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Saleem Reshamwala’s Full Frame Picks

    Saleem Reshamwala

     

     

    Saleem Reshamwala is a filmmaker, multimedia artist, and journalist who’s always looking for cross-cultural creative collaboration. He’s created video for The New York Times, The Guardian, and PBS-Digital Studios, and hosted two seasons of TED’s Far Flung podcast. He especially loves films that mix documentary audio with surprising visual techniques, and docs that give viewers intimate looks into cultures they’d otherwise never see. 

     

     

     

    The 27th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival features a lineup of 50 films from 30 countries. With so many captivating documentaries in the 2025 lineup, how does one choose their must-sees? We thought having a guide might help, so Saleem Rashemwala is here to share the films he is most excited to see at the 27th annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival: 

     

    A person wearing a sparkly jacket with a fur collar speaks into a phone. They are seated at a table in front of a bookshelf.MISTRESS DISPELLER (Dir. Elizabeth Lo)

    I can’t believe this film exists: follow-along footage of a woman whose job it is to help stop extramarital affairs and fix marriages. The access to such intimate conversations alone is shocking, but they also managed to shoot it in a way that has the visual vibes of a 1970s detective thriller. I’m all in. 
    About the film >>

     

    Two children in a hazy landscape. One is seated at an easel. One is pushing a broom.APPLE CIDER VINEGAR (Dir. Sofie Benoot)

    This one starts with a filmmaker’s very literal kidney stone, and dives deep enough to connect it with cave paintings waking elephants and Palestinian quarry workers. Leaning hard into one seemingly absurd and tiny object to find the whole world is a move that always gets me. 
    About the film >>

     

    Mixed media illustration of a woman lying on the floor in front of one of three blue doors.CONFESSIONS OF UNDECIDED WOMEN (Dir. Milja Miljäharkönen)

    ‘If it’s awkward to talk about it, animate it’ is a personal guideline. Animation has such a strong ability to both disarm and make memorable, and this one illustrates conversations with dozens of Finnish women as they decide whether or not to be mothers. The illustrations around this personal topic pop with color, and this one looks full of visual surprises. About the film >>

     

    Michael Chow wears a blue suit with a tie and pocket square and oversized round glasses. He is looking to the right of the camera and smiling.AKA MR. CHOW (Dir. Jean Tsien)

    In my own life, I grew up often being ‘the ethnic kid’, and briefly flipped that into a sort of comic book hero alter ego for myself (‘Kid Ethnic’). So I’m always curious about tales of reinvention across cultures, and this one spans continents (and art forms!). Also: Jean Tsien is amazing and I’m psyched Full Frame is honoring her with this tribute series. 
    About the film >>

     

    A felted puppet head looks out over a car steering wheel.MAMA MICRA (Dir. Rebecca Blöcher)

    Felt stop motion occupies this beautiful space between comforting, cozy, and uncanny, and the trailer for this one, about a mother sleeping in a car, road tripping and surviving perfectly hit that nostalgic surreal sweet point. Expecting to feel all the feels, in felt. 
    About the film >>

     

    Ready to make your own picks? Single Tickets go on sale March 27!

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