DocsBarcelona Films Meet Audience

… and directors inform and answer questions after the screenings. The heart of a festival, is it not, when the filmmakers get the chance to have feedback from the viewers, who have enjoyed their work on a big screen, vice versa. The triangle: film, audience, filmmaker.

I attended three of these meetings yesterday. Louie Palu (and Devin Gallagher) showed and commented on his ”hell on earth” (my remark) documentary ”Kandahar Journals”, that have several layers: the diary reflections of the photographer Louie Palu, who has photographed and filmed everything himself, the information given about the geography of Kandahar, the almost unbearable photos and images of dead people, including the body parts of a suicide bomber… It stays in your mind this film as does the one by Friedrich Moser, ”A Good American”, that features the most sympathetic man you can think of, Bill Binney, and his lost fight with the NSA, that did not want to adapt his surveillance program that could have prevented the 9/11 to happen. Everything has a structure, says Binney, and the film has indeed one, a form has been chosen, one could almost say designed to convey this scandalous story. I had time to go to the Q&A of ”Daniel’s World” by Veronika Lišková, who gave the audience in a full cinema the background for her sensitive film about a paedophile, who has come out of the closet, so to say. The reaction from the Barcelona audience was very positive, a Brazilian filmmaker wanted to take the film to her country, that’s how a festival should work.

A couple of people I meet: Serge Tréfaut, Portuguese director, who just got an award in his home country for his ”Treblinka”, a hybrid film of great beauty, longing to see it on a big screen. And Arunas Matelis and his wife Alge, who were at the speed meetings with their ”Gladiators. A Different World”, a true international coproduction as it is about the bicycle riders of Giro d’Italia and Tour de France. With a Spanish coproducer, Matelis is now planning to get hold of the star Alberto Contador.

Today films and a masterclass with three truly international, award-winning directors: Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami (”Sonita”), Brian Hill (”City of Dreams”) and Sean McAllister (”A Syrian Love Story”). ”Intervention or Observation”, the catalogue outlines as the theme. The answer is already given, the three of them intervene, so that is what is to be discussed at La Pedrera today at 5.30pm. How, why, with which consequences? Please come to Gaudi’s beautiful place! And then films and more films, hopefully with as many spectators as yesterday.

www.docsbarcelona.com

DocsBarcelona 2016 Started

… with full house at the Aribau Multicines, the 1100 seats were occupied for the opening ceremony with a couple of rappers, opening speech by festival director Joan González and the screening of ”Sonita” (also a rapper) by Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami, the Iranian director, who was present and could enjoy the many minutes long applause that followed after the screening of the film. Yes, that was the right choice for opening the festival.

During today and tomorrow the industry section of DocsBarcelona takes place with so-called speed-meetings, where projects are presented. 40 projects have been selected to be pitched to around 30 financiers and distributors and sales agents.

This part of DocsBarcelona is taking place for the 19th time, but there was a prologue in 1996, in Granada arranged by EDN (European Documentary Network) and local producer, director, cultural event organiser José Sánchez-Montes. In his opening speech Joan González praised Sánchez-Montes, who has been invited to sit in the jury together with Anita Reher, who with this blogger worked for EDN at this pioneering times and were in Granada, where González pitched for the first time. Sorry for being a bit nostalgic…

Back to DocsBarcelona 2016. I had the privilege to moderate three RoughCut sessions with three female directors: Brazilian Isabella Lima with Mercedes, Italian Laura Cini with Punishment Island and ”Etre et Durer” by Italian Serena Mignani. They came with their material – around one hour for all three – and had creative response – also for one hour – from Joan Salvat Catalan tv, José Rodriguez from Tribeca Film Institute, Gitte Hansen from First Hand Films, local producer Bettina Walter and filmmakers Martin Solá and Daniel Jariod, the latter also one of the festival programmers.

The poster photo is taken from the film by Louie Palu ”Kandahar Journals” that is on the programme of today. As are – among several – ”Shadow Girl” by Maria Teresa Larrain, a world premiere, Veronika Liskova’s ”Daniel’s World” and ”City of Dreams” by Brian Hill. More reporting in the coming days.

http://www.docsbarcelona.com/en/     

Jakob Brossmann: Lampedusa in Winter/ 2

In June 2nd to 8th the Danish Cinematheque at the Film House in Copenhagen shows, as Documentary of the Month, “Lampedusa in Winter” by Jakob Brossmann, a film that has and will travel the world winning several awards. Below you will find a Danish language synopsis and a quote from the presentation by Magnificent7 festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic.

‘Lampedusa in Winter’ er et højaktuelt billede på flygtningesituationen, som den tager sig ud i udkants-Europa. Nærmere bestemt på den lille italienske middelhavsø Lampedusa. Øen ligger omtrent 200 km syd for Sicilien og 110 km nord for Tunesien, og dens beliggenhed gør den til et logisk knudepunkt for illegale flygtninge. ‘Lampedusa in Winter’ udgør et upartisk billede af den situation, der direkte eller indirekte påvirker hele Europa. Og filmen er samtidig en hjertelig påmindelse om, at der findes ildsjæle derude med overskud til at give lidt ekstra af sig selv. Lampedusas kvindelige borgmester er en af dem, og hun er både flygtningenes håb og klippe i den helt igennem usikre venteposition, de befinder sig i. Instruktør Jakob Brossmann perspektiverer situationen med middelhavsvinde og en opløftende menneskelig varme.

A fantastic documentary of a developed spirited Mediterranean story which involves us deeper as we watch – we fear, we are entertained, we get angry, we scold and shout, we suffer and finally, all together we discover that behind it all stands a cold and distant, untouchable figure of power!

http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/3441/

Magnus og Fredrik Gertten: Den unge Zlatan /2

Becoming Zlatan / Den unge Zlatan har sin danske biografpremiere i det beundringsværdige DOXBIO samarbejde onsdag den 1. juni 2016 i 50 biografer i hele landet. Se hvilke i et link nedenfor. Filmen havde festivalpremiere på IDFA i november sidste år og svensk biografpremiere i februar, og Tue Steen Müller har her på Filmkommentaren anmeldt filmen for nogen tid siden, men denne store danske premiere er god grund til at gentage den:

Traitor, I said a long time ago to Jesper Osmund, who has edited the film about Zlatan Ibrahimovic, the magnificent Swedish footballer, who ”killed” the Danish ambition to qualify for the European championship. A Dane to help the Swedish brothers from Malmö (!) make a film about the young Zlatan and his first years as a professional player, going from Malmö to Amsterdam to Turin, from Malmö FF to Ajax to Juventus! A good film, a very good film actually, and as you could read in a previous post from the other day, a film that is out now, where Zlatan still, at the age of 34, does magic on the pitch and hopefully will do the same for Sweden in France in June, when the European tournament starts.

For a football fanatic the film is gold. You see where he comes from, you have interviews with him, you get a sense of (with Ajax manager Leo Beenhakker’s words) his conflicted nature, you see him being aggressive and violent in matches, you see him score goals and get booed by the audience when he does not, it’s all so very well composed going back and forth in time, there is a kind of melancholic tone in the film that is also about a young player on the top, who is a very private person at the same time as he through growing up learns how to behave, or does he? His tribute to Malmö and the quarter Rosengården, by donating a football pitch, is there and beautiful indeed it is.

For me, I did not remember that, it was especially interesting to get the description of the rivalry between Egyptian player Mido and Zlatan when in Ajax legendary Ronald Koeman was the coach and suddenly had too many strikers. An anecdotal story about a pair of scissors flying from Mido’s hands through the air in the dressing close to hit Zlatan, who then was the only one who came forward to defend his rival in the media. It is fine to hear Koeman as it is fine to hear Capello, who was Zlatan’s coach when he came to Juventus, when Ajax became too small for this fantastic football player.   

Sweden/Holland, 2016, 85 mins.

http://www.doxbio.dk/movie-archive/becoming-zlatan/ 

http://www.doxbio.dk/kob-billet/ 

Gabe Polsky: Red Army

Jeg ved meget lidt om ishockey, efter filmen om “Red Army” ved jeg meget mere. Det er de fremragende arkivoptagelser fra kampe i Sovjetunionen og i Canada, og ved diverse verdens- og olympiske mesterskaber, som fortæller denne fodboldgale blogger, at der kan spilles smukt og elegant på isen, som var det Barcelonas spillere, der kørte bolden/pucken rundt om og igennem modstandernes kæder.

Med Slava Fetisov som kaptajnen og dirigenten, som instruktør Polsky har interviewet – 5 timers material fik han optaget, var lovet 15 minutter af den karismatiske Fetisov, som svarer arrogant på mange af spørgsmålene, men blev grebet af at genopleve sin egen karriere, som starter i barndommen og går op til han bliver én af de fem på billedet, rejser til Amerika og spiller i den berømte NHL, på egne betingelser og ikke på de sovjettiske, som implicerede at stort tjente penge til en vis grad skulle sendes hjem af de militært ansatte hockeyspillere. Og så overraskes vi alligevel, for han blev ikke i vesten, Fetisov, for Polsky har klogeligt holdt den information tilbage, at Fetisov i dag, efter at have været sportsminister udvalgt af Putin i en periode, er businessman og politiker.

Der er mange fine øjeblikke i filmen, specielt i arkivmaterialet, men der er også mange kedelige informative interviews med eksperter. Det er meget bedre, når det er spillerne, som udtaler sig, og påstanden om at man lærer noget om livet i Sovjetunionen, som mange anmeldere fremhævede, da filmen havde dansk biografpremiere, holder ikke. Måske gør de generelt uoplyste amerikanere, men der var intet nyt for mig. Men man lærer noget om lejrlivet for professionelle sportsfolk, men er det ikke noget vi kender så godt i vesten? Og så til min sædvanlige kæphest: filmen er smurt ind i musik fra start til slut. Hvorfor?

Jo, filmen er amerikansk i sin opbygning – der er helte og skurke eller rettere én skurk, træneren Victor Tikhonov, hvis ansigt man genkender fra mange tv-visninger, en hård mand. Som én af spillerne har sagt: ”hvis man får brug for et nyt hjerte, så gå efter Tikhonovs, han har aldrig brugt det…”. Desværre for filmen ville han ikke interviewes.

USA, Russia, 2014, 84 mins.

Filmen vises tirsdag 24. maj kl. 20.45 på DR2 Dokumania og kan efterfølgende streames på dr.dk/tv i 7 dage. Dansk titel: Den røde ishockey-hær.

Doker 2016 Program

With the long name Moscow International Documentary Film Festival Doker has launched its second festival edition that runs until May 24. I am very amazed of what the young team behind the festival is doing full of enthusiasm and vision – see post below taken from the website’s ”about”. And go to the site and discover what is offered the audience this year: Feature Documentary competition, a Special Competition ”Let IT Dok” and one for short films. In the feature section you will find films from Peru, Bolivia, Mexico, China, Pakistan, Kenya, Iran – and Latvia and Finland with two fine films reviewed on filmkommentaren.dk: beautiful and sweet ”Ruch and Norie” by Inara Kolmane and equally beautiful and thought provoking ”Leaving Africa” by Iris Härma.

I was in the jury last year together with Viktor Kossakovsky, I see that Doker this year has convinced master Pirjo Honkasalo to chair the jury.

Doker is a non-mainstream festival, you see that easily in the selection, new names, a cultural

purpose, long discussions, I understand about each and every film – and it takes place in two stages, this one in May and an award ceremony in autumn, where the winners are present. Winners… there are awards for cinematography, for sound, for editing, for music composed etc. Respect for that decision in a time where directors are normally the only ones in focus. And in Russia where it is not easy to do film politics!

My knowledge about this festival stems back from contacts to Irina Shatalova, brilliant camerawoman and fighter, who wants to better the conditions for documentaries in Russia. Nastia Tarasova and Shatalova made ”Linar” together, praised on this site. The two of them stand behind the festival together with many others, including Tatiana Soboleva and Sergei Kachin, to mention other young filmmakers talked about previously on filmkommentaren.

I saw a picture of a full cinema on FB today, from the opening, I wish Doker success in the following days – we need fresh blood in the festival world, too much automation meaning that if you are at IDFA you can be sure to have invitations from another 20 or more festivals… Doker tries something different.

http://www.midff.com/#!programm2016/c16f8

Doker 2016 Profile

A thoughtful and clear text taken from the site of Doker:

Moscow International Documentary Film Festival DOKer has stemmed from the project of the same name which screens independent non-fiction. DOKer project is aimed at analyzing and screening in Russia various genres and forms of the world’s documentaries as a separate line of cinema in all its esthetic and socio-cultural diversity.

The Festival focuses on independent documentary cinema that incorporates both poetic narrative and social blockbusters; footage and mockumentary; art-house and science-fiction; classic and experiment.

The Festival organizers are convinced that films about real characters from all over the world can break down old stereotypes and bring together people of polar mentalities. Finely-told documentary stories can help find ways of understanding another culture and establish common ground when realities clash. Such films can also help bring closer aspirations and hopes of other people and even find the meaning of life.

This year the Festival invites the public to look at the world through the eyes of documentary makers from dozens of counties and share universal emotions, reflections and aspirations. From the opening sequence the viewer is projected into an unknown reality and within an hour may get familiar with strange culture and traditions from around the world, learn many facts and phenomena and become intimate with various characters.

Photo from the Ugandian and Finnish production “Leaving Africa” that is at Doker 2016.

http://www.midff.com/#!programm2016/c16f8

Lars Movin versus Jørgen Leth

MOVIN MØDER LETH, Lars Movin meddeler det på sin Facebookside, og jeg skynder mig at meddele videre, især at det er NU! NU I AFTEN I ÅRHUS!

Movin skriver: ”Så er det i aften, at jeg har den ære at være med til at åbne festivalen Vild med ORD i Dokk1 i Aarhus sammen med den unge mand på billedet her. Okay, jeg ved da godt, at publikum kommer for at se Jørgen Leth – som efter vores samtale vil levere flere Spoken Words akkompagneret af de to musikere i Vi Sidder Bare Her – men ikke desto mindre skal det blive en fornøjelse at lægge endnu et kapitel til den dialog, som vi har ført gennem knap tyve interviews siden 1989. En dialog, som ikke mindst har udmøntet sig i tre bøger: “En dag forsvandt Duke Jordan i Harlem – tekster om jazz” (Bebop, 2008), “Kunsten at gå på gaden – tekster fra tresserne” (Gyldendal, 2012) og “Alt er i billedet – om Jørgen Leths film” (Gyldendal, 2013).Dagen efter (fredag) vil der være flere ord fra undertegnede, nærmere bestemt ved et arrangement klokken 14:30 (ligeledes i Dokk1), hvor jeg med udgangspunkt i bogen “Amerikansk avantgardefilm” (2016) vil fortælle om (og vise) to beat-relaterede avantgardefilm, nemlig “Pull My Daisy” (1959) af Robert Frank & Alfred Leslie og “Towers Open Fire” (1963) af William S. Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Ian Sommerville & Antony Balch. Vild med ord, ja – men også vild med billeder, film, musik …”

Foto: lm / 2015

Jørgen Leth: Lyrikporten – 28 danske digtere /5

Det må med dette filmværk være tror jeg, som Dan Turell skrev i en foranstillet note i Jørgen Leths Filmmaskinen (1979) om den bog: ”Når disse filmscener udsendes sammenfattet uden fortællestemme er det fordi klipperen ansér dem for en film og én film, en film om tekst, en næsten besværgende fortsat rullende film om tekstens muligheder. Denne film er nært knyttet til en omfattende tekstlig praksis, men er dog lige fuldt en film der lader sig se – og faktisk opleve tekstlig – på sine egne præmisser, så sandt som Jørgen Leth er så tekstlig en filminstruktør som så filmisk en digter.” (Altså frit afskrevet spejlvendt efter Dan Turèll)

Og FILMKOMMENTAREN lader således Jørgen Leth igen på en hvid baggrund og tilsyneladende intet andet præsentere denne dags digter Marianne Larsen, som i den faste lille q&a taler om ”at være opmærksom med det sprog man har i sig” og i oplæsningen som en bonus forærer os nye ord som særmandage, menskagtigheder og tiltågede skibe:

http://28danskedigtere.gyldendal.dk/#show/c0e07b88-efd1-485b-acff-1f7848b24c9c

Jørgen Leth: Lyrikporten – 28 danske digtere, Danmark, 2015. 28 kortfilm, i alt cirka 280 min., Gyldendal http://28danskedigtere.gyldendal.dk/#

http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/96521.aspx?id=96521

Andreas Fischer-Hansen hædres

Andreas Fischer-Hansen er igen i Tallin, han er selvfølgelig nødvendig for evalueringen på Baltic Film and Media School ved universitetet i Tallin disse dage. Han var leder af fotograflinjen, Head of Cinematography 2006-2009. Men der er derudover en særlig årsag til hans nærvær. På fredag udnævnes han til æresmedlem af lærerkollegiet ved denne filmskole på universitetet. FILMKOMMENTAREN ønsker ham tillykke.

Andreas Fischer-Hansen skriver i Fotografens øje (2009) om det at være lærer ved en filmskole: ”Når jeg ser på mit cv, går det op for mig, at jeg egentlig har brugt en stor del af mit liv på at omgås elever, primært fotografelever. Tænker på, at det har været berigende – eleverne har inspireret, udfordret, været kloge og dumme (måske var det mig der var dum).

At lære fra sig indebærer også at modtage, at diskutere og som filmmenneske at se film, som måske er ukendt, men som netop eleven bringer som en oplysning – måske oven i købet som en åbenbaring”.

Still: Tre blink mod vest, 1992 (Ulla Boje Rasmussen), som Andreas Fischer-Hansen fotograferede.

Foto: Andreas Fischer-Hansen til møde i Paris 2012 blandt kolleger i den franske instruktørforening.

http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/3249/ (Tue Steen Müller skriver om en ny digitaliseret udgivelse af 1700 meter fra fremtiden,1990 og Tre blink mod vest,1992)

http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/944/ (Jeg skriver om Fotografens øje. Dansk filmfotografi gennem 100 år, 2009, som Andreas Fischer-Hansen redigerede sammen med Dirk Brüel og Jan Weincke)