It was one of those lovely moments, where a huge audience had come to celebrate the premiere of a film, ”Dixie Land”, that was 7 years on its way – for many reasons, one of them being that the director Roman Bondarchuk and his script writer Darya Averchenko were busy with the making of and promotion of ”Ukrainian Sheriffs”.

The film about jazz music performed by kids in a band in Kherson Ukraine, led by their old teacher, who founded the band just after WW2, picking up homeless children to give them the chance to develop their skills, gave them a life, simply – is a warm, so well made – Bondarchuk has indeed a documentary-eye – interpretation of a happy childhood, where kids have a good time developing their creative skills. As it is written in the catalogue: We all live once in Dixie Land – the country where politics, money and death do not exist at all. But over time this country is disappearing… yes, we are in Ukraine of today.

Back to the fest of a premiere where the superstar of the film (see photo from the screen of the cinema) Polina was present and performed with three instruments, when the closing images of the film came up. It was marvellous and there were flowers and standing ovations to a film that is full of love. A human film that gave many of us tears in the eyes. Look at the photo… Polina is now 15 years old, study in Moscow, we had thanks to Ilona Bicevska, the producer of the film, the chance to meet her after the screening. And her parents… you learn so much by being here at Docudays in Kiev.

Latvia, Ukraine, Germany, 2016, 60 mins.

http://dixielandfilm.com/

… and runs until March 31. I am happy to be here participating at the Docu/Pro, the industrial platform of a festival that celebrates its 14th edition this year. The platform includes talks from knowledgeable people like Brigid O’Shea from DOKLeipzig, Miriam Ryndová from IDF (Institute of Documentary Film) in Prague and Latvian producer Uldis Cekulis. My job is to coach filmmakers, who have been selected for Warscape, ”The international competition for documentary film projects about Ukraine or the Eurasia region, on the consequences of conflicts and other situations of violence inflicted upon civilians”…6 projects.

They will be pitching their projects on Thursday March 30 in a competitive session open to the public. The same goes for 5 projects in another competition, ”DokWorks”.

The screenings of the festival opened last night with the screening of ”The Yes Men are Revolting” by Laura Nix, an excellent start for

the festival that this year has Climate Change as its theme. Per tradition the festival came up with a fine, humorous introduction show – and well edited visuals for the many sections, competitive or non-competitive, the films have been divided into.

”4 degrees” is the motto of the Docudays 2017. It is explained like this on the website:

… Four degrees Celsius is the amount by which, according to the environmentalists, the average temperature on Earth will increase by the end of this century.

“Just” +4⁰С – and the World Ocean level will rise almost by 9 meters, and the territories inhabited by more than 600 million people will be flooded. The streets of London, Bombay, New York, Rio de Janeiro, Shanghai, and Sydney will be covered with water.

“Just” +4 degrees С – and the whole Southern Ukraine will disappear under water.

“Just” +4 degrees С – and we’ll bid farewell to 1/6 of the life species on Earth.

At the same time, if the water level will increase only by one meter, displacement of people and construction of protection facilities would cost 950 billion USD…

http://docudays.org.ua/eng/

2 days of Forum at the CPH:DOX March 22-23. I was there to check out what is happening with the ”creative and visually strong film projects”, that the CPH:FORUM ”financing and co-production event” is set up to help. Are great documentary films that use the language of cinema coming up? Concluding impressions at the end of this text.

First the venue, the new ”palace” of CPH:DOX, Charlottenborg in central Copenhagen near the harbour area. An absolute improvement for the ambitious festival. Lively activities inside and outside in the courtyards. Open to the public were several activities – discussions on subjects of today’s world.

The Forum took place in the colourful (see photo) Social Cinema, a very good place, a bit too hot, some called it a sauna, but I sat well and heard and saw, what was going on up there on the stage, where Tribeca’s Ingrid Kopp and Sundance’s Tabitha Jackson were moderating. They did that well. Not an easy task as most of the pitchers and panelists talked too much and went over the 14 minutes dedicated to each project. 300 projects had been submitted, 30 were picked. With overlapping categories ”fictionnonfiction”, ”cinema”, ”f:act”, ”art”.

In its presentation of the Forum, CPH:DOX circles around big names, well-known auteurs, who unfortunately were not there in persona, but were presented by producers, who often had brought

along videos, where directors like Hubert Sauper, Roberto Minervini, Sally Potter and Jørgen Leth talk about their project. It created respectful comments from the panelists – 4 per project, changing from project to project – but it is obvious that a dialogue with the director present would have been much better. Much depends on the visuals presented and for Sauper and Minervini it was almost impossible to see what that could lead to. Tabitha Jackson, one of the moderators, argued that ”the creative process is messy”, yes, but the visuals presented on occasions like this must at least be attractive. Sauper and Minervini had put no work into it.

Sally Potter, however, with ”Oh Moscow”, had made an explanatory fascinating video with herself in the picture, ”a musical film using solely archive footage, based on a song cycle inspired by the cold war, drawing parallels between past and present”. My reaction: I want to see that film. With Jørgen Leth the same, our great great filmmaker, who was warmly presented by producer Sigrid Dyekjær who takes care of the project together with Jacob Thuesen, who had made a brilliant teaser for ”I Walk”, I knew that project in beforehand, I was moved to see and hear Jørgen talk about what it means to be close to 80 and have problems with walking. He talks about slowness, about his postponing getting out of bed in the morning, about life and love. Nothing new if you know Jørgen Leth but from a new perspective.

CPH:FORUM wants to be different. With the selection this year they were not. Lea Glob and Andreas Koefoed want to make a film about ”United Nations – The End of the Beginning”, yes, I will watch the film because I know they can make something interesting, but what they showed was nothing special, maybe too early for the pitch? Andrei Nekrasov was not able to communicate why he wants to make a sequel to ”Magnitsky Act”. The American ”Alt-Right” was pure journalism without any creativity shown, ”The Second Israel” was categorized under ”Cinema”, I could not see why, ”Jozi Gold” the same but with a charismatic main character so maybe a Film will come up …

Too American? Well, there were many projects from the US and many from other countries dealing with American reality. And the majority of the panelists invited to the stage to comment were from the US. Of course it is questionable, why there are no projects from Asia, from Eastern and Central Europe (there was Filp Remunda from Czech Republic), from South America. Do they not apply? Do they consider the Forum to be élitiste?

Anyway, two of the American projects I look forward to see as finished films: Crystal Moselle (The Wolfpack) had wonderful visual material to accompany her ”Skate Girl” as had RaMell Ross, a photographer’s first feature documentary with ”Hale County this Morning, this Evening” from the Black Belt region in the US. Both of them were present and had prepared fine texts for their presentation.

All right, let me give the benefit of the doubt to photographer Seamus Murphy and his ”Staring Through the Glass”, where he follows PJ Harvey making a new album inspired by his photos and their common travelling – the problem was the classical at pitching sessions: Sympathetic Murphy told the audience that the film is not going to be as the trailer… Very well received was ”Sisters With Transistors” by Lisa Rovner, a story about female pioneers in electronic music. Great archive material did the job.

What happened at the individual meetings after the two days of Forum, I have no idea, hopefully there were inspiring dialogues between those, who make the films and those who need them for distribution in theatres or on television.

A professional event, full house, good atmosphere, a more precise project selection is needed with a wider geographical spread and with the stressing of the artistic/cinema language. FILMS, please!

https://cphdox.dk/en/ 

…of the festivals many sections are – in an edited and shortened Danish version of the press release of the festival of tonight:

DOX:AWARD:’De sidste mænd i Aleppo’ (“Last Men in Aleppo”), instrueret af Feras Fayyad samt debuterende co-instruktør Steen Johannessen, som er et uforglemmeligt portræt af tre modvillige heltes arbejde med at redde Aleppos civile midt i krigszonens centrum – og årets åbningsfilm på CPH:DOX.

Juryen udtaler om vinderfilmen: “De sidste mænd i Aleppo’ er en film hvis ødelæggende, følelsesmæssige umiddelbarhed kaster os ind i en shakespearsk’ tragedie om en befolkningsgruppe, der kæmper for at bevare deres menneskelighed på trods af den ubarmhjertige realitet, de befinder sig i”. 

Special mentions til ’Gray House’ af Austin Lynch og Matthew Booth og ’The John Dalli Mystery’ af Jeppe Rønde. ’Gray House’ er et mørkt og

stemningsfuldt værk mellem dokumentarisme og abstraktion, der er både stemnings- og udtryksmæssigt beslægtet med Lynch senior. Om ‘Gray House’ udtaler juryen: “For dens forbløffende brug af filmisk sprog til at skabe en dyb følelse af menneskelig isolation. Filmens ekstraordinære lyddesign, cinematografi, og formelle strenghed skaber uforglemmelige landskaber af både trussel og skønhed”. 

Juryen anerkender også ‘The John Dalli Mystery’, der følger Mads Brügger og Mikael Bertelsen i en nervepirrende morsom detektivfilm, hvor det ene twist tager det andet, “for dens kombination af gribende efterforskning med dristig, absurd, og fortvivlende film noir. Og alt dette udfolder sig midt i vores mest presserende europæiske politiske realiteter”. 

F:ACT Award: ’Radio Kobanï’ af Reber Dosky, en usædvanligt medrivende historie om en stærk, 21-årig kvindes kamp for sin lokale radiostation i den krigshærgede by Kobanï.

Juryen udtaler: “Som vinder af F:ACT Award er vores valg faldet på en smukt udformet film – en film om liv og død, krig og fred, tabet af håb for menneskeheden og generhvervelsen af dette håb. Filmen er et voldsomt intimt værk, og et gennem-researchet stykke civil-journalistik. Filmen foregår i den kurdiske by Kobanï i Syrien – en landsby, der blev et symbol på skiftet i krigen mod ISIS. Denne film inspirerede os alle i sin skildring af Kobanïs indbyggeres modstandskraft og mod, men især hos kvinderne: mødre og døtre, som ofte er udeladt af dominerende fortællinger om globale konflikter”. 

Juryen valgte også at give en special mention til ’Trophy’ af Shaul Schwarz og Christina Clusiau, en enestående velfortalt film om kapitalismen bag storvildtsjagt og den menneskelige moral. Juryen udtaler: “Vi vil gerne give Special Mention til en film, der kunstfærdigt præsenterer os for et komplekst dilemma. Filmen er en undersøgelse af kommerciel storvildts- og trofæjagt, og rejser dybere spørgsmål om fremtiden i forhold til bevarelsen af det vilde dyreliv og om vores forhold til truede dyrearter og til naturen selv. Både hvad angår produktion, cinematografi, redigering og lyddesign, er ‘Trophy’ en meget vellykket præstation”. 

NORDIC:DOX Award: ’Land of the Free’ af Camilla Magid, et sensitivt og menneskeklogt billede af en hård, social virkelighed i det udsatte South Central Los Angeles.

Juryen udtaler: “… vi var dybt bevægede af en film, der tager os med ind i den menneskelige skrøbeligheds dybder. Dens veludvalgte og gribende historier spejler hinanden på stærkeste vis. Karakterernes konturer blander sig med hinanden, og adskillige portrætter flyder sammen til ét. På denne måde vises det, hvor let livet kan tage en forkert drejning, men også hvordan nyt håb kan findes i noget så simpelt som at genopdage smagen af kaffe. Med dens stærke protagonister formår filmen at opnå en utrolig intimitet, og forbliver loyal over for dens filmiske valg. Prisen gives i til dette elegante arbejde, der har resulteret i et mesterværk

Juryen giver en special mention til ’69 Minutes of 86 Days’ af Egil Håskjold Larsen, der følger en 3-årig pige og hendes families lange rejse fra et græsk flygtningecenter til Uppsala i en bevægelse, der giver tragedien både form og ansigt.

Juryen udtaler: “NORDIC:DOX-juryen har den store glæde at give Special Mention til en modig, fordybende og engagerende film, der bruger dens filmiske midler til at tackle et kendt emne på en måde, så det fremstår friskt og nyt. Den utrolige cinematografi, den formfuldendte redigering, det kreative lyddesign og musikken smelter sammen til en yderst medrivende oplevelse. Selve filmens rytme imiterer det farlige hav, som er startpunktet for en rejse, der fokuserer på Lean – en uforglemmelig 3 år gammel pige. Denne lille pige kropsliggør både håb og mod i en tid, hvor det er allermest nødvendigt. Cadeau til Egil Håskjold Larsen som instruerede, skød og redigerede denne sin første spillefilm.

Vi har anmeldt hovedprisen Last Men in Aleppo på dette site, flere anmeldelser vil følge af en festival, som varer til den 26. Ds. For resten af priserne, og en engelsk oversættelse, check CPH:DOX hjemmeside:

www.cphdox.dk 

… was one of the around 30 projects pitched at the CPH:FORUM that took place wednesday and thursday this week. Director Danish/Swedish Maria Bäck, producer Anna-Maria Kantarius. Who did a strong presentation of a project that in CPH:DOX terminology is FICTIONnonFiction – hybrid is another word for a film like this, where the director will have to find creative solutions to build a narrative for the five days the director experienced alone as 14 years old in the Swedish capital after her mother was brought to hospital to be treated for her mental illness. The film to be – no objections – got the the Eurimages Co-Production Development Award of €15.000.

Maria Bäck graduated from the Danish Film School, documentary line in 2013.

Chapeau for a jury that chose to go for a talent and not one of the established directors, who pitched or whose projects were pitched by producers.

General comments on the Forum will follow.

Photo: Director Maria Bäck.

https://cphdox.dk/en

As the /2 says I have written about Kachkin’s film from Perm before – in August 2016 – where he told me that the film – the most obvious place to show it – was rejected by the local Flahertiana festival because it criticises the local Ministry of Culture in its talk about the prison camp, stalinism and Soviet times. What happened then with the film? Today I received an email from the Russian director, I quote from it, a report from an independent filmmaker, who travels to have his work shown:

Perm-36. Once we agreed that as soon as I have the screening outside of Russia I should let you know this and maybe you can make a post on your blog. So, it will be on March 24 at 12:00 in Tartu, Estonia. This is World Film Festival: http://www.worldfilm.ee/

I write you know in a bus which brings me from Moscow to Tartu 🙂

On March 27 will be another screening in Saint Petersburg in one of the main cinema theatres of the North Cultural Capital as we call it. 

Actually, the film is very demanded in Russia but much less abroad… I’ve screened the title at many independent venues or cinemas… well, it’s hard all the time to gather the audience but I’ve got much of help from some independent media, internet sites and radio stations… You can have a look the news here on the film’s web page: http://www.perm36reflexion.ru/en/news

So, only in Moscow, I had eight screenings. Then there were in Yekaterinburg at Yeltsin Centre, in Perm three, then other places. Also, some screenings should be during the summer. Well, I’m satisfied in a way. But it takes me much to promote all the screenings and negotiating with media… 

http://perm36reflexion.ru/en/film

ANITA MATHAL HOPLAND & JENS LENGERKE: ON THE EDGE OF FREEDOM/ PÅ KANTEN AF FRIHED

I heard myself saying “don’t do it, stop” several times, alone in front of the screen, when the young Russians and Ukrainians were climbing unfinished buildings and cranes. To take photos of themselves. Or videos. Scary like hell. And I am after having seen the film not sure that I understand why they challenge themselves in that way. Says someone from another generation. Yes, I understand that this could be the way to money as they are selling tours – especially the Ukrainians who go underground to make “tours in the drainage system” – and document them, put them on the social media. Create an identity.

Let me educate you as I was from the texts in the beginning of the film: Roofing is the exploration of heights. Digging is the exploration of underground area. In Moscow Angela (the photo) goes up, in Kiev Vlad goes down. With friends around them. They are all very young and beautiful, and cool, they are looking for a way in their lives, which they stage. They pose like fashion models, at least Angela does, she gets ill, a blood cot in the arm, she takes care of her medicine and seems to have recovered towards the end of the film.

Vlad, the Ukrainian, experiences the Maidan revolt and makes a tour to Pripyat, to the Chernobyl Zone, he is well formulated and talks about the digging as “going from one reality to another”, seeing “an urban renaissance”.

This ignorant critic has seen an energetically made, professional, visually scary, fascinating close-up documentary about youngsters in Moscow and Kiev, who are playing with their lives or searching for a meaning, for freedom the title says… Well…

The film will be shown at CPH:DOX tonight March 21 22.30 at Empire, March 23 10.30 at Nordisk Film Palads and March 25 at 22.15, Empire Bio. Broadcast on DR3 March 27 at 20.30.

Denmark, 2017, 75 mins.