The short-form documentaries at the Martha’s Vineyard Film Center during the week of Feb. 21 carry an enormous impact. Three are intense, dealing with violent crimes, and skillfully draw us into the complexity of the effects of violence on actual humans. The other two are joyous, remarkably moving films about musicians.
Kim A. Snyder’s “Death by Numbers” opens with the young high school student Samantha Fuentes reading from her journal, “I was never good at math. But I remember every number. 2:14. Room 1214. Five minutes and 32 seconds from first shot to last. One bullet in my leg. Fifteen stitches to close it. Seventeen killed. Two dead kids next to me. Three kids killed themselves after the shooting at the high school. This is why numbers make my head hurt … I am legally known as Case No. 26. Most mass shooters die during or immediately after their attacks. They never make it to court. Mine did.” We follow the trial as 12 jurors determine whether the teenage shooter should live or die.
During the film, Fuentes grapples with existential questions of hatred and justice as she prepares to confront her shooter in court four years after being shot with an AR-15 during her “Holocaust Studies” class. At her testimony prep, she tells her attorney, “I’m feeling really confused right now. I don’t feel like this is going to bring me any more clarity. It’s poor and shitty either way — if we spend the money to kill him, if we spend the money not to. We are using resources that should be given to the people who are living and breathing and have the potential and opportunity in their life that was swiped away from them. Those are the people we should be investing energy into. Not this.”
Nonetheless, she goes forward, first testifying and then confronting the killer with a breathtaking statement born from trauma but stemming from what we hope will be sustaining inner strength.
Smriti Mundhra’s documentary “I am Ready, Warden” is likewise not an easy film. It follows the pending execution of self-confessed killer John Henry Ramirez, who, in a botched robbery, brutally murdered 46-year-old Pablo Castro outside a convenience store in Texas.
“I Am Ready, Warden” opens with Ramirez speaking frankly about his total culpability and remorse. He refuses to use his difficult childhood as an excuse. Speaking to his son, those in the religious community that supported him, and Castro’s son, he says, “I’m sorry you had to go through this … I made the most changes I could. I bettered myself as much as I could. Hopefully, that’s enough.”
Ramirez, who has used up his appeals after 14 years on death row, has come to terms with his execution: “It’s the only out for me. It’s not a good way, but it’s a way to stop hurting all the time.”
As the clock ticks down, we hear from Castro’s son, Aaron. Scrolling through images of his father stabbed to death on the ground, he says, “I stare at his picture a lot, hoping it is someone else. But it never will be anyone else. John Henry Ramirez viciously murdered my father. He should pay for what he did … Justice needs to be served.” Ramirez tries to reach out during his incarceration, but Aaron wants no part of it. Ramirez’s son does, however, maintain a connection to his father, knowing him only as the good man he has tried to be, making their parting conversation utterly gut-wrenching.
Bill Morrison’s aptly titled “Incident” takes us into the heart of a real-life shooting caught on camera on the streets of Chicago in 2018. Made entirely from a montage of police body and dashboard camera footage, often in split screen, the film follows the chaos surrounding the very specific but all-too-familiar scenario of police killing an innocent man. Five officers, three of whom were in their first year, try to stop Harith Augustus, believing he is carrying a concealed weapon. As Augustus shows his license to carry a concealed gun, things get out of control, and seconds later, an officer shoots him dead on the street. As our gaze shifts from the long shots to those of Augustus lying dead, the intensity of the unfolding story increases. This event occurred when tensions between the police and community were already strained, with the anticipation of the trial of a different police officer who shot a suspect 16 times, including nine times in the back. Showing footage from multiple cameras simultaneously, “Incident” conveys the moment-to-moment chaos with great immediacy, leaving us to wonder how any “true” narrative will ever emerge.
Ema Ryan Yamazaki’s “Instruments of a Beating Heart” teems with tender sensitivity. Endearing first graders at a Tokyo public elementary school brim with excitement at the prospect of forming an orchestra to perform Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” at a ceremony to welcome incoming first graders. The students bubble with nerves and throw themselves into the audition and rehearsal process. The heart of the film is the youths’ honest dedication to one another, supporting classmates when the going gets tough. Their teacher says, when some children don’t make the cut, “It’s very kind of you to be sad for each other. But remember, this is an opportunity to grow. You can use these emotions and apply them to your future.” For them, the future is now. As the performance draws near, the teacher who conducts them compliments them: “Your hearts are becoming one.”
Molly O’Brien’s “The Only Girl in the Orchestra” tells the story of trailblazing double bassist Orin O’Brien. The bassist was never one to seek the spotlight. However, when Leonard Bernstein hired her in 1966 as the first female musician in the New York Philharmonic, she inevitably became the focus of media attention, and became, ultimately, one of the most renowned musicians of her generation.
For dates, times, and tickets, visit bit.ly/MVFC_OscarShortDocs.
