Taken from the site of the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade (http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/) this text is written by festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic about the film to be shown tonight at the Sava Center in Belgrade:

For centuries, one of the most beautiful old city-republics in Italy, Siena, two times a year becomes divided with conflicts, when all residents, from the youngest to the elderly live for Palio – one of the oldest horse races in the world. It is a specific time machine that magically revives Renaissance costumes, flags, coats of arms and trumpets, ceases everything with its primordial force and completely enchants both observers and participants. This is a real battle for prestige turned into a symbolic competition of horses and riders held in a surprising place – in the very center of Siena, on the largest city square. Old ritual lives its intense life even today with never reduced passions without scruples – turbulent Mediterranean mentality and dark tradition of political intrigues of the past times haunt freely, like a ghost, all the citizens, and no one is spared, not even the players or horses.

The director of the film, Cosima Spender, who grew up in Siena, develops this visually attractive, lavish spectacle, showing us Palio from the perspective of four generations of the best, most important race winners; from those who made the most brilliant recent history to the newest and youngest one who is preparing for a relentless battle to realize his biggest dream. The author of “Palio” conceived and developed a real exciting, cinematic film, with extraordinary photography, carefully interwoven dramaturgical flows, which achieves its dramatic climax in the events that really take your breath away! Exceptionally credited with the most attractive moments in the film, especially during the racing scenes, is the brilliant editor Valerio Bonelli, awarded for his superb work at the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

“Palio” is a great and memorable cinematic feast!

Director’s Word: I grew up with the Palio so I was uniquely placed to gain the trust of everyone involved in the film and our narrator character was able to open doors which are normally closed to outsiders. Yet as a foreigner (I work out of London and my parentage is Anglo-American), I shared the jockeys’ ambiguous relationship with Siena, and that is what I wanted to capture in this film.

us.thepalio.com/film 

Review on Filmkommentaren by Sara Thelle: link

Great Britain, 2015, 92 mins.

Taken from the site of the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade (http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/) this text is written by festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic about the film to be shown tonight at the Sava Center in Belgrade:

From the very first moment of the film, from the first wonderful scene, an unusual and poetic story unfolds in front of us, a story about two brothers and their still unsettled life history that surrounds them. This documentary takes you on the small country roads lined with meadows, in beautiful, blossoming fields, in the dark forests where two old charismatic men are walking through – a painter, constantly in search of what excites his creative spirit, and the other one, who looks like his reflection in the mirror, and who managed, like in fairy tales, to get rid of the physical connection with the character and to become its opposite – a silent, reliable companion and protector. And whatever happens, from wandering through the landscapes full of colors and impressions, riding with no apparent purpose and reason, to everyday situations

in which they are talking and being silent at the same time, between the two brothers runs continuous and exciting current which outlines some of the deep secrets of life and human communication. All this is linked by magical scenes of family films, which as a leitmotif of the film testify to the metaphysical sphere in the existences of our heroes.

Wojciech Staroń is the author of the stories of the unseen, documenting and building, above all, an atmosphere of space and events. Staroń is a painter and a poet, when as a cameraman reveals the protagonists in many different settings or when approaches their striking portraits. As a director, he develops a complex structure and story from a seemingly simple scenes and situations, where he successfully plunges deep beneath the tangible manifestations of the real. Finally, he adds to all of this a new, very special visual impression that is created by the use of archival footage of amateur films.

The winner of the festival in Leipzig, film “Brothers” will mesmerize you with its carefully designed visuals, with poetic scenes and portraits, speaking strongly about the relationships that pervade man, about love, wandering and searching.

Director’s Word: For a long time I was looking for the answer what is this film about, what will be its main motive and its structure. However I knew from the very beginning that it will be a film about brotherhood. The final structure of the film appeared as a result of a year-long process of editing. I had to eliminate many plots to achieve as kind of universal and clear story.

www.staronfilm.pl/movies-b/2015/7/9/brothers

The review on “Brothers” on Filmkommentaren: link

Poland 2015, 68 minutes.

I just said goodbye to him, the director of ”Twilight of a Life”, who has played an important role in this 12th edition of the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade. He came with his film about which I wrote – before the premiere in Nyon – ”…emotional it is, long time ago that I have watched a film with a smile on my face the whole way through and a tear in my eyes…”.

I had the same reaction, when I watched it here in Belgrade with the more than added value to experience the charismatic director as one who wants to follow his film, whereever he can, doing (as he did here) a masterclass, a Q&A session and a workshop.

A few words about the workshop: Sylvain Biegeleisen was together with a small group of young people from morning till afternoon. He told them that he was there to realise his ”One Day One Film” with the theme ”Memories”, with the participants being invited to bring a photo or an object to talk about what that means for them. ”My part was to be their humble servant”, Biegeleisen said, when he

presented the final result, a 10 minutes long, sweet and charming film with clever and innovative narratives. I can only recommend other festivals warmly to bring in the director to do this workshop.

In his masterclass Biegeleisen talked interestingly about ”Twilight of a Life” and showed clips with sequences that did not end up in the film as well as clips from his first film with his mother, ”The Last Card” shot in 2007. ”I am a man of spontaneity”, he said several times, when he was asked about how much he had planned in beforehand at the same time as he praised the collaboration with the editor Joëlle Alexis. Pedagogically it was a scoop when he showed the scene, where the mother says that ”I will not live long”, in two versions, one edited by himself and one by the editor.

2 years of shooting. And then the editing and the premiere in Nyon, where everyone, including the director of this festival, expected him to have an award. It did not happen… He was disappointed but ”I’m learning”, he said, ”the real award was that the film was made…, we made it, my mother and I” and ”the real power is not only to open the eyes of an audience but also the hearts”.

Biegeleisen told us that in Belgium there is a plan to make a book to accompany the film, that he is to attend a screening of the film in the presence of representatives from WHO, who could maybe use the film one way or the other, he has plans to establish a film festival with ”Ageing” as the theme… at the same time as he told us that the film is difficult to sell (done by the company Cats and Docs) to television, even if he has a version of one hour, in colours… at the same time as the film has been a huge success in Israel where the cinematheques announce the film with title and ”to be shown in the presence of the director and his guitar”. Wonderful to experience Jacques Brel performed by multi-gifted artist Sylvain Biegeleisen.

www.twilightofalife.com

Taken from the site of the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade (http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/) this text is written by festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic about the film to be shown tonight at the Sava Center in Belgrade:

This year’s winner of Europe’s largest documentary film festival in Amsterdam, IDFA, without a doubt is one of the best documentaries produced in recent years. The initial idea of the author was to make a film about psychiatric institutions and patients in Russia, and even during the first researches suddenly appeared Oleg, a young man trapped by autism, and his mother convinced that her son can and should do more to improve his life. Especially when it comes to women. And Oleg begins long battles to learn how to become Don Juan, to pierce even a little the armor that safely shields him from the world and girls. The camera begins to follow his therapies that slowly multiply and start turning into an interesting odyssey – from conventional conversation, to shocking, grotesque procedures, and finally to making the theater.

Following his hero, Jerzy Slatkovski with his team, in which an

important role has brilliant cinematographer Wojciech Staron, manages to be present in moments of crisis, debates and quarrels, to capture moments of opening and closing of the main character, to capture his emotions and blockades, without ever endangering the intimacy of the situation, nor to exceed the invisible boundaries of participants’ dignity. While shooting this superb study of the human condition, the author and his film crew managed to achieve the ideal, unattainable request for filmmakers – they have become invisible.

The documentary by one of the masters of European documentary, directed intelligently and focused, with extremely subtle images of warm colors, with the camera that is always in pace with the events, with perfectly constructed internal rhythms, this Film, starting with the always interesting and intriguing view of the “Rain Man”, develops a deep, warm and touching story about the person, creating the true, brilliant and convincing film hero!

Director’s Word: The best stories usually result from coincidences, accidental meetings and good luck.
The first shooting period was a deep unprepared dive into the world of Russian psychiatric care, with no great expectations.
Russian producer Elena Petlarskaya and I happened to hear Oleg and his mother quarreling in a psychiatric clinic in Nizhny Novgorod about Oleg’s inability to fix up a date with a girl. We introduced ourselves and I shared some memories of my own romantic misfortunes – it was the beginning of a long-lasting friendship.

catndocs.com/index.php/categories/human-interest/744-don-juan

A comment on “Don Juan” on this site.

Sweden, Finland 2015, 92 minutes

They got up from their chairs but did not leave right away, they stayed to honour the filmmaker, whose ”Mallory” had just ended. Helena Třeštíková received standing ovations for her film at the screening at the Sava Center, where it was number 3 of the 7 films selected for the Magnificent7 festival.

… and maybe also for her work in total – her unique method of long term observational documentary filmmaking that she talked so well about this morning at the masterclass for young filmmakers. Třeštíková brought clips from her films – to mention some: ”René”, ”Katka”, ”Marcela” – and raised the questions of ethical nature and basically how she establishes a contact/ an agreement with her protagonists. I have seen all three previous films mentioned before but the clips made me want to come back to them – they are all available on DocAlliance, link below, price for a film 2€!

Especially ”René”, about this intelligent young man, who goes in and out of prison, robs the home of the director at one point, tells her that in the beginning of their filming relationship (that has lasted 20 years!), he was a bit in love with her, that he has seen her more during the years than he has seen his mother… He is now out of prison, lives with a dancer and her child, a film star after he has been on television several times. (Czech television broadcasts her works in primetime).

Třeštíková is now working on 15 projects! Wow, what a filmmaker!

http://dafilms.com/search/?q=helena+trestikova

Taken from the site of the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade (http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/) this text is written by festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic about the film to be shown tonight at the Sava Center in Belgrade:

Is there anything emptier than idyllic summer resorts in the wintertime? Jakob Brossman arrives with his crew, at such a moment of calm and low tide, when all small local problems become big events, and their main protagonists begin to resemble characters of Fellini films. On Lampedusa this is all tinged by the big, unwanted looming shadow, the drama and present of the People from the Boats, rescued in dramatic operations from storms and high seas, sometimes successfully, often not, but always at great risk. And to top it all off – discussions recalling the spirited traditions of the debate forums of the ancient world – can the fisherman survive, will Lampedusa get a ferry, what are the Africans doing in front of the church? With humor and conviviality of the Mediterranean spirit, with a lot of sound and fury, but with empathy and true understanding for the human condition. A story told in rich layers, of the clash of worlds – of Africa v. Europe, the island v. the mainland, provincial outposts v. the center, and inescapably poor v. rich.

It is certain that suffering and victims often cloud our view of the

saviors and those who welcome them, and Jakob Brossman chose to focus this documentary, about one of the greatest problems Europe is facing, through the unexpected prism of an inverted lens. Ironically showing us where the cameras “of the eyes of the world” are pointed and all the things this “all-seeing” gaze misses, the authors of the film observe carefully, analyzing even more carefully, and building a complex dramaturgical structure and composition. This specific and subtle approach allows for a unique insight into a phenomenon that has been dealt with countless time, leading towards a true culmination – an exceptionally exciting documented dramatic rescue operation in which for the first time we experience concern for all involved, for the equally endangered rescuers and drowning wretched of the sea.

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!

Director’s Word: Lampedusa is a beautiful place, a fantastic holiday destination; there are people there who understand life, even though at times they have to struggle with the very basics.

There are lots of camera crews on Lampedusa, especially in the period immediately after any tragedy. They generally adopt the same approach and ask the same questions. In our case, people noticed that we came in winter, and that we stayed – and if I asked any questions at all, they were not the usual ones. I had a fantastic interpreter; without her I wouldn’t have been able to overcome the language barrier. People came to appreciate the fact that we really wanted to understand the situation and the people.

www.lampedusaimwinter.derfilm.at

Austria, Italy, Switzerland 2015, 93 minutes

Last night. Look at the photo – Sylvain Biegeleisen, director of ”Twilight of a Life”, is on stage with festival director Zoran Popovic in Belgrade before the screening of his film at the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade. Biegeleisen is about to sing a Jacques Brel chanson to put the more than 1500 Belgraders present in the mood to be in the company with himself and first of all his mother for 71 minutes. He sings for her in the film that was received with applause for minutes. The well placed comment from my Serbian filmmaking friend next to me was like this, ”we are all crying”, right she was, from watching a woman at the end of her life full of wisdom and humour! There were noone rushing out of the cinema.

Biegeleisen had afterwards a packed Q&A session in the vip room of the Sava Center and this afternoon, in one hour, he will hold a masterclass for young and older filmmakers at the same place. I will report tomorrow about the many interesting comments that the director has conveyed and will come up with concerning his making of this wonderful work.

PS. A Sunday in Belgrade is not ”only” films… I started this morning being greeted by a young hotel receptionist, who said she had seen me several times on Serbien television. Proud I was, ”was it ok what I said”… until the answer came ”I don’t know, I watch tv without sound having music in my ears…”

PPS. And a tradition has grown: We go to the home of festival team colleague Nevena Donlic, an expert of tennis and admirer of – I am that as well now – Novak Djokovic, who played the Australian Open final against Scottish Murray, who as last year was beaten pretty easily by the Serbian phenomenon. Serbian brunch and television hospitality at its best, thanks.

http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/index.php

12. Festival Evropskog Dugometraznog Dokumentarnog Filma… the Serbian language version for 12th European Feature Documentary Film Festival that started last night with the screening of German Kral’s ”Our Last Tango” – click on www.filmkommentaren.dk and watch the photo to see how many found their way to the Sava Center. It was record breaking, more than 2000, the first time that the balcony was opened – for the screening of a documentary. I do not recall if I have ever seen so many people gathered for a documentary screening. And judging from the applause that followed the screening the audience appreciated the choice of the lovely, spectacular, elegantly edited story about the fantastic tango dancers Maria Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes. Cinema!

And a love story difficult to make, German Kral told us at the Q&A session after the screening. Maria and Juan Carlos did at one moment not want to take part, then they changed their minds, then he found out that she had more pages in the script than him, and then she got angry watching the final film because a scene she loved was not there… it ended well, the film is there, the two masters are treated with respect and tango is being danced. Playful and joyful.

Yes, Belgrade is a city of art, a city of culture. In between tv interviews together with Svetlana and Zoran Popovic, I had time to celebrate Saint Sava’s Day, an exceptional exhibition of Russian avantgarde art, a tango concert with local Aleksandar Nikolic on bandoneon accompanied by a string orchestra – and of course visits to both classical and modern restaurants downtown and along the river.

www.magnificent7festival.org

Taken from the site of the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade (http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/) this text is written by festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic about the film to be shown tonight at the Sava Center in Belgrade:

A refined documentary pearl, woven out of the finest strands that connect our inner worlds with the hidden, deepest worlds of others. A testament to a warm and fascinating communication with another being, within whom, thanks to the skill of the poet, we see a small but vigorous luminosity shining in all its power inside the body weaker than the frailest of birds. The mother of Silvain Biegeleisen, suddenly loses all physical strength at the age of 94, and he decides to spend with her and film her final days. And then a miracle happens, despite all prognosis – life refuses to bow to knowledge and begins to sing with a thin, but unstoppable voice. And an elegy, condemned to dark and narrow space suddenly, almost from the first, blossoms into a hymn to the fullness of life, the power of touch and pure emotion, an ode to joy and play, lengthening the days into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years.

Minimalist in its approach, made in black-and-white touched with

subtle, barely noticeable accents of color, this documentary, like poetry, manages to delight you completely and bring you in touch with important and unknowable secrets. “Twilight of a life” is certainly a testimonial to the extraordinary skill of a therapist and communicator with all those who need special attention and care, as well as a testimonial of a talented singer and musician, a charming master of play, who fully and uncompromisingly assumes the position of discrete and dancing shadow, one that fully traces the charismatic appearance of an irresistible woman, mother, grandmother, stuck between worlds at the crossroads of wisdom.

Winner of prizes for Best Belgian and Best Israeli documentary at the festivals in Leuven and Tel Aviv, this poetic film warns us that every moment is the one in which we might seek to better understand and feel others, in order to better understand and feel ourselves.

Director’s Word: If I had to define myself in a single word, I would choose “poet.”
Life has blessed me with diverse competencies for self-expression – poetry, photography, editing, directing, painting, writing, group coaching, to name a few…
I belong to that breed which believes that our own actions and work bring about social change, and that those actions are an inseparable chapter of the story of “humanity” and the “universe” in their entirety. I believe that we face a new age, within which art and spirit will occupy a significant space, will allow people to open their eyes and their hearts, and thus build a better world.

www.twilightofalife.com

“Twilight of Life”, review, Filmkommentaren.dk

On the director, from Filmkommentaren.dk

Belgium, Israel 2015, 71 minutes