There is a pool that sits by the ocean in Sea Point, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. Like most public pools, it is a place where a diverse cross-section of the community come together to relax and to play. Unlike many other locations, however, South Africa is a place where the concept of “coming together” is still taking some getting used to.

The difficulties of a country reversing years of forced separation is the subject of François Verster’s new documentary, Sea Point Days. Verster isn’t interested in telling this story in the manner most documentarians might, though. He’s barely interested in telling it at all, in fact. While modern documentaries might often seem exempt from that old chestnut of storytelling advice, “show, don’t tell,” Verster tries to avoid the usual methods of “telling” &mdsah; narration, endless interviews, strictly linear structure — in favor of a more impressionistic approach.

He doesn’t abandon the usual devices entirely. Characters do talk to the camera as we follow them around in their day to day lives. But Verster punctuates these passages with long stretches free from words or any direct narrative link. This is a picture of modern South Africa, he says with his camera, make of it what you will.