Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Inocente (2012)

1 Nomination, 1 Win

Win: Best Documentary, Short Subjects - Sean Fine and Andrea Nix

"Inocente" is the story of an amazing young artist named Inocente, a 15 year old who is preparing for her first art show while dealing with the traumas of her life, including homelessness and abuse.  The fact that Inocente is able to survive such circumstances while maintaining a positive attitude is amazing; the fact that she is able to do so while creating vibrant and exciting art is miraculous.

Filmmakers Sean Fine and Andrea Nix found a great story in Inocente's life, but they deservedly won an Oscar for their creativity in telling the story.  The filmmakers had the task of bringing the same vibrancy to the film that Inocente brings to her art, which they did through a few visual decisions, such as attaching cameras to Inocente's paintbrushes in order to convey Inocente's style of painting and employing the Errol Morris method of having Inocente look straight into the camera while speaking, instead of the more typical method of having the interviewee look at the interviewer.  The latter decision gives the film a confessional feel and the audience a closer relationship with Inocente, creating the sense of interacting with her directly instead of through the documentarian.

It is my belief that many documentary shorts are nominated not for the talent exhibited by the filmmakers, but instead because the "message" of the documentary is worthwhile.  "Inocente" is the rare film that succeeds both in the selection of the subject and the artistry in the filmmaking.  It is a gem of a film, and the world's introduction to a future star of the art world.

Watch "Inocente" at MTV's website.

Remaining: 3162 films, 874 Oscars, 5432 nominations

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