Point and Shoot

Baltimore native Matthew VanDyke’s lifelong dream was to make an adventure film. So in 2007, he embarks on a “crash course in manhood,” a solo journey across North Africa and the Middle East with only his video camera and a motorbike. But travelling through the Libyan Desert puts an unexpected twist on his plans, as he joins forces with the rebels to oust Moammar Gadhafi. He’s soon captured and placed in solitary confinement for six months—not an easy situation for a young, middle-class man who’s struggled all his life with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Oscar-nominated director Marshall Curry finds a gripping entry into VanDyke’s perspective. Not afraid to ask hard questions, Curry uncovers a compelling and intriguing story of a boy who went searching to become a man and ended up a freedom fighter. Kathleen Mullen