Pavilion 6 (2024) ‘Sheffield DocFest’ Film Review.

Documentaries about COVID-19 can come in dull patches and are inherently risky. Despite the ample human appeal deposited within their folds, the textures of such films can deflate in line with encapsulating the fatally unpredictable rhythms of life in those times. The commitment to record a reality of events is fraught with potential damage to a brighter, vivid transmutation into moments that can rise above the mundane.

Is the filmmaker on the side of a faithful recreation of the experiences and feelings of those times, filled with a package of uncertainties and constant fear, or does he go hunting for dramatic appeal? Would the former suffice in its rudimentary form alone, unvarnished and conveniently modulated to fit a satisfying series of “cinematic” events? This is a fundamental decision that underlies the entire film from the beginning. To be swayed by dramatic license to extract cinematic conviction can be a grave disservice to the very spirit that traverses such circumstances. Goran Devic’s documentary “Pavilion 6” immediately explains its working principles.

There are no advanced techniques, no noise effects to show the free hand of a director, and no palpable impatience with the stories and anecdotes we are invited to listen to. The distance between us and the subjects continues to vary, but the respect and desire for attention remains intact throughout. Devic is a serious observer whose inquisitive eye does not impose or intervene, rather allowing whoever frames his camera to determine the trajectory of conversations and interactions as they prefer. The director gives space to those on whom his camera wanders.

The film opens with a long line at a vaccination center. Management is poor, exacerbating the wait exponentially. People are restless, and dissatisfaction with the government is high. Everyone is angry, the queue is delayed and there is barely any progress. The assurance of the authorities provides no relief. Croatian citizens talk about how the health minister, plucked from the medical sector, is essentially a pawn in the plans of the prime minister, who is ill-equipped to deal with the leviathan crisis. Information is scarce. What is continually reiterated is the immediate need for vaccination. Rumors surrounding its frequency are constantly changing. Some argue that one requires three shots, others deny that you need to get one shot annually. No one knows anything with firm confidence.

Precarity and anxiety characterized life in the face of the virus. The film addresses the everyday fears that took hold in those times when people found themselves facing circumstances where they might be sick and there would be no one to care for elderly parents or young children. How do we mentally prepare for such situations? As people of all ages wait their turn at the center, they turn to each other and bond with their friends in a moment that denies them their fundamental urge to connect.

As someone says later in the film, man is a social animal and it is not possible to keep him away from his fellow man. The waiting room becomes a bonding space, where they articulate their distress and seek warmth. The film does not dwell on a conversation to a great extent, ponderous and prolonged. He leans forward without seeming vaguely interested, and yet in keeping with the intimacy of the conversations. The balance between distance and intimacy is the key to “Pavilion 6”. Every glance we see in a passing individual does not require an elaborate appearance; it is enough in itself to convey a singular anxiety that resonates on a wider level.

“Pavilion 6” is a compelling and modest series of fragmentary snapshots that evoke opinion and mood in the pandemic. The exchange of fears and hopes between strangers became a thread of connection in a time of isolation. Unexpected friendships could blossom as one found a kindred spirit in the other, perhaps while waiting for the shot. Goran Devic establishes this unifying spirit with grace and economy, making a film that is resoundingly honest and clear in scope and detail.

Pavilion 6 premiered at Sheffield DocFeast 2024.

Pavilion 6 (2024) Movie link: MUBI