Jørgen Leth – Master of Dox

This is how Danish veteran Leth is characterised on the site of the coming ZagrebDox (February 27 – March 6) in a quite interesting intro text, that also has a greeting to what is called Danish puritans:

“Can ‘eroticism’ be measured? Can it be limited or defined? In his latest film, one of the most significant documentary filmmakers of today, 73-year-old Jørgen Leth (‘The Perfect Human’, ‘The Five Obstructions’) travelled from North Africa to Rio in order to register the form and sense of eroticism, refusing to accept it as a part of the dominant currents of new Puritanism and/or commercialised video-style eroticism of ‘fake breasts and backsides’.

Quite predictably, Leth’s sensual, poetic and unbiased exploration of human eroticism, created during the course of ten years, was harshly criticised by reviewers (The Variety describes Leth’s accomplishment as shameful) and Danish puritans, calling the author ‘controversial’. Another unfavourable element was the fact that Leth, as an honorary ambassador to Haiti, was involved in an intimate relationship with his cook’s under-age daughter, describing the episode in his memoirs ‘Imperfect Man’ and causing great controversy in Denmark.”

For the festival programme in total, festival leader Nenad Puhovski has again made a choice of high quality, check the site below.

http://www.zagrebdox.net/en/

 

DocAlliance offers Love – for free

The excellent vod (video on demand) portal DocAlliance, a collaboration between the five documentary film festivals in Copenhagen, Leipzig, Jihlava, Warsaw and Nyon, introduces a Valentine’s Day gift from tomorrow. Here is the text from the site:

“As part of the online film display about various (per)versions of love, the portal will present 10 films for free stream. One of the most successful Danish films from the past years, Mechanical Love (Photo), deals with the strong emotional bond between people and robots. Blind Loves by Juraj Lehotský is a fragile parable about most intimate emotions and feelings of blind people; the film was awarded at the Cannes film festival. By means of amateur family films, the powerful story of Josef and Marie is told on the backdrop of turbulent historical events in Czechoslovakia in the film With Kisses from Your Love, a part of the successful cycle Private Century by Jan Šikl. Perverted forms of love between people and their pets are captured in the provocative and brutal stage-managed documentary Animal Love by Ulrich Seidl.”

And if you profit from this generosity, why not make a pay-back by ordering (for a pretty low price) some of the brilliant films that DocAlliance has online. For instance several films by masters like Sergey Loznica and Marcel Lozinski.

http://docalliancefilms.com/

New Talent/Andrea Deaglio

The Italian director Andrea Deaglio and his Turin Based production company Babydoc pass on the information that their film ”Il futuro del mondo passa da qui”, with the subtitle ”City Veins”, has been selected for the festival Cinema du Réel, March 24- April 5.

The film has been highly praised on this site, here are some words from the review of a film that was not taken for the Leipzig and Amsterdam festivals but now will take a strong step internationally, very well deserved:

”an honest, truthful and distant view, and this is why you stay linked to the screen where you also get many interesting and surprising camera angles. In other words – welcome to a non-mainstream documentary film talent.”

Take a look at the website – it has clips, photos, a book has been published. Serious quality work.

http://www.ilfuturodelmondopassadaqui.it/

http://www.cinemadureel.org/?lang=en

Link to our first comment on the film. 

New Talent/Jànos Richter

“Guanape Sur” by Jànos Richter has been selected for the Premiers Pas section of “Visions du reel”, that runs in Nyon Switzerland from 7-13.April 2011. The director graduated from the Zelig Documentary Film School in Bolzano last year. His film, with brilliant camera work by Jakob Stark, has been quite a festival succes: IDFA Students competition, Amsterdam 2010.
PLUS Cameraimage, Poland 2010. True/False Filmfestival Columbia/Missouri (USA) 2011. European Film Market – Berlinale, Berlin 2011.

Here is a very accurate and intriguing description of the film: A barren rock island off the coast of Peru. No soil, no water, but hundreds of thousands of birds. For a period of ten years, only two guards may live on Guañape Sur. In the eleventh year though, hundreds of workers arrive for the harvest of the birds’ excrement.

A long line of men stand on a Peruvian beach. Life vests are handed out. A small boat bobs in the breakers, waiting to take them to a ship further out. A voice from onboard calls out, “Lima is calling! Why this delay?” And then the ship takes the men to Guañape Sur, a guano island 15 miles off the coast of Peru. Once every 11 years, a group of around 200 men spend eight months on this barren cliff – barely deserving of the epithet “island” – collecting the excrement that the hundreds of thousands of seabirds deposit on the land here. Rare meteorological conditions mean that rain does not wash away the excrement. Instead, it hardens to form a layer rich in phosphor and ammonia, which means that it is an excellent fertilizer. But first it must be chipped off, and that is dangerous work: bacteria in the excrement can cause illness or even death. Slow shots show the men as they climb on and off the cliff, shrouded in clouds of powdered excrement, heavy sacks on their backs. A record of a bizarre phenomenon.

Director: Jànos Richter. Camera: Jakob Stark. 24 mins., 2010

http://www.zeligfilm.it/ (trailer for the film)

http://www.visionsdureel.ch/

Cinema Komunisto in Cinema

Mila Turajlic’s Cinema Komunisto closed the Magnificent/ Festival in Belgrade a bit more than a week ago. The reception was overwhelmingly positive and the film is now up for a theatrical release.

The organisers of the festival Svetlana and Zoran Popovic proudly write: The film is quite a hit and it goes to cinemas in two days. That is great and even the producer was surprised with that possibility. It will be in four cinemas in Belgrade and also in the only cinema in Novi Sad. That would be fantastic even for a fiction film. For documentary, this is far beyond anyones expectation.

Photo (taken by documentary colleague Boris Mitic): The domestic premiere of “Cinema Komunisto” was the closing film of the Magnificent 7 Festival, screening in the large auditorium of the Sava Center before a packed audience. The public showed a great interest for the first Serbian documentary ever programmed in the history of the festival. Following the screening the members of the crew were introduced on stage, along with two of the film’s principal characters – production designer Veljko Despotovic and film star Velimir Bata ivojinović.

http://www.cinemakomunisto.com/

van der Valk & Gavan: Geert Wilders – the Movie

Almost 3 years ago we brought a review of a film signed by Geert Wilders, Fitna – the Movie, an anti-islam 16 mins. long visual pamphlet that stirred a lot of debate – it is to be watched online, if you wish.

Last year Dutch directors van der Valk and Mags Gavan set off to make a film about Wilders, who has now positioned himself and his right-wing, racist party as a supporter of the sitting government in the Netherlands. The ambition of the filmmakers were to get close to Wilders to get an interview. They do not succeed. Thus the film is more about them not succeeding going from place to place where Wilders goes, or comes from, small-talking to people who agree or disagree with him. Mixed with a lot of archive from speeches by Wilders in parliament or in London or… whatever, whereever… it stays superficial, there is nothing we did not know in beforehand in this film about a frustrated filmmaker in his sofa or at his computer trying to get access. If he is not out doing some vox-pop. Creative documentary, no. Good Journalism, no.

Seen on Dokumania, DR2, February 8 2011. 

Netherlands, 2010, 79 mins.

Nils Vest: Et raadhus/3

Carsten Olsen fra filminstitutet meddeler at Nils Vests Et raadhus… nu kan ses på Filmstriben. Han skriver om filmen: ”Arkitekten Martin Nyrop var den kreative kraft bag tegningen og opførelen af Københavns Rådhus. Filmen er en rejse ind i Nyrops tanker og den samtid og politiske virkelighed Nyrop levede i. Rådhuset stod færdigt i 1905. Men det skete ikke uden kampe med diverse politikere, der havde deres egne dagsordner. Resultatet blev efter mere end femten års arbejde et arkitektonisk hovedværk.

Ifølge filmens instruktør Nils Vest taler arkitekturen sit helt eget sprog – et sprog, han lader komme til orde i sin film. “Rådhuset har med sin fantastiske detaljerigdom mange kvaliteter, som er blevet glemt af modernisterne. Det står stort set uden ombygninger, og det gør det kun, fordi det er et så velfungerende hus,” fortæller Nils Vest, der mener at bygningen har meget at fortælle os i dag. “Min film kan ses som en nøgle, der gør det nemmere for seeren selv at gå på opdagelse med øjet i rådhuset, der på unik vis kombinerer det nordiske med det italienske.”

Nils Vest blev i 2010 tildelt den ærefulde Europa Nostra bevaringspris for sit arbejde med arkitekturhistoriske film og for sin utrættelige kamp for at bevare gamle bymiljøer. Europa Nostra er den europæiske paraplyorganisation for 250 frivillige og aktive bevaringsorganisationer fra hele Europa.”

Yoav Shamir: Defamation/3

Claus Christensen, redaktør på EKKO skriver i en mailmeddelelse i dag: ”Den kritiske film om fænomenet ”antisemitisme”, som DR2 har tøvet med at vise i snart to år, følger gratis med det nye nummer af Ekko.
Er ”antisemitisme” en reel trussel i dag? Eller er det snarere et skræmmeværktøj for israelske høge? De provokerende spørgsmål tager den israelske instruktør Yoav Shamir rundt i verden for at finde svar på i Defamation (”ærekrænkelse”). Han møder den jødisk-amerikanske lobbyorganisation Anti-Defamation League, men også Norman Finkelstein, der har skrevet bøger om den såkaldte holocaust-industri. ”For jøder er antisemitisme den ultimative hellige ko, og jeg har gerne villet, ikke slagte koen, men ruske den,” siger Yoav Shamir.
 
Filmen er co-produceret af SF Film Production ved Karoline Leth og har flere danskere på produktionsholdet. Det Danske Filminstitut og DR2 har bidraget med tilsammen 600.000 kr. Alligevel har DR2 i snart to år tøvet med at vise den. Mistanken melder sig, at det er filmens sarkastiske tilgang til antisemitisme, som har fået DR2 til at henlægge filmen. DR2’s chef Arne Notkin, der er tidligere formand for Dansk Zionistforbund og medlem af Det Mosaiske Troessamfund, har gennem de sidste to år givet plads til 45 timers dokumentarudsendelser med positivt fokus på Israel og jødisk historie.
 
Da Ekko for nylig stillede spørgsmål til henlæggelsen, udtalte Arne Notkin, at Ekko ”skriver sig ind i en antisemitisk myte om, at der sidder sådan en mediejøde og bestemmer, hvad folk må se og ikke se”. Ekko ser det som et spørgsmål om ytringsfrihed. I ytringsfrihedens navn kan man kritisere alle tænkelige holdninger, men hvis man kritiserer jødiske/israelske forhold, trækkes det bekvemme antisemitisme-kort. Hvilket ironisk nok netop er en af pointerne i Defamation. Med det nye nummer præsenterer Ekko filmen på dvd i samarbejde med SF Film Production. Vi udgiver filmen i director’s cut – altså præcis som instruktøren har lavet den, uden advarende introskilt eller andre af de foranstaltninger, DR2 nu stiller som betingelse for at vise filmen. Vi vil gerne give vores læsere mulighed for selv at tage stilling.”

Karsten Fledelius anmelder filmen i Information i dag.

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