The Giverny Document is an experimental documentary by Dallas-born artist and filmmaker Ja’Tovia Gary that has screened internationally and is now free to view courtesy of the artist via YouTube.
The question “Do you feel safe?” — which is posed directly to Black women in Harlem by Gary — is at the center of the film. Interwoven are images of the filmmaker inside the historic gardens of Giverny, France, where Claude Monet immersed himself in nature, strikingly juxtaposed against footage taken by Diamond Reynolds, who live-streamed the death of her boyfriend, Philando Castile, at the hands of police in 2016.
Punctuated by handmade celluloid animations and a riveting performance by Nina Simone, The Giverny Document runs 41 minutes but has a breadth that surpasses most feature films thrice its length.
