Shocking Film News from Latvia

”National Film Centre of Latvia is under the threat of reorganization” was the headline of this morning’s daily news from ”Film New Europe”, continued by these lines: ” The financial crisis in Latvia has triggered a chain of reorganization of cultural institutions that threatens the existence of the National Film Centre of Latvia (NFC) as an independent establishment.” So not only has the budget for support for films in 2009 been cut 44% compared to 2008, but an eventual cut-away of the Film Centre to be reduced to an office in the Ministry of Culture is of course a severe perspective of catastrophy.

As one who has followed the Latvian film since the independence, I can only admire the work done by committed and clever people in and around the Film Centre. A well functioning, independent film institutional structure has been established, that serves the many fine film directors and producers from a country that especially in the documentary sector has long and proud traditions.

Anyone can understand that cuts are needed in times of financial crisis, but to destroy an independent structure that represents a country with such competence is political narrow-minded thinking. And if this reorganisation becomes a reality, the consequence will be that the EU-supported Baltic Sea Forum, that takes place in Riga for the 13th time in 3 weeks will cease to exist. At this forum Latvian producers, among others, come to find funding for their film projects. Protests have arrived from neighbouring countries, from Austria, from Slovenia, and more will come, I am sure. The Latvian filmmakers protest outside the Ministry of Culture. Allow me to send many warm thoughts to Latvian film friends. A fight for independence is going on.

http://www.filmneweurope.com

Luis Bunuel: Un Chien Andalou

Just this short note to accompany the posted still photo that everybody knows… it is 80 years ago that Bunuel made this 16 minutes long masterpiece with help from Salvador Dali. Lucky you who has not seen the film yet, and lucky us who can watch it again. Available it is in all dvd shops, and online, and maybe you have a cinematheque near you, that celebrates film history like this.

Maziar Bahari on Trial

Joint Appeal from DOK Leipzig and DOK.FEST Munich: The Iranian documentary filmmaker Maziar Bahari is currently enduring a show trial in Tehran. In the morning of July 21, Iranian militia arrested Maziar Bahari at his mother‚s house. He has been detained ever since. No formal charge has been made against Bahari and he has not been allowed to see either a lawyer or a member of his family.

DOK Leipzig festival director Claas Danielsen: Maziar Bahari is an important voice in Iranian documentary film making. DOK Leipzig stands for films which defend freedom and human dignity. We call upon the authorities in Iran to enter into a constructive dialogue with all the democratic forces in Iranian society and to immediately release Maziar Bahari and all peaceful demonstrators!

Maziar Bahari has achieved widespread international acclaim through films such as „Along Came a Spider„. He is an active member of the „Iranian Documentary Filmmakers Association„ and an important role model for many young Iranian filmmakers.”

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/free_maziar_bahari/

Documentary and Trains

… is a genre in itself and perfect for film, as trains are movements from one place to another, a change in time or destiny, an escape from something or a journey to a better life, or a trip to the one and only. Or trains are there to bring letters to the rich and letters to the poor… as it sounds from Auden’s poem in the classic of all train doc classics, ”Night Mail” by Basil Wright and Harry Watt, 1936.

The British Transport Commission – together with the British Film Institute – has published a unique collection of its films over a period of 30 years from 1950 and ”provides a unique insight into the changing social history of Britain”. 125 films, 18 dvd’s, 38 hours. In the promotion it is said that this is a ”must for transport and (British) film-making enthusiasts alike”.

Thematically organised, one of the dvd’s carries the title, ”The Art of Travel” – isn’t it what documentaries can make us do – travel in time and human life conditions?

http://www.britishtransportfilms.co.uk/

http://filmstore.bfi.org.uk

Sergey Dvortsevoy: Tulpan

The Danish Cinematheque, situated at the Film House in Copenhagen, launches from this month a new and very welcomed initiative: ”film of the month”, where a film – contrary to the normal 2-3 screenings – gets a Danish premiere and several screenings. For films that did not get into the usual cinema distribution, I suppose, but still deserves a helping hand from… the state, in this case through the Danish Film Institute and its Cinematheque. Active cultural policy, thank you!

The Cinematheque starts brilliantly with the new film by Sergey Dvortsevoy, ”Tulpan”, that took him 4 years to make, and which has already won quite a lot of prizes at festivals.

Readers of this site will know the name Sergey Dvortsevoy, who has often been praised for his excellent documentaries: ”Paradise”, ”Bread Day”, ”Highway”, ”In the Dark”.

www.dfi.dk (for Danish readers)

http://hcl.harvard.edu/hfa/films/2006fall/dvortsevoy.html

(about the films of S.D.) 

Sarajevo Film Festival

The beautiful city of Sarajevo hosts its festival August 12-20. Selected by competent film director, tutor and consultant Rada Sesic there is a strong competition programme for documentaries from (and about) the region. Among them a wonderful film, Sevdah (photo) by Marina Andree, that I have seen in a rough cut version, and which is presented like this:

An intimate journey through Bosnian “blues” dedicated to the prematurely deceased Farah, a passionate fan of sevdah. Trying to confront their own loss and grief, the autors create a film about sevdah as an emotional, musical, lyrical and visual journey through the soul of Bosnia.

 Also in the programme are these films that have all been reviewed on filmkommentaren.dk:  ”Cash and Marry” (Atanas Georgiev), ”The Caviar Connection” (Dragan Nikolic), ”Cooking History” (Peter Kerekes), ”On the Way to School” (Eskiköy and Dogan). Another tribute to the festival is that the programmes includes short films – that have always been a strong genre in the region… and of course the festival is full of fiction films and retrospectives, take a look at the site below.

www.docuinter.net

www.sff.ba

Flahertiana

The Russians respect film history. At least, this is what the organisers of the international documentary film festival Flahertiana do. October 15-21 they organise the 9th edition with the reference to Robert Flaherty (1884-1951) and with prizes that are named after his (the first creative documentary ever?) ”Nanook of the North”.

Selection has been done already and 3 of the 22 competition films that have been reviewed on this site will be offered the audience in Perm, the location of the festival: ”Cash and Marry” (Atanas Georgiev) (photo), ”The Living Room of the Nation” (Jukka Karkkanen) and ”Young Freud in Gaza” (PeÅ Holmquist). % Russian films are shown, among them a new film by Alexander Gutman (”17 August”), and there are films from Iran, Iraq, Israel, Poland, UK, Germany, Mexico, Romania and Switzerland. A varied and competent selection as I see it.

Let me end with a quote from the site of the festival: “The more your work corresponds to the real life, the better it seems…” — these words said by Dürer, an artist of the Renaissance, are the most laconic expression of the aesthetic conception of the film festival Flahertiana.

www.miradox.ru
http://flahertiana.perm.ru/eng/2009/

Film News from New Europe

Supported by the MEDIA Programme of the EU ”Film New Europe” brings daily news from the range of primarily Eastern European countries that joined the Union in 2004, plus Croatia and Turkey. The language is English but if you prefer Polish or Hungarian, these languages are also available. The actuality seems to be very much dependent on the correspondents in the different countries (Bulgaria, Romanis and the hosting country Poland are the most active) but there is relevant info to catch on film politics and new films, mostly in fiction, less in the documentary field. And then, if you are hungry for gossip, you can click on ”who’s partying at…” and see pictures from cocktail parties. Why? Anyway, there is also a valuable selection on links for more info from the new EU countries. The Polish Film Institute is one of the supporters.

http://www.filmneweurope.com/

Vitali Manski: Sunrise/Sunset

There are loads of films and programmes about and with Dalai Lama. Here is one more by Russian star director Manski. He had 24 hours with his protagonist and made a film in two parts, the first one (a televison hour) being a visual approach to the charismatic leader of the Tibetan people and his enormous entourage shot in his exile in India, the second one (22 mins) a reflection on the issues raised by Dalai Lama on the future of our planet. About rich and poor, about birth control, about basically an unequal world.

Dalai Lama is a fantastic character and I could listen to him for hours. To his constant being in a good mood, and to his philosophy even if there are many of his sentences that sound like complete nonsense to me but you forgive him for his warmth and generosity. Manski has been filming him close by and there are some fine moments but there are also some strange cut-aways from his Holiness speaking to streets of Dharamsala, to beggars and poor people. Why… feels very bombastic. Manski has a speak that is informative and reflective in this first part of the film and a lot of time is spent to describe the media being ready to catch a sentence or two from Dalai Lama, and to show how he is surrounded by monks who take care of him. Manski and his crew follow him to the room where he is doing his fitness training and watch tv. My favourite channel is BBC, he says, pushes the remote control and there he is himself, being interviewed. Great moment!

The follow-up, the second part, is honestly not very interesting. Manski: We saw the world differently after the talk with Dalai Lama and has a long slowed sequence of begging hands that want food. For my taste pathetic and banal.

Russia, 2009, 72 mins.

http://www.documentary.org/content/meet-filmmakers-vitaly-manski-sunrisesunset-dalai-lama-xiv
http://www.eastsilver.net/content/1051
http://dalailama-film.com/

Katrin Ottarsdóttir: Ein regla um dagin..

Én linje om dagen må være nok, siger digteren, maleren, komponisten og musikeren Tóroddur Poulsen, Torshavn og Vesterbro, men på den sikre baggrund, at langsomheden er blevet til en bog om året plus en række udstillinger plus cd-udgivelser plus optrædender med digte og musik. Filmen kalder sig portræt. Det er så i orden. Det er altså en personlig spejling i et andet menneske, en model. Og lidt mere end det, jeg mener lidt mere end modellens udseende, modellens krop. Det viser titlen. Spejlingen er en fascination, en længsel efter langsomheden. Man kunne med titlen i hånden sige, det er en film om langsomhedens mulighed for at etablere kunstnerisk.. jeg finder kun det gamle ord: livsfylde. (Jeg synes i hvert fald det er bedre end ordet ”livskunst”) Det er en god film, en klog film, en alvorlig film og naturligvis en meget morsom film.

For modellen er morsom. Temmelig morsom. Og Ottarsdóttir er bare kold – og rolig. Han vil ikke nogen samtale. Hun vælger / klipper sig til kortfattede, kølige spørgsmål fra sin meget tilstedeværende og opmærksomme position bag kameraet. Og manipulerer ham ud i lange redegørelser, som hun så smukt har ordnet i en monolog, modellens monolog. Først er det underligt, han vil jo ikke. Så bliver det meget, meget morsomt som nævnt. Det slutter så absolut i det tankevækkende og originale. Det er en rigtig god film. 

Jeg lånte den ret nye dvd på biblioteket. Nu bestiller jeg hvad, jeg kan få fat i af Poulsens bøger og af Óttarsdóttirs film. Over for en som mig har hun med sin film i hvert fald løst den opgave at formidle en digter og hans værk.

Katrin Ottarsdóttir: Ein regla um dagin má vera nokk! Færøerne, 2008. Med Tóroddur Poulsen. Produceret af Hugin Eide for Blue Bird Film www.bluebirdfilm.dk