Golden Apricot 2015

The film festival in Yerevan that starts today and runs until the 19th is a true red-carpet festival with film stars, glorious receptions, tributes to local hero Charles Azanavour – but also with a fine selection of documentaries to take part in a competition.

Lithuanian Giedre Zickyté is there with wonderful ”Master and Tatyana” – the master being the phenomenon Vitas Luckus – a clip from my review: ”the film is first of all a love story told primarily through the photos of Vitas and Tatyana, a love story that is so obvious, when you watch how he composes the portraits of Tatyana, how the camera is constantly caressing the beautiful woman, with or without clothes. Her face is so full of expressions and you can see that he has caught her in true observational documentarian style as well as in arranged situations…”

Alexander Nanau’s ”Toto and His Sisters” is there, it has had a well-deserved international festival career, two films touch upon Syria, British Sean McAllister’s recently awarded ”A Syrian Love Story” and the masterpiece ”Sivered Water, Syria Self-Portrait” by Ossama Mohammed and Wiam Simav Bedirxan. As well as Viestur Kairiss Latvian ”Pelican in the Desert” that had deserved a much better international life than it has had.

However, what I first and foremost look forward to watch is the

final version of Arman Yeritsyan’s Armenian ”One, Two, Three” (PHOTO) that has been on its way to completion for a long time with young Yulia Grigoryants as a very active pitching producer around Europe. I have had the chance to watch material of a film that it is very promising. Here is the synopsis of the festival website: Through the amazing, heartfelt, and sometimes hilarious story of Mikhail, the film shows the journey of The Chosen Ones. It collects each character’s personal narrative and artfully weaves them together around the main protagonist. Although each story is deeply personal, and the struggles of The Chosen Ones are defined by their lives in Armenia, the larger issues addressed by the film are much more universal. In every country, every city, and every community people grow old and need more care and attention. Mikhail and his friends take the first steps and in the sunset of their lives, finally start to live a full life…

http://www.gaiff.am/en/1364562736

“Beyond the Fear” in Jerusalem/ 4

The film by Herz Frank and Maria Kravchenko was shown on the 8th of July, the day before the official opening of the Jerusalem Film Festival, whose leaders felt they had to play according to the rules of the Israeli Minister of Culture, who had told them that the funding for the festival would not happen if the film was shown as part of the festival. The Times of Israel (link below) put it like this: (The film was shown) in the small auditorium of Jerusalem’s Mishkenot Sha’ananim center. The screenings were held at the nearby arts center to avoid unnecessary publicity and to abide by the agreement with Regev to keep the film separate from the partially state-funded Cinematheque. There were no protesters in sight… Both screenings were sold out.

I have been in contact with Guntis Trekteris, main producer of the film, who was there with Maria Kravchenko and Israeli co-producer Sagy Tsirkin (photo Trekteris to the left). Trekteris reported that he publicly thanked the Minister of Culture for making this the third time the film opened a festival (the others were in Riga and Moscow) – the film is, even if not shown at the festival venue, the Cinematheque, still part of the official documentary competition!

Trekteris: Yesterday was an alternative (outdoor) screening in the Jerusalem Park opposite to the Old city Park organized by Israeli filmmakers during the official opening of the festival. Very special atmosphere. Many said to us that its a very important film for Israel…

Chapeau for the Israeli filmmakers, who made this act of solidarity!

http://www.timesofisrael.com/an-assassins-tale-through-the-eyes-of-the-family-he-started-in-prison/

 

Docu Talents from the East 2015

… is a popular event within the Karlovy Vary festival with the Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival as organiser. Even if you are not there the website (link below) gives you good news about what kind of quality films you can expect to premiere this year and in 2016.

12 projects were presented from Russia/Ukraine, Slovakia, Poland, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Czech Republic, Serbia, Romania.

Let me just mention two of the projects that I have met before:

Vitaly Mansky’s ”Close Relations”, where the director ”explores Ukrainian-Russian relations through the eyes of his closest relatives: his mother Victoria, his aunts and their families in Lvov, Odessa, Crimea and Donetsk. Although they are closely related, these relatives represent very different walks of life and perceive the conflict in very different ways. This unique personal approach provides the viewers with the opportunity to gain a profound understanding of the roots of the Ukrainian-Russian crisis.”

And Salomé Jashi’s “The Station”: “Dariko is a sole journalist and a staple of Jikha TV – a two-man broadcasting station based in a small town. She travels around the town in search of news, quietly unveiling the aspirations of the locals. The film is a mosaic, made of various components, which are united by the TV and the circumstances related to being on the stage. The TV station is now facing major challenge. It has to switch to digital broadcasting. With old equipment and scarce income, the station might be counting its last days. It might also be the last chance for the locals to appear on the TV screen before nationwide broadcasters take over.”

On the photo Salomé Jashi in pitch action in Karlovy Vary together with her German production partner Urte Fink.

http://www.dokument-festival.com/industry/docu-talents-from-the-east/2015#projects

Dokufest Prizren 2015

The Kosovo festival that runs from August 8-16 has already announced that it will have a Tribute to Albert Maysles, who died earlier this year – as says artistic director of the festival Veton Nurkollari about Maysles (photo), “Curious and generous, a teacher and mentor, a filmmaker that revolutionized non-fiction storytelling and inspired generations of filmmakers”.

And yesterday the content of the section “Sound of My Soul”, music films, was published. It is Pamela Cohn who puts that together, read a bit of her fine introduction text:

We are all familiar, by now, with the typical music documentary – a fairly reliable recipe of the makings of a band or a musician, and how they/he/she came from humble beginnings to rise to superstardom – and then, usually, how they/he/she crashed and burned. Or, at the very least, faded back into the obscurity from whence they/he/she once came. Add some talking head interviews from colleagues, friends and family, some archival bits, some concert/recording studio/home movie bits, and stir.

This year’s music program – now a long-standing tradition at DokuFest – presents something a bit different. Well, quite a bit different. A mix of documentary, essay, fiction, and experimental feature and short work from an international cast of artists and filmmakers…

http://dokufest.com/2015/

Pärnu Film Festival 29th Edition

Yes, it is a tradition to pay tribute to the festival in Pärnu Estonia that runs now and until July 19th – and let me repeat the introductory text from last year:

”the Pärnu International Documentary and Anthropology Film Festival (is) initiated and run by film director, visual artist, politician and showman, Mark Soosaar, whose mark is still very strong on a festival with a huge number of films, competitions, out-of-competition screenings, from all over the world…”

Including the Estonian People’s Award where 6 films that are broadcast by Estonian Television are competing for the viewers vote. Among them are this year titles like ”Happily Ever After” by Croatian Tatjana Bozic, Hanna Polak’s ”Something Better to Come” and ”Waiting for August” by Romanian Teodora Ana Mihai from Belgium.

For Mark Soosaar there is a reason to make cultural events including a film festival like this. Here is a long quote from his foreword to the catalogue that you can download for free from the website:

Although the same car brands are racing on highways and the same jets flying in the skies, millions of people are feeling annoyed, terrorised and … anguished. Is the peace of several generations really coming to an end and bound to be replaced by a bloodshed?

What makes me ponder most of all is the fuss of certain groups (not to say political forces) preaching hatred against the different fellows to make space for their own clan only. Haven ́t they really learned from history or given it any thought where would their hate lead us to?

Two links related to Mark Soosaar, one about a visit to his island last year, another (in Danish) a review of a film made by Soosaa: visit to his island  review

http://www.chaplin.ee/filmfestival/catalogue-public.ht 

It is not in vain that there are lots of docs on this summer ́s Festival program which could easily be drawn under one roof writing the word TOLERANCE on it. Tolerance and a helping hand for those who have had to flee for life from their homeland, just like our ancestors in the last years of World War II. As well as tolerance of the family models of the 21st century formed by love.

http://www.chaplin.ee/filmfestival/catalogue-public.htm

Craig Tanner: FIFA’s White Elephants

… it also has the title ”The March of the White Elephants” written on the screen… is a well made tv-journalistic documentary about the incredible money sucking world football organisation FIFA that hopefully now will be re-born with a new structure and other leaders than Sepp Blatter and his gang.

The film, however, just completed, and sent to us by New York company Cargo Film & Releasing, does not have its focus on the corruption scandals of today, they are mentioned at the end as texts on the screen (the photo is from the arrest of one of the FIFA executives) – the film is a fine documentation of the way Brazil and its politicians played the game of FIFA, building new stadiums for public money that could have/ should have been spent to improve the living conditions of the poor people in the country. The stadiums were (many of them at least) built in areas of the huge country where the football culture is not that developed, stadiums that now stand empty and/or are being used for other non-football purposes.

The film is set up in the classical tv-journalistic way: Dilma Rousseff welcomes the world to Brazil and the best ever World Cup to be performed – cut to a favela next to a stadium in Sao

Paolo, where people talk about the theme of the official Brazil spending money on stadiums that could have been used to better life conditions for the favela population… Journalist Patrick Granja is the storyteller, the one  who has filmed the many and strong demonstrations that happened in 2013 in the streets of Rio and Sao Paolo. For football addicts like this reviewer chapeau for Romario, who analyses the corruption of FIFA and the government precisely, whereas Ronaldo stands out as ”a traitor” according to the demonstrators after he had formulated that you can not compare expenses for the stadiums to what could have gone to hospitals etc.

The synopsis provided by Cargo: The film reveals the real legacy of the FIFA World Cup – state of the art stadiums that were built to stage a four-week tournament will stand idle, soaking up funds needed for basic services and for health, housing and education. The filmmakers visit the sites of the last two World Cups, Brazil & South Africa, to get testimony from social activists who make it clear that FIFA is a modern day parasite abusing countries for the love of Football.

For me no doubt that this will be a film that could come to a tv channel near you!

USA, 2015, 52 mins.

Contact to Cargo Film & Releasing:

elliana@cargofilm-releasing.com

 

 

Residence Fund for Filmmakers from Arab countries

Got this email from Syrian Diana el Jeiroudi, now based in Berlin. An excellent offer that I pass on with pleasure: I (Diana) hope you can forward this to documentary filmmakers, video activists and artists who you know are working on interesting socio-political documentary films in Syria, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Tunisia, Algeria, Sudan and beyond: 

The RESIDENCY FUND is aimed at supporting filmmakers from the Arab countries to finalize the editing of their documentary films that relays on the use and contextualisation of archival footage (including citizen journalists videos and activists videos, personal archive, national archive .. etc).  

The RESIDENCY FUND is made to host filmmakers teams (director(s)/editor(s)) to edit their films to completion over a period of 3-12 weeks.  As the RESIDENCY FUND opens 4 cycles a year, applicants are able to choose a cycle of four that best matches their editing schedule. 

Call for application is now open. Deadline for submitting complete applications is 15th of July 2015. 

Complete information about conditions, regulations, FAQs, procedures and the application forms are available on the Association’s website DOX-BOX.org in Arabic and in English.

We wish you to extend this announcement to all interested filmmakers from around the Arab Countries and also include the news on your website, publications or newsletters.

Morgan Neville: 20 Feet from Stardom

It’s on Dokumania (Danish DR’s prime time slot for documentaries) tonight and it is definitely worth seeing, the Oscar 2013 winner – the year where many of us had hoped for ”The Act of Killing” – but the well crafted entertaining film ”with wonderful music and women, based on interviews with them and people like Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and Betty Midler. A classic tv language film” took the prize.

The synopsis: Background singers heard on many of the 20th century’s greatest songs have made a crucial contribution to the world of pop music while remaining unknown to listeners. The singers take center stage for an in-depth look at their role as supporting figures in the complex process involved in creating the finished recordings.   

Roja Pakari: Zayesh

Jeg kan slet ikke komme i kontakt med den film. Jo, jeg forstår da nok at tegneren stiller sin krop til rådighed for et barn og at der kan siges at være både en lighed og en modsætning med det at bruge sig selv og sin koncentration i frembringelsen af en tegning, mens den ikke gravide danser med den meget lettere krop nok kan udføre sin dans i en frihed, mens en graviditets tyngde ville reducere eller umuliggøre hendes kunstneriske skaben. Nu skildrer de tilsammen med kombineret kropslig tyngde og lethed én fortællende kvinde og kunstner. Der kan sikkert tænkes langt dybere i titlens betydninger, men jeg savner aldeles forudsætninger for at forstå tegningens kvalitet (international popkunst) og forudsætninger for at opleve dansens kvalitet (international street dance) begge dele vist af høj kvalitet. Og det er nok også flerkameraproduktionens mål at præsentere disse to medvirkendes arbejde i en tv-produktion, nok for et kræsent publikum af kendere.

Der er især gjort meget ud af scenografi og belysning. Jeg oplever imidlertid anstrengelserne med lyssætningen af dansescenen og med kameravinklen på malerens pensel gennem en glasplade der males på som en æsteticering der ikke udvider undersøgelsen af den kvindelige eksistentielle overvejelse, ikke tilfører skildingen af to berømte kunstneres værk væsentligt. Jeg ser det netop som æsteticering som noget der er tilført filmen udefra, ikke vokset frem indefra, fra Roja Pakaris møde med sine medvirkende i studiet. Der sniger sig en fornemmelse af arrangement, omklamring og usandhed ind på mig.

Alene malerens koncentration og bevægelser hen foran lærredet virker derimod umiddelbar. Autentisk og oprigtig og smuk faktisk. Altså sand. Og så er jeg fascineret af skålen tegneren har sin farve i, dypper sin pensel i. Det er en smuk skål og så er den sand. Der ville ikke kunne males med farve fra en hvikensomhelst skål, næppe fra nogen anden. Den betyder, at jeg ser tegnearbejdet, maleriet som et ritual. Jeg er bragt tilbage til hulen.

Danmark 2015, 55 min.

SYNOPSIS

Som kunstner og kvinde fortæller Hamraz Bayan om det at blive mor for første gang. Zayesh betyder skabelse og udspringer af ordet zayman, som betyder at føde på farsi. Denne film handler om skabelse på flere niveauer. (Filmskolens hjemmeside)

CREDITS

Instruktør af flerkameraproduktion: Roja Pakari, medvirkende: Hamraz Bayan (tegneren / maleren) og Stephanie Nguyen (danseren), fotograf: Nicolai Lok Hansen, klipper: Mik Stampe, tonemester og komponist: Mathias Dehn Middelhart, produktion og distribution: Den danske Filmskole:

http://www.filmskolen.dk/presse/afgangsfilm/dokumentar/2015/

Olivia Chamby-Rus: Åbne øjne

Jeg kan rigtig godt lide Olivia Chamby-Rus’ afgangsfilm. Jeg kan især godt hendes medvirkende Anne Sofie Marisa Jensens præstation. Og hos hende er det først sproget, som griber mig, hendes sproglige opfindsomhed og præcision, en mellemting mellem smukt borgerligt dannet sprog og let antikveret og aldeles nutidigt digterisk sprog som breder sig ud i hendes væsen og gestik som en særlig opmærksom nænsomhed, som en skønhed simpelthen. Anne Sofie Marisa Jensen er en gave til en filmscene, til alle filmscenerne. Det er let at høre og se nu, men Chamby-Rus har hørt og set det først og klogt og afdæmpet bragt dette indtryk, denne sum af iagttagelse på plads i sin film.

Fotografen Jasper J. Spanning har også set det særlige ved den medvirkende unge kvinde. Det er blevet til en opmærksom og nænsom og forelsket fotografering. Og klipperen Sofie Marie Kristensen har lyttet til Anne Sofie Marisa Jensens smukke særprægede talesprog, til hendes overraskende formuleringer og skanderinger, stilfærdigt elegante som hun selv i sin tøven, nej, tilbageholdenhed lige fra åbningens præcisering, at filmen er om ”min beskedne personlige blindhed…” Beskedne! Ordet har adskillige nuancer, det ved hun godt.

Hendes scener er også hendes bevægelser, større og mindre og minimale som for eksempel hendes hænders afsøgen Tegners erotiske skulpturs former og detaljer, ”hvordan det er kvinden hviler sit hoved, det kan jeg ikke rigtigt finde ud af…”, som hendes og venindens humørfyldte finden frem til en musikforretning, hvor de vil prøve instrumenter til salg, som til sidst hendes forunderlige måde at synge Volmer Sørensens og Otto Franckers Dansevise på, hele dansevisen, selvfølgelig. Det er en film, som er lavet af og med færdige scener.

Danmark 2015, 30 min.

SYNOPSIS

Det begynder i mørke og ender i mørke, men ind imellem er der en stemme. / Fra stuen fortæller stemmen om det gyldne lys den står i. Hun hælder te op. og brænder fingerspidserne på det kogende vand. / “The moment I opened my eyes and realized I had forgotten all about who I was”, læser stemmen højt for os. / Måske er det gyldne lys i virkeligheden gult. Hun strækker en hånd ud for at mærke hvor hun kan være.

Lyddesign: Hans Christian Arnt Torp, producer: Caroline Eybye, produktion og distribution: Den danske Filmskole:

http://www.dfi.dk/Nyheder/FILMupdate/2015/Juni/Se-Filmskolens-dokumentarafgangsfilm.aspx?utm_source=nyhedsbrev&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=filmupdate-nyhedsbrev  (Her er links til alle afgangsfilmene)