Original Documentaries… Vehkalahti

A quote from DOX Magazine 74 (www.edn.dk), page 16, from a discussion between Neelima Mathur and Iikka Vehkalahti on “Universality vs Diversity”. Vehkalahti from YLE Finland writes:

… perhaps it is that in the genre of cinéma vérité – as creative and wonderful as it is, too often the camera just records what takes place in front of the camera (of course I know that every shot, angle, direction is already a choice and at best a personal choice) but still, somehow, there is the idea of non-interference, to be objective in the obvious subjectivity.

But in how many films do you feel and see that the creator of this documentary sees the world differently, very differently, in a way that nobody else is seeing? … I visited MOMA in NY and went to those exhibition halls, where you have old masters of modern art. How recognisable they all are – Léger, Kandinsky, Picasso etc. Or even films of Aki Kaurismaki? I need to see only a litle and I know. How many documentary films have that kind of originality?

See the comment from Iikka to the right under “seneste bemærkninger”, Danish for latest comments. 

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Tue Steen Müller
Tue Steen Müller

Müller, Tue Steen
Documentary Consultant and Critic, DENMARK

Worked with documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board, as press officer, festival representative and film consultant/commissioner. Co-founder of Balticum Film and TV Festival, Filmkontakt Nord, Documentary of the EU and EDN (European Documentary Network).
Awards: 2004 the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. 2006 an award for promoting Portuguese documentaries. 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. 2016 The Cross of the Knight of the Order for Merits to Lithuania. 2019 a Big Stamp at the 15th edition of ZagrebDox. 2021 receipt of the highest state decoration, Order of the Three Stars, Fourth Class, for the significant contribution to the development and promotion of Latvian documentary cinema outside Latvia. In 2022 he received an honorary award at DocsBarcelona’s 25th edition having served as organizer and programmer since the start of the festival.
From 1996 until 2005 he was the first director of EDN (European Documentary Network). From 2006 a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories, Caucadoc, CinéDOC Tbilisi, Docudays Kiev, Dealing With the Past Sarajevo FF as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Verzio Budapest, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. Teaches at the Zelig Documentary School in Bolzano Italy.

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