El Forraje (The Forager), Alexandre Echeverri, Juan Solera and Felipe Reutter

After a career-ending accident, Spanish chef Carlos goes on a journey to rediscover his passions for cooking in the Pyrenees mountains. And we get to witness every moment. As inspiration for the film, the team shares this quote with us: ‘I went to the woods because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.’ ― Henry David Thoreau. This film has won best One-Day Doc within the Art of Documentary and Official Selection at Barcelona Independent Filmmakers Fest.

— VC member and co-director, Alexandre Echeverri

Bill Russell: Legend, Sam Pollard

‘He created the most awesome American sports dynasty that’s ever existed.’ That’s the opening line to the trailer for this thrilling 2-part documentary. Bill Russell: Legend explores the life and career of the famous NBA champion, coach, and civil rights activist Bill Russell.

“As one of a few DP's who worked on this documentary, I filmed the b-roll sequences to help cover the telling of Bill Russell's life in Reading, Massachusetts, a suburb outside of Boston. [...] I'm very thankful I was able to play a small part in bringing the story of an NBA legend, civil rights activist, and our family friend, to a wider audience.”

— VC member and DP, Trent Watts

Gotta Groove Records, Nick Cavalier

This short documentary film is on the history and resurgence of vinyl records from the perspective of an artist focused pressing plant in Cleveland, Ohio named Gotta Groove Records. A hero story about grit, manufacturing and the pursuit of passion.

“I met Vince and Matt at a SXSW event in 2009 with a band I was filming, and they happened to be in my hometown of Cleveland Ohio. I approached them to do this piece as a passion project and it caught fire on the interwebs during the crest of the wave of the vinyl record resurgence. Very proud of this piece.”

— VC member and Director, Nick Cavalier

Call Me Anytime, I'm Not Leaving the House, Sanjna Selva

Two days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Lesya Verba, a Brooklyn-based artist and performer, gets through to her older sister in Odessa, Ukraine via FaceTime. CALL ME ANYTIME, I’M NOT LEAVING THE HOUSE is a long title for a short film about a moment in time that feels never-ending. The phone call between the sisters serves as the film’s narrative spine, interspersed with meditative musings from Lesya, our film protagonist, in deep consultation with her past and recollections of her motherland, now crumbling before her eyes. This explores the transformative love between two sisters and a resonant portrait of “home,” threaded through a continuous tension of neither sister wanting to hang up the phone.

The full film can be watched on PBS here.

Glacier Dreams, Frederick Bernas

Enter the creative process of "Glacier Dreams" by Refik Anadol – a long-term research and art project at the intersection of multi-sensory experiences, machine learning and environmental studies – which explores our collective melting memories of a fundamental life force on earth.

“We had an incredibly tight time frame with this project - in terms of prep and logistics, travel scheduling from multiple countries, and limited shoot days. Added to that, Icelandic weather can be notoriously unpredictable, so we had to leave room for flexibility while making sure we'd be able to get all the shots, and thinking creatively to protect our gear from the cold - for example, by making an improvised battery warming kit with a hand heating pouch designed for golf players!”

— VC member and Director, Frederick Bernas

Follow the Light, Nathan Siegel

Follow the Light brings together professional freed divers Juanma Molleja and Valeria Olives and boat captain Asier Garmendia on a week-long sailing and cave freediving expedition to the Mediterranean island of Menorca.

“This film was a process of discovery for the crew as much as our protagonists. This trip was the first time I had practiced freediving in a cave, never mind attempting to film it. We got this film through a ton of experimentation and adaptation - like most documentary shoots!”

— VC member and Director, Nathan Siegel

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