As we hurtle towards the Christmas break, likely tired from a term of juggling the demands of teaching, writing, interviewing, coding, theoretical frameworks, conference presentations, conference organisation, balancing a budget (delete as appropriate)… there exists a small window to stop, to reflect on the year gone by, as well as the year to come, and maybe to rest a little…

Life as a researcher in an academic institution is fraught with many tensions – the privilege of indulging (!) in a personal in-depth research project, the demands of the solitary PhD process, wrestling with our findings – how to communicate them, what they mean, and constant focus on why this matters, what’s it for, and what comes next?

In such moments standing back a little can give us the perspective we need. Our media, the blogs we follow, the newsletters we receive, maybe those we know working ‘in the field’, can help us get beyond the academic process and its demands for words on a page (can you tell I’m writing up?!). One thing that helps me is film. And, as a Christmas offering I want to recommend a few feature-length documentaries that give me a sense of the world in which we live and work, and also the role that research, communication and indeed passion can play in engaging with some of the fiercest challenges we face. You may even carve out a couple hours to watch one or two… and please do share your own recommendations in the comments below.

War Don Don – directed and produced by a Harvard Law School Lecturer – documents the work of the ‘Special Court for Sierra Leone’ and the trial of Issa Sesay – for prosecutors a war criminal, guilty of heinous crimes against humanity, and for his defenders, a reluctant fighter who protected civilians and played a crucial role in bringing peace to Sierra Leone. Through his case the purpose and processes of international justice are held up for examination.

E-Team follows four members of Human Rights Watch’s ‘emergencies team’ – rapid-response investigators of alleged human rights abuses in crisis situations – as they smuggle themselves into Syria and Libya to investigate, document and then decide what to do with the evidence of abuses they find. What role does international law and notions of accountability play when violent chaos ensues?

Virunga tells the story of the small team of park rangers in Virunga National Park in eastern DR Congo, earth’s last remaining home for mountain gorillas, as they struggle to protect the bio-diversity of the park from the challenge of continuing violence and insecurity, M23 insurgency, and international oil corporations intent on accessing an alleged new supply.

http://youtu.be/Wu-vjWd7Tb8

Mitt follows Mitt Romney’s quest for the Presidency of the United States from 2006-2012. Whatever your political leanings, this is an intriguing movie for its access to Romney and his family, and also to the wider electoral processes in the US’s political systems.

Discussion of some or all of these will follow in the New Year – what do you think?