Magnificent7 2012/1

Edition 8 of the Belgrade based feature length European documentary festival. The opening was last night and the audience was there again, hundreds, maybe almost 1000 spectators for each of the two films that were screened in the big hall of the Sava Centre. Zoran Popovic, who is the mastermind behind the festival together with his wife Svetlana, the two people with whom I since the beginning of the festival have been working on the selection of the 7, and it is only 7, magnificent films, made a beautiful speech including the mention of the sad news about the tragic death of Greek and European director Theo Angelopoulos, a source of inspiration for all filmmakers and art film lovers.

British director Gary Tarn was back in Belgrade with his ”The Prophet” that includes material that he shot when he was in Belgrade in 2007 to show ”Black Sun”. Again he puts you as a spectator in a wonderful meditative mood with his flow of images that you can dive into and that juxtaposes with the text, that he has chosen from cult author Khalil Gibran (1883-1931), whose classic ”The Prophet” he wrote in 1923.

The second film at the opening evening was Portuguese director Miguel Mendes ”José and Pilar” (photo), featuring nobel prize winner José Saramago and his wife, journalist Pilar del Rio. The film has many layers. It is a love story. It is a story about an old man, an extremely charming old man and his fight against Time. It is a story about a journalist who dedicates all her time to her husband, managing his legacy in a very efficient and caring manner. It is a light film, with a lot of humour, and it works so well because of the details Mendes has caught during the four years that he was following the couple. They ”adopted” me, said the director in the Q&A after the film.

Today, thursday, there is one film on the agenda: ”Ramin” by Audrius Stonys from Lithuania. Stonys is here as is his Latvian producer Uldis Cekulis.

From a Belgrade full of snow, and handball fans and supporters. Why are sport journalists so fat, said my wife this morning at Hotel Continental, at the breakfast the morning after Denmark qualified for the semifinals against all odds after the first matches.    

http://www.magnificent7festival.org/home.html

Magnus Gertten: Håbets Havn

Den svenske instruktør Magnus Gerttens mesterstykke “Håbets Havn“, som er anmeldt på engelsk på filmkommentaren, bliver vist på DR2 på onsdag den 25 kl. 20.30 i en én-times udgave. Og på SVT2 dagen efter, den 26, kl.20 med flere genudsendelser.

Her er et klip fra den begejstrede anmeldelse af en film, som er ganske enestående: It is brilliant. With a classical approach and with a fine balance between conveying information and creating emotions, the film lets three holocaust survivors tell their story, starting from the time point where they arrive with the Red Cross buses from the camps to Malmö – going, in a fine montage, back in time to what happened before and afterwards.

Farewell Comrades! TV, Webdoc, Book/ 2

The first tv-documentary episode of the arte (German-French) crossmedia event, presented on this site a couple of weeks ago, is online for a free preview, also for viewers outside France and Germany. The 52 mins. documentary, to be broadcast on arte this coming tuesday, directed by Andrei Nekrasov, covers the period 1975-1979 in the series that in its 6 parts goes up to 1991.

It is too early to make a review of the tv series – I will wait until the whole series is out on dvd – announced to be on February 8 – also to be able to watch a version without dubbed voices as here in French or in German. Nevertheless, having watched the German version expectations are met by the work of Nekrasov, who instead of a tv-normal-boring third person commentary has chosen what is called a father-daughter dialogue. The young woman in the film is the daughter of Nekrasov, Tatjana, in the film carrying the name Gagarina! In the introduction at the site of arte it is said:

“Ein Dialog zwischen Vater und Tochter bildet den roten Faden der Serie: Der Vater, geboren in den 50er Jahren, wurde nach sowjetischen Ideal erzogen, während die Tochter, eine moderne junge Europäerin auf der Suche nach ihren Wurzeln, in den 80er Jahren im Westen aufwuchs…”

In other words, the father has lived it, the daughter wants to understand what went wrong with socialism and is the one who gives the viewer the background verbally accompanied by archive material from documentary and fiction films as well as interviews with people like the interpreter of Ceaucescu, the close advisor to Brezhnev, the man who blew the statue of Czekoslovak communist leader Klement Gottwald into pieces.

http://www.arte.tv/fr/Adieu-Camarades-_21-1975-1991/4314104.html

http://www.farewellcomrades.com/en/

Khetagouri & Stanculescu: Noosfera

An introduction taken from the synopsis of the film that had its world premiere at idfa 2011: Sociology professor Nicolae Dumitru believes strongly in true love. So strongly in fact that he has devoted his entire life to expounding his theory, which he calls Noosfera. His own scientific research, which he has chalked beautifully onto large sheets of paper, forms the foundation for his conviction that now, after four billion years, the spiritual era is about to dawn. From now on, society will develop solely in line with human need – and love will prevail. The fact that he has been largely unsuccessful in putting his theory into practice in his own life leaves him unfazed…

Indeed it does, and indeed the film circles around Nico, as he is called by the two of his wives, who live – literally – next door in the house, where he reigns behind a wall (the Berlin Wall one of the ex-wives calls it!) that he has had built to separate himself and his new wife to the old one! There is one more wife, who is only for a glimpse in the film, but the son is there, a skilled piano player with no contact to the patriarchal father, who pushed him to develop his creative talent.

Nico at the university where he teaches. Nico with Carmen, the new wife, much younger than him, will that work out?, Nico exercising on the balcony of the house in the small part where he lives. ”You can’t be a dreamer if you are not free”, says Nico, who also takes some weeks off to be alone in the mountains with his thoughts and with almost no food. When he comes back, having lost 10 kilos, he talks briefly to Melania, ”the transition wife”, as she says about herself. She is the one who best characterises the professor, showing photos of the two and love letters from him. Warm and aware of the excentricity of Nico, she is, as are the two directors, a couple, who again show s talent for catching everyday life situations and originality with respect, warmth and humour. Ileana Stanculescu made ”Village of Socks” and ”The Bridge”, Artchil Khetagouri ”Akhmeteli Street no. 4” from his home country, Georgia.

http://www.dokweb.net/en/ex-oriente-film/upcoming-films/-noosfera-31/?group=24&off=30

http://www.idfa.nl/industry/tags/project.aspx?ID=00f30f92-5b58-41ad-99ff-8f2e6c20d42f

Dokumentarer til Salg

In Danish language as this is about primarily Danish documentaries that are sold through the online shop of the daily newspaper Information.

Vi hører det tit på redaktionen: Åh, men hvor kan man få fat i alle de film, som I skriver om. Svaret er enkelt, søg på nettet, gå til amazon, gå til de mange fremragende vod (video on demand) udbydere, som der er, bestil hos de internationale distributører eller gå ned i videobutikken og bestil, der er flere og flere dokumentarfilm på hykderne. Jo, man skal gøre noget selv for at fat på kvalitet.

Det er ikke svært, hvis I vil have fat i danske dokumentarer, ihvertfald af nyere dato. Mange produktionsselskaber sælger selv deres film, Cinematekets boghandel i København har en fin hjemmeside, hvorfra der kan bestilles, og så er der jo filmstriben, der samarbejder med lokale biblioteker.

Men for at gøre en lang historie kort: Nu har dagbladet Information endelig oppet sig og fået udvidet sit sortiment. 40 gode dokumentarfilm er nu til at bestille, de fleste danske med Anne Wivels smukke Svend som flagskibet, men også med Ada Søbys visuelle essay Naked of Saint Petersburg, Max Kestners roste Drømme i København (foto), Janus Metz dobbelte Fra Thailand til Thy/Fra Thy til Thailand, Vibe Mogensens gribende Min Fars Sind, som blev klippet af Nanna Frank Møller, hvis egen Someone Like You også kan købes.

”Læg i kurven”, hedder det på internet’sk, og så kunne man jo også lige tage Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man med, 49 kroner!

http://ishop.information.dk/dokumentarfilm-2/

The Arab Spring

It’s been a while ago since a text has been posted about the Arab Spring and specifically the Syrian Revolution. Not that nothing happens, on the contrary, the brutality and killings continue in Syria. I do, as many others I am sure, follow what happens primarily through Facebook that has links to YouTube with daily small reports about shootings and demonstrations in the streets. I told a Syrian friend about the frustration I get not to be able to read or understand Arabic. He answered that I should be happy about that because it would just mean me going from frustration to pure worrying.

But moments like this stimulates the creativity and the young woman on the photo makes her point with a text that I have had translated:

Grow your Brain, not your Beard.

DOCSBarcelona 2012

The programme of the upcoming documentary festival in Barcelona, January 31-February 5, has been published. The selection is rich in quality and variety, and as usual the festival has its categories and for the second year the festival is competitive.

Apart from the Official Selection, there is a section with current affairs documentaries entitled DocsAffairs, a talent category with the name Doc! Doc! Doc!, films for school children, master classes (including one with Russian director Viktor Kossakovsky, whose ”Vivan las Antipodas!” will be screened in the official selection) and a section called Finisterrae with ”films that explore innovative ways to portray reality, distancing themselves from the canonical models and using new formal resources. As its name indicates, Finisterrae will bring us documentaries that are positioned at the fringes or outer limits of the  production; works that have opted for a pioneering language. Indeed, all of these films involve an implicit research and formal risk.” Sounds exciting!

Many films come from other international festivals, often with awards, like Polish Pawel Kloc’s exciting and controversial ”Phnom Penh Lullaby” or Ruthie Shatz & Adi Barash’ ”The Collaborator and His Family” (photo), shot in Tel Aviv where the Palestinian, who spied for Israel fights to survive and gain respect from the Israeli authorities. ”Rouge Parole” by Tunisian Elyes Baccar is a fresh documentation and interpretation of the revolution in the country and ”Give Up Tomorrow” by Michael Collins and Marty Syjuco is the touching story about Paco, a Philippine man who has been in jail for years for a murder that he could not have committed. In a master class the two behind the film will give an inside to how they through the film were able to change the situation of Paco.

The pitching forum of DOCSBarcelona celebrates its 15th edition with the presentation of 24 projects to around 30 international broadcasters, distributors and representatives from funds and markets. On top of that a special mini Latin Forum is arranged with 6 specially selected projects from that region. Barcelona is not only professional top football, it is also a unique place for the best of the best of the creative documentary genre. 

http://www.docsbarcelona.com/en/index.php?edicion=2012

BAFTA Nominations

The following (edited) text about good times for documentaries in cinemas is taken from the Realscreen site:

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is reintroducing an award category for best documentary, “in recognition of the number of high-quality theatrical documentaries” being made. The new category will be simply called “Documentary”.

A theatrical documentary award was presented by BAFTA between 1948 and 1990, but dropped thereafter, with docs recognised in the major film categories only. In a statement, the organization said: “BAFTA’s Film Committee has chosen to re-introduce this category now in recognition of the number of high-quality theatrical documentaries released in cinemas in the UK each year.”

“Films from all countries will be eligible as long as they have a theatrical release in the UK. The award will only usually be presented if 15 or more films are entered. A specialist Documentary Chapter of BAFTA Film Voting Members will vote for a longlist of five films during the round one vote and then will vote again in round two to decide the three nominations. The winner will be selected by all Film Voters during round three voting.”

Asif Kapadia’s Senna (photo), James Marsh’s Project Nim and Martin Scorsese’s George Harrison, Living in the Material World have been selected as the three documentary prize nominees for the 2012 British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Film Awards.

Notably, Senna also lands a nomination in the Outstanding British Film category – the first time a documentary has been nominated in the category since Marsh’s Man On Wire, which won the prize in 2009. Prior to that, Kevin Macdonald’s Touching The Void also picked up the award, in 2004.

Senna, Nim and Material World were culled from a five-strong doc longlist that also included Pina and Macdonald’s Life in a Day. The 2012 BAFTA Film Awards’ winners will be announced on February 12 at the Royal Opera House in London, England.

http://realscreen.com/2012/01/17/senna-nim-material-world-in-running-for-bafta-doc-prize/#ixzz1jpKD5rhc

Avi Mograbi on DocAlliance

DOCAlliance, the vod of six quality documentary film festivals (FID Marseilles has just joined cph:dox, Visions du Réel Nyon, DOK Leipzig, Planete Doc Review Warsaw and Jihlava IDFF) is very appealing for documentary lovers. Their selection is excellent, their texts about the films are as well, and to get more people to watch, DOCAlliance launches some offers you can’t refuse.

Like now with five films of world class Israeli director Avi Mograbi, very well known by readers of filmkommentaren.dk. The films of Mograbi which are now available, and can be streamed for free TODAY, and after that be watched for very low prices, are:

How I Learned to Overcome my Fear (1997), Happy Birthday, Mr Mograbi (1999), August (photo) (2002), Avenge, but One of my Two Eyes (2005) and Z32 (2008).

http://dafilms.com/

Julie Bonan: Il était.. Les enfants du Paradis

The world’s best film? No doubt for me, Marcel Carné’s ”Les Enfants du Paradis” from 1945, shot during the German occupation, script by Jacques Prévert with the best of best of French actors like Pierre Brasseur, Pierre Renoit and Jean-Louis Barrault AND the star over all stars, Arletty.

Pure pleasure it could only be to watch this tv-documentary that takes us behind the scenes with archive interviews to meet Prévert, Arletty and Carné, a story guided by, among others, director Bertrand Tavernier, photos from the shooting, a lot of anecdotes, and the sad story about Arletty, who had a love affair with a German office, went to prison, and thus could not be there for the premiere of the film in 1945 because of her ”collaboration”. A film that at the same time became a symbol of the French liberation!

Garance and Baptiste, Arletty and Barrault. Carné and Prévert, touching it is to see the latter, in an interview from 1969, say that all films are actually documentaries, Arletty is performing in a film that is about herself. Prévert wrote the role to her as well as the lines.

Lucky you, who have not yet seen ”Les Enfants du Paradis”, and lucky us who can see it gain and again…. and thanks to the digital channel of DR/K, who showed the documentary about the masterpiece on a grey monday morning.

2009, 50 mins., made for France 5