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About That Popular 'Black Films Don't Sell ...Teaser For Gabriel Mascaro's Feature Doc 'Doméstica' ('Housemaids') - 'The Help' Unscripted
First, recapping what I wrote in my initial profile of the film last week...
It's not quite The Help; the filmmaker's approach intrigues me, and I'd like to see what the end result looks, sounds and feels like.
It's titled Doméstica (or Housemaids), a seemingly provocative feature-length documentary by Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro.
Mascaro's approach involved giving video cameras to seven adolescents from six Brazilian locales and asked them to film their family's maids for a week, all day, everyday, for 7 straight days.
So it's kind of what you'd call an observational documentary, capturing the diversity of employee attitudes towards their maids, the relationship between each maid and the house they are hired to work in, how each reacts to the fact that there's a camera following them around, and more.
Given how intimate it seems, it could be compelling viewing; emphasis on could be. I haven't seen it, so I can't say.
Of course, one could argue that, while there might be some genuinely poignant moments, how much of what we see is indeed sincere, and not just the maids acting or saying what they think their bosses will want to hear.
In essence, how truthful can they be, when their employers' kids are the filmmakers?
Regardless, I'm still curious.
The fillm is scheduled to make its word premiere at The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA), which runs Nov 14-25.
A teaser for the film has arrived (emphasis on teaser), and is embedded below:
2 Comments
SB | November 19, 2012 1:37 PM
Without commenting directly about the quality or likability of the film, I was concerned about the housemaids themselves and if they personally had an opportunity to provide input during the review stage or if any independent person or body was "looking" out for the interest of the housemaids during the editing / review stage.
The film definitely portrays some shocking and intimate moments about the lives of the housemaids, and during one scene one of the housemaids asks their employer to turn off the camera. During another scene you somehow witness the process of obtaining permission from the housemaid in order to be filmed: whereby the employer puts a form in front of the housemaid and then asks her to sign it.
From my experience living in "still-developing" countries, if I had of asked one of my staff members to be filmed, they would have said yes; since as Obenson puts it, "saying what they think their bosses will want to hear".
So I just wonder if the producer ensured sufficient protection of the housemaids and personally spoke to each housemaid to fully explain the implications of being filmed, detailing who might see the film, and assuring them that they truly had an option to not be filmed; or if they had the option for certain segments of the footage to be excluded by the employee. It is one thing to dance in front of a small black box (for e.g. one scene with the housemaid implying promiscuous dancing in front of the employers younger child and asking the child which person he would like to wash him (and as implied by the housemaid - including his "big dick") when he grows up); but I wonder if the housemaid would have done the same thing in front of a live audience?
The film was certainly interesting - but I would be very curious about the depth of explanation that possibly occurred during the signing of the "release" forms by the employees. The producer indicated that the raw video footage was requested to be submitted by the employer (filmer) without review (I assume by both the employer and the employee); and as such I also wonder if there was any opportunity for the housemaids to review the footage prior to finalization.
JB | October 29, 2012 11:52 PM
This will not be the world premiere of DOMESTICA. The film has already been shown at the Festival de Brasilia do Cinema Brasileiro, in Brazil, on September 21.