Time to Celebrate Documentaries

… say the DocAlliance people, who again are advertising their vod repertory, including several films that can be streamed for free. The reason for celebration NOW is of course that two of the festivals that are part of the Alliance start today (Jihlava and Lisbon), two other (Leipzig and Copenhagen) follow a bit later.

Go to the site below and see what is on the menu – Frederick Wiseman is not (yet) but his new film “At Berkeley” (photo) will be screened in Lisbon and Copenhagen. Here is the text from DocAlliance:

A month full of the best of contemporary documentary film is about to start! Four Doc Alliance partner festivals are inviting both local and international audiences to meet new talented directors, emerging producers and progressive distribution trends. DAFilms.com offers you the unique opportunity to watch selected festival films during special weekly events online for free. Are you going to one of the festivals only? Are you planning your film trip for the spring months? Watch DAFilms.com and enjoy the festival fall in the comfort of your home!

http://dafilms.com/

Tbilisi

I took this photo from the FB page of Jana Cisar, who was one of the tutors in Tbilisi at the DocStories Georgia workshop that ran parallel to the Cinedoc festival. Cisar has a premiere coming up of her film ”Böhmische Dörfer” at the Hofer Filmtage, that starts today. I have a dvd of the film and will watch and write about it asap. Link below.

The photo is taken from the Hotel Villa, where we were staying and represents very well the impression you get of the capital of Georgia, when you walk around and leave the noisy Rustaveli Avenue for backyards like this, lovely and charming to watch, probably difficult to live in, a lot of in-house discussions going on here and there, comments from the windows, Fellini and Iosseliani.

In FB language this is what I liked in Tbilisi: the food in general, the eggplant with nut cream, the katchapuri, the chinkali, the chacha (got home with two silver bottles and two gold) (thank you dear friends), the decadence, the cafés that are hidden from the streets, the hospitality, Pirosmani, the bookshops in the backyards, the fine weather in the beginning of the week, the organisation of the workshop by Nikos and the volunteers, the outdoor café at the Goethe Institute… and the dislikes: the constant overall smoking, the phone calling and text messaging and small talk in the cinemas, the child sitting on a cardboard begging on Rustaveli placed there by the mother, the disrespect of the car drivers for pedestrians, the sour red wine I got (my fault, could have researched better), the night flights out of the city, the information about the Russian provocation regarding the upcoming Olympics having a soldier hero from Ossetian war carry the torch, the young woman born in Abkhazia who with tears in her eyes told me her father was killed in the 1991- 93 war…

Yes, you are constantly reminded about the recent history and the hard conditions  the Georgians live in – and how priviliged you are coming from a small country where a stupid debate the last week has gone around the scandalous overspending of a former prime minister, who went by first class flights all over the world as chair of an international organisation, luxurious hotels etc.etc. What a different life we live.  

http://www.hofer-filmtage.com/en/festival2011/movies-2012-details/film/boehmische-doerfer.4237/

Cinedoc Tbilisi/ 6/ Awards

The 1st International Documentary Festival in the Caucasus is going towards its end. Today the awarded films – and others – are being screened and last night the award ceremony took place in the Rustaveli Cineme. I was member of the jury of the International Competititon together with film critic and festival programmer Victoria Belopolskaya (Russia) and EDN director Paul Pauwels. The decisions of the international jury are to be found below.

Another jury consisting of Petr Kostorhyz (Czech Republic), Lela Ochiauri (Georgia) and Marina Drozdova (Russia) gave the main prize in the Focus Caucasus section to The English Teacher, directed by Nino Orjonikidze & Vano Arsenishvili (Georgia).

The catalogue description (taken from the website of the production company) of this fine film goes like this:

Young, adventurous “English teacher” is assigned to carry out a “linguistic revolution” in a remote Georgian village. Looking for new adventures, South African Bradley Nelson finds himself on the frontier of a big political change in the country. In order to get rid of the Soviet legacy and engage with the western world, the government initiates a project to “invade” Georgia with English speakers. Excited traveler is determined to contribute to a “radical change” in the small post-Soviet country. But when the first wave of excitement disappears, he is confronted with the gloomy reality. There are no signs of revolutionary changes, and in fact, no desire to change at all. Villagers are facing completely different set of challenges…

The Audience Award went to “Songs of Redemption” by Amanda Sans.

http://www.artefact.ge/englishteacher1

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com/

Cinedoc Tbilisi/ 5/ Awards

The Main Award at the 1st Cinedoc Tbilisi festival went to Lina Luzyte for her ”Igrushki”. The motivation of the Jury of the International Competition

THE FIRST PRIZE IS AWARDED – BY A UNANIMOUS JURY DECISION – TO A DOCUMENTARY THAT IS SET IN AN ENVIRONMENT WHERE DEMOCRACY IS STILL A MUCH COVETED GOOD AND DAY BY DAY, PEOPLE STRUGGLE TO BUILD A DECENT LIVING.

THE FILM MAKER MANAGES TO CAPTURE THIS STRANGE ATMOSPHERE IN A DOCUMENTARY THAT SURPRISES BY ITS VERY ORIGINAL STYLE AND MANAGES TO GO DIRECTLY TO THE HEART OF THE VIEWER.

THE DOCUMENTARY IS SET IN A PLACE WHERE TIME SEEMS TO HAVE STOPPED AND CREATED AN OWN AND VERY SPECIAL UNIVERSE.

THE JURY APPRECIATED VERY MUCH THE EXTRAORDINARY CINEMATIC STYLE, THE AUTHOR’S EYE FOR DETAIL AND THE COMPELLING STORYTELLING THAT TURNS EVERY SEQUENCE INTO A STORY OF ITS OWN.

THE JURY ALSO APPRECIATED THE RESPECT – EVEN THE LOVE – WITH WHICH THE MAIN CHARACTERS ARE PRESENTED.

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com/

Cinedoc Tbilisi/ 4/ Awards

The Special Jury Award at the 1st Cinedoc Tbilisi festival went to Pawel Kloc for his ”Phnom Penh Lullaby”. The motivation of the Jury of the International Competition:

THE SPECIAL JURY AWARD GOES TO A DOCUMENTARY THAT VERY MUCH SEDUCED THE JURY BY IT’S CINEMATIC QUALITIES AND ITS INTRIGUING PROTAGONIST.

BY USING POWERFUL IMAGES AND AN IMPRESSIVE AND WELL-BALANCED SOUNDTRACK THE FILM MAKER INTRODUCES US INTO A SOCIETY THAT IN REALITY LOOKS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE ONE TO BE FOUND IN THE GLOSSY IMAGES OF THE TRAVEL AGENCY BROCHURES.

EVERY SCENE OF THIS FILM IS OF A SELDOM SEEN INTIMACY, BRINGING THE VIEWER VERY CLOSE TO THE INTERNAL STRUGGLE OF A MAN TRYING TO BE GOOD IN A BAD WORLD.

IN ADDITION THE FILM MAKER MANAGES TO INTRODUCE A SECOND LAYER ON TOP OF THE PERSONAL STORY: THIS OF THE CONSTANT SCANDAL OF SEXUAL ABUSE OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN A SOCIETY THAT AT SOMETIMES SEEMS COMPLETELY LAWLESS.

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com/

Cinedoc Tbilisi/ 3/Awards

The Jury Mention at the 1st Cinedoc Tbilisi festival went to Julia Panasenko for her “Outro”. The motivation of the Jury of the International Competition:

A DOCUMENTARY THAT HITS THE VIEWER LIKE A ROCK: PUNK DOCUMENARY FILMMAKING! ONE OF THE JURY-MEMBERS CALLED IT.

WITHOUT MAKING ANY CONCESSIONS AND IN A VERY DIRECT STYLE, THE FILM THROWS THE VIEWER INTO THE LAST WEEKS OF THE LIFE OF THE CHARMING BUT ALSO TRAGIC MAIN CHARACTER.

AS AN AUDIENCE WE CAN ONLY BE GRATEFUL THAT THE YOUNG WOMAN WHO’S AT THE CORE OF THIS FILM ALLOWED THE FILMMAKER TO FOLLOW HER ON HER VOYAGE TO THE VERY END. THE RESULT IS A MOVING DOCUMENTARY THAT SHOULD MAKE ALL OF US THINK ABOUT THE WAY WE LIVE OUR LIVES.

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com/

Cinedoc Tbilisi/ 2

It was too much, something had to be done so I asked one of the staff members of Cinedoc here in Tbilisi to ask the audience to refrain from talking on their phone and send text messages during the screening. She did – saying that it disturbed the members of the jury…! Maybe not the rest of the audience…! My juror colleague Paul Pauwels and I were laughing our asses off.

Otherwise, it has been very stimulating to sit in very often full cinema halls at the very first edition of a festival that has been very well received by the audience. As in many other documentary festivals it looks like the audience has an average age around 25, indeed promising for the future of the event.

On top of that the festival must be praised for the initiative of showing films for a young audience followed by ” discussions after the screenings… moderated by children psychologists, teachers and young civil society activists.” Let me mention two neo-classic films from that section: “Please Vote for Me” (2007) (Photo) by Wiejun Chen and Claire Simon’s “Recreations” (1993).

Awards will be given tonight at The Rustaveli Cinema – in the category “Focus Caucasus”, in the International Competition, and there is an audience award. Will be back with that information tomorrow morning.

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com

http://www.clairesimon.fr/recreations.html

East by SouthEast

Sitting in Tbilisi I see a press release from the Danish Cinematheque that hosts a ”Festival of Central and Eastern European Film” from October 24 till November 7. Among them the feature hit from Georgia, ”In Bloom”, but also several documentaries. Exciting selection.

Let me quote an interesting article by Ewa Mazierska attached to the press release:

”One problem which is not specific to Eastern Europe, but is felt there more strongly than in, let’s say, France or Denmark, is the dying out of the province. This problem has to do, paradoxically, with the fact that still a large chunk of the population of Eastern Europe lives in the province; this being a consequence of delayed modernisation of this part of Europe. During the communist times the authorities usually limited the number of people able to relocate to the large cities by the rule that one has to be ‘registered’ there in order to live and work there. Under democracy, however, when one can, at least in theory, live where one wants, many people choose to do so, leaving behind their families and thus communities depopulated, impoverished and unbalanced in terms of gender and age. This problem is tackled in numerous Eastern European films, although often indirectly, as exemplified by Matchmaking Mayor (2010) by Erika Hnikova, Igrushki (2012) by Lina Luzyté and Night Boats (2012) by Igor Mirkovic. By and large, in the bulk of the films by Eastern Europe directors their countries come across as places to escape from rather than to visit and enjoy. However, less often than in the past this idea is transmitted in films about sex trafficking, as if to suggest that girls from Eastern Europe have learnt from cinema not to naively follow men from the West promising them paradise on the other side of the border.”

”Igrushki” (photo) is in competition here at Cinedoc in Tbilisi.

www.dfi.dk

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com

Cinedoc Tbilisi/ 1

Voila, the 1st International Documentary Film Festival in the Caucasus started last night in the Rustaveli cinema in Tbilisi. Totally full was the cinema hall for the opening ceremony that included a promise from festival director Artchil Khetagouri, that a bigger hall will be available next year – and a good atmosphere filling the cinema for the opening film “Songs of Redemption” by Amanda Sans (who was present) & Miquel Galofre. The catalogue text goes like this: “Songs Of Redemption” is a Jamaican documentary that captures the story of redemption and rehabilitation of inmates of the General Penitentiary located in Kingston, Jamaica. It features riveting interviews and powerful reggae music created, performed, and produced in a unique partnership by inmates and wardens.

At the other end of the Rustaveli Boulevard a workshop goes on during daytime at the fine venue of the Goethe Institute. 10 Georgian documentary projects are being developed with the help from tutors like British Peter Symes, Latvian Uldis Cekulis, Serbian Goran Radovanovic, Belgian Paul Pauwels and Danish Tue Steen Müller, who are writing these lines. I was (also) asked to talk about the state of the art of documentaries and did so through the showing of newly digitized versions of Lithuanian classics like Robertas Verba’s 1969 short documentary about the 100 years old people, and Arunas Matelis 1990 “The Minutes Before the Flight of Icarus” – as well as clips from “Argentinian Lesson” by Wojciech Staron and “Father and Son” (both versions) by Pawel and Marcel Lozinski. Not to forget the fantastic opening of Timo Novotny’s “Life in Loops”, the remix of “Megacities” by Michael Glawogger.

Photo: Opening dinner for the workshoppers… We eat well in Tbilisi!

http://www.cinedoc-tbilisi.com

Piotr Stasik: A Diary of a Journey

Stasik is one of the most obvious talents in young Polish documentary. His “Last Day of Summer” is a masterpiece in cinematography and compressed storytelling. This new film from his hands, which was at the Krakow festival, and now has its international premiere at DOK Leipzig, is a beautiful variation of the theme “the master and his pupil”, in this case featuring the photographer Tadeusz Rolke, who travels Poland and its villages together with a 15 year old Michel, who wants to know the secrets of the profession. Out comes a charming film about “an old man and a boy”, a generation film full of fine observations. Yes, Michel Simon in the film of Claude Berri comes into mind, as does the class mate at the Wajda School, Thierry Paladino, who made “La Machina”, where a puppeteer travels with his pupil.

Let me give you some quote references to Tadeusz Rolke:

“You could call him the Polish Cartier-Bresson, an artist from the dying line of photographers without whom “we would be living in the eternal and perfect translucent present, like on TV”. A man who photographed wartime Warsaw and lives today to share his knowledge… Known for his photographs of wartime Warsaw and inspired images of cultural life in postwar Poland and Germany, Tadeusz Rolke‘s photographic archive constitutes 60 years of Polish and European history. Rolke is considered one of Poland’s most accomplished photographers. He photographed the silhouette of the Palace of Culture and Science rising over Warsaw’s rubble, anti-communist rallies, the changes after 1989.

http://films2013.dok-leipzig.de/en/film.aspx?ID=5066&title=A+Diary+of+a+Journey

http://www.culture.pl/web/english/resources-film-full-page/-/eo_event_asset_publisher/eAN5/content/piotr-stasik-a-diary-of-a-journey

http://t-rolke-official-eng.blogspot.dk/