One of the key messages to come out of a couple of the documentaries I’ve seen at Hot Docs so far is about the power and importance of performance art.
Two very different films both focus on performance as a way to spread political messages as well as joy. Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer follows the trial of the three women accused, and later convicted, of”hooliganism” for performing on the altar at Moscow’s Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. The women performed in various public places, declaring Russian President Vladimir Putin is a dictator, and this particular performance was meant denounce the connection between the church and state.
Filmmakers Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin didn’t have access to the subjects of the documentary since the women were behind bars throughout the filmmaking period, but they pieced together the story through footage of the band performing on rooftops and practicing in an undisclosed location, along with interviews with Nadia, Katia and Masha’s families, some of whom were receiving death threats as the trial continued.
Due to these limitations of access, and because the film ends with two of the girls still sitting in prison, it feels incomplete. As one friend who did not see the film said to me, “I want to see a Pussy Riot documentary in five years.” With hindsight, an opportunity to talk to the women involved and a chance to see what difference this movement will tangibly make to the political climate in Russia, a future documentary will be richer and will hopefully teach us lessons in how to make a difference through loud, unapologetic performance art. In the meantime, this documentary does provide a good overview of the show trial that appeased the Orthodox Church and its followers who wanted to see the ladies punished simply because they were offended (when the prosecutor is interviewed she says some “victims” had to be medicated because they were so shocked by the performance). It also showed the Russian courts to be immovable. Last February a Facebook “friend” of mine claimed that Pussy Riot was just a trendy event that people were only paying attention to because it had the word “pussy” in the name. Hopefully this documentary, and any future coverage of this important movement, will prove otherwise.
In a similar vein, We Cause Scenes looks at the Improv Everywhere group that brings funny and surreal scenarios to the streets of New York for much less political reasons.
In 2001, Charlie Todd was a comedian who wanted an opportunity to do fun things with an audience but wasn’t getting a lot of work. So he started doing his actions in the street, in subway cars and anywhere there was a built-in audience. What started as a few events with his friends grew into larger undertakings with the Upright Citizens Brigade and a growing email list of willing participants, and Improv Everywhere was born.
These are the people behind events such as No Pants Subway Ride (which still happens annually in dozens of countries), Cell Phone Symphony and Carousel Horse Race (pictured). They create artificial occurrences that turn into real moments of weirdness and surprise for the people they encounter.
While these events may be gimmicky, what I like about them is they bring people together for a common (fun) goal and cause passersby to stop and talk to strangers in big cities where people usually plow down the street oblivious to their surroundings. They also just makes people laugh.
With projects like Grand Central Lights (where a large group of people played synchronized multi-coloured lights in a glassed in area above Grand Central Station) and Who You Gonna Call (where the Ghostbusters chased some ghosts out of New York Public Library) they add surprise and awe to an otherwise regular day. Like last year’s Beauty is Embarrassing (though not quite as good), it was nice to see a doc that was truly happy.
For those of you who live in Toronto or close enough to commute for a film, both films are screening tonight (Saturday May 4th): We Cause Scenes is 5:30pm at Hart House Theatre and Pussy Riot is 7pm at the Scotiabank theatre.