DOC Discussion/ 5

Philippe Van Meerbeeck writes:

Dear friends, My heart bleeds when I read your lines. They talk about a past that will not come back. ‘Television is dead but doesn’t know it’: when I said this in 2005 to a room full of filmmakers, my good friend Tue looked cross, probably thinking: ‘there goes my audience’. Six years later, it is a fact.

Television is alive and kicking, we never watched more television but feature doc is almost gone. Agents, buyers, schedulers will tell: hardly any slots and little money. That market dried up, the audience went elsewhere. They have reason to.

The days of choosing between one or two national channels are over. Cable, digital tv, VOD, IPTV, Netflix, i-Player, Google TV: today you can access almost any content ‘right here, right now’. In that jungle, the only way for linear (= live) television to make a difference is create events: big audiovisual ceremonies hyped as ‘must see’ because in need of huge audiences, they’re expensive.

Second track are series: a linear tv audience behaves like addicts: the same kind of soup in the same plate on the same hour, every day. Series saved television, and Hollywood by the way. One-off feature docs are a nuisance in a horizontal programme schedule. Little audience, little budget, midnight slot: that’s the logic of tv programming today. The days of the omnipotent commissioning ‘moguls’ are over: channel managers and controllers decide where the budgets go. They’re not at your pitching table.

The cry for feature docs can be compared with the one for art programs on tv. The ‘happy few’ complain there are not enough, yet they do not watch

Jesper Andersen: At vise film er ikke nok

”Da John Stewart var vært ved Oscar-uddelingen i 2008, lavede han sjov med, at man nu kunne se "Lawrence af Arabien" på sin iPhone. Men der er millioner af unge, som ikke synes, det er morsomt, og som ikke ville have noget imod at se en klassiker på denne måde.” Det slår Jesper Andersen (Cinemateket i København) fast i en grundig og omfattende rapport, han har skrevet på baggrund af en rejse til 13 filmmuseer og samtaler med 20 af deres programfolk, ”interessen for film udspiller sig – med internettet og dvd-filmen – på flere medier end tidligere, hvilket er en stor udfordring for filmmuseer og cinemateker”, fortsætter han, og det er bare én af udfordringerne, viser hans nøgterne rejsenotater.

"Den bedste måde at bevare film er at vise dem," mente den berømte grundlægger af Cinémathèque Française, Henri Langlois. Andersen anfører citatet som indledning, og tilføjer fra Langlois’ indlæg på filmmuseernes/filmarkivernes skelsættende kongres i København i 1948, at ”de (cinematekerne) ikke kun skal opbevare (eller sagde han ’bevare’?) film, men også arbejde for at udbrede kendskabet til filmhistorien og filmkunsten.” Det er dette formidlingsaspekt, Jesper Andersen undersøger i en række museer, og hans eget museum prøver bestemt at løbe i front. På Filmstriben.dk er man ligesom simpelthen begyndt forfra med at udstille samlingen på en ny platform. Ti danske film fra forrige århundredes første årtier digitaliseret og lagt på bibliotekernes web-udlån, alle klenodier vel, som Dreyers ”Blade af Satans bog”, 1920, 157 minutter! Det lover godt, men der er langt frem til 2011, og der er formodentlig langt til den del af udlandet, som ikke er USA.

Det med de nye vinduer er imidlertid blot én af udfordringerne for Jesper Andersen og hans kolleger, programredaktørerne på cinematekerne. Han tager i sin rapport fat på en lang række flere hurdler. Det bliver et stort problem katalog. Jeg kan kun anbefale den rapport varmt.

http://www.dfi.dk/Filmhuset/Cinemateket/Rapport-At-vise-film-er-ikke-nok.aspx

http://www.filmstriben.dk/fjernleje/page/article.aspx?id=1431

Doc Discussion/ 4

Jorge Yetano writes: I was reading the posts from Louise Rosen and Mikael Opstrup, and I must say, I have been reflecting on the subject myself for some time now, like most of us, just trying to guess which way things are going to develop, so I can't help myself commenting. Many problems have been pointed out, the most decisive are: the drastic reduction of TV funding and the saturation of the market, yes, but I also sense other signs. This is more or less how I see it:  talent is now everywhere, where somebody can buy a cheap, tiny, high-performance camera. Cheap tiny high-performance cameras do not make good documentaries, but in talented hands, these cameras will become story-telling devices, and these devices are now in the hands of thousands. That is a fact, and it means there is no longer a centre or a direction that stories from all over the world will take. They just apperar, it is the urge to tell the story going on around you, if you live in a country with poverty, armed conflict or other kinds of trouble, including everyday life. People are telling their own stories, you can see it on the internet: there is no need anymore to go to, say, Venezuela for a documentary if there are cameras in talented hands telling the story in Venezuela. If you want stories you just need the right venues to find them (Storydoc (www.storydoc.gr) was an example). So all of this gives me a feeling (only a feeling) that we are heading towards an "ecology" of documentary. Cameras in talented hands will tell the stories that are around them: local or very local issues, low budgets and deep knowledge of the reality to be filmed (specialization), will be the normal conditions. These stories, if well made, will have a universal sense. Surely talent and storytelling will remain the keys to successful films but the art will become somewhat more like a handicraft if you wish. It actually does sound a little like going back to the origins, but hopefully there will always be a place for bigger documentary productions.

Jorge Yetano is an independent film-maker and producer, based in Zaragoza, Spain, who is currently working, along with his brother Miguel, on the feature-length documentary ON THE SHORE, a visual essay on the origin of summer holidays on the spanish mediterranean coast and it's consequences in present time. Photo from the production.

Doc Discussion/ 1

If you surf around on websites announcing workshops and pitching fora you might very easily get the impression that everything is fine with documentary financing and coproductions between the countries.

It is not, and it should be discussed.

This is what Louise Rosen wrote to Mikael Opstrup from EDN and me, who thought that her precisely written worries should be shared by others – and eventually commented by other players in the international documentary sector. You are very welcome to join the discussion. We bring the letters below in Doc Discussion 2 & 3.

Louise Rosen is a media executive with over 25 years experience in all areas of the international television and film business. She runs an agency specializing in the financing and distribution of documentaries with particular focus on pre-sales and co-productions, and she has been invited to tutor and lecture all over the world.

Mikael Opstrup was a producer of international documentaries since the 90’s. He worked as production Adviser at The Danish Film Institute 1998-2002 and was from 2002 - 2008 co-owner of Final Cut Productions in Copenhagen. He is now Head of Studies at EDN.

http://www.louiserosenltd.com/

www.edn.dk

Doc Discussion/ 2

Louise Rosen writes:

Dear Tue and Mikael

It was a pleasure working with you again at Storydoc this year. Wonderful that we had a really diverse representation from all over the southern Mediterranean and could spend a day on the Arab Spring with filmmakers from that region. We are living in exciting and yet strange times.

So, speaking of strange times, I wonder when we among the oldtimers are going to start to speak more publicly about the dire state of the indie feature doc world? We keep training and workshopping emerging filmmakers but to what end? I looked back at my notes from my talk last year in Corfu (Storydoc training session, summer 2010) and it brings me to tears. Back then I wrote that in the face of media consolidation and diminishing resources for traditional journalism, the world urgently needs the vision and insight provided by independently produced single docs. All the more true today. But the conditions today are 3 or 4 times worse than they were a year ago.

What can we do? What is in the best interest of the filmmakers? Is this dreadful climate for feature docs the "new normal"? How do we deal with a sector of the television business that has become almost a monopoly - dominated by a few commissioning editors who wield enormous power and influence? What about the growth of film festivals that attract sponsors and increasing audiences but show films that can't pay for themselves and will vanish into obscurity before they can reach significant numbers of viewers? The world of online, digital distribution is not paying yet. Does this mean that any project requiring more than a filmmaker with a camera, will be lost? No more alternative forms of history or art or science?

I'm hoping that there will be discussions of these important issues sometime soon. Filmmakers in some territories are hitting a "wall" in terms of funding and outlets and this will be the case everywhere before we know it.

I welcome your thoughts on this.

Photo: A film from the catalogue of Louise Rosen.

Doc Discussion/ 3

Mikael Opstrup writes:

Dear Louise

Thanks for your raising the issue about independent, feature docs.

It’s of course a key issue, as you point out. I see it like this: 15 years ago the establishing of a ‘preproduction TV-market’ with all the pitching forums etc. was THE right thing, it brought together the filmmakers and it brought together the filmmakers and the financiers at a time where TV was a major financing factor. In some of the big western European countries like Germany and France and in the Scandinavian countries there was and is a massive national public funding – but it doesn’t change the overall picture in Europe in general.

Now this has changed radically, the TV money has gone down dramatically and there is absolutely a need for a change.

The big question is what today’s equivalent in terms of financing is. I have a clear feeling that we are in a limbo, the old financing has diminished and no new one has come instead. Cross Media, VOD and other online platforms, crowd funding etc. none of it fills the gap and I’m not sure they will or at least I’m not sure which one will?

So the only source that I see apart from these ones is the public funding, which is of course more cultural and national orientated and less market orientated. There is no doubt that public funding and independent doc has a beautiful history together  – in Europe, not talking about the US – but is it realistic? I’m not sure – and I’m not only thinking of the current financial crisis but also beyond this.

Of course – speaking about strategies and future possibilities – one also has to take into consideration what impact the changing formats have on the financing possibilities. Will we see an explosion in shorter formats for web, mobiles etc? Will the digitalization of cinemas open up this location that has almost only been a temple for fiction and alongside screening sports events, operas etc be a possible financial possibility for docs?

Photo: Steam of Life, Finland, 2010, 82 mins. – chosen by Mikael Opstrup.

The Syrian Revolution/ 6

A profile photo was changed on facebook...

MandagsDokumentar Efterår 2011

A text in Danish about the unique Copenhagen based documentary screening initiative ”MandagsDokumentar” where films, new and old, Danish and international, are screened, mostly with directors present and/or subjects to be discussed.

Så er det tid til en ny sæson af MandagsDokumentar, det unikke formidlingsinitiativ som blev taget for 9 år siden af Ebbe Preisler, som stadig er den utrættelige primus motor og kurator, som han selv betegner sig. Programmet er sædvanen tro opfindsomt sammensat, der er herlige gensyn med fine film som Claus Bohms designerfilm ”Den magiske orden”, Jon Bang Carlsens mesterlige gennembrudsfilm ”Jenny”, Frank Piaseckis ”Guerilla Girl”, som har været verden rundt og den herlige tegnefilm ”Hellere rask og rig end syg og fattig” af Jannik Hastrup.

For ikke at tale om Morten Henriksens ”Bag Blixens maske” (foto), som er blevet rost til skyerne af Allan Berg på denne blog – og en række sociale og politiske film fra verden omkring os.

Det er fremragende kompetent, det arbejde som Preisler udfører og det er derfor helt uforståeligt, at DFI (Det danske filminstitut) har beskåret tilskuddet til MandagsDokumentar med 25%. Sæt beløbet op igen, det manglede bare!

www.mandagsdokumentar.dk

The Syrian Revolution/ 5

This story has been brought in some Western media... a quote from storyful.com below, more can be read on the site where also the cartoonist’s regime critical works can be watched:

Famous cartoonist and scathing critic of Syria’s Ba’athist regime, Ali Ferzat, has been plucked off the streets of Damascus and badly beaten in an attack blamed on security forces and militiamen loyal to president Bashar al-Assad. They say that the pen is mightier than the sword, but the attack appears to be an attempt to get the prizewinning satirist to sheath his weapon of choice and to silence this voice. Support for Ferzat has been pouring in via his website, his own Facebook page, a Facebook supporter page, and on Twitter.

http://storyful.com/stories/1000007009

http://www.ali-ferzat.com/ar/home.html

D.A. Pennebaker: Monterey Pop

Well, it was a revisit to one of the best – some say the best – music festival documentary. And you are again totally seduced by the power of music and by the superb camera work performed by a team including Richard Leacock (photo), who was the producer together with Pennebaker and who has been subject to a now finished small mini-retrospective series at the Danish Cinemateket in Copemhagen. Close-up after close-up of the performing artists, of the spectators, images of the ambience at the festival and sometimes almost abstract images, sometimes psychedelic, a play with light and shadow, when Leacock and his colleagues move around with their handheld cameras trying to convey to us ”the sense of being there”, as the old master said. What is to be mentioned... Jimi Hendrix setting fire to his guitar, the Who smashing guitars, Janis Joplin in a fantastic performance crying/shouting/singing her pain out, the well-behaved Simon & Garfunkel ”feeling groovy”, wonderful Grace Slick with her Jefferson Airplane, Otis Redding in magnificent silhouette images, Country Joe... and the grande finale with Ravi Shankar that is covered magnificently with shots of him and his two colleagues, mixed with reaction shots from an enthusiastic audience. Wow, a trip down memory lane, and one that still gives you goose bumps.

You can watch a lot of material on YouTube, but you could also buy a dvd of this classic. Do the latter! Google the many places where it can be bought.

USA, 1968, 98 mins.

Vurdering:

Igor Mayboroda: Rerberg and Tarkovsky

140 minutes with the subtitle ”The Reverse Side of ”Stalker””. Watched in one shot, you feel exhausted afterwards, and more than happy having experienced the company of Russian artists at their best in a drama put together in a demanding way (lots of subtitles to read for a non-Russian speaking person) with unique archive material, sound interviews, picture interviews, clips from films, film historical comments, intrigues and an insight to the work of the cameraman Gregori Rerberg (1937-1999), the main character of this film, a brilliant speaker about his profession and inspiration sources. Mayboroda’s documentary and documentation of the relationship between Andrei Tarkovsky (1932-86) and Rerberg is unique both in terms of film history and as a story of what actually happened, when Tarkovsky sacked Rerberg as cameraman in ”Stalker” (1979). Until now the primary source was Tarkovsky’s memoirs, Mayboroda brings new knowledge to the sad story.

Here is – taken from the voice-off subtitle texts in the beginning of the film – an edited summary of the conflict: ”The Mirror” (1974) was the peak for both Rerberg and Tarkovsky. Rerberg saved Tarkovsky when he agreed to shoot the film because everybody else refused to do it. Tarkovsky also shot his next film ”Stalker” with Rerberg... during the shooting of ”Stalker” Tarkovsky lost mental and emotional control leading to a collapse of human relations in the film crew. This catastrophe anticipated the collapse of the Soviet Union. The humanist film director Tarkovsky omitted Rerberg from the credits of ”Stalker” in the tradition of Stalin’s era, depriving him of a well-deserved future in the profession. However, it was Rerberg, who guided Tarkovsky back to his proper path during the shooting of ”Stalker”.

Strong words and accusations which are supported by interviews with many colleagues, who – many of them – also were sacked by Tarkovsky, who shot ”Stalker” three times keeping – as it is said by many – the camera style of Rerberg in the final version. The material shot by Rerberg went up in fire so that can not be directly verified.

Many reasons are given for the sacking of Rerberg, and others, from the mouth of Tarkovsky. In a section of the film called ”Italian Dialogues”, Tarkovsky says that Rerberg behaved badly, drank all the time, and delivered material, that was out of focus! The conflict, and Mayboroda’s paying Rerberg justice, takes up a lot of the film’s duration, with many pointing at Larisa, the wife of Tarkovsky, as the intriguing person, who wanted to have big roles in

Vurdering:

Igor Mayboroda: Rerberg and Tarkovsky/ 2

Taken from the voice-off subtitles of the film, Rerberg reads the following:

The process of creating a shot, is determined by the life position of an artist, which is determined by the time and country he lives in, the cultural level of the artist, his human relations, as well as his psychological and physical characteristics.

Contact about the film: mdproject@mail.ru

Ulla Boje Rasmussen: Thors saga /2

I Bio Carl i Filmhuset, København er der før premieren på ”Thors saga” indbudt til en konference. Det er samme dag, 7. september 15:00. Konferencens overskrift er ”Thors saga - hvordan kommer Island videre?” Konferencen er arrangeret af Norden i fokus under Nordisk Ministerråd, som i deres pressemeddelelse skriver:

”Mød forretningsmand, entreprenør og en af Islands mest udskældte personer. Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson, en central aktør i den kollapsede islandske finanssektor. I 2007 var Björgólfsson nummer 249 på Forbes’ liste over verdens rigeste personer, i dag har han indgået aftale om at afdrage en gæld på mere end 50 milliarder kroner.

Dokumentarfilmen Thors Saga handler om Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson og hans forfader, danskeren Thor Jensen. Begge ekstraordinære forretningsmænd med initiativer, der er nært forbundet til Islands op- og nedture. Thors Saga af den danske instruktør Ulla Boje Rasmussen har premiere den 7. sept. I den forbindelse kommer Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson til et debatarrangement i Danmark, som Norden i Fokus arrangerer i samarbejde med Børsen Executive Club. Her ser vi klip fra filmen og hører hovedpersonen fortælle, hvordan han oplevede Islands økonomiske krise indefra. Panelet, som udover Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson består af Lars Christensen, Danske Bank og Helgi Hjörvar (S) medlem af Islands Alting og Nordisk Råd, vil diskutere, hvad vi kan lære af krisen i Island, og hvordan vi sikrer vores bank- og finanssektor mod tilsvarende kriser i fremtiden. Børsens chefredaktør Anders Krab-Johansen er ordstyrer på mødet.”

Der er offentlig adgang til konferencen, oplysninger fås hos Louise Hagemann (33960331) Tilmelding til loha@norden.org

Foto: Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson (Fra upfrontfilms.dk)

Ulla Boje Rasmussen: Thors Saga

Filmen om den markante islandske familie Thor og dens rejse i fire generationer gennem landets økonomiske op- og nedgange har været længe undervejs. I årevis har den omhyggelige dokumentarist Ulla Boje Rasmussen på rejse efter rejse samlet stof sideløbende med, at den seje producent Henrik Veileborg har finansieret, holdt et kompliceret klippearbejde i gang og reddet færdiggørelsen igennem verdenskrisen, som afgørende må have grebet ind i selve kernen i fortællingen, da hovedpersonen fortsat har været omtumlet og omstridt hovedperson derude i virkeligheden. Vi, som har haft lidt viden om denne produktionshistorie, venter mere end spændte på det endelige indhold, som fylder 90 minutter med en moderne islandsk saga, som Upfront Films på sin hjemmeside beskriver således:

“The family´s founder, Danish orphan Thor Jensen, was only 14 years of age when he was offered an apprenticeship in Iceland. The remote Danish colony was impoverished at this time, but Thor Jensen saw potential for growth. With innovative business ideas, he worked his way up from nothing to become an extremely wealthy and respected man. Thor Jensen was behind a number of pioneering projects that helped Iceland’s business community to florish. The Icelandic economy strengthened, an important step for Iceland’s liberation from Denmark to an independent republic in 1944.   

The great-grandchild of Thor Jensen is businessman Björgólfur Thor Björgólfsson. Thor Björgólfsson found inspiration in his forefather's initiatives and inherited his ability to see opportunities in uncultivated markets. With sensational ventures, Björgólfsson looked beyond Iceland's borders and gained success. Brewery, pharmaceutical and telecommunication industries in the former Eastern Bloc countries had his interest. Björgólfsson then defied his own business strategy, turned focus toward Iceland, and invested in the Icelandic banking system. Here he made his greatest failure. The global financial crisis reached Iceland and threatened with state bankruptcy. Today, Björgólfsson is thought to be one of the key figures to send Iceland into economic pillory…”

Filmen har premiere på Det Kongelige Bibliotek, København 7. september 19:30.

www.upfrontfilms.dk

info@upfrontfilms.dk

Docs: George Harrison, Neil Young, Paul McCartney

This autumn brings three new documentaries with music icons George Harrison, Neil Young and Paul McCartney, made by film icons Martin Scorcese, Jonathan Demme and Albert Maysles.

”George Harrison: Living in the Material World” is a two-part documentary by Martin Scorcese made for HBO, to be screened October 5 & 6. The trailer promises a film that tells the story about the legend through interviews and archive – and lots of music, including, of course, ”Here comes the Sun”.

Jonathan Demme ”Neil Young Life” (photo) is a continuation of the collaboration between the two being film number 3. It will be screened at the upcoming Toronto Film Festival.

As will Albert Maysles ”The Love We Make” that premieres September 10 and is co-directed by Maysles and his filmmaking partner Bradley Kaplan. It follows McCartney as he prepares for the Concert for New York City, which took place less than six weeks after the 9/11 attacks. McCartney himself was scheduled to fly out of New York City on the morning of September 11, and upon being grounded returned to the city to witness the unfolding situation firsthand. Maysles and Kaplan’s film, shot in 16mm black and white, captures McCartney interacting with New Yorkers on the Manhattan streets as he rehearses for the concert, and features other performers in the event as well, including David Bowie, Eric Clapton, Sheryl Crow and Mick Jagger.

Read more: http://realscreen.com/2011/07/20/maysles-mccartney-team-up-for-showtime-doc/#ixzz1Vw7I8DKv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xnx87LIDO9k

http://tiff.net/filmsandschedules/tiff/2011/neilyounglife

http://realscreen.com/tag/paul-mccartney/

The Syrian Revolution/ 4

How long will it last? How long can the Western world watch this massacre on civilians that go on in Syria?

Syrian filmmaker posted this text on facebook 20 minutes ago: Today, a UN envoy arrived to the Syrian city of Homs... Homsi people bravely met the envoy at the city's main square and chanted their demands (the first video below), right after the committee left, security forces attacked the protesters in the square with live ammunition (second video below) ... some were killed, numbers still uncertain.

The second video, less than one minute, is very tough to watch as it is to listen to the cameraman’s voice of despair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itOtwQGN8rg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPrzS_QhN6s

Det går godt for Dokumentarfilmen

A small text on good times for the documentary in cinemas and media coverage in Denmark. More films in cinemas, much more press than before, reviews in daily newspapers of dvd’s

Jo, det ser godt ud for dokumentaren. Ihvertfald var det markant at åbne dagbladet Politiken’s filmtillæg denne torsdag. Der var anmeldelser af hele fire dokumentarfilm, to udkommet på dvd (Senna og Two in the Wave (om Truffaut and Godard)) og to med premiere i biografen, Steam of Life og Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop. Når dertil kommer, at den lille, fine biograf Vester VovVov har tre dokumentarfilm på plakaten (udover filmen om O’Brien er det det Exit Through the Gift Shop og Til Havet), at centrumsbiografen Dagmar reklamerer med snarlige events omkring premiererne på Bobby Fischer Against the World (photo) og El Bulli, at Grand Teatret har haft Waste Land (se anmeldelse nedenfor) på programmet, den kører nu i Empire Bio, at der er Dokumania hver tirsdag på DR2, at der er Mandagsdokumentar i PHCaféen, at Cinemateket har en månedlig dokumentar i Filmhuset, hvor også EDN (European Documentary Network) har SønDok med udenlandske debatskabende film... ja, så det er svært at være pessimistisk på genrens vegne.

Bortset fra hvis man – som co-blogger Allan Berg – har bosat sig udenfor hovedstaden, for så er der langt til filmene, ihvertfald hvis de skal ses på det store lærred. Men det er en helt anden historie om dansk centralistisk kulturpolitik.

Nanna Frank Møller: Let’s Be Together

Under titlen ”En Feminin Dreng” viser DR2’s Dokumania en af de væsentligste, nye danske dokumentarfilm, som har vakt berettiget opsigt både inden- som udenlands under sin originaltitel, ”Let’s Be Together”. Her er anmeldelsen, som vi bragte, da filmen blev vist på cph:dox

That Nanna Frank Møller is an excellent editor has been proved many times, primarily in her collaboration with Danish director Max Kestner. That she has a talent for directing herself became obvious with the film about the circus sisters, ”Someone Like You”. Here she is with another proof: a film about 14 year old Hairon, who has Brasilian parents but lives in Denmark with his mother and her Danish husband, one more dad for Hairon.

”Let´s Be Together”, however, is the story about son and (Brasilian) dad, told in an intimate and gentle film language, full of respect for the drama that lies in a teenager, who loves to dress like girls and women do.

Hairon wants to be Cleopatra for his birthday and this forms the structural frame of the film. Mother and Hairon go to Brasil to see Brasilian father and to have the Cleopatra costume prepared. Strong conversations are unfolded, interpreted brilliantly in rythm and music and in an editing that have wonderful pauses that are full of information and emotion. ”You must know to control your life a bit”, the father says in one of the many scenes with the two together. Would be wrong of me to reveal the end scene of the film, it is so fine and impressive and well thought and performed by a big talent in new Danish documentary.

www.dr.dk/dokumania

Vurdering:

The Battle for Tripoli

Our Paris correspondent Sara Thelle links on her facebook page to the development in Tripoli, take a look at the photo documentation brought by aljazeera.

Text for the photo: Tens of thousands of Libyans celebrated what the rebels claim to be the first uprising in Tripoli against the Gaddafi regime [Gianluigi Guercia/A

english.aljazeera.net/

Richard Leacock: Stravinsky

This one hour portrait of Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), shot and edited by Leacock in 1966, and made in collaboration with Swiss composer and music administrator Rolf Liebermann, lives because of the close-up’s of the face of Stravinsky, a face always in movement with a smiling mouth out of which comes both interesting and funny remarks. Leacock is fascinated by the man and catches him at home and when he is conducting. It is obvious that it is more the man than the music, and the processes around rehearsals, that Leacock wants to convey and thanks for that. Leacock himself comes into the film now and then, with his voice, helping the audience with comments on who is who and where we are, very well made with no more info given than needed.

Funny to think that the year (in 1965) before two other cinema direct pioneers, the Canadians Wolf Koenig and Roman Kroitor also did a film on Stravinsky, made for the NFB, National Film Board of Canada. With some of the same side characters and with the same wonderful humour from Stravinsky as in Leacock’s film, but maybe a bit more rich on the music side, as I remember it.   

http://richardleacock.com/

http://www.onf-nfb.gc.ca/eng/collection/

Vurdering:

Solidarity with Syrian Protesters

Facebook gives a lot of updates on the situation in Syria. Every day new horror stories. And stories about the difficulties in performing your profession. This is what a photographer friend wrote to me yesterday: I can't take any photos now or complete my last photography project. A person with camera has become more dangerous than an armed person!!! Currently I am a little depressed…

And what can we do but – as just one example – join the following virtual “march”. Read about it and click on the link below:

This is a VIRTUAL event. It isn't taking place on a specific date, and you don't have to go anywhere to join. All you need to do to show your support for the Syrian people's cause is click “I’m Attending.”

As people of conscience worldwide, we "march" in solidarity with the courageous protesters of Syria seeking freedom and democracy. We are people of different creeds, religions, and cultures. Few of us have personal ties to Syria, but all of us are united in our support for the peaceful protesters of Damascus, Daraa, Douma, Deir Az-Zour, Hama, Homs, Idlib, Jisr ash-Shughur, Rakka, and other cities across the country.

Our goal is to reach ONE MILLION Facebook members worldwide "Attending" this virtual march with the Syrian people. Reply "Attending" to join us, and please invite friends to join as well.

We "march" here, calling for an immediate end to the killings and war crimes perpetrated by the Assad government.

We march here, calling for the indictment of Assad and his cronies for crimes against humanity.

We march here with the people of Syria, whose peaceful revolution will not be defeated.

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=248954525125814

Guth Gafa

Danish filmmaker Mikkel Stolt made the comment (in Danish) that he had seen "You’ve Been Trumped" at the wonderful Irish festival Guth Gafa International Film Festival. We asked him to write a text about the festival. Here it is:

A film festival in a village with no cinemas? No problem for festival directors Neasa Ní Chianáin and David Rane or their dedicated staff, so this June I spent four lovely days and nights in tiny Gortahork in the utmost Northwestern part of Ireland. Bente Milton’s and my own film “My Avatar and Me” had been invited, and since Bente had to cancel her trip, I went alone. This being my first time in Ireland, I was a curious whether the locals would be as friendly as I’ve always heard and whether they really do have Guinness. I was not to be disappointed!

There was a small seminar towards the end about international financing with representatives from Sundance, Tribeca, POV and Hot Docs, but one of the good things about the festival is that there is no market and no competition, so mostly it’s all about the art of filmmaking and the films themselves. Beforehand, Neasa had arranged for me to be interviewed on the local radio show before the festival really started and that’s when I met young JoEllen Marsh, who is the main character of Jerry Rothwell’s entertaining and thought-provoking “Donor Unknown”, which was the opening film. It was shown in the ball room of Hotel Loch Altan which proved a wonderful cinema. My own showings were in a special “cinema-mobile” complete with 100 seats and full HD equipment. The audience was a mix of international colleagues and local film enthusiasts and all in all there was a wonderful ambience. At every screening I went to, there was lot of good questions and competent moderators.

One of the funny things about festivals is that you somehow team up with a group of people, and I wonder whether it’s pure chemistry or something else. Anyway, JoEllen and I found us a bunch of Swiss, New Zealandic, Canadian, Paraguayan, British, German and of course Irish new friends to hang out with between the screenings and all the after parties and concerts were just really awesome. During the day and early night I did manage to see quite a few films, including Leonard Retel Helmrich’s wonderful “Position among the stars” which I find to be the best – and most humorous - in his trilogy. Leonard also held a masterclass which I unfortunately didn’t attend. Another favorite of mine was “Battle of the Queens” by the young Swiss director Nicolas Steiner. In a beautiful and very musical style it depicts an old Swiss tradition of cow-fighting! “You’ve been Trumped” by Anthony Baxter was also shown in front of an enthusiastic audience. Personally, I got carried away by the story but was nevertheless a bit disappointed by the somewhat “old fashioned” and journalistic film language that didn’t really leave much to me to think about.

Only feature length documentaries are accepted and the official themes of the festival are “Environmental Justice, Social Action and Human Rights Films”, but I am happy to say that they can’t take themselves too seriously: there was also screenings of animated shorts from Ireland and Canada and I saw several films in the about 30 films large catalogue which was not really within the themes, including my own. But I must immediately make another feature doc, because I want to come back!

Photo: Mike Proud.

http://www.guthgafa.com/  

Steam of Life premieres in Copenhagen

It opens this coming thursday and will have 10 screenings at the Copenhagen Cinemateket as part of the excellent initiative "Documentary of the Month". Here is a rerun of the filmkommentaren review:

Stories from Life. Stories brought to the screen by Finnish men. Stories mostly told in saunas where the men are naked. To be naked can also be a metaphor for being vulnerable. Which is exactly what the men are in this extraordinary documentary that keeps your attention from start till end. The clouds or the fog of steam that fill the screen inside or outside the saunas are like the intimate and painful words that hang in the air – or they are to be watched in stunning images from the Finnish landscape, urban or (mostly) in the countryside at the lakes, at the forests.

Sometimes it is good to talk, says one of the men, and they do talk these Finnish men, who – as another man says – normally are meant to be tough. About being a father without seeing your children. About losing job and family. About having a bear as a friend, maybe the only one, out in the wilderness! About a train driver who could not stop when someone jumped to kill himself in front of the train. And the final story about the man who heartbreakingly for 10 minutes give us the story about the death of his daughter.

There is an underlying tone of sadness throughout this film but there is also warmth and (some) humour, and there is the best film music score (Jonas Bohlin) I have heard for a long time to accompany the anxiety and bad feelings that are being sweated out in the sauna AND the tableau-like images (camera: Heikki Farm) from beautiful, melancholic Finland. Do they just sit and talk... no, the director has made them sit and talk, it is amazing what they tell us, no masks, unplugged you might say, and totally controlled in editing with a grande finale that I will not reveal for you.

Trailer(s) and background material for the film.. google the title.

www.oktober.fi

Finland, 2010, 82 mins. By Joonas Berghäll and Mika Hotakainen

Vurdering:

You’ve Been Trumped

... is the title of a new film by Scottish director Anthony Baxter (photo), who is being interviewed on the website of the European Documentary Network (EDN) that with this new initiative again stresses its own importance not only as an up-to-date information giver on documentary matters, but also as a network that picks up important stories from its members. In this case a story about a courageous filmmaker and his fight for his film and its content and people, a story that has included being arrested and threatened by a world famous American billionaire and his entourage. Here is a clip, read the whole, extremely interesting story on the EDN site:

You’ve been Trumped (click and you can see the trailer) tells the story of how American billionaire Donald Trump has bought up hundreds of acres on the northeast coast of Scotland to build two golf courses, a hotel and luxury homes. He needs to buy out a few more locals to make the deal come true, but the land he has purchased occupies one of Europe’s most environmentally sensitive stretches of coast, and the handful of local residents don't want it destroyed...

... I live about 40 miles south of where Donald Trump is building what he claims will be ‘the greatest Golf Course in the world’ on one of Scotland’s last remaining wilderness areas – a unique stretch of coastline north of Aberdeen described by scientists as ‘Scotland’s Amazon’.  The local newspapers, (the Press & Journal and Evening Express) were full of stories about how the Trump resort would mean a jobs bonanza for an area (which incidentally has one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe) and never seemed to question the potential environmental impact of the plans.  I felt the media enjoyed the spat between Donald Trump and Michael Forbes (one of the local residents refusing to sell Trump his property) but failed to get deeper into the lives of the local residents. 

www.edn.dk

Yamagata Int. Documentary Film Festival/ 1

”Facing reality, what is to be done?” is the headline of the introductory text of the site of the bi-annual, reputed documentary film festival in Yamagata, Japan. In March this year the earth quake in Japan followed by the Fukushima nuclear power accident became top stories all over the world as well as its tragic consequences. Yamagata is a couple of hundred kilometers away from the epicenter of the earth quake. The festival organisers report here what they did. Respect!:

The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival will hold YIDFF 2011 as previously scheduled, from October 6th to 13th, 2011.

We have of course been concerned whether guests from overseas would join us or not, in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11th and the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant crisis. But it is exactly at times like this that our belief in the documentary film, with its power to observe objectively and express subjectively, and our trust that the invigoration of film culture will give impetus to the world, including the disaster-hit areas, pushes us to go ahead. We are proceeding with preparations to hold our festival according to schedule.

Meanwhile, since April 8th, we have been working in conjunction with other organizations to hold film screenings and children’s filmmaking workshops at evacuation centers in Yamagata Prefecture and the afflicted areas. Through bringing cinema to the people affected by the disaster, we have encountered the true situation there, seen what the news does not show us, and been crushed by a sense of powerlessness. It feels as if this unprecedented catastrophe is forcing us to contemplate what cinema can do, and the value of capturing the truth on film.

We believe that the duty of the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival at this point in time is to create a venue for the following purposes: to share the chaotic emotions felt by all those who experienced the disaster; to think about what we can do next; and to search for ways to the next step forward.

At YIDFF 2011, we will host a special screening program concerning the Great East Japan Earthquake. We hope to present a program that brings viewers into contact and with the victims of the disaster, with discussions that were shared, the raw emotions that emerged when we made films with the children, and all which came out of it. We look forward to receiving your continued support.

Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival

http://www.yidff.jp/home-e.html

Yamagata Int. Documentary Film Festival/ 2

15 films take part in the international competition of the festival. There are (for Filmkommentaren readers) well known titles like Armadillo (Janus Metz), Nenette (Nicholas Philibert), Nostalgia for the Light (Patricio Guzman) and Position among the Stars (Leonard Helmrich) -  and films which have been visiting European festivals like The Woman with 5 Elephants (Vadim Jendreyko), The Collaborator and His Family (Ruthie Shatz and Adi Barash), and Day is Done (Thomas Imbach). And films from China, USA, Colombia, Portugal (a visual poem on Lisbon by Jon Jost filmed over 15 years!), Japan, Egypt, The Philippines and France.

For a European eye it is maybe more attractive to follow what happens in Asia – the festival has selected 24 works for the section ”New Asian Currents”, ”of sincere and high-spirited directors”.

The whole festival programme is not yet announced but other sections include ”New Docs Japan”, films from Cuba and ”Films about Yamagata”, which will probably have material from the earthquake and the power plant accident in March this year.

The festival has a film library as well as a documentation centre open to the audience, organises screenings and events the whole year around, in short, it is all quite impressive.

http://www.yidff.jp/library/library-e.html

Richard Leacock i Cinemateket København

A Richard Leacock mini-retrospective series took off last night (August 11) at the Danish Cinemateket in Copenhagen. The series includes not only masterpieces like ”Primary” and ”Crisis” but also less known works like ”Toby in the Tall Corn” and ”Happy Mother´s Day”. Our Paris correspondent Sara Thelle attended the opening screening as did Perle Møhl. The two Danish women, living in Paris, have helped Richard Leacock and his spouse Valerie Lalonde put together the memoirs of the master. A book with clips will come out in September. Cinemateket asked me to make an introduction to Leacock. It follows here, in Danish language:

Det er lidt af en gave til mig at kunne stå her og tale om en af giganterne i dokumentarfilmens historie. En mand som ikke bare har lavet film som hører hjemme i enhver filmhistorisk fremstilling, men også en mand, som med sine klare holdninger til sin métier rører ved dokumentarfilmens inderste væsen og dermed stadig er en konstant inspiration for nye dokumentarister.

Jeg underviser på en dokumentarfilmskole i Italien og det er grundlæggende pensum, når eleverne starter deres tre årige uddannelse med at se Leacocks film eller klip fra dem, når der skal tales om den observerende dokumentarfilm. Den som Leacock og hans kolleger i Direct Cinema stod for. Eleverne elsker dem. Både de mere  playful, som I skal se eksempler på i dag og de ”tunge” mesterværker, som giver en unik indsigt i amerikansk historie. Jeg tænker på filmene ”Primary” og specielt ”Crisis”, som kan ses her næste torsdag (18. September).

Leacock har undervist på filmskolen i Italien, ja over hele verden, og det har altid været til stor inspiration at have oplevet ham som underviser – og/eller set ham på film eller på YouTube, hvor der er masser af materiale med ham. Jeg har haft fornøjelsen at møde

Richard Leacock: The feeling of being there

Cinemateket i København meddeler, at fra på torsdag, 11. august præsenteres en række af Richard Leacocks banebrydende dokumentarfilm - i alt 11 film - og ved visningen  af de tre første fortæller dansk dokumentarfilms grand old man, Tue Steen Müller om Leacock og introducerer aftenens film. Leacockserien er blevet til på grundlag af Cinéma du Réels store retrospektive Leacock-arrangement i foråret, og programredaktøren Jesper Andersen takker Sara Thelle fra Canary Bananas Films (og fra Filmkommentaren.dk kan vi lige nævne) for et fint samarbejde. 

Altså 11. august 19:00 i Cinemateket: Tue Steen Müller og Sara Thelle med sjældne Richard Leacock film. Vi bringer naturligvis gerne denne meddelelse videre.   

The Syrian Revolution/ 3

Via facebook you get references to sources within Syria that documents from a country, where the violence of the regime escalates from day to day. Film people are among those who communicate on facebook and other social media from hour to hour. Here are just a couple of examples:

“What is happening in Hama.....Report of a person that escaped from it today...... I left Hama a little bit ago, heavy shelling of the city was still ongoing. It started at Sohour time (before dawn) before 06:00am using fixed machine guns (M85). The military and security forces stormed Jizdan neighborhood and Ajzeh roundabout. Four doctors that worked in Hourani hospital were killed. A christian lady was shot by a sniper today in her home. The army is conquering the entire city, even the sidelanes. I could not count or even estimate the number of martyrs, but it is a high number. Today, security forces launched a massive detention campaign and went house to house raiding the homes, even deserted houses, in the neighborhoods of Jarajmeh, Jonoub Thakaneh and Bab Qalbi. The military and security forces demolished houses and destructed them, vandalized and looted them. They arrested over 80 people from the neighborhoods of Baraziyeh and Farayeh.

Regarding the children of premature babies in Hourani hospital, unfortunately the power cuts have caused a lack of oxygen, but I do not know how many of them died. Verification of news is still a very difficult task in the city as the neighborhoods are isolated from each other. It is impossible for families to escape from the city, but young men can, with many difficulties. The food situation is going from bad to worse.”

And from Damascus suburbs: Dameer: During the Friday of “Allah is With Us” a group of security agents riding in a white pickup truck fired on two young men from Dameer who were on a motorcycle. One of the young men, Mohamad Hazeem Fathalla, died instantly. The other was shot in the leg, and when he tried to escape, the security agents chased him and shot him in the neck. The agents then placed weapons next to the corpses and contacted Al Dunia Television, which reported that two terrorists from Dameer had been captured and killed.

http://www.lccsyria.org/1639

Photo: Hama, Syria, tank attack, from telegraph.co.uk

Koen Suidgeest: Karla’s Arrival

“Teenage mother Sujeylin Aguilar raises her newborn on the same streets she herself grew up in. Set in Managua, Nicaragua, the film explores the universal issue of second generation of street children.”

This is the brief presentation that is given by the director Koen Suidgeest about his very succesful, well made, non-sentimental and yet touching creative documentary. The director deserves credit for not only his film but also for his extensive work getting the film around (now seen by more than 1 million people he writes on his site), and making the film be the first step to be engaged in helping.

The director communicates strongly and competent through a blog, facebook, website, newsletter etc. Below the site of the film + a site on the initiative to get the babies off the streets. Yes, films can make changes happen!

http://www.karlasarrival.com/

http://www.covenanthouse.org/landing/karlasarrival

Mikael Bertelsen på plejehjem

The following is a praise of Danish journalist Mikael Bertelsen, who has made several socially orientated, excellent tv and radio programmes for DR (Danish Broadcasting Corporation). Here – in Danish language – some words about his newest radio documentary, in 6 parts, from a nursing home for old people in Copenhagen.

Radiodokumentar er ikke noget, (film)kommentaren har skrevet meget om. Men efter en time med Mikael Bertelsen på P1, på plejehjemmet Sølund i København, ryger det bare ud af munden: Hold kæft, hvor er det godt. Det var afsnit 2 af 6, de kan alle sammen høres på nettet (se nedenfor), hvert afsnit kan stå alene, ihvertfald dette nummer 2, hvor Bertelsen bevæger sig rundt i hus B (hvor de demente bor) og i hus A, hvor beboerne stadig har tankens klarhed, men er fysisk afhængig af hjælp. Bertelsen har den sjældne evne at kunne lytte og gribe fat i de formuleringer, som de gamle kommer med og bortset fra et par underholdende bemærkninger om kvaliteten af måltidet (gule ærter med medister), strømmer der fine og kloge reflektioner fra beboerne i både hus A og B. Konstant placeret i den ramme at plejehjemmet er sidste station. Det handler jo om at leve, siger en klog dame til Bertelsen, ikke blot om at eksistere!

Og Bertelsen evner pausen og taler aldrig ned, han taler med. Og han har som alle gode dokumentarister nysgerrigheden i behold, interessen for de mennesker, han opsøger.

http://www.dr.dk/P1/Serier/Plejehjem/20110718105212.htm

Still: Mikael Bertelsen, da han var på pilgrimsvandring. Fra dr.dk

Vurdering:

Nick Broomfield Tries to Ask Sarah Palin

... a question, as you can see on the YouTube clip, where Broomfield in his best shape, as an elegantly dressed British gentleman, shouts his question from the way back seat in a hall full of Palin supporters and hand-picked journalists.

Of course, he is being asked to leave the room, to be seen in the clip and in the documentary, which will have its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, September 8-18.

Here is the festival’s presentation of the film:

Sarah Palin – You Betcha! Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill, United Kingdom
World Premiere
Nick Broomfield's quest for the real Sarah Palin involves battling the icy snows of Alaska in mid-winter to speak to the school friends, family, and Republican colleagues that in previous days gave their heart, soul and belief to the charismatic, charming, intoxicating ex-hockey mom. But it's not all plain sailing. People are frightened to talk; Wasilla makes Twin Peaks look like a walk in the park. It's a devout evangelical community – 76 churches with a population of only 6 thousand, and the Crystal meth capital of Alaska. Broomfield brings his celebrated wit and determination to cracking her story.

PS. If you click the link below you will see that the festival has several other strong documentary names on its programme.

Photo: Sheffdocfest.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8W1TdapjK0&feature=player_embedded

http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2011/aug/05/nick-broomfield-sarah-palin

http://tiff.net/press/pressreleases/festival-unveils-highly-anticipated-world-premieres-of-documentaries-from-werner-herzog-morgan-spurlock-jessica-yu-nick-broomfield-and-more

MakeDox Travelling Cinema

The Macedonian documentary festival, MakeDox, is on tour (2.8-11.8) and reports warmly from their stop in Vevchani, population 2500, during summer 3500-4000. Classical way of meeting an audience, here are some quotes from their newsletter: We set up the screen in the small amphitheater. When the 1962 film story about the fortune seekers leaving this region began, almost all seats were taken. The kids who expected a cartoon seemed to be the most interested in the documentary motion pictures and stayed till the end... We had a talk with some of the visitors. Ljubica (photo), an elderly woman said: ”I was born here. For many years I have lived in Belgrade and then returned. I make traditional costumes, there are only few left in Macedonia who make them. This cinema of yours, I like it. Especially the film about the fortune seekers. Some of them are my relatives at Plachikrusha myself (a farewell tree in Vevchani)...

Pure beauty, pioneer work in virtual online times – the personal direct meeting between film and audience. 

http://www.makedox.mk/indexen.html

MakeDox makedoxphotos@gmail.com

Jan Andrews: Joseph Brodsky

With the subtitle ”in the prison of latitudes”, this detailed, autobiographical film is quite an achievement in terms of research into the complicated life of the Russian poet (born 1940), not to talk about the archive material that the director has found, and the many interesting people from St. Petersburg, who knew Brodsky, when he was in his home town before he was forced in exile in 1972. He lived in the US until his death in 1996.

The best in the film, however, is the fascinating images from St.Petersburg, this pearl of a city with so much beauty that Brodsky knew how to convey into his poetry, that is given to the spectator through recordings of his own voice, magnificent it is to listen to poems being recited by him, who in the US also read in a classical English language that Laurence Olivier would have loved!

The director has wisely chosen to let the St. Petersburg years be in the forefront with a voice-off commentary that not only gives information about the life of Brodsky but also quotes him. It is understandable as Brodsky comes alive through his words but it sometimes makes the narrative of the film far too loaded with words and blocks for the experience of the images. Which are also wonderful when the journey goes to his beloved Venice, that inspired him to write the masterpiece ”Watermark” about the city where he is buried. A quote to end this text about an important film introduction to a great poet:

”Being sent to into exile is like being put into a capsule and shot into space and the capsule is your language”  

USA, 2010, 60 mins.

The director Jan Andrews: I do have DVD'S in English and Italian (eventually Russian) which can be ordered from me via my email address. $15.00 plus shipping. shibui@sisna.com.

http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150274520445037&comments&ref=mf

Vurdering:

Lichtpunt: Claudio Magris

Intelligent television. A talk with a writer, one of the best, for many years and still a candidate to receive the Nobel Prize of Literature, Italian or should one say European Claudio Magris, interviewed in his flat in Trieste by Piet de Moor, in German, a meeting with a very sympathetic man, who answers the questions put to him. In other words focus on a face, a talking face, with small incerpts of images from beautiful Trieste, from Donau (the title of his most famous book) and of course from the legendary Caffée San Marco, where he often goes to sit and write. With paper and pen. In total concentration but still with people around him.

Magris talks about his writing – how he writes, where he writes, the difference between his writing for newspapers (43 years he has written for Corriere della Sera!), his love to Trieste, his aim always to be ”genau” and consequent huge research work, and his vision for Europe.

I like this simplicity: One-two-three images and there we are in the flat of Magris ready to make the conversation. And there we stay apart from the image sequences that link the talking. The Belgian tv channel Lichtpunt has made several programmes like this.

Belgium, 2010, 35 mins.

www.lichtpunt.be

Vurdering:

Artavadz Pelešjan

… is the name of one of the greatest auteurs in documentary history. A film has been made about him that will premiere at the Venice Film Festival (August 31 – September 10). Emanuele Vernillo (filmmaker and didactic tutor at Zelig Film School), assistant director on the film, that is directed by Pietro Marcello, has written this text about the film for filmkommentaren. Below a link to YouTube where some of Pelesjan’s work is available, the most famous being “Seasons”. Photo from “Us”:

'Il silenzio di Pelešjan' (Pelešjan's silence) is a portrait about the great armenian film director Artavadz Pelešjan. The film deals with the strong, and still not recognized, artistic experience of Artavadz Pelešjan, from his arrival in Moscow from Yerevan in the early '60s, passing through the years spent at the renowned film school in Moscow VGIK and arriving to the intense film production of Pelešjan, who has written several essays on film-making, stating that his interest in film and in montage relies not on the historical definition of montage as 'union of closed framings', rather on the emotional field created by the interaction of distant elements, the so-called 'theory of the distant montage'. The film is built of extracts of Pelešjan's films, archive material and material shot, in super 16mm, in Moscow by a small film unit directed by Pietro Marcello ('La Bocca del Lupo').

The film has been promoted by Enrico Ghezzi and Stefano Francia di Celle for 'Fuori Orario', a famous television italian program on cinema, which is broadcasted at nights from friday to sunday:

'Il Silenzio di Pelešjan'

directed by Pietro Marcello

produced by: Zivago Media

in association with: Kinesis Film and Avventurosa Film

in collaboration with: Rai Cinema

executive producers: Rino Sciarretta and Simone Gattoni

editing: Sara Fgaier

assistant director: Emanuele Vernillo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ts-Qrvn9sQ

http://www.labiennale.org/en/Home.html

Dokumania: Løb for Livet

This is an announcement especially for our Danish readers about the screening tomorrow of Serbian Mladen Matičević award winning documentary ”Run for Life” on the tuesday evening strand ”Dokumania” on DR/TV. I will therefore switch to Danish language

Det er en varm og gribende dokumentar, som serbiske Maticevic har lavet. Den har vundet priser i Kroatien (ZagrebDox) og Serbien (Beldocs). Den havde sin verdenspremiere sidste år på idfa in Amsterdam efter en lang og besværlig produktionsproces, som faktisk er blevet en del af filmen. Sagen er nemlig den, at de tre etiopiske løbere, som filmen handler om, i en lang periode blev holdt for nar af den serbiske træner, som havde taget dem til sig. Eller var det de serbiske atletik-myndigheder? Ihvertfald løb de maratonløb efter maratonløb i håbet om at kunne få serbisk statsborgerskab, blive i landet og stille op til OL i London for deres nye land. Men intet skete og Maticevic, filmens instruktør og selv maratonløber, besluttede sig for at hjælpe dem. Han tager rundt med dem, køber mad og tøj, prøver at finde ud af, hvad der er galt – og laver en film om det. Med store vanskeligheder, kan jeg bevidne, som fulgte filmen fra sidelinien som lærer på EU-træningsprogrammet for dokumentarister, Ex Oriente. Ud af det er kommet en fin, menneskelig historie af universel karakter. Om mennesker der håber og bliver skuffede. Får nye venner i den serbiske landby de bor i, og som de må forlade. Se den!

PS. Dokumania’s beskrivelse af filmen er i øvrigt meget mangelfuld, er tydeligt skrevet af én, der ikke har set filmen.

http://www.dr.dk/DR2/Dokumania#/13957

http://www.zagrebdox.net/en/