Baltic Sea Docs Riga 2024/ 2

One afternoon – a tradition – I left the pitching venue at the Baltic Sea Docs to have a couple of hours with Davis Simanis Jr, documentary and fiction director, and now also rector of Latvian Academy of Culture. We went to “Little Moscow” as he told me the area around all the magnificent art deco buildings, including those with Eisenstein’s father as the architect, is now called as many Russians have left their country after the full scale war in Ukraine that began in February 2022; to take up and renovate apartments and shops; also the wine shop where we settled for a bottle and some bruschettas.

Anyway, the conversation was about films. The situation in documentary film in Latvia made Davis a bit worried, when it comes to the classical observation of Life as it performs in front of us. Ivars Seleckis, Davis said, is the last one of a great generation – Uldis Brauns, Herz Frank, Freimanis… – the director and cinematographer of so many important works, who turns 90 on the 22nd of September with a premiere of “To be Continued.Teenhood”, a sequel to “To Be Continued” from 2015, co-directed by Armands Zacs, who has been editor of a lot of awarded Latvian films, in both genres. The generation of filmmakers whose ability to catch moments of Life was unique. My own favourite among these documentarians as always been Uldis Brauns, honoured in the film “Bridges of Time” by Kristine Briede and Audrius Stonys. Davis and I talked about Brauns and Herz Frank, the latter I met a couple of times in Tel Aviv, where he lived his last years. Brauns I only met once, when Uldis Cekulis and Kristine Briede brought me along for a research trip for “Bridges of Time”. Brauns and Frank, the poet and the intellectual. Frank answered me once, when I asked him about his principal inspiration: Uldis Brauns. Davis had met him once and he was proud that Brauns liked his “Chronicles of the Last Temple” (2012) about Love and Life with the new National Library, fantastic architecture, as the starting point. “But I am probably more in the line of Herz Frank”, Davis said. For sure, I said, you think a lot… maybe too much?

For this post I have chosen a photo with a grafitti “Life is a Present” that I saw on the wall next to the Kino Bize, also in “Little Moscow”; I could also have chosen to quote Lithuanian born Jonas Mekas (1922-2019): … I am only a filmer. I film real life. I never know what will come next. The shape of my films emerges from the accumulation of the material itself. I go through my life with my Bolex camera.” And on another occasion he has said, “when I film I celebrate Life”.

A flashback to the Baltic Sea Docs, where so many fine, also observational, projects were presented, I am thinking about a couple of the presented films-to-be. First of all “Odyssey MD” by Moldovan Pavel Braila, an homage to his country through sequences full of fun and love. I do hope that this film will come to festivals to be appreciated for its “documentary eye”. Braila mentioned Uldis Brauns and his “235.000.000” as an inspiration.

The same goes for “Serozhik” by Armenian Lusine Papoyan, a film where she over all four seasons intends to follow a village boy (the title). The trailer shown was pure Cinema, great shots from nature reminding me and a couple of other film buffs in the pitching panel of Artavadz Pelechian and his amazing films – one of them called “Seasons”…

Davis Simanis Jr. and I also talked about football and love and life and children…


Baltic Sea Docs Riga 2024

You must have been at least 50 times to Riga, the driver next to me said. Uldis Cekulis is his name, a key person in Latvian documentary, producer and cameraman, a man who cannot sit still, always in action, and whose hospitality has no limits as we (Phil Jandaly, Mikael Opstrup and Zane Balcus) experienced, when we on the last day of August left for his summerhouse a couple of hours out of Riga to experience a long drive with forest on both sides of the road, a fish restaurant and a fine evening with wonderful Georgian chacha. Beautiful place, fantastic house, so well arranged.

Back in Riga September 1st, the 28th edition started with a screening of “Silence of Reason” by Kumjana Novakova from Skopje, North Macedonia. A quote of a quote from what was written on this site in April this year https://filmkommentaren.dk/kumjana-novakova-silence-of-reason/: “In this forensic video essay, filmmaker Kumjana Novakova uses mostly written testimonies by the women to explore the collective memory of the rape camps. In grainy video footage, the camera explores the places where these inhuman crimes took place, while the women speak about the unspeakable. (IDFA Catalogue 2023)”. Magnificent documentary, fine discussion the morning after moderated by the boss of Baltic Sea Docs (BSD), Zane Balcus.

I think Cekulis exaggerated but indeed I have been many many times to the capital of Latvia due to the BSD and it is always wonderful to see how the organizers find new locations. This year the film screenings have been moved to the Splendid Palace and the workshop venue to what used to be an apartment. A place full of atmosphere as the pitch venue is, where we were today for the first round or project presentation, K.K. fon Stricka villa. The screening of “Silence of Reason” took place in a cinema Kino Bize, that reminded me of the café cinemas we used to have in Copenhagen in the 80’es.

Back to the film screenings that I have written about before on this site, https://filmkommentaren.dk/baltic-sea-docs-film-program/. After one of the many receptions, I went to listen to the Q&A with Sissel Morell Dargis after the screening of her Balomania, https://filmkommentaren.dk/sissel-morell-dargis-balomania-anmeldelse/?fbclid=IwY2xjawEx3NlleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHaEDk13FpeKhnYzmvPK8DXiKuZ_hOxfiyBtxFod1iE4DY96K8Ok3dEOCBQ_aem_SFGRNnX8RXJIHprRylmO2Q. Danish Sissel, had never met her before, told with humor and passion about her impressive first film and answered the many questions from the audience and from the moderator Stanislavs Tokalov, who made “Everything will be Allright”, https://filmkommentaren.dk/stanislavs-tokalov-everything-will-be-alright/.

Everything IS actually alright at this event that is close to my heart. My tutor and moderator colleague Mikael Opstrup often look at each other to repeat that the organization is brilliant, led by Zane Balcus, Margarita Rimkus, Lelda Ozola et al., not to forget the technicians, who simply don’t make any mistakes. Every little detail is thought of. At the pitch sessions – new this year – there is a panel of 8 decision makers, that shifts from session to session plus a good handful of broadcasters, sales agents and producers. It works very well and while I am writing this, meetings are being held at the venue inside or outside in the sun. Voila!

For most of the filmmakers BSD is the first step to go to other markets and festivals. The first test, what´s to be changed, inspiration and encouragement.

BSD ends tomorrow with the second day of pitchings and film screenings including the charming “Agent of Happiness”, https://filmkommentaren.dk/arun-bhattarai-and-dorottya-zurbo-agent-of-happiness/. Join the party.

On the photo (Agnese Zeltina) you see Maka Gogaladze and her mother Nino after the screening of Maka’s “Ever Since I knew Myself”, the opening film in Splendid Palace, and it is Uldis Cekulis, who speaks to them.

Dāvis Sīmanis Jr.: Death of Death

I take the opportunity to copy paste – again – a text from FilmNewEurope of yesterday, written by Alexander Gabelia about a Latvian director, whose documentary carreer I have been following for decades: Dāvis Sīmanis. here iot goes:

RIGA: The acclaimed Latvian director Dāvis Sīmanis is currently in post production with the Latvian/Czech documentary Death of Death. Balancing an existential road film with a humorous science fiction, the doc is expected to be released in the autumn of 2024.

The COVID-19 pandemic, the gradual alienation from fellow human beings and the growing fear of his own death make the author go on a research trip to see if there is an opportunity to prolong his life scientifically. This is the starting point of an existential yet hysterical journey to uncover the business of eternal life in the world of today. While meeting characters who range from crazy futurologists to crafty “death” businessmen, the director realises that his role as an investigator becomes a personal obsession.

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that most people feel a physiological fear of ageing, disease and death. A special interest attracts scientists and more or less sane enthusiasts to distance or even cancel the inevitable end of our physical existence. Our film will examine these natural yet unrealistic human thrives. We can definitely say that a film about the search for the transfer of consciousness and immortality will attract a lot of interest from the audience”, producer Guntis Trekteris told FNE.

He is producing through Latvian Ego Media in coproduction with Radim Prochazka through the Czech company Kuli Film, with a total budget of 261,426 EUR.

The project was co-financed by the National Film Centre of Latvia and the Czech Film Fund.

Death of Death was shot in 2022/2023 in several countries including Latvia, Russia, the USA, the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Italy, Austria and the UK.

In February 2024, Maria’s Silence / Marijas klusums by Dāvis Sīmanis, which had its world premiere in the Forum section, received the Ecumenical Jury Award at the 74th edition of the Berlin International Film Festival. The film was produced by Mistrus Media and coproduced by Lithuania’s Broom Films.

Baltic Sea Docs 2024

28th Edition of Baltic Sea Docs set to showcase 26 film projects…

The 28th edition of Baltic Sea Docs documentary pitching forum is set to take place in Riga, 1-8 September. This year, the forum will feature the presentation of 26 film projects, alongside screenings for local audiences in Riga and various regional towns across Latvia.

Baltic Sea Docs is dedicated to showcasing feature-length creative documentary projects that originate from or focus on the wider Baltic Sea region, Eastern Europe and Caucasus. 22 new projects at various stages of development and production will be presented at the forum, with an additional four projects in post-production returning to the Baltic Sea Docs as they seek festival partnerships and sales agents.

This year, half of the projects are represented by production companies from Baltic countries – Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia – while others are produced in Poland, Ukraine, Georgia, Hungary, Sweden, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and beyond. The topics covered are as diverse as they are timely, ranging from films addressing urgent geopolitical events and pressing environmental issues to poetic explorations of societal shifts and popular culture.

The new project teams will refine their pitch presentations in a training workshop preceding the pitching sessions led by renowned documentary film consultants Tue Steen Müller and Mikael Opstrup from Denmark. The workshop will be facilitated by a team of international industry experts: film editor Phil Jandaly (Sweden), directors Giedrė Beinoriūtė (Lithuania) and Kumjana Novakova (North Macedonia / Bosnia & Herzegovina), marketing strategist Paul Rieth (Germany), and producer Simon Kilmurry (USA).

The pitching sessions will take place on 5-6 September with the projects being presented to an international panel of decision makers: representatives of sales and distribution companies (e.g. Lightdox, filmdelights, CAT&docs, Rise and Shine), production companies, TV channels (NHK, YLE, Current Time TV), and film festivals (Tallinn Black Nights, FIPADOC, Sheffield DocFest, Thessaloniki IDFF), among others, followed by one-to-one meetings.

The forum will continue collaboration with several industry partners presenting a number of prizes for the participants. East Doc Platform Award will grant accreditation and access to one-on-one meetings for one team at the next edition of the East Doc Platform in Prague, while IDFA and Baltic Sea Docs Collaboration Award for Baltic filmmakers will provide accreditation and guidance for a director and a producer at the next edition of IDFA in Amsterdam. BBposthouse, an end to end digital post production company that provides personalised services across the entire film post production process, will offer an award of post-production services in the value of 3,000 Euro. This year Baltic Sea Docs has also initiated collaboration with Movies That Matter and Sheffield DocFest that will contribute awards including accreditation and access to the respective industry events. Finally, the Baltic Sea Docs will offer an award consisting of a consultancy session with an industry expert in the field of the project’s choice.

Alongside pitching sessions, on 4 September, the Creative Europe MEDIA Desks of Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania will host two seminars: the first will feature audience developer Paul Rieth (Germany) in conversation with marketing specialist Sergejs Timoņins (Latvia) on ‘Tools for Documentary Audience Reach: AI and Beyond,’ offering insights into better connecting with audiences. The second seminar will feature Basil Tsiokos, a senior non-fiction programmer at the Sundance Film Institute, in conversation with film producer Uldis Cekulis (VFS Films, Latvia) sharing tips on how to maximize documentary’s chances at the Sundance Film Festival.

In parallel with the industry events, the Baltic Sea Docs film programme will kick off on 3 September at Splendid Palace cinema with Maka Gogaladze’s Ever Since I Knew Myself (2024), which was originally pitched at the 2019 edition of Baltic Sea Docs. The film programme will also include screenings of Agent of Happiness (dir. Arun Bhattarai, Dorottya Zurbó), Life is Beautiful (dir. Mohamed Jabaly), Hollywoodgate (dir. Ibrahim Nash’at), Balomania (dir. Sissel Morell Dargis), among other notable titles, and have filmmakers present meeting with the audiences.

More information about the participating film projects and the full programme is available on the Baltic Sea Docs website: http://balticseadocs.lv/.

Baltic Sea Docs is organized by the National Film Centre of Latvia, with support from the Creative Europe MEDIA programme, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Latvia, and Cēsis municipality.

27.08.2024.

Information prepared by

Ieva Lange

Baltic Sea Docs media coordinator

+371 22189061

ieva.lange@nkc.gov.lv

Nils Vest 1943-2024

Såvel min kollega Allan Berg som døde i marts i år og jeg har altid sat Nils Vest og hans dokumentariske virke højt, ligesom møderne med ham altid var præget af gensidig respekt. Vii har som filmkonsulenter støttet hans altid fine kunstneriske arbejde og skrevet derom.

I juni 2010 skrev Allan en anmeldelse af Nils film om Københavns Rådhus:

“Den koncentreret vedholdende og omhyggeligt researchende Niels Vest er klar med en ny arkitekturfilm. 17. juni er der i Grand Teatret, København premiere på hans seneste værk i rækken af bygningshistorier vævet sammen med arkitektbiografier, filmen om tilblivelsen af Københavns Rådhus fra 1905 og om husets arkitekt, Martin Nyrop. Den har fået titlen Et rådhus til alvor og fest. Den handler om intrigerne i byggeudvalget, hvor Nyrops modstandere havde indflydelse, om arkitektkonkurrencerne, om Nyrops vældige forarbejder med studier, især i italiensk renæssancearkitektur, om hans frodige detaljeglæde og især om den snedige stædighed, hvormed han sikrede sig, at hans oprindelige idé og plan ad omveje blev gennemført. Et tema om den suveræne arkitektpersonlighed som er centralt i hele Vests række af skildringer af hovedpersoner og monumenter fra den danske bygningskulturelle arv: Laurits Thura og Vor Frelsers Kirke, Nicolai Eigtved og Frederiksstaden, C.F. Hansen og Vor Frue Kirke, Christian 4. og Rosenborg. 

Niels Vest modtager en af dagene Europa Nostra Prisen 2010 for sit arbejde med at organisere bevarelsen af visse bymiljøer som især Christiania og senest for eksempel modstanden mod en nutidig tilbygning ved Holmens Kirke.

Still: Niels Vests film boltrer sig i detaljer: ”Den store indgang fra Vester Voldgade, hvor der engang løb en å, har både to krabber, en havmand, en havfrue og et søpindsvin placeret rundt om portåbningen foruden kalkmalerier med tang og en søstjerne oppe under loftet inde i porten.” Men filmen fortaber sig ikke et øjeblik, overblikket mærkes som en sikkerhed, ikke som en stramhed.”

Arkitekturfilmene er en vigtig del af Nils Vest filmiske eftermæle. Men han spændte vidt. Fra min tid i Statens Filmcentral husker jeg og glædes over stavnsbåndsfilmen “Fejemanden og Friheden” og “Af Jord er du kommet” og selvfølgelig hans Christiania-film og det politiske hovedværk “Et undertrykt folk har altid ret”, hvorom jeg skrev i 2007: “den nåede folketingets talerstol, blev voldsomt kritiseret og trukket tilbage af Statens Filmcentral for at blive genindlemmet i distributionen i en meget lidt redigeret version. Den pro-palæstinensiske film, der i 1975 var kontroversiel pga sin kritik af Israel, blev et hit i SFC’s distribution.” I tilbageblik er det rystende at huske hvordan Nils og filmen blev angrebet af ledende danske jøder, bortset fra overrabiner Melchior.

Med Nils Vest har vi mistet en stor dansk dokumentarist. I 2022 skrev han til mig at han samlede materiale til en bog om sine film, ligger der måske et utrykt manuskript i hans gemmer? RIP

Audrius Stonys on The Baltic Way

The Baltic Way for me and for my whole generation, those who survived this event, will remain as a genetic code that is deeply and substantially engrained in the consciousness. As a believer, I see this event from a theological perspective. It seems to me that, for a very brief moment, God opened the gates of history to us and showed us what we could be—brave, tolerant, loving, altruistic and noble. Allowed a glimpse into the preserved heart of the soul of the nation. Souls that have been raped, strangled, tortured and paralyzed for so many years, yet remained and unbroken.

It seems to me that this moment of truth and love was essential for that, later, when everything is covered by the dust of everyday life, when the burden of injustice and hurt will no longer allow you to see the real person in a person, when selfish politicians are all over the place, the person will lose hope and the way, and when it will seem that there is no other way and it can’t be, we could stop and tell ourselves that we could be different.

And it’s not the numbers that count. We can leave the numbers to the composers of the Guinness Book. The important thing is that we were able to reach out to a stranger who was sitting next to him. Holding hands is a very intimate act that requires mutual trust. We did not ask the person standing next to him what his religion, what his orientation, or even what his nationality was.

Later, the Baltic Way repeated, but not in an occasion handshake on some anniversary years of the Baltic Way, when the shape was repeated, but the contents remained empty, and on the night of January 13. Back then people defended Lithuanian freedom by joining hands. Loreta Asanavičiute died under a tank of caterpillars, but didn’t let go of the hand of her friend who was standing next to her until the last moment. I think this contains the greatest meaning of the Baltic Way.

And still, above all this transparent and festive Baltic Way, there was some unnamed sadness prevailing at that time. Maybe it was a painful realization that entire generations of people who were waiting with their lives and sacrifice approaching our Freedom Day, did not get it. Maybe it was a historical feeling that everything is just beginning, that Freedom is not an event, but a long and sometimes very difficult process. We tried to record that unexplainable feeling in the fabric of the movie “Baltic Way”. Many were surprised at that time and some were even outraged by Handel’s music minor, which played in the movie and Vytautas Machernys verses read by his sister, about people walking through the storm and the blazing rain, falling a thousand times, rising and walking away. Now we can remember and name all the political, moral, valuable storms and rains that we had to pass in those 35 years since the Baltic Way. A strange paradox—the movie sent a message that even the filmmakers themselves understood only after many years.

The movie “Baltic Way” itself traveled the whole world, from Seoul to Montevideo and continues. The nearest movie stop – Paris Pompidou Center in November this year.

The Baltic Way continues. Not in external, artificial repetitions of forms, occasional hugging, but in real acts of love and brotherhood. When Lithuania collected millions of support for Ukraine fighting for its and our freedom in a few days, I felt like we were standing on the Baltic Way again.

***

Jãnis Abele: The Last Will

A copy-paste from FNE (FilmNewEurope) about a film that I have seen close to final cut thanks to the producer Guntis Trekteris, loved it:

RIGA: Latvian director/writer Jānis Ābele is currently in postproduction with his documentary The Last Will, which is expected to be released in the autumn of 2024.

Anatols Imermanis, a poet, founder of the Latvian detective genre and a famous bohemian, draws us in his last detective story 20 years after his death. He could call himself a successful, financially stable Soviet writer. But he wanted more. Being free in the West, especially in Paris, was a life-long dream for Imermanis. As he was never allowed to leave the Soviet Union, he created his own personal Paris: bohemian lifestyle, sexual freedom, ignoring all the puritan norms of the Soviet world. He died alone without fulfilling his dream about Paris.

“Anatols Imermanis was one of the most genuine dissidents in the Baltics. His unique life gave rise to the desire to study it more profoundly, because such stories about unusual personalities who, despite the pressure of the regime, dared not to fit into the normality, are of great importance. The personality of Imermanis clarified the intention of the authors to create an unusual film in form and content, evidenced by the applied detective story genre and shameless game elements. In our perspective, this is a great way to appeal to the audience of today”, producer Guntis Trekteris told FNE.

Guntis Trekteris and Dita Birkenšteine are producing through Latvian company Ego Media with the support of the National Film Centre of Latvia.

The article is signed by Alexander Gabelis, photo-credit: Toms Šķēle.

The total budget is 181,447 EUR.

The film was shot in Latvia and France in 2023.

Baltic Sea Docs Film Program

As usual the Baltic Sea Forum launches a strong film program parallel to the Industry section with its development workshop and pitching. Let me mention the wonderful “Agent of Happiness” by Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó, reviewed on this site, as is “Balomania” by Danish Sissel Morell Dargis, the poetic “Ever Since I Knew Myself” by Georgian Maka Gogaladze is there as the journalistic “Hollywoodgate” by Ibrahim Nash’at.

And bravo, that the selectors are bringing two Ukrainian masterpiece to Riga in the period 3-8. September: “Intercepted” by Oksana Karpovych and “A Poem for little People” by Ivan Sautkin.

Five more films will be on the screen – check it out here: https://dokforums.gov.lv/blog/portfolio_category/films-2024/

A quote from the review of “Intercepted” (PHOTO) on this site:

“The film (also) includes a sequence with Russia war prisoners lining up to get some food. No comments here. And observations from an underground cellar with two old women, cut to a younger woman who is preparing soup for them. Compassion. And people queuing for food, Ukrainians helping each other. Not to forget a beautiful scene, where a husband is caressing a cow, while his wife is milking it. When the bucket is full, they leave on a scooter. Life goes on… makes me think of Humphrey Jennings and his propaganda films during WW2.A clever thought film, so well built, shocking sound pieces to images of devastation but like in Alain Resnais “Night and Fog” no corpses. The right choice. The director is a true “auteur”.

Zlatko Pranjic & Nanna Frank Møller: The Sky Above Zenica

A brief content description taken from the catalogue of the Sarajevo FF, where it was shown at the 16th Human Rights Day, a beautiful initiative this is: A quarter of the Bosnian city of Zenica is a giant steel plant. It is the largest employer in the area, and spews smoke day and night. Zenica has been deemed one of the world´s most polluted cities with multiple occurrences of cancers, childhood diabetes and respiratory diseases. Now the citizens have had enough. They form the organisation Eko Forum and demand change…

It took the filmmakers seven years to make the film being as stubborn and committed as the protagonist, activist Samir Lemes and his fellow citizens fighting for a city, where you can breathe…

Don´t talk about it, let the images speak! They do very much so with this film. Again and again the sky above Zenica is brought to full screen through the cinematography of Nanna Frank Møller. Sometimes with a zoom in and out. They stay for a while for us to think and understand where we are and what is at stake. It is simply Cinema and that is for me the amazing narrative quality of the work the two filmmakers have done, far away from journalistic reportage, having found the right rythm, being respectful towards subject and protagonists. At the same time as the step by step fight with authorities is brought clearly to the screen. It brings us from the sky to the people, stay with them when they meet and talk – and gives us the necessary information, when there are meetings with a mayor or a minister or banker. (Oh, the absurd scene with the man, who talks about a future green city, where the citizens can walk and bike freely!)

You can see, how the filmmakers have succeeded to get the trust of the activists. You sense it in the well built scene in the carpenter’s garage (?), where one after the other enter to sit down and talk about the activist strategy with charismatic Samir Lemes as the one, who leads the discussion but also listen to those, who – he does the same – argue that they do not want the plant to be shot down meaning hundreds of people will lose their jobs. It’s about creating scenes, where you as a viewer feel that you are there together with those on the screen.

Let the white and dark smoke disappear from the sky over Senica, and the red river have clear water so the people in Zenica can have a decent life…

Bosnia, Denmark, 90 mins. 2024.

Docu Talents from the East

It was the 20th edition of this precious initiative developed at the Jihlava FF and co-hosted here in Sarajevo by the festival. Head of the festival in Czech Republic Marek Hovorka and Sarajevo Industry boss Masha Markovic led the presentation of 8 projects. But first some background taken from the IDF page:

“Docu Talents from the East is a presentation of newest documentary crop from the region Central and Eastern Europe.

Each year since 2005, ten documentary projects in the stage of production and post-production are selected by representatives of the Ji.hlava IDFF.

Docu Talents is held as part of CineLink Industry Days at the Sarajevo Film Festival. Directors and producers of the selected feature-length documentaries introduce their projects during eight-minute presentations and the most promising project receives the Docu Talent Award accompanied by a financial prize in the amount of 5,000 USD.

Since 2005, Docu Talents has been a launch pad for a number of documentaries, including Rabbit a la Berlin, Blind Loves, Matchmaking Mayor, The Mosquito Problem and Other Stories, Cooking History, René, Fortress, Pipeline, Daniels´s World, Under the Sun, FC Roma, Close Relations, The Road Movie and Honeyland.”

Happy to read this list of former participants, most of them are projects I know from my time at the Ex Oriente training programme.

Of the 8 films-to-be I was mostly impressed by two, “The Big Chief” by Polish Tomasz Wolski and “Give Love Create” by Hungarian Márton Vizkelety.

Wolski is a master in archive based documentary, no surprise that he has been working with Sergei Loznitsa – a quote from filmkommentaren:
“Wolski is one of the excellent documentary film directors from Poland, together with Pawel Lozinski and Wojciech Staron and many many others. I say so from having seen ”Ordinary Country” (http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4759/and now ”1970”. His “The Big Chief” is also an archive based story on the fascinating troubled life of Leopold Trepper (Photo Wikipedia), legendary “spy mastermind”, Jewish, and to say the least not popular in anti-semitic Poland after the war, as it is written in the paper from the presentation yesterday afternoon, “the USSR, his former ally, saw him as a burden”.

The Hungarian “Give Love Create”, produced by Eclipse Film, headed by Julianna Ugrin, who with director Márton Vizkelety, stood behind “Holy Dilemma” and behind the brilliant “A Woman Captured”, is a portrait of scientist Gyula Dékány, a charismatic personality who “is working on synthesizing compounds to cure Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s. Is life just a chemical information system”? The teaser was the best I saw yesterday, Cinema!

Good luck to all the makers and congratulations again to the organisers having found a fine format of presentation for a huge crowd at the Industry Cinelink new venue at SwissHotels.