… was full of sunshine from early morning in Moscow. I walked from the hotel accompanied by director Tatyana Soboleva. I had asked her to take me to the Pushkin Museum to have a look at the exhibition of Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and The School of London.

On the way we passed the House of Journalists, where the founder Irina Shatalova organised the first public documentary screening of what became DOKer. It was also here, Soboleva told me, that the first edition of the festival took place – it was the one, where I was member of an online jury that had Victor Kossakovsky as the chair. The festival, now having its fifth edition, writes this about itself on the website: «Moscow International Documentary

Film Festival DOKer has stemmed from the project of the same name which screens independent non-fiction. DOKer is aimed at analyzing and screening in Russia various genres and forms of the world’s documentaries as a separate line of cinema in all its aesthetic and socio-cultural diversity. The Festival focuses on independent documentary cinema that incorporates both poetic narrative and social blockbusters; footage and mockumentary; art-house and science-fiction; classic and experiment.»

I have difficulties in placing the opening film, German “Russia from Above”, in any of the mentioned classic – well, it should be «classic» nature film, filmed from helicopters «and with the best aerial cameras worldwide» as the catalogue text says. And it IS spectacular, with narrative problems, I think, when it comes to the duration, it feels very long, with a voice over speak that is full of clichés, and the music, at least some of it, that is more noise than music.

Maybe it suffers from being 90 minutes – on television, and it is a high budget television product, the representative from ZDF Peter Ahrens said, it was presented as a series. And gosh – 30 millions people have seen it in Germany. On arte the film or program if you like had 4% audience share, where arte normally is down to around 1%.

The big hall of the October Cinema was full and of course it was joyful to watch ice bears, and brown bears hunting for salmon, and to watch St. Petersburg from above as well as Moscow… An opening film for a big audience. About their own country and its beauty.

www.midff.com

synopsis for the opening film: https://www.midff.com/product-page/russiafromabove

Photo taken just before the hall became full of the premiere audience.

I am off to Moscow tuesday to visit the DOKer festival, to be correct the Moscow International Documentary Film Festival, to be a juror for the short film festival. To be honest I pushed for this invitation. In the first edition in 2015 I was in the jury for long documentaries but it was a jury of members, who watched the films on their own at their respective homes and made the decisions via mail and phone. I want to come to the festival, see films in a cinema, feel the atmosphere, I told the organisers and this is what happens, thanks to Irina Shatalova, Nastia Tarasova, Sergei Kachkin and Tatyana Soboleva. The organisers of a festival that is independent of state funding, a filmmaker’s festival with an impressive program: https://www.midff.com

And good filmmakers they are. I have written about “Linar” way back in 2013, http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/2447/ By Nastia Tarasova with Irina Shatalova as the cinematographer.

… and Sergey Kachkin’s “On the Way Home”, http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/1717/

… and Tatyana Soboleva’s “Siberian Floating Hospital”, http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/3309/

Today I watched “Uncle Sasha and One Flew Over Russia” by Soboleva, quite a meeting with a man with a big Family as you see in the beginning of the film, a man who would like Russia to be a monarchy, who lives with his wife in a village, that is empty, surrounded by water, an island it is, a charismatic , knowledgeable man with several bon mots, who suddenly starts singing, a man with a big love to his wife, and a filmmaker with a sense for details, who is able to convey the atmosphere at the place, where crooked houses stand alone in snow and sun, and where Alexander Nikolayevich fights to make a connection to the other bank of the river, where relatives live and where he can shop and have a vodka or two like some of his neighbours. A Russia disappearing, thanks for taking me there!

And to Moscow.

2018, 58 mins. Russia

DOX:AWARD: ‘Ridge’ by John Skoog (Sweden)“We would like to honor a film that takes formal virtuosity to new heights, yet never loses sight of the human experience. If Tarkovsky had played video games and was a Swedish farmer, this might be what his films would have looked like. Sculpting with time and space, this new director creates a unique field of experience for the audience, steering away from familiar dichotomies such as man versus machines, science versus nature, immigrant versus local. Instead this film creates a haunting environment where all of these elements are playfully activated, and the result approaches a uniquely jagged kind of sublime. (PHOTO)

Special Mention: ”Searching Eva” by Pia Hellenthal (Germany) “The jury would like to make a special mention for a film that takes an innovative approach to a profile of an artist. Its cinematographic language is very much in line with the artistic and life experience of a character who continuously searches for alternative approaches to everything, constantly detaching from common reference points and notions of stability. And so does the film, which adopts its own playful ethos, never falling into expectations for how this story, or this life, should be told. Above all, it’s a film of great risk, on screen and behind the camera, and we found that both commendable and compelling.

NEW:VISION: ‘A Moon for My Father’ by Mania Akbari og Douglas White (Iran) “‘A Moon For My Father’ is a complex and generous film about bodies. Bodies of work, bodies of politics and history – an extraordinary artist’s body as host of disease and transformation under pressure – and as the subsequent carrier and giver of life. Like a punch in the gut or a needle in the abdomen, this film demonstrates that as a viewer, the medium of moving images is far more than a retinal and cognitive experience, but one of strong affect and of somatic involvement of your very own body.”

FACT:AWARD: ‘Dark Suns’ af Julien Elie (Canada) “The F:ACT AWARD goes to a film that gives voice to people who have suffered unbearable losses and have been neglected and ignored and forgotten by their government and authorities. In fact, the film convincingly suggests that those very authorities are themselves deeply involved in the immense tragedy that has been quietly unfolding through more than 20 years. The filmmaker has invested almost as many years of his life and work to bring the story to us and he does it with a huge solidarity with his characters and with a patience that gives the audience a deep sense of the complexity of this tragedy. He does not seek easy answers but let one witness after the other take us deep into the heart of darkness.

NORDIC:DOX: ‘The Men’s Room’ af Petter Sommer & Jo Vemund Svendsen (Norway) “We agreed unanimously on the winner. The NORDIC:DOX AWARD goes to a film that made us both laugh and cry. A tribute to friendship and male vulnerability. A film that powerfully conveys the basic human needs for belonging propelled by a clear cinematic vision and a big heart. »

NEXT:WAVE: ‘Kabul, City in the Wind’ af Aboozar Amini (Afghanistan, Holland, Japan, Tyskland) “For us in the jury it’s been an immense pleasure to experience the incredible variety in the NEXT:WAVE category and we’ve been traveling around the world in the cinemas of Copenhagen. Our main award goes to a movie that took us to the heart of a hurt city that we’ve never experienced like this before. An impressive, artistic and breathtaking documentary that goes beyond war and death and is a deep, devastating and deeply moving portrait of life and characters which you won’t forget. This is only the debut feature of the director but it shows an incredible sense of artistic ambition and a brilliant, bold use of cinematography, editing and sound. A wonderful film that shows that hope will survive.”

Politikens Publikumspris: ‘Push’ af Fredrik Gertten (Sweden). Politiken is the primary Danish newspaper for culture and is a strong supporter of the festival. With the award follows 50.000Dkr. https://cphdox.dk/en/programme/film/?id=968 for more about the winning film.

https://cphdox.dk/en/

Look at the photo, the awards which were distributed in Kiev on March 28 – the two last days of the festival, that stops today, are called Audience Days, where films from the festival will go to locations i.e. ”cinemas in different Kiev neighbourhoods”.

Tomorrow is also an Audience Day – Presidential election, first round, in Ukraine!

Here follows a copy/paste of the list of winners from a festival that I visited for the seventh time this year and which stays close to my heart because of the program, the atmosphere, the dedication of the staff and their ability to surprise its audience:

DOCU/WORLD

Main Prize

Voices of the Sea by Kim Hopkins, UK

The main prize goes to “The Voices of the Sea”, for the powerful and touchy and warm characters, for the love that wins above everything, for the sensitive camera that brings harmony of characters within the environment.

Special Mention

White Mama by Zosya Rodkevich, Evgeniya Ostanina, Russia

For the protagonist that gives us hope and believe that we have enough strength to deal with the hard issues in life.

DOCU/UKRAINE

The Winter Garden’s Tale by Simon Mozgovyi, Ukraine

A woman’s life work flowers into a portrait of the cycle of nature and inevitable change.

DOCU/SHORT

Main Prize

A Friendship in Tow/Toe by Atsushi Kuwayama, Portugal

Mounting the stairs becomes a story of love, friendship and a promising dinner executed with charm, style, heart and humor.

Special Mention

Above the Styx by Maria Stoianova, Yulia Danylchuk, Maria Terebus (story editor), Liudmyla Paraskiva, Kateryna Rybachuk, Anastasiya Feshchuk, Ivan Bershadskyi, Alla Onopchenko, Ukraine

For a fine example of how a collective of emerging filmmakers come together and manage to create one whole story from multiple viewpoints of society.

RIGHTS NOW! AWARD

Main Prize

The Cleaners by Hans Block, Moritz Riesewieck, Brazil, Germany

For encouraging discussion about privacy, freedom of choice and human rights protection in the world where the internet and social media take up ever more of our private space, and we ourselves become a part of the global network. Where is the balance between the desire to protect the society from cruel content which incited hate and the freedom of choice and self-expression? Will the internet of the future be an instrument in the hands of dictators and global corporations, or a territory of boundless democracy and individual freedoms? Who has the right to define what should be “ignored” and what should be “deleted”? The film raises many questions to which the humanity has yet to find the answers.

Special Mention

Still Recording by Ghiath Ayoub, Saeed Al Batal, Syria, Lebanon, Qatar, France, Germany

For the human stories hidden behind military news reports. For the courage of the people who did not flee from armed conflict, but picked up a camera instead of weapons and showed the real events happening in Syria to the entire world. Despite all the horrors of the war, they still have strength, not just to live and maintain their dignity, but also to give others the feeling of peacetime life. It’s a reminder to every one of us: nobody can be sure that they are safe from war – we have to take the responsibility for preserving peace.

When Lambs Become Lions by Jon Kasbe, USA

The director has succeeded in combining the personal dramas of ordinary people and the global environmental disasters which concern everyone. Corruption, the violation of socio-economic rights, the damaging effects on the planet’s environment are all intertwined in the storyline and paint a whole picture – not just of Kenya, but also of the whole modern world, where states sometimes leave people no choice and force them to face difficult moral dilemmas.

ANDRIY MATROSOV AWARD

I Grew Up As You Slept by Marcin Sauter, Poland

For boundless love and tenderness between worlds and generations!

STUDENTS’ JURY AWARD

Reserve Askania by Andriy Lytvynenko, Ukraine

Fresh reminder about our nature. The rhythmical and sensual narrative of the film can fascinate and move the audiences with any background, and the protagonists win you over with their sincerity and dedication to their work.

AUDIENCE AWARD

White Mama by Zosya Rodkevich, Evgeniya Ostanina, Russia

And go to the website and see trailers, interviews, statements, etc.

http://docudays.ua/eng

So there it is, the program of the 15th edition of the European Feature Documentary Film Festival that takes place from April 9 to April 15 in the Kombank Hall cinema in the centre of the capital of Serbia. As usual I will be there to join my dear friends and co-selectors, the festival directors Svetlana and Zoran Popovic, at the festival that I always talk about as ”7 films, 7 days and 14 restaurants”, the latter referring to the fact that the organisers know how to treat their filmmaker guests as Kings and Queens!

Here you have the list of the films to be screened:

Honeyland, North Macedonia, 2019 – Tamara Kotevska & Ljubomir Stefanov

Bridges of Time, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, 2018 – Kristine Briede & Audrius Stonys

What Walaa Wants, Denmark, Canada, 2018 – Christy Garland

I Had a Dream, Italy, France, 2018 – Claudia Tosi

Buddy, The Netherlands, 2018 – Heddy Honigmann

Gods of Molenbeek, Finland, Belgium, Germany, 2019 – Reetta Huhtanen

The Earth, Austria, 2019 – Nikolaus Geyerhalter

And the list of guests, who will be there at the screenings and take part in the Q&A after, as well as the workshop the day after.

  Atanas Georgiev, producer and editor of the film HONEYLAND

  Samir Ljuma, cinematographer of the film HONEYLAND

  Kristīne Briede, co-director of the film BRIDGES OF TIME

  Audrius Stonys, co-director of the film BRIDGES OF TIME

  Uldis Cekulis, producer of the film BRIDGES OF TIME

  Anne Köhncke, producer of the film WHAT WALAA WANTS

  Claudia Tosi, director of the film I HAD A DREAM

  Monique Lesterhuis, researcher of the film BUDDY

  Reetta Huhtanen, director of the film GODS OF MOLENBEEK

http://www.magnificent7festival.org/en/index.php

During the next year(s) you will see several Ukrainian documentaries at international festivals. It’s moving in the right direction for the country’s filmmakers, who want to express themselves in this film genre. There are – although limited from a Western European perspective – funds like the Ukrainian State Film Agency and the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation to go to, and there is the DocuDays festival that is instrumental for connecting the country’s documentary makers with producers, festival representatives, sales agents and distributors, not to forget producers and directors from all over, actually. They come here to meet local filmmakers, listen to presentations/pitches, watch material and eventually help. Darya Bassel and Viktoria Khomenko who take care of the Industry Section of the festival make the guests work! Yesterday I heard from one of the guests, Mélanie de Vocht from the IDFA Bertha Fund, that she was signed up for more than 30 meetings, in the few days she is here!

I was invited to moderate the new invention of the festival, „Ukrainian Doc Preview“, where seven films close to final cut, or already there, were

presented in a crowded cinema. The rules of the game: A slot of 25 minutes per film including an introduction, 15 minutes of visual material from the upcoming film, and some concluding words about production and expected release date. Followed by meetings in the afternoon with the professionals/experts in the room.

From my point of view this new element of the festival should stay and be developed. It is good promotion for Ukrainian documentaries, it is creating contacts and it takes place in a cinema so you can see images on a big screen. Much better than the usual pitching session with trailers and a hectic atmosphere because of limited time. To be continued, in other words.

The war in Eastern Ukraine was very much present in the films presented. „Peace for Nina“ by Zhanna Maksymenko-Dovhych is a moving story about a woman, who lost her husband in the Soviet war in Afghanistan, and now her son in the war in Eastern Ukraine. She wants to find out, what actually happened to her son, she engages herself in a law case against those, who stood behind the killing and she wants to help other women, whose dear ones have died.

„Company of Steel“ by Yulia Hontaruk deals with PTSD through three young men, who have returned from the war trying to live a normal civilian life. Charismatic they are all of them and Hontaruk showed great scenes.

The war or actually the wars are in the title of „Between Two Wars“ by Alina Gorlova, who made „No Obvious Signs“ (http://www.filmkommentaren.dk/blog/blogpost/4256/), presented here by Latvian Ilona Bicevska, who brought along a beautiful 15 minutes clip, b/w, reminded me of Juris Podnieks „Motherland“, with the young muslim Suleiman in focus, him coming from Kurdish Syria to Eastern Ukraine, volunteering in Red Cross. Very promising and look forward to see what the director and the protagonist bring back from Kurdish Iraq, where she is filming right now.

Finished, moving away from war images, is Yuriy Shylov’s „Projectionist“. Will it go to IDFA or Leipzig or Karlovy Vary… this well made production by Gennady Kofman and Olha Beskmelnytsina, with Polish and German coproducers, that portrays a man of 64 years old – I survived the 63 year average age of a Ukrainian man he says – you see him in his projection room, taking care of his ill mother, getting ill himself, recovering, going to a sanatorium near Odessa. Hilarious scenes! Getting ready to fall in love again as the hairdresser says to Dirk Bogarde in „Death in Venice“.

„Zarvanytsia“ by young Roman Himey and Yarema Malashchuk takes you to a place in Western Ukraine, where thousands of people go for their pilgrimage. The two directors, educated as cameramen, have wonderful footage and interesting characters, now they are looking for a narrative flow.

Olha Zhurba, with „Roma“, has this narrative flow already. She has been following Roma from meeting him on Maidan in 2014 until today, where the boy has grown to be a teenager turning 18 very soon. He was living on Maidan, he was in an orphanage, he has problems in reading, he had teachers in Maidan, he has teachers in the orphanage, he has done stupid things and risk to be put in jail if he repeats it. DOK Leipzig’s Daniel Abma and I were enthusiastic about this upcoming documentary that the director so far has financed out of own pocket. An investment of time and energy from a talented director and editor. Bravo!

The cherry on the cake was „Roses. Film-Cabaret“ (Photo) by Irena Stetsenko, presented very professionally by Oleksandra Kravchenko, with what I found to be a 15 minutes short film in itself, dynamic, energetic in all scenes, feminist approach, 7 women „from the freak cabaret Dakh Daughters Band“, poetry, music, provocative and enjoyable from start till end. The film was invited to the Beldocs festival in Belgrade in May by the festival’s Head of Industry Cem Öztüfekci, an obvious choice.

http://docudays.ua/ 

Of course, sadly, the opening of the DocuDays UA International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival could only start with the yearly declaration of solidarity with filmmaker Oleg Sentsov and the other Ukrainians held in Russian prisons.

But there was also an audiovisual live project performed by musician Stanislav Ivashchenko in collaboration with Laser Studio: “750 litres of water, lasers, led lights and only one person, whose every beat is synchronised with its own element and its own sound”. A lot for the eye and for the ear followed by lots of clip presentations of the sections in the festival, a speech from a representative from the Swedish Embassy – as Sweden again is the main supporter of the festival and its focus on human rights and this year the focus on what the digital world we live in come up with of challenges.

Therefore it was natural that the opening film was the Dutch (director Hans Pool) “Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World” with a group of journalistic activists, who investigate cases as the MH17 incident where an Ukrainian flight was shot down in the Eastern part of the country. It was interesting to follow how they work – in a film that was more of a reportage than a creative documentary. Fair enough, here you can say that “content is King”.

The festival has started, more will follow from the festival in Kiev that runs until March 30.

www.docudays.ua