A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
A film blog by Allan Berg Nielsen & Tue Steen Müller
On the site of idfa, the world’s biggest documentary film festival, that is running right now, you can download the English version of the idfa daily, called ”the international voice of idfa”. There are articles about the films, interviews with the directors of the festival and of the films, it’s all very professionally done. Take a look.
Photo from the new film of award-winning director Gonzalo Arijon (”Stranded”): ”Eyes Wide Open”, in competition at idfa.
Så kom fotografernes store bog om deres fag og om dem selv. Naturligvis er det et billedværk. Et stort og smukt billedværk med de mange, mange filmscener frosset i stills eller framegrabs. Jeg blader fuld af fryd, og de stille og grebne billeder begynder at bevæge sig. Jeg ser, at dette vitterligt er en sitrende, nervøst afklaret verden, hvor alle medvirkende er fortrolige med alt indenfor. Reference kalder på reference.
Som jeg er indrettet, skal jeg ned i teksterne, ned i de tekster først, som jeg fornemmer har noget uforudsigeligt i sig. Og jeg vælger blandt forfatternavnene, blader efter dem…
Finder først alvorlige og omhyggelige Andreas Fischer-Hansen beskedent langt inde i bogen. Her begynder jeg så. Fischer-Hansen gennemgår minutiøst, hvad håndværket indebærer af enkeltfærdigheder og nødvendige vidender. Der er mange, der er meget. Jeg vidste det godt og alligevel ikke. Respekt. Og ganske effektfuldt bekymret beskriver han til sidst i sin tekst filmfotografen som co-autor berøvet sin ophavsret, ja selv sin og værkets droit-moral beskyttelse. Trods alle disse mange opregnede gøremål og ansvarligheder i filmproduktionen er filmfotografen en truet kunstner: ”Instruktør og fotograf (billedets autorer)bliver ofte ikke konsulteret ved den videre sekundære distribution (dvd, Blue Ray, web etc.). Filmens oprindelige visuelle koncept, fastlagt ved præ-visualiseringen, under optagefasen og postproduktionen overholdes ikke altid ved den videre distribution. Filmene kan distribueres i forkert format og ringe farve- eller sort-hvid gengivelse. Der kan også være tale om direkte manipulation.” Det er virkelig velargumenteret vred beskedenhed. Men nu har Fischer-Hansen så været med til at redigere en stor bog om det alt sammen. Alt det rigtige og dermed smukke. Må det gavne.
Så kommer jeg til den lærde og i lange sprogranker tænkende Arne Bro. Han leverer en stor materialistisk filmhistorisk analyse af high-budget film og low-budgetfilm og de tilhørende billedsprog. Om virkelighed og dokumentar. Om kampen mellem det klassiske billede og det romantiske billede. Og det havde jeg ikke gættet, men ved det nu, at ved dristig brug af det romantiske greb vil low-budget både redde filmbranchen og den stadige nye kunstneriske indsigt i foruroligende afdækninger af ”…dybe menneskelige intimiteter, eksistentielle traumer og følelsesmæssige oplevelser, forstærket af de særlige æstetiske nydelser og foruroligelser, som et originalt kunstnerisk sind hos instruktør, fotograf, manuskriptforfatter, klipper og skuespiller kan tilbyde tilskueren i den fattigere, men kunstnerisk rigere low-budget-film.” Dogmemanifestet udmøntede det først, spillefilm og dokumentarfilm er forældede begreber, en ny generation af filmværker er fremme og kommer fortsat. Vendende op og ned på det normale.
Derefter blader jeg til den altid lige nu og ligefremt skrivende Mogens Rukov. Han vælger selvfølgelig med det samme ikke at skrive, hvad man vel forventer en manuskriptforfatter i almindelighed tænker om billedet. Så det bliver til et essay om rummet, trappen og vertikaliteten. Og om billedet: ”Jeg må vel have det sådan, at jeg ikke synes, at billeder er informative. De skal ikke give informationer om fortællingens gang. Der skal ikke være obligatoriske billeder, som filmens informative forløb er afhængige af. Billedserien skal være fri. Den skal være så at sige ikke-narrativ i manuskriptets forstand. Den skal være narrativ kun i billedets forstand.” Det er tankevækkende forfriskende at få berømte læresætninger nyformuleret, sådan født på ny.
Og så min herværende blog-kollega, den omfattende vidende og energiske Tue Steen Müller. Han skriver naturligvis om dokumentarfilm, gennemgår farverigt hovedstationer i dansk dokumentarisk filmfotografi i 1960-erne, 1970-erne og 1980-erne, skriver om klassik, dansk direct cinema, om filmessayets tilbagekomst, om den iscenesatte dokumentarisme og den utrættelige stilsøgen. Jeg mærker og kender Müller i hver eneste sætning, i alle vurderinger. Som når han så tydeligt et sted slår fast, ”… at dokumentarisme rimer på humanisme.”
Det var bare lidt om kun fire forfattere, om fire essays. Der er 27 mere. Og 38 interviews med filmfotografer. Den bog vender jeg tilbage til.
Dirk Brüel, Andreas Fischer-Hansen og Jan Weincke, red.: Fotografens øje – Dansk filmfotografi gennem 100 år, Lindhardt og Ringhof, 2009, 360 sider. 500 kr. Udkommer i dag.
If anyone deserves to be honoured for his life long oeuvre it is Frederick Wiseman, who yesterday at the opening of idfa in Amsterdam received an award, specially created for the occasion, including €5000. An example for all documentary makers, said festival director Ally Derks in her speech, and I would add that for me Wiseman is the man who as the best American novelists has shown that there is another America than we normally meet in the media.
”Welfare”, ”Hospital”, ”Highschool”, ”Blind”, ”Law and Order”, Manouvre”, ”Juvenile Court” and so on and so forth… look at the website, buy the films.
Maziar Bahari, who was arrested and imprisoned in Teheran, and has recently been released will Sunday, 22 November, from 15.30 to 17.30, be present at idfa in the Escape Lounge, where he will be talking about his recent experiences and the current situation in Iran.
Bahari was one of the dozens of journalists who was detained following the election in Iran on 12 June. He was there reporting on the elections and the subsequent riots for Canadian Newsweek. Bahari spent almost four months in the Evin prison in Teheran, from where he was permitted only a few brief telephone calls home. During his detention, pressure was exerted for from various quarters to secure the release of Bahari, who has both Iranian and Canadian nationality. On 17 October, Bahari was released on bail, whereupon he travelled to England, shortly afterwards becoming a father.
Bahari has made at least 10 documentaries, as well as writing a play. His films Of Shame and Coffins (2001), about the taboos surrounding the AIDS epidemic in Africa, and And Along Came a Spider (2002), about the religiously motivated serial murder of 16 Iranian prostitutes, were made with assistance from IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund. Other documentaries by Bahari that have screened at IDFA include Paint! No Matter What (1999), Football, Iranian Style (2001), Mohammad and the Matchmaker (2003) Targets: Reporters in Iraq (2004) and 4 Short Films on Iraq (2007). In 2007, Bahari compiled IDFA’s Top 10 and gave a master class, during which he spoke extensively about censorship in Iran.
All awards are welcome to honour and support documentarians, who make an effort to focus on important issues. This time – according to the EDN website today – there is a call from TV3 Catalunya:
Enter your human rights documentary for TV3 International Awards – CCMA, The Catalan Corporation of Audiovisual Media, has announced a call for the 2009 edition of the TV3 International Awards. The TV3 International Award has become a platform for all productions that raise a voice against the violation of human rights. Entry deadline is December 31, 2009. “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” (Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights.)
The TV3 International Awards award was instituted for action and investigative journalism, to encourage reporters to continue their work in this genre and to give due recognition to their talent. The award aims to provide a platform for all productions covering the violation of human rights. The goal is to defend the rights of individuals and democratic values such as tolerance and respect for minorities.
All documentaries and reports dealing with human rights and which meet the requirements and terms described at the award’s web site are eligible. All reports and documentaries must have been produced between December 31, 2008 and December 31, 2009. The running time must be between 15 – 90 minutes.
All entries must be in English. Entries in languages other than English must be either dubbed or subtitled in English.
To coincide with the DocsBarcelona Festival, the 2009 edition of the TV3 International Award will be held in February 2010. A single €10.000 cash prize will be awarded. The prize beneficiary will be the director of the winning report or documentary, regardless of the individual or corporate body that may have submitted the entry. More details on the site below, as well on DocsBarcelona.
http://www.tv3.cat/premistv3/dentro02.html
www.docsbarcelona.com
Here follows a list of films that an idfa visitor could watch on this blog writer’s recommendation. Goes without saying that I only know a few of the films that have their premieres in Amsterdam. I mention 20 titles and you can go to the site and get more information about director and content. Several of them have been reviewed or mentioned on this site. I highlight them:
Bananas! Basic Training (and other classics of Frederick Wiseman). Burma vj. The City of the Dead. Constantin and Elena. Disco and Atomic War. Garbo: The Spy. The Last Tightrope Dancer in Armenia. Let’s be Together (PHOTO). Mr. Governor. Mumbai Disconnected. Osadne. Pianomania. Route 181. S21. The Specialist. Sugartown: The Day After. Testimonies. To See If I’m Smiling. Welcome to North Korea.
Idfa has made an interesting characterization of the films at the festival:
* Human Interest / Social Issues (196)
* Politics / Society (122)
* Author’s Point of View (76)
* Art / Music / Culture (72)
* Youth (48)
* History (48)
* Experimental (41)
* Nature / Environment (31)
* Investigative (28)
* Science / Technology (19)
www.idfa.nl
The biggest documentary film festival opens in a couple of days. If you attend you will have an enormous lot of choices. Here is the introduction from the organisers: From November 19, Amsterdam will once again be the focal point of the international documentary world. More than 2100 guests will attend IDFA and its Markets. For those you can’t make it to Amsterdam: talkshows, debates, master classes and much more will be streamed via IDFA TV. www.idfa.nl
Some 700 film screenings will take place, of a total of 307 exceptional films and new media projects. A broad program encompassing 77 world premières, 53 international premières and 31 European premières. Also, talkshows and debates with appealing and controversial guests. Iran filmmaker Maziar Bahari, recently released from prison, will speak about his incredible personal experiences.
150 young professionals will be participating in the IDFAcademy program, which includes a lecture by Peter Broderick on hybrid distribution, three Master Classes, panel discussions and small-scale meetings with renowned (PHOTO: FREE TIME MACHOS by Mika Ronkainen in competition at idfa)
industry experts working in the fields of production, distribution and commissioning.
Docs for Sale: From 1 December 2009, the online platform offers 450 new documentaries in streaming video. Over the course of the 10 festival days, these films will also be available at the Docs for Sale venue. For more information and panels on distribution, as well as the full catalogue, see the DfS Program 2009 and the DfS Catalogue.
The FORUM: 43 projects will be pitched to commissioning editors and other financiers from all over the world. These pitches are complemented by more than 300 individual follow-up meetings, making the FORUM a unique combination of public pitches and individual conversations with the commissioning editors and other financiers.
IDFA TV is IDFA’s online documentary channel. IDFA TV now also allows you to watch full-length documentaries for free. The range of films on offer is set to be expanded with new titles over the coming year. In addition, IDFA TV provides video reports, trailers, the IDFA commercials and full coverage of IDFA events, all year round. The number of complete films that can be seen online will be expanded in the years ahead. Sign up for the IDFA newsletter through your personal MyIDFA account to be kept informed when new titles become available.
Jan Vrijman Fund: Among the films available on IDFA TV is a selection of the best films made with support from the Jan Vrijman Fund, IDFA’s fund for filmmakers in developing countries. IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund (JVF) supports filmmakers and festivals in developing countries. Every so often, world documentaries made with support from the JVF will be added to the films available to watch on IDFA TV. Twenty-five such films can already be seen on IDFA TV.
www.idfa.nl
Especially for our Danish readers: The masterly done documentary ”Another Planet” by Hungarian director Ferenc Moldoványi will be presented in Copenhagen on November 20 in connection with the celebration of the 20 year birthday of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. The director will show clips from his film and give an insight to how he worked with the children in the film.
More about the programme is to be found on the site below. The same goes for more about the film that has been written about on this site numerous times. Go to ”search” and write ”another planet”
http://www.amnesty.dk/artikel/bornekonventionen/bornekonventionen-fylder-20-og-du-er-inviteret-til-fodselsdag
http://www.another-planet.eu/moldovanyi-uk.html
http://www.unicef.org/crc/
HotDocs festival director Sean Farrel reflects on what festival director Claas Danielsen expressed in his opening speech: The tag line for DOK Leipzig this year was “The Heart of Documentary,” and while the competition and survey programmes showed plenty of life, the chatter indicated that broadcast television was pulling the plug on creative documentary.
A fellow festival colleague expressed concern about where the films for her rigorously programmed event were going to come from without broadcaster support. The title of an all day summit was “Farewell To Television,” with speakers looking for alternatives to traditional funding sources for documentary. And in his opening address DOK Leipzig Director Claas Danielsen appealed to broadcasters to raise the bar, aesthetically:
While artistic authors’ documentaries are frequently successful in the cinema, I have been observing a marginalisation of the genre in television for years. I see more and more clearly that this is the result of a dangerous attitude of television programmers towards their audience. They often regard them as slightly retarded people of dim perceptions and ultimately as children rather than responsible citizens. Complex, unusual and challenging subjects and narrative styles are way beyond their intellectual capacity – or so it is said.
More and more broadcasters at the pitch sessions I’ve observed recently use the term “festival film” as shorthand to explain their disinterest in funding a given project. They don’t have slots for “festival films”. Indeed, the gap between what is attracting interest at the Forums, and the work being presented in the Festival programmes themselves, has never been wider.
But among my favourites screened at Leipzig – 17 AUGUST (PHOTO), DISORDER, ITO-DIARY OF AN URBAN PRIEST, THE WOMAN WITH 5 ELEPHANTS – broadcast television as it currently exists just isn’t the platform for this type of filmmaking. Why would broadcasters fund this kind of work, all them art films of one sort? I mean, I’m the target audience, and I wouldn’t watch this stuff on television. They require a certain kind of attention that I just don’t have at home.
This has nothing to do with the size of the screen (I watched and appreciated all of them in the market viewing stations). These kinds of films just don’t work for me in my living room. And given their length and narrative structures neither does my computer. As mentioned below, festivals create a unique space for viewing such work. So until festivals start funding “festival films,” or at least become the drivers of new funding sources, our supply lines are in jeopardy.
Of course, there are many such funds – the Sundance Documentary Fund, IDFA’s Jan Vrijman Fund and Hot Docs’ Canwest Fund are just a few – but it seems clear that “curational funding” (like the Hubert Bals Fund at Rotterdam), and even collaborative funding between festivals, may represent some hope for creative documentary. Of course, where THAT money is going to come from is another issue.
The dedicated people behind the Russian documentary site miradox.ru takes one step further and launches DOXPRO. Ludmila Nazaruk and her colleagues in St. Petersburg targets professionals with the ambition to integrate Russian documentary in European cultural space, to develop a cooperation between Russia and European professionals and to increase the number of Russian documentaries on an international level, produced in co-production with European partners.
Nazaruk puts it like this: ”Every year in Russia more than 3000 non-fiction films are produced, more than 400 of them have state financial support, but only 5-7 films end up on the international market. For Russia it is disastrously low. Real co-productions, that bring together broadcasters, distributors, sales agents, distributors, cable channels, IT-platforms (Video-on-demand, Pay per view), we do not see.
DOXPRO intends to become a business platform for the interaction of Russian and foreign documentary, to form long-term international cultural and economic ties, and create favorable conditions for realization of joint projects in the field of documentary filmmaking. Analogues of such programs to date in Russia do not exist.”
Each year DOXPRO will include seminars, trainings, master classes and pitching sessions, where filmmakers can approach interested European partners.
The first seminar will be held in St. Petersburg from 12 to 14 November 2009 in the premises of the Danish Cultural Institute, conducted by this blogwriter, Tue Steen Müller. The seminar is supported by The Danish Cultural Institute, the Committee for Culture of St. Petersburg, The Information Office of the Nordic Council of Ministers, The Institute of Finland in St. Petersburg, St Petersburg Union of Filmmakers and the International Film Festival ”Message to Man”.
www.miradox.ru