I was talking to Nira Burstein about her marvellous film Charm Circle, which received its world premiere at DocFest here in Sheffield, going on to win the coveted Audience Award prize. And they are certainly an interesting family. Her parents, Uri and Raya, still live in the house they bought in which to bring up their three daughters. It’s in the New York district of Queens, in an area known as Charm Circle. But the house is too big for them; it’s overwhelming their capacity to look after it. Filmed over the last six years, it is an honest and fascinating depiction of their lives and relationships with their children.
All their girls have grown up and left home now, but the bond between the siblings themselves and also with their parents is perfectly shown here. A charming aspect of the film, and there are many, is that Uri is a keen musician. In fact, at times, he blames music for taking him away from things he should otherwise have been doing. All through the film, Nira has used his compositions as a soundtrack, which suits the film perfectly, and gives it a feeling of intimacy and completeness.
i always found my parents to be very interesting people. i’m a filmmaker, so i thought, ‘why don’t i make a movie about them?’
As the film progresses, an issue develops within the family dynamic, with potentially long-lasting consequences, and whilst the film is about much more than that, it serves to show us how families often shift and adapt. It’s a classic case of the resulting film being so much more than the sum of its parts. Day-to-day interactions of family life could be tedious, but Nira Burstein has demonstrated her skills as a director and editor in making this, her first feature length documentary, into an unmissable and unforgettable film.
I couldn’t put it any better than Nira herself: “There are things to share about this story that will resonate with other people. I’ve always thought that the personal can be universal.”
It surprised no one when it topped the audience poll for the best film of DocFest 2021, also going on to receive the First Feature Special Mention.
Go see it when you can. MP @thisischarmcircle
