Nisimazine Karlovy Vary #2

Nisimazine the magazine by NISI MASA - European Network of Young Cinema

KARLOVY VARY 2014

“Barbarians” @ Film Servis Festival Karlovy Vary

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Barbarians The Tree Insecure Catch me Daddy

Thu 10 th July 2014

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CREDITS

Editorial

NISIMAZINE KARLOVY VARY July 4-12, 2014 Edition of July, Thu 10 th 2014/#2

Picture of the day

Luckily, every time I catch up with loads of movies in film festivals, I rediscover the point of devouring large portions of cinema. For instance, when I watched the Serbian film Barbarians on my second day in Karlovy Vary, it stroke me that it would probably take me months to emotionally connect with the rightwing young protagonists depicted in the film.

The journey you can take in films like these are simply awe-inspiring. Besides, directors do all the hard work for you and they offer you- if the picture hits a chord - an interesting portrait while you just lay back in your chair.

In addition, watching cinema also implies you can afterwards openly discuss and share thoughts on a unconfident security guard in the suburbs of France (such as in Marianne Tardieu’s Insecure), young deaf gangsters in the outskirts of Hungary (Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy’s The Tribe), or Chechen refugees in Vienna (Macondo by Sudabeh Mortezai); I mean how glorious and refreshing are these subjects? The doubt I sometimes have seems almost surreal now.

Brings those films on, it is just an offer you can’t refuse.

EDITORIAL STAFF Director Fernando Vasquez Coordinator Matthias Van Hijfte Layout Francesca Merlo Contributors to this issue Vaiva Rykštaite, Andrei Sendrea, Matthias Van Hijfte, Ewa Wildner NISI MASA European Network of Young Cinema 99 Rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis 75010 Paris, France +33 (0)1 48 01 65 31 europe@nisimasa.com www.nisimasa.com www.nisimazine.eu Special thanks to Tereza Perinova, Jo Mehlberger,

by Matthias Van Hijfte (Belgium)

Kristina Timmermann and Nikolas Samalekos.

With the support of the Youth in Action of the European Union. This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. © Catherine Pouyeto (France)

Now and then I ask myself why I watch so many films. Instead of observing other people act through life, why not focus on creating on my own experiences? In one way or another, these little drops of doubt always surface, even though I can sometimes be aggressively passionate about films.

A magazine published by NISI MASA in the framework of a film journalism workshop for young Europeans

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review

@Film Servis festival Karlovy Vary

Barbarians Ivan Ikic, Serbia - East of the West Competition

Barbarians is another well pointed addition to what some call The Yugoslav Black Wave, a movement that doesn’t shy away from harsh and agitating subjects. With three films in different sections of the festival, Serbian cinema is well represented. Not that the film is evenly grim as Srdjan Spasojevic’s A Serbian Film, but the protagonist’s behaviour is definitely provoking. The title actually says it all, and it could easily be extended with a few synonyms such as Brutes, Beasts, and Vandals.

Our main character, Luka, is one of these hooligans. He cannot handle the forlorn condition of contemporary Serbian society, where value seems to be in pieces. He does not only belong to a lost generation but also belongs to a lost society. From the president of the small local football team to the rich owner of a bar, they are all part of a system that breeds toughness and macho like behaviour.

Moreover, there is an unwillingness to give the people in the poor suburbs a real chance in life. The Kosovars, the majority of the inhabitants living in the neighbourhoods, are simple just not important; if the herd of young football fans don’t cause anyone too much problems, nobody really cares about, they are almost non-existing.

You see that this fact weighs on Luca, he leaves his traces in the streets in the form of empty bottles of alcohol and infuriated people. He tries to avoid problems but his best friend Flash is not really helping him, pushing him towards hooliganism and jealousy. Henceforth, the girl he fancies and with whom he goes a bit further than flirting- is dating with the star of the football team. This obviously creates a tension that has to burst out in one way or another. Yet,

this is not the main issue of Luka. In the patriarchal style society that Serbia is still immersed in, the absence of his father really seems to leave him in fragments that neither his mother nor the social worker following him can glue back together.

All this despair that Luka has to carry with himself can be identified in the eyes of Zeljko Markovic, non-professional actor that stars in Barbarians, born and raised Kosovar and whose simultaneously firm, raw, and yet vulnerable presence in the film is impossible to go unnoticed. Director Ivan Ikic really found the perfect actor to approach such issues. Equally important is the fact that the filmmaker also deserves a lot of praise for the choice of giving a local gang of the suburbs of Belgrade a chance to put all their frustrations on film.

Using a sober way of filming in the industrial setting of Serbia’s messy wasteland, he follows his restless main character from behind. Despite the fact that such a restrained style is unquestionably effective, the narrative is not fully working at all levels, leaving us with a lot to ponder about but also longing for more emotional cues. Such a phenomenon misses out on creating a forceful tension.

Still, I am curious to see more from Ikic in the future because Barbarians is nuanced and shows a window to a world we don’t often see. And all this through the eyes of the young people who are often depicted in the news as just ‘the scum of the earth’.

by Matthias Van Hijfte (Belgium) 3

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The Tree

@Film Servis festival Karlovy Vary

review

Sonja Prosenc, Slovenia East of the West Competition Sonja Prosenc’s feature debut brings to mind the construction of a jigsaw puzzle. You get three pieces, each of which doesn’t make much sense when separated from the rest. When put together, however, they create a visually remarkable picture which stays under the lids long after the screening.

You would better not watch it though if you’re claustrophobic.

The Tree creates a dense atmosphere which may make some of the audience feel that there is not enough air in the film theatre.

The first chapter is presented from the perspective of the youngest of the protagonists and takes place mostly on a dusty yard surrounded by high walls. There is just a boy there, his blue bike and massive metal door guarding the entrance to the rest of the world. The frequent close-ups on the faces, as well as presenting the boy’s reality through his half-closed eyes, pee-

king through partly shut doors and windows, intensifies the feeling of an overwhelmingly confined space, which gives the story a distinctive touch of isolation. The imprisonment is a central theme of the movie – the family of three is secluded behind the walls of their own house. Don’t expect that the reason will crop up soon, you have to put all the pieces together first to get to know the storyline.

Such emotions are possible because of the clever and wellknown trick of using non-linear narration. Instead of starting by introducing the characters, the director throws the viewers into their lives with neither a warning nor an explanation. Not knowing the motives, or even any background, heightens the confusion which results in creating the tension that is smartly reduced as the events of this slow yet rhythmical family drama unfold. The camera work doesn’t help, you may find yourself subconsciously peeking to the sides of the screen in the hope of seeing more and get rid of the overpowering restlessness.

But even though the director sentences the audience to an imaginative prison during the screening, she makes sure that the windows overlooking it present the sights which might make the viewers reluctant to set themselves free.

It’s not enough to say that the visuals catch your eye, they captivate the attention of all senses. When the protagonist moves his hand against the concrete wall, the texture can be felt on our own palms. You can smell a scent of a freshly pressed male shirt when a woman brushes it against her body. The sound of a metal gate closing gets the viewers to reach the highest level of anxiety. If the cinematography of a film can ever suffer from being too flawless, this is just the case – The Tree can give recurring nightmares to aesthetic perfectionists and insightful photographers.

by Ewa Wildner (Poland)

Nisimazine’s 2014 agenda Venice Film Festival 27 August - 7 September San Sebastian Film Festival 19 - 27 September Tallin Black Nights Film Festival 14 - 30 November For additional information and application please contact us at: fernando@nisimasa.com

www.nisimasa.com

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Insecure

@Film Servis festival Karlovy Vary

reviews

Marianne Tardieu, France - EFP/Variety’s Critics’ Choice

Catch me Daddy

@Film Servis festival Karlovy Vary

A bunch of kids surround a young man in a suit. They make fun of him.

He is a grown-up and they are just kids. It is a story of any man, dealing with his insecurities in a very broad sense. Watching him struggle to prove himself, on both psychological and physical security levels, reveals how universal the feeling of uncertainty is.

The first feature-length film of Marianne Tardieu is done with skill (the fact that the whole film was shot in 25 days has done no harm). Although my biggest sympathy goes to Reda Kateb, who had almost a fairy tile like resurrection – not every actor gets a chance to play someone beyond the established image, and even fewer do it so well. Likewise the plot of the film claims that everyone deserves a second and third chance. Or even a fourth – this is how many times Cherif (R. Kateb) has taken the nurse exam. And when he fails you cannot help but feel sorry for him.

The profound acting is mesmerising – R. Kateb masterfully embodies a wide range of emotions. Every situation here seems to be an exam for Cheriff, who struggles and often loses his battles against a world ruled mostly by clerks in suits. He is just one of the many standing at the bottom of a social ladder deeply rooted in class and racial tensions.

Daniel Wolfe, EFP/Variety’s Critics’ Choice

Sometimes going to the movies is like going for a ride. Some directors will let you drive and let you choose which way to go and what you want to see. Others want to have total control and show you only what they want you to see. Catch Me Daddy belongs to the latter category. While it is definitely a controlled experience, the driver in this case, Daniel Wolfe, certainly knows what he’s doing.

The film/car ride metaphor is very well suited for Wolfe`s debut feature because Catch Me Daddy is, as the title suggests, a game of hide and seek with an honor killing twist. A young Pakistani girl has run away from home with her white boyfriend and a gang of relatives and hired white thugs are combing the Yorkshire countryside in search of them.

The film takes its time, slowly building up momentum, collecting the characters one by one and skillfully sewing them into the plotline. The lonely caravan-dwelling retired guy with a cocaine addiction, the dangerous looking very attentive Middle Eastern father carrying his young daughter, the young interracial couple living in a trailer park. While the audience is busy trying to figure out who all these people are and what brings them together, they are unaware that their ride is building speed.

This simple, urban and honest, yet deep and subtle social realism drama takes place in a poor suburban ghetto of Paris, where there is very little hope and the crime rate is high. The multi-layered story concerns aspects of the immigration problems in France, as well as work relationships, criminal relationships, physical dangers of the poor neighbourhoods and even has some thriller like moments of shootings.

Yet the most important is the psychological lineage - development of insecurity.

Raw looks, casual some would say, even scruffy clothing contrast with the strict uniform of a security guard that Cherif is forced to dress.

However, what we wear on the outside does not define who we are on the inside. Just like the protagonist does not feel stronger because of his job title, nor the suit, the jury fails to see the sensitive and kind man within.

The pastel dreamlike colours of the setting and rough characters getting involved in all sorts of crimes are skilfully balanced out with a dosage of rays of optimism. There is some light electro music in the background, the face of a thug lighten up while talking about his kids; a charming school teacher (another brilliant performance by Adele Exarchopoulos). Also a glimpse of a love story, pleasant to watch but slightly undeveloped, or to be more precise, it develops too fast, thus not convincing enough.

The plot is strongly politically charged, but also very well thought-out.

Nothing comes up as an obvious claim, yet the lives of the characters from the French ghettos becomes a statement itself. There are meaningful contrasts and symbols which cleverly intervene within a script, some obvious, other not so much so.

The English title captures it all, as Insecure here has to be gasped on both levels of deep inner fears and external danger. Despite all the mess and darkness depicting the life of an average second generation immigrant suburban setting, the director skilfully avoided all sorts of overdoing. No vulgarities, no blood, not much swearing or sobbing – pious and squeamish viewers may have no fear. Insecure is a good example of how to make a social realism drama without forgetting about good cinematographic manners and good taste.

by Vaiva Rykštaite (Lithuania)

“I got to do what I love, running”, that was what the main actress answered when asked about her first filming experience. Everybody is running in this film, chasing or being chased, either in a car or on foot, and the physicality of their effort is an important point the film makes.

Their fatigue, flushed faces and shortage of breath are all transferred to the spectator through a skilled combination of hand held camera, naturalistic acting and lighting and an intense audio score.

Daniel Wolfe has a lot of experience directing music videos and Catch Me Daddy stands out as a an unusual combination of realism (most of the actors were street cast, natural setting) and non-diegetic music.

Indeed, a car ride is not the same without some music playing in the background, and the director uses the soundtrack in two different ways: as a means for somatic transfer from the character to the spectator, and as a way of enhancing the performance of his, mostly, nonprofessional cast. The music sets the inexperienced cast in the right mood and they manage to deliver complex, strong, and very emotional performances.

After the screening the director shared his views on how the script was developed over time, the emphasis of dialogue as texture rather than information, working with non-professional actors and how the actual script was shaped on location. In short, improvisation played a major part, but every frame, action, words or audio score, is in the right place, nothing is redundant, contrived or shallow. The reason for this is that Catch Me Daddy has a very solid structure.

The structure is shaped and held in place by very smart punctuation techniques that give the film a breathable rhythm. The violent chase is paced by the music, hilarious sequences that work on the principle of comic relief and an almost surrealist animal imagery, matching the various characters to different animals (the sleazy drug dealer has a yellow snake pet for instance).

Wolfe’s masterful editing and choice of music makes the ride highly enjoyable and it feels like it could last for ever. The film does end tough, and Wolfe’s choice of brutally throwing the spectator out of the car will certainly split the audience.

by Andrei Sendrea (Romania)

5

interview with

John Michael MCDONAGH

© Catherine Pouyeto (France)

Director of Calvary, United Kindgom Variety’s Choice

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interview

It all started with an image of the priest in soutane. It was a matter of time until it was decided that the priest will be played

by Brendan Gleeson, a long time contributor to the projects of both brothers. After the hugely successful Guard where Gleeson impersonates a corrupted cop, this time he is made to wear a clerical collar and listen to a life-threatening confession with a precise date of his own murder. “In the next movie I plan to put him on a wheelchair and make him hate everyone around”, says McDonagh. “This will be the end of the trilogy I called the Glorified Suicide, the general idea for which is to portray the final scenes of life and the choice whether we should go there or not.”

When asked about the fascination about the theme of suicide, McDonagh says that the only thing that would instill suicidal thoughts in himself was a nine to five job. “I used to be a clerk in an insurance company. Then I decided to start writing books, I wrote five and they were terrible.” Even though he quit the literary career, he admits that his movies still have novelistic influences which he displays by creating rich characters, every one of which would deserve a separate movie. “I get much more excited about a book coming out than a film,” he says. “Even with a good film you still know where all the characters are going to end up, it’s not that obvious in novels.” So he decided that instead of writing average books he should try having a go at scriptwriting, making films that would suit his taste. Because what do you do when the script you wrote is not carried out as you expected and you feel the constant need to criticize the director?

You start directing and writing on your own. And make a hit that will hold number one position of the most succesful film in the Irish box office for three years, which happened for McDonagh with The Guard. The break came with Ned Kelly and the disappointment which came when he saw his script come to life. From then on he has been relying on himself, writing and directing independently. “It was a long journey to get where I am today,” he admits. “I started working for television when I was twenty seven, my first successful movie came in my early forties. This type of career is not easy, but if you give up that means you don’t deserve to be a filmmaker.”

Having a reputation of being strongly opinionated, McDonagh doesn’t shy from speaking his mind about his cinematic dislikes.

“I try to avoid Irish films. There are many bad films about how terrible priests are. And many of them actually are. But showing just one angle is extremely boring – so I said to Brendan Gleeson that we should do the exact opposite in Calvary.” The result is a portrayal of an Irish priest who is sincere, unironic and who is what he says he is. As if the words coming from the screen and articulated by Father James echoed his own point of view – “I think there’s too much talk about sins and not enough talk

© Catherine Pouyeto (France)

There has to be something peculiar about the McDonaghs’ household, everyone who has seen at least one of the movies of any of the brothers can easily vouch for that. The absurd and quirky In Bruges and the highly amusing Seven Psychopaths were conceived the by younger of the brothers, Martin. The 49th Karlovy Vary festival welcomed his equally deadpan sibling – with the sense of humour as black as a bottle of Guinness, John Michael McDonagh discusses his second feature, Calvary.

about virtues.” For promoting spiritual values he was awarded the Ecumenical Jury Prize in Berlin and got acclaim from local churches. Gary Lydon, who plays a police officer in Calvary, told me that the priest in his parish recommended the movie during the mass,” grins McDonagh.

For him, the biggest compliment he could get after the screening of Calvary is seeing a Catholic and an atheist walking out of the cinema and saying that they both liked it. And there is a good chance for it – the cinema room during the Karlovy Vary screening was packed, the film had one of the biggest openings of the year in the United Kingdom. What’s next? “Im lazy. I’m looking for somebody who will do the writing for me, I get bored with sitting alone in one room, pouring the ideas on paper. But there’s something wrong with most of the scripts I get, they’re either too sentimental or have really bad dialogues. So now I’m working on my own script for an American movie War on Everyone, it will be about two corrupted cops in Texas.”

That’s the next challenge he puts in front of himself, after he admitted that making films in Ireland has become too easy since he has his position established and knows everybody in the industry. McDonagh seems to be making the next step in his career. However self-challening a director he may seem, there is one challenge he admits he’s not yet ready for. “When people keep asking about whether I will do something in cooperation with my brother, I remember how heated our arguments are when we play tennis. We obviously love each other but ther is no way we’re going to end up on one set together.”

by Ewa Wildner (Poland) 7

@ “ The Tree” Film Servis festival Karlovy Vary