Viktor Kossakovsky: Varicella

I hope the audience will become infected, Kossakovsky said to me with a smile before the world premiere of his children documentary, ”Varicella” (Chickenpox). He was there on stage with one of his stars, Polina and with a twelve year old boy, who had made the music for the film! Sorry, did not catch his name…

The film is wonderful and beautiful, joyful and playful, you laugh and enjoy and you suffer a bit with big sister Nastya, when she cries and cries because she does not get the high mark, she had hoped for. But she qualifies for the next class at the ballet academy that is the main location of the film, where the sisters go to train with trainers, who demand quite a lot. But we also see them at home having their games – see photo.

Every image in this film is carefully composed, Kossakovsky lets them stand or have longer sequences like the pillow fights, girls against boys with Nastya in action, whereas the smaller Polina stands a bit in the background watching a world that will also be hers in some years. The girls are adorable because the camera makes them adorable, because the film has the right rythm of editing, because the director dares to stylize with some animation sequences, because Viktor Kossakovsky is a master in conveying emotions. The film is shot in St. Petersburg, like a painting a camera total shot of Neva marks that. Documentary poetry this is.

Infected? Totally!

The film is in the international short documentary competition here is St. Petersburg at the Message2Man festival.  

Sweden, Norway, Denmark, 2015, 22 mins.

Message to Man Film Festival – 25 Years

Mikhail Litvyakov – Misha – rushed into the cinema for a National Competition programme, saw me and Viktor Skubey, producer and dear friend from many years of visiting St. Petersburg, came to hug and picked out proudly a 56 page booklet, well illustrated, his memories from the quarter of a century, where he has been heading the festival. Easy reading, full of anecdotes it is, but also mentioning the different moments of crisis that I think every festival with that age has experienced. Misha was director general of the festival from 1988 until 2011, where film director Alexei Uchitel took over as president with Misha as the honorary President, always around full of energy and humour.

It’s pleasant reading – ”they” have all been here: Richard Leacock, Leo Hurwitz, Erwin Leiser, Herz Frank, Volker Schlöndorff, Tonino Guerra, Godfrey Reggio, Kusturica, Agnes Varda, Ulrich Seild and so on – and Leni Riefenstahl, and that created a lot of problems. A quote: … I definitely did not expect the scandal that erupted even before she arrived. In the free newspaper Metro, Oleg Stirzhak’s article ”Triumph of Forgetfulness” appeared, in which he accused the organizers of the festival of forgetting about the Blockade and basically rehabilitating fascism…”

But there are also memories from the time, when the festival had to say goodbye to the requirement that all films had to be submitted on film material, the consequent technical changes in the cinemas, and of course there has been constant fund raising problems.

Russian directors have started their career at the Message to Man festival: Sergey Dvortsevoy and Viktor Kossakovski as the most prominent names. The latter premiered his new film here the other night – review will follow.

http://www.message2man.com/en/

Estonian Winner in Vilnius

Estonian filmmaker Margus Ounapuu wrote to me yesterday after having read the text from the Vilnius Documentary Film Festival: as I know there was also third prize announced? You’re post look like a bit half at the moment?..

Right he is, the Estonian film “Journey to the Maggot Feeder” was also awarded, it was on the third place in the Baltic competition at the festival. I apologize. Have not seen the film but here is a description from the internet:

The documentary embarks on a journey to the Arctic and some of the darkest alleys of the matriarchal world of the aboriginal Chukchi. An ancient Chukchi folk tale, The Maggot Feeder, was the inspiration for animator Priit Tender who pairs up with filmmaker Liivo Niglas to solve the tale’s bizarre mystery and why it is misunderstood by some Western audiences. Priit goes to Chukotka to reveal the deeper layers of the folk story in this anthropological road movie that features Chukchi and European scholars and the behind the scenes creation of the animation,The Maggot Feeder.

DIRECTORS | Liivo Niglas, Priit Tender
YEAR | 2015
LENGTH | 68 minutes
LANGUAGE | Estonian w/English subtitles

http://estdocs.com/films/journey-to-the-maggot-feeder/

Jeppe Søgaard og Christian Bonke: Uffes alternativ

Det er på DR2 i aften 20:45 første del af denne tv-dokumentar sendes og den ramte skærm er målet for det store og langvarige projekt Søgård og Bonke har gennemført sammen med Uffe Elbek som gennemgående medvirkende i filmen. For det er en film om ham: ”Dette er vores portrætfilm om Uffe Elbæk. Optaget over de sidste 5 års turbulente rejse i dansk politik. Det er blevet til en helt utrolig historie om den lille mands kamp mod det etablerede. Der er lidt af et eventyr over Uffe’s vej igennem det danske politiske landskab. Lidt Klods Hans, lidt Kejserens nye Klæder og i den grad Jeppe på Bjerget…” skriver instruktørerne i pressematerialet. Det er altså en belærende historie om snobberiet omkring magten, om dens hensynsløshed og om medierne som sidder i krogen og skriver det hele ned og frydes over hvert fejltrin, til den lille dreng i en ny retorik spontant kommer med en afslørende iagttagelse.

Filmens fortællemetode er også klassisk: ”Det er en traditionel følgedokumentar i direkt cinema stil. Uden brug af interviews. Der indgår end ikke et masterinterview med Uffe selv. Vi har fulgt med uden at påvirke slagets gang… For os har det været vigtigt, at det skulle være levende og vi ville vise politik i øjenhøjde, så alle danskere kan se med – selv uden politisk indsigt. Vi har flittig brug af arkiv for at påvise Uffes store modstand fra systemet; både politikere og medier. Det har været nødvendigt for igen ikke at påvirke processen, men vise den, som medierne har valgt at bringe historierne. Dette lag fungerer som en stærk modstander, men også som en tidsangiver og medfortæller.”

Sådan skriver Søgaard og Bonke videre, og det er jo selve opskriften på tv-dokumentaren gennem et halvt århundrede, den ene af retningerne. Den anden bygger på interviews. Der er fluen på væggen og der er talking heads. Herligt sådan at få de filmfaglige præmisser, kunstneriske og journalistiske, lagt åbent frem omkring et nyt værk. Så kan værket fungere som illustration og måske senere som forbillede, som skoleeksempel. Og sådan forholder det sig med Uffes alternativ, synes jeg. Der er meget som lykkes, der er bestemt også svagheder.

Tag nu fortællerstemmen som burde være så vigtig, men som jeg forstår Søgaard og Bonke ikke kan lide, den hører ikke med i den valgte rene stil. Der er dog en fortællerstemme i dokumentaren, men den er på en mærkelig måde svag og så er den blot konstaterende og ind imellem faktisk postulerende: ”Uffe har en afvæbnende retorik…”, ja det kan jeg jo for så vidt se og høre, men jeg havde egentlig gerne tillige set eller hørt en analyse af denne retorik, en undersøgelse af dette centrale greb i hovedpersonens politiske praksis. Så jeg savner den rolige kloge stemme, analysen, overvejelsen, jeg savner filmens essay.

Det er egentlig så mærkeligt at det handler om politisk og kunstnerisk alternativ tænkning og praksis og Søgaard og Bonke så vælger at gå ganske konventionelt til værks. Det er der i sig selv ikke noget galt i, men det enestående udelukkes så, jeg overraskes ikke i forløbet. Det skal dog også siges, at jeg lærer en masse om Uffe Elbek undervejs, og jeg kan godt lide det jeg lærer, jeg ændrer syn på ham.

Men jeg savner mere, jeg mangler især meget lange scener som etablerer nogle af de mange optagelser af samvær især i møder, som dramaer med egen indre dynamik som jeg ville kunne tage til mig og grunde over. Søgaard og Bonke er tilsyneladende, nok fordi de har neddæmpet fortællerstemmen, mest interesseret i meningsbærende replikker og færdige pointer, små brikker af tekst, som de kan bygge fortællingen med. Når jeg tænker tilbage er der én eneste scene jeg husker som sådan, og den er fra arkivet og egentlig ikke deres, men dog i deres reportagestil og deres kloge valg. Det er fra Uffe Elbeks overdragelse af Kulturministeriet til Marianne Jelved. Spillet mellem de to er smukt og gribende, et lille drama i sig selv.

Det store drama, fortællingen på 88 minutters story line er således som de æstetiske principper har været håndhævet helt og aldeles overladt til arbejdet i klipperummet. Historien om Uffe og hans alternativ er her mere end en tekst, mere end en billedfordybelse. Den har nærmet sig det musikalske forløb, og det er gennemført omhyggeligt. Klippet i Uffes alternativ etablerer en uafbrudt pulserende bølge af filmklip, arkiv og observerende kamera, der er ikke så stor forskel, ikke fotografisk, end ikke tidens ændringer, da der klippes og fortælles kronologisk gennem de fem år. Klippet etablerer elegant en glidende, næsten organisk urolig strøm af replikker og statements og bevægelser, ind imellem muntert dansende og trapezsvingende, hele tiden omgivet af støj og uro omkring Uffe Elbeks forunderligt konstante ro og hans i det alt sammen så genkendelige stemme. Hvis jeg måske ikke var fascineret af manden før Søgaard og Bonkes tv-dokumentar må jeg bestemt være det efter. Det her er ikke bare ok tv, det er en hel del mere.

Danmark 2015, 2 x 44 min.

SYNOPSIS

Dette er fortællingen om en af de mest utraditionelle danske politikere i nyere tid. Et stykke Danmarkshistorie om tilblivelsen af det nye parti; Alternativet. Vi følger Uffe Elbæk over fem år. Da vi møder ham i 2010, er han en aldeles ukendt politiker, med en fortid i Århus byråd. Efter en lang valgkamp, hvor Uffe og hans frivillige i sidste øjeblik lykkedes at trænge igennem mediemuren, bliver der af den nye regering pludseligt peget på ham, som landets nye kulturminister. Uffes mange ambitioner for kulturen lider et kraftigt nederlag i mødet med virkeligheden. Ministerråderummet er mere begrænset end først antaget.

I stedet påbegynder Uffe en række initiativer, der skal bryde med det rigide politiske system. Bla. laver han offentlige høringer, hvor almindelige borgere kan komme med input til ministeren.

Et af disse bliver afholdt på AFUK, Akademiet for utæmmet kreativitet. Herefter går Uffe på meget kort tid igennem et stormvejr, som medierne navngav Gøglergate, der munder ud i at han må trække sig fra posten.

Uffe Elbæk afgår både som kulturminister og som Radikal politiker og er nu løsgænger i Folketinget. Han har fået nogle gevaldige knubs af pressen og er i færd med at slikke sine sår. Ingen tager den tidligere kaospilot særlig seriøst.

Men i al hemmelighed har han samlet en lille skare fortrolige mennesker omkring sig og er begyndt at etablere et helt nyt parti. Vi følger partiet blive opbygget fra bunden, og deres politik skabt via open source og dialog møder. Partiet kommer i folketinget med 9 mandater, på trods af, at ingen havde spået dem en chance. Uffes alternativ er i høj grad en fortælling om én mands kamp for at ændre den politiske kultur. (Fra pressemeddelelsen)

CREDITS

Manuskript og instruktion: Jeppe Søgaard Nielsen og Christian Bonke. Foto: Jeppe Søgaard Nielsen, Christian Bonke og Louise Leth. Klip: Bodil Kjærhauge, Jacob Duus og Anders Refn. Produktion: Lise Saxtrup. DR2 redaktion: Mette Hoffmann Meyer.

Lithuanian Docs Win in Vilnius

The winners of Vilnius Documentary Film Festival Baltic competition have been appointed and the top two were from the hosting country:

Veteran Audrius Stonys took the first prize for his “Gates of the Lamb” that I have written the following words about: This film, which is visual, have very few words, uses music, has no “story” as such but lets us enjoy Faces Faces Faces, mostly in profile at the right part of the image – great cinematography – and music and a solemn atmosphere with fine small humoristic sequences with children with open faces not really understanding, and yet… what is going on. Audrius Stonys is back to a world that he masters as noone else.

Giedre Zickyté took the second prize for her ”Master and Tatyana” that I have written the following words about: So, there it is, the film about the Lithuanian photographer Vitas Luckus (1943-1987), his life, his art and first of all his love story with muse and wife, Tatyana. It is made by Giedre Zickyte, who has been working on it for years. I heard about it five (maybe more) years ago, when she was pitching the film at the Baltic Sea Forum, and since then I have had the pleasure to watch sequences and rough versions. Yes, pleasure, because Giedre Zickyte has kept the passion for her film the whole way through, and pleasure because you can see Quality, high Quality in the final film. For me it’s brilliant, nothing less… the whole review, click.

The photo of Audrius Stonys thanking for the main award is taken from the FB page of the festival – © Mindaugas Česlikauskas

http://vdff.lt/en

Christian Sønderby Jepsen: Naturens uorden

 

Alle Christian Sønderby Jepsens film har en tydelig mand i centrum, en mand med en lidenskab, en mand med udstråling, en mand som ganske naturligt er i filmen, som er en egentlig medvirkende. Mandens lidenskab er et forehavende, et projekt: at vinde en arvesag, at vinde titlen som landets bedste fuglespotter, at opklare en kompliceret sag om et justitsmord, at få ret over sin nabo, at få samlet alle sine 12 børn i en harmoni. Over sådanne særprægede menneskeliv ude i det almindelige liv bygger Sønderby Jepsen i klipperummet ved optagelser han har lavet som fluen på væggen under lange samvær med den medvirkende gennem måneder og år et drama, som skildrer dette hver gang eksistentielle projekt, denne lidenskab i en kurve gennem modstand og tilbageslag hen imod en løsning, en succes, en indsigt.

Den medvirkende mand af den slags i den nye film Naturens Uorden er Jacob Nossell. Hans projekt er voldsomt stort, han har sat sig for at lave et ”selvbiografisk teaterstykke om normalitet, identitet og meningen med livet”, som det i begyndelsen af filmen skrives hvidt på sort på et skilt, og få det sat op på Det kongelige Teater. Sønderby Jepsen er steget på projektet og følger det med sit kamera og skaber sit værk om hans værk, med ham og med teaterinstruktøren Thomas Corneliussen og skuespilleren Kristoffer Fabricius (dublerer Nossell i forestillingen) som aldeles vigtige medvirkende i hovedpersonens ambitiøse forehavende.

Åbningsbilledet er præcist og smukt. Jacob Nossell står rygvendt til kameraet på den tomme scene i Det Kongelige Teater og kigger ud i den oplyste, tomme teatersal hvor han og jeg hører det publikum som han filmen igennem vil arbejde på at blive i stand til at møde. Han og jeg hører publikum klappe. Hans første replik lyder: ”Hej! Mit navn er Jacob. Når folk møder mig for første gang, så får de en instinktiv impuls til enten at flygte fra mig eller også slå mig ihjel. Så vi skal nok få en rigtig hyggelig aften i aften.” Musikken sætter ind, det er filmmusik til en stor film. Ingen tvivl om det, jeg er tryg.

Så tager Nossell fat på researchen, han tager det journalistiske arbejde alvorligt, tager fagets metode på sig, samler materiale til teaterstykket og til filmen, til sit manuskript i samarbejde med Thomas Corneliusssen og til sit treatment sammen med Christian Sønderby Jepsen. Han besøger og interviewer med sig selv som både undersøgende journalist og objekt for undersøgelsen en filosof, en neurolog, en dagbladsredaktør, en personalechef på DR, ”nu er jeg rigtig vred” siger Nossell da han hurtigt fjerner sig fra oplevelsen, fra begrundelsen for at han ikke kan komme i praktik der, han ser jo mærkelig ud og han taler så højt, hvad han ikke selv ved, med sit talebesvær ikke selv kan regulere. Derefter er der så resarch i en medicinhistorisk museumssamling med mennesker i sprit, med misfostre fra dengang, med konkrete belæg for hvad der tidligere ansås for normalt. Og oplevelsen sætter sig som idé til filmens plakat.

Det er barske møder. Der er især et med en antropolog, en forsker som er sikker på at om nogle år vil unormalitet blive sorteret fra, handicaps som spastisk lammelse i hvert fald, og der er igen en ansættelsessamtale, denne gang med Miki Mistrata på Ekstra Bladet som placerer Jacob Nossell midt i en Gaussk kurve over journalistisk talent tegnet i luften med hånden, placerer ham midt i den store masse af almindelighed og normalitet, og slår fast at han bestemt ikke er noget stort journalistisk talent. End ikke en 14 dages praktikplads kan han få på hans avis.

Jeg derimod som tilskuer glæder mig i en række oplevelser i dette, er glad for at møderne med vidnerne er er skildret som samvær, klippet som samvær, samlet i naturlige sekvenser som begivenheder på Jacob Nossells vandring fra sted til sted, altid rygvendt, kameraet er lige bag ham, følger ham. Jeg fryder mig over denne elegante sammenføjning af to, både ret ens og temmelig forskellige projekter, skuespillet og dokumentarfilmen. Denne sammenføjning er selve rammen om fortællingen idet manuskriptskrivningen i teatret er fælles og de samtidige forunderøgelser er fælles, og det bliver derefter filmens byggesten og handling.

Der er meget mere at glæde sig over i Christian Sønderby Jepsens nye film. Der er først og fremmest gjort plads til pausen som bliver til en meget lang scene fuld af betydninger. Efter samtalen med neurologen forklarer denne rolige, kompetente mand Nossell, at scanningen viser at det slet ikke står så galt til med hjernen, skaden som er skyld i talevanskelighederne og det motoriske besvær er ikke voldsom og det meste er normalt. Og Nossell er lykkelig. Sønderby Jepsen benytter med det samme situationen til fra bag kameraet at spørge: ”Ville du gerne have et andet liv end det du har lige nu?” Jacob Nossell går helt i stå, men hans ansigtsudtryks kadence af glidende følelses- og overvejelsesskift fylder scenen i meget lang tid, og jeg holder vejret til svaret tøvende kommer. Det er en meget smuk filmscene. Et andet eksempel er optagelsen fra en prøve på en scene i teaterforestillingen. Nossell sidder ved sit skrivebord bag sin computer midt på det ellers tomme scenegulv. Thomas Corneliussen sidder alene på en af stolene nede i salen. Jacob Nossell skriver på et digt til sit ufødte barn og læser det med sin vaklende stemme højt undervejs. Der er mange pauser på grund af mange følelsers ankomst til sindet: er dette en mulighed eller er det endnu en dagdrøm? Ler han? Græder han? Er det rollens mimik eller er det hans? Jeg ved det ikke. Filmens inderste nerve svinger her som et eftertankens pendul: person / karakter… teater / film… forestilling / virkelighed… Der er mange pauser, lange. Og scenen er lang. Kameraet svigter ikke, der klippes ikke væk. Jeg har god tid. Det er en god tekst og det er en meget meget smuk filmscene.

Naturens uorden er en forbilledlig dokumentarfilm med en ikke et øjeblik svigtende hovedperson og to andre gennemgående præstationer, en teaterinstruktør og en skuespiller, på samme måde konstant gribende personskildringer. Dertil en uafbrudt række præcise scenerækker med fascinerende eksperter og andre fagfolk som Nossell i filmens handling opsøger. Alle disse er instrueret og klippet frem til fuld prægnans og autenticitet samt konstant nærvær. Sådan ser en film ud når et konsekvent arbejde med det iagttagende kameras metode lykkes og afklaret resulterer i en yderst kompliceret historie, en biografi over en skrøbeligt sammensat person og en undersøgelse af eksistensens betingelser og bliver en både munter og dybt rystende skildring af dette udsatte, følsomme og konstant eftertænksomme menneske.

Danmark 2015, 95 min.

Jacob Nossell

SYNOPSIS

Science is bringing us closer to creating the perfect human being. But what are the consequences of defying natural evolution? Recent advances in medical science bring us closer to the prospect of creating a genetically perfect and flawless human existence. An unborn human life can be screened and influenced in so many different ways. Sperm banks offer to determine the sex, eye color and blood type of your dream child. Nuchal scans and genetic tests allow us to reject defects before it is too late. The goal is to give a worthwhile and healthy life to as many people as possible. A life without disabilities. Or rather – a normal life.

24-year-old Jacob Nossell is really bright, but he does not fit the typical idea of a dream child or the perfect life. Jacob suffers from cerebral palsy, a congenital physical disability. In addition to affecting his speech, it causes muscle cramps and stiffness. His words run together when he speaks and his movements are limited. With a normal intellect in a weakened body Jacob Nossell is the embodiment of the dilemma of normality – e is too disabled to be truly accepted by society and too normal to accept his own fate. Therefore Jacob has decided to stage a performance at the Royal Danish Theatre (Human Phase-out), and put matters straight once and for all. He will do away with normality as defined by the majority.

The film Natural disorder, together with Jacob, examines, tests and challenges modern society’s concept of normality. The film follows the development of Jacob’s performance from his collection of empirical data to the premiere at the Royal Theatre. But the film also witnesses Jacob’s inner musings during the process and reaches the point where we get to know his most personal thoughts. The theatrical process will be combined with an independent cinematic layer that visually reflects on future scenarios concerning normality and disability. A “fable of consequences” spiralling from the fact that it is scientifically possible today to design the people of tomorrow. The unwanted can be eliminated. We take a close look at the near future, where someone like Jacob only exists in a glass jar in a scientific museum. The aim is to make a moving film describing the ethical crossroads in human evolution anno 2013. (CPHDOX, Forum Projects 2013)

CREDITS

Manuskript, fotografi og instruktion: Christian Sønderby Jepsen, medvirkende: Jacob Yoon Egeskov Nossell, Thomas Corneliussen og  Kristoffer Fabricius, klip: Rasmus Stensgaard Madsen, musik: Jonas Colstrup, produktion: Malene Flindt Pedersen, Moving Documentary, distribution: DOXBIO. Alle credits, se DFI fakta, link nedenfor.

PREMIERE: 7. OKTOBER

Filmen vises i en række biografer. Hvilke biografer, hvor og tidspunkt og billetbestilling se link nedenfor.

FILMOGRAFI

”Fuglekongerne” (2012), ”Testamentet” (2012), ”Min fætter er pirat” (2010), ”Dømt for terror” (2010), medinstruktører: Miki Mistrati og Nagieb Khaja, ”Side by Side” (2008)

Om Christian Sønderby Jepsens værker, se samlede blogindlæg på Filmkommentaren. dk

LINKS

http://www.dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film/da/92783.aspx?id=92783  (DFI’s fakta)

https://www.facebook.com/naturensuorden?fref=ts  (filmens Facebookside)

http://www.doxbio.dk/kob-billet/  (liste over biografer som viser Naturens uorden 7. oktober og frem)

Jafar Pahani: Taxi Teheran

 

The French poster for the film catches perfectly the sweet, light and unpretentious atmosphere of the latest work made by a director, who lives under a berufsverbot from the state he lives in: he is not allowed to make films, he is not allowed to leave the country. And it introduces the characters, or should I say: The teacher who argues with the man (third from the right), who has quite strong opinions on what should be done to criminals. The little man who sells films on dvd even those that are not finished yet (!), the two older ladies who enter with a bowl of goldfish, the niece who wants to make films as her uncle, the taxidriving director Pahani, but has been told by her school teacher, that certain rules have to be followed, the boy who is in her film, but can not be as he ”commits a crime” on camera, and finally the flower-carrying, smiling dissident-colleague to Pahani.

The film starts, Pahani is behind the wheel, he takes the driver’s seat with a camera that can be positioned so it catches what happens outside and inside with the characters entering, those on the poster. It is joyful to watch with small situations that reflect a debate on human rights in Iran, that susperstition lives well among the older generation, that you can get whatever film you want in piracy copies (I experienced that myself back in 2000 when I visited Teheran), that there are rules for what you can film and what not.

Pahani himself, the taxi driving film director, comes out as a mild and generous character – one of the kind of taxi drivers you seldom meet – he listens to the stories that he has created for the film – and makes his job as a film director, who loves his citizens and who lives as they do, coping with the many restrictions.

Iran, 2015, 82 mins.

You can only love that film, that opens theatrically in Copenhagen, Grand Teatret October 1st.     

Nordisk Panorama – the Forum/ Second Day

It’s 9.10am and everybody is there – the financiers sit at the table, the pitch team members are at the first rows in the audience waiting for their turn to perform, and the moderators Gitte Hansen and Mikael Opstrup, who were obviously happy about the way the first day went, are now eager to keep the civilised documentary family atmosphere intact. Yes, we Nordic people are trying to be punctual, and 10 minutes delay is not really a delay. From the point of view of someone, who has organised workshops in the South of Europe!

Again a very tough start of the day. Theme: Sexually abused street children in the Philippines, who are, as said in the catalogue, ”offered a new life at a center on an island South of Manila”, a film to be directed by Danish Mikala Krogh. Actually it is a film already in production; the director is in the country with her family and has been there for a year. That’s a true commitment and for me there is no doubt that this will be another fine film from the hands of Mikala Krogh backed up by producer Sigrid Dyekjær and the company Danish Documentary, and financially with 200.000€ (!) from the Danish Film Institute, consultant Helle Hansen. The pilot, as the pitcher Dyekjær called it, was very well made (only objection: again too dominant music) and the response from the financiers were Yes = This is good. Only one that needed ”to see structure” was NRK’s Tore Tomter…

Equally succesful in terms of good response, prologues for the

individual meetings in the afternoon, some even said ”I’m in” (= financially) was ”The Other Jerusalem” by PeÅ Holmquist and Suzanne Khardalian, who with passionate gesticulation introduced the story about Palestinians being forced out of East Jerusalem. She mentioned that 20.000 demolishing orders are published – in the clip you meet two Palestinians suffering from ”the annexation”, that ”they” call it, not occupation, as Khardalian stressed, and you are in the room of the lawyer Ziad, who seems to be a central character in the film, the one ”the victims” come to talk to. Holmquist has secured coproduction agreements with Finland and Norway, so no doubt that this film will be made. If fully financed… you never know! From the reactions it seems so.

The Icelandic project ”FC Kareoki” about mud or swamp soccer was a good relax after the two thematically hard starters, and one where jokes could made about – as SVT’s Charlotte Hellström said – another game that Men play to have fun; Whereas the Finnish ”My Plato’s Cave” was a proposal about an autistic young man, well presented it was. But no real enthusiasm for any of those two.

And then to something completely different as ”they” say: ”Mogadishu Soldier” by Norwegian acknowledged director Torstein Grude, who has 400 hours of material shot during a year by two Burundian soldiers, who fight Al-Shebaab in Somalia. Very very hard to watch the clip with close-ups of corpses with heads shut off, graphic indeed, raising a lot of ethical questions. We are in the process of selecting scenes, said producer Bjarte Mørner Tveit, it is going to be ”from the soldier’s perspective”, a bit like ”Act of Killing”, whose Danish editor Niels Pagh Andersen has been hired to do the job of making a watchable film.

Trailers are the most important in a pitching session, you quickly notice sitting at a Forum like this. Most of them are made trying to be on two legs: to be informative and to convey the visual style of the film to be. Difficult that is, but possible as shown through ”Bobbi Jene”, a project presented by from Danish producers Julie Leerskov and Sara Stockmann with Elvira Lind as director, a fascinating – finally there was one – love story, where the director has followed the protagonist for three years. In Tel Aviv and now in New York, where Bobbi Jene wants ”to create her own boundary breaking and violently personal performances”. A character-driven story and as with the previously mentioned project, the name of the editor, Adam Nielsen, was launched to push for individual meetings to get money. 75% of the financing in place for this character-driven story.

Trailers can tell how a film will be in tone and that was the case for Swedish ”After Inez” by Karin Ekberg, who two days after the birth filmed the parents of a stillborn daughter. I had to turn the head away for a moment, when the camera pointed at the dead child but I got back and sensed the respect from the filmmaker towards the parents and their grief. She has followed the parents for two years to observe how they handled the grief – until the moment where Inez gets a little brother. During the two day Forum these were the most silent moments at Amiralen!

What is the balance – a buzz word during the two days – between this and that, was a very often expressed sentence, and it came back when Danish director Boris Bertram presented his ”Photographer of War” with photographer Jan Grarup as main character – referring to the transformation process that Bertram wants to observe of Grarup, who from being totally focused on his job, now – after the illness and death of his ex-wife – ”has to take care of his four children by himself”. As a Dane: Grarup is a very interesting character, a film on him is welcomed, if Bertram can catch the change, if it happens, maybe it has already, that was not quite clear from a visual presentation with a pretty bombastic sound design. Not needed, Grarup’s photos could easily stand on their own.

End of two days with high quality documentary projects, high budgets, most of them around 300.000€, a demonstration of a well-functioning Nordic collaboration financially. With big money from the film institutes and less from the tv stations, it is a Paradise when you compare with other European countries. One could wish for more participation of the true authors – as a friend of mine from a distribution company said ”it is very much subject-orientated”, for television more than for theatrical release, and for festivals of course. And for the show-side of it: Could one wish for some more breaking  the rules that the audience/the observers could avoid some fatigue seeing the same way of presenting and answering from the panel. Having said so I am a loyal fan of these public pitches contrary to the one-to-one meetings. In the Malmö public pitch you get the chance to know what happens in the Nordic documentary world right now. To see the players on stage.

Photo: Teddy Gruoya, Amdocs Festival, Palm Springs.

http://nordiskpanorama.com/en/industry/

Nordisk Panorama Award Winners 2015

Awards were given at the Gala last night in Malmö at the Nordisk Panorama. Here is the motivation from the jury for the Best Nordic Documentary Award:

”For its complexity, attentiveness to details, ability to tell the story in artful and concise way and unprecedented access to the events, we would like to give Best Nordic Documentary Award to Democrats. A film that manages to approach a unique moment in the history of Zimbabwe in an honest, straight-forward approach creating a compelling, suspenseful drama…”

Yes, the winner was ”Democrats” by Camilla Nielsson, who competed with 13 other films.

Absolutely no objections from filmkommentaren.dk

The same goes for the Audience Award that went to ”The Look of Silence” by Joshuan Oppenheimer.

Remains to be seen is ”Marta & Niki”  by Tora Mårtens, who received an honorary mention in the Best Documentary section.

Three more films were awarded in the short film and ”New Voices” category – check the link below.

http://nordiskpanorama.com/en/industry/festival/special-programme/nordisk-panorama-winners-2015/

Nordisk Panorama – the Forum/ First Day

… or to be more precise: Forum for Co-financing of Documentaries in Malmö, Sweden, taking place September 20-22 2015.

Edition number 22 (!) with 270 participants, 24 projects to be pitched to a panel of decision makers, around 30 at the table and a lot in the audience among the observers, including me, who asked the organisers if there was a chair for a reporter, who has been to the Forum many times before; at the table as consultant for National Film Board of Denmark (Statens Filmcentral), now part of the Danish Film Institute, and as moderator when I worked for the EDN (European Documentary Network).

So there I was at Amiralen (Photo by Teddy Grouya, Amdocs festival Palm Springs), a very fine venue for an event like this, lot of space, good image projection of the trailers, to be seen from all angles, the usual small fights with the microphone (why are people who work at television so bad in talking into those tools?), space for talks in the coffee breaks, networking is the word, and as usual perfect professional treatment from the staff of Nordisk Panorama (before called Filmkontakt Nord) – good catalogue for projects and participants, as well as the inviting website, link below.

Sooo, the Nordic documentary family gathered with an Italian delegation invited and commissioners from arte, BBC, Dutch television, POV, RAI and many others. Sales agents, distributors,

People from the film institutions and tv stations. A quite remarkable attendance.

With words from the well prepared moderators Gitte Hansen (First Hand Films, Switzerland) and Mikael Opstrup (EDN), the show took off with the Swedish project ”Prison Sisters” by Nima Sarvestani, the director who has made ”Those Who Said No” (2014) and ”No Burqas Behind Bars” (2012). He presented a follow-up on what has happened to the two Afghan women from that film. The project was indeed very well received, more than 50% of the financing is already in place, and the rest will come. No doubt. Sarvestani makes films that can reach both a television audience and do well at festivals.

A footnote in the middle of the report: The system here in Malmö, like at most pitching events, implies that individual meetings are held in the afternoon – where further (hopefully) contractual procedures will be agreed upon.

From the tough world for women in Afghanistan to a portrait of the Danish superstar architect Bjarke Ingels, ”Big Times”, presented by producer Sara Stockmann and director Kaspar Schrøder. Premiere February 2017, a trailer that very much reflects the close contact between the director and the charismatic architect, shot over five years with the architect fighting with what could be a serious illness. If I got it right, not a halleluja-film about the man, who is to change the skyline of Manhattan but a human drama. Promising.

A Norwegian project, ”Exit”, from director Karen Winther, who in her youth was part of a neo-nazi group, got out of that and wants to examine through others ”what makes extremists change” – and a sweet and joyful Icelandic project about baby-swimming, ”Dive – Rituals in Water”, three directors, the trailer visually strong – and a Norwegian ”Ambulance” from Gaza, directed by Palestinian Mohamed Jabaly. Time to stress that the Forum deals with the world as it is in all its cruelty, in this case through a first person film, the director being part of an ambulance team that operated during the 52 day war in 2014. A panelist, Tore Tomter from NRK in Norway, called Jabaly a brave man. Another panelist, Mette Hoffmann from DR in Denmark, wanted to hear what Jabaly thought of Hamas (!). He cleverly answered that ”I don’t deal with politics, I am a filmmaker”.

Let me stop the title-dropping for a moment to come up with some comments on the atmosphere in the room, the pitching, the trailers, the response from the decision makers…

We are in the North of Europe and people behave nicely, the pitchers pitch nicely and polite, for my taste far too much according to unwritten rules with someone presenting the director(s) as ”unique”, the project as ”amazing”, then the director says some words, the trailer is screened, some more words and then ”we are looking for pre-sales and co-productions”. It is a bit mechanical and boring and even more so, when the panelists start by saying ”thank you for a good pitch”, ”thank you for a a fine trailer” – the monotony is there and why do the pitchers (many of them, not all) read from a piece of paper? More energy, please! And for us observers, who behave quite as mechanical – we applaud after the trailers and after the verbal pitch has come to an end and after the Q&A. What about some whistling or some booing or some bravo’s. No, we are too polite for that. Not that the panelists say stupid things but they don’t have to repeat what the one before has just said, do they?

Therefore it was a blessing for the show that veteran Finnish director Pekka Lehto (I remember his fine films ”The Real McCoy” and ”Boy Hero 001”) with his ”Jailhouse Socrates” about a criminal underworld in his country, said hello, showed the trailer right away and was very ”naughty” in his interruption of some of the broadcasters. Suddenly it all became very lively making moderator Opstrup smilingly say that ”this is getting out of control”. What Lehto gave to the room was energy, a dialogue between pitchers and panel, at least an attempt, thanks for that and thanks for having a trailer that showed the cinematic competence of cinematographer (and producer) Hannu-Pekka Vitikainen. Which one of the panelists, Tore Tomter, who talked a lot on this first day and in general was very positive to everything, asked was going to be the style of the film…

Anyway, this is getting too long and I don’t have space for all projects… let me finalise by highlighting the project ”Death of a Child” by the team behind ”Pervert Park”, Swedish Frida and Lasse Barkfors, who impressed with their calm and personal presentation of a film on ”every parent’s worst fear – to cause one’s own child’s death”. SVT’s Axel Arnö said it with the right words – (your way of presentation and the trailer is) low-key, deep and intriguing. Philippe Muller from arte expressed his thanks, ”this is a film that is for all of us”, producer Anne Köhncke from Final Cut for Real gave the theme a philosophical perspective without any paper in front of her. And I – like many others in the room, I’m sure – made my own thoughts, and I know this will be a film that I will watch with hesitation…

http://nordiskpanorama.com/en/industry/