My stay in Thessaloniki was coming to an end. This was my last full day, and night, of watching films and meeting with their makers. After a morning of sitting in front of my laptop trying to catch up on the work I should be doing if I wasn't here – namely designing the next issue of our magazine to make sure it makes its print deadline. But with the sun shining outside and films beckoning not a lot of it was getting done, and the rest of my day's schedule was looking pretty full.
The first film of the day was something a nostalgia trip for me, taking me right back to my youth. HAIR: LET THE SUN SHINE IN, directed by Pola Rappaport, is a look at the revival of the great 60s' musical Hair. With a mixture of archive footage from the original show, auditions for the current revived productions and interviews with the show's creators, cast and producers it gave a great insight into the impact Hair had on a generation. The film also looked at events of the era that were the driving force behind the musical's creation and why they are still relevant in today's political climate. And there was the songs some of which have become classics, such as The Age of Aquarius and Let the Sun Shine In (which featured at the end of 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN) and, of course, the theme song. While the film may have its widest appeal to aging hippies it should be equally interesting to a new generation who missed out on the optimism of that era.
After that burst of cinematic sunshine it was a bit of a disappointed to see the skies covered in clouds and rain falling. So I scuttled off to the luxurious Electra Palace Hotel for one of the Just Talking events that are held every afternoon. A group of selected filmmakers get together with other delegates and members of the press for a semi-informal discussion. There is no fixed topic, as such, it is whatever arises out of the talk. Today's conversation turned to distribution and how difficult it is for independent documentarians to get their films seen outside of the festival circuit. Of course, the Internet was mentioned but no one seemed to have any clear ideas on how best to utilise despite places like www.indiepixfilms.com having an excellent model. After the event there was a chance for a bit more informal talking and networking over drinks and snacks.
There was just enough time after this to run across the square to the Olympion for the next screening – another double bill. This was held in the small upstairs cinema, which, unfortunately, doesn't have a very good digital projector, as I discovered from previous screenings. The first film was a 14 minute UK film called CITY OF CRANES, a mood piece on the solitude of crane operators who inhabit London's skyline. Made up of four three-minute stories, that originally showed on Channel 4's Three Minute Wonders, it was the shortest film in the festival, which, surprisingly, didn't have a dedicated shorts programme. This delicate, meditative film was followed by one of the slickest films I saw during the whole festival.
SEND A BULLET (MANDA BALA) by Jason Kohn looks at the state of Brazil's largest and wealthiest cities, Sao Paolo through four interconnecting stories. That of a frog farmer whose business is linked with a corrupt politician who has been stealing government funds destined for the poorest areas of the country; the prosecutors who are powerless to do stop the corruption; a criminal from the slums who robs banks and kidnaps the rich to get money to help the people in the slums; a young woman who was kidnapped and had her ears cut off to ensure the ransom was paid; a plastic surgeon who has developed a new way of reconstructing ears of kidnap victims and is making a fortune; and a young entrepreneur who talks about all the security measures he takes to ensure his safety. Although it doesn't paint a pretty picture of Brazil it was beautifully shot, looking more like a Hollywood movie than anything else – a sort of MAN ON FIRE Lite (it won Grand Jury Prize (Documentary) Best Cinematography at Sundance 2007).
After the film, having a bit of time to kill before the Arto Halonen gala (an award and screening of his film SHADOW OF THE HOLY BOOK), I went off for a coffee with some other filmmakers who had been watching the film - Samantha Zarzosa (CITY OF CRANES), Sarah Singh (THE SKY BELOW) and Necati Sönmez (TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF) – and the general opinion was they felt that SEND A BULLET glorified the subjects, but I thought it was because it was shot on film and was well lit it gave it a superficial sheen that made it more watchable without really glossing over the issues. For safety reasons it might not have been as hard hitting as it could have been, but it did say in the opening credits "this film cannot be shown in Brazil", so the hard hitting might gone towards the filmmaker from some of the subjects in the film.
As our discussions continued we realised we'd missed the start of the film so we carried on talking until Samantha and Necati had to go to other events. Sarah suggested we go up to the old city to find somewhere to get something to eat and enjoy the views over the city and the harbour, so we grabbed a taxi and found a taverna with live music. A nice way to end my last day in Thessaloniki, for this festival, and with still so many good films to see and the glorious sunny weather it was going to be hard to leave.
All in all, it was another great festival from the organisers. They put together a varied selection of films and I managed to pretty much stay within my "positive and uplifting" remit. There were plenty of opportunities to meet with filmmakers without any feelings of an "us and them" that can sometimes with members of the press. In fact I was wondering if there were any other members of the press there at all, because mostly I only met with filmmakers on a social level. And the filmmakers I spoke to all enjoyed the atmosphere of informality to meet and discuss their craft, as well as having plenty of structured events to make it interesting and informative. And all that topped off with the wonderful Greek hospitality.
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