Doc Distro Lit Review

Individuals outdoors on a street captured through a photograph
[Credit: A still from The Stringer by Bao Nguyen, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.]

Sundance 2025: Don’t Look Away

Film critic Devika Girish explores several notable Sundance 2025 films that interrogate the ethics of representing real-world violence through media. The Stringer investigates controversies surrounding the famous “Napalm Girl” Vietnam War photograph, raising questions about Western appropriation of local trauma. David Osit’s documentary Predators examines the troubling legacy of NBC’s To Catch a Predator series, questioning when self-proclaimed justice crusades become problematic spectacles. Geeta Ghandbhir’s The Perfect Neighbor uses police bodycam footage to document events leading to a fatal shooting, revealing how visual documentation may capture injustice.