DocsBarcelona Opening 2017

So there we were last night for the opening of the 20th edition of DocsBarcelona in the Aribau Multicines. Full house and fine atmosphere. The audience got up to sing the Beatles ”All you need is love”, changed to ”All you need is Docs”! I was asked to come to the stage together with dear friend Aurora Moreno to receive flowers as the two of us together with Joan Gonzalez, director of the festival, were there 20 years ago, when the event was started after one year of prologue in Granada. What has happened during these 20 years is the theme of a Catalan round table later in the festival, that this year has extended its duration so it goes on for 11 years.

Joan Gonzalez made a welcome speech in Catalan, so I can not tell you what he said but for his welcoming Clare Weiskopf, whose film ”Amazona” as previously reported on this site was shown in the presence of the director, her husband, producer and cameraperson Nicolas van Hemelryck and little Noa, who is at the beautiful end image of the film about mother and daughter: Val and Clare.

The film was from my hearing of the applause very well received, for me a fine opening film, also because Clare and Nico pitched the film at DocsBarcelona and was at the rough cut session.

… and it goes well deservedly to festivals all over the world.

www.docsbarcelona.com

CinéDOC-Tbilisi 2017/ The Winners

No objections to the choice of the jury at CinéDOC 2017, who gave the main award to ”You Have No Idea How Much I love You” by Polish Pawel Lozinski. With a special mention to Miroslav Janek’s ”Normal Autistic Film”. Ulli Pfau, spokesperson for a jury that also included Ukrainian Gennady Koffmann and Lithuanian Giedre Beinoriute, said that they would have loved to share the award between the two but that was not possible. For me Audrius Stonys ”Woman and the Glacier” and Helena Trestikova’s ”A Marriage Story” could also have qualified.

Lozinski can be double happy as he was also the favourite of the audience and received the so-called Audience Award. In other words: the jurors from the documentary world and the audience agreed.

The ceremony at the beautiful building on the Rustaveli Avenue – in Soviet times it was the venue for the pioneers, festival director Artchil Khetagouri told me, ”I came here as a child” – ended with a skype thank you from Pawel Lozinski, who had returned to Poland after having spent a couple of days at the festival with well attended Q&A sessions.

The beginning was equally exciting. The Youth Jury was on stage

and told the audience that the winner in this category was the film by Giedre Beinoriute, ”Conversations on Serious Topics”, a film that as the one of Lozinski has a form of its own, and a film that as the one of Miroslav Janek demonstrates the director’s strong sensibility, when it comes to working with children. ”Love is a feeling” says the little boy in the clip that followed the announcement of the award.

Love… which gives me the bridge to mention that the Danish film ”Venus” was given a special mention in the CivilDoc competition. Two of the protagonists had been to the festival introducing the popular ”let’s talk about sex” documentary. The CivilDOC winner was the Catalan documentary ”Ada for Mayor” by Pau Faus about the election of Ada Colau in Barcelona last year. The observational documentary film will serve as a starting point for discussions on politics in Tbilisi. An inspiration for the activists in Georgia.

Here follows a copy paste of the award list and the motivations:

INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION

Main Award: You Have No Idea How Much I Love You (directed by Pawel Lozinski)

“You have no idea how much I love you” presents the story of a painful relationship between a mother and a daughter in a most advanced and artistic way of filmmaking: reduced to the maximum, we follow a triangle between mother, daughter and a therapist which takes us take us to a series of extremely intense sessions of ways to learn to accept yourself.

Special Jury Mention: Normal Autistic Film (directed by Miroslav Janek)

“Normal Autistic Film” is anything but normal. It takes you into the world of children and teenagers with Asperger Syndrome. In a most gripping way the film follows their different and totally real ways of trying to express themselves with body language, music and poetry.

CIVIL DOC COMPETITION

Main Award: Ada for Mayor (directed by Pau Faus)

The Film shows an activist Ada Colau who starts a remarkable journey to become the mayor of Barcelona The genuine energy of the community-based movement behind her brings hope and can encourage many people to participate in public life. It shows that it is possible to accomplish something by a democratic process, even for those without wealth and without resources.  Sí se puede!

Special Jury Mention: Venus (directed by Lea Glob and Mette Carla Albrechtsen)

Young women talking so honestly and openly about their sexuality proves to be liberating for both the protagonists and the audience. The authors managed to create a safe space for the protagonists and we can see how beautiful results safety and sincerity can bring about. We could only imagine what the world would look like if there were more such spaces. We believe this film may open a discussion about a topic that is really close to all of us.

FOCUS CAUCASUS COMPETITION

Main Award: Didube, the Last Stop (Directed by Shorena Tevzadze)

The jury unanimously decided to award a film which stands out for its ability to tell very personal human stories. We, the viewers, are immersed into the minute details of life of the protagonists which would have stayed unnoticed otherwise.  This very personal story is touching, humorous, philosophical, contemplative, and empathic. It achieves to paint complex characters with precise details. The director succeeds to grasp the very special flow of time by letting us share a part of life with the protagonists. The seasons and politicians change but the main human values remain the same. It’s film about a small bus stop portrayed as a universe. The winner is Didube, the Last Stop  by Shorena Tevzadze.

Special Jury Mention: Bonfires and Stars (directed by Sasha Voronov)

The Jury would like to give a special mention to Bonfires and Stars by Sasha Voronov, the film that introduces us to the characters on a personal journey to create a new musical language that unities tradition and modernity.

STUDENT JURY AWARD

Stranger in Paradise (directed by Guido Hendrikx)

AUDIENCE AWARD

You Have No Idea How Much I Love You (directed by Pawel Lozinski)

CinéDOC-Young AWARD

Conversations on Serious Topics (directed by Giedre Beinoriute)

And the awards from the CivilPitch competition:

Development awards from the Open Society Georgia Foundation:

  1. Under the clouds – Tanadgoma and Maurillo Mangano – 3000 USD
  2. Under the Rainbow – For Better Future and Beso Gvenetadze – 2500 USD
  3. Village development – Studio Re – Mamuka Kuparadze and Lali Kiknavelidze – 2500 USD 

Production awards from the East-west Management Institute (Access Program)

  1. Level 2 – CRRC Georgia – Mariam Kobaladze and Giorgi Parkosadze – 7500 USD
  2. Five meters of Rock – Urban Lab – Giorgi Babunashvili – 7500 USD

+ Additional awards:

2 passes to DokLeipzig from Brigid O’Shea – Under the rainbow (For better future and Beso Gvenetadze)

1000 Gel – from Sakdoc and one jury member –for Village development  (Studio Re and Lali Kiknavelidze)

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com/ 

 

CinéDOC-Tbilisi CivilPitch

Sooo, what is that. I was curious and happy to be invited to see if that can work – the match of ngo’s and filmmakers. Such a good idea, a challenge for the filmmakers and for the ngo’s. Supported and hosted by Open Society Georgia Foundation. 11 projects had been selected after a call that included both ngo’s and filmmakers, who had met before at a meeting, where the matching was established.

The festival direction: We want ”to link civil society organisations with filmmakers, media professionals and donors. Together we can transform CivilPitch into an important annual event that inspires, provokes and ultimately proves to be invaluable to civil society as well as to donors and media professionals. CivilPitch is a central platform where professionals representing different fields can merge their skills and experiences in order to create a valuable film product that can appeal to a wider audience, transcending the limited number of interest groups that may usually follow these topics.”

I attended a training session and was asked to moderate the pitching of the 11 projects yesterday. The training had been led by two young filmmakers, Dutch/German Daniel Abma and Georgian Ana Tsimintia and the 10 panelists were representatives from ngo’s with the addition of a couple of film people.

It was fun and it was informative for a foreigner as the projects mirrored key problems in the Georgian society: Urban planning, everybody told me that there is no such thing, discrimination of muslim citizens, integration of so-called New Georgians, drug abuse and rehab, activism and demonstrations, forgotten villages, to be gay in Georgia, to be mentally ill in Georgia, women empowerment. Voilà!

Only problems… Luckily several of the projects were presented from a positive angle, but with this message: This is wrong, something has to be done! The projects at the CivilPitch were at very different angles, some ngo’s and filmmakers had just met, others had had the chance to film some research material, some had taken photos to illustrate the theme.

And awards are to be given. More about that after the prize ceremony tonight, where the festival winners will also be announced.

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com/?page_id=2034

CinéDOC Tbilisi Third Day

”3 Rooms on Melancholia” by Pirjo Honkasalo: The film is from 2004. I had not seen it for many years and it was a different experience today. The film was the same but I had changed. There are children in my life today, grandchildren, small children like the ones in the film. Who suffer because of the war in Chechnya. Who have no parents and/or come from socially hard backgrounds, alcohol, sexual abuse, illnesses. Looking at the kids and their faces and their tears. Heartbreaking.

When was the last time you saw the film, I asked Pirjo Honkasalo at the masterclass that followed just after the screening for a full hall in the Amirani Cinema. I have not seen it since it was premiered, she said. I make the film and give it to the audience to make their film in their heads.

The two hour masterclass with the legendary director, who was the special guest of the festival, could have lasted much longer. Honkasalo gave the audience the story of the film from a to z talking about how to gain trust with the characters, how her ratio (this time 6:1) was much more than usual (!), how she and her producer Kristina Pervilä got the permission to film at the military academy in Kronstadt, how she does not like to pitch, how she does not make scripts, the writing she does is to get the money, ”but of course it helps to write, makes things clearer for yourself as well”, how she had decided on the form before filming, the triptych that the film works from – with the headlines ”longing”, ”breathing” and ”remembering”. And how she insists on having the final cut. No compromises!

Today ”Tanjuska” is being screened. We did not have time to talk about that film or ”Mysterion” or ”Atman” – but Pirjo Honkasalo touched upon the ethical questions connected to Tanjuska and to the Atman-film.

A pleasure to be with a great film director. The audience was inspired, I am sure.

CineDOC Tbilisi Second Day

With Lithuania as the guest country here at CineDOC Tbilisi festival, it was natural to have Giedre Zickyte visiting. The director, who has had a big success with the film ”Master and Tatyana” with and about the brilliant photographer Vitas Luckus and his widow – and with the film she made with Chilean Maite Alberti, ”I’m not from here”, was giving a masterclass on the way she has used archives in ”Master and Tatyana” and in her ”How We Played the Revolution”. It was a very much alive, energetic and passionate Zickyte, who showed clips and told the audience how she kept on looking for material that could be used, sometimes (with the revolution film) it could take weeks to find the right material as she did, when she discovered a wonderful scene, where two children discuss – around 1990 – what the street demonstration was for. Hilarious! And she demonstrated how she integrated archive footage into the narrative flow. And how she used the photos of Luckus in two ways: to tell the dramatic story of his life and to show how fantastic a photographer he is.

Zickyte is now working on ”The Jump” that was pitched last year at the IDFA festival in Amsterdam. Logline: ”A breath-taking jump over the icy ocean propels a sailor from a Soviet boat to an American vessel. But is it enough to fulfil his dream of freedom?”

The film will have amazing archive material and Zickyte told us that she will travel back to the US, Florida with the protagonist Simas Kudirka as she after one and a half year now has the permission to film on the American ship. She showed the trailer of ”The jump” that Simas took in 1970. There is a very promising film coming up.

Ida Grøn: Stay Behind

Det er mærkelig dobbelt det her still. De to, dette ægtepar vender ryggen til filmen, som de tålmodigt har medvirket i og beholder dens konklusion i sit budskab for sig selv på dette sted ved vestkysten, hvor brohovedet for en mulig CIA ledet landgang under en russisk besættelse efter krigen i den kolde krigs første tid som ville finde sted for at bistå en privat dansk stay behind styrke, er placeret, hvor denne hemmelige landingsbane er anlagt. De to er instruktørens farfar og farmor, og hun og filmen søger gennem hele fortælleforløbet at placere de to centralt, dels i familiehistoriens hemmelighed, dels i den noget mere afdækkede historie om, hvordan en del af den danske modstandsbevægelse mod tyskerne efter befrielsen fortsatte under jorden, nu for ledet af CIA at opbygge en modstand mod en ventet russisk besættelse til umiddelbar afløsning af den tyske.

Den rygvendte mand, farfaren Otto Grøn er styrken i filmen, og han er styrken i familien. Den rygvendte kvinde, hans hustru gennem dette mere end halve århundrede er hans fortrolige. Måske, måske ikke. Hendes loyalitet er ikke tvivl, ikke et sekund. Men det er ham, som holder filmens plot i sin hånd, i en snor, han hele tiden ændrer længden på vel for sig selv ræsonnerende: de skal jo have deres film, men jeg bestemmer, hvornår den er færdig… Det spændende er ikke afdækningen af stay behind teorien, det vildt spændende er, hvordan han klarer sig i filmens lange afhøring ledet af barnebarnet, filminstruktøren Ida Grøn.

Hun på sin side gennemfører, fra først til sidst i billedet som medvirkende, ved siden af interviewene en fornem og ægte fortællestemme og kommentar på fint århusiansk, en fortælling, som dog ikke vil essayets form, den vil den gravende journalistiks metode, den vil hendes, Ida Grøns og hendes far, arkæologen Ole Grøns projekt, nemlig afdækningen af den militære hemmelighed og Otto Grøns ledende rolle i den, og den vil opklaringen af familiehemmeligheden. Men filmen Stay Behind’s afgørende styrke er imidlertid farfarens projekt, som tydeligt er at erstatte erindringen med en strengt styret retrospektiv fortællekonstruktion ved at gøre visse dele af sin fortid til eventyrlig myte og fingere et hukommelsessvigt når et bestemt årstal kommer ind i samtalen. Et journalistisk formål torpederes af et poetisk, fortællekunstnerisk.

Imidlertid lykkes det som jeg oplever det ikke klipperen Anders Villadsen fuldt harmonisk integreret at få de to holdninger til at virke sammen i filmens fortællelinje. Det skyldes måske billedsidens spaltede æstetik, Otto Grøn denne gamle mand erobrer ved sin udstråling det fulde omfang af fotografen Henrik Ipsens klassisk akademiske fotografi i interviews og landskabsskildring. Barnebarnet, instruktøren har sin journalistiske, måske mere ensporede og tv-egnede reportagestil i sit fotografi. Og da så det tredje billedlag, familiefilmens og fotoalbummets i Villadsens hånd følsomt sansede billeder bringes i tæt samvær med Ipsens professionelle, men tilsvarende fotografiske ømhed, vinder farfar historien. Ida og Ole Grøns møjsommelige dokumentation tilfører den en beundringsværdig saglighed, som får mig til at opfatte den som en effektiv argumentation: ja, det kan jo godt være et kapitel mere til efterkrigstidens faglige historieskrivning, mens farfaren Otto Grøns urokkelige, smilende og charmerende svar vokser til en vidunderlig familiehistorie i en kunstnerisk retning mod en Karen Blixens sensuelle plots – og sikrer at det trods de uforenelige kræfter er endt som en god film. Både som filmkunst og tv-journalistik altså en rigtig god film. Og jeg er overbevist! Der eksisterer virkelig en stand behind historie og der eksisterer virkelig en familiehemmelighed, men hvordan de to fortællinger hænger sammen, ja, det ved kun den gamle mand, som effektivt har lært at holde det for sig selv.

Stay Behind, Danmark 2017, 90 min. Directed by: Ida Grøn. Producer: Vibeke Vogel. Cinematographer: Henrik B. Ipsen, Ida Grøn. Editor: Anders Villadsen. Composer: Roger Gouda Production Company: Bullitt Film ApS. Filmen deltog i CPH:DOX 2017. En kortere tv-version har premiere på DR1 den 17. maj kl. 20:00.

SYNOPSIS

One trace after the other indicates that Ida’s 94-year old beloved Grandfather, a respected dentist from the province and a freedom fighter under the occupation of Denmark, worked directly under the CIA during the Cold War in Denmark. It´s not something he´s willing to admit to, though. This is a family affair with global wings, high stakes and big surprises.

Why did Otto sleep with a loaded gun right next his bed until he dropped it in the sea in 1982? How come he and his soulmate Dagmar took off to the USA in 1952, leaving their new flourishing dentist business behind to spend a year that they´ve forgotten all details about? And why is the traumatized Polish hitman, Jan, who admits to have served secretly under the CIA on Danish ground insisting that he has known and worked with Otto during the Cold War? These questions, along with the findings of a secret archive in a basement downtown Copenhagen, are what Ida sets out to learn more about. (Bullit Film)

http://bullittfilm.dk/

http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/person/da/174150.aspx?id=174150

http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/98440.aspx?id=98440 

www.facebook.com/staybehindminfarfarshemmeligekrig/ (fyldig samling kommentarer til især filmens faktuelle indhold) 

CinéDOC-Tbilisi First Day

… for me, arriving early saturday morning to the Georgian capital to have a wonderful first day at the five year old festival led by Ileana Stanculescu and Artchil Khetagouri. ”Welcome home”, a Georgian filmmaker said to me, and right he is, I feel very much at home here among the many talented Georgian directors and with the Lithuanians, who are here as Lithuania is the Guest Country.

One of them, of course, is Audrius Stonys, who is experiencing a great festival success with his ”Woman and the Glacier”. Just back from HotDocs festival in Canada, the world traveller had a one hour conversation with me about the film and about ”The Baltic New Wave”, his next film where his task is to introduce the audience to what was and is the poetic cinema as it comes out/came out in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

I sat on the first row in the Amirani Cinema, full house for the film of Stonys and for the film that followed, Pawel Lozinski’s ”You Have No Idea How Much I Love You”, the magic chamber play by the Polish director, who took the audience behind the film, how was the casting, how many cameras, the research, the ”why” he wanted to make the film. Anna Dziapshipa, filmmaker, producer, photographer – and professional interpreter gave the long Q&A the rythm it needed. I was happy to be there, also because this was the preparation for the two hour masterclass with Lozinski at the upcoming DocsBarcelona.

Finally an outdoor screening of the Israeli ”Presenting Princess Shaw” by Ido Haar, a film I had heard about and thought ”ah, another of these ”American Dream came through” films”, and it was, but Samantha aka Princess Shaw is such a lively and charming character and the Israeli musician Kutiman, who makes fine art out of her youtube clips is such a sympathetic person, it is a warm film that has its magic moments.

www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com

Joe Bini Interview

I was there in Prague when American editor Joe Bini made his lecture in connection with the East Doc Platform. I wrote a small report that first of all had its focus on his collaboration with Werner Herzog. Now you have the chance to read a more in-depth interview with the editor, made by Marta Obršálová and brought on the IDF (Institute of Documentary Film) website, link below.

Two clips to stimulate your appetite to read it all:

On trailers: To be honest, I hate trailers. For me, it is putting the  cart before the horse, as they say. Especially when you are asked to cut a trailer before the film has been edited or perhaps even shot. How can I make a trailer when I do not know what the film is about? It’s more like advertising. I absolutely understand how important it is but it is not something I am good at. I did a couple early on in my career and I just realized it is definitely not something I enjoy doing…

On the director and editor relationship: A film is generally edited by two people – the director and the editor – two people who have a different relationship to the same material. In a documentary, I usually start my job after the filming is done. By that point, the director has already formed a relationship with the material. He or she already has an idea about the characters – who is lying, who is telling the truth, who is important in the story or not. The editor does not have any of that in his mind. The editor has only what they see when they look at the footage. I have often had the experience, especially with young filmmakers, when they come back from shooting, they say to me: This is what happened, it was an amazing scene, the guy was great! etc. But after I have a look I often have to say: Maybe so, but that’s not what I saw…

https://dokweb.net/articles/

Carolin Genreith: Happy

The CinéDOC-Tbilisi festival starts tonight and what is the habit of most festivals for the opening night film, this is a light and entertaining one. With a subject that has been treated again and again, mostly in kliché-language: White male from Western country goes to Thailand and finds a wife. He wants an obedient woman with whom he can have sex. Thai woman wants to marry to be able to survive herself and support her family. Of course there are many nuances and the director manages to get some of them out of the shade because Carolin Genreith’s father is wonderful as a film character. He is quite open to all the questions coming from his daughter, he fights hard to learn the thai language, he likes his wife to be, who is 30 years younger than him, close to the age of his daughter – he wants as a 60 year old to have a good rest of  time, he can not stand to be alone any longer. He is energetic at his farm in Germany, a farm he takes care of, when he is not in his office at the city hall, if I got it right. In other words, he is present, the camera likes him. But the cultural differences are big, the understanding of what is love, the understanding of what is a family is not the same in Germany and Thailand. The first third part of the film takes place in Germany with father and daughter. Then off to Thailand where father Dieter, daughter Carolin and Thai woman Tukta are in focus.

The festival has included the presentation text of the director/daughter. Here it is:

”It’s probably every daughter’s worst nightmare: a postcard from Thailand that reads: “My darling, I’m doing great here, eating Pad Thai and drinking Chang Beer. And I met a woman who is your age. Love, Dad.” My father has changed a lot in the past couple of years. After separating from my mother, he exchanged his hiking boots for flip-flops and travels to Thailand every year for a couple of weeks. Sometimes he travels alone, sometimes with friends – all of whom are divorced and over 60. My father says that he is having the time of his life in Thailand. I think to myself: Oh my God, is my father a sex tourist? To me the Thailand trips are a source of embarrassment. Has my father become one of those men who are strolling the streets of Bangkok in the company of a young, attractive local woman? What is he looking for? Are his trips just aimed at finding happiness or an expression of his inner race against time? And now: a Thai girlfriend, 30 years younger than him! What does my father want from her? And what the hell does she want from him? I keep wondering whether I should just ignore my father’s postcard from Thailand or make a flm about it. I choose the latter option and travel to my home village in the Northern Eifel region in order to understand the man who is my father and whom I’ve always found somewhat embarrassing. Too loud. Too outgoing. Too odd. My father lives quietly in a half-timbered house with many rooms and low ceilings. It’s lonely there and it’s sad. We approach each other in ruthless discussions. What does he long for? What are his fears? And – most importantly: Does my father really intend to marry his young, attractive girlfriend? Is that right? We travel to Thailand together, where I meet my almost stepmother and her family. Slowly but surely I begin to realize that there are no defnite answers to my various indignant questions. Happy is an affectionate, ruthless, cheerful and very personal documentary about a father and his daughter, the search for happiness in the autumn years of life and the question of what love actually is when you are over 60 and afraid of growing old alone.”

Germany, 2016, 85 mins.

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com/?p=3856

http://happy-der-film.de/

Nick Fraser to Receive BAFTA Award

My first reaction was ”oh, did he not get that already”, but no. But this year the former BBC Storyville editor is to get it, the Special Award at the British Academy Television Awards 2017. No objections!

Nick Fraser has been a name mentioned on filmkommentaren since we started almost 10 years ago. He has been a clever, often tough commentator at pitching sessions, he has commissioned classics as “Searching for Sugarman” and “Man on Wire”, he has written books and articles on the importance of documentaries in today’s society.

And he has – with Danish Mette Hoffman Meyer, producer Don Edkins and previously Finnish Iikka Vehkalahti – been behind the “Why”-series, like “Why Democracy” and “Why Poverty”, tv documentary series that went all over the world.

A press release came in yesterday from Yaddo, “the global online documentary platform” with Fraser as founder and editor. It was set up in 2016, interesting to see what he can get out of that.

I remember Nick Fraser from the 90’es, when he came to Bornholm to the Baltic Sea Forum. He was enormously positive to the Eastern European documentaries and their makers, and his commitment to Viktor Kossakovsky and his “Wednesday” was very important for this “documentary star”.

Congratulations!  

www.yaddo.com