Images from Syria

Quite a different text has to be written under this headline – compared to the one below from Egypt. From the atrocities in Syria, let us call it as it is, a massacre by the government on its own people, there are no edited images, no sequences, at least to my knowledge, no documentaries but a lot of documentation that includes amateur video footage shot on cell phones in most cases. Shot by courageous people who put their life at risk quite as the protesters they film.

”Peaceful Syrian citizens are being killed today for their demands of basic rights and liberties”, this was the first sentence in the Call from Syrian filmmakers to colleagues all over the world. They got a huge response to their petition, around 1000 names, a petition that was closed due to security reasons. There are many Syrian names on the list, filmmakers who are in the country and are doing their job, I am sure, trying to make sense out of a senseless situation. I have with Western colleagues been in Damascus for four years in a row, getting to know filmmakers, from whom I hear almost nothing in these days. They have to be careful and work underground so to say. For obvious reasons. ”Viva Syria”, one wrote to me some days ago, a filmmaker who is no longer in Syria, ”because they are asking about me”. Viva Syria, yes, but which Syria?

This morning I took a surf tour on the internet to see what I could find of clips, which – as the tv channels say – are not verified, are not signed by anyone, just posted anonymously to give the world glimpses of what is going on. Shaky, sometimes blood-filled images, people shouting, tanks approaching, whatever. I have given some addresses below, they might be good, they might be bad, we do not know, journalists from abroad are not allowed to enter the country, it is up to the Syrians themselves to record and convey the images – and to us to try to combine it with newspaper reports and more or less clever commentators and experts in politics in the region. A big frustration when you do not know how to help! 

http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-05-09/syria-protests-shocking-videos-and-photos/#

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2011/04/videos-from-syria-the-army-is-with-us.html

http://observers.france24.com/content/20110429-amateur-videos-syria%E2%80%99-friday-rage

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xif49k_video-of-syria-violence_news

Images from the Revolution in Egypt

I was watching the Danish news magazine Horisont (modelled after the BBC Panorama strand) last night, prime time on DR, our public service channel. They had 25 minutes on Egypt. I sat down with some expectation that was competely let down. It was as it used to be: a journalist with a microphone in hand walking on Tahrir Square with some interviewees, a little trip to the countryside to hear what a pro-Mubarak peasant have to say, and then back to the studio for further comments. Boringly put together, giving no real sense of what had happened, just a little pro et contra, information, no emotion. Pedestrian.

Earlier that same day I had seen some videos on vimeo (excellent platform for transmitting films and videos). Videos made by young people, who was there when the uprising happened, who took part and who have had the talent to put some short visuals together in a structured way, with a sense for building a story and for giving the atmosphere of being where a total change was taking place. Here is a text that is an intro to the videos you may want to watch. There are more to find, signed by one of the activist filmmakers. Jasminah Metwaly:

Intifadat Intifadat, a collective of filmmakers, won the Streaming the Revolution Award (at a festival in Cairo, ed.) for three videos they submitted. According to the jury, these videos showed an incredible sensitivity with the camera. More than merely scenes of protest, the videos convey a sense of raw emotion. The carnivalesque aesthetics show sophistication with both content and form. These videos demonstrate acute skills in depth of field, composition of shots, and creative editing.

The Downfall of Mubarak (6’23): vimeo.com/20169177 Torah (5’25): vimeo.com/21000128 Cairo Intifada (5’59): vimeo.com/19513814

http://www.storydoc.gr/

Sami Saif: Tommy

Tommy Seebach, popstjerne, vinder af det danske melodi grand prix adskillige gange, blev 53 år gammel. Han var, som det vist hedder, hård ved sig selv, knoklede for at få anerkendelse for sit talent, nåede toppen, faldt dybt, druknede sig i alkohol, holdt op igen, men var slidt ned og døde pludselig af et hjertestop.

En klassisk historie, et motiv fra showbizz-verdenen gennemspillet igen og igen i fiktionens ramme, og i utallige dokumentarer. Og i sidstnævnte ramme som regel på akkurat den tv-dokumentar-måde, som Sami Saif anvender sig af: arkiv med hovedpersonen, interviews med famile og arbejdskammerater, og masser af klip og materiale fra familiens privatarkiv. Når så Sami Saifs dokumentar er så meget bedre end gennemsnittet, er det fordi han har Tommy Seebachs enke og tre børn som hovedfortællere OG det helt unikke hjemmevideostof at trække på. Familien er totalt åbne i deres udsagn om den stadig mere alkoholiserede far og mand, der sprængte familien. Enhver der har haft alkohol i familien som barn ved hvad det betyder. Men de taler også smukt om en mand, som så gerne ville være med dem hele tiden, men ikke kunne.

Det kræver sin instruktør at kunne komme så tæt på, men Saif har opnået den tillid, som er forudsætningen for at han kan fortælle sin historie i et flot komponeret flow, i en undertiden virtuos montage der udelukker brugen af en kommentar. Det er simpelthen godt håndværk.

Tommy blev udsendt af DR1 i prime time på en lørdag aften. Jeg ved godt, at det var lige før Melodi Grand Prix finalen, så der var en tematisk sammenhæng – men tør man håbe at DR med sit aktuelt offentliggjorte fokus på ”tilbage til klassisk public service”, OGSÅ generelt genetablerer noget af den kvalitet, som den nedlagte dokumentargruppe besad? Det er helt vanvittigt, at Det Danske Filminstituts midler til kunstneriske dokumentarer skal bruges til en tv-dokumentar som denne, hvor god den så end er.

2010, 80 mins./55 mins. (jeg så den sidstnævnte), producent Peter Bech

www.tommyseebach-filmen.dk

http://www.filmstriben.dk/

Scorcese to be Challenged by von Trier

Danish documentary master Jørgen Leth was challenged by his admirer von Trier in the very succesful film The Five Obstructions, that gave Leth a very well deserved international breakthrough outside the world documentary circles. Retrospectives of his work were arranged and von Trier also helped the promotion of Leth’s latest work, Erotic Man.

Martin Scorcese does not need the help of von Trier but it is quite fun that the playful Danish director seems to have convinced the playful American director to take part in another game of obstructions, which should take its start in Taxi Driver. According to the source below.

http://realscreen.com/2011/05/13/scorsese-von-trier-to-update-five-obstructions/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=scorsese-von-trier-to-update-five-obstructions

Information sælger dokumentarfilm

Seems to be prestige in documentary film sales in Denmark. Now the independent newspaper Information launches docs on their online shop. I swift to my mother tongue…

Det er nu en beskeden begyndelse, som dagbladet Information lancerer via sin online butik, men flere film end de 6 loves her i foråret. Og initiativet kan kun hilses velkomment, når nu én af denne blogs favoritter er blandt de tilbudte film, The Naked of Saint Petersburg af Ada Bligaard Søby, og en anden er lavet af showmanden og journalisten, Anders Lund Madsen. Helt Alene hedder den. Tag et kig på

http://ishop.information.dk/

Arab Documentaries Wanted

AFAC is the name, it is based in Beirut and “The Arab Fund for Arts and Culture (AFAC) is an independent Arab initiative established by local cultural lobbyists and a group of international donors in 2007. AFAC funds individuals and organizations in the fields of cinema, performing arts, literature, music and visual arts, while facilitating cultural exchange and cooperation across the Arab world and globally.”

It is active in the documentary field, and gives grants for documentarians. Deadline for applications has just been extended to May 30. Here is a text from the site of AFAC:

“Responding to the vast number of excellent cinema proposals received duringthe general open call, AFAC decided to establish an additional program for filmmaking. Documentaries are a very popular and accessible medium in the Arab world, allowing filmmakers to broach current issues as well as investigate the recent past. Partnering with a prestigious and experienced institution like the Sundance Documentary Institute provides both the expertise as well as an avenue to connect filmmakers with experienced producers and distributors.

In 2009, AFAC and the Sundance Documentary Institute designed a specific program that provides funding and consultation, networking and training opportunities for documentary filmmakers. Over 145 applicants from the region responded to the first call for proposals. A jury made up of leading regional and international figures selected the top fifteen applicants—both well-known and up-and-coming filmmakers from across the region—for their pertinent and original proposals.

During the next cycle, AFAC is hoping to see the program expand to become a launching pad for filmmakers, providing them with the financial and professional resources to create influential work that is globally recognized.”

http://en.arabculturefund.org/?q=node/17

www.dox-box.org

www.storydoc.gr

Realscreen

I have written about and praised the DOX magazine a couple of times as the magazine for the creative (artistic, authored, call it what you want) documentary. But if you want to follow what happens in the more commercial sector of the documentary, call it non-fiction, you should take a subscription to the FREE daily email newsletter of the magazine realscreen. It gives a lot of good information, it contains very often small interviews with documentarians, it is quickly read. You could also take a (to be paid for) subscription for a print version of the magazine.

To give you an impression of what has been written about the last days: American documentary icon Ken Burns premieres a new tv series, Prohibition (photo), about the American attempt to ban alcohol in the 1920’es. Report from the HotDocs festival, including the forum for documentary projects. Tim Hetherington, killed in Libya, receives a tribute at HotDocs and Restrepo is being shown. Albert Maysles to be honoured at the Sheffield DocFest. New film from James Marsh (Man on Wire), Project Nim, the perfect case study for the nature versus nurture debate, with the story of a chimpanzee at the center of a 1970s experiment. A lot about what Discovery and National Geographic channels are up to, including quickly produced programmes on Bin Laden… check it out and subscribe if you find it useful.

http://realscreen.com/

Stefan Valdobrev: My Mate Manchester United

He lives in Bulgaria in Svishtov a town by the Danube. He is a building worker. And a fan. Of Manchester United. He orders a visit card that says “fan” as occupation and he wants to change his name to Manchester United Zdravkov Levidzho. The authorities do not agree with him, he takes it to court, he loses, but he keeps his identity as a fan, who friends and colleagues call  Manchester. His friend and the friend’s wife remember the glorious evening in 1999 where Manchester United went from 0-1 in the last minutes against Bayern München in an unbelievable finish in the final of Champion’s League (I also remember where I was… in a German airport waiting for a connecting flight) – the two were hugging each other on the floor, crying of joy, the wife thought they were having a fight!

Manchester is an emotional man and his big wish is to shake the hand of the number 9 of the current Manchester United team, the Bulgarian striker Berbatov, topscorer in the English Premier League. He succeeds in a much bigger scale that he had hoped for, and he wears the sweaty shirt of Berbatov for three weeks before it is being washed and added to the collection and the photos on the wall!

No Marin alias Manchester Zdravkov Levidzho is not a stupid man. The film proves the opposite. He carries his obsession in a way that needs to be respected, and he has good observations on life in Bulgaria today. In that way the film also offers something to the non-football fanatics like the one, who writes these lines, and who went from the screening for a dinner in a restaurant where the television screen was showing Manchester United in their second match against Schalke 04, easily won by the Reds (4-1), who will meet Barcelona in the final May 28. I know what Manchester and I will be doing that evening. Thanks for a fine, both entertaining and thoughtful football documentary! (See also the text about “Football is God”).

Bulgaria, 2011, 57 mins.

www.mymatemanchesterunited.com

Balkan Documentary Center

For the second year the Balkan Documentary Center organises a workshop for 7 creative documentary projects from the region. During one week the participants met tutors like Aleksandar Manic (”The Shutka Book of Records”), Boris Mitic (”Goodbye, How are You”), DOKLeipzig festival director Claas Danielsen, ETMA director and former producer Paul Pauwels, web-documentary director Stefano Strocchi and myself, who gave an introduction to European documentary scene and commented on the projects participating. It is organised by Agitprop, the production company behind several internationally acknowledged productions like ”Georgi and the Butterflies” and ”Mosquito Problems and other Stories” (photo). Two more sessions follow, in Istanbul and in Kosovo. Here are some text clips from the site of BDC, one more fine training initiative supported by the EU MEDIA Programme:

“The Balkan Documentary Center (BDC) is an initiative of the team behind AGITPROP production company. On the one hand, it is a virtual network and framework for support, our very own 0700-BALKANDOCU helpline. On the other, it is a brick-and-mortar actual house in downtown Sofia to be equipped with everything necessary to make this support technically possible, from research lab to production equipment and post facilities.

Our focus is catalyzing the creation and distribution of critical minded documentaries and social campaigns in the Balkans. We want to bring together the creative potential of filmmakers, journalists and media professionals with the resources of civil society institutions and businesses that are up for supporting documentaries. In the end, what we want is to bring the documentary scene of our region to international standards, still keeping the fresh ideas, originality and Balkan drive.

For this we have come up with three intertwined lines of activities: 1) Educational and institutional support, 2) Promoting debate and increasing the level of awareness, and 3) Foster networking and international collaboration.”

Yes, “agitprop” this is, an idea and practice!

http://bdcwebsite.com/

http://agitprop.bg/#/info/home