Rating – 7/10

A key moment for me was when Manka’s uncle arrived, and learnt that her step-sister had pretended to be her auntie and had beaten her many times with a cane. The lack of narration or infographics is effective as the actuality footage of his shocked reaction to finding out what had happened to Manka reinforces the extent to which she was abused.

I’ll give this film an 8/10, despite not being something I’d personally watch, it does an amazing job of what it sets out to achieve.

Key moment: The moment where they present the aftermath of the court trials held against the abusive husband in a Muslim relationship really stood out for me. It shows these people for the first time in this documentary smiling, not being by their husbands side, and feeling empowered as a free community. This documentary is never interrupted with an interview, expert opinions or voice overs, but rather leaves it all to observational footage. This makes this scene all the more powerful, as we have created that personal connection with the victim rather than some other voice, so to see the joy on their faces is truly heart-warming.

overall I will give sister’s in law a 5/10. The documentary offered a great insight into the horrific crimes being committed in Kumba. The verisimilitude is excellent as we are watching from the prospective of someone in the courtroom as if we are in the audience. The film also has no mediation which adds to the realism of the final product.

a key moment is the exploration of Manka’s court case as the directors showcase the various reactions of multiple witnesses and relative of Manta.

A weakness of the documentary is that it often feels disjointed and scene transitions happen randomly. I believe this is at the fault of the editing and post production which gives the documentary a cheap look. This vastly decreases the enjoyability of the film. I believe the film could be improved with the use of narration in order to better transition to different scenes.

Score: 8/10

Key Moment:

This scene was extremely effective in creating a response in the spectator; as you can see just how supportive and caring the female law advocates are in this case. They discuss men seeing women as property, once they are bought they can do anything they’d like to them; the lawyers comfort the victim after her court hearing and reassure her this is not the case; giving her the courage to stay strong despite the taboo of divorce and taking your husband to court in Muslim culture.

Infotainment: Presenting facts about a subject in an entertaining form.

Mode of address: Direct will give a personal connection, with the filmmaker speaking or looking directly at the audience. Indirect will disconnect the audience with the filmmaker.

Polemic approach: Carefully selected footage to give a specific point of view on the story.

Stylistic Approach

Infotainment – the reporting of news and facts in an entertaining and humorous way rather than providing real information

Investigative Journalism – in-depth research, pursuing inquiries, dealing with documents, finding people, and writing about various topics like social issues, crime, corruption, and government investigations

Polemic approach – One sided view – presenting shots that support only this. The producers perspective shown clearly.

Exposition –  occurs at the beginning and introduces the important themes of the film. It is important because it creates the viewer’s first impression and introduces the viewer to the content.

Mockumentary – often used to analyse or comment on current events and issues in a satirical way by using a fictional setting, or to parody the documentary form itself

Infotainment – Information provided to entertain audiences with facts. (E.G. Songs, cartoon, comedy sketches).

polemic approach – Carefully chosen shots to express a one-sided view on a subject.

Mockumentary – A television programme or film which takes the form of a serious documentary in order to satirize its subject.

Stylistic approaches

infotainment : Entertaining the audience with the use of facts

mode of address: Direct address is when the subject is looking straight down the camera lens whereas indirect is when the subject is not looking down the lens

Mood : Informal address is when the use of language is used in an informal way whereas formal address is when formal langue is used

investigative journalism:

mockumentary : A made up plot in documentary style

polemic approach: carefully selected shots to give a very specific point of view

exposition: Background information the audience need to know for the plot to make sense

Infotainment – Providing facts through entertainment modes (e.g. Bowling for Columbine animated segment about second amendment)

Polemic Approach – Carefully selected shots to give a specific point of view.

eyewitness account – a first-hand narrative or description of an event or experience, provided by someone who directly witnessed it

expert opinion – opinions and insights from individuals with expertise in a particular product or market to make predictions about future demand

actuality footage – raw film footage of real life events, places and people, shot by an eye-witness, as opposed to fictional films which use actors, scripts and artificial sets

reconstructions – events/scenes that have happened that are reconstructed with actors

process footage/ reflexivity – when you film the making of your documentary, combining the behind the scenes footage with the documentary itself

archive/ library footage – footage that was shot for an earlier production to explain the story, like old news footage

noddy shots – a type of camera reaction shot used in recorded news or current affairs interviews, consisting of nods and similar ‘listening gestures’

infographics/ superimpositions – the placement of an image or video or text on top of an already-existing image or video, essentially visual guides to explain things to the audience

chill footage/ observational footage (fly on the wall) – forces the viewer to ‘lean-in’ to see what is happening in the scene, essentially letting the camera run to establish the scene

montage – several different items that are put together in a picture, film, or piece of music, often in an unusual combination or sequence