Knuckle

Ian Palmer's documentary follows bare-knuckle fighting among Irish Traveller communities across twelve years. Palmer entered this world to film a wedding; then the fights appeared and the project extended on its own. The fights have rules: a dispute arises between two families, each side names a man, the fight takes place on neutral ground and is recorded. The recordings are then sent to the rival family as a challenge. Violence becomes a form of communication and continues across generations. The documentary's most honest quality is Palmer questioning his own position. As the years pass he begins to think the film is feeding this cycle rather than documenting it, and he says so plainly. It screened at Sundance in 2011. Who it's for: those who like documentaries that stay inside a closed community for a long time. Who it's not for: anyone who wants to avoid footage of violence; the fight recordings are shown uncut and unsoftened.