Nisimazine monthly September 2007 by NISI MASA

Natasha Pavlovskaya

Portrait

NISIMAZINE *1 September 07

By Jude Lister

he first thing that you notice when meeting Natasha, one of the key members of the Russian association Moviement, is her straight-talking and inquisitive nature. Never one to dance around a subject, she prefers the direct approach, and will always give an honest opinion, whether you like it or not. Independent and ambitious, she is an individual who really knows her own mind, and seemingly always has a new project on the go.

* Born in Moscow in October 1982, Miss Pavlovskaya entered the creative world early on in her life, enrolling in the Moscow International Film School at the age of 14. The only alternative educational establishment of its kind at that time, the MIFS offered (and still offers today) workshops in cinema, theatre and television alongside normal high school subject areas such as maths and science. International travel was an integral part of the curriculum; whether it be visiting camps for homeless children in Bangkok, creating street performances

in Paris and Vienna, or filmmaking in Siberia and Germany… Pupils were thus able to experience many different creative projects, learning how to adapt to new challenges along the way. Fortunately, it seems that the taste for experimentation instilled during her school days is something that has stayed with her ever since.

* At 18 Natasha entered the State Institute of Cinema (VGIK), the known prestige of which is partly owed to the lessons given there by Sergei Eisenstein in the 1930s. She would spend the next 5 years there studying and working as a cinematographer and director of photography. Today, whilst she enjoys her ‘official’ paid work, she is pragmatic about her professional life. On being a cinematographer: “…you depend on a lot of people; the film director, the producer… you have to play their game, and that is how it should be. Film-production is very hierarchical. If you want to create something from the starting idea, you have to change your position.” Dynamic and restless by

nature, she divides her time between regular paid cinematography and photography work and more personal artistic projects. She is currently working on the post-production phase of two documentaries for television, as well as her own short film. Admitting to having a somewhat irregular schedule, Natasha prefers to work at night when not on a shoot, which can be anything up to 60 percent of the time, meaning that she is often away from home.

* Moviement, the Russian branch and latest association to join the NISI MASA network, was created out of a mutual love of documentary film shared between friends. Natasha met fellow founder members Nikita and Shura in film school, where she collaborated with them on various projects. Later, as their interest grew, they became more and more frustrated by the lack of activity in the documentary field in their home country, and decided to form an association. Natasha explains: “There is almost no market for

documentaries in Russia. The television companies often treat people like idiots, they don’t commission the kind of films we want to make. There is no cinema release for documentary films... I think that it is very important to have a viewpoint on ourselves, and that there should be a place for this to develop...” The hope then is that one day Moviement will become a fully-functioning independent production structure. For now though, the team are happy to concentrate on developing projects in their free time in order to affirm their commitment to working together and to build up a network of contacts. In this respect, they are particularly optimistic that Cine-train (see «Preview» p. 4) will provide a stepping stone for future collaborations.Natasha likens her involvement in NISI MASA to her teenage school days: “ developing a project not from what you already know how to do, but from what you really want to do but don’t know how yet!”.

Visit Natasha’s photographies website at www.pavlovskaya.com

Summer Training Special focus

Editorial How four boys from Paris realised their dream. Part II...

aybe you’ve seen the phenomena in the world of films. Something feels just like the previous one, just the name has something new, the content feels familiar but better, the visualisation even sexier. Part two. A great but not straight path has been followed, and now we are here. The network has widened, number of projects increased. NISI MASA has changed: grown and maturated. This new Nisimazine will serve as a monthly newsletter for all the members of the wide network in 19 countries. Sometimes it’s hard to get an overview of different projects – especially when there are several different NISI MASA events overlapping at the same time all over Europe.

September, 1st~8th

This issue has a special focus on the projects in development that were presented in the NISI MASA Summer Training, held in Amsterdam in August. While waiting for an internal web-forum to be redeveloped, in this gazette you can read about different projects and get directly in contact with the organisers from member organisations. It can also be used as a bridge between NISI MASA and its partners. Don’t hesitate to spread this PDF over! But Nisimazine will not only serve about reporting past projects or presenting new ones. It should be used as a tool to ref lect with a bit of detachment on what we are doing, exploring & confronting our visions of cinema. It should also help us to know each other better, and to share information and experiences coming from inside/outside the network.

Agenda

Budapest (Hungary) Budapest Squares

September, 8th~9th Budapest Board Meeting

September, 15th

In all the network Deadline for sending the English translations of the 25 finalist scripts

September, 30th

In all the network Deadline for applying to the film journalism workshop in Turin

Having a monthly newsletter is not a new idea. Four years ago we started a first edition of a NISI MASA newsletter. Those who have received it at that time may now look in the archives, and make a comparison. Some changes! As a friend of mine says: “You never know, where you will end up in your life, but it’s always worth it to take some steps aside on your path!” Lasse Lecklin General Secretary PS. My editorial’s title refers to the ancient newsletter, since the founders of NISI MASA were some boys from Paris who came up with the idea of an international script contest. PPS. Proposals of contribution for next issues of Nisimazine are more than welcome!

Next Issue... NISIMAZINE 2 ~ October 2007 Special focus Film screening & distribution in Europe

Board Meeting Report

In the Spotlight: Cras Tibi (Hungary)

NISIMAZINE is a monthly newsletter published by the association NISI MASA. EDITORIAL STAFF Editor-in-chief Matthieu Darras Secretary of the editorial Jude Lister Art director, layout Emilie Padellec Contibuting writers for this issue Matthieu Darras, Kathrin Enenkel, Lasse Lecklin, Judy Lister, Fedor Sendak, Luuk Van Huet Cover pictures: “Parents kissing” © Adriana Yugovich (with the kind permission of Yuri Ono from www.learningtoloveyoumore.com) + film’stills from “Paris, je t’aime”, Tom Tykwer’s segment and “Stolen Kisses”, François Truffaut NISI MASA 10 rue de l’Echiquier, 75010, Paris, France. Tel.: + 33 (0)1 53 34 62 78 + 33 (0)6 32 61 70 26 Email europe@nisimasa.com Website www.nisimasa.com

MeccaPANZA In the spotlight They may look Some members...

solemn as judges (look on the right at the serious profiles they sent to Nisimazine),the Amsterdam-based MeccaPANZA members are actually very easy-going and friendly people! Their reception of the summer training last August was a perfect combination of human warmth and professionalism. For sure, there are a lot of creative ideas to expect from MeccaPANZA in the times to come. Just have a look for yourself: aren’t FilmZender and Scratch2Screen projects just great?!

Laura Groeneveld (1978) studied law in Amsterdam. During her studies she worked in several cinemas and a video store. She also partook in various filmmaking A new method of feature courses. Laura has worked for different film festivals film making including Shadow Festival and Africa in the Picture. She has also started a career as a journalist, writing for When it comes to making a the Amsterdam Weekly and Contrast. Recently she was feature film, you might end up named chief editor of a Dutch news portal that focuses with a dilemma: How to keep on multiculturalism. your artistic integrity, find money to fund your film and actually go Luuk van Huët (1978) started writing film reviews for about and make the darn thing, Filmfocus.nl, the biggest film website in the Netherlands even if you do not find the funds in 2002. Currently, he’s writing for the Amsterdam you were hoping for. Weekly and a number of other publications on a free lance basis while finishing his bachelor’s degree in Cultural That’s where Scratch2Screen Studies at the Free University. Luuk is co-organizing an comes in. This method teaches animation film festival taking place in September 2007. you how to stop worrying about money too much. It shows you Fedor Limperg (1975) graduated in 2003 from the how to stretch your creative mind Netherlands Film and Television Academy. During in low budget situations, but it his studies he founded the website www.filmstart.nl, also helps you to stay independent a portal for the Dutch film industry listing relevant when you do have a budget. organizations, companies and individuals. In 2004 Filmstart became part of the Filmnetwerk Foundation, Possibilities for filmmaking have a structure for the film industry on the Internet, which exploded over the last decade. Fedor joined as managing director. There is simply no technical excuse anymore not to make a Jorinde Speelman (1982) developed a passion for film film. So ask yourself: why don’t I when she started a stint as a volunteer at the local cinema. make three feature films a year? For a school project, she made a short documentary Why am I walking around with on this theatre named Filmblik Cinebergen. Jorinde plans? Well, maybe equipment studied Cultural Studies at the Free University and did isn’t all it takes to make a movie. an internship at the Filmmuseum, which evolved into a You might need some structure, steady assignment. This coming September she is slated professional feedback and a tight to start her master’s degree in Cultural Studies at the schedule too. With Scratch2Screen University of Amsterdam. you will actually make the film rather than just dream about it. Patrick Timmermans (1975) finished his studies in Film Science in Utrecht in 2006. As a film reviewer he had a More info: http://85.17.102.30/~ni program on Rotterdam television about cinema. He got simasa/?q=node/177 an internship at the Dutch Institute for Film education where he developed a program about film history for teenagers. Patrick is responsible for the communication for the art house cinema Filmhuis Cavia. FilmZender (a project in Mandra Waback was born in Stockholm, Sweden in development) aims to help 1970. She graduated as a visual artist from the Gerrit filmmakers sending their films Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam in 1994 and as a film to international film festivals director from the Dutch Film and Television Academy in efficiently and independently. 2001. Mandra is currently working with both the visual It includes a huge database with arts and cinema, mixing genres and narratives while festivals to match your film with exploring and stretching the boundaries. the right event in just a couple of minutes. MeccaPANZA includes many other people, notably Bas Bonhof, Alexandra Indaco, Ivan Lopez Nunez, Barbara More about FilmZender in the Revelli, Alex Tirajoh, etc. next issue of Nisimazine ;)

Scratch 2 Screen

FilmZender

In order above: Laura, Kuuk, Fedor, Jorinde and Patrick

Internet Working Group

Daniel, Fedor, Jon and Yoko are waiting for you to join them in this group. One of the first actions of the group members will be to attend a conference on Open Source Youth Networking in Copenhagen in October (more info: http://isca-web.org/filer/yource/ YOURCE%20invitation.pdf).

Standard guidelines: selection of participants

Phase 1) Members of NISI MASA are notified of call for participants via email to official mailing list and to all national associations eligible for the project. First deadline for applications is set. Phase 2) Once the first deadline has passed, if there is an insufficient number of candidates and/or not enough good applications, the European Office reserves the right to widen the call for participants to nonNISI MASA members via our extended mailing list. Another, final deadline is set.

rom January to March 2007, 27 filmed letters were made as a result of the web exchange of videos project on the theme “Am I a European citizen?” between young filmmakers from France and the Balkans. The DVD is now available; you can order it just by sending an email to the European Office.

EuroͲBalkans Video Letters was a project allowing young people to exchange

their views on the subject of European identities via the audiovisual medium. From December 2006 to March 2007, 39 young filmͲmakers from France, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Romania and Turkey, corresponded on the theme: am I a European Citizen? Bistra Georgieva | MACEDONIA 1) Cécilia Cardoso Rodriguez & Marilou Hatinguais | Art School of Bourges, FRANCE Schengen Explosion (07:08) The Rocky Europe Show (03:02) Escape From Paradise (01:57) 2) Boris Kaeski | MACEDONIA Interviews (04:06) Untitled (07:52) 3) Srdan Laterza | CROATIA Dubrovnik (01:49)

4) Juan Rodriguez | FRANCE No Entry/No Exit (03:09) 5) Natalia Ivanova | BULGARIA The Freedom (02:46) Untitled (03:38) Savestin (06:11)

6) Anna Zuber & Javier Rex & Manuel Gonzalez | Art School of Bourges, FRANCE Untitled (02:30) Untitled (00:51)

Oytun Kal | TURKEY A Murderer (03:04)

esterday Istanbul, tomorrow Budapest: NISI MASA workshops traverse the European continent. To assure the quality of these projects and give members the possibility for networking and exchanging experiences, NISI MASA organises an annual summer training. This time the MeccaPANZA/ Filmnetwerk team in Amsterdam was the partner organisation for a meeting on the topic of “the use of audiovisual tools in international youth projects”, welcoming 20 young people from 10 different countries.

Before the training, participants had developed concrete ideas about an audiovisual workshop they want to realise in future. In Amsterdam they not only presented their projects and discussed with other Nisimasians about possible improvements, but also debated the general concepts involved in organising an audiovisual workshop. Besides teamwork and pitching sessions however, there was also time for enjoying some of the more leisurely pleasures of Amsterdam (walking alongside the canals, that is), all guided by our wonderful hosts. A short film evening was also on the agenda, showcasing an international selection of young talents. But see for yourself! The following pages present the project ideas which were developed during the training…

8) Camille Le Houezec & Jonathan Sitthiphonh | Art School of Bourges, FRANCE About European Union (02:06) Work in Progress (09:20)

Antonio Gabelic | CROATIA Travelling (04:01)

Berat Brestovci | KOSOVO From Europe to Europe: Length? (03:22) Holidays (01:01)

Phase 3) Once the final deadline has passed and all applications have been received, the selection process begins. NISI MASA members have priority only if they sent their application before the first deadline. Otherwise, selection is carried out purely on the basis of the strength of the application (motivation, experience, etc.) 7) A group of 9 students with their teacher Fabian Ferrand | Edouard Vaillant High School, FRANCE Viens à Saint Germain (04 :30) TransͲVierzon (04:17)

Stealing Kisses project

Anca Teodorescu | ROMANIA Untitled (01:22)

Drilon Shala | KOSOVO A Girl (04:36) One Step Further (00:56) Me, Myself and I (05:40) Seda Aricioglu | TURKEY Istanbul (01:52)

Ozge Celikaslan | TURKEY Turkish Women (03:50) Untitled (09:42)

EuroͲBalkans Video Letters

With the support of the Fondation de France. In partnership with the Festival International des Scénaristes.

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EUROͲBALKANS VIDEO LETTERS

;;;

ollowing some problems occurring with recent projects and in order to make the process of participants selection to NISI MASA events transparent, the Board and the European Office decided to write standard guidelines, aimed at clarifying the question of priority to projects between members and nonmembers. Obviously, as active (and paying) contributors to the network, NISI MASA members are the first to be notified about upcoming projects. However, this does not mean they will be automatically selected for projects if they do not send their applications on time and/or not prove strong motivation.

DVD EuroBalkans Video Letters

NISI MASA - Euro-Balkans Video Letters

ince the sudden blackout of nmcentral.org, NISI MASA has been lacking of an efficient community web platform for its members. In the meantime technologies have evolved and web 2.0 sites, personal pages, etc. have f lourished. We now want to establish a working group on “Internet” which would gather all the good wills, competencies & experiences of our network, and whose main mission would be to think about, brainstorm, design and finally make the web platform NISI MASA and its members so much need (expected for the first semester of 2008).

The main phases of selection are thus the following ones (individual project organisers may also set their own selection processes, for example pre-inscription for interested candidates):

Intro Y

Latest news

Summer Training Special Focus

Amsterdam, The Netherlands July, 31~August, 5, 2007

Photo: Lasse Lecklin

DVD

If I fall A

NISI MASA

warded for the script contest 2005 on ‘Silence’, If I Fall by Hannaleena Hauru (see the director’s picture on the left) premiered last May at Cannes Film Festival, along with other short films of NISI MASA. It is now possible to screen the short film in your country. If you are interested, you simply have to contact Hannaleena: hhauru@ uiah.fi. If I Fall is a short film about Kaarina, (27) working in a Finnish saw mill in the 21st century. Kaarina tells about her work in the sawmill and is repetitively falling down. Documentary-likes torytelling combines with a poetic aspect: falling down is an index for falling in love. In addition, the film combines people and trees by examining automation being a part of everyday life. More info: www.joskaadun.net

ould you date a foreigner? How do you ask the local girl out? Who pays for the dinner? The workshop “Stealing Kisses”, proposed by Euphoria Borealis from Finland, would examine these issues in 7 different European countries. The idea is to promote understanding and knowledge of the different habits and traditions across Europe via a study of the culture of dating. It aims also to question whether globalisation, multiculturalism and “borderless” Europe are changing and creating new forms of Pan-European behaviour. In mixed groups of 3, the 21 participants would document their thoughts and experiences on how dating and taking the first step towards a possible relationship happen in their country and how

it possibly differs from that of the older generations. Presented in Amsterdam by Mari and Johanna, the project proposal has been developed by the whole Euphoria Borealis team. So what do these young film enthusiasts intend to achieve? ”Hopefully it will break some stereotypes and make people think about and understand how similar and yet how different things can be. In the end it is also about the individual as a possible product of the place the filmmakers have grown up in” affirms Atso, a member of EB. The name for the workshop would be in a way a reference to Truffaut’s film Stolen Kisses. “Truffaut creates a very warm, «humanistic» atmosphere in many of his films”, Atso explains, “perhaps «Stealing Kisses» could have that too.”

Questions to Felicitas Lukas & Christian Ruthner from

c. ruthner

What was the most useful aspect of the training? Christian: It was great to get reviews from different angles and levels of experience reflecting upon your own ideas. It helped in uncovering possible problems that might occur during the realisation of our project.

What were your expectations for the summer training? Felicitas: My expectations were not really that high, because it was my first NISI MASA workshop and normally I work as an actress. I think that this allowed me to totally immerse myself in the topic of the workshop and to be very focused. How have your ideas about organising a project changed during the week? Christian: I had a pretty poor theoretical background about how to organise a workshop, so the theories we got introduced to will probably help me to work more efficiently.

Tell us your future plans for your project… Felicitas: First we will have a meeting with Kino5 in Vienna, to define a concrete concept. Then I will go for the fundraising, and a co-production with Mediacenter Vienna. We will also contact Tommi Laitio (from ECF ; see p.5) to ask him for more information. The first steps are done and I’m optimistic for the future!

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Projects preview(1/2) Cine-Train

* **

Summer Training Special Focus

One-minute wonders ‘Cine-Train’. Film crews, under the guidance of Aleksandr Medvedkin, used to travel through the Soviet Union in specially equipped wagons. Although they were filming the industrial achievements of the regime, the underlying goal was to give the power of speech to people who didn’t normally have the opportunity to get their voices heard. In 2008, the international workshop will hopefully ensure the legacy of this spirit, but will focus its interest on the notion of borders. “Did we just cross the European border?” 18 young filmmakers will constantly ask themselves along the 9 302 km of the mythic Trans-Siberian railroad track. Where does Europe ‘end’? What concrete expressions or feelings of this border can be found?

rganising an itinerant cinema event, NISI MASA old-timers have been nurturing this crazy idea ever since the origins of the network. It took the arrival of a newcomer, the Russian association Moviement, for the dream to become reality. Our enthusiastic Moscow-based colleagues - including Natasha (see “Portrait” p.8), intend to bring up-todate a unique working method, invented by Russian documentary filmmakers in the 1930s. It was called the

We love anonyms since they have no owner. If they have, it is culture!

very country has its own traditional stories, from the legends of Ancient Greece to the Icelandic Sagas. But what can these ‘anonyms’ teach us about the historical and cultural particularities of their home regions? Esra and Selda from NISI MASA Turkey have come up with a proposal for an innovative new workshop, which would use a combination of documentary and animation to explore this theme.

tales, folklore and legends of their own countries, before meeting together to share and discuss the social and cultural dimensions of their works. Then, with the help of experienced professionals during a 10-day workshop, they would each make short animated sequences which illustrate these stories, and integrate them into their documentary films.

Plans are that the final workshop The idea is that will take place in participants November 2008 in first make short Kars, Turkey, during documentary the annual cinema videos around the event Festival on local ‘anonymous’ Wheels.

For more info & contact details: cinetrain@nisimasa.com

Interview

With Giulia Gaiato & Marta Musso from Turin Urban Design (Franti) having been the ‘city of the car

G. Gaiato

Anonyms

From Moscow to Vladivostok, NISI MASA and Moviement want to offer the participants (rallied into 6 shooting crews) the possibility to answer these questions in a stimulating atmosphere, far away from clichés and preconceived ideas. A two-week adventure, this Euro-Asian workshop planned provisionally - for June 2008 certainly is an ambitious… and costly project! Already with the support of the Council of Europe in place, we are optimistic about convincing other partners and finding the necessary co-funding.

Where did the idea for the project come from? Giulia: It is linked to Turin becoming “World Capital of Design” in 2008, and to the young and fresh design background of our town. Marta: Usually with the word ‘design’, people think of interior décor, a beautiful chair for example. However there are also many objects that we use every day in our public spaces: benches, streetlamps, fountains... What will it mean for Turin to be the ‘World Capital of Design’? G: For one year Turin will host various design and architecture meetings, conferences, concerts, expositions... It will be a big event. M: It is part of the redevelopment of the city which is becoming a tourist destination after

factories’ for decades - along with the Olympics last winter. It will be an opportunity to bring up some important issues. For example, new blocks are being built where factories used to be: some of them are great, but others have completely destroyed the landscape. What do you think the urban design of a city can tell us about its people? M: It can show how people experience the social life of their city; for example I heard that in France there are benches built in such a way that homeless people can’t lie down. Another issue is about phone boxes. Here in Italy they are disappearing because supposedly “now everyone has a cell phone”. Any favourite urban objects in Turin? M: The “torelli” drinking water fountains in the old centre. They have the shape of a bull’s head, which is the symbol of the city.

Not just limited to the traditional ‘European’ countries, many workshops have taken place in non-EU territories (Kosovo, Serbia), and even further afield in North Africa (Morocco) and the Middle East (Lebanon). Often seeking out youngsters from underprivileged and marginalised backgrounds, the project aims to provide an open arena for self expression and cultural diversity.

t’s always hard to keep motivation levels high on a Friday morning. Luckily, inspiration was on hand in the form of Tommi Laitio, Media Programme Officer of the European Cultural Foundation, who kindly agreed to talk us through his work for the innovative audiovisual project, theoneminutesjr. Since 2003, the ECF has been organising a series of video-making workshops involving young people aged 12-20. The concept is thus: tutored by professionals, each participant creates a video of exactly 60 seconds in length, in any style and on any topic they wish.

The 60-second films are themselves extremely diverse indeed, from comic sketches and music videos to self-portraits and political statements. In addition to posting the videos on its website, theoneminutesjr has succeeded in giving the videos a wider audience by creating partnerships with major TV channels such as the BBC in the UK and TRT in Turkey. The ECF is also currently planning a video festival in Amsterdam in 2008 entitled Stranger, which will involve around 3000 young people coming from The Netherlands and over 20 other countries. After a series of workshops, debates and competitions, participants will get the opportunity to upload their works onto the Stranger website and to take part in an international contest. The winning videos will be shown by a range of European public broadcasters. You can find out more information about theoneminutesjr and watch the one-minute films online at www.theoneminutesjr.org ; for the general website, go to www.theoneminutes.org

Projects preview(2/2) T

hirst – Water privatisation in Bolivia. The theme of this documentary filmmaking project is linked to past incidents resulting from the privatisation of the water supply in Bolivia. At the same time, the workshop is designed to be a cultural exchange, with young people from Europe spending time with locals in this developing country. Marcela and Hannah from Filmarche in Germany hope to produce an omnibus-documentary in which one can see the different views of Bolivian inhabitants on this subject.

telier Varan Netherlands. A kind of independent alternative to a National Film School, Atelier Varan already exists in various countries all over the world. The aim of this project, initiated by Alexandra Indaco from MeccaPANZA (see «Spotlight», p. 7), is to create an additional platform for documentary education in the Netherlands through the organisation of directing and editing workshops, in cooperation with the Atelier Varan in France. More info: www.ateliersvaran.com

y District. This workshop, proposed by Felicitas and Christian from Kino5 (see interview p.3), would take place in Vienna, Austria. The idea is to select teenagers coming from different social backgrounds and different districts in Vienna, and allow them to make short films about their neighbourhoods, under the guidance of experienced professionals. The aim is to provide the opportunity for creative expression and exchange between different youngsters who would not normally mix together.

isions of Madrid. Now almost a classic format of NISI MASA project: each focussing on a different neighbourhood, groups of young filmmakers produce their own visions of a city. Yoko, Patricia and Esther of the Spanish association Cinestesias would like to realise this kind of workshop in Madrid. 36 young people from all over Europe would be the filmmakers who ref lect on their impressions about the capital of Spain whilst shooting a short film about one of the 12 quarters of the city.

from the Bulgarian association Art Group Haide presented an idea for making collective comedy films to compare the senses of humour in different European countries. In the scriptwriting phase, one participant will start, another will continue and so on, but everyone will only be able to see the parts written just before him. Then, participants will come to Sofia for a workshop where in different groups they each direct the same final script, with young Bulgarians involved as the cast and crew.

A Funny Workshop. Elena and Tsanka