Meeting the Film Makers
You might say that the films should be able to stand on their own. And right you are. You should be able to understand and sense a film without any introduction or comment or explanation. To watch it on your own on your computer or tv set, or together with others in a cinema.
Nevertheless, what a pleasure it is to meet a filmmaker, who can give us, the spectators some background, some motivation and some inside info on how the film was born in his or her mind.
I write this after Magnificent7 in Belgrade and on the last day of DOCSBarcelona. In both festivals the meeting of an audience with the filmmakers have played a key role for the success of both festivals. Both festivals are actually built up around this concept. The audience will have the chance to ask questions or give comments, the filmmakers will profit from the reactions they get. They will discover weaknesses in their work or see that the intentions were fulfilled. And they will have the chance to express again and again that a documentary is a Film and that the word documentary does not really make sense! This is what Peter Entell and Gideon Koppel did in Belgrade, and what Avi Mograbi did yesterday here in Barcelona. And what they and other filmmakers have done again and again when travelling around. Full respect for the directors who take their time to accept the many invitations to go and meet an audience and colleagues, and eventual investors in the next film. It is in most cases a not paId job they do. More about some of the meetings will follow.
Photo: Shake the Devil Off by Peter Entell. Magnificent7 DOCSBarcelona
