DOK Leipzig – Films/ 1
Any films that we must see, film students and others who enter the festival centre ask me. Many, I answer, because there are many that have high quality. The problem in my answering is that many of the films I have not seen yet, as they are world or European or National premieres, but after three days at the video library, see below, I have tips to pass on. Some of these will later on have a review on this site, some will not.
A film that I keep on recommending is the masterly done ”Sofia’s Last Ambulance” (photo) by Ilian Metev, as well as ”The End of Time” that I have not seen yet, but Peter Mettler is a unique film essayist, so for that it is a must. As is the opening film of the festival that I also screened in the video library, ”Are You Listening” by Kamar Ahmad Simon from Bangla Desh, a classic humanistic, cinematically brilliant work that character-wise brings back memories of the Apu-trilogy of Satayit Ray when it comes to the film’s boy and his parents.
The Latvian ”Documentarian” by Inese Klava and Ivars Zviedris is of course a must for all who work with documentaries, it has humour and a fantastic character, who loves and hates to be filmed at the same time as she is building a friendship with the cameraman/ director who comes to see her.
Another character who is charismaric in his old, grumpy age is Pablo, a pensioned miner, whose daily life is followed by director Chico Pereira in ”Pablo’s Winter”, a warm film that perfectly catches the rythm of moving slowly around, having time to argue with the wife and teach a kid how to bicycle.
Finally, ”Tea or Electricity” by Jerome le Maire, from a village in the mountains of Morocco, just nominated for the European Award as best documentary, is a film to be enjoyed for its way of treating the theme of, yes, do we really need electricity?
