If Pigeons Turned to Gold
Not just the Best Documentary Award at this year’s Berlinale turned pigeons to gold for modern Czech documentary film. Have you ever mourned someone who is still alive? Shooting on her iPhone, director Pepa Lubojacki tries to understand why her beloved older brother and two cousins live unhoused while struggling with addiction. Avoiding the siren song of sentimentality and shot in a DIY aesthetic enriched by the creative use of stylized remembrances, graphic interventions, and artificial intelligence, this disarmingingly personal film explores family history, the causes and consequences of addiction, and the limits of personal integrity. What is the right expression of love – to save, or to let go?