ZagrebDOX 4Written 28-02-2009 23:53:07 by Tue Steen Müller  Awards were given out tonite at ZagrebDOX. The regional awards are the ones to be noticed signaling strongly the current high quality. All 3 films have or will have a well deserved international recognition. The two first have been written about on filmkommentaren.dk. Keep an eye on your local festival or tv programme. Here folllows the jury’s motivation texts: Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments ZagrebDOX 3Written 28-02-2009 16:58:07 by Tue Steen Müller  It took some time for director Atanas Georgiev (Macedonia), his producer Sinisha Juricic (Croatia) and coproducer Ralph Wiser (Austria) to make and finish ”Cash and Marry”, which will be a hit at festivals in the coming year. As it very rightfully was at the world premiere at ZagrebDOX where it was pitched as project 3 years before. Totally full house, people standing in the corridor, a super audience for this film's first screening.But it was worth waiting for. It is a provocative, stylistically sometimes messy and anarchistic, charming, funny, clever, touching and so very much actual document about Europe today exemplified by the hunt for a bride in Vienna that performs the director himself – for the film and for a passport that can make him stay in the European Union. Next screening is at the Diagonale in Graz, Austria to be followed by a screening at Visions du Réel in Nyon... and so on and so forth. ORF commissioning editor Franz Grabner expects a big audence, when he shows it on television and with Austrian distributor Autlook on board it must be possible to make a strong world distribution of this film to festivals and tv stations. I had the privilege to see the development of a film that was handled creatively and competently by a young director and his team, including first of all Sinisha Juricic from Nukleus in Zagreb. Congratulations. http://www.zagrebdox.net/ Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments ZagrebDOX 2Written 28-02-2009 16:33:08 by Tue Steen Müller  12 projects from the region. I can not mention them all but again I must say that the validity of the argument, so often expressed on this place, that originality and creativeness in documentaries come from the Eastern part of Europe, this argument stays intact after ZagrebDOX 2009. As said by one of the participating editors, Wim van Rompaey from Lichtpunt in Belgium, they are good storytellers. I would add – and how wonderful it is to be surprised and entertained and witness passion and commitment.Let me mention 3 projects that I am sure you will meet as films within the next year: ”I’ll Marry the whole Village” by Serbian Zeljko Mirkovic, who I met 8 years ago and who has developed enormously in his film skills. This story is a music based documentary on a man who wishes the best for the bachelors in his village and wants to become a matchmaker, as the filmmaker already is having publicised his film intention! ”Ritz” by Croatian Miroslav Sikavica, a story about civil action against the meaningless violence that made Luka Ritz a victim last year in Zagreb. And ”Lost Tapes of Adrian Tudor” by producer Catalin Leescu and Andra Chiriac from Romania, about a man who posted a video clip on YouTube bragging his much better life in Spain and showing his new Audi – with the result that more than a hundred fellow Romanians commented on him by making their clips for the YouTube. The team behind the ”Lost Tapes of Adrian Tudor” received the prize (see photo, where they are accompanied by Wim van Rompaey) for the best pitch. Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments ZagrebDOX 1Written 28-02-2009 16:01:31 by Tue Steen Müller  The ZagrebPro is the training and pitching session of the festival. 12 projects from the region were presented to 8 committed panelists, who contributed with critical, constructive and encouraging comments to the directors and producers present: Veteran Franz Grabner from ORF in Austria, in previous years he picked up succesful films, see above. Jenny Westergaard from Finnish YLE, for the first time in Zagreb, she is one of the most international orientated and knowledgeable tv editors in Europe. The same goes for Wim van Rompaey from Belgian Lichtpunt, a small oasis for the creative documentary. Hrvoje Jucincic from Croatian Television was there with money for prebuys and coproduction. Sanja Ravlic represented the local Audiovisual Institute, which functions like a film Institute. Vanja Kranjac, always supportive on behalf of Serbian B92 that does not have money but can help with archive and equipment. As can Bosnian Television that was presented by the filmmaker Namik Kabil, who was very competent in his remarks to colleagues. Irena Taskovski found several projects that she wants to help through her distribution company. And Paolo Vidali from the Italian Friuli region was there to build alliances with producers and directors.Cecilia Lidin from EDN and I had the pleasure again to moderate the session and train the pitchers in the two days before thursday February 26. Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Jean-Luc Godard: Pierrot le FouWritten 26-02-2009 11:31:22 by Allan Berg Nielsen  Det med Godard var så begyndt igen.. Og heldigvis er der sidste år kommet en grundig bog, en biografi, som skildrer mandens liv ved at beskrive hans film, en efter en, omfattende, altvidende og velordnet: "Everything is Cinema, The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard" skrevet af en medarbejder ved "The New Yorker", Richard Brody. De følgende få citater er hentet fra den bog. Vi brugte dem i aftes i min FOF filmklub. Vi talte om "Pierrot le Fou" - talte om filmen som personligt dokument, så i dens rigdom af lag rækker af yderligere læsninger. Et mesterværk, enestående i ordets forstand var det, vi havde hentet ud af den store dvd-udgivelse. SLUTNING OG BEGYNDELSE. "Godards næste film (efter 'En gift kvinde') 'Pierrot le Fou' bragte hans tilbedelse af klassisk filmform og metode til en imponerende slutning og påbegyndte en række værker mærket af en hysterisk, selvpinerisk desperation. I film efter film skulle Godards frustrerede kærlighed og filmiske søgen udspille sig som selvødelæggende fantasier og pirrelige voldseksplosioner. Med afslutningen på ægteskabet med Anna Karina kom afslutningen på hans søgen efter en form til at indarbejde det og forstærke det i værket. Han nye formløse måde at lave film på spejlede en afsindig sindstilstand, som ikke levnede nogen illusion om balance, færdiggjorthed eller ynde..." Read more / Læs mere
Categories: DVD 0 comments ...the Oscar goes toWritten 23-02-2009 07:41:16 by Tue Steen Müller  "Man on Wire" as best long documentary, several times mentioned on this place. Here is a clip and some links: and Anthony Dod Mantle, Scottish cameraman, educated and living in Denmark, many times cameraman on Danish documentaries, got his Oscar for the work done on "Slumdog Millionaire", one out of 8 that were given to this film. Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Joris Ivens RetrospectiveWritten 20-02-2009 21:51:16 by Tue Steen Müller  The very active news service provided by Cinéma du Réel informs about an upcoming retrospective series of Joris Ivens at the Cinémathèque française (51 rue de Bercy, 75012 Paris) from March 5th to April 5th. The text goes like this: Joris Ivens was a politically committed filmmaker and an inspired poet. The retrospective states again the importance of Joris Ivens’ look on the twentieth century, its injustices, its struggles, its failures, but also its hopes, achievements and moments of happiness. Please note that a forum « Joris Ivens, a history of wind » will take place on Sunday March 15th at 4.00pm : Categories: Festival, Film History, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Lars Movin i Dk4Written 18-02-2009 18:57:36 by Allan Berg Nielsen 
Den vigtige ekspert i dansk dokumentarfilm mange år tilbage og i hvert fald her og nu, den grundige og omhyggelige Lars Movin er gæst i Dk4 i morgen aften, 19. februar kl. 22.30. Programmet "Film:syn" behandler denne gang ny dansk dokumentarfilm. I et interview med Movin vil der blive talt om nye strømninger og metoder og film som "Purity Beats Everything", "Burma VJ", "Kun med hjertet" og "Words of Advice" vil blive emner for tv-samtalen, som jeg kun kan anbefale. Meget faktisk.. Altså 19.2. 22:30 på Dk4. Categories: Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 2 comments Avi Mograbi: Z32Written 18-02-2009 13:20:23 by Tue Steen Müller  I have written several times about the new film of Avi Mograbi, and about this very important documentary filmmaker. I do it with pleasure again by quoting the review of renowned critique Jacques Mandelbaum, just published in connection with the theatrical release of the film in France. The quotes are from the beginning and the end of the text that can be read on the site of le monde:”Voici maintenant vingt ans qu'Avi Mograbi bricole dans son coin de terre promise des films bizarres et inclassables. Ils tiennent à la fois du documentaire, de la fiction, du journal intime, de la farce brechtienne. Voici vingt ans que cet Israélien moyen, violemment opposé à la politique de son pays, s'estime personnellement comptable de l'impasse douloureuse dans laquelle l'Etat dont il est le citoyen a contribué à enfermer la région. Contre cela, il invente des dispositifs aussi subtils qu'extravagants, tient la chronique de sa vie domestique, met le feu aux check-points, mouline l'air de ses imprécations. En un mot, il boxe, avec sa caméra pour arme, jetant à chaque fois son corps de clown triste poids lourd dans un ring régulièrement déserté par l'adversaire...” ” ...On l'aura compris, les questions cinématographiques que pose Z 32 sont des questions politiques. Elles évoquent notre manière de nous comporter devant le mal, celui que l'on commet comme celui que l'on subit, et la difficulté d'accéder au pardon. Autant dire que l'humanisme brûlant de ce film porte un des plus forts témoignages jamais filmés sur la nature du conflit israélo-palestinien.” http://www.lemonde.fr/archives/article/2009/02/17/z-32-sur-le-drame-israelo-palestinien-un-documentaire-authentique-avec-trucages-et-numeros-musicaux_1156571_0.html Categories: Cinema, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments CMCA and DocumentariesWritten 18-02-2009 09:07:21 by Tue Steen Müller  The CMCA (Centre Méditerranéen de la Communication Audiovisuelle), based in Marseilles, provides very useful information about what happens in the region through a free monthly newsletter in French ”Méditerranée Audiovisuelle” that is also available in an English version. The organisation stands behind the yearly International Festival of Mediterranean Documentary and News Film. Regulations for the 14th edition have just been published with a special focus - on top of the usual categories - on sport documentaries. The festival awards are quite substantial – money-wise.This is all to be investigated on the site of the CMCA where also info on 200 festivals is chronologically listed. Browsing through it I discovered several festivals that I did not know about from the Mediterranean area. http://www.cmca-med.org/fr/cmca/ Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Alex Gibney: Taxi til HelvedeWritten 18-02-2009 08:20:37 by Allan Berg Nielsen  I forbindelse med udgivelsen af Why Democracy-serien anmeldtes Alex Gibneys film, som blev vist på Dokumania i går:Det vigtigste bidrag til filmserien er Alex Gibneys dybt rystende moralske pamflet vendt imod indførelsen af tortur i USA's krigsfangelejre. Med den uskyldige taxichaufførs historie (de torterede ham ihjel, "mord" skrev lægen som dødsårsag på attesten) som ramme oprulles den forfærdende virkelighed med det ene konkrete eksempel efter det andet. Og så dokumenterer Gibney endvidere, hvordan denne nye virkelighed sattes i scene af Rumsfeld og hans omgivelser. Ja, måske vidste vi det altsammen i forvejen, fra forskellige kilder. Men her er det samlet i en stram konstruktion, en vederhæftig dokumentation og en klog overvejelse i filmessayets form. Kan dette være sandt? Guldbrandsen behandlede dele af stoffet i sin film "Den hemmelige krig" og blev efter omfattende undersøgelser omsider troet. Og ja, jeg må tro på Gibney også. DR2 sendte filmen sidste lørdag om aftenen. Og jeg må gå ud fra, at alle oplysninger også i denne film er journalistisk dobbelttjekket, så derfor skal "Taxi til helvede" have fem penne for sin vigtighed og sit mod til at sige J'accuse...! Alex Gibney: Taxi to the dark side, USA, 2007. DR2. Kan ses på http://www.dr.dk/Tema/Hvorfordemokrati/10film/Forside.htm Læs mere om Gibney på http://www.watsoninstitute.org/news_detail.cfm?id=500 og i dokumentarfilm sammenhæng på http://silverdocs.com/media/pdf/SD_07_Friday_Advisory_FINAL.pdf
Categories: TV, Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 0 comments Maximilian Schell: MarleneWritten 17-02-2009 09:08:05 by Tue Steen Müller  I’ve been photographed enough, she answers, when Maximilian Schell asks her, why she does not want to appear visually in his documentary. Indeed she had and it does not matter as Schell makes a point out of this, organises a studio so it looks like her Paris apartment where the interviews were made in 1982. Marlene Dietrich (1901-1992) gives a wonderful performance on the sound recordings, which are in English and German. I’ve been contracted to be exiting, 3 days in English and 3 days in German, she says to Schell, who during the conversations often is a happy victim of her complaints about the way the conversations go, and very often about the questions that are put to her. She does not want to speak about the person Marlene, she wants to speak profession, and in a a professional way, please! http://www.marlenedietrich.org
Categories: DVD, TV, Film History, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Jean-Luc Godard: ÅndeløsWritten 16-02-2009 10:54:35 by Allan Berg Nielsen  Godards "En gift kvinde", som jeg fandt et klip fra på You Tube, kunne jeg ikke sådan lige her og nu finde som dvd, men, men den første lange spillefilm, den måske vigtigste trods alt, og den kendteste nok, "Åndeløs" havde jeg en VHS-kopi af fra svensk tv. Og sandelig! På biblioteket havde de en dvd. Det er så mærkeligt og så godt, at netop den film findes på dvd med danske undertekster, et ungt og sprællevende og stadigvæk urovækkende filmværk. Findes i udlån på en række biblioteker, kan bestilles på alle. Og så er den jo en milepæl i filmkunstens udvikling. Den gjorde den nye franske bølge af filmkunst i 1950'erne til uomgængelig og umistelig kendsgerning, film kunne nu have en auteur, som romaner og malerier hang de sammen med et enkelt menneskes tænken, som billedet med malerens, som teksten med forfatterens. Kameraet var filminstruktørens pen, sagde man ustandseligt, efter den franske instruktør Alexandre Astruc i en artikel i 1948 havde formuleret det i overskriften. Det er også titlen på Christian Braad Thomsens vigtige bog om Godard og fire andre franske instruktører fra tiden, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer og Francois Truffaut. Sådan skriver han om Godards og Truffauts første film: "En sammenligning mellem Godards og Truffaut debutfilm, den klassisk-helende 'Ung Flugt' og den oprørsk-destruktive 'Åndeløs' vil kunne belyse, hvor Godards indsats lå. Sammenligningen er så meget mere nærliggende, fordi 'Åndeløs' er baseret på en synopsis af Truffaut. Read more / Læs mere Categories: DVD, Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 0 comments DOCSBarcelona 2009Written 13-02-2009 15:11:58 by Tue Steen Müller Success story: DocsBarcelona 2009 closed (10 days ago) with a room full of people to watch Brett Gaylor’s "RIP: A Remix Manifesto". The film brought to the end six days of activities meant to encourage the creation and interest in documentary films in Spain. Thousands of spectators visited the Festival venues, located mainly in Gràcia’s neighbourhood, and took place in participative discussions with each of the directors after the screenings. Text based on press release of the organisers and my own presence as selector of the films in the Panorama section. Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Christoffer Guldbrandsen: Dagbog fra midtenWritten 11-02-2009 09:46:38 by Allan Berg Nielsen  Nedturen fra høje forventninger er i sig selv forstærkende på skuffelsen. Og jeg skal tage mig sammen, jo.. det er.. det ER da en fin film. På mange måder. Og i hvert fald er den en vigtig landvinding i Christoffer Guldbrandsens samlede værk. Han har tidligere været på vej ind i sine film, derind, hvor jeg har savnet ham. Her tager han ordet fra begyndelsen: "Naser Khader som jeg har kendt i syv år har bedt mig lave den her film". Sådan, her er den så. Jeg er ikke i tvivl om, hvem, der fortæller, hvem, det er, der skriver dagbog fra sit besøg i midten af dansk Christiansborgliv. Og hvad er det ikke for mærkelige mennesker, han møder! En hovedperson, som får alle de andre til at holde vejret, hver gang han siger noget, og seerne med. Flere af scenerne kender vi jo fra tv-reportagerne - og vi krummer tæerne på forhånd, har lyst til at gå ud i køkkenet. Så pinligt er det. Og de andre er ikke stort bedre. Filmens hovedproblem er således valget af medvirkende, ikke én har en karakters udstråling. Og valget af medvirkende var jo ligesom givet på forhånd, de fandtes ikke bedre. Og hvad gør man så ved det? Til en oplevelse i sig selv, naturligvis. Og det gør den sørme, denne ferme film. Fotografiet og Steen Johannesens sikre klip fører os igennem løjerne frem til en summarisk, kaotisk slutning, som i nogen grad mister prægnans. I mine øjne filmens andet hovedproblem. Hvad er dens summa summarum? Tilbage til dagbogsskriveren. Min helt, som jeg holder med, nu, da ingen af de gennemgående uheldige helte forfører mig. Fortællerens stemme er rolig og besindig, han er min mand i dette. Men stemmen er også mærkeligt umeddelsom. Dagbogens tekst forbliver på det forsigtige begivenhedsrefererende plan. Hvor er forfatterens, instruktørens, auteurens refleksioner og analyser? Ikke i skriften, ikke endnu, og altså ikke i denne film. Selv om Guldbrandsen er på spring til at skrive sin mening. Desværre. Jeg ved, han vil sige, jamen refleksion og analyse er der i fotografering, klip og lydmontage, det er jo film, mand! Og jeg svarer, jeg synes ikke helt, det er tydeligt nok. Jeg mangler den klogskab, den visdom, din stemme røber. Venter tålmodigt på din næste film, som jeg så håber, du går helt ind i. Dette er en overmåde dygtigt lavet film om en række i og for sig uinteressante politikere, som svigter hinanden og deres projekt så markant, at det udgør en ret underholdende historie, som dagbogsstemmens eftertanke desværre lader uberørt, men fotografi og klip elegant følger næsten til dørs, men kun næsten: er det politiske håndværk så lavtstående i vor tids mainstream? Jeg kommer til at tro det, indtil Christoffer Guldbrandsen næste gang eftertænksomt uddyber svaret. Christoffer Guldbrandsen: Dagbog fra midten kan frem til 10. marts ses på Dokumanias hjemmeside. Den genudsenders på søndag kl. 21:50 på DR1.
Categories: TV, Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 0 comments Tereza Nvotová: Take it Jeasy!Written 11-02-2009 08:46:35 by Tue Steen Müller  Total respect for the 20 year old Czech director, who has completed her first feature length documentary and got it into cinemas where it still runs after a month. And even more respect for her choice of own childhood experience as the starting point for a film about – with her own words – faith, education and manipulation in a Christian controversial movement, the Triumphal Center of Faith, that comes out of the American ”Word of Faith”. Which stood ideologically behind the childhood school Tereza Nvotová attended.The young director gathers her former school mates, also very young but adult enough to be able to comment and look back at 1995 where they attended the Word of Faith school. They sit in a studio, pass the ball to each other and have a rather loose talk. There is much more action, of course, when the camera attends the religious meetings, one of them called the ”Conference of Faith and Fire”. Here you find verbally screaming, aggressive preachers accompanied by an orchestra. In sessions where there is healing and ”touching” by Him and the Holy Spirit. Close-ups of people in a kind of ecstasy totally taken by being ”children of God and God is our Father”. And with Halleluja in every other second. In longer parts there is a cross-cut between ceremonies for the adults and ceremonies for the children. Including the shooting of a small boy, who collapses in front of the camera in total despair and afterwards talks about that he met Jesus. Crosses my borders, should not have been in the film. The film has the problem that the director obviously wants to observe and show to us what happens in these brainwashing (my word, not the filmmaker´s) sessions and let us judge, as I just did. At the same time as the director wants to include her own school experience that of course has influenced her view on the sessions she has filmed. It is an illusion to think you can make an open film by just observing and then have a couple of interviews. I would have preferred a clear and not a vague standpoint on this mass hysteria. Czech Republic, 2008, 66 mins. http://www.jezisjenormalni.cz
Categories: DVD, Cinema, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments ZagrebDOXWritten 10-02-2009 12:39:55 by Tue Steen Müller  There he is, festival director, producer and teacher Nenad Puhovski, who now for the 5th time launches a documentary festival in Croatia, and thus welcomes the world of documentaries in the heart of Zagreb.A clip from the welcome text on the site: ZagrebDox, the largest international documentary film festival in the region, is marking its 5th anniversary this year! As the Festival will celebrate its birthday very actively, you will have a chance to see 120 most interesting new documentaries from all over the world from 23 February - 1 March, 2009. An enormous programme with a generous choice made for the visitors: 30 films are in the international competition, among them ”Burma Vj” by Anders Østergaard, ”Rough Aunties” by Kim Longinotto, ”The Mother” by Cattin and Kostomarov, Geoffrey Smith’s ”The English Surgeon”, ”Three Men and a Fish Pond” by Pakalnina and Maskalana, ”René” by Helena Trestikova. To be followed by an always interesting regional competition of 24 films including ”The 21st Second” by Serbian Zeljko Mirkovic, ”Lost World” by Hungarian Guyla Nemes, ”The Flower Bridge” by Thomas Ciulei and ”Testimony” by Razvan Georgescu, both of them from Romania. Not to forget a handful of very strong films that were pitched at earlier editions of the ZagrebDOX, see below. Also there is a selection of music documentaries like ”Patti Smith – Dream of Life” by Steven Sebring and ”Roskilde” by Uilrik Wivel and a section dedicated to Happy Dox! And retrospectives with Israeli documentaries, films by the director Jon Alpert and a variety of new and older Croatian short and long documentaries. Congratulations with this continuation of a succesful cultural effort. http://www.zagrebdox.net/ Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments ZagrebDOXProWritten 10-02-2009 12:37:01 by Tue Steen Müller Within the festival ZagrebDOX, see above, a project development and pitching session has taken place for several years and will take place again in 2009, where 13 projects have been chosen. Cecilia Lidin from EDN and I have the privilige to run this session together with Tiha Gudac, responsible for the organisation. Results of projects presented in previous years can be watched at the festival. 3 excellent documentaries started their international career at the ZagrebDox before going to bigger marketplaces around the world. All of them carry an artistic originality in form and content, a personal voice and ambition that I have so often highlighted on filmkommentaren.dk under the headline ”East Beats West”. All three got their first push and positive reaction in Zagreb. Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Slumdog Millionaire – Anthony Dod MantleWritten 09-02-2009 14:53:09 by Tue Steen Müller  Prestigious BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) ceremony in London had Slumdog Millionaire nominated in 11 categories. It won in seven, including Best Cinematography, which gives us another chance to say bravo to Anthony Dod Mantle, about whom I wrote the following in connection with the megasuccess film:”What makes it watchable is the stunning cinematography by Anthony Dod Mantle, a cameraman with the ability to make every scene full of atmosphere and authenticity in terms of light and angle and framing. Composition in other words. And movement. And what I would call documentary presence.” Best British film was the James Marsh documentary ”Man on Wire”, also reviewed on filmkommentaren.dk – Danish audience can watch it in the cinemas right now. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7830076.stm Categories: Cinema, Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 2 comments Jean-Luc GodardWritten 09-02-2009 10:33:47 by Allan Berg Nielsen  Jeg har siden jeg så, at bokssættet var kommet, planlagt min genopdagelse af Jean-Luc Godards film. Jeg har siden 1970-erne kun set et par sjældenheder engang på museet i Bilbao i forbindelse med festivalen der. Og jeg besluttede også dengang at finde ud af at se alle filmene, den ene efter den anden. Men hvordan? Det kunne man jo til for et par år siden ikke bare beslutte, det var jo før dvd-erne.. Og så for nylig mistede jeg oven i købet Godard filmen på CPH:DOX i november, "Fragments of Conversations with Jean-Luc Godard" - det var jeg ked af - og mine gensyn blev igen udsat lidt - men til februar skulle Godard være månedens navn i filmklubben, bestemte jeg.. Anledningen var, at jeg kom i tanker om Christoffers Boes anmeldelse af det dobbelte bokssæt i "Ekko": "For fans er Godard ursuppen...", herfra får moderne instruktører deres råmælk, skriver han. Og jeg tænkte, at det gør et moderne publikum som mig og de andre i klubben nok også. For " Godard er rastløs. Hans blik er altid søgende, altid på vej til noget nyt. Han hiver os med i sin jagt efter at forstå. Lader os komme så tæt på det levede liv, som filmlinsen vil tillade. Hans blik på verden er romantisk, men afviklet med en morders kølighed, og det er denne sitren mellem distance og nærvær, som giver filmene deres glød og varme. Bilerne, lejlighederne, caféerne, gaderne og kvinderne - alt manes til live." I min erindring var altid "En gift kvinde" den tydeligste, den vigtigste. Kammerspil som hos Rohmer. Og som det første i det her lille studium klikkede jeg ind på en stump fra netop den film. På You Tube. Og fandt netop det, jeg huskede, erotikken anbragt i en stemning af integreret litterær dialog og af afgørende vigtig lyd af strygekvartet, bare dette lille stykke Beethoven, tilsyneladende henkastet i dialogen, men fuldstændig integreret i den samlede konstruktion. Det med Godard var begyndt igen.. Alain Fleischer: Morceaux de conversations avec Jean-Luc Godard, Frankrig 2007, 125 min. Distribution: Les Films d'Ici. Christoffer Boe: The Jean-Luc Godard Collection i Ekko, #38, 2007. Bokssættet med ni Godard film fra 1959 til 1985 distribueres af Optimum Releasing. Franske versioner med engelske undertekster.Categories: DVD, Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 0 comments Festivals collaborate on vodWritten 07-02-2009 17:35:50 by Tue Steen Müller  Good access news. Festivals help each other, we are not used to that, and establish a vod. Says the IDF site docuinter.net: On February 10, 2009 Berlinale hosts a special presentation. Doc Alliance, an association of Europe's five key documentary festivals - CPH: Dox Copenhagen, DOK Leipzig, IDFF Jihlava, Planete Doc Review Warsaw and Visions du Réel Nyon - is preparing to launch a new initiative for feature documentary films. In addition to Doc Alliance Selection under which five high-quality documentaries handpicked by the members compete for the annual Doc Alliance Award, the new online portal docalliancefilms.com will be up and running from March 1, 2009 will allow VOD access to some 250 documentary films.Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments von Platen et al.: Long Bien BridgeWritten 06-02-2009 17:35:34 by Tue Steen Müller  Hanoi, Vietnam. A legendary bridge. People, people, people. Working, walking, exercising, motorbiking, repairing, waiting, cleaning, haircutting, cell phoning, water, steel, construction, trains from inside and outside. No dialogue, no interviews, pure observation, no arrangement, small sequences, small human interactions, small stories. The 3 Danes were there in the spring 2007, I was there with 3 other Danes in December 2007. And can say that this is how it is. This is how I felt it. There is no such thing as an objective picture of a country, ans the filmmakers do not at all pretend to cover or prove anything, they were there, as we were, and the atmosphere they construct, the feeling of being there, is as it is. Watching, observing, being curious, there is a truthfulness in this documentary that is a much better invitation to go to Vietnam than hundreds of tourist clips and brochures. Purchase: Cai Ulrich von Platen Price: 100DKr. That goes to "Agent Orange Children", Vietnam.
Categories: DVD, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Avi MograbiWritten 06-02-2009 17:32:25 by Tue Steen Müller  At DOCSBarcelona Israeli director Avi Mograbi had two screenings of his latest film, ”Z 32”, a film that I have praised several times on filmkommentaren.dkOn top of that the director performed a three hour masterclass for 180 people according to this concept: a director chooses 7 clips from his films, clips that he has something special to say about. Mograbi went through a substantial part of his work, and made comments that were all an investigation into the position of the filmmaker towards his character(s). From humourous situations like the one where he has eye contact with Sharon in ”How I learned to overcome my fear and love Ariel Sharon” to his confrontation with the Israeli soldiers, who will not allow Palestinian children to pass a fence and go home from school, in ”Avenge but one of my two Eyes”, to his Brechtian choice of singing his reflections in ”Z 32”: ”Am I housing a murderer in my film”? A masterclass, a master’s class, Mograbi is exactly as his films are: tense, sometimes comic, but always dealing with the embarrassing reality of the country he lives in. A frustrated artist, as he says himself, who wants to move something, raise a debate in Israel, but does not succeed, he is met with total silence, no reactions, whereas he now is an estimated artist in Western Europe! In the next issue of Cahiers du Cinema, the headline is characterising him as ”Le Grand sculpteur de notre temps”. ”Z32” will be released in French cinemas in this month. www.docsbarcelona.com Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Nils Vest: An Oppressed People is Always RightWritten 05-02-2009 12:07:26 by Tue Steen Müller  Danish director Nils Vest offers his controversial Palestine film, shot in a refugee camp in Southern Lebaning in 1974, to be watched online for free, or to be bought at his company. His contact details are mentioned below. Utrættelige Nils Vest har lagt sin Palæstinafilm fra 1974 på nettet til frit gennemsyn. Han skriver: Så er der nu mulighed for at se den snart godt brugte, men desværre ikke forældede film om de palæstinensiske flygtninge og Palæstina/Israel-konflikten - ET UNDERTRYKT FOLK HAR ALTID RET - som streamet video på nettet. I både dansk og engelsk version. Categories: DVD, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH, Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 0 comments Manden der ville redde Saddam / Saving SaddamWritten 05-02-2009 10:04:34 by Allan Berg Nielsen  Team Productions forsynede mig venligt med en kopi af den helt nye danske version (release 1. december) af filmen, så jeg på Den Skandinaviske Designskole i aftes kunne vise den sammen med Eva Mulvads "Vores lykkes fjender" fra 2006 for et bemærkelsesværdigt opmærksomt og engageret publikum, et halvt hundrede unge formgivere.. De fangede måske ikke mine usikre pointer i introduktionerne om lyddesign og karakterudvikling, men de fangede i hvert fald alle filmenes så sikkert konstruerede følelser. Fra først til sidst. Og de fik for et par timer så tydeligt for mig at mærke i mørket to nye helte fra det virkelige liv, den canadiske jurist Bill Wiley og den afghanske politiker Malalai Joya. Det er meget, meget vigtigt, at Esteban Uyarras, Michael Christoffersens og Mette Heides overbevisende film om den skandaløse retssag mod Saddam Hussein og Baath-lederne nu snart kan ses på Filmstriben. Ved siden af "Milosevic on trial" fra 2007 og, kunne jeg sådan ønske og anbefale, Christoffersens "Genocide: The Judgement" fra 1999. Så havde vi tre vægtige skildringer af tre markante, historiske retssager og af udviklingen inden for den alvorlige del af international ret. Til skolerne og bibliotekerne i det mindste. Senere forhåbentlig til den øvrige offentlighed. I have written about the film in English in FILM: The Crime of Crimes Categories: Articles/Reviews ENGLISH, Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 0 comments Tom Alandh: Det finns bare en Ingemar JohanssonWritten 04-02-2009 13:39:34 by Tue Steen Müller  Se, det var en smuk tv-dokumentar. Set på SVT i går og udsendt i anledning af hovedpersonens død. Om én af de store bokse-legender, svenske Ingo = Ingemar Johansson. Med fine spørgsmål fra instruktøren, journalisten Tom Alandh, stillet til Ingo’s kone, som svarer lavmælt og kærligt på spørgsmålene om den mand, som hun blev gift med, men separeredes fra i 1969. Birgit er hendes navn, og de to holdt kontakt livet igennem, og filmen handler ligeså meget om hendes eget liv i søgelyset fra det øjeblik, hvor manden fra Sverige blev ”the champ” til hun forlod ham. Hun fører i filmen sin mand rundt blandt de mange trofæer, han lider af alzheimers sygdom og der kommer ingen selvstændige ord ud af hans mund. Det giver selvfølgelig filmen, optaget i 2005, et tragisk præg at se den store charmerende mand sidde og stirre ud i luften på et plejehjem. Lyttende til sin yndling Frank Sinatras sang. Men filmen i øvrigt er en herlig fortælling om boksning og om at blive en verdensstjerne og få et liv i sus og dus, det liv som Birgit forlod af kedsomhed. En amerikansk boksejournalist fortæller levende om Ingo som bokser og der er fremragende klip fra ”the trilogy”, de tre kampe Ingo og Floyd Patterson kæmpede mod hinanden. De to som blev tætte venner på trods af de gensidige øretæver.2005, 96 mins. Reprise: SVT2 Måndag 17 april kl 15.15. Eller se den på nettet
Categories: TV, Artikler/anmeldelser DANSK 0 comments DR: DokumaniaWritten 03-02-2009 16:09:19 by Tue Steen Müller  It is not very often you feel like praising the programming of a public broadcaster when it comes to documentaries. But what DR, the Danish public broadcaster, has done by introduction of the prime time slot (8.40pm every tuesday) Dokumania deserves to be mentioned. Here are the four coming documentaries to be broadcasted on these tuesdays starting from tonite. In original version with subtitles, with a good website (In Danish but with links to the film sites): Photo: The Times of Harvey Milk. Categories: TV, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Danish Awards 2009Written 03-02-2009 11:46:17 by Tue Steen Müller  At a ceremony saturday February 1st the Danish Film Academy Robert Awards 2009 were given, including documentaries in a short and long category. The winners were for the Best Short Documentary "Little Miss Grown-Up" (photo), director Anders Gustafsson and Patrik Book. For the Best Long Documentary one more appreciation was dedicated to "BURMA VJ – Reporting from a Closed Country" by Anders Høgsbro Østergaard. Categories: Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Czech Doc AwardsWritten 02-02-2009 20:20:43 by Tue Steen Müller  Better late than never they seem to think in Czech Republic, a country with a fine documentary tradition. This is what is reported from the IDF (Institute of Documentary Film) Headquarter in Prague, from one of the best written and edited doc sites, address below:At the Czech Lion Awards nomination ceremony Friday, January 30, the Czech Film and Television Academy presented special awards to three Czech documentary films. Since a separate category for Best Documentary Film has only been created this year, members of the Academy selected the following from a shortlist of twelve titles made from 1993 to 2007: Czech Dream (photo) by Filip Remunda and Vít Klusák; Marcela by Helena Třeštíková, and Nicholas Winton - The Power of Good by Matej Mináč. All great films, I can add. Award as Best Documentary Film 2008 went to Citizen Havel, by Pavel Koutecky and Miroslav Janek. My comment: Of course. www.docuinter.net Categories: Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Peter EntellWritten 02-02-2009 15:16:46 by Tue Steen Müller  What a pleasure to listen to Peter Entell at the masterclass in Belgrade in connection with the Magnificent7 festival. Well prepared he showed clips from his previous films, talked about them and about his way of filmmaking, especially related to his latest film, ”Shake the Devil Off”. I made some notes that I will share with you.I dont know what I am filming, he said. I am going there to find the story. My cameraman for the New Orleans film wrote with his camera. I had the second camera, did the reaction shots and together we were filming all these unrepeatable moments, hoping that we could get something in which we could find the story. I sense the emotions but I dont really know what goes on when I am on location. One take, thats all. This is storytelling, I dont believe in reality, there is none, there is perhaps a truth, but truth is not reality. I love the editing process. I go over the rushes again and again, I ask friends to come in and give me their reactions to what they see. I never do rough cuts, I edit the scenes immediately. I love the revealing silences in a story. It is sick to think about an audience and I dont want to pretend that I am targeting such one, Entell says. I dont ever set up anything, I aim for the emotional possibilities. I had seen a couple of Entell’s films in beforehand, the masterly told story ”Rolling” and the reflective essayistic ”The Tube” about the impact of television. American born Entell, who lives in Switzerland, has now added another great work to his filmography, ”Shake the Devil Off”. Magnificent7 Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments My Iranian ParadiseWritten 02-02-2009 15:10:54 by Allan Berg Nielsen  Katia Forbert Petersen's & Annette Mari Olsen's film has a theatrical screening at the Louisiana Museet in Humlebæk, Denmark, february, 10th at 19:30. Tue Steen Müller wrote an interview with the directors published in FILM's IDFA edition nov. 2008. Read here Katia Forbert Petersen and Annette Mari Olsen: My Iranian Paradise, Denmark 2008, 78 min. Sfinx Film, Copenhagen Categories: Cinema, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments Meeting the Film MakersWritten 01-02-2009 12:38:45 by Tue Steen Müller  You might say that the films should be able to stand on their own. And right you are. You should be able to understand and sense a film without any introduction or comment or explanation. To watch it on your own on your computer or tv set, or together with others in a cinema.Nevertheless, what a pleasure it is to meet a filmmaker, who can give us, the spectators some background, some motivation and some inside info on how the film was born in his or her mind. I write this after Magnificent7 in Belgrade and on the last day of DOCSBarcelona. In both festivals the meeting of an audience with the filmmakers have played a key role for the success of both festivals. Both festivals are actually built up around this concept. The audience will have the chance to ask questions or give comments, the filmmakers will profit from the reactions they get. They will discover weaknesses in their work or see that the intentions were fulfilled. And they will have the chance to express again and again that a documentary is a Film and that the word documentary does not really make sense! This is what Peter Entell and Gideon Koppel did in Belgrade, and what Avi Mograbi did yesterday here in Barcelona. And what they and other filmmakers have done again and again when travelling around. Full respect for the directors who take their time to accept the many invitations to go and meet an audience and colleagues, and eventual investors in the next film. It is in most cases a not paId job they do. More about some of the meetings will follow. Photo: Shake the Devil Off by Peter Entell. Magnificent7 DOCSBarcelona Categories: Festival, Articles/Reviews ENGLISH 0 comments |
Latest posts / Seneste indlægLatest comments / Seneste kommentarerPaul Pauwels: I hope I'm too pessimistic - and I will find out soon - but I've learned that it's not all gold that glitters... we'll see and in the mean time I'll k... John Burgan: Sounds like a great initiative - just the sort of exchange that both schools can really benefit from.... Benoit F: J'ai déjà acheté mes places de concert...... matala: Wow, my exact feelings and thoughts could not be articulated this perfectly about Kievan film fest audience; what I saw in Molodist three yrs ago was ... Tue Steen Müller: The films mentioned in the text of Sevare Pan are available on arteeast.org... Relevant websites
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