The French love the Israeli film artist Avi Mograbi – and do so this film blogger, who has followed his carreer with great enthusiasm. From March 14 the prestigious museum Jeu de Paume has invited Mograbi to meet the audience, discuss art and politics, and show his works, oeuvre, to stay in the French cultural context. A well deserved hommage!

A couple of quotations from this site:

…he innovates the documentary language by using talking masks, as his main character, the killing Israeli soldier, does not want to face the camera. Very intelligent trick that combined with his Brechtian musical element, himself singing comments to the soldier’s crime, makes the film into a universal essayistic wish for reflection… (about Z32)

…A masterclass, a master’s class, Mograbi is exactly as his films are: tense, sometimes comic, but always dealing with the embarrassing reality of the country he lives in. A frustrated artist, as he says himself, who wants to move something, raise a debate in Israel, but does not succeed, he is met with total silence, no reactions, whereas he now is an estimated artist in Western Europe! In the next issue of Cahiers du Cinema, the headline is characterising him as ”Le Grand sculpteur de notre temps”. (DocsBarcelona, masterclass with Avi Mograbi)

and in French, from le Monde: ”Voici maintenant vingt ans qu’Avi Mograbi bricole dans son coin de terre promise des films bizarres et inclassables. Ils tiennent à la fois du documentaire, de la fiction, du journal intime, de la farce brechtienne. Voici vingt ans que cet Israélien moyen, violemment opposé à la politique de son pays, s’estime personnellement comptable de l’impasse douloureuse dans laquelle l’Etat dont il est le citoyen a contribué à enfermer la région. Contre cela, il invente des dispositifs aussi subtils qu’extravagants, tient la chronique de sa vie domestique, met le feu aux check-points, mouline l’air de ses imprécations. En un mot, il boxe, avec sa caméra pour arme, jetant à chaque fois son corps de clown triste poids lourd dans un ring régulièrement déserté par l’adversaire…” (17.2.2009, Jacques Mandelbaum)

Photo from “How I learned to overcome my fear and love Arik Sharon” ( 1997).

www.avimograbi.com

http://www.jeudepaume.org/pdf/Programmation_AviMograbi.pdf

The following is a text excerpt from the site of Human Rights in Ukraine:

In a wonderful show of solidarity, members of the Polish Film Academy have called on Russia to release Crimean film director Oleg Sentsov and have promised not to abandon their Ukrainian colleague.  As can be seen from the photos, all those present at the Academy’s Orły 2015 award ceremony on March 3 were invited to raise placards reading ‘Jestem OLEG SENTSOV’ [Je suis Oleg Sentsov, after the original act of solidarity with Charlie Hebdo). 

The announcement on the Polska Akademia Filmowa [PAF] website explains that they are continuing their action “in support for Oleg Sentsov, Ukrainian film director imprisoned in Moscow for his protest against Crimean annexation.”

Oleg Sentsov’s letter to Agnieszkka Holland in response to joint protests with other European film directors, actors, etc. is cited.  He wrote:   

“I am sincerely grateful to all the film people who support me, and I particularly thank Poles who are helping Ukraine at this difficult time, and who are proving to be real brothers.”

Read more on:

http://khpg.org/en/index.php?id=1425416069

Yesterday Guardian brought an article on the official Russian film political line for 2015. It was taken from “The Calvert Journal” that is (taken from its site) … a daily briefing on the culture and creativity of modern Russia. From art and film to architecture and design, avant-garde Russian culture has helped shape our view of modern life. But as a consequence of its difficult politics and history, contemporary Russia still remains unfamiliar territory to many… (Photo: The Calvert Journal brought an article on Michael Glawogger’s cinematic ode to the National Library of Russia in St. Petersburg – a part of the Cathedrals of Culture series, which became the last film of Glawogger.) 

And from the article of yesterday: Russia’s ministry of culture has released a list of approved themes for films which will be financially supported by the state in 2015:

1. Inspirational success stories (including in industries, entrepreneurial business and social work)

2. Crimea and Ukraine in the thousand-year history of the Russian state

3. The military glory of Russia: winning and winners

4. References to movies: the new life of the classics

5. Modern heroes in the fight against crime and corruption

6. A society without borders: the self-realisation of people with disabilities

7. Anniversaries: the 100th anniversary of the events of 1917, the 25th anniversary of the August 1991 coup

8. Family values as the foundation of society

9. Russia — a multiethnic country

OMG…

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/russia-list-state-approved-themes-film-industry-ukraine?CMP=share_btn_fb

http://calvertjournal.com/about

The Danish film critics yearly ceremony took place last night and Joshua Oppenheimer, director and Signe Byrge, producer were on stage to get the statuette, named after the two important actresses in Danish cinema Bodil Kjer and Bodil Ipsen, an award established in 1948. The statuette is of porcelain, designed by Ebbe Sadolin, sculpted by Svend Jespersen for Bing & Grøndahl, porcelain manufacturer. The motivation speech went like this:

“Dear Joshua. Back in 2012 you blew us away with your thought provoking, original and absolutely brilliant film “The Act of Killing” You had just moved to Denmark to work with Signe Byrge and Final Cut for Real, and we were regrettably not able to award you the prize for Best Danish Documentary – so we awarded you the special Bodil instead. We simply had to give you something back for all that you had given us. This time, with “The Look of Silence”, we insist on claiming you as one of us. As a most welcome addition to the Danish film society. Thank you for that, and thank you, most of all, for “The Look of Silence”, an amazingly brave and at the same time harsh and loving follow-up to “The Act of Killing”, in which you give the victims a much needed voice and allow us viewers an unprecedented access into the events of 1965 and into the minds and lives of the people involved on both sides – killers and victims. Your film makes us feel, it makes us think, it opens our eyes to the world. For that we thank you”.

And the acceptance speech by Oppenheimer like this: “Fifty years ago this year, the Indonesian genocide began, and in one terrible, important way it has never ended: the perpetrators still hold power throughout the country, and many people in Indonesia remain afraid. Just last week, two hundred elderly survivors were attacked by thugs as they tried to meet and commemorate the atrocities. Despite how much still remains to be done, I am proud that our two films, The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence, have helped trigger a national debate about this terrible history where once there was only silence. This would not be possible without many wonderful people, including my wonderful producer, Signe Byrge Sørensen, my family, my beloved partner, without whom I could not do anything in life, my fantastic Danish crew, our anonymous Indonesian crew, who risked their safety to create these two films and bring them out safely and widely in Indonesia. And above all, the courageous, wise, and loving protagonist of The Look of Silence: my friend Adi Rukun, and his wonderful family. This prize is for all of you, to whom I say tusind, tusind tak, terima kasih sebesar-besarnya.”