Review for ‘‘The Pigeon Fanciers’’ by Dan Fossey & James Sharpe
The Pigeon Fanciers is a documentary that's as short as it is original. The minds behind this piece, Dan Fossey & James Sharpe, have found an incredibly niche subject to focus on, pigeon racing, and we are invited to go along for the six-minute dive into the world of East London's Pigeon Fanciers.
On top of the rare subject matter, this documentary shines through its absolute minimalism. Gracefully short, with not a single shot too many, and, most surprisingly, not a single question heard from the creators, instead allowing the full breadth of the stage to the people whose simple pleasure and hobby lies in pigeon racing, a sport as straightforward as it sounds. Following a countdown structure, it allows us short but highly illustrative looks into the lives of the pigeon fanciers, and the short culminates in a beautiful shot of literal and metaphorical liberation. The viewer feels the spirits of everyone involved rise from the grimy urban life to vicariously soar above the earth as the pigeons fly from the truck that functions as starting line.
Visual minimalism is the name of the game here. A mostly still camera, succinct scenes of everyday life, the rush of anticipation conveyed by little more than the faces of the nameless protagonists. Combined with bold titles in simple, functional font to orient us in relation to the day of the race, this documentary has been carefully stripped to the bare essentials of filmmaking, expertly confirming the ancient wisdom of less-is-more. The only unfortunate technical aspect is some lighting issues and glare in one of the final scenes, that brings down a notch what is otherwise a perfect poetic conclusion to The Pigeon Fanciers' slow burn.
To sum up, we loved the confidence and thought it took for Fossey & Sharpe to essentially deconstruct the documentary, to put aside all thoughts of pretence and excess, and tell a story of the people in visual and storytelling terms befitting such a straightforward yet beautiful hobby. We have our eyes wide open for the next corner of reality this duo will decide to shed light on.
