You meet colleagues in Leipzig. Of course, a banality. But when do you meet a man with the first name Teddy from California, who starts to speak good Danish to you… We had been in contact before and he had sent some phrases in my language, well anyone can do so with a bit of using the google translate. But the reason for his Danish is that Teddy Grouya decades ago was a student in Denmark. He is now a filmmaker and programmer of the American Documentary Film Festival, whose site I took this text from: In addition to the annual Film Festival (last year, ed.), which featured more than 100 documentary features, shorts and animated films on four screens in  both Palm Springs and Rancho Mirage in 2013, we are proud to share the American Documentary Film Fund with independent American filmmakers, who will participate and compete for financing for new projects, as well as projects currently in progress.

The festival takes place in Palm Springs California March 27-31 next year, and this is what Teddy Grouya asked me to post, which I do with pleasure:

We are getting down to crunch time, and our 2014 Festival is rapidly approaching! Our Call for Entries continues, but the regular submission deadline for filmmakers is December 5th. Full details are available on our web site at

http://www.americandocumentaryfilmfestival.com/

I was lucky to meet Greek Dimitra Kouzi again at DOK Leipzig. She is a journalist, former ERT, now in various jobs where her skills can be used, and they are many. Her love for documentaries is evident and if you go to her blog, link below, you will find, as an example, a very useful coverage of a session on festivals made here in Leipzig as part of the industry section. ”Are you looking for a festival” is the headline of one of her postings – there is a need for information – countless are the questions that I have had during these Leipzig days from young filmmakers, who stand with their dvd in hand and have no clue to which festivals they should send it.

Back to Dimitra Kouzi, who was the presentator at the succesful Greek Day on arte on August 15 this year, where several strong documentaries were shown, and back in Athens, if she is not doing work in Germany, she is one of the three, who stand behind the impressive Cinedoc documentary festival, the other two are producer Rea Apostolides and director Avra Georgiu.

In her blog Kouzi introduces the 2013-14 season like this: This year, the CineDoc documentary festival opens with the award-winning documentary The Cleaners (photo) by Konstantinos Georgoussis.
In June 2012, the far-right Greek political party Golden Dawn came from nowhere to win seven percent of the parliamentary vote. Without commentary, the film follows a number of party members during primary elections in central Athens. In disturbing and overtly radical terms, the men air their grievances about the scapegoat for all ills: the growing number of immigrants. In cafés and squares, they enter into discussion with supporters and opponents, keeping a sharp eye on migrant passersby.
Konstantinos Georgoussis, a graduate of the National Film and Television School of the UK, has directed and produced the film in a unique way…

As for the festival programme, please check the site below.

http://www.cinedoc.gr/

dimitrakouzi.files.wordpress.com

DOKLeipzig director for 10 years Claas Danielsen made, as he always does, a welcome speech that went far beyond the usual thanks to sponsors and audience and guests. I have taken a couple of sequences from his German language speech:

Eine der wichtigsten Eigenschaften guter Dokumentarfilme ist, dass sie uns Angst nehmen. Sie helfen uns, das Schreckliche in der Welt anzuerkennen und es an uns heranzulassen – manchmal ubrigens auch das unfassbar Schöne, das wir genauso wegschieben, wenn wir fürchten, es zu verlieren.

Denn die Dokumentaristen widmen sich oft dem Schicksal einzelner Menschen – aufrichtig, wahrhaftig und mit Geduld. Mit diesen Protagonisten können wir uns als Zuschauer verbinden. Wer die syrische Familie in Reem Karsslis Film begleitet hat, für den haben die unter dem Bürgerkrieg leidenden Menschen ein Gesicht bekommen.

Und wer die iranischen Jugendlichen in Kaveh Bakhtiaris Film „Stop-Over“ dabei beobachtet, wie sie verzweifelt und oft unter Todesgefahr versuchen, in den Westen Europas zu gelangen, wird bei den Bildern von Migranten an den hochgesicherten Außengrenzen Europas nicht mehr gleichgültig wegschauen können.

Gute Dokumentarfilme informieren nicht, sie verändern uns. Dokumentarfilme machen das Verdrängte empfindbar. Aus der abstrakten Bedrohung und undefinierbaren Angst wird ein konkretes Schicksal und damit ein Gefühl, das uns nicht mehr überfordert. Das Verdrängte wird „verständlich“, also für unseren Verstand greifbar. Dadurch öffnet sich eine Tür, ein neuer Weg wird sichtbar, heraus aus der Lähmung, hinein in das aktive Handeln. Auch auf

psychischer Ebene kann so Heilung geschehen. Das ist die einzigartige Kraft des Dokumentarfilms, er wirkt dem Verdrängen entgegen und öffnet unser Herz und unseren Geist.

Das, was sich dann zeigt, mag oft verwirrend und komplex sein. Denn die Welt und die Zeit, in der wir leben, sind vielschichtig, unübersichtlich und ständig in Bewegung.

…….

Warum hat es der erzählerische, künstlerische Dokumentarfilm dann jenseits der Filmfestivals so schwer? Warum erkennen nur noch so wenige Entscheidungsträger in den Fernsehanstalten, wie gut sie diesen Schatz nutzen könnten. Anstatt dessen schieben sie ihn oft ins programmliche Abseits, dörren ihn finanziell aus oder wickeln ihn ganz ab. Und das in Zeiten, in denen Kritiker das öffentlichrechtliche System grundsätzlich in Frage stellen. Am Geld kann es angesichts der günstigen Minutenpreise und der langen Lebensdauer der Dokumentarfilme nicht liegen. Es fehlt an Mut und Wertschätzung.

Ich frage mich: Hat die kompromisslose Suche der Dokumentarfilmer nach Wahrhaftigkeit etwas Bedrohliches? Sind Leidenschaft und Idealismus dem Zuschauer nicht mehr zuzumuten? Ist das Ringen um eine moralische Haltung in einer Zeit der Umbrüche unseriös? Ist der Kampf um Würde, Respekt und Menschlichkeit aus der Mode gekommen? Was verdrängen all jene, die diese Art von unformatierten und unbequemen Filmen nicht mehr zeigen wollen? Warum ziehen es viele aufrechte, couragierte und unbequeme Redakteure vor, die Funkhäuser zu verlassen, anstatt weiter für ihre Sendeplätze und Individualität im Programm zu kämpfen?

http://www.dok-leipzig.de/

Sevara Pan is in Leipzig for the festival and writes with enthusiasm about one of the so-called industry activities: Spanned over 3 days, Leipzig Networking Days celebrated its finale on the warm Sunday afternoon of October 27^th. Initiated by Documentary Campus, Leipzig Networking Days is an annual pitching and networking event that hosts over 200 industry professionals from around the world. This year, the event commenced with the opening keynote, given by Jens Schmelzle, the founder of Simpleshow, a global leading company that helps simplify internal and external communication. “Keep it simple” was the key of his message – the conspicuous precept we are all aware of, yet hardly few of us apply in practice. This advertising principle, Schmelzle reckoned, could be well employed in filmmaking or storytelling in general. Starting off with the essential core, he presumed, gives an opportunity to lay a foundation to build up the narrative, ornament it with nuances, and parlay with luscious minutiaes.

The next two days of the event were dedicated to pitching of 16 documentary projects developed within the Masterschool 2013, 2 guest projects from the MENA programme (the Middle East and North Africa programme: http://www.documentary-campus.com/v2/page/contact/), and 3 guest projects by Documentary Campus Member Companies. The pitches were then followed-up by a number of panel discussions as well as scheduled one-to-one meetings with 30 commissioning editors from promiment broadcasting companies – ZDF/ARTE, MDR, ITVS, LIC China, and Channel 4 – to name a few.

From the lost generation of the bleak Russian garbage dump “svalka,” to the frenetic journey of the LGBT countercultural movement Queercore with its roots in punk, to the backchannel of the Austrian Chancellor Kreisky and PLO-fighter Sartawi, and onto the veil behind the theft of the Chagossian nation – the unbridled diversity of projects was captivating. While some touched and inspired, others intrigued and left wondering. There was room for every shade of emotion, taking turns in the laboratory of mind with the sweeping gait of the 8-minute pitch. But was there “room for a man?” At the brink of solemnity of the event, there was also a leeway for humor and wit. In the company of a 25-year old Lebanese Anthony on his odyssey to seek out an answer to the existential question of manhood, suddenly we found ourselves within a 4m² space, hedged in by Anthony’s outspoken mother Nicole, perplexing older sister Romy, frisky doberman Velvet, and a “handy and virile” construction worker that embodies “the essence of masculinity.”

Leipzig Networking Days culminated with the award for the best pitch, handed out by Chris Black, the marketplace manager of Sheffield Doc/Fest, one of the Documentary Campus long-term partners. The pitch award was genially granted to the polish filmmaker Hanna Polak (project Yula’s Dream) for her 13-year-old commitment to the story, chronicling an extraordinary journey of 11-year-old Yula growing up in the black hole of the metropolis, at the outskirts of the Moscow garbage dump, and her ultimate breaking out to a better life at the age of 25.

To put it in a few words. Leipzig Networking Days was a success. Bright smiles, enthusiasm about the new and the upcoming, but most importantly, a genuine love for documentary films were pivotal for the event to run par excellence.

In times where festivals for documentaries aim for bigger and bigger numbers of audiences, ranging from 50.000 to more than 200.000, it is refreshing to read that much smaller numbers can make the organisers happy like the ones who stood behind the pioneer work in Colombia. Read the press release filmkommentaren.dk received yesterday, and click below to read what we have written about the festival before:

“With over 16 years of experience, DocsBarcelona closed its first edition in Colombia, Docsbarcelona+Medellín, with absolute success. “The last applause” by German director German Kral was the cherry of a four-day festival that turned the city of Medellin into the centre of international documentary.

With a great response from the citizens of Medellín, (2.448 viewers attended the screenings with an average of 87 people per session) DocsBarcelona+Medellín points out to turn into a new meeting point for international documentary.

DocsBarcelona + Medellín , which took place between the 15th and the 20th of October, presented 15 films, most of them screened previously at DocsBarcelona (Spain), morning screenings for teenagers, as well as a program of industry activities including a Development and Documentary Executive Production workshop, 3 master classes and 3 rough cut screenings. The event counted with the support and presence of 6 international guests.”

http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/2504/

http://docsbarcelonamedellin.com/

Yesterday midday I mailed Joanna Solecka from Wajda Studio. I have known Joanna for some years and she was the one, who sent me the link to watch their 45 minutes long documentary ”Joanna”, a film about a mother who suffers from cancer. My starting point – to be a bit cynical: I have seen lots of films about a dying parent and their loved ones to be left behind. Nevertheless I don’t remember one with the same high quality. These were the words sent to Joanna about ”Joanna”: 

I watched the film – if you can put it like that – with pleasure and emotionally touched, to say the least, well what else can I say but BEAUTIFUL. As a film and as a hymn to Life and Love, whatever might happen.

One day later, today, Joanna writes me that the film ” won the Silver Eye award at the 10th East Silver Market at Jihlava in the mid-length documentary category”. The jury motivation goes like this:

We decided to award the documentary, which opens the door to the private life of an engaging protagonist in the hardest time of her life. The director approaches her story with a high level of sensitivity and an elegant cinematic approach. We are entirely immersed in her life, through which the viewer experiences a transcendent lift from her story to the bigger values of life and our own personal lives.

One more quote, quite precise actually from the Wajda Studio itself:

Joanna’s hand lovingly strokes her son’s back. They are lying in the grass, listening to the meadow dwellers and the sounds of nature. Jaś says he has a “divine time” with his mom, and Joanna, too, loves to spend time with her boy. But this time is limited. Joanna says she is not afraid of dying, but of leaving behind her little family. Aneta Kopacz’s narrative is remarkably subtle, preserving the tender moments of the remaining days in expressive images.

Subtle, sensitive, tender, expressive, a marvellous music score, BEAUTIFUL.

The film will be shown in competition in DokLeipzig. An obvious candidate for one or more awards.

http://www.dok-leipzig.de/

http://www.eastsilver.net/en/east-silver/news/