DocsBarcelona Step by Step

It was a proud Joan Gonzalez, director of DocsBarcelona, who texted me this morning. In the newspaper Vanguardia, page 2, Gonzalez was given a ”GreenLight”, a tribute that is given to people, who has done something special for their profession – as Gonzalez has done in Catalunya through the building up of a documentary culture in his country: training of young people, distribution through the Documentary of the Month, a pitching forum that has been running for 14 years, a 5 year old documentary film festival, and many other things.

Below – yes below – the photo of Gonzalez there was a photo of a man, who is world wide famous for his coaching, of a football team, the local one, the best team in the world at this moment: Guardiola.

That Gonzalez is also a great coach who can create team spirit is so very much visible when you are at DocsBarcelona and sense the ambiance that surrounds the event. Staff members and volunteers do all they can to make the best possible service for the audience and the guests. And they do it in a professional way!

I have known Joan for 15 years, he can be proud of what he has achieved for the documentary community in Barcelona and elsewhere – including the Latin America that he loves so much. Step by Step as he has said from the very beginning. A pleasure to work with and for you, Senor!

www.docsbarcelona.com

DocsBarcelona Winners

It was the first time that DocsBarcelona included awards. At the fifth edition of the festival statuettes and cash prizes were distributed. €6000 was given to the film “Foreign Parts” (photo) by Verena Paravel and J.P. Sniadecki. The description of the film follows here:

“A hidden enclave in the shadow of the New York Mets’ new stadium, the neighbourhood of Willets Point is an industrial zone fated for demolition. Filled with scrapyards and auto salvage shops, lacking sidewalks or sewage lines, the area seems ripe for urban development. But Foreign Parts discovers a strange community where wrecks, refuse and recycling form a thriving commerce. Cars are stripped, sorted and catalogued by brand and part, then resold to an endless parade of drive-thru customers. Joe, the last original resident, furious, tries to contest his imminent eviction. Two lovers, Sara and Luis, struggle for food and safety through the winter while living in an abandoned van. Julia, the homeless queen of the junkyard, exalts in her beatific visions of daily life among the forgotten. The film observes and captures the struggle of a contested -eminent domain-neighbourhood before its disappearance under the capitalization of New York’s urban ecology.”

The TV3 Award for Human Rights with a cash prize of €4500 was given to the well known big work “Enemies of the People” by Rob Lemkin and Thet Sambath, that includes the ambition of the latter to uncover the truth behind the killing fields of the Khmer Rouge.

Four other awards were given – “Teen & Docs Award”, “Kids & Docs Award”, “TV3 New Filmmaker’s Award” and “Audience Award”.

Foreign Parts, 2010, USA, 80mins.

Enemies of the People, 2010, UK & Cambodia, 86 mins.

http://foreignpartsfilm.com/

www.docsbarcelona.com

DocsBarcelona – Films to Come

… hopefully, because there were many talented directors with interesting and intriguing project proposals at the 14th edition of the Pitching Forum in Barcelona, see below. This posting does not allow to mention all the 23 projects which were presented, you will get 3 of them, which I both hope and think will be completed within the next couple of years:

Local director Albert Solé (known for the Goya Prize awarded ”Bucharest, Memory Lost”) presented a film project to be directed by Sebastian Alfie. ”Gabor” is the name of the film, referring to the blind photographer and d.o.p, of Hungarian origin, who lives in Spain and runs a renting company for equipment. The film is about him and the young director, their friendship and their ambition to make a film together. High quality material, a charismatic main protagonist and a chance also to look back to his Hungarian past.

Young producer Dagne Vildziunaite from Lithuania was very convincing in her presentation of a film about ”The Father”, a seventy year old former criminal (in Soviet times), who in his late years has settled down in the countryside to lead a true and honest family life. The production company (”Just a Moment” has shot the film and the producer was in Barcelona to seek interest and look for fresh eyes, an editor who can complete the film. In the audience several editors queued up to help to get the film to a rough cut stage – enabling several of the broadcasters to make a pre-buy.

Greek director Marianna Economou launched her ”Flying Food” (previously presented and written about on this site) – a film about Greek mothers who make sure that their sons get good and healthy food wherever they live outside Greece. To be taken by plane to foreign destinations. The interest was big and the panel at DocsBarcelona was discussing whether the sons, who get the food should be in the film as well, and what about the girl friends of the sons, and the daughters of the mothers…

www.docsbarcelona.com

DocsBarcelona Pitching Forum

… edition number 14 it was on February 3 and 4. For those readers who are not familiar with the terminology – pitching in the film world is about filmmakers throwing film ideas and proposals to broadcasters, film funds, sales agents and distributors. There were 23 of the makers at the DocsBarcelona and 29 of the film proposal receivers at the table. All was professionally organised at this public pitch where a lot of people had signed up to observe. I had the pleasure – together with Mikael Opstrup from EDN (European Documentary Network) – to moderate the two day session.

The Forum is a very good moment to check the status of the market, when it comes to television and the so-called creative documentary. Although the panelists (15 out of the 29 mentioned) were extremely supportive, and encouraging in their constructive criticism, it was obvious that they were no longer able to take risks on an international level. They have to play safe and ask for more material to watch, in many cases at a rough cut stage and in others, the comment was ”this will be a possibility for acquisition” when it has been done. For that reason DocsBarcelona could be considered the promotional step for many talents to have their proposal given a first check by competent people. Like Jenny Westergaard from YLE, who told the audience that the Finnish broadcaster is undergoing a restructuring process with a new management where things will be changed at the most internationally orientated broadcaster in Europe. Like Ali Delici, first time at the DocsBarcelona, commissioning editor from Arte France, dealing with arts and culture, a man with a good sense for the young filmmakers, as has Reinhart Lohmann from ZDF/arte who is working with thematical evenings for the European cultural channel. On the Spanish side Andrés Luque from the public broadcaster TVE was there for the first time to give us all the impression of a classical broadcaster that goes for strong content, whereas veteran Jordi Ambros from the local TV3 has a slot for more artistic documentaries that he coproduces when there is a Catalan producer involved, and buys from all over the world. Roberto Blatt, however, runs Chello Multicanal that includes a lot of thematic channels, and also he is a committed and enthusiastic film lover, who often said that he would help the filmmakers to have their works financed.

The distributors around the table were Peter Jäger from Autlook in Austria and Gitte Hansen from First Hand Films in Switzerland. They both have strong titles in their catalogue and I am sure they will pick up projects from this DocsBarcelona when they are further developed. Market-wise, these two companies think of both broadcasters, festivals and cinema releases, the audience is to be found not only in television but also at other – to use a modern term – platforms.

www.docsbarcelona.com

Peter Greenaway in Barcelona

Greenaway needs no big introduction and no need to stress his importance for European cinema as a master constantly searching for new possibilities for expression. I was not able to attend (with 300 others) his masterclass, that he – taken from the website of the festival – introduced in the following way:

“We are all aware that great changes are happening in the world of cinema and film – the old verities are no longer with us. The superstructures, infrastructures, audience participations, distribution patterns, audience
characteristics – as well as certainly the technologies are changing very fast . Each new technological gizmo or gimmick or toy or machine erodes the old edifice. The Old Cinema is dead.

This lecture-talk of NEW POSSIBILITIES is full of examples – multiple-screening, environmental screening, “immersion” screening, combinations of genre-manipulation, VJ-ing, presenting non-narrative-multi-image-cinema ventures, cinema deconstructions, cinema reconstructed deconstructions – all indicating a toe in the ocean of new possibilities that are rising up over all the horizons”.

For newcomers in the world of Peter Greenaway, take a look at his website. Impressive filmography, indeed.

http://www.petergreenawayevents.com/petergreenaway.html

www.docsbarcelona.com

Latin America Documentaries are Coming

… indeed they are, as it was proved at the 14th edition of the DOCSBarcelona pitching forum section. With the help of Ibermedia, a financial support mechanism that links the Iberian countries Spain and Portugal with countries in Latin America, a Latin Forum for the presentation of projects were launched. 6 projects had been selected – the Brasilian Elisa Capai’s visually energetic, powerful ”African Women”, Agustina Macri’s ”Carnacalypse”, a fake documentary that treats the subject ”what if there was no more meat in Argentina” in a global food production frame, Sergio Lopez visually exciting proposal about miners, ”Con la noche dentro”, Lorena Torréns exciting and well developed homo-sexual docucomedy ”Timoteo´s Fabulous Ragged Circus”, Colombian Jorge Caballero’s Wiseman-inspired ”Birth” and finally the charming and sensual clip presentation of ”Reynecita” by Paula Schargorodsky, who presented her personal love failure in comparison with that of her grandmother.

There was so much energy and creativity in the 6 presenting persons as well as in ”Avant” by the team from Uruguay, Julio Alvarez and Virginia Bogliolo. The film will deal with the action taken by world class ballet dancer Julio Bocca (photo), who moves to Uruguay to make his Sodre National Ballet internationally relevant.

… will come to a festival, and maybe a television channel, near you.

www.docsbarcelona.com

www.tarkiofilm.com

Pirjo Honkasalo: The 3 Rooms of Melancholia

Filmen skal handle om lovens bud du må ikke vidne falsk mod din næste, sagde Iikka Vehkalahti, da han bad Honkasalo lave den, og hun brugte i sin synopsis den endnu tydeligere engelske formulering Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour, det er den konkrete nabo, det handler om, der i ørkenen, der i bjergene, og hun kom med sit vældige filmværk til at fundere over fjendebilledets opståen. ”Det er en skønhedsmættet meditation over mennesket fanget i voldelig konflikt uden ende og uden nåde. Et rekviem over de levende og de døde” skrev Stephen Holden i New York Times efter premieren i Film Forum i South Village.

Rekviets tre satser skildrer som tre led, Longing, Breathing og Remembering i denne dødsmesse først livet blandt 9 til 14 årige drenge på det russiske militærakademi på Kronstadt, dernæst i illegale optagelser fra det sønderskudte Grosnij, en kvindes uselviske arbejde med på helt eget initiativ at redde så mange børn som muligt ud af husenes og familiernes ruiner og endelig blandt hende og børnene i asyl i en af Ingusjiens flygtningelejre, hvor Kronstadt-elevernes kommende fjender dannes i deres anderledes kultur med modsatrettede billeder af fjenden. Der fældes ingen domme i dette filmværk, hændelserne betragtes med opmærksomhed, undren og vemod. 

Vi så filmen i aftes på Den Skandinaviske Designskole, og vi indså, at da filmen jo er optaget i 2002-2003, vil de medvirkende bløde og klarøjede russiske og tjetjenske drenge, vi har lært at kende i filmen, i dag måske være i hård og blind krig med hinanden. Som i Dubrovka teateret i Moskva dengang, i den internationale lufthavn forleden, i Grosnij snart igen. Måske, sandsynligvis.. Falske vidnesbyrd, gengældelse, hævn.

Vi lyttede til Pirja Honkasalos egensindigt langsomme, insisterende og uafrystelige filmværk, som bestemt er et rekviem. Det hørte vi måske tydeligst i komponistens (Sanna Salmenkallios) og den kongeniale kontratenors fortolkning af en lille række digte, som en af Kronstadt-kadetterne har skrevet. Ja, sådan forstod vi det. Og vi blev i den kirkelige kunsts store figurer, vi talte om, at billederne, scenerne, forløbene med sikre hænder (Niels Pagh Andersens og Honkasalos) er anbragt som tre messeled, i de tre rum, titlen taler om, og de fremtræder i én ubrudt fremadskriden i en trefløjet altertavles, i et triptykons form. Originaltitlen er jo netop The 3 Rooms of Melancholia, og filmrummene, svarende til de middelalderlige altertavlers malede og billedskårne felter eller fløje, dukker op ved siden af hinanden som tre samtidige fremstillinger med overskrifterne Kronstadt (Longing), Grozny (Breathing) og Ingushetia (Remembering). Tre vigtige steder og tre store følelser.

Pirjo Honkasalo: The 3 Rooms of Melancholia, Finland 2004. Manuskript og kamera: Pirjo Honkasalo. Klip: Niels Pagh Andersen og Pirjo Honkasalo. Lyd: Mart Otsa m. fl. Lyddesign: Martti Turunen. Musik: Sanna Salmenkallio. Produktion: Millennium Film, Kristiina Pervilä. Honkasalos filmografi (danske udgivelser): Mysterion, 1991. Tanjuska og de 7 djævle, 1993, kan lånes på biblioteket. Atman, 1996, kan lånes på biblioteket. Melancholia, 2004. Kan lånes på biblioteket eller ses på www.filmstriben.dk

Yoav Shamir: Defamation/2

Det kan som nævnt i Ekko og her på siden være vanskeligt at komme til at se Shamirs vigtige film. I dag er det muligt. 22:00 sendes den på svensk tv. SVT1 i aften klokken ti.

Senere (2. februar): Nå, jeg blev jo fanget af TV2 News lange aften om det ægyptiske drama og regnede med at se DefamationSVT’s hjemmeside her til morgen. Men nej! Jeg bor ikke i Sverige, og de har kun købt de svenske rettigheder, ser det ud til. Streamingen blev blokeret. Men jeg håber at finde en løsning. Nu VIL jeg se den film.. 

Igen lidt senere: .. nå, hvor svært kan det være.. her kan den åbenbart ses.. på netavisen P77.

Cinema Komunisto Closes Magnificent7

It was one of those evenings that you will never forget – and that Mila Turajlic will never forget. A totally packed Sava Centre in Belgrade gave her a minute long applause for her great work on making the 100 minutes long documentary on Yugoslav film history, ”Cinema Komunisto”, a film that in this and shorter versions will travel the world, to festivals and television companies. It is an enjoyable and informative voyage the young director takes, in film history and in history – back to a country that no longer exists. And with Tito as the main character, a man who loved films, watched film every night, and also wanted to have films made about himself and his greatness in fights against the Germans during WW2. The greatest man, as Orson Welles says in an archive clip from his visit to the country. Hundreds of partisan films were made, we see clips from them and from loads of other Yugoslav films, matched with documentary archive material and interviews and situations from today. All done in a way that is so excellent that it is hard to believe that this was done by a young filmmaker and a young editor (Aleksandra Milovanovic) with many others who were not alive or were kids. But they had the courage, the patience and the skills to research and produce, and the maturity to make a film of that size. Bravo!… and go to their website where a lot is to be learned as I did last night in Belgrade at a magnificent screening for a couple of thousand people:

http://www.cinemakomunisto.com

Mark Cousins: The First Film

”Look at this landscape, it makes you want to film it”, he says, Mark Cousins, film historian and writer and with ”The First Film” also a brilliant essayistic filmmaker. With his wonderful Scottish accent, or is it Northern Irish, that is where he comes from, a Belfast boy he calls himself, he takes the audience on a journey to Kurdistan in Iraq, to Goptopa, where atrocities happened in the 80’es, but this is not what makes Cousins go there, no, he wants to meet children, challenge their imagination and have them express themselves. Verbally and through small cameras that he brought along.

Cousins, his text (hello film teachers, this is how a voice-off text should be) and his visual embracement of a beautiful, yet haunted place on earth, is enjoyable to watch and also to listen to, as Cousins also dares to put on music that comes from the classical repertory and not from the more obvious, and because of that maybe kliché-filled local Kurdish. He is constantly fighting the clichès, he wants to take this film – this hymn to childhood and imagination and to the power of film – as far away as possible from what we normally associate when the name of the country is mentioned.

”There is magic everywhere”, Cousins says and proves with his camera. We meet the children, we see them watch films that the film crew brought along, we see the clips they made, all these wonderful wee boys and girls from Goptopa. It is one long hug with pauses in text and dialogue, where you are invited to enjoy.

Scotland, 76 mins. Producer Gil Parry, 2009

Seen in Belgrade at Magnificent7, clips from the film are available online.

www.magnificent7festival.org