Frederick Wiseman: 11 Doc Lessons

 Realscreen is a useful source for information on what is going on in – that’s what they call it – non-fiction. Normally it is short news, sometimes however longer articles of fine quality like the one from May 1st by Kevin Ritchie that I would recommend you to read because it conveyes an old master’s wise words – Frederick Wiseman being interviewed at Hot Docs by CBC journalist Piya Chattopadhyay, to the left on the photo with his producer and distributor Karen Konicek to the right. Lessons on how to stay independent, quite an inspiration.

Here are the headlines of what the reporter calls ”11 Doc Lessons”, read them all, link below:

1. A good idea can come anytime, anyplace.

2. In Jackson Heights is about the “new face of America.” (In Jackson Heights is a new film project that Wiseman pitched at the Hot Docs).

3. Wiseman gets permission by asking for it.

4. Raising money is the most “demeaning” part of making a movie. 5. His shoots generally last four to six weeks.

6. Half of documentary filmmaking has nothing to do with filmmaking.

7. The filmmaker’s point of view exists between literal and abstract levels.

8. He never does research.

9. He never cuts a film to meet the needs of a broadcaster.

10. Self-distributing his films on DVDs has been successful.

11. The key to longevity in film is a good producer.

Words to all of us, who run around teaching what to do and what not to do, and how to pitch and how not to pitch from the man who has given us ”the other side of America”.

http://realscreen.com/2015/05/01/hot-docs-15-11-doc-lessons-from-frederick-wiseman/

DOKer Moscow Int. Documentary Film Festival

Respect! All right, we can get no official support due to the economical crisis, but we will make the festival anyway. We will finance it out of own pocket. This was the thought of a group of independent Russian filmmakers, who stand behind the MIDFF DOKer that starts May 22 and runs until May 26. 16 features will take part in the Main Competition and 19 films in the Shorts Competition. 10 films have been selected for this year’s Special programme Cinema in Cinema.

Some background taken from the site: DOKer is a project of screening independent documentaries, it was created in the beginning of 2011 by a group of enthusiasts to promote contemporary art documentaries in Moscow and other Russian cities. It has enjoyed 9 seasons in 6 cities. Altogether, 300 screenings have been staged for more than 20,000 viewers

The project doesn’t limit itself to screenings, it also organizes discussions with the filmmakers, master classes, closed screenings before the world premieres, regular social and cultural surveys of the audiences, campaigns to attract media attention to new Russian films, lengthy partnerships with various film festivals and organizations, assistance and support of local theatrical releases and many other activities…

The filmmakers who organize the festival have been working on selection since autumn. They received 1325 submissions from 97 countries and have selected films from 5 continents and 31 countries. All foreign films are Russian premieres, some being world/international as well.

Criteria for selection: “1) In a word combination “documentary movie” stress falls on a “movie”. 2) There are millions ways to make a documentary, but one thing should stay permanent: it should be dramatic and interesting. 3) An image and a sound are important for docs as much as for fiction. A language of cinema consists of sounds and images, just this language tell us stories. If it is poor, no one will appreciate it.”

Cultural aim: 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..

I e-mailed Irina Shatalova, one of the initiators, who explained what the further plan is:

… We’ve decided to launch a crowdfunding campaign in Russia, which will last before, during and all the summer after the Festival with the aim of organizing a special Festival-weekend in September, to present once again the winner-films of the Festival and bring all their authors for discussions after the screenings and to arrange once again some kind of the special solemn ceremony. 🙂

This is another non-standard step, but it’ll give us the opportunity to support this initiative for a longer time and to focus on it the attention of the public, the media and possible future partners. We believe that this event in autumn can be a beautiful point, signifying a preparation for the next Festival’s edition.

The DOKer Team, besides me is (I’m sure you are familiar with most of these people))): director Nastia Tarasova (Shatalova and Tarasova made “Linar”, director Sergei Kachkin (“On the Way Home”), director Igor Morozov, super high level linguist Aliona Cheporova, director Tatiana Soboleva (“The Floating Hospital”). Producer Maria Chuprinskaya, journalist Giuliano Vivaldi and several other people also greatly help us with the organization of the Festival.

I also hasten to inform you that all members of the jury finally confirmed their participation. Here they are: film director Victor Kossakovsky, cinematographer from Poland Mateusz Skalski (his work on ‘A Dream in the Making’ won him best cinematography award on 53rd Krakow Film Festiwal) and film critic from Greece Vassilis Economou, and you Tue…

The jury, which works from their homes and discuss via online, is to give the following awards:

– Best Documentary Feature

– Best Directing

– Best Cinematography

– Best Editing

– Best Sound

To award these professional achievements is very important for us as for organisers, because these skills are not often stand out as a separate professional merits. So we decided that it is fair…

Indeed it is and far too often forgotten are the cameramen, the editors, the sound engineers.

Russian filmmakers with a global vision and repertory, a passion for the documentary genre as an art form and what it can do, and a respect for the audience.

http://www.midff.com/#!home/mainPage

trailer: https://vimeo.com/126994575

Giedre Zickyte: Master and Tatyana

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.

As I don’t come ”innocent” to the film, I can not give it marks, others will do so, and lucky Krakow Film Festival that they will have the international premiere at the end of this month.

”A man of exceptional gentleness” says one of the handful of friends, who met and worked with Luckus. The friends are all clearly emotional, when they talk about him and the time, where they were together in a bohemian life, a small group of independent artists, who tried to be independent to make art in the USSR, where censorship was normal and Luckus artistic photos were rarely exhibited.

His photos, shown generously in the film, are wide-ranging, black & white, social, (almost) always with people as the motive, many from travels are presented in many different ways narratively. Through a magnifying glass on contact sheets in a fine visual flow or photo by photo on the screen fading in and out with time to watch and discover. Or through camera movements from photo to photo…. Has to be said that Luckus, together with Tatyana, made good money on making advertisement campaigns.

But – as the title indicates – 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.

Their relationship was not always easy. Luckus was a classical bohemian artist, who had (as one of the friends says) alcohol as his demon, who was away from home in periods – another friend said that they were on the edge of divorce several times, but found out that ”we could not live without each other”, as Tatyana says from her home in the USA, where she has been living since she felt she had to leave Vilnius after Luckus took his own life after having taken another person’s life.

These tragic events frame the story of the life of Vitas Luckus but – in his spirit – with gentleness, reflecting what you can see in his world class photos – sensuality. Luckus jumped out of the window – ”our whole life went out of that window”, says Tatyana. One of the friends pick a photo taken by Luckus: A photo of their sitting room with footprints on the ceiling leading to an open window… Magic!

Tatyana, who has kept his archive with her all the time, returns to Vilnius in an epilogue in the film to open an exhibition with his works, including some large series of close-ups of faces. Magnificent! She carries the love story in a non-sentimental way, saying little in the film but enough, charisma!

For me this must give an international carreer for a film that has Audrius Kezemys to give amazing cinematography that corresponds to the photographer, Danielius Kokanauskis and the director herselt to give the intensity and the flow of narration and Dagnė Vildiūnaitė and her company Just a Moment to produce.

Yes, I love that film.

Lithuania, 84 mins., 2014

Flying Film Festival/ 3

… and the winner is, was the headline of the e-mail I received from Francesca Scalisi today. She sums up the experience with the Flying Film Festival, that she was initiating, like this: It went so well that probably we will do it again next year. We had smg like 6000 visualizations!!!

”Nos jours absolument doivent etre illuminés” by Jean Gabriel Périot was the film among the 9 films that flying passengers and grounded jury members picked as the winner

“A simple and beautiful film carrying strong emotions. It shows how much can be communicated without even saying one word”, were the official jury motivation, very right characteristic – in a previous post I wrote about the film:

..an intelligent and touching film where you hear inmates from behind the prison wall give a concert, while you see faces outside experience the music emotionally, close-ups of family to the one in prison.”

Fine Flying Film Festival – please come back and export the idea to other airlines than Swiss.

http://www.flying-filmfestival.com

– also on FB.

Ostap Kostyuk: The Living Fire

I have to go to words from literature, as we normally do when writing about films. This Ukrainian documentary is prose and poetry and essay at the same time. It is informative and emotional. You learn from it as you always do, when a skilled film crew takes you to a place, where you have not been before and that you know nothing about – and it does not limit itself to an anthropological or etnographic approach but succeeds in conveying an amazingly beautiful (in image, sound and characters) artistic interpretation of a tradition that is disappearing. And it invites you to reflect as does an essay.

The location is the Ukrainian Carphatian Mountains and as for content, here is a quote from a text brought on screen in the beginning of the film: … (they) leave their villages for 4 months to graze their flocks on highland pastures… only a few remain to carry on the craft of their ancestors…

That’s actually what it is about, past and present, and what you need to know before you are taken into the lives of the three protagonists, who push the narrative ahead. They are from three generations: Ivan the 9 year old boy, Vasyl 39 years old and Ivan 82 year old, the trio who are step by step characterised through words and wordless sequences, via cuts from one to the other, to end up having all three of them together in a shack in the mountains, in one of many memorable moments.

Mostly thanks to the old Ivan, who is the one who can tell about how it was before, what he remembers from the sheep herding tradition, at the same time as the film gives us his sadness and grief. His wife died a couple of years ago and now he is preparing for his own departure from the earth: He has built his own coffin, he shows to the camera what he will wear when in the coffin and he regrets having been away for so long from his wife, when working in the mountains. So does the wife of Vasyl in a short sequence, with tears in her eyes, she says: I’ve been alone for 15 summers now.

Ivan, the boy, goes to school, you see him sleepy and grumpy in cold weather outside a shack, you see him as a shepherd caring about a sheep with a bad leg, you see him lying in the grass laughing. The latter in a scene that has no explanation as such, typical for the film that includes several scenes of moments that can express emotions (here maybe freedom and innocence of childhood) and has no informational or structural importance. Thus ”Living Fire” goes wonderfully beyond traditional narrative to become visual poetry. Equally there are some stunningly wonderful sequences of Cinema Pur mixing the sound of lambs being born and music in a congenial montage.

The camerawork (Oleksandr Pozdnyakov, Mykyta Kuzmenko) contributes strongly to create the spiritual dimension of the film as does the music score composed by Alla Zahaikevych. It is much more than a support to the image, it has its own life and beauty bringing the story to a reflective level.

A piece of reference and guidance: I was thinking of Pelechian and his ”Seasons” when watching, as well as Latvian Viesturs Kairiss film ”Pelican in the Desert”. Two other great works, like this of a superb lyrical quality.

The film was given a Special Jury Prize at the recent Hot Docs Festival in Toronto.

Ukraine, 2014, 77 mins.

www.zhyvavatra.com.ua

 

 

DocAlliance – the Power of Documentary

Newsletter  from DocAlliance with generous offers to watch films FOR FREE in the month of May.

Strong recommendation from me to (re)watch Jørgen Leth and Ole John’s ”66 Scenes from America” (photo: Andy Warhol and Jørgen Leth). This classic  was made in 1982 and was totally financed by the National Film Board of Denmark (Statens Filmcentral). I was on the programme committee that decided to commission the film which – as many of Jørgen Leth’s film – has Dan Holmberg as cinematographer, whose postcard approach to the theme, ”Americana”, contributed to the success of the film that in 1989, in connection with the 50 year celebration of the Canadian Film Board, was placed on the list of the 100 Best Documentaries ever.

The film was commissioned on the basis of one or two pages from the

filmmakers, if I remember right, those were the days (!), and when Leth and John came back to me with a rough cut they were proud as two school boys: We promised you 40 scenes, you get 66!

Other American documentaries are offered by DocAlliance under the headline ”Fragments of the USA”, go to the website, the films are for free May 4-10.

From May 11 to 17 the films for free streaming are – I quote from the newsletter: “Who cares about truth anymore? Let’s leave that to journalists.” Meet one of the most remarkable talents of contemporary Argentine documentary Mauro Andrizzi. Make use of the first opportunity to watch the director’s films online; his global hits Iraqi Short Films as well as his films premiered in Venice In the Future and Accidentes Gloriosos are available for free streaming.

From May 18 to 31 the films for streaming are – another quote: Have you only heard about Iran in the political news? Do not miss the opportunity to meet contemporary Iranian documentary. The selection of the most interesting films of the past years, including the visually impressive portrait Tinar, the urban legend Street Sultans as well as the narrative from the western micro-world My Name Is Negahdar Jamali and I Make Westerns is available from May 18 to 31 for free!

http://dafilms.com

 

 

DOCAviv: (Un)free World

Subtitled The Tel Aviv International Documentary Film Festival, DocAviv, 7-16.5.15, has launched its programme and it looks well thought and categorized in themes, that apart from the traditional Israeli and International competition are ”Art and Culture”, ”Art” and ”Depth of Field Competition” (what is that?) and a theme that reflects the state of the world we live in and what documentarians are making films about in these years:

”(Un)free World”, that lists more than 20 films, including the ones that are already internationally known and awarded like ”1989”, ”Citizenfour”, ”Democrats”, ”The Act of Killing” and ”The Look of Silence”.

One film especially attracts my attention and it takes place within the border of Israel, here is the website description of ”God’s Messengers” (photo):

This film contains rare documentation of the Hilltop Youth of Gilad Farm, the most radical Jewish outpost in all the West Bank. Due to American and European pressure, the threat of evacuation hangs over their heads. They confront the Israeli government, its security forces, and the Palestinians, and pose a rebellious, sometimes violent and lawless challenge to their foes, always guided by an ideology that knows no compromise. As they see it, they are God’s representatives on Earth. The settlement was founded by Itay and Bat-Zion Zar in 2002 to avenge the murder of Itay’s brother. Although it was dismantled on several occasions, Gilad Farm was never abandoned.

Directed by Itzik Lerner, 76 mins.

http://www.docaviv.co.il/2015-en/

Simon Kilmurry New Head of the IDA

Simon Kilmurry will be missed in pitching sessions around the world. He has several times been nominated as the best commissioning editor at idfa in Amsterdam. Personally I have had the pleasure to moderate sessions, where he was a panelist –  always a safe card to play, Kilmurry has always contributed with competence and passion for the documentary genre. Generous and unpretentious in his remarks to the pitching filmmakers.

I have no idea whether this means that the international profile that Simon Kilmurry has given POV will continue or not. Of course I hope it will go on so the Americans can watch good documentaries from outside the US.

Goes without saying that the IDA is happy to get Simon Kilmurry to lead the organization. Here is a clip from the press release sent out yesterday:

“The IDA is proud to announce Simon Kilmurry as our new Executive Director. Kilmurry joins IDA following an illustrious 16-year tenure in public television where he has served as Executive Producer at POV—the long-running PBS showcase of documentaries—since 2006 and Executive Director of American Documentary, POV’s non-profit parent organization. We couldn’t be more excited to welcome him to the IDA.

“I’m thrilled to be joining the International Documentary Association,” said Kilmurry. “Documentary is one of the most exciting forms of cultural expression, it is absolutely vital to a thriving democracy, and I am deeply passionate about it. The IDA has never been better positioned to play a leadership role in the field, advocating for and providing support to filmmakers, and convening an international dialogue for filmmakers telling the most relevant stories of our time…””

For those of you who do not know IDA:

On the website of IDA, the mission is described like this: Documentary storytelling expands our understanding of shared human experience, fostering an informed, compassionate, and connected world. The International Documentary Association (IDA) is dedicated to building and serving the needs of a thriving documentary culture. Through its programs, the IDA provides resources, creates community, and defends rights and freedoms for documentary artists, activists, and journalists.

IDA is a membership organization, again from the website:

Be a part the IDA Family! As a filmmaker or industry professional you’ll get useful benefits including: discounts on our hands-on workshops, networking opportunities, eligibility for fiscal sponsorship, unlimited access to Doc U Online, and much more.

As a documentary film enthusiast, you’ll enjoy perks like our quarterly Documentary magazine and discounted admission to IDA events, including DocuDay, the IDA Documentary Awards and Doc U “Conversations with Filmmakers” programs.

http://www.documentary.org/blog/meet-our-new-executive-director-simon-kilmurry

FILMCENTRALEN 2 /Li, Aalbæk Jensen, Zappon

Jeg har ikke set Rued Langgaard (1986) af Anker Li, Peter Aalbæk Jensen og Erik Zappon siden filmen var helt ny. Jeg kan kun huske, at jeg godt kunne lide den. Det var smukt, husker jeg, der var nogle rekonstruktioner, som forbavsede mig, faktisk betog mig dengang. Et gardin som viftede for et vindue åbnet ud til en sommerdag, en togrejse i et gammelt tog. Jeg syntes, det var smukt. Og siden dengang netop har jeg kunnet lide Rued Langgaards musik. Det står fast, jeg kendte den ikke før filmen. Nu ville jeg så se efter, om det holder, om filmen holder.

Som årene er gået har jeg digtet om på erindringen. Allerede i første billede afmonteres den, det blidt i sommervinden duvende gardin er en rustik bræddedør i et badehus i svenske klipper og udsigt fra verandaen udenfor til havet og bølgerne langt nede. Og så er der lyden. Det er sådan denne komponists musik lyder, en til tider voldsom, til tider blid evigt gentaget brusen. Det er en gennemarbejdet, effektiv åbning til en film, hvor der er tænkt over hver detalje i forhold til filmens kerne, som er skildringen af komponistens kamp for det romantiske mod det modene, for en forsvindende indsigt mod en fremvoksende, det kan jeg se nu, at det er. Men jeg kan også se, at årene er gået, at de filmiske ambitioner var andre dengang, forbillederne andre, den kunstnerske sammenhæng en anden. Og derved har filmen fået en ny kvalitet, den dokumenterer sin tid dengang midt i 80’erne. Den er blevet filmhistorie.

Komponisten Bernhard Lewkovitch og konservatorierektoren Tage Nielsen er de første medvirkende af den række musikere, venner og familiemedlemmer, i alt 9, som husker Rued Langgaard og som et oldtidigt kor højtideligt og præcist indkredser hans liv og minde og dermed filmens kerne, dens essays tema. De er så alvorlige og fine. De står der i filmbilledet fraværende (også Lewkovitch, der dog som den den eneste ind imellem ser på mig), fraværende fordi de tænker og er indadvendte, nærværende i mandens besynderlige liv og i hans fremmedartede musik. Erik Zappons kamera træffer de medvirkende i deres stemmes indre tanke, og de taler med blikket fjernt mod en horisont uden for billedet, de taler som til sig selv, genkaldende. Med mig som lyttende. Fotografen og instruktøren og klipperen har forbilledligt løst den vanskelige opgave med anbringelse af medvirkende og deres vidneudsagn i et filmisk forløb. Sådan kan det gøres ved at skrive en filmscene til hver, ved at planlægge lys og setdesign til mindste detalje og gennemføre en fotografisk holdning og idé konsekvent. Og så overlade dette materiale til en klipper, som kan værdsætte og bygge på filmscenens langsomme egetliv. Det er her i dette snart tre årtier gamle filmværk gjort simpelt hen tilfredsstillende, og det er lykkeligt at kunne gense det.

Også arkivmaterialets egetliv har Pernille Bech Christensen blik for. Der er en del arkivoptagelser og det er et lag for sig i fremstilligen, det er en skildring af tiden, han levede i, komponisten, tiden, der som havet bliver musik. Det er meget omhyggeligt lavet. Først er der optagelser fra det fjantede land, hvor livet leves i søndagsfest som var der ikke krig få timers rejse sydpå. Det skildres ved at undlade tempoændring af optagelserne, så den tids lavere antal billeder i sekundet, 12 eller 16, i 1986 produktionen afspilles med dens 24 billeder i sekundet, og personerne bevæger sig så sjovt gammeldags. Det er ret almindeligt jo, og ret populært. Jeg har aldrig kunne lide det, heller ikke her. Men det er et kort afsnit og jeg forstår jo for så vidt dispositionen. Senere da krigen skildres ved arkivoptagelser er tempoændringen foretaget. De gamle reportageoptagelser afspilles i hastigheden, hvormed de er optaget, for hvert sekund film er et antal enkeltbilleder i en særlig teknik blevet til to ens efter hinanden. Også dette snyder øjet og det opleves som scenens oprindelige hastighed og jeg ser det frygtelige med en alvor, som det filmet med. I Magnus Gertthens Every Face has a Name (2015) er den eller en tilsvarende teknik, jeg ikke kender, benyttet til at gøre visse optagelser af flygtningene på havnen Malmø den dag i 1945 endnu langsommere og klipperen Jesper Osmond har i den film gjort det drømmeagtigt, rigtigt og smukt. Her i Rued Langgaard har Pernille Bech Christensen tilsvarende klippet det op til komponistens orkesterværk Sfærernes Musik og til fortællerens beretning om, at denne undergangsverden var Langgaards tankers indhold at bakse med. Arkivmaterialets scener bliver til regulære filmscener også her drømmende, men med deres egen frygtelige skønhed.

Danmark 1986, 51 min.

Foto: Rued Langgaard i 1918 (Det Kongelige Bibliotek). (Jeg kender ingen stills fra filmen)

RUED LANGGAARD

Et biografisk essay med erindrings og arkivstof og talrige iscenesættelser og rekonstruktioner over organisten og komponisten Rued Langgaards (1893-1952) musik og liv. En aldeles rigtig prioritering, at netop denne film er blevet digitaliseret. Medvirkende: Komponisten Bernhard Lewkowich, konservatorieretoren Tage Nielsen, nevøen Gerhard Tatens, dirigenten John Frandsen, naboen i Arild Nina Ramsay, bekendte i Ribe Thomas Alvad, Laurids Blendstrup og Nina Beyer Pedersen. Manuskript og instruktion: Anker Li, Peter Aalbæk Jensen, Erik Zappon. Fotografi: Erik Zappon. Fortællerstemme: Benny Poulsen. Lyddesign: Per Streit. Klip: Pernille Bech Christensen. Produktion: Fortuna Film for DR. Distribution: Filmcentralen/for alle

Filmcentralen, streaming: filmcentralen.dk/alle/film/rued-langgaard

Om filmen Rued Langgaard: dfi.dk/faktaomfilm/film 

Denis Shabaev: Together

She is nine years old, lives with her grandmother, her mother is ill and her father, she does not see a lot. This is the background that you pick up gradually as this sensitive, well-made and cleverly thought film goes along with father and daughter on a tour towards the park of Pippi Langstrømpe (Longstocking) in Sweden, a wish for the girl who wants to be strong and independent.

They both have a camera and they film each other inside the car, in the hotel rooms where they stay, the landscape, playgrounds along the road and Pippi’s park – and out comes this wonderful portrait of a girl, who is able to reflect on her own life, formulate what she thinks and hopes for, and at the same time be the little girl, who sits with a toy horse on her lap, misses her grandmother and talks with her father on whether they shall turn around and go back to Moscow – or continue to Pippi Land.

A small conflict in a film that has a lovely sketchy non-formatted character with shaky camera movements, warm moments between the two, a playful journey that is interrupted by the ring of father’s cell phone, and her father asking: Would you like to live with me instead of with grandmother. The film has a wonderful b/w opening – ”you can’t run away from yourself” – and an ending with the girl anticipating/imitating the everyday world she has to go back to. A film with a universal appeal.

Russia, 2014, 52 mins.

Winner of Main Prize at DocuDays UA 2015 in the Docu/Life Category.