Markers: Films that push the boundaries of the documentary form
Constructed entirely out of footage captured throughout the streets of Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in 2020 and 2021, Marcos Pimentel's Skin takes the temperature of the city and the country by way of its surfaces. Ranging from the ironic to the inflamed, the words and images of murals, tags and posters give a voice to the voiceless, crying out against a botched pandemic response, police violence and economic disenfranchisement. Far from passive backdrops, in Pimentel's sly compositions and the deft assemblage of editor Ivan Morales Jr., the built environment enters into an orchestrated interplay with its vehicles, its plants and of course its people. Focused and quietly cumulative, Pimentel's unconventional city symphony is supported by a sound design that weaves together richly ambient soundscapes, music, field recordings of protests and more. Winner of a special mention at the most recent IDFA, in Skin the walls don't just talk—they rally. Jesse Cumming