AFI Docs 2021: President
afi docs 2021Screening as part of the 2021 AFI Docs Film Festival after a breakthrough debut at Sundance earlier in the year, Camilla Nielsson's President puts viewers inside the middle of the political turmoil in Zimbabwe. Emmerson Mnangagwa and his ZANU-PF has used dirty tricks to keep hold of the power within the country, but with a seemingly fair election on the horizon, Nelson Chamisa and his MDC party hope to change the country's course forever. With political turmoil popping up on a global level and the fight for freedom and equality being baked into the soul of those conflicts, President is naturally a timely and important film that can struggle with its presentation.
Focusing first on the content of the feature, this is a rather perfect subject to use as a larger analysis on the state of elections and the political game. Being a documentary, there is an obvious sense of reality and legitimate stakes that will hook the audience and make the events features feel like they matter. It is real people that are fighting for their country – and their heart and soul is undeniable. Being set in Zimbabwe, however, there is enough distance – for at least western audiences – that their own personal feelings and emotions related to recent elections won't cloud their takeaways and experience with the film. Had the movie focused on the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, for example, there simply would be no room for conversation or nuance, as the emotions are so deep and relevant even to this day.
The topics themselves continue to be relatable and applicable to situations happening no matter where an individual lives. From ways politicians can influence elections via dirty methods to how difficult it can be to change an established mindset when it comes to policies and who individuals support, the film finds a nearly perfect area between hitting close to home and embracing its distance to live in. The film also finds a natural hook in with average viewer not knowing the results of the election, allowing them to buy into the narrative pull of which side will win; this is similar to other documentaries, such as Apple TV+'s Boys State.
While the content within President is clearly worthwhile, the presentation clearly is lacking. The major thing missing is personality. While the film tries to get to know the main players involved in the election, it is also handled ultimately from a distance. There needed to be more time dedicated to getting to know not just the politicians themselves but the individuals voting in the election. As seen in projects such as Once Upon a Time in Venezuela, this personal focus within the conversation of larger politics gives a really powerful voice to the topic that makes it all the more powerful. As is, President feels disappointingly dry and can struggle to feel engaging for its entire 115-minute runtime. When documentaries have confidence in the quality of their content, some sadly lose focus on the important task of creating an engaging package for this material to be presented in and, sadly, President falls into this category.
There is no doubt that President is an important film, but regrettably it isn't an engaging one. There is enough value to make the film watchable and worthwhile overall, probably, but for general audiences, this is simply going to be too dry of an experience to fully appreciate. President really becomes an experience easier to respect than actually enjoy, signaling a struggle of filmmaking to mix message with accessibility.
