Night Practice combines the structure of meticulous training with simple magicalwonder.The seven dancers from Coventry’s Kombat Breakers hang out on a floodlit football pitch at night. There is no coach to be seen and the film explores the undirected energy that comes from being able to do whatever you want. Shot on a pitch in the middle of the night in Coventry, Night Practice combines the structure of meticulous training with simple magical wonder.
Screenings: 26 April 2008, 18:00, RNCM Manchester & Dukes Lancaster
More information: http://www.movementonscreen.org.uk/dayschedule08.asp?selected=1&prog=76573&day=5
Friday, April 25, 2008
CINEMA FRANCAIS AT THE TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL
By Sandy Mandelberger
New York City has had a love affair with French film for more than 75 years. From the silent film era to today’s Gallic gems, French films are consistently the highest audience attractions and the non-English cinema most represented in the Big Apple. The Tribeca Film Festival, which began its first day of screenings today, adds to this “Francophile” tendency with the premiere of several films a la francais.
Five dramatic features dot the Festival’s various film strands. In the World Narrative Feature Competition, there is the enigmatic 57,000 Kilometers Between Us by debut director Delphine Kreuter. In this provocative yet charming take on digital communication, the follows a teen caught between her stepdad (who records the family's supposedly perfect life online), her real father (now a transsexual), and the refuge of her online life as she searches for meaningful connections. The film, which has been a modest box office hit in its native France, is produced by Les Films du Poisson and is up for a prize in the Tribeca Film Festival competition.
Two French films are being showcased in Feature Narrative non-competitive section. The most celebrated is The Secret of The Grain, the surprise winner for Best Film and Best Director at this year’s Cesar Awards (the French Oscar). Directed by Abdellatif Kechiche, the film is a remarkable depiction of a family of North African immigrants in a decaying port town in southern France. The film features a terrific ensemble cast who become as endearing as members of one’s own family. The film also won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize at the Venice Film Festival and it young actress Hafsia Herzi has been singled out for her performance, winning a Cesar, Lumiere and Marcello Mastroianni Prize for her performance. Despite huge acclaim, the film was only recently been picked up for US distribution by IFC Films, which plans a very short theatrical release for the film later this summer.
Charly is a new coming-of-age drama from director Isild Le Besco. The film tells the tale of two teenagers, 14-year-old Nicolas, a young man tramping towards the sea, and Charly, a tough girl who takes him into her mobile home, where an unusual domestic arrangement evolves. The film, produced by television network Arte, had its world premiere at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and makes its North American premiere at Tribeca later this week.
In the Encounter section of the Festival, a strand devoted to more experimental work, the documentary film Everywhere At Once is a definite stand-out. This poetic exercise brings together renowned photographer Peter Lindbergh, experimental filmmaker Holly Fisher and actress Jeanne Moreau, to weave a tapestry of images shaping one woman's deepest sense of selfhood. The film has its World Premiere at the Festival on Sunday.
The Tribeca Film Festival has become a major showcase for the short form, introducing audiences to the first works of wonderfully gifted film artists. Three short films will be shown: 20,000 Phantoms by Jean-Gabriel Periot, an expressionistic documentary on the dropping of the atomic bomb on Hiroshima; The Milky Way, a short family drama by Luc Moullet; The Second Life Of The Sugar Bowl, an eye-opening domestic tale by Didier Canaux; and Supply And Demand, a satire on the life of a medical examiner, directed by Frédéric Farrucci.
And we’ve saved the best for last…..the Festival will offer a rare screening of a restored “lost” silent classic, Two Timid Souls (1929) from farceur René Clair. The restored film, which was the highlight of last fall’s Pordenone Silent Film Festival, is a near-forgotten gem which displays all the elegance, wit, and visual inventiveness that are hallmarks of its director. The film was restored by the Cinémathèque Française and will feature the world premiere of a new musical score played at the screenings by the New York University Chamber Orchestra. A true movie and music event to be savored…..
Thursday, April 24, 2008
Lift Off For 7th Tribeca Film Festival
By Sandy Mandelberger
On the same day that the Cannes Film Festival announced its official program, the Tribeca Film Festival lifts off this evening in its most ambitious to date. The Festival, which is presenting its seventh edition, has become a major New York cultural event and has increasingly flexed its muscles as an industry destination as well.
Modeling itself on such long-standing events as Cannes, Venice and Toronto, the Tribeca Film Festival has avoided the “boutique” approach of such established New York festival events as the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films, in creating a “five ring circus” atmosphere, loaded with World and US Premieres, public events and chic industry parties. Definitely more populist than its uptown festival colleagues, the Festival offers a mix of esoteric cinema from around the world with more popular genres (specifically, family and sports films) and a series of free and outdoor events meant to appeal to average filmgoers, rather than just the arthouse elite.
That strategy has succeeded in attracting major financial sponsors, including American Express, Apple, Cadillac and Delta Airlines, making it one of the best endowed financially of the North American film confabs. Perhaps it was this multi-million dollar commitment of funding, along with criticism of previous high ticket prices, that motivated the Festival to lower its ticket price to $15 for evening and weekend screenings and $8 for daytime screenings. With Americans, and New Yorkers, counting their pennies these days, cash outlays for exorbitant “Festival passes” could be hurting. But audiences have definitely embraced the event and record attendance is expected again this year.
One of the ironies of the development of the Festival is that it began as almost a kind of “public service” event, designed to reinvigorate the neighborhood of TriBeCa (that’s triangle below Canal Street for you yokels) after the attacks of 9/11. Local residents, including Robert de Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal, created the Festival as a way of bringing people and income to businesses hard hit after the 2001 attacks. However, these days, the Tribeca Film Festival is no longer exclusively a downtown event. The Festival is centering its Hospitality Lounge and Press Center in Greenwich Village, with film theaters across Manhattan now participating in the ambitious program. Of course, this opens up the event to all Manhattanites, who are remarkably provincial in their way about not venturing outside their core neighborhoods. In effect, the Festival has now become a multi-site, neighborhood-diverse event with only tenuous connections to its original downtown roots.
It has also become a destination for distributors, sales agents, festival programmers and other media professionals. Since the Festival now boasts an impressive array of World and International Premieres, those looking for the next “big thing” either from the American independent world or the international film scene swarm to the event. While quality is sometimes compromised for premiere status, the Festival definitely does deliver a strong program for all kinds of tastes and a proving ground for how the films will play to a sophisticated, urban audience. Coming just a few weeks before the Cannes extravaganza, the Festival offers sales agents and distributors the start of a discussion that could very easily end up on the Croisette in a few weeks with a signed contract.
But industry talk aside, the Tribeca Film Festival is mainly a public event, designed to showcase new and interesting filmmakers, as well as throw show Hollywood dazzle to the masses. New York and its film aficionados definitely deserved a gargantuan smorgasbord of an event, instead of an elegant (and even snobby) wine tasting. In that sense, the Festival is very much like the city that it celebrates: oversized, diverse, multi-ethnic, maddening and even a little chaotic. So, log on to the Festival’s website: http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/ and jump into the pool at the deep end.
On the same day that the Cannes Film Festival announced its official program, the Tribeca Film Festival lifts off this evening in its most ambitious to date. The Festival, which is presenting its seventh edition, has become a major New York cultural event and has increasingly flexed its muscles as an industry destination as well.
Modeling itself on such long-standing events as Cannes, Venice and Toronto, the Tribeca Film Festival has avoided the “boutique” approach of such established New York festival events as the New York Film Festival and New Directors/New Films, in creating a “five ring circus” atmosphere, loaded with World and US Premieres, public events and chic industry parties. Definitely more populist than its uptown festival colleagues, the Festival offers a mix of esoteric cinema from around the world with more popular genres (specifically, family and sports films) and a series of free and outdoor events meant to appeal to average filmgoers, rather than just the arthouse elite.
That strategy has succeeded in attracting major financial sponsors, including American Express, Apple, Cadillac and Delta Airlines, making it one of the best endowed financially of the North American film confabs. Perhaps it was this multi-million dollar commitment of funding, along with criticism of previous high ticket prices, that motivated the Festival to lower its ticket price to $15 for evening and weekend screenings and $8 for daytime screenings. With Americans, and New Yorkers, counting their pennies these days, cash outlays for exorbitant “Festival passes” could be hurting. But audiences have definitely embraced the event and record attendance is expected again this year.
One of the ironies of the development of the Festival is that it began as almost a kind of “public service” event, designed to reinvigorate the neighborhood of TriBeCa (that’s triangle below Canal Street for you yokels) after the attacks of 9/11. Local residents, including Robert de Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal, created the Festival as a way of bringing people and income to businesses hard hit after the 2001 attacks. However, these days, the Tribeca Film Festival is no longer exclusively a downtown event. The Festival is centering its Hospitality Lounge and Press Center in Greenwich Village, with film theaters across Manhattan now participating in the ambitious program. Of course, this opens up the event to all Manhattanites, who are remarkably provincial in their way about not venturing outside their core neighborhoods. In effect, the Festival has now become a multi-site, neighborhood-diverse event with only tenuous connections to its original downtown roots.
It has also become a destination for distributors, sales agents, festival programmers and other media professionals. Since the Festival now boasts an impressive array of World and International Premieres, those looking for the next “big thing” either from the American independent world or the international film scene swarm to the event. While quality is sometimes compromised for premiere status, the Festival definitely does deliver a strong program for all kinds of tastes and a proving ground for how the films will play to a sophisticated, urban audience. Coming just a few weeks before the Cannes extravaganza, the Festival offers sales agents and distributors the start of a discussion that could very easily end up on the Croisette in a few weeks with a signed contract.
But industry talk aside, the Tribeca Film Festival is mainly a public event, designed to showcase new and interesting filmmakers, as well as throw show Hollywood dazzle to the masses. New York and its film aficionados definitely deserved a gargantuan smorgasbord of an event, instead of an elegant (and even snobby) wine tasting. In that sense, the Festival is very much like the city that it celebrates: oversized, diverse, multi-ethnic, maddening and even a little chaotic. So, log on to the Festival’s website: http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/ and jump into the pool at the deep end.
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
RETURNING TO ROMANIAN ROOTS
By Sandy Mandelberger, North American Editor
In the world of cinema, there is always a “new wave” occurring in a country or region or even genre. No question, in 2007/2008, that new wave is centered in the country of Romania, which has flexed its muscles on the international stage with a series of lauded films. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the Romanian abortion drama 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS by Cristian Mingui was the surprise winner of the Palme d’Or, the Festival’s highest honor. Another Romanian film 12:08 OF BUCHAREST by Corneliu Porumboiu also won a prize at Cannes and has since become an international arthouse cult favorite. Earlier in the year, the naturalistic THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU by Cristi Puiu showed on many film critics “top ten” lists.
For those who think that this Romanian renaissance is some kind of new phenomenon, the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York (which sponsors both the New York Film Festival in the Fall and the recently concluded New Directors/New Films series) is presenting a survey of Romanian cinema of the 1960s through the 1980s, a dark period before the fall of the Ceausescu dictatorship, when Romania was one of the most closed societies in the world. For “Shining Through A Long, Dark Night: Romanian Cinema, Then And Now”, which runs from April 16 to 27 at the Walter Reade Theater, the series presents 18 films, most of which have never been seen in North America before.
Probably the best known film in the series is FOREST OF THE HANGED, directed by Liviu Ciulei, who won the Best Director Prize at Cannes in 1965. Set during World War I, as the Romanian and Austro-Hungarian armies battle for control of Transylvania, the film tells the story of a young Romanian lieutenant who becomes a conscientious objector in the midst of battle. The film mixes epic-scale battle scenes with bold surrealistic touches in a stunningly shot panorama of black and white Cinemascope.
Also from 1965, when Eastern European was experiencing cultural thaws in neighboring Czechoslovakia and Hungary as well, is the non-linear narrative SUNDAY AT SIX by debut director Lucian Pintilie. The film, set in the late 1940s, when the Communist Party was consolidating its power, presents an unlikely romance between two Communist revolutionaries who find their mutual affection at odds with their party orthodoxy. This clash between the personal and the institution is one of the themes explored in many of these films, which were financed and controlled by the state film machine.
Films from the 1980s, including Iosif Demian’s A GIRL IN TEARS (1980), which uses both professional and non-professional actors to retrace an unsolved murder of a young woman and Dan Pita’s THE CONTEST (1982), which mixes harsh realism with allegory, use cinematic symbols of discontent or unease to offer a “between the lines” criticism of the Communist regime and the passive acceptance of totalitarianism that marked this generation of Romanian citizens.
The newest film in the series is THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE (2006) from director Radu Muntean. This is the one major Romanian New Wave film that has yet to land an American distribution deal. The film takes place during the final hours of the Romanian Revolution in 1989, when the dictator Ceausescu and his wife were unceremoniously shot in full public view. An idealistic private in the national militia decides to desert his patrol in order to join the anti-government forces that have taken control of the national television station. A kind of surrealism takes over, where nobody is quite sure who is on what side and whether they are shooting at the right people. This mix of dark humor and bloody chaos has many parallels beyond Romania, and could, with a change of environment and language, be a portrait of Baghdad in our own times.
The main protagonists of the so-called Romanian New Wave have made it clear that this designation is simply an invention of the media and a simplistic way for film critics to categorize a new crop of films. But there is no doubt that the Romanians, who have had to suppress their behavior for decades under the Nazis and then under the Communist regime, are letting their freak fly, and taking international cinema into exciting, if uncharted waters. It promises to be an exciting ride.
For more information on this and other Film Society of Lincoln Center programs, log on to: http://www.filmlinc.com/
In the world of cinema, there is always a “new wave” occurring in a country or region or even genre. No question, in 2007/2008, that new wave is centered in the country of Romania, which has flexed its muscles on the international stage with a series of lauded films. At last year’s Cannes Film Festival, the Romanian abortion drama 4 MONTHS, 3 WEEKS AND 2 DAYS by Cristian Mingui was the surprise winner of the Palme d’Or, the Festival’s highest honor. Another Romanian film 12:08 OF BUCHAREST by Corneliu Porumboiu also won a prize at Cannes and has since become an international arthouse cult favorite. Earlier in the year, the naturalistic THE DEATH OF MR. LAZARESCU by Cristi Puiu showed on many film critics “top ten” lists.
For those who think that this Romanian renaissance is some kind of new phenomenon, the Film Society of Lincoln Center in New York (which sponsors both the New York Film Festival in the Fall and the recently concluded New Directors/New Films series) is presenting a survey of Romanian cinema of the 1960s through the 1980s, a dark period before the fall of the Ceausescu dictatorship, when Romania was one of the most closed societies in the world. For “Shining Through A Long, Dark Night: Romanian Cinema, Then And Now”, which runs from April 16 to 27 at the Walter Reade Theater, the series presents 18 films, most of which have never been seen in North America before.
Probably the best known film in the series is FOREST OF THE HANGED, directed by Liviu Ciulei, who won the Best Director Prize at Cannes in 1965. Set during World War I, as the Romanian and Austro-Hungarian armies battle for control of Transylvania, the film tells the story of a young Romanian lieutenant who becomes a conscientious objector in the midst of battle. The film mixes epic-scale battle scenes with bold surrealistic touches in a stunningly shot panorama of black and white Cinemascope.
Also from 1965, when Eastern European was experiencing cultural thaws in neighboring Czechoslovakia and Hungary as well, is the non-linear narrative SUNDAY AT SIX by debut director Lucian Pintilie. The film, set in the late 1940s, when the Communist Party was consolidating its power, presents an unlikely romance between two Communist revolutionaries who find their mutual affection at odds with their party orthodoxy. This clash between the personal and the institution is one of the themes explored in many of these films, which were financed and controlled by the state film machine.
Films from the 1980s, including Iosif Demian’s A GIRL IN TEARS (1980), which uses both professional and non-professional actors to retrace an unsolved murder of a young woman and Dan Pita’s THE CONTEST (1982), which mixes harsh realism with allegory, use cinematic symbols of discontent or unease to offer a “between the lines” criticism of the Communist regime and the passive acceptance of totalitarianism that marked this generation of Romanian citizens.
The newest film in the series is THE PAPER WILL BE BLUE (2006) from director Radu Muntean. This is the one major Romanian New Wave film that has yet to land an American distribution deal. The film takes place during the final hours of the Romanian Revolution in 1989, when the dictator Ceausescu and his wife were unceremoniously shot in full public view. An idealistic private in the national militia decides to desert his patrol in order to join the anti-government forces that have taken control of the national television station. A kind of surrealism takes over, where nobody is quite sure who is on what side and whether they are shooting at the right people. This mix of dark humor and bloody chaos has many parallels beyond Romania, and could, with a change of environment and language, be a portrait of Baghdad in our own times.
The main protagonists of the so-called Romanian New Wave have made it clear that this designation is simply an invention of the media and a simplistic way for film critics to categorize a new crop of films. But there is no doubt that the Romanians, who have had to suppress their behavior for decades under the Nazis and then under the Communist regime, are letting their freak fly, and taking international cinema into exciting, if uncharted waters. It promises to be an exciting ride.
For more information on this and other Film Society of Lincoln Center programs, log on to: http://www.filmlinc.com/
Monday, April 21, 2008
MOVES08 SCREENINGS AND FORUMS
special events including the Dance For Camera Nights at moves08
Screenings start from tomorrow at the RNCM off Oxford Road (Manchester). Films will be playing every day at 6.30pm and 8pm, including some extra-screeningsover the week-end.
www.movementonscreen.org.uk/dayschedule08.asp?day=5
48th Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth
In its 48th edition, the Zlín International Film Festival for Children and Youth brings a number of novelties. The major one rests with moving to brand new screening venues located in the Golden Apple Cinema – a multiplex and a shopping precinct located in the very centre of Zlín. The precinct’s name refers to the original name of Zlín as well as to the new look of the spectator price (inspired by an apple slice), designed by Daniel Piršč.
The festival itself now has eight days. Its constant growth is well represented in the rising number of participants and films. For this year, organizers expect more than 400 films and around 60,000 spectators to turn up. They are going to witness the launching of a new section focused more on university students who have comprised larger and larger share of festival spectators ever since Zlín became a vibrant university town. In the previous years, only films for youth were able to catch the more mature part of festival goers. Now, everybody interested in controversial topics, themes of boundary crossing and transition between youth and adulthood will certainly find their favourites in the new section of Night Horizons.
For more information visit www.zlinfest.cz/index.php
The festival itself now has eight days. Its constant growth is well represented in the rising number of participants and films. For this year, organizers expect more than 400 films and around 60,000 spectators to turn up. They are going to witness the launching of a new section focused more on university students who have comprised larger and larger share of festival spectators ever since Zlín became a vibrant university town. In the previous years, only films for youth were able to catch the more mature part of festival goers. Now, everybody interested in controversial topics, themes of boundary crossing and transition between youth and adulthood will certainly find their favourites in the new section of Night Horizons.
For more information visit www.zlinfest.cz/index.php
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
UK Director Mike Leigh To Be Honored At San Francisco FF
By Sandy Mandelberger, North American Editor
Acclaimed
The Founder's Directing Award is presented each year to one of the masters of world cinema and is given in memory of Irving M. Levin, who founded the San Francisco International Film Festival, the longest-running film festival in the
Mike Leigh will also participate at a public screening event on 30 April at the historic Castro Theater. The special event will include an onstage interview, a clips reel of his career highlights and a showing of TOPSY-TURVY (1999), kaleidoscopic and visually entrancing backstage comedy/drama portraying the tumultuous world of 19th-century theatrical impresarios Gilbert and Sullivan.
Leigh's history with SFFS stretches back to 1986 when SFIFF held the first US retrospective of the director’s gritty and unsparing, often bitingly funny work. That program presented Leigh’s lesser known works, including short films and television films produced for the BBC in the 1970s and early 1980s. Leigh triumphantly returned to SFIFF in 1989 with HIGH HOPES, the alternately hilarious and moving story of a working-class couple living in a tiny
Leigh is one of the
"Mike Leigh is an extraordinary director who has forged a singular path in world cinema over a long and brilliant career," said Graham Leggat, executive director of the San Francisco Film Society. "We are delighted to welcome him back to the International on the heels of his well-deserved success with his latest comedy HAPPY GO LUCKY at this year's Berlinale."
For 22 years the San Francisco International Film Festival has honored a master of world cinema with its Founder's Directing Award. Previous European auteur recipients include: Werner Herzog, Germany; Milos Forman, Czechoslovakia/USA; Francesco Rosi, Italy; Manoel de Oliveira, Portugal; Marcel Carné, France; Jirí Menzel, Czechoslovakia; Robert Bresson, France; and Michael Powell, England.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Day 5
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.
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.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Day 4
Today is a public holiday for Ash Monday, it is also the day that the official celebration of the festival’s 10th anniversary with a party. Big tables were laid out with popular delicacies (dolmados, taramasalata, bread, beans, halva and plenty of ouzo) and a local band. It was all very informal and just another excuse for getting together to eat and dance. But it was soon time to move out of the spring sunshine and return to the dark of salons and the business at hand – watching films.
My quest to watch only positive, uplifting films took a bit of dip during the first screening of the day, a Turkish film called TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF by Necati Sönmez. It was a look at the death penalty in Turkey over a sixty year period where over 700 people were executed. It combined images of abandoned prisons, with the remembrances of people who witnessed the hangings and the words of the condemned taken from letters. The film handled the subject humanely but not film you leave feeling good.
The second half of the double bill was a rather intriguing film in that it started out with one intention and changed as events unfolded during the filming. FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU by Irish filmmaker Neasa Ni Chianáin was originally going to be a portrait of homosexual Gaelic poet Cathal O Searcaigh, whom the filmmaker admired, following him Nepal where he sponsors some of the local youth with their schooling. As the film unfolds it becomes very clear that his intentions towards these innocent local teenage boys is less than honourable, despite the fact that he declares he is trying to protect their innocence. However, the filmmaker’s admiration for the poet initially clouds her judgment but she eventually confronts her subject. The outcome, for the boys at least, is positive.
Forgoing the temptation to enjoy the warm weather I went back to the hotel to catch up on my work, which included updating this blog, until the next film session, another double-bill, started.
TERRITORIES by Canadian Mary-Ellen Davis follows photographer Larry Towell as he works around his Canadian home, on the Mexican border and in Palestine and the Gaza strip. Towell is the only Canadian member of the legendary Magnum Photo Agency. Although he photographs in conflict zones, and particularly those with border issues, his photographs are more concerned with capturing the positive aspects of humanity amongst the suffering and destruction. Unfortunately the technical quality of the screening was very poor, whether it was because the movie was shot on miniDV and couldn’t withstand the blowing up to the big screen or for some other reason, it was all very pixelated, particularly Towell’s photos, which is ironic as he still shoots on film using a battered old Leica. Despite that, it was still an intriguing look at a photographer in the field.
When introducing the second film, SHAKE THE DEVIL OFF, its maker Peter Entell denied he was actually the director because he arrived in New Orleans after Katrina without any specific story in mind and captured the unfolding events of “The Church” using its power to undermine a strong community ravaged by the storm. The archdiocese has decided to close down the parish of St Augustine in the poor black area and absorb it into the surrounding affluent white area. The church has been in the area since the time of slavery and is regarded by many as the birthplace of modern music. Although the charismatic Father LeDoux accepts his fate after he tries his best to prevent the closure the local parishioners aren’t as willing to accept the word of the white hierarchy that is trying to crush the spirit of the community. Watching the joyless sermon of the incoming priest compared to that of LeDoux’s really showed that the local people feel the spirit. And it is accompanied by some fantastic music that bridges jazz, soul and gospel that is performed from the heart without resorting to forced emotions that often get put into church music. Although the community won its battle, the coda told a different story, where the power of “The Church” got its own way in the end. Both sad and uplifting at the same time, which is what the music of the area has always been.
Today is a public holiday for Ash Monday, it is also the day that the official celebration of the festival’s 10th anniversary with a party. Big tables were laid out with popular delicacies (dolmados, taramasalata, bread, beans, halva and plenty of ouzo) and a local band. It was all very informal and just another excuse for getting together to eat and dance. But it was soon time to move out of the spring sunshine and return to the dark of salons and the business at hand – watching films.
My quest to watch only positive, uplifting films took a bit of dip during the first screening of the day, a Turkish film called TO MAKE AN EXAMPLE OF by Necati Sönmez. It was a look at the death penalty in Turkey over a sixty year period where over 700 people were executed. It combined images of abandoned prisons, with the remembrances of people who witnessed the hangings and the words of the condemned taken from letters. The film handled the subject humanely but not film you leave feeling good.
The second half of the double bill was a rather intriguing film in that it started out with one intention and changed as events unfolded during the filming. FAIRYTALE OF KATHMANDU by Irish filmmaker Neasa Ni Chianáin was originally going to be a portrait of homosexual Gaelic poet Cathal O Searcaigh, whom the filmmaker admired, following him Nepal where he sponsors some of the local youth with their schooling. As the film unfolds it becomes very clear that his intentions towards these innocent local teenage boys is less than honourable, despite the fact that he declares he is trying to protect their innocence. However, the filmmaker’s admiration for the poet initially clouds her judgment but she eventually confronts her subject. The outcome, for the boys at least, is positive.
Forgoing the temptation to enjoy the warm weather I went back to the hotel to catch up on my work, which included updating this blog, until the next film session, another double-bill, started.
TERRITORIES by Canadian Mary-Ellen Davis follows photographer Larry Towell as he works around his Canadian home, on the Mexican border and in Palestine and the Gaza strip. Towell is the only Canadian member of the legendary Magnum Photo Agency. Although he photographs in conflict zones, and particularly those with border issues, his photographs are more concerned with capturing the positive aspects of humanity amongst the suffering and destruction. Unfortunately the technical quality of the screening was very poor, whether it was because the movie was shot on miniDV and couldn’t withstand the blowing up to the big screen or for some other reason, it was all very pixelated, particularly Towell’s photos, which is ironic as he still shoots on film using a battered old Leica. Despite that, it was still an intriguing look at a photographer in the field.
When introducing the second film, SHAKE THE DEVIL OFF, its maker Peter Entell denied he was actually the director because he arrived in New Orleans after Katrina without any specific story in mind and captured the unfolding events of “The Church” using its power to undermine a strong community ravaged by the storm. The archdiocese has decided to close down the parish of St Augustine in the poor black area and absorb it into the surrounding affluent white area. The church has been in the area since the time of slavery and is regarded by many as the birthplace of modern music. Although the charismatic Father LeDoux accepts his fate after he tries his best to prevent the closure the local parishioners aren’t as willing to accept the word of the white hierarchy that is trying to crush the spirit of the community. Watching the joyless sermon of the incoming priest compared to that of LeDoux’s really showed that the local people feel the spirit. And it is accompanied by some fantastic music that bridges jazz, soul and gospel that is performed from the heart without resorting to forced emotions that often get put into church music. Although the community won its battle, the coda told a different story, where the power of “The Church” got its own way in the end. Both sad and uplifting at the same time, which is what the music of the area has always been.
Monday, March 10, 2008
10th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
Day 3
There is real sense that nothing shuts around here and people never sleep. After a late night screening I returned to my hotel, which overlooks the main street, and at two in the morning there was still lots of activity with restaurants and newsstands still doing business. Come morning it’s a different story, but as someone who is not particularly good at mornings this seems all very natural and civilised.
Today I had an early start, with a press conference at midday for a local film called A HOLE IN THE WATER, about the proposal to build a ring road around Thessaloniki that runs under the harbour. With no public consultation and rumours of corruption there is growing opposition to the plan.
Then it was off to see a film about the partition of India and Pakistan, called THE SKY BELOW, by New York based Indian Sarah Singh. This is her first film, which she made single-handedly travelling throughout Pakistan, North India and Kashmir talking with people who were affected by Partition and the human cost to the division of the subcontinent. Unfortunately the film suffered from bad projection, but it was still a moving account of one of the great catastrophes of our time. Of course, with the sixtieth anniversary last year the BBC held a season of programmes and documentaries, so documentaries about the event were still fresh in my mind, but for most of the people attending the screening this was a shocking unknown chapter in history, which led to a lengthy Q&A afterwards.
From here I had to run down four flights of stairs to the main Olympion cinema for my next screening, which was a double bill. There are quite a few of those here, mainly due to the short running time of many of the films, which seem to be around 60 minutes. The first was a Polish film, IN SEARCH OF A LEGEND, about a group of young Polish sailors going from Greenland to Vancouver through the North West Passage. It started of with a fantastic animated sequence outlining the history of sailing that route through the Arctic waters, which was followed by some superb aerial photography, but after that it was fairly average. Not wanting to take anything away from their achievement but they did it in the warmest part of the year, rarely under sail and using all the latest electronic navigation equipment. There was never any real sense of danger that makes for interesting viewing. But this wasn’t the film I wanted to see.
I had been recommended THE WHISPERING OF THE TREES by Tom Lemke as a positive and uplifting film, which was my remit, It is about the indigenous people of southern Chile that take their name from a tree that grows in the area. This tells of a family that is trying to retain their heritage in the face of a fast encroaching civilisation. The film follows the family as the go into the forest to collect a special kind of pine nut that not only supplies them with food for the year but also some cash from the sale of the nuts they don’t need. It was great to see a family that wanted to keep its simple culture and lifestyle despite the temptations of materialism. There were a lot of parallels with the Paskowitz family in SURFWISE.
After the screening I went back to the hotel intending to work but bumped into Sarah Singh, whose film I had seen earlier so we headed off to a seafront café so I could interview her about her film. We ended up talking for hours about India and world politics and travelling and ended up continuing the conversation over dinner at small restaurant in the agora (the market). A huge spread of fresh fish, grilled vegetables, salad and bread – more than we could really eat. We left there just in time to catch the final film on my schedule for the day: FLOW: For Love OF Water.
The film came across as being a television show without going into any great depth or covering any real new ground. Of course, if it was aimed at a general American audience their awareness of these matters about the poor state of water supplies in countries places like Asia and Africa can be limited, at best, so on that score it was informative and also showed some of the positive things that are happening to ensure people are getting fresh drinking water. It also showed how multinational corporations are taking over the control of water supplies and either pricing it out of the reaches of those who need pure water the most, or simply cutting off the supply all together. It also concentrated on the ridiculous state of the bottled water industry, which in most cases is selling people tap water at inflated prices. It did get a bit repetitive at times and while it was trying to stress the fact that the world is heading towards a time when there will be a huge shortage of clean water for drinking and domestic use it did not talk about the importance of water conservation. It was a good starting point but for such an important issue it needed to go further and do it more boldly.
And again, heading back to the hotel the town was alive with activity, but it was carnival after all.
There is real sense that nothing shuts around here and people never sleep. After a late night screening I returned to my hotel, which overlooks the main street, and at two in the morning there was still lots of activity with restaurants and newsstands still doing business. Come morning it’s a different story, but as someone who is not particularly good at mornings this seems all very natural and civilised.
Today I had an early start, with a press conference at midday for a local film called A HOLE IN THE WATER, about the proposal to build a ring road around Thessaloniki that runs under the harbour. With no public consultation and rumours of corruption there is growing opposition to the plan.
Then it was off to see a film about the partition of India and Pakistan, called THE SKY BELOW, by New York based Indian Sarah Singh. This is her first film, which she made single-handedly travelling throughout Pakistan, North India and Kashmir talking with people who were affected by Partition and the human cost to the division of the subcontinent. Unfortunately the film suffered from bad projection, but it was still a moving account of one of the great catastrophes of our time. Of course, with the sixtieth anniversary last year the BBC held a season of programmes and documentaries, so documentaries about the event were still fresh in my mind, but for most of the people attending the screening this was a shocking unknown chapter in history, which led to a lengthy Q&A afterwards.
From here I had to run down four flights of stairs to the main Olympion cinema for my next screening, which was a double bill. There are quite a few of those here, mainly due to the short running time of many of the films, which seem to be around 60 minutes. The first was a Polish film, IN SEARCH OF A LEGEND, about a group of young Polish sailors going from Greenland to Vancouver through the North West Passage. It started of with a fantastic animated sequence outlining the history of sailing that route through the Arctic waters, which was followed by some superb aerial photography, but after that it was fairly average. Not wanting to take anything away from their achievement but they did it in the warmest part of the year, rarely under sail and using all the latest electronic navigation equipment. There was never any real sense of danger that makes for interesting viewing. But this wasn’t the film I wanted to see.
I had been recommended THE WHISPERING OF THE TREES by Tom Lemke as a positive and uplifting film, which was my remit, It is about the indigenous people of southern Chile that take their name from a tree that grows in the area. This tells of a family that is trying to retain their heritage in the face of a fast encroaching civilisation. The film follows the family as the go into the forest to collect a special kind of pine nut that not only supplies them with food for the year but also some cash from the sale of the nuts they don’t need. It was great to see a family that wanted to keep its simple culture and lifestyle despite the temptations of materialism. There were a lot of parallels with the Paskowitz family in SURFWISE.
After the screening I went back to the hotel intending to work but bumped into Sarah Singh, whose film I had seen earlier so we headed off to a seafront café so I could interview her about her film. We ended up talking for hours about India and world politics and travelling and ended up continuing the conversation over dinner at small restaurant in the agora (the market). A huge spread of fresh fish, grilled vegetables, salad and bread – more than we could really eat. We left there just in time to catch the final film on my schedule for the day: FLOW: For Love OF Water.
The film came across as being a television show without going into any great depth or covering any real new ground. Of course, if it was aimed at a general American audience their awareness of these matters about the poor state of water supplies in countries places like Asia and Africa can be limited, at best, so on that score it was informative and also showed some of the positive things that are happening to ensure people are getting fresh drinking water. It also showed how multinational corporations are taking over the control of water supplies and either pricing it out of the reaches of those who need pure water the most, or simply cutting off the supply all together. It also concentrated on the ridiculous state of the bottled water industry, which in most cases is selling people tap water at inflated prices. It did get a bit repetitive at times and while it was trying to stress the fact that the world is heading towards a time when there will be a huge shortage of clean water for drinking and domestic use it did not talk about the importance of water conservation. It was a good starting point but for such an important issue it needed to go further and do it more boldly.
And again, heading back to the hotel the town was alive with activity, but it was carnival after all.
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