Nisimazine WEDNESDAY 19 MAY 2010
#5
Cannes
A Magazine by Nisi Masa, European Network Of Young CinemA
Ivan Fund & Santiago Loza
- directors of Los Labios
From All Good Children by Alicia Duffy (UK) - Directors’ Fortnight
Olivier Masset-Depasse Pál Adrienn
NISIMAZINE CANNES
Wednesday 19 May 2010/# 5 A magazine published by the NISI MASA in the framework of a film journalism workshop
editorial
for young Europeans with the support of the ‘Youth in Action’ programme of the EU
by Andreea Dobre
EDITORIAL STAFF Director of Publication Matthieu Darras Editors-in-Chief Maartje Alders
Jude Lister
For William, a troubled suburban teenager, playing the mastermind in a virtual friend circle is an escape from grey moods and scarred arms. How often could he get called a “teenage exclamation mark” in real life? Hideo Nakata’s Chatroom turns chat conversations into physical acting.
For contemporary young people, computers have always been around, and it wouldn’t be easy to live without them now. Fragile and
confused, many feel safe behind the firewall, and so addiction begins. This is when a tool or a way to relax can easily become a shield to hide behind. Machines will always be there when no one else is, but a reliable piece of plastic and a good connection can never replace real human contact. It’s become redundant to speak about the evils of technology, but it’s not hard to see how excess fits into normality. It wouldn’t surprise me if one day birth certificates are outdated and every newborn gets a profile page.
Layout Maartje Alders Contributors to this issue
Maximilien Van Aertryck, Vincent Bitaud Geoffrey Crété, Olivier Croughs Andreea Dobre, Cristina Grosan Erzsébet Plájás, Mirona Nicola Damien Rayuela Coordinators Joanna Gallardo
Marion Perrin NISI MASA 99 rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 75010, Paris, France. Phone: +33 (0)9 60 39 63 38 in Cannes: +33 (0) 6 32 61 70 26 europe@nisimasa.com www.nisimasa.com
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Jitze, a professional gamer, loses touch with his soul in David Verbeek’s R U There. In a mall, he
throws french fries at people as if they were targets on a monitor. When a motorcycle accident happens a few metres away from him, his only reaction is to stop and watch. His path crosses with that of Asian beauty Min Min, but he is more likely to kiss her in Second Life. “The doctor said you live in your head too much”: a serious shoulder pain breaks his habits and Jitze is forced to remember that he has a body.
Outsider heading back - (read the ‘Outsider chronic’ on our blog)
picture of the day
BY CRISTINA GROSAN
Two of this year’s Un Certain Regard films are set at the limit between offline and online life. But how much can we call it a life?
The Myth of the American Sleepover David Robert Mitchell (USA) – Critics’ Week
It’s pretty tricky to review a feature in which there’s strictly nothing happening. Forget about the classic teen movies with sex, alcohol and drugs. The Myth of the American Sleepover depicts young people simply getting together, gossiping and wasting time. The sleepover is a ritual with tight rules, even in these slippery times: girls can never invite boys, and boys make sure they parents never find out who slept on what couch. The essence, however, is not in the details, but in the big picture: the value of youth, and the importance of living it before it fades away on the college corridors. The Myth is about as exciting as a sleepover itself, and that might be its strength for those expecting sluggish stories, but it’s boring to death for anyone expecting… something. Perhaps it’s because this is a film with feminine subtleties and loose gentle cuts in the shots that film can be emotional for some, but dull to others. The story takes place in present-day Detroit, but this is hardly apparent as David Robert Mitchell keeps his camera away from any references to time or location. As a result, The Myth can be interpreted as a universal - albeit Americano-flavoured and timeless portrait of four youths seeking one last summer night before the start of the next school year. While Rob is obsessed with a girl he saw at the supermarket, Maggie prefers to join a party with older kids instead of the sleepover she’s
review
been invited to. In the meantime, Scott decides to find the twins he had a crush on as he just got dumped; while Claudia discovers her boyfriend has been dating the girl who’s organizing the sleepover she’s attending. Stunning programme... The Myth is about freezing time, or at least making time run as slowly as possible. And Mitchell clearly achieved this with his first feature, a Peter Pan syndrome story with no Neverland or pirate boats. From the Barrie’s story The Myth only kept Tinker Bell’s jealousy, seduction and unbearable self-esteem among the protagonists.
While the photography succeeds in showing an amateur-like grainy movie; while the cast is really convincing – Claire Sloma is a big hit; while I had a few good laughs, The Myth remains a hollow story about a bunch of teenagers discovering privileged instants owing to an allegorical and yet improbable parents’ absence – non-existence. I experienced more exciting and enlightening moments, yet I didn’t fell asleep. But then, this wasn’t a sleepover. By Olivier Croughs
Now on
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Video with the interview of the Little Baby Jesus of Flandr cast Review of Love Potato
Bi, dung so!
Phan Dang Di (Vietnam/France/Germany) – Critics’ Week A child’s eyes can provide a unique point of view over the world of adults, and the lightness of the eponymous little Bi is in fact fascinating. In the Vietnamese city of Hanoi, this six-year-old walks through the lives of his family; from the sickness of his grandfather, to the absence of his father, and the loneliness of his aunt. While the boy is playing in an ice factory to fill his solitude, men commit silent betrayals and women are forced to stay quiet, pretending to ignore the truth. This violent yet classic opposition between the complexity of adulthood and the innocence of youth becomes the main stake of this tepid tale, tied to a handful of people struggling with the empty routine of their everyday lives.
Not that a precise structure is always needed in cinema, but Bi, dung so! (Bi, don’t be afraid!), a surprising French- Vietnamese-German coproduction, remains too detached from a real point of view to keep the viewer’s attention, despite some daring sex scenes. Lost in a timeless place cut off from the modern world, Bi vanishes from the screen after the vision of a plane, the only possible - yet unreachable - escape route from the life he is condemned to. This brief last image certainly remains the most striking. By Geoffrey Crété
© Acrobates Films
© Romans Spring Pictures
review
review
A white hospital gown fills the screen. A pair of defeated eyes. During the nightshift, nothing goes better with the sound of dying hearts than a large bite of cake.
© KMH Film
Pál Adrienn (Adrienn Pál), a tale of fleeing alienation, is Hungarian director Ágnes Kocsis’ second feature, competing in the Un Certain Regard
section. For a palliative nurse, every soul is a numbered monitor and death is routine. A distant, smallminded husband increases her guilt over emotional overeating. Although young, Piroska is trapped in an overweight body, a depressing job, and a dull personal life. For such an empty heart, a new patient’s name
triggering childhood memories is like a promise from above: Adrienn Pál used to be her best friend. As the search begins, each encounter with forgotten schoolmates scattered along different paths offers its own glimpse of Hungarian society. Repetitive hospital interiors are beautifully-shot and uncannily magical. On the contrary, scenes outside of Piroska’s workplace offer a cold realism. Outlining a life which has terminal illness as its background is quite similar, both visually and conceptually, to Import/Export, an Austrian film nominated for the Palme d’Or in 2007. However, any comparison ends here: the stakes are not as high as in Ulrich Seidl’s politically-charged masterpiece. Although carefully constructed and balanced with fine irony, this character-driven film is more of an essay on loneliness than a compelling story. By Andreea Dobre
Sound of Noise
Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson (Sweden) – Critics’ Week It’s only Rock and Roll baby! "Music for one city and six drummers" would be the very short synopsis of Sound of Noise by Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson, the Swedish Coen (non-)brothers who obviously like to put a lot of funk into their scripts. This time it comes with a refreshing theme: contemporary music. Rarely depicted in cinema, and harshly judged by most ears. Six music terrorists, lead by genius Sanna and her ingenuity - modeled on Karin Dreijer Andersson, one half of the critically-acclaimed Swedish electro duo The Knife, are in search of the most singular instruments to execute their clamorous symphony. A human body, shredded bcanknotes and caterpillars are just a few examples. The concerts don’t knock you off your seat but are nevertheless magically orchestrated. What is their goal? Collapsings new constructions! When they tar-
© Bliss
Pál Adrienn
Ágnes Kocsis (Hungary) – Official Selection, in competition
review
get the opera of Malmö, detective Amadeus Warnebring, our main character who’s allergic to music, has to jump in to save society. Police fighting for the sound of silence? Why not. Although many aspects are overthe-top caricatures and the comedy is a bit clumsy, Sound of Noise is a stimulating call for a little more anarchy. Whether this is aimed at the Nordic lifestyle or really universal is unclear, but the originality of the script and jazzy debonair direction totally save the deal. By Maximilien Van Aertryck
JAN 21-30, 2011 100 EUROPEAN FIRST FILMS
PHOTO BY DAMIEN RAYUELA
interview
Ivan Fund & Santiago Loza,
Directors of Los Labios – Un Certain Regard
In Los Labios (The Lips) three women (Coca, Noe and Luchi) travel to a poor hamlet in the province of Santa Fe to deal with poverty and ineffective state social policies. Little by little, they melt into this human landscape, each of them facing the loneliness of private moments in a different way... How did you two meet? Ivan Fund: I already knew Santiago, we’ve been friends for a few years now, but we got to know each other better through this project. I had the idea for it, Santiago was interested and we started working together, writing the screenplay. Santiago Loza: The idea of co-directing came during the writing process, but our confidence in each other had already grown over the years through working together. How did the shooting go, in terms of working together and dividing the tasks? I.F.: We both had a similar vision of the essential elements. After over two years of debating and thinking about this subject, when it came to the actual work on the movie it was quite easy. I was behind the camera, so more physically into the scene, and Santiago had a more general view. S.L.: It was only natural, since I usually work more with the actors. So we shared opinions, I on the camera and him on my direction. Also, at the end of each day we would review what we had filmed and discuss how it came out and where
should we take it from there. I.F: The outline had been set, but there was also a lot of improvisation, especially in the scenes where the three characters interview the villagers. There were certain reactions that simply happened on the spot, so we also had to talk this through at that moment. This film seems to be what we call a docu-fiction, a fictional film which has aspects of a documentary… I.F.: I think that from the first moment it had to be something like this, didn’t it? (to Santiago). Originally the story came from some anecdotes that I heard from a friend who actually has a job very similar to the characters’. S.L.: I think this wasn’t a choice but a theme in itself. This is a story of three women who do social work, so we had to deal with the real thing. So it was a matter of realism. S.L.: Yes, sort of... But you know, I’m at “war” with the notion of realism. On one hand, this is a fictional story, everything that happens is fictional, but it is infused by what we found on location. I.F.: Most of the time it is not a documentary, because the people are acting as themselves. They knew they were free to improvise answers. It just happened that in most cases people preferred to say the truth because it was easier for them. We don’t even know when they are telling the truth and when they are improvising. So most of the actors are unprofessional. I.F.: Raul is my uncle. He’s not an actor, and he’s not a municipality worker or driver either. But the
three protagonists are professional actresses, and the rest of the cast are people from that place. How hard was it for you to work with the people in these villages? I.F.: I was born in San Cristobal, in the area where the shooting took place. So choosing these places also has to do with my fondness of them. S.L.: I think people felt part of it and got more involved when they realized that they were not being used or manipulated in any way and that they were treated well. On the other hand, I also think that they weren’t intimidated by being a part of something too big, since we were such a small crew. While they are in the village, the three characters don’t show much of what they are feeling. But when they come back to the place where they sleep you can really feel the “heaviness” of their days as well as their solitude. How did you manage that? S.L.: This idea was at the core of the project. The film deals with both the public and private sides of the matter. I.F.: This is also determined by our individual styles, since I like dealing with groups, whereas Santiago likes dealing with individuals. I think these two actually meet towards the end. In the last scenes, you can see both how they act in a group and how each one of them feels individually. By Mirona Nicola and Damien Rayuela
PHOTO BY VINCENT BITAUD
interview
Olivier Masset-Depasse
Director of Illégal (Belgium/France) – Directors’ Fortnight
Olivier Masset-Depasse is one of two Belgian directors in the Director’s Fortnight selection this year. His second feature Illégal is essentially about immigration and what really happens behind refugee centres’ closed doors. After a thin-skinned Cages, he comes back with a movie that will surely break taboos. In Illégal, you filmed in a refugee centre. It’s a tough topic to work on. How did you manage not to fall into a complex and heavy debate? At first, like everybody, I only knew that such centres existed. Then words like “prison for innocents” and the fact that women and children are kept in jail pricked my curiosity. I started approaching the subject and asking questions to finally investigate more deeply. A journalist and a jurist from the Human Rights League took part in the process and we collected illegal immigrants’ testimonies. I didn’t want to make a left-wing feature; I wanted my film to be as fair as possible. So we entered these centres several times, I tried to interview most of the actors who are strongly linked to the
domain, like “behind enemy lines”… a real reporter’s work. Then I had to figure out how to make a film out of this material. I really wanted it to be subjective. You could compare [the film] to a psychological thriller with a social critique background. A thriller experienced by those people who live permanently enclosed by fear. The female guardian expresses doubts about her uneasy situation: how to combine work and a clean conscience, when you are keeping innocents confined... At every layer of the system, from the guardians to the transfer police, everyone is stuck in such a position. That was the very point of my interviews with the guardians: showing the reasons and origins, why one would have that kind of job. In the end, you always get the job that you’re given. You also show police violence behind the scenes. Are you expecting any political feedback as a result of your field investigations? I had the opportunity to see a recorded expulsion. We can admit that everything you see in the movie happened at least once in real life. I am
not asserting that every expulsion happens this way. Only a few do, but still too many.
a good pupil, and as a result there are more Russian dialogues in the film than initially planned.
Anne Coesens did an awesome job playing a Russian immigrant. Could you tell us more about her performance? At first she was a bit scared to assume such a character, and we can easily understand. She did not see why I demanded a Belgian actress should do the job. Actually, I saw several movies on the topic of immigration: Welcome (Philippe Lioret), In This World (Michael Winterbottom) and others, which were mostly about Pakistanis, Africans, or Kurds... But there are a lot of Russian asylum-seekers and residence permit-seekers in Belgium; also I wanted the identification to be as strong as possible, without any ethnic barriers. I liked the idea of a Russian immigrant, white and much closer to us. And because I strongly believe in unconsciousness in cinema, I wanted a local actress to take the role. She was trained by two Russian coaches for a five month period. She had to learn the dialogues by phonetics, as she certainly didn’t have time to learn to read in Russian (laughs). In the end she proved to be
Talking about dialogues, with Illégal we can observe a real progress in your writing the general credibility of the film... Indeed, I try to learn from my previous mistakes. Obviously, the first feature is always about dazzling. Here, the theme required much more humility. I tried never to run before the subject, I had to support it. The subject can help, for sure. Illégal has a very nervous pace. This seems to be one of your stylistic prints… Indeed, I am a heavy cutter. What I think I achieved with Illégal is that we don’t perceive the movie to be fast and furious, but there is a real tension from beginning to end. Talking about rhythm, I’m inspired by directors such as Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday, United 93) and Iñárritu (21 Grams, Babel). This punchy cinematic style was completely compatible with the thriller idea I wanted to infuse in my film. By Olivier Croughs
portrait Alicia Duffy
Director of All Good Children (Ireland/Belgium/France) – Directors’ Fortnight
She was inspired about five years ago by a novel, The Republic of Trees, written by Sam Tayl. It would have been very difficult to adapt, so she took only elements of it. "I was kind of inspired by the tone more than the narrative", she recalls, adding later that "mood in this film is very important, the atmosphere of being in a kind of complete world". All Good Children is set in the countryside of northern France, and more than half of the film was shot in the forest. The mystical presence of the forest has a strange appeal both visually and in the sense of being able to convey a special atmosphere. "I guess there is some creepiness in the film, but there is quite a lot of joy in it, I hope", notes Duffy when asked about the landscape. All Good Children focuses on Dara (Jack Gleeson), a 12-yearold boy who moves from Ireland to the French countryside with his brother after their mother’s death. Being in an already vulnerable state, he is also at that delicate age between child and adulthood. He soon develops a sort of attachment, a fascination with a local English
girl (Imogen Jones). It is at first quite magical, but then the girl starts to lose interest in him. "It was good to explore that visually", the filmmaker tells me, "I had a really wonderful experience with all my actors". She found Imogen at the school in her neighbourhood. The girl has never acted before and behaves very naturally in front of the camera. Jack has acted quite a lot, which is good, because he is in nearly every shot. The shooting was a challenge from several points of view. Alicia Duffy thinks that one of the greatest problems for all directors in such situations is to actually be trusted. "I was really glad, that all my actors trusted me. The greatest challenge, however, was probably putting together a crew from so many different countries", she states. The film is a result of a complicated co-production. "It was very interesting working with people from several countries
with different working practices and different backgrounds. It probably was a good experience for the crew, but tough for the director", she affirms, smiling. As for the working process, it took about 5 or 6 weeks to shoot the entire film. The director chose one location and then found all the rest within a very small radius. "That was very important to me, that everything was in this one place", says Duffy. "I kind of tend to work with what I have in front of me. I do storyboard but then actually I put that aside and I try and work with what’s actually happening. It is hard to make them [the crew] understand why are you changing and shooting something else." The film was shot mostly outside and the weather was constantly changing. "Even if I like to work with what I have, that was quite challenging", she admits. Although having to adapt to the environment, she stuck to
notes made beforehand about sounds, music and the experience. The film’s music was written by Steve Stapleton. It was the filmmaker’s first time working with him, but they all worked closely with the editor; "It was a very good experience doing the sound of the film", notes Duffy. I found the pictures and description of All Good Children gripping from the start, but as Alicia Duffy told me about the making of her first feature film with so much modesty and fondness, I got even more curious to see the result. At the premiere, we will be able to explore this magical world of the children, and have the chance to meet the actors, some members of the crew and the director herself in person. by Erzsébet Plájás
PHOTO BY CRISTINA GROSAN
She smiles at me, and I can see the excitement in her eyes whenever I mention the title of her first feature, All Good Children. Alicia Duffy participated in several international film festivals with two short films made during her years at the London National Film and Television School: Numb and Crow Stone. Her third short, The Most Beautiful Man in the World was BAFTA-nominated, and was also in the Official Selection at Cannes in 2003. All Good Children is now part of the Directors’ Fortnight, where it will be screened as a world premiere. The director can’t wait to see how audiences will react.
NISI MASA screening Critics’’ Week
Thursday 20 May / 15:00 espace miramar Furniture /
Melissa Suarez del Real
Spain - 2010 - 8’- Production NISI MASA
It’s not clear enough whether self-assembly furniture triggers couple conflicts or if couple conflicts trigger self-assembly furniture purchase…
Rita /
Fabio Grassadonia & Antonio Piazza
Italy – 2009 - 18’ - Production CRISTALDI PICTURESTHEY
Rita, a ten-year-old girl, blind since birth, lives in a seaside neighbourhood of Palermo. She is stubborn, curious and feels thwarted by an overprotective dictatorial mother.
Whispering in a Friend’s Mouth / Finland - 2009 - 10’ - Production AAMU FILMCOMPANY
Hannaleena Hauru
Japu and Antti are best friends on a Scandinavian summer night. They’re painting grafiti on a shop window in their dull home village, and end up kissing…
Family /
Lyubomir Pechev
Bulgaria – 2009 - 14’ - Production LYUBOMIR PECHEV
Peter, a 19-year-old student, lives with his family: a domineering mother, a silly sister and an annoying granny. His ambition is to study at a university, so to practise for the entrance test Peter needs solitude, silence and time.
Stanka goes home /
Maya Vitkova
Bulgaria – 2010 - 15’ - Production: VIKTORIA FILMS
When Mrs. Stanka Atanasova, an elderly and sick woman, enters her block of flats, she discovers that the elevator is out of order. Stanka must use the stairs to get to the ninth floor…
The change /
Franco Dipietro
Italy – 2009 - 7’30’’ - Production: DUE MONETE
In a gas station lost on a lonely highway, a man fills up the tank of his car. The gas station’s keeper runs away without giving him back his change. The man, to get even with him, steals one of his personal belongings…
Tourist /
Matej Subieta
Poland – 2008 - 10’- Production: ODEON FILM STUDIO
Impoverished pensioners, living in dull and gloomy city of tower blocks cannot afford summer vacations. Despite this sad reality they are not desperate…
The 6 presented films have been developed as part of the 2007, 2008 and 2009 “European Short Pitch” editions, a project that mixes a re-writing session at Moulin d’Andé-Céci (France) and a pitch session with a panel of producers and European buyers.
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