Selfies (2019) Open Roads 2019

Selfies is made up entirely of footage shot by two friends Alessandro and Pietro who record their daily life via selfies. Living in a small town in Italy where the criminal organization the Camorra holds sway the pair have to navigate growing up and trying to decide what path they are going to take. Along the way the young men use the form to record not only their thoughts and lives but those of the people they interact with on a daily basis.

How you react to the film is going to be determined how you feel about the selfie mode for 90 minutes. For me it was a mixed blessing. While I loved that it allowed for an immediacy and an intimacy that you don’t get from any other film, it kind of ceases to be visually interesting. It is largely a series of long single takes, which wore me down. Don’t get me wrong I am thrilled with the revalations of lives lived in the film, I just didn’t like the presentation.

Worth a look