Lee Anne Schmitt‘s father worked as the Head of International at the John M. Olin Foundation, a conservative American grant-making foundation originating in the chemical and munitions business. The filmmaker investigates not only the role the organisation had in shaping today’s conservative movements, but also her complicated relationship with her dad.

Although the director’s father frequently travels the world for work, he shows devotion to his daughter by gifting her dolls made in the countries he has visited, such as Greece, South Africa, and Colombia. Yet, Schmitt discerns Olin’s performative inclusiveness as she recalls events and actions, such as the 1969 student protests at Cornell University (Olin’s alma mater), the foundation’s legacy via grantees of American right-wing authors, and how the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency inspired Olin to disseminate conservative and capitalist systems that persist to this day.

Schmitt doesn’t deploy archival footage to accompany the story with her voice, as is commonly seen in personal films. Instead, she films close-ups of the dolls her father gave her, book passages from Olin Foundation’s grantees like Dr. James Dobson’s Dare to Discipline and Linda Chavez’s An Unlikely Conservative that accentuate structural discrimination, and 16mm landscape images of the detrimental impact that Olin had on society in states such as Alabama, Massachusetts, and Virginia. With these artistic decisions, Schmitt emphasises the immediacy of the American right-wing presence in her domestic setting, rather than providing a history lesson of the past. Schmitt connects the outdoor environment to the living organism of celluloid film, as the surrounding weather affects both a neighbuorhood’s air levels and the film’s durability.

Within its breezy 75 minutes, Schmitt unspools the many layers of Olin’s status as a powerhouse funder of several universities. At times, it it is a little difficult to determine whether Schmitt is speaking about Olin through a personal or a historical lens. That’s because of the multiple narrative devices and visuals. The directors examines how these various points-of-view connect and conflict with each other. For example, Schmitt’s fears of giving birth to a boy could apply to the apprehensiveness of men in power and hopes to not have him follow her patriarchal beliefs and values.

With its numerous approaches and interpretations, one can focus on just the Olin storyline. Yet, that will go against the director’s intentions. In an interview with Filmmaker Magazine, Schmiitt says that the film is about “living within political spaces in a more personal way” and that she didn’t set out to tackle Olin. At its core, Evidence is an interior dissection, critique, and understanding of family. Children are not in control of the world they are born into, which is shaped by systems and their parents. Once they grow up, it’s up to them to reckon with society and build a more progressive world.

Evidence showed at the 63rd New York International Film Festival.