nisimazine idfa #2 by NISI MASA

Chris Waitt in A Complete History of My Sexual Failures .2008

NISIMAZINE Friday 21November 2008

A Magazine Published By Nisi Masa, European Network Of Young CinemA

Respect or Ridicule Lady Kul el Arab Steve James

amsterdam

NISIMAZINE AMSTERDAM

Editorial

Friday 21 November 2008/# 2 A magazine published by the NISI MASA and MeccaPANZA associations in cooperation with IDFA - International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam and with the support of the ‘Youth in Action’ programme of the EU and SNS Reaal Fonds

ive days after the IDFA festival ends, there will be a special day in Holland. Old men will be wearing long red dresses and ridiculous-looking hats. They will be accompanied by a group of other men in colorful puffy pants and make-up. No, it will not be a nationwide cross-dress party (although that would actually have my vote), but on the 5th of December it is time for the yearly celebration of Sinterklaas. Many a child considers this bringer of gifts and candy as their absolute hero. Unfortunately, he and Zwarte Piet also cause some children anxiety, since tradition wants it that they put the disobedient in a bag and ship them off to Spain. Now it seems that not only the young are afraid of Sinterklaas, but also adults. In fact, this children’s fairy tale has developed into a political debate: Politicians are defying the right of existence of servant ‘Black Pete’. Others hail the old bugger himself as the last man standing between respect for Dutch tradition on the one hand, and total degradation of Dutch culture and values on the other. And all of this fuss about a festivity that originated in......Turkey. Yes, you read it right. So let me conclude with saying: Please go to as many fun, shocking, sad and inspiring documentaries as you can this IDFA and keep on “looking further than your nose is long”. Traditions and customs change, be aware!

EDITORIAL STAFF Director of Publication Matthieu Darras Editor-in-Chief Jude Lister Itxaso Elosua Ramírez Editorial Secretary Maartje Alders Layout Maartje Alders, Nina Henke Contributors to this issue Jessica Hartman Luuk van Huet, Rares Kövesdi Arturo Mestanza, Selma Sevkli Coordinators Nina Henke, Ilona Mulder Alex Tirajoh, Tania Ramón Casas MeccaPANZA

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Jessica Hartman

PHOTO BY Rares, Kövesdi

PICTURE OF THE DAY

Nisimazine Amsterdam ~ 21. 11. 2008 # 2

Film of the day Lady Kul el Arab © Ruth Diskin Films Ltd 2008

Ibtisam Mara’ana (Israel, 2008)

chieving a dream shared by many teenagers the world over could cost Duah Fares a lot. Lady Kul el Arab by Ibtisam Mara’ana follows the outraged reaction within the Arab–Israeli community when this young girl from a small village in the Galilee region decides to compete in the Miss Israel contest.

At home, she has full support from her parents to pursue a career based on her natural good looks. The movie’s title is taken from a beauty contest for ArabIsraeli girls, one which our protagonist initially enters, although apparently it falls way below her ambitions of becoming an international model.

The Druze culture which Duah belongs to is part of the Islamic movement, but is also influenced by Greek philosophies and Gnosticism. However, this relative liberalism does not go so far as to allow one of its followers to dress in a bathing suit on a live TV show. What for most western girls is just a garment is profanity for Duah’s religion.

During the preparation process for the Lady Kul el Arab pageant she meets fashion designer Jack Yaakob, who has a decisive role in strengthening her will and broadening her horizons. Determined to be part of the bigger, more prestigious Miss Israel beauty contest, the newly self-baptised ‘Angelina’ then has to choose between the respect of

community values and her own dreams. We follow her choice, and its consequences. Not wanting to suffer any kind of retaliation, Angelina runs away from home, but the outcomes of her decision hurt her parents badly: her dad is put in prison, and the village intimidates her family. Although the story is about Angelina, it’s her parents who show us the real extension of this conflict. Even though they are members and followers of this tradition and at first do not agree with their daughter’s decision, their unconditional love makes them fight for her dream, avoiding blaming her for their harsh situation. In fact, those who want to forbid her from making her own decisions in life are the ones to be blamed. The whole story becomes a national issue reaching the local TV news, with the Sheik Muaf Taif himself taking sides on the matter, pleading Angelina to return to her faith and traditions. With all the ingredients of a good drama movie, Lady Kul el Arab, shows us up to what point we should fight for our dreams.

Arturo Mestanza

In My Father’s Country Tom Murray (Australia, 2008)

7-year-old boy prepares for his coming of age ritual in an Aboriginal community. Simultaneously, we witness the people’s struggle with the strict rules of the Australian government, and modernity. Both boy and community have to compromise at some point, protecting some characteristics and letting others go. In My Father’s Country explores the daily life of the Dhuruputjis, the brilliant colours and dynamic shooting style making us feel like part of it. Tom Murray does not have a political position or statement, instead focusing on the anthropological aspects. We see relations hips in different dimensions: Parents- children, grandparentschildren, men-women, authority-people, and even on a humananimal level. Unfortunately, Murray can’t help communicating with the people himself and perhaps conducts them to get what is needed for the documentary.

Review

The Dhuruputjis’ form of resistance in a modern system is to stick to their culture. Although we see them with ‘modern’ clothing, speaking English and using computers, they still have a unique language, traditions and connection to nature. Although the older generation seems to be accepting defeat, they pass their knowledge on in order to maintain their identity with dignity, even if they have to leave their hometown.

Selma Şevkli

Nisimazine Amsterdam ~ 21. 11. 2008 # 2

Young Visions Henri et les Isles © Bram Conjaerts

Bram Conjaerts (Belgium, 2008)

ccording to a recent report issued by the United Nations in 2006, city slickers now outnumber their country cousins for the first time in human history. On a European scale, migration from the countryside to more urban environments and the declining birth rate lead to growing suburbanized areas and depopulated rural ghost towns, such as the hamlet of Herstappe in the Belgian documentary Henri et les Isles. Herstappe is the smallest municipality in the whole of Belgium with a population of just 82, including the chubby teenager Henri Prosnans, who serves as protagonist and narrator of the film. The other inhabitants we observe seem to be mainly senior citizens, with the notable exception of the gun-toting knucklehead Simon, who happens to be the mayor’s son. The film meanders through the daily life of the inhabitants of Herstappe. We witness a meeting in the town hall which leads to a shiny new Belgian flag replacing the tattered old rag, one of the elderly inhabitants is forced to move after the (unseen) loss of his wife, the town’s vintner is forced to sell his wine-making apparatus and meanwhile our cherub-like main character tirelessly cycles around, seemingly oblivious to the slow demise of his home town.

Considering that Belgium is facing an immense constitutional crisis, it’s strange that the film skirts over some issues that might have been worthwhile to explore, like the antagonism between the former mayor and the current one, the lack of social cohesion in Herstappe and the subsequent isolation felt by its inhabitants. Whether it was a conscious decision of director Bram Conjaerts to keep the subject matter light or a result of the brief length of the film might make for an interesting Q&A session, but it makes the film itself more or less inconsequential. Luuk van Huet

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Nisimazine Amsterdam ~ 21. 11. 2008 # 2

Interview Steve James: At the Death House Door

Photo by Rares Kővesdi

t the Death House Door is a very intimate portrait of Minister Carroll Picket. Was your and Peter’s relationship with him this close from the onset? Carroll Pickett is a very open and friendly man, so we got along well from the start. I think he did check us out on the Internet though, prior to meeting us. He is a fervent tennis player, even though that’s not in the film, so what we all had in common was a passion for sports. Also, I think it was the right time for him to do this; he was ready for it. Before we asked him about the De Luna tape, I don’t think he’d listened to any of the tapes. They had serve d their purpose as soon as they were made. So they were only used by him to get things off his chest right after the executions. In the film I think he said that he only started listening to the tapes in the last year… Yes, that’s right. He is a very closed man and had a therapist once, also a clergyman, but apart from that therapy he never really dealt with his experiences because he didn’t talk about it. We would be with him when he listened to the tapes and in between we would talk about what we’d just heard. I think for him being confronted with those tapes again after all these years was very therapeutic. It was also striking to see how his opinion had changed over time, since now he is a fervent opponent to the death penalty. When he was talking to us about Cuevas (the man who killed two women from Pickett’s congregation- JH) he sounded very calm and forgiving, but when we listened to the tape he had made right after Cuevas’ execution- that was a whole different story! He has come to terms with this anger over the years... Definitely. But sometimes during the interview, we would feel his anger again, for example when he said: “I wanted to go over and bash his head in. I’m sorry, I take that back, it’s not Christian”. I found that a striking remark. Later on in the film, when he’s sitting around the table with his family, one of his daughters asks him: “What if I were raped and stabbed and died a horrible slow death, how would your reaction towards the killer be then?” He answers: “I would want him to be locked up in solitary prison for the rest of his life, which is even worse than death.” This is a very human reaction. I think his feelings are ambivalent, both angry and forgiving. Did the scene you just mentioned, in which Pickett and his children sit around the table, happen spontaneously or did you orchestrate it? Well, to Pickett his family is very important. It always was, but they have been through a lot because of his duties. Often they get together in the Dallas area, so we went along to such a family meeting. During that day, his children started asking him all these questions about his work as a Minister and that is when we found out that they had never really talked to him about it before. Since he is such an introverted man, he never told them about any of it. Also, I think for the children- they all knew what he was doing, but I imagine

that they didn’t want to hear any details from their father. It would have been too heavy… Do you think that now your film is finished and shown to the public, it is a statement against capital punishment? What do you think, is it? There is no explicit message in your documentary, but everybody in it has either always been against death penalty, or they used to be in favour of it but changed their minds. If it is indeed a statement it’s a very subtle one. Actually we have spoken to people who have changed their minds about capital punishment after seeing this film. Minister Pickett is someone who had a lot of reasons to be in favour of the death penalty, since his grandfather and two women from his congregation were murdered and also because of his very conservative and disciplined upbringing. Someone said to me: “Pickett looks like all those men who are in favour of death penalty!” But he changed his standpoint against the odds and that’s what makes people think.

Jessica Hartman

Nisimazine Amsterdam ~ 21. 11. 2008 # 2

In focus Respect or Ridicule? f a film was made about you, how would you like to be portrayed? Certainly, if you were readily subordinated to the caprices of a filmmaker, you would want to be treated with due respect. Especially if you experience a lot of struggles and setbacks in your life, becoming more vulnerable to exploitation as ‘juicy material’ for a film. Three films at this year’s IDFA explore the border between the respectful and disrespectful, or maybe even ridiculous, portrayal of a subject.

Jamshid’s struggles, they are a bit childish and tend to make the man into a caricature. It is sad also to see and hear the artist’s unrealistic expectations. One scene, shot during an exhibition, is downright toecurling, as he refuses to accept a predictable rejection of his amorous advances towards a young French girl. All this is only slightly compensated for by positive accounts from the painter’s family members and other people who admire his work. Ultimately the film leaves you feeling very sorry for Jamshid.

In Carmen meets Borat, Carmen and the other people of Glod, a small town in Romania, are filmed by the crew of director Mercedes Stalenhoef when one day another film crew comes along, led by Sacha Baron Cohen. He takes advantage of their goodwill; as a result they become very distrustful of one another and also of Stalenhoef ’s camera. Despite this, she manages to make an intimate portrait of Carmen and her father. It succeeds in giving us insight into how they are duped and how the father doesn’t achieve anything when the lawyers send him to “meet Borat”. But in the middle of the film, you start to feel as though the true tragedy the people of Glod suffer from is not the abuse from rich foreigners, but their repetitive naivety. What is in bigger need of modernisation, the town or its inhabitants? Fortunately, we are left with a hopeful note. At least Carmen has managed to stand up for herself.

With Pinuccio Lovero. A Midsummer Death’s Dream, Pippo Mezzapesa shows us the life of an all-round handyman of a small town in Southern Italy. Pinuccio has a very different issue on his mind from those of Carmen and Jamshid: As newly-installed graveyard caretaker with an ambitious attitude, he feels redundant and impatient. His whole life he has dreamt of doing this job and now that he finally has it, for the last five months nobody has died. His lonesome work is not compensated by a loving relationship either: For Pinuccio there was only one true love and she dumped him. Now this could be a ridiculous story of a hermit with a strange obsession, but instead Mr. Lovero manages to charm us with his ambitions and upbeat personality. Mezzapesa gives us a clear account of what he means to the people of his village by letting them all have their say about him. To them, he is not a freak with a morbid fascination, but a dependable, lovable man.

The painter in Cyanosis -struck with this medical condition at birth- has a hard time surviving as a street artist in Iran, as people don’t seem to appreciate his efforts. Jamshid’s view on his fellow humans (even though he portrays them as cows in his paintings) is mainly expressed through his own comments. These are accompanied by vivid animations made by director Rokhsareh Ghaemmaghami in the painter’s own style – an attempt to capture and convey the subject’s emotional life. Yet although they are illustrative of

For a documentary maker, giving your subject a ‘voice’ should be your starting point. If some parts of the character’s lives are painful to watch, even pathetic or ridiculous, then those should be balanced out by more hopeful and admirable aspects like persistence, pride, resilience or creativity. Though all of these three films balance on the knife edge between respect and ridicule, only Cyanosis drops off it in the end...

Jessica Hartman

from Carmen Meets Borat, Mercedes Stalenhoef 2008

Chris Waitt

Portrait

alse promises of a successful future in video making during his dates allowed Chris Waitt to enjoy a busy sex life, but brought along a lot of headaches as well. Right after came a myriad of harsh rejections. According to his calculations, he’d had 13 solid relationships, 47 sexual affairs and more than 16.000 flirts. It has certainly been rewarding, now that he has mixed most of his former experiences to create his documentary A Complete Story of My Sexual Failures. Now working as an editor for MTV, 33-year-old Chris Waitt is the poster boy of the first generation who grew up watching “musical television”: topsy-turvy hair and messy jeans, plus a clumsy way of living in his low-profile apartment, forms his cool-relax image. With this debut feature, Chris Waitt has gained attention from the media and audiences alike. A fresh breath of air was brought to the documentary genre. His day job is definitely reflected in the documentary. The programmes the channel airs are composed of many reality shows and the sex-subject has been current since the station’s creation. By the way; Chris Waitt works on Fur TV, a comic show in which puppets get drunk and talk about…sex. He already has the background and the knowhow he needs. The film is all about relationships, but it’s also about Waitt’s own sexual instrument. Yes, his penis! At a certain moment, it’s the starting point of all his problems. His impotence is treated by many: a doctor, a therapist, an acupuncturist and a dominatrix, to name a few. The latter allows us to be present in a sadomasochistic dungeon, where Chris Waitt and his penis are being mistreated by Miss Maisie. A doubtful way to produce a hard-on, but completely delightful for fans of shows like Jackass.

Chris knows how to use ridicule to stir up attention and uses it without limits. The Viagra scene has great potential to become a classic. Like a shipwreck, he frantically runs around the city looking for someone to have sex with, fuelled by seven blue pills and lots of beer. Ok, let’s pretend that he didn’t know the consequences. One more Jackass point. The outcome of this creepy rampage is one night in prison, and the new must-have mug shot, not to mention an exchange of telephone numbers with a girl and a promise for a future meeting. In other words, he does what a lot of guys would like to do and, in the end, there is a possibility to really get laid. Has a new hero been born? Despite this unique situation, the audience will identify itself with the characters, regardless of their gender. The background characteristics of any relationship are the same. So, someone might feel goose bumps while recognizing their own situation on the big screen. To name one: your sexual failures. And when you might think there is no hope, maybe you’d be happy to know that Chris Waitt’s romantic life is now doing very well, thanks for asking. During the shoot, he met a girl who now is living with him in London. And about his “problem”, he still is working on that. After exposing his weakness on the big screen, Chris Waitt has gained the trust of the audience and experienced the taste of success. And he knows that it is good. One confirmation of this success was to have Michael Moore as a hotel neighbour in Cannes. However; if you think that this whole situation has inspired him to become a newer and younger Moore, don’t fool yourself. For his second feature he’s creating a fiction film. And the theme? You know it well; it will be inspired by his sex life.

Arturo Mestanza