Nisimazine Karlovy Vary #3

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Nisimazine Karlovy Vary special

La Jaula de Oro Mika Ronkainen The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas

picture of the day

Editorial Mirona Nicola (Romania)

The sun is not always shining in Karlovy Vary and we’re not really getting the prescribed 8-hour sleep every day.

But as soon as we even think about complaining, we suddenly remember those who envy us terribly for being here. And envy us they should! For we are at arm’s length from some of the most interesting films released in the past year and their directors. We get a chance to discuss with them on official interviews, but also in informal meetings all around the cinema halls, parks and parties of Karlovy Vary.

Turns out, some or not just great film-makers, but also very skilled dancers.

Today we are pleased to bring you closer to the Variety’s 10 Euro Directors to Watch section. Firstly, through a review of The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas. Yes, it’s a Greek film, so we would just be lazy if we were to say just that it’s an allegory of the current situation in the country. But not even the director could have imagined what impact it would have

on the viewers of Karlovy Vary who see it now, soon after the Greek public television was put before the austerity firing squad.

Next we have an interview with Finnish director Mika Ronkainen who’s film, Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart, explores the deeper than blood relationship between the musical scenes in the two countries, as well as between the main character and his father.

Last, but certainly not least, we have on offer a review of La Jaula de Oro, screened here in the Horizons section. This should give you an idea about just how diverse and exciting the Karlovy Vary selection is.

Tune in on Saturday for the nostalgicedition newsletter number 4. After we’ve dried up our tears, we’ll be ready to bring you the complete coverage of our findings at KVIFF.

NISIMAZINE KARLOVY VARY SPECIAL

28th June- 6th July 2013 /# 3

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

EDITORIAL STAFF

Director Fernando Vasquez Editor: Mirona Nicola Layout: Lucía Ros Photography and cover: Lucía Ros

CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE

Nino Kovačić, Joré Janavičiūtė, Patrick Holzapfel

NISI MASA

99, rue du Faubourg Saint-Dénis 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

reviews The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas

Elina Pyskou (Greece) – Variety’s 10 Euro DIrectors to Watch

It seemed like a rational plan: ratings for a TV show are down and Antonis Paraskevas, an aging host, and his producer come up with a solution to create their own exclusive media content that would get their program back to the center of the public’s interest. They fake Paraskevas’ kidnapping. Antonis spends time in an abandoned hotel, following the reports on himself and reminiscing of the glory days, before he would make a spectacular comeback that would to be a per excellence media event, a part of celebrity history.

The film is inspired by a true case in Brazil: victims of contracted killings had a purpose to ensure exclusive on-scene reports for a certain TV station. The Eternal Return of Antonis Paraskevas is a an insightful comment on today’s media culture and can also be interpreted as an allegory of the current austerity crisis in Greece.

Central questions of the self-constructed media events and a narcissistic media-induced culture are tackled mostly around the main character. His motives are gradually unveiled and his personal transformation turns him into a man without any scruples, a psychopath. The film relies on the strong performance by Christos Stergioglou, his gestures and mimicry.

Still, there remains a feeling of unused potential of the plot and other characters that would have push the very intriguing and contemporary media manipulation issues even further.

In an open ending, we see Antonis metaphorically walking to his publicized immortality and continuous glory, postponing his return. The scene puts us right into the core of genuine narcissism. Is this what a dehumanized media future holds for us?

by Nino Kovačić (Croatia)

is highlighted by a recurring dream image of visual beauty: white snowflakes against a black background. The simple idea of watching snow must be enough to risk everything.

La jaula de oro

DIego Quemada-Díez (Mexico) - Another View There are certain stereotypes concerning Latin American cinema: close-ups of burned-out faces, dust that covers all colors, long shots of chaotic city architecture and trains with people sitting on top, desperately trying to reach America. The uncompromising La jaula de oro by Diego Quemada-Diez delivers those stereotypes in a painful but satisfying way.

Diez tells the story of three young teenagers from Guatemala trying to reach Los Angeles. There is no information about where they come from. It is all about where they are headed.

Dangers lie not only in crossing the American border, but even more so in crossing the continent. The gap between the dream of a new life in the USA and the South American reality

But instead of falling in the trap of an overly melodramatic destruction of children’s dreams the movie just calmly observes facts as they unfold. In fact, the characters seem to face reality just as adults would. Although they are very young, they know what they are risking. In the opening shot the girl cuts her hair and makes herself look like a boy. She knows what can happen to her if she looks too feminine. The minimalistic performances of the teenagers are superbly captured with moments of innocence, fear and hope. Quemada-Diez does not put his ego in the way of the story. He is deeply concerned with what is going on instead of trying to give a certain style to his feature debut.

In the most hopeless way the film is not afraid of leading to bleak conclusions. It is more about social reality than stories of individuals. Quemada-Diez gives an extract of daily happenings.

Therefore his screenplay feels refreshingly open-ended.

In a strange sense, dreams get fulfilled in La jaula de oro.

But the snowflakes are not only beautiful. They are cold and Quemada-Diez lets the audience and his characters discover the black background behind the snow.

by Patrick Holzapfel (Germany)

interview

Mika Ronkainen

Director of Finnish Blood, Swedish Heart (Finland/Sweden) Variety’s 10 Euro Directors to Watch

A new documentary film by Finnish director Mika Ronkainen pictures musician Kai Latvalehto and his father taking a road trip to Sweden, where they used to live in the 1970s. The venture sees them dealing with the past and their identity and reaching a close relation to each other.

You depict identity problems of Swedish-origin Finnsh in your film.

Do you think they can be familiar to international audiences?

At first, I thought that this film might not travel, because it is a very special thing between Finland and Sweden, but I don’t think you need to be an immigrant to understand that feeling the main character of the film has. It is universal to feel like an outsider somewhere.

Why this topic is important?

It touches something very humane in us. The film is basically about accepting who you are and the fact that you cannot really change the past.

In the film we can see that there still is a tension between Finns and the Swedes, can you tell more about it?

Finland has always been the little sibling compared to Sweden. We always had this kind of complex against Sweden. And, I think, that is also something that can be found all over Europe, for example, Czechs and Slovaks. People from other nations can relate to the film too. And another important thing in the film is father-son story, which is naturally something that everybody can relate to.

How did you find the main character?

I have known Kai for twenty years already. We used to play in the bands in Oulu back in the 90s. He never spoke

about his childhood to anybody.

Some five or six years ago he contacted me asking if I have noticed that in Sweden there are a lot of Swedish-Finnish musicians who become popular.

I remembered that he have lived in Sweden and I considered that he is thinking that if he had stayed in Sweden, he would be one of those.

But instead, he was in Finland, playing dull Finnish rock. I loved the irony of this observation. When he contacted me, I started asking him about his childhood in Sweden and that was the first time he talked about it. And it was a very emotional conversation, he told everything, we spoke for several hours and he cried several times during the conversation.

I was very interested in the story and I told him that I wanted to make a film about Swedish Finns issue and that I want him to be the main character in the film. That is how it started.

And what was Kai`s reaction when he saw the film?

He was very touched, just like his father. I remember, when his father saw the film for the first time, he stood up from the sofa and looked at me with teary eyes and said, “This will remain after us“. I was also really touched by that comment.

picture by Kalle Ronkainen There are various bands playing in your film, how did you decide to place them there?

The music that I use originally comes from the 1970s.

It was written by the Swedish-Finnish musicians. And I found a compilation album released by a Finnish record company in 1974. This album has been forgotten. I was really touched by the lyrics and amazed by the stories in the songs, because they told so clearly and touchingly about the lives of Finnish immigrants in Sweden. I wanted to take this music and have the second generation Swedish-Finnish musicians make their versions of those songs. And those were the musicians Kai was originally talking to me about. Then we filmed and recorded all the music live. It was quite important for me, because it gives you the feeling of reality.

Interview by Joré Janavičiūtė (Lithuania)