Lucinda Finds Ritual in Lithuania

Lucinda’s film, titled Touch Grass, opens with a filmmaker who admits she’s been rattled by negative comments piling up online. Rather than spiral further, she turns to an old pagan ceremony in Lithuania as a way of grounding herself again. It’s a short, sharp piece — just under four minutes — but it lands as one of the more introspective entries of the week, less about the ritual itself and more about what drives someone to seek it out. Lucinda now heads to Los Angeles for her next assignment.

Jayden Reflects on Home in Jordan

To My Future Self, by Jordan’s Jayden, chronicles Bedouin communities trying to live their traditional lifestyles, as a reflection on his own. Living from suitcase to suitcase, as Jayden has done for much of this tournament; he’s found the question that seems to resonate with him: What is home? A sedate personal comment on culture, Jayden’s next stop is Senegal.

Mikaela Honors Unseen Work in Canada

Mikaela’s contribution, An Ode To Keepers, is a tribute to a lighthouse keeper and the kind of labour that rarely gets acknowledged because it works best when nobody notices it at all. At just over three minutes, it’s a compact meditation on quiet dedication — the people who show up and do the unglamorous work that keeps everything else running smoothly in the background. From Canada, Mikaela is now on her way to Mongolia.

William is a documentary on the history guardian in Turkey

The Watchman of Antiquity is the film of William and focuses on Mustafa Guvven, a man who is protecting the archaeological site for 17 years in a rural area of Turkey. Now, with his own clock counting down, Mustafa has set himself a new task—of making sure the site’s heritage lives on after he has left to protect it. It’s a tale about legacy and responsibility, as seen by a man who has devoted almost 20 years of his life to one expanse of land. William now travels on to Vietnam.

Elliot Searches for Meaning in Monaco

Elliot’s Lost In Monaco takes the glitz of one of the world’s most glamorous destinations and turns it inside out. Rather than chasing luxury, Elliot finds himself chasing something harder to pin down — a genuine story, and along with it, a reminder of why he signed up for this journey in the first place. The film completes itself in just 3 minutes; still it has quite a grip for its viewers. Elliot is going to be in Brazil next.

Kate Explores a Data Centre in the Desert in Utah

The last entry titled Mr Wonderful Atomic Bomb takes a complete turn. It was filmed in Utah, where Kevin O’Leary, the investor of Shark Tank, wants to establish one of the biggest data centres on earth in the middle of the desert. With technology advancing so quickly these days and the landscapes it changes in the process, it’s an appropriate topic for Kate to discuss.

Why this week is special

Race Around the World week nine isn’t all about the geography, it’s all about the films made and the personal aspect of them. This batch is definitely more introspective than the initial episodes were, and almost as many looks inwards as outwards. There’s a definite feel of comfort when it comes to placing themselves in their work, be it Lucinda processing her online noise in ritual or Jayden putting himself in the idea of home.

Catch Up Before Next Week

The competition is now in its week nine & each filmmaker is already on the move, for their next destination. Nine entries that were submitted are now available to watch, that is why every film now counts more now.

The post Race around the World Week Nine Recap: Six Films, Six Countries appeared first on Unmute Australia.

After Us: A Climate Thriller with Teeth

The French mini-series, After Us (aka Phoenix), is the show to start with, plunging you right into the drama of a climate crisis summit. Four of the largest industry sectors in Europe — chemicals, fashion, banking and oil — are due to present a technology that will make headlines and promise billions of euros to reverse the environmental damage. However, a bunch of young activists who have been losing the battle for years decide to take drastic action and kidnap the executives’ kids to make the funds count and not for a PR stunt.

What’s coming next is a tightly wound story that doesn’t give us a pat on the back for how far we’re willing to go with the threats this high. It will premiere on August 9 at SBS and SBS On Demand.

Falling: An Unlikely Love Story

This series is possibly the most destructive on earth without making a big splash. It follows Sister Anna who has been living in a convent as a teenager and Father David who is a visiting priest. One of the smallest, ordinary moments that neither of them anticipated, a moment he helps her cool off her hand after a burn, is what lights the way to something that wasn’t meant to be.

The series being based upon a true story doesn’t make it easy to avoid the “forbidden romance” cliché, but that seems to be what it’s trying hard not to do in this instance, which is written by Jack Thorne, who also worked on Adolescence. Rather, it explores issues of faith, purpose and belonging with performances that have a genuine emotional impact. It will first air on ABC and ABC iview August 16, after watching this you won’t have to guess what to watch in August.

My Brilliant Career: A Classic Re-imagined

If you seek a period drama with a contemporary edge, then My Brilliant Career is the novel of Miles Franklin’s 1901 Masks for the Day of Judgement is for you. It is set in 1890s Australia and is the story of a spirited young woman, Sybylla, whose imagination, curiosity and aspirations for a creative life are much larger than the ones her life has offered her in her rural upbringing. Sent to live with her wealthier grandmother, she must choose to give up her dreams of a better life for a respectable marriage, but of course she has other ideas. After reading this, it’ll be easier for you to choose what to watch in August. Hence this is definably one of the TV shows to watch. It is streaming on Netflix Aug. 13.

The Shards: A Stylish, Bloody Coming-of-Age Tale

The Shards, based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Bret Easton Ellis describing his last year at a private and prestigious Los Angeles school, will be of interest to fans of Ryan Murphy. It’s a tale of a teenager who approaches a new classmate who is not only mysterious, but also attractive, and a serial killer who begins targeting the city’s youthful and glamorous population. Hence this is definably one of the TV shows to watch
Full of the strange atmosphere and colours of Murphy’s highly stylized style and sporting all the guts that Murphy known for. It is premiering on Disney+ Aug. 6.

Two Weeks in August

Vacation Drama at Its Messiest is a novel by Kirk Patrick that has been released by Hangar 7 (2004).

Two Weeks in August, the series for anyone wanting to be a little bit more bad in their vacation, rounds the corners off. With her husband, friends from the University and a few new recruits – including his much younger second wife – a stressed mom makes her way to Greece. Of course, once the wine begins to flow, it doesn’t stay that way. Watch this once and you will not have to worry what to watch in August.

It’s pointed, awkward and usually quite hilarious and fuelled by a cast who are willing to embody their characters most primitive instincts. It will launch Aug. 12 on Binge.

The post Here are the top 5 shows to watch in August appeared first on Unmute Australia.