A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
Maja Medic took these photos of two men on the stage at the Magnificent 7 Festival in Belgrade. It was on the night when the film on “Messi” was to be shown. From left the body language signals the mountain gorillas in the film “Virunga”, then how the local Novak Djokovic did that sunday, when he won the Australian Open tennis tournament and finally, yes, Leo Messi when he scores. To the right festival director Zoran Popovic.
One day takes the other here in Belgrade that has the most changing weather I have experienced for a long time. Yesterday Portuguese director Jorge Pelicano, Danish director Camilla Nielsson and I, accompanied by two young students of painting and film, went on a tour to the House of Flowers, the burial place of Tito and his wife Jovanka. The weather was warm with spring in the air, so we moved from Tito to Zemun to enjoy the river with its boats, and the many people strolling on the boardwalk.
Today Belgrade is back to Nordic weather, grey with rain.
Flashback to monday night where ”Democrats” by Camilla Nielsson was shown. Again close to 1000 spectators, great atmosphere with the director asking the audience if she could take a photo! Could one imagine one thousand people watching a film on Zimbabwe in a cinema in Copenhagen… No.
Around 50 spectators attended the 90 minutes long Q&A session in the small VIP room that is full of photos from meetings held at the Sava Centre Hall during the years of Yugoslavia. Among them meetings of the non-aligned countries – and yes, Robert Mugabe, leader of the nation, was on the wall.
Camilla Nielsson shared generously her experience from the 12 production trips to Zimbabwe. How she got the full trust of the two leaders of the constitution process, Paul Mangwana from Mugabe’s party and Douglas Mwonzora from the opposition party of Tsvangirai. She told us how much energy she had to use to make the Zimbabweans understand the observational documentary method, in a country where communication to the press goes through meetings with prepared papers to be conveyed without any critical approach whatsoever.
We became public, she said, me and my cameraman were moving around during the press meetings and often we ended up on national television, filmed by the tv journalists.
I was actually invited to meet Mugabe as I brought along from Denmark some documents from his early revolutionary time, but I dared not to accept the invitation. He has such a strong aura and I was afraid that a meeting with him would make it difficult for me to make a film with Mangwana and Mwonzora.
Later on it became too sensitive, as we were surveilled, my phone was hacked, said Camilla Nielsson, who on her last tour was arrested and detained for some hours.
Asked about Zimbabweans, Nielsson talked warmly about ”the subtle gentleness” in a non-aggressive culture.
A local filmmaker could not have made this film, the director said, I think they saw me as a neutral witness to the process of making the constitution. It’s a brother story… indeed it is, giving hope for a nation when Mugabe is no longer present.
Photo: Camilla Nielsson.
Camilla Nielsson, director of ”Democrats” that was shown here in Belgrade (see post above) monday night, told me that the film will have its premiere in Harare Zimbabwe this coming friday. A press release from the Danish embassy goes like this:
The Royal Danish Embassy Office (RDEO) will present the screening of Democrats, a documentary about Zimbabwe’s power struggle for a new constitution, on Friday 6 February 2015. The film which was directed by award-winning Danish filmmaker Camilla Nielsson, will be shown at 6:30 PM to invited guests and the general public at the Book Café in the capital.
Democrats is an exciting, compelling and shocking documentary that presents a rare, vital snapshot of Zimbabwe’s democratization process in its initial planning stages. The film follows the co-chairpersons of the parliamentary select committee COPAC, Munyaridzi Paul Mangwana (central committee member of ZANU-PF) and Douglas Mwonzora (General Secretary for MDC-T) who were charged with creating a new constitution that satisfies the principles of both parties and the aspirations of the people of Zimbabwe.
The RDEO brings the film to Zimbabwe for public viewing ahead of its global television premiere which is scheduled for 11 February on BBC, in the interests of transparency, accountability of governance and inclusive democracy.
Filmed over three years with an astonishing level of internal access, the documentary traces the tortuous process of cross-party negotiations behind the country’s 2013 constitution and lays bare calamitous conflicts and fallouts that took place both behind closed doors and in the public space.
Nielsson’s film covers the boardroom back-and-forth between the parties’ respective teams while imparting universal insights into the art and craft of political diplomacy.
It also contains blistering material on a compelling political battle; exposing attempts at political manipulation of the constitution making process while showing the personal war and distinctly gradual meeting of minds between Mangwana and Mwonzora.
Ahead of the screening, Head of Mission at the Royal Danish Embassy Office, Chargé d’Affaires e.p. Erik Brøgger Rasmussen says: “It is almost two years since the people of Zimbabwe with a large majority voted in favour for the constitution. The Danish government fully backs the aspirations of the population and finds that it is time for the country to fully implement and live the new constitution. It’s strong bill of rights is critical in demonstrating respect for human rights and freedoms.
Since 2008 Denmark has been at the forefront in assisting Zimbabwe’s re-engagement process with the international community. Denmark is now Zimbabwe’s largest bilateral donor in per capita terms.
Take a look at the photo. This man is the one that emotionally carries the Oscar-nominated ”Virunga” by Orlando von Einsiedel. Whenever André is in the picture with his mountain gorillas, you understand how important the message of the film is: We must protect the nature and animals of the Virunga National Park, ”one of the most biologically diverse places in the world… part of UNESCO’s world heritage”. The dramatic documentary tells its story (or stories) through powerful music and effects with undercover journalism as one important storytelling tool.
Around 2000 (yes, two thousand!) attended the screening Saturday night at the Sava Center in Belgrade!
Sunday morning was time for relaxation, at least for us non-Serbians. We were at the home of Nevena Đonlić, part of the festival team and a passionate connaisseur of tennis, the sport of Serbia thanks to Novak Djokovic, who played the final of Australian Open against Scottish Andy Murray – and won easily after four sets, the first two of them with some exciting moments. I had not seen a tennis match for years, enjoyed it due to the numerous interesting camera angles and superb close ups of feet and facial expressions of the players.
Last night back to the cinema, to the third film of the festival, “Messi” by Spanish Alex de la Iglesia. It gave me the chance to put on my Barcelona shirt and go on stage with Zoran Popovic to greet an audience that was different from the regular one: Hundreds of kids were in the hall accompanied by their parents. Wonderful! I sat next to four boys around 12 years old. When there was talking on screen, they also talked to each other, when Messi was on the pitch their eyes were wide open adoring the little master’s movements. Film and football, what a cocktail!
https://www.facebook.com/magnificent7festival?ref=ts&fref=ts
Press release from the upcoming film fest in Berlin:
The Berlin International Film Festival (February 5-15) has long been committed to documentaries in their diverse forms. This is reflected in the programmes of the Berlinale’s different sections and initiatives, as well in the European Film Market (EFM), NATIVe, and Berlinale Talents.
In 2015, a total of 87 documentaries will be screening in a variety of forms. In addition, discussion of a wide range of different aspects related to documentaries will be intensified – at workshops, panels and presentations…
At the European Film Market there is a “Meet the Docs” – organized together with EDN (European Documentary Network) – panel discussions are being held as well meetings with festival representatives and there is a ““Docs Spotlight” series by CPH:DOX, DOK Leipzig and IDFA that present a selection of the previous documentary festival programmes.” “Messi” by Alex de la Iglesia is there, “The Look of Silence” by Joshua Oppenheimer as well – the film just won awards as the best Nordic documentary at the festival in Gothenburg and the Danish Robert. Other titles – Hanna Polak’s “Something better to Come” and “Daniel’s World” (photo) by Veronika Liskova.
At “Berlinale Talents” ten projects are presented and “receive a week of assistance in developing”, quite a generous initiative.
What else? A world premiere “The Pearl Button” by Patricio Guzmán, “Fassbinder – To Love Without Demands” by Danish Christian Braad Thomsen, also a world premiere, and a new one from Laura Nix, Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, “The Yes Men Are Revolting”.
But take a look at
http://www.berlinale.de/en/presse/pressemitteilungen/alle/Alle-Detail_27284.html
”I was asked to do that film”, Oeke Hoogendijk said at the Q&A session after the opening screening of ”The New Rijksmuseum – the Film” friday night January 30 at the Sava Centre in Belgrade. The hall was full, more than 1000 spectators, the reactions were positive during the film – the 130 minutes version was shown, director’s cut, she stressed in the small VIP room, where also the masterclass was held this morning with around 25 young filmmakers and students. ”At the beginning I wrote a script but I had to throw it away as we went along and things happened that could not be anticipated”. Nobody could imagine that the reconstruction of the museum could take more than a decade.
Oeke Hoogendijk ended up with 400 hours of material. She made a film out of the material already in 2008. She made a four part series for television and ”I learned a lot from making that film – go with the film, trust your intuition”.
You can ”enter” the film in many ways. There is the overall conflict between the cyclists, their union and the museum people, there is the latter’s internal affairs/meetings, there is the Spanish architects and their growing frustration with the “perversion of democracy” as one of them is calling the eternal discussions about how the entrance to the museum should be in order to satisfy the civil society, there are the art works themselves kept away in a storage and there are the characters as they come forward:
The first director and the second director, very different they are, the first aristocratic, the second one more a modern manager type finding it much easier to deal with the media. He loves the camera! The Spanish architects, very sympathetic. The cyclist lobby and the politicians falling for their arguments, not so sympathetic. The curators, first of all Menno Fitski, who comes out as the darling of the film with his shining passion for what he is doing to bring the Japanese statues alive in his Asian pavilion of the museum. The conservators struggling with Rembrandt and other masters. The caretaker and his love for his work. And so on so forth…
Hoogendijk’s film is about a lot but maybe first and foremost about Passion and Creativity. “Devotion”, the director said, who explained to the masterclass participants how she sometimes had to lie to get to the truth, creating scenes she had heard about from inside the museum, moments when she was not there and therefore constructed in the editing. Hoogendijk, originally educated in theatre, explained how the music was composed, she had the intention to create a kind of opera feeling – and she succeeded.
A grand opening of the Magnificent7 2015.
https://www.facebook.com/magnificent7festival?fref=ts
http://www.magnificent7festival.org/home.html
FOF-Randers har også en højskole. Der havde jeg for nogle dage siden et foredrag, som noget pompøst var slået således op i aftenskolens katalog: ”JON BANG CARLSENS FILM – mellem digt og virkelighed. Jon Bang Carlsen har lavet film siden 1974. Titler, som måske huskes er ”Jenny”(1977), ”Ofelia kommer til byen” (1985), ”Før gæsterne kommer”(1986), ”Portræt af Gud” (2001), og han er stadig i fuld gang, hans seneste film er “Just the Right Amount of Violence” fra 2013. Stederne er Danmark, Amerika, Irland og Sydafrika. Jeg vil de to timer fortælle lidt om mine læsninger af hans film og nærmere introducere nogle få af dem og vise CITATER fra dem. Jeg vil pege på links til, hvor man på nettet kan se dem i fuld længde.”
Jeg begyndte foredraget forleden dag med at snakke om, hvor vigtigt det er engang imellem at læse hele værket, den hele Henrik Pontoppidan, hele Josefine Klougart. At se hele værket, Peter Greenaway, David Lynch, Werner Herzog og altså Jon Bang Carlsen. Udbredte mig om mine personlige oplevelser med den øvelse, belærende, det var jo højskole.
LINJERNE
Så kom jeg til linjerne i værket, linjerne i Bang Carlsens værk. Jeg talte først om KVINDERNE, altid stærke, men fulde af hensyn, eller ydmyge, men stolte, jeg talte med udgangspunkt i ”Jenny” og ”Før gæsterne kommer” og ”Næste stop Paradis”, først om de ældre kvinder i filmene og ud fra den sidste og ”Time Out!” om Bang Carlsens skildringer af unge kvinder. Derefter om hans MÆND, som altid er stærke og hensynsfulde eller stærke og hensynsløse. Vi så på hans steder og landskaber, som blev hans LOCATIONS, Vestjylland, Sjælland, Amerika, Irland, Sydafrika. Gennemtænkningen af spørgsmålet om GUD, troen og tvivlen kunne også følges gennem værket, hvor det spidsedes til i ”Portræt af Gud”:
”Præsten: Det modsatte af tro er ikke tvivl. Det modsatte af tro er vished.
Bang Carlsen: Det var en god formulering. Kan du gentage den?
Præsten: Ja. Det modsatte af tro er ikke tvivl. Det modsatte af tro er vished. Hvis jeg følte mig sikker på Gud, ville jeg opgive min tro helt.
Bang Carlsen: Indbefatter Gud… Besidder han… Tvivler han selv?
Præsten: Det er en interessant tanke. Det tror jeg aldrig jeg har tænkt på. Jeg er sikker på – at tvivlen på en eller anden måde må være en del af Gud… Det er faktisk for omfattende overhovedet at spekulere på. Det må jeg lige overveje…”
En fjerde linje gennem værket kunne endelig være HISTORIEN med krigen, nazismen, jøderne, de hvide og de sorte og det at tilhøre mordet på præsident Kennedy-generationen, som en yngre tilhører 9/11-generationen, at have desillusionen og angsten at forholde sig til, hvad den vidunderlige Jenny ikke kender til i sin generation. På billedet i åbningen ser vi familieportrætter af den alvorlige slags fra fotografen dengang. En kvindestemme, ældre, siger på vestjysk:
”Det er fredag, den anden januar 1977, og jeg føler mig sund og rask…” Portrætterne fortsætter i overtoninger, en lille pige bliver ung pige, ung kvinde, ung kone. Og stemmen fortsætter sin optegnelse. En mellemting mellem dagbog og tilbageskuende vurdering, et testamente: ”Der er sket meget i min tid…” Og den sammenligner den nye usikkerhed. Vi er i det moderne. I et kontrolrum et sted i USA, har kvinden læst, er der altid to til stede. Hvis den ene skulle bryde sammen og ville trykke på knappen, skal den anden kunne gribe ind. ”Sådan også på Cheminova , vores kemifabrik. Der er der også to, skulle den ene falde i søvn. For mennesket må selv tage ansvar og ikke give Gud skylden for ulykkerne, det selv har skabt grundlaget for…”
Og vi så klip fra ”Næste stop Paradis” (1980) to møder mellem kvinde og mand, de første blik, de gamle først. Så de unge. At leve i flere tidsaldre på samme tid, som instruktøren udtrykker det i Lars Movins imponerende og herefter uundværlige bog: ”For nok er hun en gammel kvinde, men den unge kvinde lever stadig i hende, og selvfølgelig fremkalder den nye kærlighedshistorie på plejehjemmet erindringen om den unge piges passion…”
CITATERNE
Fra ”Time Out” (1988) så vi åbningen med de amerikanske landskaber og Carl Nielsen musik, om at begynde en historie, måske en stor fortælling, med den indre monolog, som er meget Jon Bang Carlsen…, fra ”Addicted to Solitude” (1999) med det nye spor med de essayistiske film fra Sydafrika (Movin, 325). De to kvinder, den ældre og den yngre. Han fotograferer nu også selv som han altid skriver selv, men han speaker nu også selv og er næsten inde i billedet…
Vi så åbningen i ”Blinded Angles” (2007), om at flyve, om en faldskærm, som senere bliver en paraglider. Bang Carlsens speak handler om at snakke med folk, han møder en Jenny i flyet og det bliver ”en lang rejse ind i mig selv…”, men med en skuespiller, Rune Kiddes ankomst og filmen begynder med det samme med som blind at gå ind i et hus…Take efter take…
Som sidste klip så vi fra ”Purity beats everything (2007) igen en åbning. Billeder fra Sydafrika, sorte lufter hvides hvide hunde og to overlevende fortæller om rædslerne dengang under krigen i de tyske koncentrationslejre, sættes sammen med billeder fra instruktørens hjem og arbejdsværelse og vi ser, at han bor som i sin barndom, i en lille gammel gård på Sjælland, og verdens historierne glider i hans materiale fra rejserne ind gennem computeren.
LINKS TIL NOGLE AF DE OMTALTE FILM
Men det allervigtigste var, at tilhørerne blev så glade for at få at vide, at mange af filmene kunne de se gratis på FILMCENTRALEN/alle.dk i en fornem, sikker streaming (efter hvert klip var der et kollektivt suk, åh fortsæt…), og de skrev deres e-mail adresser på en liste, og da jeg kom hjem sendte jeg dem denne mail med dybe links, så de kun skulle klikke to gange, så vises filmen i fuld lægde. (Dog findes vigtige film som ”Næste stop Paradis”, ”Ofelia kommer til byen” og ”Time Out!”desværre ikke på Filmcentralen)
Jenny (1978) 38 min. http://filmcentralen.dk//alle/film/jenny
Før gæsterne kommer (1984) 18 min. http://filmcentralen.dk//alle/film/foer-gaesterne-kommer
It’s Now or Never (1996) 45 min. http://filmcentralen.dk//alle/film/its-now-or-never
Addicted to Solitude (1999) 70 min. http://filmcentralen.dk//alle/film/blinde-engle
Portræt af Gud (2001) 71 min. http://filmcentralen.dk/alle/film/portraet-af-gud
Blinded Angles (2007) 85 min. http://filmcentralen.dk//alle/film/blinde-engle
Purity beats everything (2007) 51 min. http://filmcentralen.dk//alle/film/purity-beats-everything
LITTERATUR
Jon Bang Carlsen: Locations. Essays (2002)
Lars Movin: Jeg ville først finde sandheden. Monografi om Jon Bang Carlsen og hans film (2012)
Tue Steen Müller og Allan Berg Nielsen: Jon Bang Carlsen og hans film. Samlede blogposts: http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/2569/
FOF HØJSKOLE
http://www.fof.dk/randers/Kursusoversigt/kulturtilbud/hoejskole/fof-hoejskole?id=422100
I warn you – it is my intention to report from the Magnificent7 festival in Belgrade that starts tonight with the screening of ”The New Rijksmuseum – the Film” by Oeke Hoogendijk. The reporting will include a lot about films, for sure, but also about the atmosphere in this wonderful city and about the equally wonderful team behind the festival’s 11th edition. Dedicated and passionate film lovers who can be proud of a festival that attracts a huge audience. We expect more than 1000 spectators at the Sava Centre at 8pm!
We (my wife is with me) arrived wednesday around midnight with Wizz from Malmö, where we lined up to check in next to a fine photo of football star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, local hero in Malmö, where he grew up, Bosnian origins. At Nikolaj Tesla airport we were met by Svetlana and Zoran Popovic, and one of the loyal Magnificent7 team members, Andrijana Stojkovic, film director and editor. To stay in the football world, Svetlana Popovic brought me a poster that advertises the screening of ”Messi”, a film we are looking forward to show to the Belgrade audience, who might be more interested in a certain Djokovic…
Yesterday morning Zoran Popovic and I were interviewed on N1 television, which is a new (started October 2014), a regional news channel à lá CNN, broadcasting from Sarajevo, Zagreb and Belgrade. It is my general impression – take a look at the FB page of the festival – that the press is very interested in the festival and so are a good number of restaurants that in all years have been supporting the festival by inviting its guests for lunches or dinners. Yesterday we were at a vegan restaurant Radost House, Pariska 3 – delicious meal, ”good for your stomach before all the meat you will have”, as said cinematographer Jelena Stankovic, also a loyal team member of M7. Back to Crown Plaza, which has been the festival hotel since the very beginning, apart from one year where it was under renovation. It is difficult to be negative here, actually impossible, lovely hotel.
Photo from previous festival – Zoran Popovic, Svetlana Popovic and I having a rakia at the legendary ?.
FOF-Randers havde bedt mig pege på film til filmklubbens sæson 2014-15. Jeg havde denne gang til fire aftener valgt de fire film, som jeg på filmkommentaren.dk havde givet de bedste anmeldelser, simpelthen. Nogle af filmene havde en længde, som levnede plads til forfilm. De er så lidt ældre, men valgt efter samme princip: de har fået de bedste anmeldelser. Forleden aften var det så Ada Bligaard Søby aften i Filmklub FOF, vi skulle se og snakke om ”Petey & Ginger”(2012). Den er på knap en time, så der var plads til de første 15 minutter af ”American Losers” (2006) og hele ”Black Heart”(2008), så vi kunne snakke om instruktørens amerikanske trilogi, som vi kaldte det. Indbydelsen til medlemmerne bestod logisk nok af tre citater fra mine anmeldelser:
American Losers, 2006
”… Og jeg samler mig sammen. Hvad er det med den her film? Genren bestemmer jeg hurtigt, det er filmisk dokumentar milevidt fra journalistik. Attituden er kunstnerisk. Indholdet er vanskeligere at indkredse, det er en blanding af biografi, tragedie og komedie, og det er med musikkens afgørende placering tæt på at være en lille street musical også. Metoden er rejsebeskrivelsens, og der iblandes post-chatwinsk samtaler og interviews alt sammen i direct cinema stil, men ikke klassisk. Her er kameraet medspiller, den tredje karakter. Og der garneres med en overdådighed af billedmateriale, personligt arkivstof og lyriske optagelser til indklip. Grebet er ofte collagens, men helheden er og forbliver timen igennem et vemodigt personligt essay om en stor herskende kultur og om to forskellige og dog så ens frigørelsesforsøg inden for dens dominans.”
Black Heart, 2008
”… Vedholdende og inspirerende og fascinerende fortsætter Ada Bligaard Søby sit filmarbejde, hvor hun dels lag for lag undersøger den moderne kærlighed mellem ham og hende, dels i fremstillingen disciplinerer balancen mellem disse to karakterer med en milligram-vægt uden den flimrende lethed i fortællingerne et sekund slippes, dels fornyr det nutidige filmbillede med ganske nye kvaliteter af sikre, personlige valg i både andres arkiv, i instruerede nyoptagelser og sit eget fotografiske materiale. I hendes film bliver alt musik ved siden af den egentlige musik som igen omhyggeligt afmålt slutter sig til billedernes og sætningernes og sindsstemningernes kadencer. Genren er lyrisk film, indholdet poetisk indsigt, stemningen humørfyldt vemod.”
Petey & Ginger, 2012
”… Efter at have set filmen sidder jeg helt stille, for det her er egentligt tankevækkende. Det er ikke en bekymring, dog, det ligner, men det er noget mere, det er en stille fortvivlelse. Ada Bligaard Søby ser det vist ikke selv sådan, jeg læser imidlertid filmen sådan, og så rigt er værket, det kan bag ryggen på sin autor forstås ud fra en lang række andre forudsætninger, og jeg er sikker på, der er svar til dem alle. Elementerne er for så vidt enkle og sædvanlige, men kvaliteten af dem er overraskende og overrumplende, ny og frigørende. Jeg har ikke set det tilsvarende i nogen anden af den nye bølge af berømmede danske dokumentarfilm. Dette er enestående i filmverdenens nu.”
Citaterne var altså fra anmeldelser på FILMKOMMENTAREN.DK : http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/2116/
Vi gennemførte aftenen i aftenskolens foredragssal siddende ved borde med et glas rødvin foran os i passende dæmpet lys, så vi både kunne se billederne på lærredet og hinanden og hinandens reaktioner. Samvær og senere samtale. Som en del af mine små oplæg til de tre film ville jeg citere de tre synopser fra forskellige kilder, men som jeg af deres karakter må tro er skrevet af Ada Bligaard Søby eller godkendt af hende, renset for reklamesprog som de er, men direkte korte signalementer af værkernes kerne. Dem satte jeg op ved siden af mine egne tekster, mine læsninger af filmene. Der gik imidlertid lidt rod i det, så dagen efter måtte jeg sende et PS til medlemmerne:
Til filmklubbens medlemmer. Ved min introduktion i aftes lavede jeg rod i de tre films synopser (instruktørens indholdsresumeer), som jeg prøvede at læse op. Selvfølgelig lå den synopsis, jeg så flovt manglede, hjemme på skrivebordet. Undskyld! Nu får I så alle tre synopser sammen med de relevante billeder, så I kan huske de tre film lidt lettere.
Jeg er så glad for, at Michael Kull (aftenskolens forstander) henledte opmærksomheden på Paul Austers ”New York Trilogien”. Som jeg sagde jeg ville, tog jeg den udgave, jeg har, Jan Bredsdorffs danske oversættelse i ét bind (1998) frem og kiggede selvfølgelig efter det, som Kull havde været inde på, det gennemgribende vemod, og det vil jeg fortsat gøre. Men jeg læste også Bo Green Jensens forord. Og der var noget, jeg lige kunne bruge til det, vi talte om, at se Ada Bligaard Søbys tre film som en egentlig trilogi. (Hvad hun mig bekendt ikke selv gør, men et publikum har visse rettigheder…) I forordet citeres Austers kommentar til at opfatte de tre romaner i trilogien som en trilogi. Det vil jeg viderecitere efter de tre synopser til filmene i aftes, for egentlig passer det også på dem som trilogi, tror jeg.
SYNOPSER
American Losers, 2006:
”…Hvor ellers end i New York er grænsen mellem at være en vinder og en taber så utydelig og uklar? Hvem er vindere, og hvad definerer en taber? Kimberle – en rockstjerne-aspirant fra Bibelbæltet – lever et fuldblods New Yorker liv. Hendes energi er uendelig i hendes forsøg på at klare den i storbyen, samtidig med at hun konstant presser sig selv for at kunne tjene penge og nå til øvetimer i PSYCHIC DRIVE. Kevin er en enspænder. En autodidakt forfatter, der er begyndt på college som 40-årig. Han bor alene i et hus 30 km nord for New York og bruger størstedelen af sin tid på at læse og skrive i en evig søgen efter store filosofiske og romantiske spørgsmål. AMERICAN LOSERS er en reportage dagbog. Filmen er en almindelig historie i et ualmindelig collage af billeder og følelser. Med filmen vil instruktøren gerne udfordre publikums ofte overfladiske domsfældelser over os selv og hinanden, kigge den amerikanske drøm efter i sømmene og stille spørgsmålet: Hvorfor er det så svært at leve op til sine egne forventninger?”
Black Heart, 2008:
”…New York er fuld af historier: Marina blev gift i en forelsket rus for 10 år siden og kæmper nu for at holde skruen i vandet som enlig mor til to. Tim sidder i et pladestudie i Brooklyn i erkendelse af, at frihed er omvendt proportional med mængden af ens ejendele. Og Joshua, der netop har mistet alt i en brand, er nu en fri fugl. Men hvis det ikke var for kærligheden, hvad ville man så have? ‘Just lust and money, cocaine and sushi’. ´Black Heart’ er en film om mentale efterveer. Den følger tre new yorkere, som hver især bestræber sig på at behandle et personligt tab. Den fjerde karakter er New York, som forsøger at komme sig efter 9/11-tragedien og det sår, som stadig eksisterer.”
Petey & Ginger, 2012:
”… A Testament to the awesomeness of mankind. When the global economy collapses the only true victors are those that weren’t invited to the boom. Petey plays in a band and works in a pornography warehouse, packing and shipping sex paraphernalia to customers all over the world. Ginger works the late night shift in a bar as a fortune-teller to those who have been hit hard by the financial crisis.
Living on opposite coasts of America and both friends of the filmmaker, both their stories begin with their respective escapes from difficult childhoods.
The film weaves voices and images, seeking to reveal how in-between people are hanging on in today’s America, desiring and dreaming in a no-man’s-land, but now adapted to the lack of hope.
“Petey & Ginger” is a personal take on individual crisis vs. collective crisis, and what happens when the two overlap. In their narrative, we experience a broken culture exposing a wasteland of shattered economic dreams and unfulfilled social promises; a reality that only music and friendship float freely above.”
PAUL AUSTER OM SIN ”NEW YORK TRILOGI”
”… Teknisk set er det vel ikke nogen trilogi. Snarere kan man kalde dem et triptykon. Det er sikkert en bedre måde at beskrive bøgerne på, selv om det lyder meget prætentiøst at tale om dem på den måde. Men de er som et maleri i tre fløje, tre dele. Man kan tage hvert af billederne og se på det alene, og det giver mening, for så vidt som det hele giver nogen mening, men når man ser dem sammen, bliver de mere interessante. Historierne fortsætter ikke, og de flyder ikke ind og ud af hinanden, men der er en fælles stemning, en tematisk resonans, og jeg tænkte på dem som et hele. Jeg ønskede, at de skulle hænge sammen til sidst. De udgør ét værk i følelsesmæssig henseende.”
STREAMING
American Losers: http://vimeo.com/23358196
Black Heart: http://vimeo.com/57073699
Petey & Ginger: https://itunes.apple.com/dk/movie/petey-ginger/id679442596?l=da
og http://dafilms.de/director/8198-ada-bligaard-sby/ (her er Black Heart også)
Realscreen reports from the ongoing Sundance festival. And documentaries are shown and discussed. Last saturday a panel of three directors were talking about ”the blurring lines between journalism and non-fiction storytelling”.
Laura Poitras (Citizen Four etc.) (Photo): “It’s not a blurry line, it’s additive, It’s ‘Journalism Plus.’ It’s not just telling the facts. We don’t make films to break news. Hopefully we make lasting narratives, so that’s different.”
Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side etc.): “I consider myself a filmmaker, but with journalistic baggage. I do have a commitment to make something in the visual medium that stands the test the time.”
Mark Silver (3 ½ minutes)… To illustrate how different journalists and filmmakers are perceived in the U.S., the British-born Silver said that he applied to be part of a journalists union in the UK before directing 3½ Minutes, a very American crime story debuting at the festival. “I needed something to help me get through customs without having to explain myself,” he said. “Being a journalist union member did that. And to get access to the courtroom, we couldn’t have pushed that without being a journalist.”
Just a taster for the article by Michael Speier on a theme that comes up whenever the documentary genre is on the agenda.