the “white governance regime” that historically controls Black communities. As we traverse the countryside, stories of frustration and perseverance in the face of systematic racism begin to emerge as a new generation takes up the mantle of preserving Princeville’s legacy, despite indifference and opposition from the white establishment. Freedom Hill is an eye-opening documentary and its subject matter deserves further study and action. Grade: B —James Rosario

After a plodding opening 20 minutes that suggests it missed its calling as a short, Let the Little Light Shine turns a corner and justifies its feature-length runtime. The catalyst of Kevin Shaw’s film is none other than Chance the Rapper, a South Side native and education advocate who joins the fight by National Teachers Academy students, teachers, and parents to halt Chicago Public Schools’ efforts to convert the high-achieving, predominately Black elementary school into a high school that will serve a largely white population. The celebrity injection invigorates the proceedings but also helps reframe the crusading community members as superstars in their own right, and their resilience as CPS attempts to subvert their efforts is about as inspirational as these kind of films get. Grade: B —EA

Alejandro Alonso Estrella’s short Abyssal opens with a very long shot of a man walking up a spiral staircase. We never see his face, and the only sound comes from the echoed footfalls of his long ascent. But as he climbs, it becomes impossible not to wonder what his purpose is. As the world of Abyssal expands, we come to learn we are in a scrapyard for decommissioned ships on the coast of Cuba, and that inside these ships rests the lives and stories of both those who served on them and the men charged with their dismantling. Then, quite suddenly, the scene gives way to a haunting and poignant examination of life, death, and superstition as the scrapyard workers wander the abandoned hallways of these ghost ships, confessing their dreams and fears, all while Estrella’s cameras capture them in brilliant shadow and stunning color. Abyssal is a stunning film to look at, and a fascinating one to ponder. Grade: B —JR

In Yaara Bou Melhem’s Unseen Skies, viewers follow Trevor Paglen, a celebrated artist whose unconventional work brings him all over the world. Across his creations, Paglen explores the role the U.S. government has played in national security, from border patrol to the ever growing risk to personal privacy, taking time-lapse photos with various bits of equipment to spotlight the beauty of nature. Most are shots of the southwest, featuring sprawling landscapes and desert dunes that also include satellites in the sky, bringing nature and machine together with striking juxtaposition. After having his artwork celebrated and lauded, Paglen sets out on a mission to launch his own satellite, one made for purely artistic purposes among a sea of corporate and governmental greed.

Melhem has a keen eye for studying her subject, and the use of drones in particular highlight and bring a crisp and beautiful backdrop to the locations Paglen finds for his art. If you are a fan of landscape photography and have a punk rock sensibility toward the government, this documentary is one to seek out. Its narrow focus is interesting and Paglen is a compelling character to follow. Come for the beautiful locations, stay for the anti-establishment message. Grade: B —Joel Winstead

As a history lesson and personal narrative, Jon-Sesrie Goff’s After Sherman has a lot to offer, but it never quite solidifies into a clear portrait of the land and people it examines. Taking a poetic approach rather than a linear historical one, Goff attempts to pinpoint the importance of the land his family owns in coastal South Carolina, the significance of its former use as a plantation, and the power it has over him. Through a series of stream-of-consciousness confessions and philosophical observances from the director, his family, and community at large, an enlightening picture of over 150 years of life on Black-owned land in the rural South emerges that’s as charming as it is righteous. Goff’s film succeeds on an emotional level, but his forays into out-of-place animated sequences diminish some of the story’s power, leaving After Sherman feeling somewhat diminished. Still, there’s loads to latch onto here as Goff walks us through the enlightening history of an often overlooked slice of post-Civil War America. Grade: B-minus —JR

Michael T. Workman’s short Meantime is an up close and personal portrait of his father, Tim. After receiving news that the elder Workmans suffered a stroke a few months prior, Michael travels to his hometown in order to capture their interactions and spend time reflecting on their loving but troubled family life. The result is no doubt a powerful self-reckoning for the filmmaker, but it makes for a rather aimless documentary. Despite consistently beautiful cinematography and tear-jerking moments of vulnerability from Tim, I often struggled to grasp what I was supposed to take away from Meantime. It’s undoubtedly a profoundly personal work from the younger Workman, but one that frequently feels so insular that it kept this reviewer at arm’s length. Grade: B-minus —JM

The impetus for director Isabel Castro embarking upon the project that would become Mija is never made clear within the film itself, which appropriately carries a similar quasi-aimlessness. Fortified by plentiful home videos from subject Doris Muñoz’s youth, the feature competently weaves together her struggles as the lone documented U.S. citizen in her family and her work as a music manager, shepherding the careers of hugely successful Mexican-American artist Cuco and up-and-coming singer/songwriter Jacks Haupt. Though sparse voiceover narration by Muñoz offers some personal insights, the film overall is a bit too fly-on-the-wall for its own good, resulting in somewhat fuzzy messaging. Nevertheless, a handful of big emotional scenes arise, primarily related to her family’s citizenship woes, but feel like outliers in an otherwise unfocused endeavor. Grade: B-minus —EA

(Photos courtesy of Full Frame)