Documentary festival in Jihlava. Accompanied by the East European Forum that I am part of as a tutor and moderator. There will be project development and pitching of around 20 projects during the coming weekend. To a panel of another 20 broadcast and film fund representatives. A varied film festival programme and a huge digitalised market. The competence and professionalism behind the so-called industry programme comes from IDF, Institute of Documentary Film.

The East European Forum started yesterday with 3 inspirational case studies from former participants, who finished their films successfully. All three films have been written about or reviewed on this site: ”The Deconstruction of an Artist” (PHOTO) by Latvian producer Uldis Cekulis, ”The Moon inside You” by Slovak director and producer Diana Fabianova, and ”Rabbit a la Berlin” by Polish producer Anna Wydra. 1) Cekulis talked about the immense work it was to raise funding for a film about an artist, Gustav Klucis, that very few people had ever heard about – and how he and the director Peteris Krilovs fought to find the right style and rythm of a film, that now stands out as a brilliant historical art and love story.

2) Fabianova, who came into the Ex Oriente without any experience at all in film production and with just a small documentary course on her cv, gave the participants the unbelievable story about her film on menstruation – that has now been sold to 17 countries, has a life in educational circles, will be released in theatres in several countries, and will make a profit! Not usual for a creative documentary. 3) Anna Wydra, producer and creative collaborator on the 40 minute masterpiece of Bartek Konopka, German title ”Mauerhaase”, was more than enthusiastic about the fact that the film was on the shortlist of an Oscar together with 7 American productions. The nominations will be out by February 1st for a film that had a hard time to find the perfect narrative balance between rabbits and people, between wild life and history – but it did and watch out readers for the tv programmes on November 9, the 20th year date of the fall of the wall. It could very well be on your channel.

www.docuinter.net

The final pitching session of the Documentary Campus Masterschool took place in Leipzig in the building of the local broadcaster MDR, on the 13th floor with a beautiful view to the city. Only to be watched in the breaks as the showing of film clips (also called trailers, teasers, tasters, demos, pilots) was not a good match to the strong autumn sunlight of this last weekend. The room was darkened when commissioning editor Claudia Schreiner welcomed her colleagues (around 30) around the table as well as the film producers and directors present, waiting to present (pitch) their documentary projects:

Our situation ressembles the one of many of you editors in this room. We have to spend the little money we have for so many documentaries as possible, she said. In this way she characterized the poor situation for European public broadcasters, who face general cut downs in staff and money.

Nevertheless, the atmosphere in the room was as always very ”homey” as the pitchings took off under the moderation of Canadian Rudy Buttignol, who did all he could to set a good mood. Without hiding that the channels who are normally financially strong for the creative documentaries have problems. The European cultural channel arte is going more and more mainstream, and France Télévisions (hosting FR2, FR3, FR4, FR5) has for a long time been in a reconstruction phase that will bring more centralisation.

Topics on the first day were – among others – a classical British social theme on youngsters in Manchester getting into criminal affairs ruining their lives, a television programme on poker-playing, a beautiful emotional story on a Japanese woman who grew up without a mother, married a Greek man and moved to the island of Crete and a cinematic story from a faraway place in Georgia: a house, a restaurant, a barking dog, waitresses. A place where time has stopped.

Photo from film project “Soldiers of the Lord” by Michael Krass, awarded the best pitch in Leipzig.

www.reelisor.com

The reactions from the panel of broadcasters in a pitching session, when the editors are positive, are normally ”let’s talk more”. Which the editors and the project holders then do in private meetings. Which then may result in an agreement, be it a pre-buy or a coproduction, which then again normally goes through a local producer. In other words it is seldom that a broadcaster commits him- or herself on the spot. The financial process is long but the success stories are many of international coproductions that have crossed orders for the benefit of the audience.

But something happened in Leipzig. Two projects got what I would call jackpot: One was from Serbia, ”The Battery Man” – clip from the description of the film project:

 … about an extraordinary man who can fry a hot dog with his own hands… able to accumulate electricity and he can consciously control its power while discharging it… MDR said YES, arte said that this is a must-see film and the Sundance Channel urged the filmmakers to make a feature length film for a live audience.

The same overwhelmingly positive reception was given to ”Polish Faith”, a film project about the catholic radio station ”Radio Maryja” that is obtaining a lot of support for its anti-abortion, and to a certain degree anti-semitic propaganda that it wants also outside the Polish borders.The Berlin based channel RBB committed itself, as did Lithuanian television, the Greek Skai – and BBC4 controller Richard Klein wanted to know more.

Photo from film project “Taste the Waste” by Valentin Thurn.

www.reelisor.com

Prizes were given yesterday in Lisbon and there was 15.000€ for the Chinese film ”Petition” by Zhao Liang. Here is what the film is about: Since 1996, Zhao Liang has been filming the “petitioners”, who come from all over China to file complaints about the abuses and injustices committed by the authorities. For the most part, they live in makeshift shelters for months or even years until they can obtain justice. A unique testimony about China today.

Two films that have previously been written about on this site were among the winners: Aliona Polunina’s ”The Revolution that Wasn’t”, as best investigative documentary (5000€) and ”10 min.” (PHOTO) by Jorge Léon as best short documentary (3000€).

http://www.doclisboa.org/eng/premios.php#ci

The Prix Europa for the Best Documentary Television Programme 2009 goes to a Film that is also available for the participants of the DOKLeipzig – the stylistically brilliant close up on people who come to the hospital to receive chemotherapy, made by Pawel Lozinski, who is known for other very fine works, among them the short film ”Sisters”. Here is a quote from the press release about the film that hopefully will travel the world. The jury said at the prize ceremony:

“This documentary once again underlines how important it is that we continue to celebrate and commiserate the human condition in our work. The sensitivities displayed both on the other and this side of the camera should make us all in this hall proud of our commitment to documentary film making.

And yet, by the end of the film the director and his team had impressed on us the strengths, wisdom and humour of those who attempt to defeat or come to terms with this hideous and deadly disease.”

http://www.prix-europa.de/en/prix_europa_2009/prizes09/tvd09/

http://www.dok-leipzig.de/v2/cms/en/home/page92.html

The innovative Jihlava International Documentary Film Festival in Czech Republic announces the following that will interest not only his Danish friends and fans like this blogger:

The principal guest of Jihlava IDFF will be the distinguished Danish documentary maker, writer and poet Jørgen Leth. The festival has prepared for him “five Jihlava obstructions” (a variation on the well-known film The Five Obstructions, made by Leth with the provocative director Lars von Trier): The selection of the winner of this year’s Opus Bonum, author’s reading of controversial stories from Haiti, acerbic comments on new world documentaries, Leth as an Erotic Man and in 27 scenes from the film by Amir Labaki.

The festival takes place October 27 – November 1.

http://www.docuinter.net/en/net_archive.php?id=734

What is it that makes a festival nice to visit? The atmosphere of course, which is about the venue and the people hosting you. The information given to you about the programme – website, catalogue, introduction of visiting directors – and the programme itself. Being serious about the art of documentary but in a unpretentious setting. And daring to fight for better conditions for the documentary on a national and international level.

They have it all in DOCLisboa. Thank you and please stay on this high level! I have left the festival that is still running, wish you all the best! And dear readers and professionals, there is a new festival next year.

Photo is from Reminiscenses from a Journey Back to Lithuania by Jonas Mekas, who is the guest of honour of DOCLisboa with a 25 hour retrospective of the director´s work. Several clips can be watched on the site of the festival, inclusing a new film he made on Martin Scorcese.

www.doclisboa.org