There is still a media focus on Belarus – but now it seems that the first priority is the latest criminal action by Lukashenko and his regime: the flying in of migrants to Belarus pushing them on to the Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian borders, where they are met with wire and walls financed by the EU, including the country I live in, Denmark… Humanity?

There will be films about this. But luckily we are still met with not only reports but also films made by Belarussian filmmakers on the situation on the background of what happened primarily in August 2020, where the big demonstrations took place and was met with brutality and detainment of thousands of people; hundreds are still in prison and many of those, who are not suffer from nightmares and traumas.

Andrei Kutsila’s new film gives the audience a close look at the human consequences of living in a country being in opposition. The film is dedicated to the bravery of the women, mothers and grandmothers including family of the director. It is moving and heartbreaking to witness the goodbye scenes of a family, where the father, whose one leg was hit by a grenade leaves for Poland, being in facetime contact with his wife and kids. “Will dad walk again”? As well as following Oksana in conversation with her son Sasha about what is a state and what is a country, and why does the EU countries not help more; being hit by lack of energy and apathy constantly studying the atrocities documented and conveyed on cell phones. Two families but also footage shot in front of the prison, where women are hoping and waiting to hear from their men. 

And yet, the flowers are not silent – young girls pick them everyone as Pete Seeger sang – Oksana writes on a piece of paper that she goes to demonstrate – don’t tell dad! And Kutsila catches beautiful moments with Oksana and her mother enjoying the taste of a pear picked by her father, hugging each other, “I’m so happy to have such a young mother”. There is love in that film not only despair. “Long Live Belarus”, “You Must Go”.

Poland, 2021, 71 mins. 

The film won main documentary award at the Warsaw Film Festival two days ago. Kutsila has made several impressive films, for instance “Summa”, here is a link to a review on this blog: http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4410/.

With the working title ”Table Stories”. The producer Erol Bilibani asked me for feedback on the film – no objections, on the contrary, love it. The film shows perfectly how strong a short film can be if you master the short format and if you know the film language that fits. Making a film with table tennis as the direct subject, you have to know where to put the camera to make it interesting to watch, to find the visual line and to find the right rythm in editing, a rythm that works with the sound of the table tennis ball. That the film is much more than a sports film is obvious – also from the title – but I will leave that to the audience… Instead a qoute from an interview with the director on Europe House (https://europehouse-kosovo.com/kosovo-is-a-small-country-but-with-great-stories-samir-karahoda-author-of-the-film-no-place/ :

… ” After having its international premiere at the Cannes Film Festival, Samir Karahoda’s “Displaced” won Best Short Film award at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and qualified directly to compete for Oscars 2022.” 

Content-wise I have copy-pasted this text, taken from the website of the Kosovo Cinematography Center:

“After Kosovo’s independence the first internationally recognized sports federation was the one of Table Tennis. Two local Ping-Pong enthusiasts see this as a great opportunity and start self-financing the training sessions for young players. One of them returns to Kosovo after seven years of exile in Germany, in a hope that postwar country will offer prosperity and new business opportunities. He works as a house painter, while the other character of the film is a professional bartender. Their scarce leisure time is completely invested in supporting the local team to prepare for international competitions. 

The challenges they will face goes beyond ones imagination.

Their professional Tennis Table is in constant move, on a tractor, searching the training venues. Garages, warehouses, private basements and wedding salons turn into training rooms, usually for a short period of time, and usually getting evicted after 2 weeks of training. Within one year they move to at least 10 unusual locations.

Main characters of the film always meet in a local bar to discuss solution for their training space. At a bar, young people – usually unemployed, discuss complex world politics and other bizarre themes. Our main characters, although sportsmen in spirit that lead a healthy life, powerless to find a solution end up joining the odd conversations on American foreign policy, corruption in powerful states, religion and other bizarre themes over a alcoholic beverage. 

15 years later, the Table Tennis team still trains in the hallways of the sport center.”

Kosovo, 2021, 20 mins.

This text is written by Svetlana and Zoran Popovic, festival directors of Magnificent7:

A brilliant film awarded at the Sundance Film Festival as the best cinéma vérité film, made in a style that directly places it alongside the legendary “Primary”, an achievement that changed the history of film and the world.

Camilla Nielsson is an extraordinary author, not only for her exceptional talent, for her documentary education at the very sources of the revolutionary American direct cinema movement, for her style of a true filmmaker, for her ability to touch the very essence in multitude of events and characters, but also for her exceptional courage, sacrifice and dedication. She had to became part of a persecuted group while making her previous film “Democrats” in drastically controlled conditions of censorship and pressure she almost had to flee because of frightening threats. Finally, the film was banned. The country of events was Zimbabwe. However, when a new phase of the fight against dictatorship was announced, that irresistible documentary challenge brought the Danish author back to African soil, to the very center of the incredibly exciting, dramatic and dangerous adventure of democracy – the presidential election. Camilla Nielsson introduces us directly to all events, follows all important phases, follows how hope is created and grows as a wonderful energy that overwhelms the participants. It follows dramatic skirmishes in which the film crew also participates in a manner of war reporters. Camilla Nielsson and her crew participates in the dark moments of crisis. And most of all in finding strength.

A film that is watched breathlessly as a great story about the cruel collision of a drastic dictatorship and the supreme ideals of democracy.

Denmark, USA, Norway, Zimbabwe 2021, 115 minutes

… And you also get the link to the review in filmkommentaren: 

http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4916/

This text is written by festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic

This is an exclusive road movie in search of answers hidden deep in silence and oblivion.

Andrei Dăscălescu is facing a situation that announces a major, important change in his life. Face to face with his worried wife, unprepared to directly express his own condition and emotions, he takes a camera that he uses more successfully than words and resolutely and bravely undertakes a great documentary endeavor. With his film skills, he tries to break through the invisible walls between the present, the past and the future, and sets out to meet his father, who has renounced the world and left the son in that renunciation. The journey takes us to spaces of deep devotion, to the Holy Mountain, and confronts us with long-buried secrets and conflicts. This is where the unusual friendship between the father, a monk crucified between his duties and family history, and the son begins. A camera helps him to behold and understand his own father and the rest of the world. This is a touching film quest for a father, but also for what it really means to be a father. And finally, a quest for how to become a father himself. This is a dramatic search for reconciliation and a story about the true courage of future parents ready to face the legacy they need to pass on to their child.

A film that enchants you with its warmth and intimacy, as well as with its amazing documenting the deep need to create an inner space for the new life to come.

Romania 2020, 85 minutes 

This text is written by festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic.

One of the world’s most important authors took on an incredible, unusual endeavor and made a unique film in her elegant style. 

Heddy Honigmann is a documentary filmmaker who breaks through impenetrable walls with her warm, carefully measured and dedicated communication with people in her films. This time, she decided with considerable courage to make a film about people who have already entered the second century of their lives. Contrary to the incidental news that someone anonymous until then or someone famous, celebrated his hundredth birthday, this great film directly confronts us with fascinating characters full of passion, spirit and life. This is the unique document about active life of people at the beginning of their second century, valuable because it reveals to us people that we could read about in legends, but very few people could meet them in person. Heddy Honigmann masterfully introduces viewers to the active lives of her enchanting heroes who never cease to amaze us – from a woman who, as a bewildered girl, watched one of the greatest evils in history, to a man who passionately seeks an answer that will change the destiny of humanity. A sensational drummer, sexologist, philosopher, doctor, characters whose vitality gives this film a wonderful, exciting inner rhythm. 

A precious documentary that reveals to us the depths of human experience and wisdom. 

Netherlands, Belgium, Norway 2020, 92 minutes

http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/100up.php