A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
Taken from the voice-off subtitles of the film, Rerberg reads the following:
The process of creating a shot, is determined by the life position of an artist, which is determined by the time and country he lives in, the cultural level of the artist, his human relations, as well as his psychological and physical characteristics.
Contact about the film: mdproject@mail.ru
I Bio Carl i Filmhuset, København er der før premieren på ”Thors saga” indbudt til en konference. Det er samme dag, 7. september 15:00. Konferencens overskrift er ”Thors saga – hvordan kommer Island videre?” Konferencen er arrangeret af Norden i fokus under Nordisk Ministerråd, som i deres pressemeddelelse skriver:
”Mød forretningsmand, entreprenør og en af Islands mest udskældte personer. Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, en central aktør i den kollapsede islandske finanssektor. I 2007 var Björgólfsson nummer 249 på Forbes’ liste over verdens rigeste personer, i dag har han indgået aftale om at afdrage en gæld på mere end 50 milliarder kroner.
Dokumentarfilmen Thors Saga handler om Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson og hans forfader, danskeren Thor Jensen. Begge ekstraordinære forretningsmænd med initiativer, der er nært forbundet til Islands op- og nedture. Thors Saga af den danske instruktør Ulla Boje Rasmussen har premiere den 7. sept. I den forbindelse kommer Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson til et debatarrangement i Danmark, som Norden i Fokus arrangerer i samarbejde med Børsen Executive Club. Her ser vi klip fra filmen og hører hovedpersonen fortælle, hvordan han oplevede Islands økonomiske krise indefra. Panelet, som udover Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson består af Lars Christensen, Danske Bank og Helgi Hjörvar (S) medlem af Islands Alting og Nordisk Råd, vil diskutere, hvad vi kan lære af krisen i Island, og hvordan vi sikrer vores bank- og finanssektor mod tilsvarende kriser i fremtiden. Børsens chefredaktør Anders Krab-Johansen er ordstyrer på mødet.”
Der er offentlig adgang til konferencen, oplysninger fås hos Louise Hagemann (33960331) Tilmelding til loha@norden.org
Foto: Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson (Fra upfrontfilms.dk)
Filmen om den markante islandske familie Thor og dens rejse i fire generationer gennem landets økonomiske op- og nedgange har været længe undervejs. I årevis har den omhyggelige dokumentarist Ulla Boje Rasmussen på rejse efter rejse samlet stof sideløbende med, at den seje producent Henrik Veileborg har finansieret, holdt et kompliceret klippearbejde i gang og reddet færdiggørelsen igennem verdenskrisen, som afgørende må have grebet ind i selve kernen i fortællingen, da hovedpersonen fortsat har været omtumlet og omstridt hovedperson derude i virkeligheden. Vi, som har haft lidt viden om denne produktionshistorie, venter mere end spændte på det endelige indhold, som fylder 90 minutter med en moderne islandsk saga, som Upfront Films på sin hjemmeside beskriver således:
“The family´s founder, Danish orphan Thor Jensen, was only 14 years of age when he was offered an apprenticeship in Iceland. The remote Danish colony was impoverished at this time, but Thor Jensen saw potential for growth. With innovative business ideas, he worked his way up from nothing to become an extremely wealthy and respected man. Thor Jensen was behind a number of pioneering projects that helped Iceland’s business community to florish. The Icelandic economy strengthened, an important step for Iceland’s liberation from Denmark to an independent republic in 1944.
The great-grandchild of Thor Jensen is businessman Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson. Thor Björgólfsson found inspiration in his forefather’s initiatives and inherited his ability to see opportunities in uncultivated markets. With sensational ventures, Björgólfsson looked beyond Iceland’s borders and gained success. Brewery, pharmaceutical and telecommunication industries in the former Eastern Bloc countries had his interest. Björgólfsson then defied his own business strategy, turned focus toward Iceland, and invested in the Icelandic banking system. Here he made his greatest failure. The global financial crisis reached Iceland and threatened with state bankruptcy. Today, Björgólfsson is thought to be one of the key figures to send Iceland into economic pillory…”
Filmen har premiere på Det Kongelige Bibliotek, København 7. september 19:30.
This autumn brings three new documentaries with music icons George Harrison, Neil Young and Paul McCartney, made by film icons Martin Scorcese, Jonathan Demme and Albert Maysles.
”George Harrison: Living in the Material World” is a two-part documentary by Martin Scorcese made for HBO, to be screened October 5 & 6. The trailer promises a film that tells the story about the legend through interviews and archive – and lots of music, including, of course, ”Here comes the Sun”.
Jonathan Demme ”Neil Young Life” (photo) is a continuation of the collaboration between the two being film number 3. It will be screened at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.
As will Albert Maysles ”The Love We Make” that premieres September 10 and is co-directed by Maysles and his filmmaking partner Bradley Kaplan. It follows McCartney as he prepares for the Concert for New York City, which took place less than six weeks after the 9/11 attacks. McCartney himself was scheduled to fly out of New York City on the morning of September 11, and upon being grounded returned to the city to witness the unfolding situation firsthand. Maysles and Kaplan’s film, shot in 16mm black and white, captures McCartney interacting with New Yorkers on the Manhattan streets as he rehearses for the concert, and features other performers in the event as well, including David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow and Mick Jagger.
Read more: http://realscreen.com/2011/07/20/maysles-mccartney-team-up-for-showtime-doc/#ixzz1Vw7I8DKv
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnx87LIDO9k
How long will it last? How long can the Western world watch this massacre on civilians that go on in Syria?
Syrian filmmaker posted this text on facebook 20 minutes ago: Today, a UN envoy arrived to the Syrian city of Homs… Homsi people bravely met the envoy at the city’s main square and chanted their demands (the first video below), right after the committee left, security forces attacked the protesters in the square with live ammunition (second video below) … some were killed, numbers still uncertain.
The second video, less than one minute, is very tough to watch as it is to listen to the cameraman’s voice of despair.
A small text on good times for the documentary in cinemas and media coverage in Denmark. More films in cinemas, much more press than before, reviews in daily newspapers of dvd’s
Jo, det ser godt ud for dokumentaren. Ihvertfald var det markant at åbne dagbladet Politiken’s filmtillæg denne torsdag. Der var anmeldelser af hele fire dokumentarfilm, to udkommet på dvd (Senna og Two in the Wave (om Truffaut and Godard)) og to med premiere i biografen, Steam of Life og Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop. Når dertil kommer, at den lille, fine biograf Vester VovVov har tre dokumentarfilm på plakaten (udover filmen om O’Brien er det det Exit Through the Gift Shop og Til Havet), at centrumsbiografen Dagmar reklamerer med snarlige events omkring premiererne på Bobby Fischer Against the World (photo) og El Bulli, at Grand Teatret har haft Waste Land (se anmeldelse nedenfor) på programmet, den kører nu i Empire Bio, at der er Dokumania hver tirsdag på DR2, at der er Mandagsdokumentar i PHCaféen, at Cinemateket har en månedlig dokumentar i Filmhuset, hvor også EDN (European Documentary Network) har SønDok med udenlandske debatskabende film… ja, så det er svært at være pessimistisk på genrens vegne.
Bortset fra hvis man – som co-blogger Allan Berg – har bosat sig udenfor hovedstaden, for så er der langt til filmene, ihvertfald hvis de skal ses på det store lærred. Men det er en helt anden historie om dansk centralistisk kulturpolitik.
Under titlen ”En Feminin Dreng” viser DR2’s Dokumania en af de væsentligste, nye danske dokumentarfilm, som har vakt berettiget opsigt både inden- som udenlands under sin originaltitel, ”Let’s Be Together”. Her er anmeldelsen, som vi bragte, da filmen blev vist på cph:dox
That Nanna Frank Møller is an excellent editor has been proved many times, primarily in her collaboration with Danish director Max Kestner. That she has a talent for directing herself became obvious with the film about the circus sisters, ”Someone Like You”. Here she is with another proof: a film about 14 year old Hairon, who has Brasilian parents but lives in Denmark with his mother and her Danish husband, one more dad for Hairon.
”Let´s Be Together”, however, is the story about son and (Brasilian) dad, told in an intimate and gentle film language, full of respect for the drama that lies in a teenager, who loves to dress like girls and women do.
Hairon wants to be Cleopatra for his birthday and this forms the structural frame of the film. Mother and Hairon go to Brasil to see Brasilian father and to have the Cleopatra costume prepared. Strong conversations are unfolded, interpreted brilliantly in rythm and music and in an editing that have wonderful pauses that are full of information and emotion. ”You must know to control your life a bit”, the father says in one of the many scenes with the two together. Would be wrong of me to reveal the end scene of the film, it is so fine and impressive and well thought and performed by a big talent in new Danish documentary.
Our Paris correspondent Sara Thelle links on her facebook page to the development in Tripoli, take a look at the photo documentation brought by aljazeera.
Text for the photo: Tens of thousands of Libyans celebrated what the rebels claim to be the first uprising in Tripoli against the Gaddafi regime [Gianluigi Guercia/A
This one hour portrait of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), shot and edited by Leacock in 1966, and made in collaboration with Swiss composer and music administrator Rolf Liebermann, lives because of the close-up’s of the face of Stravinsky, a face always in movement with a smiling mouth out of which comes both interesting and funny remarks. Leacock is fascinated by the man and catches him at home and when he is conducting. It is obvious that it is more the man than the music, and the processes around rehearsals, that Leacock wants to convey and thanks for that. Leacock himself comes into the film now and then, with his voice, helping the audience with comments on who is who and where we are, very well made with no more info given than needed.
Funny to think that the year (in 1965) before two other cinema direct pioneers, the Canadians Wolf Koenig and Roman Kroitor also did a film on Stravinsky, made for the NFB, National Film Board of Canada. With some of the same side characters and with the same wonderful humour from Stravinsky as in Leacock’s film, but maybe a bit more rich on the music side, as I remember it.
It has been around for one and a half year, it has won awards all over at festivals, several audience awards, it was nominated for an Oscar this year, it has been released theatrically in many countries (for our Danish readers: it is still in cinemas here), in other words in terms of distribution a documentary success story.
And it does deserve the huge attention it has got. It is a film with a lot of respect and love for its protagonists, the poor garbage pickers in Brazil, it has a warm, lovely main character, the artist Vik Muniz, and it has a narrative that gets you involved: you see the process of Muniz going back from his New York fashionable life to his native country Brazil, to the favelas and the garbage hills, you see him and his staff, first of all Fabio, go to cast the people, they want to take pictures of, you see the transformation of the photos through the re-use of garbage, into beautiful portraits that is sold for big money, that is given back to the ACAMJG, the association of Recycling Pickers of Jardim Gramacho, where most of the pickers, the catadores, are registered, and which works for better working conditions and educational inititives for the workers. Most important, however, is that the director manages to establish an emotional link to the characters, who stand out as human beings with dignity, and whose reactions to the artistic experiment is registered with a lot of care.
The website below gives a lot of information on what happened wfter the release of the film, you can give a contribution to the ACAMJG, you can buy a dvd through Amazon, you can see examples of the art works. Photo: Vik Muniz.