I closed off my first day of an all-digital Doc/Fest with On A Clear Day You Can See The Revolution From Here, the debut feature documentary from Emma Charles and Ben Evans James. 

 The film is a slow, meditative portrait of Kazakhstan, told about and shown to us by the people that inhabit it. I knew next to nothing about the country before the film and while I still don’t know a great deal about it’s wider standing in the world, it’s history, or even it’s current political situation; I feel like I know it’s people, it’s values, and it’s culture. I know that it is more than just what lies between Russia and China.

 The film lacks nearly everything that I had come to expect from documentary language, making it feel like it wouldn’t be out of place on display in an art gallery. There’s next to no semblance of a narrative, but it manages to remain consistently fascinating throughout it’s sixty-four minute runtime. I think a large part of the film’s success with me comes from it’s masterful use of nearly all aspects of filmmaking. The 35mm photography is really something special, there is a glow that can only be captured with film that is present in every frame. Kazakhstan’s natural beauty is deservedly boasted throughout; it’s grasslands seem to stretch endlessly, and it’s futuristic alienlike architecture really feels like something from a different planet in comparison to what I’m used to. This footage is aided by some really superb atmospheric sound design, including the occasional minimal use of traditional Kazakh music that takes the film’s immersion to a whole other level. 

 I urge anyone with a festival pass to give it a go, whether you know lots or little about the country. It’s an insightful and transportive watch worthy of your time.

Written by Ben Matthews