DoxPro Conference on Video
Remember the days where content of conferences ended up in big reports that ended up on shelves to be very seldom looked into after the event? I would argue that it is much more attractive to look at a video…
Filmkommentaren.dk
A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
Filmkommentaren.dk
A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
Articles/Reviews ENGLISH
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Mahdi Fleifel: Xenos
”A World not Ours” was in Belgrade for the Magnificent7 festival – and was met with enthusiasm. The director told us that a follow-up short film had been selected for the Berlinale short film competition. The first public screening takes…
DocAlliance Offer Films by Peter Liechti
The vod that calls itself “your online documentary cinema”, and very right so, always high quality has this time chosen to present 11 films by a real auteur, Peter Liechti, for free until February16. The text that introduces the director…
Bakker & van Koevorden: Ne Me Quitte Pas
Shit happens… Det var min hensigt at anmelde, og anmelde positivt om denne fine film, produceret af Hollands fremragende dokumentarproducent Pieter van Huystee. Jeg så den i Amsterdam, hvor den var nomineret til den store pris, men ikke vandt, men…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 8
Take a look at the photo. It is taken at the oldest Belgrade kafana that has the name ? It is situated next to Saboma Church (The Cathedral) where the four of us always go. From left Zoran Popovic, then…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 7
Director and main character Petri Luukkainen accompanied by cinematographer Jesse Jokinen came to the stage after the screening of their film ”My Stuff” to receive a diploma and 1000€ from local BelMedic Clinic as a recognition of a ”healthy” film,…
Pan Nalin: Faith Connections
The Magnificent 7 directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic write about the film: A grand cinematic spectacle! A documentary that takes us into the world of religious cults of India – the place where the rivers Ganges and Yamuna join with…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 6
The Riahi Brothers had visited the festival before. Arash presented his ”Exile Family Movie” in 2007 in which his younger brother Arman is an important character as the film (the title says it all) deals with a family that meets…
Petri Luukkainen: My Stuff
The Magnificent 7 directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic write about the film: What do we really need in life? How much do the things we are surrounded by fulfill us, and how much do they enslave us? In a moment…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 5
Last night was the screening of Nicolas Philibert’s ”La Maison de la Radio”. The director went on stage with festival director Zoran Popovic, for the second time in the history of the 10 year old festival. In 2011 he presented…
The Riahi Brothers: Everyday Rebellion
The Magnificent 7 directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic write about the film: The world is in a state of rebeliion against political regimes, against as yet unbridled madness, against itself! In this contemporary, all-encompassing and ever-present ”Everyday Rebellion”, the rebels…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 4
The workshop connected to the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade attracts more participants than ever. 70 young film students and first time filmmakers have registered to hear about the documentary filmmaking in the presence of the filmmakers, whose work have been…
Nicolas Philibert: La Maison de la Radio
The Magnificent 7 directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic write about the film: The great French documentary master Nicolas Philibert takes us into the mysterious world behind the voices and music coming to us through the subtle sphere of sound waves.…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 3
The organisers estimated that 1500 attended the screening of Mahdi Fleifel’s ”A World not Ours” in the big hall of the Sava Centre. The director entered the stage with festival director Zoran Popovic and took a photo that he wants…
Paul-Julien Robert: My Fathers, My Mother and Me
German title: Meine Keine Familie. The Magnificent 7 directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic write about the film: Deep inside this film lies hidden a drama which slowly and imperceptibly unfolds enveloping the actors of this family and non-family story. The…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 2
The morning after the opening of the 10th edition of Magnificent 7 Festival in Belgrade. The sky is clear but the wind outside is close to become a hurricane. A constant sound of wind enters the hotel room and is…
Mahdi Fleifel: A World not Ours
The Magnificent 7 directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic write about the film: From the moment of it’s appearance, this film and it’s young author received great accolades: a world premiere at the Berlinale, top prizes at leading cinema festivals including…
Magnificent7 Diary/ 1
The festival in Belgrade opens tonight. I dare write that the hall will look very much like the photo that accompanies this text: hundreds, maybe a thousand spectators, for the opening film ”Leviathan” that the festival directors write about below,…
Véréna Paravel & Lucien Castaing-Taylor: Leviathan
Directors of Maginificent 7, Svetlana and Zoran Popovic, write about the film that opens the festival tonight: The first great cinematic hit of a new visual era which is taking over the world. Something you have not seen before! A…
The Siege of Leningrad
On 27th January 2014 it was 70 years ago that the catastrophic and tragic siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg) was lifted. I wanted to watch again the much acclaimed ”Blockade” by Sergei Loznitsa. Deckert Distribution was so kind to…
Talal Derki: Return to Homs/ 2
… while diplomats and politicians talk about Syria these days in Geneva, mentioning Homs in every sentence, news came today about the excellent film “Return to Homs”: It was Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the…
Magnificent7 Festival Belgrade
The Magnificent7 festival starts thursday the 30th of January in Belgrade. Opening film is “Leviathan” (photo). From thursday and the following seven days a report will be posted from the festival as well as a presentation review by festival directors…
New Danish Screen – 10 Years Celebration
The Danish Film Institute publishes regularly – in English – its magazine Film. A printed issue is always available in connection with the big festivals in Berlin, Cannes and Amsterdam (idfa), and on top of that you can find digital…
The Swedish Guldbaggen 2014
Guldbaggen (The Golden Beetle), the yearly Swedish cinema award ceremony, took place yesterday and again documentaries played an important role – as last year where two films stood out: Palme by Kristina Lindström and Maud Nycander and Searching for Sugarman…
The Documentary Oscar Goes Political/ 3
The nominations have been done. At least three of the films deal with current political conflicts (these ones): “The Act of Killing”, Cutie and the Boxer, The Square, Dirty Wars and 20 Feet from Stardom compete for the Best Documentary…
Jehane Noujaim: The Square
I watched this film online (on the fine festivalscope, link below, subscription-based) after it had been announced as one of the five nominees for the Oscar award in the feature documentary category. The film has this synopsis description on the…
Richard Rowley: Dirty Wars
I watched this film online (on the excellent idfa “docs for sale”) today after it had been announced as one of the nominees for the Oscar award in the feature documentary category. The film has this synopsis description on the…
Zachary Heinzerling: Cutie and the Boxer
I watched this film online (on the excellent idfa “docs for sale”) today after it had been announced as one of the nominees for the Oscar award in the feature documentary category. The film that runs theatrically in the US…
The Documentary Oscar Goes Political/ 2
Yes, it does, ”goes political”, it is to be said after the nomination has been done. At least three of the films deal with current political conflicts (these ones). My source – Realscreen news, this came into my mail box…
Dheeraj Akolkar: Liv & Ingmar
Liv Ullmann is a true film star and one of those, who can catch your attention, when she performs ”outside” the films in interviews. Her autobiographical book ”Changing” (1977) is highly praised among others by legendary American critic Roger Ebert…
Merin and Fraser on "The Act of Killing"
Jennifer Merin, American film journalist and critic, has again and again written against “The Act of Killing”, some days ago when it was awarded 2 big prizes at the Cinema Eye Honors. Merin is not the only one, BBC Storyville…
Dimitris Koutsiabasakos: The Grocer
They are bent, they have crooked legs, they live in the Pindos mountains up NorthWest in Greece, far away from everything. Most of these old people have passed their lives here for decades. And for decades Nikos Anastasiou, his wife…
Footballkommentaren: Barca
Loyal readers will know that football is of great interest to one of the editors of this filmkommentaren.dk – the one to the left on the photo together with another enthusiast, Zoran Popovic from Belgrade, who with his wife Svetlana…
Cinema Eye Awards 2014/ The Oscars
No objections at all to the fact that the most important Cinema Eye Awards 2014 went to “The Act of Killing” by Joshua Oppenheimer and “Stories We Tell “ by Sarah Polley. The latter for “Outstanding Achievement in Direction”, “The…
Peter Zach: Böhmische Dörfer
Here is one more proof that old people (like children) are good for documentaries. This is what I experienced watching this sympathetic, informative documentary that plays with the expression ”böhmische dörfer” – English title is ”Bohemian is all Greek to…
Rithy Panh: The Missing Picture
Co-editor of filmkommentaren.dk Allan Berg did not like the still picture that I had picked for the article on the Oscar race for documentaries. I am sure it is because he has not seen this amazingly strong hybrid documentary that…
Louisiana: DOX
Louisiana, the Museum of Modern Art, a wonderful place at the Øresund, the strait between the Northern part of Zealand and Southern Sweden, one hour by train from Copenhagen, there are always interesting exhibitions, it is a place for relaxing…
The Documentary Oscar Goes Political
15 films have been shortlisted for the feature length documentary Academy Award. 5 of them will be nominated for the final round by January 16th. In other words – in a couple of weeks it will be decided which 5…
Copenhagen Jewish Film Festival
There is a good climate for documentaries in Israel. Broadcasters invest more in the genre than you experience in Western Europe, there is public funding and private funds, there are film schools, the festival DocAviv and the unique CoPro, headed…
2013 – Best Of & Talents
All right, here it comes, on the last day of 2013, from filmkommentaren’s travelling observer of the documentary worldwide. The film lists below are based on screenings at festivals, in cinemas or online via vod’s, or via dvd’s. These are…
2013 – Best Documentaries
Lucien Castaing-Taylor & Verana Paravel: Leviathan. USA, 2012, 87 mins. Claude Lanzmann: The Last of the Unjust. France, 2013, 220 mins. (photo) Talal Derki: Return to Homs. Syria, Germany, 2013, 87 mins. Rithy Panh: The Missing Picture. France, 2013, 85…
2013 – Talents
Youlian Tabakov: Tzvetanka. Bulgaria/Sweden, 2012, 66 mins. Aneta Kopacz: Joanna. Poland, 2013, 45 mins. Andreas Johnsen: Ai Wei Wei – The Fake Case. Denmark, 2013, 79 mins. Juan Alvarez Neme: Avant. Uruguay, 2014, around 75 mins. Daria Khlestkina: The Last…
Slovak Documentary Masters Online
… for the first time. This is how the vod DocAlliance presents its christmas present to us viewers. It is quite a generous offer that comes up in collaboration with the Slovak Film Institute that celebrates its 50th anniversary. If…
Wojciech Staron in New York
“It has a story, a point of view, a humanistic approach and a director, who is also the cameraman and who has the skills to catch magical moments as they happen in life. A decade ago the director made ”Siberian…
Ukraine Euromaidan
“There is a choice”, was the slogan expressed in connection with the DocuDays UA festival in Kiev in March 2013. I was there as member of the jury and enjoyed a very professional and committed reception from the filmmakers behind…
Sara Ishaq: The Mulberry House
It is such a good beginning of the film. A family gathered around food, eating, discussing, among other matters the usual one, you think, about man/woman, boy/girl in a society with pretty conservative traditions, seen from our part of the…
DIFF
Dubai International Film Festival is running right now. It has several documentary sections in its extensive programme even if it indeed is red-carpet festival for feature films with hommage(s) to stars of the cinema world, this year Martin Sheen (Apocalypse…
Jeddah Doc Workshop /1
If you want to know who I really am, go to facebook… was the comment from one of the participating filmmakers at the workshop for Saudi filmmakers in Jeddah. It was on the second and last day we spent together…
Jeddah Doc Workshop /2
Yes, ”we were blown away” as Kirsten Johnson, American filmmaker and tutor at the workshop, said on the second day, where several of the young visual reporters and artists, who took part in the workshop, presented their projects of online…
The Oscar Shortlist Announced
So now the list is down to 15 films that compete for the nomination of the Oscar. Several online sources have published it, the guessing about the winner has started. The 3 films Filmkommentaren has reviewed, we have put first…