International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2013
op IDFA >> volkskrant.nl/idfa
Catalogue International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
idfa.nl
20 NOV – 1 DEC
IDFA_210 x 210 mm (staand, aflopen + 5mm afsnede).indd 1
08-10-13 14:32
transmedia jeugdseries audiodrama
dramaseries korte film
dansfilm
games
jeugddocumentaire videoclips
documentaire
animatie GRENZEN
www.mediafonds.nl
adv_vpro_idfacatalogus_23-10-13.indd 1
24-10-13 09:08
Jacqueline van Vugt
IKON/Pieter van Huystee Film & TV
transmedia jeugdseries audiodrama
dramaseries korte film
dansfilm
games
jeugddocumentaire videoclips
documentaire
animatie GRENZEN
www.mediafonds.nl
adv_vpro_idfacatalogus_23-10-13.indd 1
24-10-13 09:08
Jacqueline van Vugt
IKON/Pieter van Huystee Film & TV
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam 2013
op IDFA >> volkskrant.nl/idfa
Catalogue International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
idfa.nl
20 NOV – 1 DEC
IDFA_210 x 210 mm (staand, aflopen + 5mm afsnede).indd 1
08-10-13 14:32
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Contents
2 4 5 6 6 8
F oreword Organization Thank You! Partners of IDFA Catalogue Credits Jury members
Competition Programs 15 IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary 33 IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary 49 IDFA Competition for First Appearance 65 IDFA Competition for Student Documentary 75 IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary 83 IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Documentary Storytelling 93 IDFA DOC U Competition
Offscreen Activities 242 Docs for Sale 242 IDFA Forum 243 IDFA Bertha Fund 244 IDFAcademy 245 IDFA Education 246 IDFA Media Talks
Non-Competitive Programs 97 Best of Fests 109 Masters 121 Panorama 139 Music Documentary 149 Paradocs 157 Paradocs: Barbara Visser – The Making of Movies 163 Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA 171 DocLab: Interactive Reality 177 Kids & Docs 187 Rithy Panh Retrospective 193 Rithy Panh’s Top 10 201 Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia 211 Based on the Same Story 221 The First World War: the First War on Screen 229 Treasures – Restored Oscar® Films 233 Niek Koppen in Focus 237 Stand-Up Documentary
Index 250 253 262 265 268 270
Special Selection 247 Green Screen
Award Winners 1988-2012 Addresses Print & Sales Premieres Films by Country Directors Films
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Foreword
A Fresh New Energy I’m often asked what the highlights of any given year were for me. This year, the choice is easy: my two journeys to Southeast Asia. The first was a research trip to Malaysia, Cambodia and Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) that I took with Raul Niño Zambrano, one of IDFA’s program researchers; the second was taken on invitation by the inaugural Human Rights and Human Dignity Film Festival in Burma, organized under the auspices of Aung San Suu Kyi, where IDFA advisor Peter Wintonick and I served as jury members. In Malaysia, we were greatly inspired by a major documentary conference, where producers and directors from all over Southeast Asia convened. The documentary genre is clearly blossoming, and the need to tell one’s own stories was apparent everywhere. Filmmakers and local financiers (mostly broadcasters) were united in their ambition to realize more documentary projects. This has not always been the case: in the past, financing for Southeast Asian documentary projects was often sought through Western funds. In Cambodia, we visited Rithy Panh’s Bophana Audiovisual Resource Center, which researches the mediated traces of the genocide perpetrated under the Khmer Rouge regime. There, film material is restored and preserved, making sure it is available for future generations. Additionally, professional filmmakers like Panh tutor young filmmakers. Our visit to Cambodia comcluded with an informative three-day conference on future collaborations between film professionals in Southeast Asia – directors, producers, students, funds, etc.
photo: Bert Nienhuis
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Myanmar is a different story: after years of military dictatorship, the country’s cinema is still in its infancy. But people are catching up fast, and that much was clear when we visited the Yangon Film School. Equipped with few resources but a great deal of dedication and passion, students are carving out ways to tell their own stories. A beautiful example is Tyres by director Kyaw Myo Lwin, a beautiful black-and-white short about the recycling of car tires, necessitated by extreme poverty. During my second trip to Myanmar as a juror, it became clear that a fresh new energy is sweeping the country. Films that were strictly forbidden by the censors a few years ago can now by shown without too many problems. Things change, indeed.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
These two journeys are reflected in the IDFA program this year. The region’s most well-known director Rithy Panh, whose latest film The Missing Picture won the Un Certain Regard prize at Cannes in May, was gracious enough to curate our Top 10 program this year and will speak about his choices and his own rich body of work in our annual master class. Meanwhile, 14 recent documentaries from Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, Cambodia and Myanmar are screening in the program Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia, with their young directors on hand to answer your questions after the screenings. For many of them, this visit to IDFA is their first journey outside their home countries. Rithy Panh is not the only documentary grand master to attend IDFA this year, of course. Among the many other “masters” who will be here to discuss their films and documentary cinema in general are Claude Lanzmann, Frederick Wiseman, Marceline Loridan-Ivens, Claire Simon, Thomas Balmes, Nina Hidenius, Jon Bang Carlsen, Vitali Manski and Ivars Seleckis. And that’s not all. The Music Documentary program is on again this year, combining screenings of music documentaries with performances. We’ve also set up collaborations with the Toomler comedy club to offer docs and discussion about stand-up comedy, and De Kleine Komedie theater, where the connections between documentary and literature, music and photography take center stage. Once again, De Brakke Grond is partnering with IDFA’s DocLab, resulting in the Interactive Reality program. The Paradocs program examines the fringes of the documentary genre, while a theme program about the First World War looks ahead to the 100th anniversary of the start of that war next year. And IDFA is also screening several non-documentaries this year. The theme program Based on the Same Story showcases documentaries and narrative films that tell the same story or are based on the same historical event.
As such, IDFA is a festival for young and old, with special programs for children and young adults, often selected in collaboration with these same youths. The best children’s documentary will take home the Mediafonds Award Kids & Docs, while a jury of youngsters between the ages of 15 and 18 will select the winner of the IDFA DOC U Award. Both programs have proven their worth over the years: a growing number of children and young adults take the time to visit IDFA – over 10,000 last year. IDFA is constantly investigating the documentary genre and its boundaries, not only by seeking out collaborations with other disciplines, but also by our staff’s intensive research throughout the year. The result is here before you, not just in beautiful theme programs but also in our strong competitions, with the creative documentary always at the heart of it all. I wish you a fantastic, inspiring and unforgettable festival. Ally Derks
Surveying the festival program as a whole, with a total of 291 films, it quickly becomes clear that such themes as migration, the financial crisis and the Arab Spring have lost none of their topicality. In the many Q&A sessions as well as in several Extended Q&As, the festival will attempt to do justice to the importance of these themes. After all, discussion and debate are always key to the IDFA program, which has both feet planted firmly in the mud of our society.
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International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Organization IDFA Board Chairman Derk Sauer Members Sonja Barend, Nick Fraser, Jacqueline Gerritsma, Arend Jan Heerma van Voss, Amir Labaki, Marischka Leenaers, Iikka Vehkalahti Recommending Committee H.C. Becht, Prof. Ir M. van den Berg, E.I.R.M. de By, G. Frenkel Frank, M. van Heijningen, Dr M de Keizer, B. Lubberhuizen, Dr Ir J.M.M. Ritzen, F. Rottenberg, Prof. Dr A. de Swaan IDFA Bertha Fund Board Chairman Walter Etty Members Arend Jan Heerma van Voss (until October 2013), Jan Hoekema, Lauge Nielsen (until April 2013), Marijn Wiersma, Adrienne van Heteren (starting October 2013), Marischka Leenaers (starting November 2013) Organization Director Ally Derks Managing Director Cees van ’t Hullenaar Head of Industry Office Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen Head of Production / IT Dirk Blikkendaal Office Manager Hanneke Heeremans Assistants Silvie van Oost, Marloes den Hoed Finance Clarissa Riemersma Program Department Coordinator Martijn te Pas Researchers Joost Daamen, Jasper Hokken, Raul Niño Zambrano Assistants Jonna Platje, Rosemarie Strengholt, Sterre de Jong Research & Development Laura van Halsema Contributing Programmers Edwin van Andel, Joost Daamen, Veerle Devreese, Jan Pieter Ekker, Adriana Gonzalez Hulshof, Laura van Halsema, Jasper Hokken, Is Hoogland, Jannie Langbroek, Raul Niño Zambrano, Bart Rutten, Martijn te Pas, Caspar Sonnen, Meike Statema Advisors Kees Brienen, Peter van Bueren, Jan Pieter Ekker, Mariska Graveland, Wessel van der Hammen, Ingrid Harms, Jannie Langbroek, Ot Louw, Andrea Manneke, Rada Sesic, David Teigeler, Frans Westra, Peter Wintonick Guest Programmers Top 10 Rithy Panh The Making of Movies Barbara Visser Documentary Workshop Tom Fassaert, Menna Laura Meijer WWI: The First War on Screen David Barnouw, Bert Hogenkamp IDFA Media Talks Team Maaike Boersma, Franka van Hengel, Andrea Manneke, Peter Wintonick
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Communication Coordinator Cathalijne de Wilde Communication Assistants Karin Flierman, Roos Barneveld Press & Publicity Laura van Halsema Press Assistant Eva van Barneveld IDFA Online Liselotte Brand, Cindy Hoetmer Catalogue Coordinator Joost Broeren Design Sjoukje van Gool, Gerald Zevenboom IDFA Poster Cape Rock IDFA Logo Design Jan Bons, Jeroen Bons IDFA Website 3PO IDFA Commercials and Leader Cape Rock IDFA Daily Editors Mark Baker, Nick Cunningham, Olga van Ditzhuijzen, KEES Driessen, Melanie Goodfellow, Paul van de Graaf, Sasja Koetsier, Geoffrey Macnab, Maricke Nieuwdorp, Ronald Rovers, Nicole Santé Illustrations BAFA, Tech Noir Daily Online Niels Bakker, Joost Broeren Photographers Felix Kalkman, Bram Belloni, Nichon Glerum, Corinne de Korver Design Sjoukje van Gool, Gerald Zevenboom New Media Coordinator Caspar Sonnen IDFA.tv Assistant Jasper Hokken IDFA DocLab Producer Fleur Welter DocLab Website Upian IT IT Coordinator Nathalie Scholten Application Manager Ilja Loonstijn Audio-Visual Jason Langdon Audio-Visual Assistant Willy Bakker Sponsoring & Fundraising Coordinator Marthe Jongmans Assistants Elisabeth van Overloop, Myrthe van der Vlis Education Coordinator Meike Statema Producer Marije Veenstra Assistant Jantine Heida Industry Office Head of Industry Office Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen IDFA Forum Coordinator Yorinde Segal IDFA Forum Coordinator (ad interim) Malka Jonas IDFA Forum Producers Charlotte Reekers, Dewi Staal, Liselot Verbrugge Docs for Sale Coordinator Laurien ten Houten Docs for Sale Coordinator (ad interim) Rudolf Kats Docs for Sale Producer Maire Haverkort Docs for Sale Executive Producer Fred de Haas Delegate Guide Pieter-Jan van Damme First Aid Doc Clinic Consultants Jannie Langbroek, Marijke Rawie
IDFAcademy Coordinator Meike Statema Producer Eva Laurillard Assistant Maartje van Merwijk Guest Services Coordinator Dymme Plomp Assistants David Leenders, Duygu Özer de Kruif, Evelien Frenkel, Hanna Mattes Car Service Coordinator Caspar van der Lecq IDFA Bertha Fund Director Ally Derks Fund Manager Isabel Arrate Fernandez Producer Mélanie de Vocht Selection Committee 2013 Isabel Arrate Fernandez, Don Edkins, Adriek van Nieuwenhuijzen, Orwa Nyrabia, Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Jan Rofekamp, Peter Wintonick Review Committee 2013 Neil Brandt, Carmen Cobos, Joost Daamen, Laura van Halsema, Laurien ten Houten, Raul Niño Zambrano, Martijn te Pas, Denis Vaslin, Mélanie de Vocht Festival Production Head of Production Dirk Blikkendaal Coordinator Annabet Langkamp Producer Lisanne van Wijk Location Producer Misja Starink Special Events Producer Roos Dickhout Audiovisual Producer Jermain Lo Supervisor Pathé Cinema’s Julie Perrenoud A-team Coordinator Matthijs Rietveld Location Dressing Maurice Potemans Volunteers Coordinator Hidde Bisschop Assistant Carlijn Ros Box Office Coordinator Annekoos Logtenberg, Marco Oudewortel Festival Tickets Marie-Louise Calame, Mark Stegweg Active Tickets Bob van der Meer Technical / Screenings Filmtechniek BV Martin van Broekhoven, Dick Moesker Technical Supervisors Rembrandt Boswijk, Frank van der Horst Film Control Coordinators Joop van Langen, Kathinka Verhoeven Jury Assistants Coordinator Rada Sesic Audience Award Coordinator Roman Coldenhoff
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Volunteers Afentra Tapou, Akkie van der Hooft, Alexandra Mantovanelli, Alexandra Mientjes, Alexandra Onderwater, Alice Schippers, Alies Verstegen, Alissa Muffels, Alwin Helmink, Amanda Perino, Amarins van Groeningen, Amy MacLeod, An Verschoor, Ana Crisostomo, Anas Houda, Anastasija Pirozenko, Andrea Mullerova, Andrea van der Grinten, Andrew Ricca, Angeline Lim, Anita Mizrahi, Anje Wiering, Anke Bos, Anke Söentken, Anna van der Tas, Anne Grundmeijer, Anne Kaandorp, Anne van der Pasch, Anne van Oudheusden Stodel, Annebel Albers, Anneke Dekker, Annelies de Koning, Annelies van Dam, Annemarie de Haan, Annemiek Zonneveld, Anouk Kraan, Anton Visser, Arand Hovakimian, Areti Gkoursta, Arlette Lafère, Arthur van Helvert, Aubéry Escande, B Ray Giri, Babette Pöll, Bambi Bogert, Barbara Janssen, Barbara Lommen, Bas Henneman, Bas Voorwinde, Ben van der Veldt, Benjamin Snippe, Bep Duys, Berry Spanjer, Bert Bouquet, Bert van der Hall, Bettina Merten, Bianca Rhemrev, Bietrix Florence, Bob Veldkamp, Bobbie Noë, Boris Liesveld, Bowi van Onna, Brigitte Dobbelmann, Camila Wijnmaalen, Carla Wighman, Carlin van s-Gravenmade, Carmen Hermens, Caroline ter Braak, Caroline Wulp, Catherine Nael, Catherine van Harinxma thoe Slooten, Cecilia Conde, Cees de Smalen, Celine Kroon, Cemre Ercin, Chantal Los, Charlie Smid, Charmaine Eleni Bogte, Chloe Berger, Chris Kooij, Chris van Rooijen, Chrisje Loman, Christa Martens, Christina Mlika, Christina Stuhlberger, Christopher de Gast, Chun Lai, Clare Collins, Claudia Goehnert, Clyde Piqué, Colinda van der Zalm, Collin D’Amelio, Cor van Lith, Cornelia Bruining, Corrine van Huet, Daan Disseldorp, Daan Faber, Dalila Achoui, Damiet de Wit, Danae Metzika, Daniel van den Ham, Daniele Marx, Daniella van den Huijssen, Danny Haarsma, Dasha Shapovalova, Davinia Croes, Debora Vooijs, Deborah Andrews, Despoina Kairi, Dette Glashouder, Devika Partiman, Devika Partiman, Dewi Gigengack, Diana Hoekstra, Diana Jasperse, Diana Stefanescu, Diede Claassen, Dimitrios Meletios Choutopoulos, Donny Sandel, Dorien Theuns, Eline Makker, Eline van Oostveen, Elizabeth Ytsma, Ellen Huijsmans, Ellen van Eijk, Emilio Madaio, Emma Kabel, Emma van Asbeck, Eric Goudriaan, Eric Reisinger, Erik Pijpers, Esther Milberg, Esther Trienekens, Eva Brink, Eva Meesterberends, Eva Pell, Eva Schaap, Eva Steenhuizen, Eva Straube, Evelien Vaessen, Felix van Gisbergen, Fleur de Graaf, Floor Oudshoorn, Floor Sleegers, Floortje Pols, Florence Doorgeest, Florence Oprinsen, Francina Stolk, Francisca Westgeest, Frank Fuykschot, Frans Rodenburg, Frans van der Vegt, Frederik Danjo, Fresthe Sijani, Frouke Kingma, Gabriele Chlevickaite, Garin Wind, Gavroche Abels, Geli Mademli, Gemma Groot, Genice Braamse, Georgia Lloyd-Smith, Geran Hobbelink, Gerrie Buijze, Gerrit-Jan Oude Sogtoen, Gert Mulder, Gertie Ligtermoed, Gita Sukdeo, Giulia Pastora, Giusy Chierchia, Gloria Aura Bertolini, Grace Coats, Grard Koning, Guus Bruin, Habiba Benderradji, Hanna Pincus, Hans Knikman, Hans Kuilboer, Harrie Moonen, Harriet Gridley, Harriet van Tol, Harro Presser, Hayet Benkacem, Heleen Schalkwijk, Heleen Visscher, Helge Prinsen, Henri Grotens, Heriana Kola, Herma Darmstadt, Hester Dings, Hilde Timmer, Holly Mai Connolly, Huibert van Alexander Wijk, Huibert van Brussel, Ian Henry Knoop, Iekje Pool, Igmar de Haan, Ika Dirks, Ike Stolk, Ildikó Plájás, Ilja Hilhorst, Ilon Lodewijks, Imbert Myers, Ineke Kester, Inge Visser, Inger Bal, Ingrid Perik, Inraini Ramo Salabarria, Ioana Dragomirescu, Irena Kristofiakova, Irene Arends, Iris Benjamins, Iris Grob, Iris Oosterloo, Iris Spanbroek, Isabelle Blekxtoon, Ivo Leijten, Jaap van Dam, Jaco Idema, Jacqueline Zwart, Jael Fraenkel, Jair Tchong, Jakub Wyszkowski, Jamie Spapens, Jamie Zinhagel, Jan Bergmans, Jan Molenaar, Janna van Rijn, Janneke Aronson, Janneke Kragt, Jasna Bastic, Jasna Hadzic, Jeanette de Korte, Jeanette Gerritsma, Jeanne Groen, Jelle van den Berg, Jeroen Komen, Jesse Hellendoorn, Jessica de Jong, Jessica Tangelder, Jessy van Adrichem, Jet Homoet, Jitske de Graauw, Joan de Ruijter, Johan Statius Muller, Johan Zwaan, John Kaufman, Joleen Traets, Joost van Hulst, Joram Pach, Jordi Ouwerkerk, Jorinde Olling, Jory Tousijn, Josephine Koelman, Josien van Oostveen, Jozien de Ruiter, Judita Cholujova, Judith Baten, Julia de Lange, Julietta Tiemeijer, Juliette Jansen, Juliette Kemperman, Juljetta Batajeva, June ten Have, Jur Kous, Jurgen Albers, Jurgen de Jonge, Justina Nekrasaite, Justyna Krajewska, Kamila Grzymala, Karin Falkeisen, Karin Meerkerk, Karin van der Laan, Karolina Kulewicz, Katarzyna Stepien, Kathryn Chlosta, Katrine Balancourt, Kattie Schoot, Kees Kleywegt, Kemal Rijken, Kiek Bigot, Kim Bakker, Kitty Hek, de, Kitty Kunkeler, Koen Lommerse, Krista Janssen, Kubra Kasirga, Kuno Terwindt, Kurt van Aert, Laura Cristina Cabrera Revilla, Laura Janssen, Laura Klompenhouwer, Laura Polderman, Lauren Murphy, Lea Kloosterman, Lena Kononova, Lenie van der Pols, Lennie Jong, de, Letty Reimerink, Levi Leenders, Lieke Bruggink, Lieke Kessels, Lien de Coster, Liesbeth van Loon, Lieven Heeremans, Lilian Dool, Linda Matthijssen, Linda van Geerinck, Linde Schuurman, Lindy Pieters, Lisa Kermabon, Liselotte Gijzemijter, Liv Ollin, Loes van Alphen, Lorenzo Schmidt, Lot Piscaer, Lotte Akkerman, Lotte Duursma, Lotte Grimbergen, Lotte Kwak, Louiza Haloui, Luc Leijtens, Lucian Tion, Luna Petilli, Luuk Adema, Lydia de Ruijter, Lydia Unsworth, Maarten Kal, Maartje Hensen, Maayke Cramers, Macha van Beusekom, Machiel van den Heuvel, Madonna Ogbee, Majanka Timmers, Manon van Bakel, Manouk Nawijn, Manus Schmedding, Maoui van Schagen, Marco Bakker, Margot Broekhof, Margreet van der Lijn, Maria de Boer, Maria Eckhardt, Maria Tamburri, Marian de Louw, Marianna Micheletto, Marianne Eerenstein, Marianne Philipse, Marie van Schijndel, Marieke Baljé, Marieke Steijvers, Marielle Berkelmans, Marielle Prick, Mariette Bakker, Mariette Vreeburg, Marije Boonstra, Marije van Ophem, Marijke Rawie, Marijn Lansbergen, Marina Kopier, Marit Kaemingk, Marit Oprins, Marja GrotensOostermeijer, Marja Zeegers, Marjanne de Haan, Marjolijn Bronkhuyzen, Marjon Boost, Marjon van Wier, Mark Jong, de, Mark Smith, Marlijn Sonne-Gooren, Marloes Hees, Marloes Nierop, Marloes Wieffer, Marry Straathof, Martien Weber, Martijn Bakker, Martijn Brussaard, Martijn de oer, Martje Bakker, Massimo America, Mathieu van der Sluis, Mathijs Mulder, Mathilde Auclair, Matthew Curlewis, Matthijs Bax, Maud de Graeve, Melahn Parker, Melanie de Langen, Melisa Wieringa, Mia Laarhoven, Micha de Groot, Michel Verhaar, Michèle Thijssen, Michelle Gaaf, Michelle Johnson, Michiel de Graaff, Michiko Aida, Mieke Gorter, Mieke van Groenestijn, Miho Hirayama, Milou Gevers, Miriam van Oort, Miriam Vries, Miro Andrzejewski, Mischa Samsom, Monique Corten, Monique Terwindt, Mustafa Himdi, Myeisha Benshemesh, Myrto Muller, Nancy Ben Arbia, Nanette Creemers, Nanja Monas, Natacha Dansembourg, Natalia Rebelo, Natasja Kallenberg, Neil Robinson, Nick van Doesum, Nico Leeuw, Nicolien van Loon, Niels van der Spijk, Nienke Meeter, Nienke van Dongen, Nikki Manger, Nils Boer, Nils Hakansson, Nina Supramani, Noelia Nicolás, Nurah Abdulkamir, Nynja Smit, Olga Nijhoff, Olivia Buning, Olivia Reschofsky, Onne Bakker, Pabe Hulsenbeck, Pat Shak, Patricia Aufderheide, Patricia Samwels, Patrick Janssens, Paul Koster, Paul van Dijken, Paul van Tongeren, Pauli van der Zijden, Pepijn Nuiten, Petra Haulussy, Philippine Sellam, Pieter Marcus, Pieter van der Bij, Pieter Veen, Pim Kouwenberg, Pita Pieksma, Pjotr ten Berge, Polly-Grace Vonsée, Puck Houtakkers, Puck van Dijk, Ralph Deckers, Ralph Edelstein, Ramona Ciocea, Rebecca Gast, Reidar Plokker, Reinier Schat, Remco Dam, Remco van Dongen, Remie van Os, René Jager, Rene Rood, Reno Godlieb, Renske Mehra, Ria Bergshoeff, Ria Meinema, Rick van Eeden, Ridwan Nasruddin, Rieke Besjes, Rieke Evegroen, Rieneke Bakker, Rik Kleuver, Rina Sjamil, Rivano Kingswijk, Rkia Cherradi, Rob Goedhart, Rob Janssen, Robert Schlimgen, Rogier Jacobs, Roland Simons, Rolf Hoekstra, Rolf Slagboom, Ron Noordman, Ronald Baas, Roos Bernson, Roos Wijnen, Rosa Lohman, Rosa Mol, Rosanne van den Berg, Rosanne Veger, Russ Lehman, Ruth Bos, Ruurd Bouter, Ryan Miller, Sabina Alieva, Sako Sugata, Sam de Boer, Sam Duijf, Samantha Robinson, Sandra Smalhout, Sandra Smits, Sanne Beijen, Sanne Goede, Sanne Hoenjet, Sanne Hoogervorst, Sara Kerklaan, Sarah Faye van der Ploeg, Sarandra Kienjet, Sarina Kok, Sasha de Hair, Saskia Boerma, Saskia Gijsberti Hodenpijl, Setareh Fatehi, Sietske Bosma, Siobhan Reynolds, Sjarrel Soebarta, Soek Yi Tong, Sofia Milagros Oreel, Sofia Mourato, Sofie Blom, Sonja Claassen, Sophie Sanders, Sophie Schrameijer, Sou’ad El Baghdadi, Stan Truijens, Stella Capel, Stella Zieda, Steph van Bommel, Suela Aksoy, Susannah Herman, Susanne Beckers, Susanne Donders, Susanne Schieving, Suzanne Dietz, Suzanne Jekel, Suzanne Klomp, Suze van Bohemen, Suzy Raber, Sylvia Frankena, Sylvia van Veelen, Taco Mansens, Tamara Keers, Tatiana Scheltema, Teije Terhorst, Tess Renkens, Tess Vermeer, Thea Bielsma, Theo Maandag, Thomas Dijkshoorn, Thomas Sykora, Thu Ha Nguyen Thi, Tim Heshusius, Tim Tuijtel, Timo Millitz, Tineke Klok, Tineke Oosterhof, Tineke van Bottenburg, Tjeerd Morsink, Tom Roes, Tom Waijers, Umut Akpinar, Veerle Bodeving, Veronique Aicha Achoui, Vicki Christaki, Vincent Harmsen, Vincent Middleton, Vivian Schotsborg, Wahhab Ahmed, Wai Yuen Man, Welmoed van Ramshorst, Wendy Ruitenberg, Wil van Tol, Wilfred Raterink, Willemien Jacops, William de Jager, Wilma de Beer, Wim Bergsma, Wotienke Vermeer, Wout Conijn, Wouter Timmermans, Yad Amin, Yula Altchouler, Yvon Stefess, Yvonne Scherf, Yvonne Wolsink, Zeno Siemens-Brega, Zjala Bashir, Zoe Neilson.
Thank You! Adriaan Wasey, New York; Adriana Gonzalez Hulshof, Amsterdam; Adrienne van Heteren, London; Al Morrow, London; Alexandre Brachet, Paris; Andrea Prenghoyvá, Praag; Anna Pedroli, Amsterdam; Anne Marie Kürstein, Copenhagen; Anne Vierhout, Amsterdam; Antoine Goetschel, Zurich; Axel Arnö, Stockholm; Beadie Finzie, London; Barbara Truyen, Amsterdam; Barbara Visser, Amsterdam; Bart Haensel, Amsterdam; Bart Rutten, Amsterdam; Bauke Freiburg, Amsterdam; Bojan Bajic, Vlieland; Boris Nieuwenhuijzen, Amsterdam; Brent Hoff, San Francisco; Brian Winston, Lincoln,; Carmen Cobos, Amsterdam; Catherine Le Chef, Paris; Cecilia Lidin, Stockholm; Cecilie Bolvinkel, Copenhagen; Chai Locher, Amsterdam; Christan Popp, Vincennes; Christina Jul Gregersen, Copenhagen; Claire Aguilar, San Francisco; Coco Schrijber, Amsterdam; Daan Vermeulen, Amsterdam; Dana Duijn, The Hague; Danniel Danniel, Amsterdam; Daphne Bunskoek, Amsterdam; Debra Zimmerman, New York; Denis Vaslin, Rotterdam; Diana Holtzberg, New York; Diane Weyermann, New York; Dick Moesker, Rotterdam; Digna van Nielen, Rotterdam; Don Edkins, Cape Town; Ed Lachman, New York; Edwin van Andel, Amsterdam; Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, Amsterdam; Emelie de Jong, Paris; Emma David, Scotland; Erik van Hetzelfde, Rotterdam; Esther van Messel, Zürich; Florine Wiebenga, Amsterdam; Fridus Steijlen, Amsterdam; Froukje Jansen, Amsterdam; Geert van Itallie, Amsterdam; Gerard Kogelman, Amsterdam; Gitte Hansen, Zürich; Georg Tschurtschenthaler, Berlin; Greg Barker, Santa Monica; Hans Bosscher, Amsterdam; Hans Robert Eisenhauer, Berlin; Hugues Sweeney, Montreal; Hupert Sauper, Parijs; Ida de Kat – van Meurs, The Hague ; Ingrid Kopp, New York; Ingrid van Tol, Amsterdam; Inna Shevchensko, Paris; Iris Hogendijk, Amsterdam; Is Hoogland, Amsterdam; Jan Herman den Hertog, Amsterdam; Jan Pieter Ekker, Amsterdam; Jan Röfekamp, Montreal; Jan van Aert, Amsterdam; Janette Kolkema, Amsterdam; Jannie Langbroek, Amsterdam; Jantien Ekkes, Amsterdam; Jelmer van der Lucht, Amsterdam; Jeroen Nessen, Amsterdam; Jesper Osmund, Copenhagen; Jess Search, London; Jessica Raspe, Amsterdam; Joan Morselt, Amsterdam; Joe Bini, Los Angeles; John Appel, Amsterdam; John Badalu, Jakarta; Jon Heemsbergen, Amsterdam; Joost den Hartog, Unley; Joppe Harinck, Amsterdam; Joris Luyendijk, London; Karolina Lidin, Copenhagen; Kate Townsend; United Kingdom; Kay Gladstone, Amsterdam; Kees Fopma, Amsterdam; Kees Jongkind, Amsterdam; Kevin Macdonald, London; Kyra Kuppens, Amsterdam; Leen Engelen, Leuven; Likka Vehkalahti, Finland; Lisa Lense Møller, Copenhagen; Lisa Linde Nieveld, Amsterdam; Maaik Krijgsman, Amsterdam; Maarten Reesink, Amsterdam; Madelinde Hageman, Amsterdam; Mai Lan Thai, Hanoi; Marike Huizinga, Amsterdam; Marijke Rawie, Amsterdam; Marjolijn Bronkhuyzen, Amsterdam; Marlies Kool, Utrecht; Marlies Pinksterboer, Amsterdam; Martin van Broekhoven, Delft; Menna Laura Meijer, Amsterdam; Menno Boerema, Amsterdam; Mikael Opstrup, Copenhagen; Mischa Kamp, Amsterdam; Neil Brandt, Johannesburg; Nick van Ginkel, Amsterdam; Nick Ware, Fulvy; Nicolas Rapold, New York; Niek Koppen, Amsterdam; Olivier ten Kate, Amsterdam; Orwa Nyrabia, Damascus; Othmar Schmiderer, Grafenwoerth; Ove Rishøj Jensen, Copenhagen; Patrick Janssens, Amsterdam; Peter Broderick, Santa Monica; Peter Gerard, Glasgow; Peter Goldman, Rotterdam; Peter Lataster, Amsterdam; Peter Wintonick, Montreal; Petra Lataster-Czisch, Amsterdam; Pieter Fleury, Amsterdam; Pieter van Huystee, Amsterdam; Rada Sesic, Utrecht; Rainer Vos, Frankfurt; Rebecca Lichtenfeld, New York; René Wolf, Amsterdam; Rithy Panh, Phnom Penh; Rixt Hulshoff Pol, Amsterdam; Robert McLaughlin, Saskatoon; Robert Mulder, Amsterdam; Roel vande Winkel, Leuven; Roland van Putten, Rotterdam; Ronald Vendelmans, Amsterdam; Ronny Temme, Amsterdam; Rudy Buttignol, Toronto; Salma Abdalla, Vienna; Sanne Rovers, Amsterdam; Sarah Wolozin, Boston; Sjoerd de Vries, Rotterdam; Sophie de Krom, Amsterdam; Stefan Kloos, Berlin; Steven Markovitz, CapeTown; Steven Seidenberg, Oxford; Syb Groeneveld, Amsterdam; Tom Fassaert, Amsterdam; Twan Huys, Amsterdam; Veerle Devreese, Amsterdam; Victor Kossakovsky, St. Petersburg; Victoria Belopolskaya, Moscow; Vivienne Ypma, Amsterdam; Wendy Bernfeld, Amsterdam; Wessel van der Hammen, Hilversum; William Uricchio, Boston;
Organizations
Allrent ICT Solutions, Almere; Alvero, Oosterhout; Boels, Amsterdam; Burgerbar, Amsterdam; Café Old Bell, Amsterdam; Captain Video, Amsterdam; Cinekid, Amsterdam; CJP, Amsterdam; Coolpolitics, Amsterdam; Cramgo B.V., Utrecht; Cultuurfabriek, Amsterdam; Driebit, Amsterdam; Eetcafé De Brakke Grond, Amsterdam; Eetsalon van Dobben, Amsterdam; European Documentary Network; Filmmore, Amsterdam; Flowerpower, Amsterdam; Focus Filmtheater, Arnhem; Frank Software, Delft; De Frisse Blik, Amsterdam; Gerda’s bloemen, Amsterdam; Hapéco, Weesp; Hubert Bals Fund, Rotterdam; KPN Event, Utrecht; Lux, Nijmegen; Mausolos, Amsterdam; M.I.T., Boston; NFVF, South Africa; Nowhere, Amsterdam; Rotary Hilversum 3, Hilversum; Sieraad, Amsterdam; The Event Engineers, Enschede; Theoneminutes Jr. Foundation, Amsterdam; Toltech Solutions B.V., Amsterdam; Unicef International, New York; UNIGLOBE Perfect Travel, Amsterdam; Vapiano, Amsterdam; Vrachttaxi, Amsterdam; Wagamama, Amsterdam; Women Make Movies, New York; Wild Bunch Distribution Netherlands, Amsterdam; Zapp Echt Gebeurd, Hilversum
Special thanks to:
All co-operators of; Amsterdam Arts Weekend; Bijlmer Parktheater; Booking.com; Brasserie Harkema; Brasserie Schiller; Café Schiller; Capital A; Compagnietheater; De Engelenbak; DeLaMar Theater; EYE Film Institute; Hampshire Hotel Prinsengracht; Het Ketelhuis; De Kleine Komerdie; De Kroon; Melkweg; Nederlandse Film Academie; NH Hotels; Pathé de Munt; Pathé Tuschinski; Podium Mozaïek; Sociëteit Arti and Amicitiae; Stedelijk Museum; Toomler; Vlaams Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond
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International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Partners of IDFA Main partners of the 26th International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Partners
IDFA is subsidized and funded by
M U N D U S
Catalogue Credits Coordinator Joost Broeren Assistent Coordinator Roos Barneveld Editors Andrew Maggiore Nicole SantĂŠ
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Film Description Writers Niels Bakker Florence van Berckel Asher Boersma Joost Broeren Olga van Ditzhuijzen Kees Driessen Paul van de Graaf Mariska Graveland Marjanne de Haan
Nienke Huitenga Sasja Koetsier Auke Kranenborg Wendy Koops Sanne de Maijer Maricke Nieuwdorp Marijke Ottema Lot Piscaer Hanne Reus Ronald Rovers
Ronald Rovers
Nicole SantĂŠ Marije Sietsma Annelotte Verhaagen Kelli van der Waals Kim van der Werff Karin Wolfs
Translators Mark Baker Steve Green Andrew Maggiore
Contributors Bert Hogenkamp Nicolas Rapold
Photographers Bram Belloni Bert Nienhuis
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
The festival program is supported by
Club IDFA
IDFA-Mediafonds Workshop / Kids & Docs Workshop / IDFA Media Talks are supported by
ABN AMRO Bank NV Anthos De Breij Evers Boon De Nederlandsche Bank DTZ Zadelhoff Houthoff Buruma JBR Jean Mineur Mediavision M.N. Léons BV PwC Rabobank Amsterdam Rotaform Document Services TBWA\NEBOKO
IDFA Forum is supported by
Donations to IDFA
Ambassade de France aux Pays-Bas, ASEF, AVRO, De Gijselaar-Hintzenfonds, EYE International, Goethe Institut, HUMAN, IKON, NCRV, NPO/RNW Sales, P.W. Janssen’s Friesche Stichting, Rabobank Amsterdam, Stichting Elise Mathilde Fonds, Stichting Rotarkids CCJA, VEVAM
Suppliers
IDFA Bertha Fund is supported by
3PO, Arti et Amicitiae, Art Support BV Theaterproductiebureau, Bijlmer Parktheater, Brasserie Harkema, Brasserie Schiller, Café Schiller, De Kleine Komedie, De Kroon, DeLaMar Theater, EYE Film Institute, FestivalTickets, Het Compagnietheater, Het Ketelhuis, Lichtwerk, MacBike, Melkweg, MeneM Systemen/Datasein, Nedcipro-NCP Holland, NH Caransa, Podium Mozaïek, Rex, Toomler, VBVB Cultuurautomatisering, Videodock, Vlaams Cultuurhuis De Brakke Grond
Festival Trailer
Cape Rock, Jean Mineur Mediavision M U N D U S
Photo Coordinator Joost Daamen
Printing Indrukwerk, Ben Hagen
Cover Design Cape Rock, Sjoukje van Gool
Acquisition Daily Productions
Lay-out Sjoukje van Gool, Gerald Zevenboom
International Sales Nick Cunningham
IDFA would like to thank all friends of the festival.
Editorial Adress International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam Frederiksplein 52 1017 XN Amsterdam phone: +31 20 627 33 29 fax: +31 20 638 53 88 email: info@idfa.nl website: www.idfa.nl
This is a publication of the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam. No part of this publication may be reproduced by print, photo print, microfilm, or by any other means, without the permission of the authors and IDFA. ISBN 978-90-78741-05-3
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International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Jury members
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary José Carlos Avellar is a film critic and has written books on Brazilian and Latin American Cinema, including O chão da palavra (2009) and A ponte clandestina (1996), essays in revues (such as “The Three Headed Horses” in The New Left Review, 2012), and anthologies (“Pedro, Pedro, Pedro” in El cine documental iberoamericano, 2012; “Camera lucida” in New Argentine and Brazilian Cinema: Reality Effects, 2013). He is the film curator for the Instituto Moreira Salles, and the Brazilian correspondent for the Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin. A selection of his writing can be found at www.escrevercinema.com. Canadian director Katerina Cizek is an Emmy-winning documentary maker who works across many media platforms. Her work has documented the digital revolution, and has itself become part of the movement. For five years, she was the National Film Board of Canada’s Filmmaker-in-Residence at an inner-city hospital, in a multi-media project that won a 2008 Webby Award, a Banff Award and a Canadian New Media Award. Her previous award-winning films include Seeing is Believing: Handicams, Human Rights and the News (2002, co-directed with Peter Wintonick). Out My Window, the first chapter of her current transmedia project Highrise, which explores the importance of the highrise in modern suburban living, won the IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling in 2010. Nicole Guillemet has worked in key positions in the film industry for 25 years. For over 15 years, she served as Vice President of the Sundance Institute and Co-Director of the Sundance Film Festival. At the 2000 Sundance Film Festival, she launched and directed the Documentary Film Program and its “House of Docs” to provide support to documentary filmmakers. She also initiated the Gen-Y Studio, a program designed to nurture student filmmakers, and founded the Utah Film Center, bringing the world of film to a local audience. From 2002 to 2007, Guillemet was the Director of the Miami International Film Festival, showcasing the most important selection of IberoAmerican Cinema in North America. In the last six years, she has
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worked as an executive consultant for various international festivals, and has assisted many documentary filmmakers in the production and distribution of their films. Throughout her career, Guillemet has been a dedicated arts activist. In 2005, she received the decoration “Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres” from the French Minister of Culture. Chris McDonald was appointed Executive Director of Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in October of 1998. In 2013, he was named Hot Docs President. With a mandate to advance and celebrate the art of documentary and to showcase the work of documentary filmmakers, Hot Docs is now recognized as North America’s largest documentary festival, and its flagship Hot Docs Forum, established in 2000, is North America’s largest documentary market event. A native of Montreal, McDonald holds a degree in Film Studies from McGill University and was Development Director at the prestigious Canadian Film Centre for five years. He sits on several industry advisory boards and has served on panels and juries at leading film festivals and markets around the world. Jiska Rickels studied at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam and at the University of Television and Film in Munich. Her graduation film Untertage (2003) was internationally acclaimed and won numerous awards. Her first feature dcumentary, 4 Elements, was the opening film at IDFA in 2006 and has been successfully released in the Benelux. She was first assistant director for Byambasuren Davaa and Luigi Falorni on the Oscar®-nominated documentary The Story of the Weeping Camel (2003) and The Two Horses of Genghis Khan (2009), both shot in Mongolia. Her film Babaji, an Indian Love Story (2009) won the Regards Neuf award at Vision du Reel in Nyon and has been theatrically released in the Netherlands. Her latest film El sonido del bandoneon (2011) was selected for the IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary in 2011 and won the Special Jury Award at the Femina International Woman’s Film Festival in Rio de Janeiro.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Jury members
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary Keiko Bang is the founder of Bang Singapore and a leading media consultant, pioneer and evangelist for the creation of a single Asian content market, which encompasses independent producers, broadcasters and stakeholders in both the private and public sector. Bang Singapore is a leading producer and media consultant in Asia. Over the past 17 years, it has achieved critical acclaim for making more than 100 high-quality productions airing in over 150 countries around the world. In 2006, Bang was the first Asian production company to rank among Realscreen’s Top 100 Most Influential Documentary Companies in the World. As an industry leader, Bang Singapore co-organized Asian Side of the Doc (ASD), Asia’s only factual programming forum, between 2011 and 2013. It is currently establishing the Asian Documentary Federation and a new forum to bring Asian factual programming to the rest of the world. A native of Konjic, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Lejla Dedic has lived and worked in London for over 20 years. She graduated with honors from the Bachelor’s program in Media and Society at South Bank University in London in 1997. Since then, she has been working in production, post-production and broadcasting. For the past 10 years, she has been part of the production team at BBC World Service Trust, known today as BBC Media Action, which uses media and communications to help reduce poverty and promote human rights in developing countries. Since June 2011, Dedic has served as the Program Producer at Aljazeera Balkans in Sarajevo, which started broadcasting in November 2011 and has a wide network of correspondents in the Balkan region. Veton Nurkollari is Artistic Director of DokuFest, Kosovo’s largest documentary and short film festival, which he co-founded in 2002. He is also the curator of DokuPhoto, an annual showcase of documentary photography that runs alongside the film festival. Nurkollari is a member of the Advisory Board of the Balkan Documentary Center and a member of the selection committee of Cinema Eye Honors, an organization that recognizes and honors
exemplary craft in nonfiction filmmaking. He is a member of the European Film Academy and was one of the first supporters of the Albanian Cinema Project, of which he is a founding board member. Currently, Nurkollari works to promote documentary cinema in rural areas of Kosovo through the “Cinema at Your Door” project. Marco Spagnoli is a journalist and movie critic for various media, including Empire Italia, Il Giornale dello Spettacolo, Primissima, and Vivilcinema. He is the Artistic Director for the Golden Graal Award and the Gala del Cinema e della Fiction in the Italian region of Campania. In the past, he has worked as a Member of the Board of Experts for RomaFictionFest, as Deputy Director of the Bari International Film Festival, and as Deputy Director of the Taormina Film Festival. He has published several books, including biographies of Malcolm McDowell and Marylin Monroe, as well as interview collections on Woody Allen and Tim Burton, and has directed several documentaries about cinema, the latest of which is Great Women: Anna Magnani in Hollywood, which recently premiered at the Venice Film Festival. In 2012, Spagnoli received the Domenico Meccoli Award for superior movie journalism. Originally from Yeni Kapu Koy, Turkey, Meral Uslu graduated from the Netherlands Film Academy in 1988 with specializations in directing and camera. For more than 20 years, she has been making documentary films on a broad variety of subjects, including Whores (1991), Chess King Ali (nominated for the Kids & Docs Anniversary Award in 2004), and The Children of My Father (winner of the Golden Calf for Best Documentary at the 2005 Netherlands Film Festival). Roos & Rana (2001) was her first fiction film for TV, while her feature film Snackbar (2012) premiered at the Berlinale and was released theatrically in the Netherlands. In the last few years, Uslu has focused on feature-length documentaries with co-director Maria Mok, including Cross Aid Post (Kruispost, shown at IDFA 2007), Long Stay (shown at IDFA 2009) and Juvenile Judge (shown at IDFA 2010). Their latest film, The Defense of Robert M., premiered at the Netherlands Film Festival in September 2013.
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International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Jury members
IDFA Competition for First Appearance Mark Adams is Chief Film Critic for the film trade paper Screen International and is currently a film critic for The Sunday Mirror in the UK. He attends most of the key international film festivals around the world. As a film journalist and reviewer for more than 25 years, he has written for Variety, The Hollywood Reporter and Moving Pictures International, as well as many national newspapers in the UK. He has also worked extensively in the film industry. He was Head of Programming at the National Film Theatre in London for six years, and also worked as Director of Cinema at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London. Joslyn Barnes is a screenwriter and Emmy-nominated producer. She is the author of numerous screenplays for feature films, including the upcoming Indian feature The Cosmic Forest and the award-winning film Bàttu. Among the films Barnes has executive-produced or produced since co-founding Louverture Films are the César-nominated Bamako, Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner and Oscar® and Emmy-nominated Trouble the Water, and the Oscar®-shortlisted The House I Live In, which won the 2012 Sundance Grand Jury Prize. She associate-produced Elia Suleiman’s The Time That Remains and the 2010 Cannes Palme d’Or winner Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives by Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Barnes is currently producing The Shadow World with Johan Grimonprez, The Message with Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein, and The Narrow Frame of Midnight with Tala Hadid. Michiel van Erp is a Dutch documentary filmmaker and producer who is known for both TV series and feature films. He started directing documentary productions in the 1990s for Dutch public broadcasters VARA and VPRO, from which Lang Leve [Long Live] (1996-2003) was his breakthrough TV series, winning several awards at foreign festivals. Among his most acclaimed films are Funfair Behind the Dykes (Pretpark Nederland, 2006), Erwin Olaf: On Beauty and Fall (2009) and I Am a Woman Now (2011). Most recently he made Hollands Welvaren (2013), which depicts the lives of the Dutch upper
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class. Together with Monique Busman, he runs the successful TV and film production company De Familie, also producing for external documentary makers. In addition to film, Van Erp works on theater productions. Next year, his first fiction TV series will be broadcast, a four-part production about renowned Dutch singer Ramses Shaffy. Hanka Kastelicová is the Executive Producer of Documentaries for HBO Europe. Based in the Budapest, she works closely with HBO Europe’s production centers in Warsaw, Prague and Bucharest, and is responsible for the development and production of HBO Europe’s documentary films. She earned a Master of Arts degree from the Faculty of Film and TV Documentary Department at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague. She continued her professional career in Slovenia, where she worked for more than 25 years as a documentary director and producer. As an experienced and dedicated documentary filmmaker, Kastelicová has lectured on documentary filmmaking and participated in the organization of master classes, industry seminars and courses. She has also served as a moderator and participant on numerous industry panels and other documentary events in many countries. Stephan Vanfleteren studied photography at Sint-Lukas Brussels. He worked as a freelance photographer for Belgian newspaper De Morgen from 1993 to 2009, while also developing his own projects. He specializes in black-and-white portraits and extensive reports both at home and abroad, and is currently focusing on work for foreign newspapers and magazines. Vanfleteren is a co-founder of and Art Director for Kannibaal/Hannibal Publishing. Since 2010, he has been a guest lecturer at KASK (Royal Academy of Fine Arts) in Gent. His work has been exhibited at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, the UN Headquarters in New York and the Sorbonne in Paris. He has won several World Press Photo Awards, most recently in 2013 for his series “People of Mercy” in the Staged Portraits category. He has published nine photo books since 1999, the most recent of which is Façades & Vitrines (Hannibal Publishing, 2013).
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Jury members
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary Born in Canada, raised in Australia, and now based in the UK, Hussain Currimbhoy is Sheffield Doc/Fest’s Main Programmer. He completed post-graduate studies in filmmaking at the Victorian College of the Arts in Australia, writing and directing several short films. He started his own touring short film festival in 2003, before working in programming at the Australian Centre for the Moving Image, as well as the Melbourne International Film Festival and Adelaide Film Festival. He now lives in Sheffield, England, where he has been director of programming at Sheffield Doc/Fest since 2008. Born in Amsterdam, Peter Lataster studied at the University of Film and Television in Potsdam-Babelsberg, Germany from 1975-1980. Afetr returning to Amsterdam, he started working as a cameraman and a teacher. In 1990, he formed a directing duo with his wife Petra Lataster-Czisch. They have built an impressive oeuvre of internationally acclaimed documentaries, short films and dance films, including Stories of a River (1994), Birth-Day (2004), If We Knew (2007) and Not Without You (2010), which won the Golden Calf for Best Documentary at the Netherlands Film Festival. Their latest film, Awake in a Bad Dream, is having its world premiere at IDFA 2013 in the Competition for Dutch Documentary. Mon Mon Myat was born in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma) and received a Master of Business Administration from Payap University (Chiang Mai, Thailand) in 2008 and a Master in Journalism from the Ateneo de Manila University (Manila, Philippines) in 2012. After graduating in Economics in 1997, she set up Creative Media House (CMH) in Yangon, Myanmar, starting out as a publisher in print media and expanding its work to a wider range of broadcast media. In 2013, she was co-organizer of the inaugural edition of the Human Rights Human Dignity International Film Festival (HRHDIFF) in Myanmar. She also works as a freelance journalist, contributing to the Spectrum section of the Bangkok Post, as well as Agence FrancePresse (AFP) in Yangon, Myanmar and the Norwegian magazine NyTid.
Photo: Anneleen Louwes
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International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Jury members
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary Born in France, Francine Brücher studied foreign languages at the University of Lyon. She started her film career in Munich in 1972 as head of foreign sales at Filmverlag der Autoren, handling films by Fassbinder, Wenders and Schroeter. In 1977, she founded Munic Films with her husband Klaus Brücher, a sales company for quality German independent films. From 1986-1993, she worked as head of world sales for Metropolis Film Zürich, and from 1994-1997, she was a freelance sales agent for Pierre Grise Productions in Paris, as well as working for several film festivals. In 1997, she joined SWISS FILMS in Zürich, which promotes Swiss films abroad. She is a Member of the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, as well as the European Film Academy. She left SWISS FILMS in January 2013 and now lives in Munich, working as a film consultant for independent producers. For more than 25 years, Edward Delos Santos Cabagnot has worked in Filipino cinema. He is currently the Director of the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ Media Arts Division, in which capacity he organizes alternative cinema festivals, film workshops and forums, and manages the longest-running indie film and video competition in the ASEAN region, the CCP Independent Film & Video Competition, now in its 25th year. He was editor-in-chief at Asia-Europe Foundation’s film.culture360.org, and a founding member and programmer of the Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival. He has been writing columns and articles for Filipino and international publications since the mid-1970s, and is the Filipino correspondent for the BIFF Asian Film Market. He also teaches cinema in two leading universities in Manila: the De La Salle University and the College of Saint Benilde. Sonja Henrici is co-founder and director of SDI Productions Ltd and Head of Development at the Scottish Documentary Institute, an internationally recognized research center for documentary at Edinburgh College of Art/University of Edinburgh. She produced Future My Love (2012), which premiered at the Edinburgh Film Festival, was nominated for the Michael Powell Award for Best British Feature, and won the Green Dox Award at Dokufest Kosovo; and I Am Breathing (2012), which
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had its world premiere in the Feature-Length Competition at IDFA 2012 and was Audience Runner Up at EIFF 2013. She was also the executive producer of Pablo’s Winter (Chico Pereira, 2012), which won the IDFA Award for Best Student Documentary in 2012 and has screened around the world, including at DokLeipzig in 2012 and at MoMA in 2013. Born in Amsterdam, Esther Hertog lived in Israel from 12 to 24 years old. In 2002, she returned to the Netherlands for her studies in Cultural Anthropology at the University of Amsterdam. She received an MA from the Granada Centre for Visual Anthropology at the University of Manchester. Since graduating in 2007, Hertog has worked as cinematographer, researcher and editor on several film projects in the Netherlands, the Middle East and Rwanda. Soldier on the Roof, her first feature documentary, won both the IDFA Award for First Appearance and the IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary in 2012. The film went on to win a special jury mention at the 2013 DocAviv film festival, as well as a special commendation at the RAI International Ethnographic Film Festival in 2013. Hertog continues to travel, write and develop new film ideas. Brian Hill is an award-winning director of both drama and documentary. His films have been shown by all major UK broadcasters and in many other countries around the world. He has been nominated seven times for BAFTA awards and won three of them. For the last 20 years, he has been managing director of Century Films, one of the UK’s leading independent production companies. His films include Falling Apart (2002), which won him a BAFTA for Best New Director (Fiction), Feltham Sings (2003), a musical documentary that won a BAFTA Flaherty Award for Best Documentary, Consent (2007), a drama-documentary hybrid that won Best Drama Documentary at the Grierson Documentary Awards, and Welcome to the World, which was shown at IDFA in 2012. He has been executive and series producer on a long list of programs and series, including the BAFTAwinning Make Me Normal and Care House, and the BBC series Make Me Honest.
International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam
Jury members
IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling Jason Brush is Executive Creative Director at POSSIBLE, a leading global design and creative agency, where he oversees creative and user experience in the agency’s Los Angeles branch, and user experience globally. His work has been featured in Communication Arts’ Interactive Annual (for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s Visitor Center), and has won a Cannes Lions Gold (for Google Art Project), three Interactive Emmys (for ABC.com and the NBC Olympics), and the Industrial Design Society of America’s IDEA Bronze (for Samsung’s next-generation mobile user interface). Recent projects he has led include interactive installations and the website for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, dashboard interfaces for BMW’s forthcoming i-Series vehicles, the redesign of Sony’s PlayStation store user interface, and a forthcoming multiplatform app for Disney. Brush teaches at UCLA’s Department of Film, Television & Digital Media, and at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena. He holds an MFA in Film Directing from UCLA.
Kira Pollack is the Director of Photography at Time Magazine and the executive producer of Red Border Films, Time’s new documentary film project. In October 2011, she was named Photo Editor of the Year at the Lucie Awards. Since Pollack joined Time in October 2009, Time’s photography has been recognized with prestigious awards, including the World Press Photo of the Year and the Visa d’Or award at Visa Pour l’Image. In March 2011, she oversaw the launch of Time’s photography site LightBox, which is dedicated to the culture of images and provides a forum for conversations about photography. Pollack also directed Time’s Emmy Award–winning interactive multimedia project Beyond 9/11.
John MacFarlane is a producer at SBS Australia with a background in journalism, documentary film, media theory and interactive design. He has been involved as a producer on various interactive and crossplatform documentary projects, working from concept to design to launch and beyond on numerous projects, including The Block: Stories From a Meeting Place, which won Australia’s top journalism award, and Goa Hippy Tribe, the winner of the SXSW Interactive Award. He is particularly interested in works that promote civic engagement, and that make creative use of the interactive potential of the web. He has been invited to take part in forum panels at IDFA and Hot Docs for interactive projects, and has attended events including Tribeca, Sheffield Doc/Fest, Hot Docs and Power to the Pixel as a crossmedia expert. MacFarlane is currently working as a producer on Insight, SBS’s flagship current affairs program, and assists with programming at Sydney’s Antenna International Documentary Fest.
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Competition programs IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary Sixteen feature-length documentaries are competing for the VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary. A five-member international jury will evaluate the films, nominate three of them and select the winner from these. The award consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of â‚Ź12,500. In addition, the jury may grant a Special Jury Award.
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Denmark, 2013 DCP, color, 86 min Director: Andreas Johnsen Photography: Andreas Johnsen Editing: Adam Nielsen Production: Katrine Sahlstrøm for Danish Documentary Executive Production: Sigrid Dyekjær for Danish
Documentary Production, Andreas Johnsen for Rosforth World Sales: DR International Sales Screening Copy: Danish Film Institute Involved TV Channels: DR TV, SVT, BBC
Ai Weiwei The Fake Case
WORLD PREMIERE
Andreas Johnsen
In recent years, conceptual artist Ai Weiwei had become a significant voice in opposing the Chinese government. This led to his 2011 arrest and subsequent solitary confinement, which lasted three months. The Fake Case follows Ai Weiwei after his return home, though he is still on parole and being sued for tax evasion: a lawsuit that he dubs “The Fake Case.” Straightforward camerawork captures Ai Weiwei with his family in and around his house, during interviews and while dealing with uncertainty and new provocations. The artist reflects on his experiences in prison and the Chinese political climate, and wonders how far he should take his activism – after all, he now has to worry about his wife and son. The film documents his nerve-racking game of chess with the authorities, who keep coming up with new charges against him. Strengthened by the support of his sympathizers, which comes in the form of letters and donations, Ai Weiwei toils onward in his struggle. The troubles with his enemies provide inspiration for making new works of art, the only outlet for him to vent his frustration.
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Andreas Johnson: Stocktown (2003) Mr. Catra the Faithful (2004) Inside Outside (2005) Curtain Raising (2006) Good Copy Bad Copy (2007) Man Ooman (2008) Natasja (2008) Murder (2009) Another Kind of Paradise (2011) Kidd Life (2012)
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Austria, Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 107 min Director: Erwin Wagenhofer Photography: Erwin Wagenhofer Editing: Erwin Wagenhofer,
Michael Hudecek, Monika Schindler
Sound: Lisa Ganser, Nils Kirchhoff, Tong Zhang, Daniel Weis Production: Mathias Forberg for Prisma Film- und
Fernsehproduktion, Peter Rommel for Rommel Film World Sales: The Match Factory Screening Copy: The Match Factory Website: www.alphabet-derfilm.at
Alphabet
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Erwin Wagenhofer
This tribute to the human imagination takes the form of an indictment of hierarchical education systems aimed at competition and quantifiable results. This documentary essay quotes education expert Sir Ken Robinson at the start: “I believe that we systematically destroy this capacity [for imagination] in our children and in ourselves.” The film identifies similar complaints from China to France. Yang Dongping, educational science professor at the Institute of Technology in Beijing, regrets the rise of marketthinking in the Chinese education system. “Today, everyone is sucked into a spiralling vortex of competition.” On the other side, German education expert Andreas Schleicher is in favor of the international standardization of student testing. His arguments are rebutted by German brain researcher Gerald Hüther, French creative educator Arno Stern – whose son André never attended school but ended up doing just fine as a guitar builder – and Pablo Pineda Ferrer, star of the 2009 feature Yo también and the first European student with Down syndrome to graduate from a university. In between the interviews, the documentary intersperses images of rigid and repetitive exteriors and interiors, and scenes of nature and children at play. In the end, they’re they’re the ones this is all about.
Erwin Wagenhofer: Limes (2001) We Feed the World (2005) Let’s Make Money (2008) Black Brown White (fiction, 2010)
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
UK, 2013 HDcam, color, 75 min Director: Sam Benstead Photography: Sam Benstead Editing: James Gold Music: Jack C. Arnold Production: Jane Nicholson & Sue Collins
& Sam Benstead for Century Films Executive Production: Brian Hill & Liesel Evans for Century Films Screening Copy: Century Films Involved TV Channels: BBC, DR TV
WORLD PREMIERE
Coach Zoran and His African Tigers Sam Benstead
South Sudan became an independent state in July 2011, following almost 50 years of civil war. Although still steeped in the memories of countless victims of violence, the new nation is seeking to make a place on the international soccer stage by forming its first national team. The man called in for this task is the Serbian Zoran Djordjevic, a dynamic and hugely ambitious veteran coach. The film follows his team over its first year, from the hunt for new players to buying a sheep called Champion as its mascot and the first international games. Zoran’s aggressive and even dictatorial style soon leads to conflict with the chair of the soccer federation and several senior politicians. As the euphoria of independence subsides, the team finds itself hit by bitter infighting, malaria and a financial crisis that threatens the state itself. What follows is a darkly comic and original portrait of the birth of a nation.
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Sam Benstead: Cruickshank on Kew: The Garden That Changed the World (2009) Spies Beneath Berlin (2010)
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Sweden, 2013 DCP, color, 81 min Director: Åsa Blanck, Johan Palmgren Photography: Johan Palmgren Screenplay: Åsa Blanck Editing: Petter Brundell Sound: Åsa Blanck Production: Åsa Blanck for MTG Modern TV AB Screening Copy: SVT Involved TV Channel: SVT
Displaced Perssons
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Familjen Persson i främmande land Åsa Blanck, Johan Palmgren
From Sweden to Pakistan and back again. Forty years ago, Pelle Persson drove off in a Land Rover from his village on an adventure. He came to a final halt 10,000 kilometers (6,200 miles) away in Lahore, where he got married to Shahmin and had two daughters. Now the Perssons are on their way to Sweden – and freedom? In any case, that, is what daughters Mia and Zahra are longing for, just like their father before them. These spirited girls experience life in Pakistan as a straitjacket of rules and gossip. Sweden is their promised land: “In Sweden, I will drink beer!” says Zahra. But once the novelty of the cold morning air has passed, they discover that the Swedish welfare state also imposes restrictions, and that Swedish freedom is a relative concept. There are just different rules here, rules that involve bureaucracy and residence permits. While Pelle attempts to reenter the “system” he left behind 40 years ago, Shahmin is longing to return to Lahore, and Maria and Zahra immerse themselves in their new life. When needed, director Aasa Blanck explains matters in voice-over. And with winter arriving, the Perssons gradually – and with a great deal of good humor – get a foothold on Swedish ground. And Zahra even finds a boyfriend.
Åsa Blanck & Johan Palmgren: Ebba & Torgny and Love’s Wondrous Ways (2003), The Substitute (2006), Spring in the Air, Sverker Åström (2007), Anders & Harri (2008), The Deciever (2008), Endless Love (2010), Grandpa & Me and a Helicopter to Heaven (2013) Åsa Blanck: The Great Liberty (2011) Johan Palmgren: Mulishani Mulishani (2001), Under a Layer of Snow (2009), Tales of Slussen (2012), The Flogsta Roar (2013)
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 123 min Director: Henry Corra, Regina Nicholson Photography: Henry Corra Editing: Kimberley Hassett Production: Jeremy Amar for Corra Films Inc. Executive Production: Doug Ulman for
Livestrong, David Alcaro World Sales: Films Transit International Inc. Screening Copy: Corra Films Inc. Website: www.farewelltohollywood.com
Farewell to Hollywood
WORLD PREMIERE
Henry Corra, Regina Nicholson
In a recurring poetic image, 17-year-old Regina Diane Nicholson swings between heaven and earth on a breathtakingly high cliff by the sea. Reggie is a tomboy struggling with cancer, her parents and her dream of making a film. She impresses us with her loving, strong personality and wisdom beyond her years, as well as her morbid sense of humor. Together with director Henry Corra, who plays a significant supporting role in the film, she is working on a portrait of herself and her struggle with her illness. The film’s initial focus is on Reggie, but it quickly makes way for an escalating conflict between her and her parents as Reggie develops a closer relationship with Henry, who takes her seriously. When Reggie turns 18 and can make decisions on her own, things become even more intense. This film is a poetic documentary fairytale about love and death, holding on and letting go, one that invites us to discuss the relationship between the maker, the subject and her family. An eclectic mix of images with the intimacy of a video diary or home movie, it is filmed both by Henry and by Reggie and supplemented by their text message exchange, shots from her favorite movies, and fairytale-like scenes with songs that together form a heartwarming, but also heartbreaking and controversial ode to Reggie.
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Henry Corra: Frames (2004) Same Sex America (2005) Jack (2009) The Disappearance of McKinley Nolan (2010) Henry Corra, Albert Maysles & Grahame Weinbren: Umbrellas (1994) Henry Corra & Grahame Weinbren: George (1996)
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
South Africa, 2013 DCP, color, 109 min Director: Aryan Kaganof Photography: Aryan Kaganof Screenplay: Aryan Kaganof Editing: Aryan Kaganof Sound: Aryan Kaganof Production: Stephanus Muller for DOMUS –
Stellenbosch University Department of Music Screening Copy: DOMUS – Stellenbosch University Department of Music
An Inconsolable Memory
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Aryan Kaganof
A reconstruction of the history of South Africa’s first opera company, Eoan, and an exercise in getting at the truth, not only showing what it meant to be “a colored” during the apartheid regime, but also evoking the painful memories of that time. Interviews with former members of Eoan, photos, newspaper clippings, sound recordings, archive footage of opera performances and street scenes featuring the residents of District 6 in Cape Town give an impression of the world in which these people lived. By paying attention to the way in which the documentary was made – to questions that were not asked and answers that were not officially given – the painful truth behind the images and faces is gradually revealed. Text boxes containing statements about memories and truths introduce dreamlike sequences that enable contemplation of these terms and their relationship to the complex dilemmas faced by the people who lived under apartheid. Was it better to refuse support from the hated “Department of Colored Affairs,” and thereby seal the opera company’s demise? Or accept this support and allow the opera company to make history, while simultaneously being condemned as collaborators?
Aryan Kaganof: Kyodai Makes the Big Time (fiction, 1992) The Mozart Bird (fiction, 1993) 10 Monologues from the Lives of the Serial Killers (fiction, 1994) Wasted (fiction, 1996) Shabondama Elegy (fiction, 1996) Western 4.33 (2002) Life Is a Song (2004) Sms Sugar Man (fiction, 2007) a.o.
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
South Africa, Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 85 min Director: Khalo Matabane Photography: Giulio Biccari, Mike Downie,
Nicolaas Hofmeyr Editing: Catherine Meyburgh Sound: Gita Cerveira, Gustav Stutterheim Music: Neo Muyanga Production: Carolyn Carew for Born Free Media Co-Production: Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion GmbH Screening Copy: Born Free Media Involved TV Channels: ARTE/ZDF, BBC, DR TV
A Letter to Nelson Mandela
WORLD PREMIERE
Khalo Matabane
South African filmmaker Khalo Matabane was an idealistic teenager with fantastical ideas about a post-apartheid era of freedom and justice when the great icon of liberation Nelson Mandela was released from prison. In a personal odyssey involving an imaginary letter to Mandela and conversations with politicians, world leaders, intellectuals and artists such as Henry Kissinger, Albie Sachs, Ariel Dorfman, Nuruddin Farah, Pumla Gqola and the Dalai Lama, Matabane interrogates the meaning of freedom, reconciliation and forgiveness in a world of conflict and inequality, weighing up equally his discussions with erudite scholars and survivors of apartheid like Charity Kondile who says, “I’m just an ordinary mother, I’m not in parliament, I’m just flesh.” In addition to the history of South Africa, topics covered include German reunification, the war in Iraq and the assassination of Salvador Allende. Matabane’s letter offers a framework to the film, and the voice-over communicates the man’s thoughts and emotions, from euphoria to disappointment. The interviews are interspersed with historic images and portraits of Mandela. Peaceful interludes come in the form of contemplative, sometimes out-of-focus footage of landscapes, street scenes and water, and concrete details such as bolts and fences.
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Khalo Matabane: Young Lions (2000) Love in a Time of Sickness (2001) Story of a Beautiful Country (2004) Converations on a Sunday Afternoon (fiction, 2007) State of Violence (fiction, 2010) a.o.
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Bulgaria, Belgium, 2013 DCP, color, 80 min Director: Svetoslav Draganov Photography: Vesselin Hristov Editing: Zornica Blyangova Sound: Ivan Andreev Music: Boris Changarov Production: Svetoslav Draganov for Cineaste Maudit Executive Production: Paul Pauwels for Congoo Screening Copy: Cineaste Maudit Involved TV Channels: BNT, YLE
Life Almost Wonderful
WORLD PREMIERE
Jivot pochti prekrasen Svetoslav Draganov
The Liliev brothers share their surname, but that’s where any similarity ends. They don’t even share the same father. They got their name from their mother Lily, who is no longer alive. Oldest brother Alexander is a hairdresser who likes to wear makeup and compete in hairdressing contests. Middle brother Bobby has chosen to live as a monk, but he’s finding it difficult to adhere to his vows. Youngest brother James is kind of macho – he might just marry his girlfriend, and he wants to be a TV star. The only person who occasionally brings them all together is their grandmother, Lily’s mother. They go with her to visit their mother’s grave. She talks about their youth, their absent mother and the hardships they all have to face. And we observe the brothers as they go about their daily lives. At first sight, their separate lives in the drab Bulgarian capital of Sofia may seem unremarkable. But as the director shows us in subtle ways, their brotherhood and their family history add luster to their tale. The camera watches like the grandmother’s eyes, calmly and with resignation. Is happiness just around the corner? One can always hope.
Svetoslav Draganov: If You Have a Problem... (1999) That’s Me and Nobody Else (2000) The Merry Boys (2002) Young at Heart (2003) The New Foods (2004) Amateurs (2005) Mothers and Daughters (2006) Citizen Can (2007) Tell Me What Is the Universe (2007) Children of Drujba (2010) City of Dreams (2012)
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
The Netherlands, Belgium, 2013 DCP, color, 106 min Director: Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels van Koevorden Photography: Niels van Koevorden Editing: Niels van Koevorden, Sabine Lubbe Bakker Sound: Sabine Lubbe Bakker Production: Pieter van Huystee for Pieter van Huystee Film Co-Production: Storyhouse Film, Studio Godot Distribution for the Netherlands: Mokum Filmdistributie Screening Copy: Pieter van Huystee Film Involved TV Channel: NCRV
Ne Me Quitte Pas
WORLD PREMIERE
Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels van Koevorden
The Flemish Bob and the Walloon Marcel have come together in the lonely woods and empty fields of Wallonia, the French-speaking part of Belgium. At first everything is bleak, bare and gray, just like the two men feel inside. Both have seen their lives slip through their fingers, and they have come together to share sorrow and drink-sodden nights. Bob, who looks like a weather-beaten explorer, hardly ever sees his grown-up children. He has lost his girlfriend and drinks rum like water. Marcel is a broken man caught up in divorce proceedings who drowns his sorrows in liters of beer, but at least they have one another. Together they visit the dentist, celebrate carnival in the village pub and go to Marcel’s intake at a rehab clinic. But usually they meet at one of their kitchen tables, where drink and conversation flow freely. Although the pair is able to bring a sense of humor to bear on their gloomy lives, they always end up discussing a suicide pact. The camera follows this couple thrown together by fate over several seasons in Direct Cinema style. This exceptional, character-driven story delivers heartwarming and sad, hilarious and very painful moments in provincial Belgium, which, like the two main characters, also seems to be in decay.
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Sabine Lubbe Bakker: Everything You See on Television Is True, Even Fiction (2006) Shout (2010) Niels van Koevorden: Lukomir – Six Months Off (2010) www.nielsvankoevorden.com
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Germany, Israel, Austria, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Alexander Gentelev Photography: Konstantin Ovtchinnikov, Jerzy Palacz,
Avner Shahar, Vyatcheslav Satchkov, Franz Koch Screenplay: Alexander Gentelev, Viktoria Kurakova Editing: Evgeny Ruman Sound: Franz Koch, Andreas Haider Music: Paul Gallister, Willi Tokarev Narration: Alexander Gentelev Narrator: Michael Greenspan Production: Simone Baumann for Saxonia Entertainment GmbH, Sasha Klein for Sasha Klein Productions LTD, Heinrich Ambrosch for Satel Film Executive Production: Bettina Kuhn for Satel Film World Sales: Cinephil Screening Copy: Sasha Klein Productions LTD Involved TV Channels: MDR, ARTE, ORF, Yes Docu, DR TV, CBC, TSR
Putin’s Games
WORLD PREMIERE
Putins Spiele
Alexander Gentelev The 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia will be the first ever to be held in a subtropical resort. The most expensive games ever break all records when it comes to corruption and megalomania. Putin’s administration has everyone at its beck and call, from oligarchs down to the ordinary people who have to pay the Olympic bill. Both the powerful and the weak speak out in this investigative documentary, which unveils the hidden story behind Putin’s games. Government critic Garry Kasparov says that Putin’s Olympic propaganda is really all about speeding up the privatization of land in Sochi. Many inhabitants have had to make way for hotels, ski jumps and a large harbor, which were subsequently swept away by storms and landslides – the Olympic village was built on a swamp in the hottest region of Russia. To a large extent, the story of these environmentally unfriendly Olympic Games is one of threats and enormous misappropriations of money. The 45-kilometer (28-mile) road to the Olympic Village was so expensive that it might as well have been paved with gold or black caviar. Director Alexander Gentelev got to speak to many key figures, from the mayor of Sochi and corrupt contractors, senators and lobbyists to the president of the Russian National Olympic Committee.
Alexander Gentelev: The Teacher (1989-1993), History of Illness (1989-1993), The Village (1989-1993), Nomenclature. (1989-1993), The Bear (1999) Dakar( 2000), Women Trade (2001), Beslan – The Untold Story (2004), The Rise and Fall of the Russian Oligarchs (2005), Generation of Loneliness (2006), Yolki-Palki (2007), The Operation Successor (2008), Just Like Home (2009), Thieves by Law (2010), Violinists (2011), 20 Years Without USSR (2011)
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Syria, Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 87 min Director: Talal Derki Photography: Kahtan Hassoun, Ossama al Homsi,
Talal Derki, Orwa Nyrabia Editing: Anne Fabini Production: Orwa Nyrabia for Proaction Film, Hans Robert Eisenhauer for Ventana-Film GmbH World Sales: Proaction Film Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Proaction Film Involved TV Channels: SWR/ARTE, NHK, SVT, TSR Pitched at the Forum 2012
Return to Homs
WORLD PREMIERE
Talal Derki
Filmed between August 2011 and August 2013, this is a remarkably intimate portrait of a group of young revolutionaries in the city of Homs in western Syria. They dream of their country being free from President Bashar al-Assad and fight for justice through peaceful demonstrations. As the army acts ever more brutally and their city is transformed into a ghost town, the young men become armed insurgents. The protagonists are two friends: Basset, the charismatic 19-year-old goalkeeper of the national soccer team whose revolutionary songs make him the voice of the protest movement, and the 24-year-old media activist and cameraman Ossama. The close-up camerawork takes the viewer right into the group. Scenes of lively protest parties make way for panicking civilians on the run, followed by grim battles in a deserted city, and rising numbers of fallen loved ones. Basset’s a cappella protest songs are the only soundtrack, apart from the “silence, interrupted only by birds and bullets.” From time to time, the director makes a comment in voice-over: “The world is watching how we are getting killed one by one, while it remains silent as the grave.”
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Talal Derki: Hello Damascus, Goodbye Damascus (2003) A Full Line of Trees (2005) Lajat (2012)
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Denmark, 2013 DCP, color, 88 min Director: Berit Madsen Photography: Mohammad Reza Jahan Panah Editing: Peter Winther Sound: Hassan Shabankareh Music: Niklas Schak, Tin Soheili Production: Stefan Frost & Henrik Underbjerg
for Radiator Film ApS Co-Production: Flimmer Film AS, Eight Millimetres AB, Docdays Productions, Sheherazad Media International World Sales: LevelK Screening Copy: Danish Film Institute Involved TV Channels: DR TV, SVT, ZDF/ARTE, ITVS Pitched at the Forum 2011
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Sepideh – Reaching for the Stars Berit Madsen
Sepideh is a young Iranian woman who dares to dream – of a future as an astronaut. At night, she stares up at the universe, and she is taking lessons from a space fanatic who teaches schoolchildren about astronomy. At home, full of hope and longing, she watches recordings of the world’s first female astronaut, Anousheh Ansari. So it is possible! When her father died suddenly six years ago, Sepideh discovered that she could feel closer to him by watching the stars. And so her dream was born, but not everyone appreciates her boundless ambition. After all, becoming an astronaut is not exactly a normal goal for a girl in Iran, particularly because there’s no money to pay for university and beyond. Her mother and uncle are worried about the emancipated young woman. She doesn’t want to learn to cook, hardly ever visits her family and doesn’t seem to be thinking about marriage at all. We follow this brave young Iranian woman as she watches the stars, as well as at school, in the mosque and at home, where tensions steadily rise. As we follow Sepideh, it becomes clear just how at odds her dreams are with her current reality and the expectations of those around her. Fortunately, Sepideh is able to express all her thoughts, dreams and cares in the letters she writes to her hero, Albert Einstein.
Berit Madsen: Why Dalit (2001) We Have the Same Kind of Blood (2002) Difference in People (2002) Ten Million Good Deeds (2003) Damouré Talks about Jaguar (2007) Somalian Fiery Souls (2007) a.o.
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
The Netherlands, France, 2013 DCP, color, 86 min Director: Boris Gerrets Photography: Boris Gerrets Screenplay: Boris Gerrets Editing: Boris Gerrets Sound: Rosalie Gerrets Music: Hans Otte, Oleg Karavaychuk,
Mohamed Lama Jalloh Production: Pieter van Huystee for Pieter van Huystee Film Co-Production: Les Films d’Ici Distribution for the Netherlands: Mokum Filmdistributie Screening Copy: Pieter van Huystee Film Involved TV Channels: IKON, ARTE Website: www.shadoman-film.com
Shado’man
WORLD PREMIERE
Boris Gerrets
In Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, a group of friends lives on the streets. They call themselves the Freetown Streetboys, even though there are some women among them as well. Suley, Lama, David, Alfred, Shero and Sarah have all faced enormous physical and psychological challenges, and have been abandoned by the world around them. Without commentary and in poetic, cinematic images, the camera records the dark environment that they inhabit. The group shares their heartrending stories of the precarious nature of life in this complex country. But there is also room for everyday personal struggles, such as starting relationships, how to bring up children (or not), and sex. Filmmaker Boris Gerrets likes to explore the underbelly of big cities, using chance meetings and silent observation to present the day-to-day life of those inhabitants who normally stay in the shadow. Here too, a darkly filmed microcosm reveals the shadow world in which the underclass of Freetown lives, and the protagonists’ determination and vulnerable humanity are both moving and humbling.
Boris Gerrets: Postnuclear Winterscenario (1995) Das Land wo die Zitronen blühen (1998) Critical Utopians (2002) Go No Go (2003) Garden Stories (2004) Threatened! A Moment in Time (2005) People I Could Have Been and Maybe Am (2010 ) a.o. www.borisgerrets.org
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 97 min Director: Michael Obert Photography: Siri Klug Screenplay: Michael Obert Editing: Wiebke Grundler Sound: Timo Selengia Production: Alexandre Tondowski & Ira Tondowski
for Tondowski Films Co-Production: Ma.Ja.de Filmproduktion World Sales: Deckert Distribution GmbH Screening Copy: Tondowski Films Involved TV Channel: WDR Website: www.songfromtheforest.com Pitched at the Forum 2012
Song from the Forest
WORLD PREMIERE
Michael Obert
As a young man, American Louis Sarno heard a song on the radio that gripped his imagination. He followed the sound all the way to the central African rainforest, where he found the music’s origin with a tribe of hunters and gatherers, the Bayaka pygmies – and he never came back. Now, 25 years later, Louis lives as one of them, speaks the Bayaka´s language and is raising his pygmy son, Samedi. Over the years he has collected over 1,000 hours of unique recordings of Bayaka music, which he recently donated to the Pitt Rivers Museum in Oxford, England. Many years ago, when newborn Samedi became gravely ill, Louis promised him to show him where he was from. Now the time has come to fulfill this promise, and Louis takes 13-year-old Samedi on a journey to the world he left behind in the United States. They visit Louis’s best friend Jim Jarmusch in New York, who recalls their college days and how Louis changed after his first visit to the Bayaka. While playing golf in his office, Louis’s wealthy brother wonders about how their lives followed such different paths. While Samedi manages America quite well, Louis feels like a stranger in his old world.
Michael Obert: directing debut
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Hungary, 2013 DCP, color, 70 min Director: Agnes Sós Photography: Zoltán Lovasi, Agnes Sós, András Petróczy Screenplay: Agnes Sós, Thomas Ernst Editing: Thomas Ernst Sound: Tamás Zányi Music: János Másik Production: Agnes Sós & Julianna Ugrin
for Szerelem Patak Produkciós Kft. World Sales: Taskovski Films Screening Copy: Magyar Filmunió Involved TV Channel: HBO Europe
Stream of Love
WORLD PREMIERE
Szerelem patak Agnes Sós
Love and desire fill the minds of villagers in a Hungarian speaking village in Transylvania, Romania, even in their old age. Time has stood still here, and although most of the village’s inhabitants are elderly, they are refreshingly young at heart. Feri, for example, is an incurable romantic. Way past his 80th year, he’s still making moves on the village’s 25 widows – although he claims that only two or three of them are really worth the effort. And the women speak plainly when sharing their most intimate thoughts and dreams to the camera. Their tragicomic tales prove the ancient game of love and romance is still being played in this remote village, with its aura of bygone days. An elderly woman rolls meatballs in cabbage leaves as she recalls her wedding night, which came to an abrupt halt when her groom sank through the rickety bed – before anything could happen. Towards the end of the film, we see the women rolling sideways down a hill, slightly hindered by their round bosoms. They are young once more.
Ágnes Sós: Halfpast (1991), The Spanish Paradigm (1992), Yuppies (1993), Deportees (1993), Three of Us, the Family and Jazz (1994), I Am Going to the Healthcare Office (1997), Returning to Bosnia (1997), ...And There Is the Prison, Honey... (1998-2000), Clearly, if Possible... (2001-2002), So What, We’re Capitalists (2002), A Short Introduction About Me... (2002), Granny Teri (2003), Light Sleep (2005), Interval (2005), Uncle Rudi Illovszky (2005), O sole mio (2005), I Just Wanted to Show (2006), Members of the Putty Club (2006), Tempo giusto (20052007), The Throwing Pope (2005-2007), A Mad Love That Is (2008), Invisible Strings, the Talented Pusker Sisters (2010) www.sosagnes.hu
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IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Spain, 2013 DCP, color, 73 min Director: Ventura Durall Photography: Mauro Herce Editing: Marti Roca Music: Diego Pedragosa, Sergi Cameron Production: Ventura Durall & Marija Capek
for Nanouk Films World Sales: Taskovski Films Screening Copy: Nanouk Films Involved TV Channel: Televisió de Catalunya
The Wild Years
WORLD PREMIERE
Els anys salvatges Ventura Durall
The three protagonists play, eat and argue together. In this, at least, they are no different from other boys their age. But they are different in one crucial way, because nine-year-old Daniel and Habtom and Yohannes, both aged 12, live on the street, sleeping in an abandoned car on the side of the road. Without money or any form of adult support, they struggle to survive in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. And there are around 270,000 other street kids like them. The film records the three boys’ daily lives without being overly sentimental. We see how they live, smoke a joint together and solve conflicts with other street children. These scenes are interspersed with interviews in which they discuss their situation in a relaxed and astonishingly adult tone. What prompted them to live on the street? Is life there really so much better than at home? When the boys have had enough of the vicious conflicts between young gangs, they decide to go on a journey, back to the families they left behind. A picture gradually emerges of three boys trying with all their might to be adults, when in the end they’re just kids. But they are kids living in a cruelly tough world.
Ventura Durall: Isla negra, illa blanca (2004) The Two Lives of Andrés Rabadán (fiction 2008) The Forgiveness (2009)
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Competition programs IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary Fifteen documentaries between 30 and 60 minutes in length are competing for the NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary. A fivemember international jury will evaluate the films, nominate three of them and select the winner from these. The award consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of â‚Ź10,000, provided by Dutch broadcaster NTR, which will also buy and broadcast the winning film.
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 56 min Director: Usama Alshaibi Photography: Christopher Rejano, Dinesh Das Sabu Editing: Matt Lauterbach, Usama Alshaibi, Leslie Simmer Sound: Larry Kapson, Derek Hanson, Anne Hanson Music: Marwan Kamel Narrator: Usama Alshaibi Production: Usama Alshaibi for Kartemquin Films Executive Production: Justine Nagan &
Gordon Quinn for Kartemquin Films Screening Copy: Kartemquin Films
American Arab
WORLD PREMIERE
Usama Alshaibi
Usama Alshaibi was born in Iraq and raised in the United States. This makes him an American Arab, but what does that term actually mean? The film begins at the grave of Usama’s brother Samer. Photos and film excerpts plot the course of Samer’s life: he was born in the U.S. and grew into a talented and promising young man, before his addiction to cocaine and heroin proved fatal. American Arab deals with life in between two cultures, and the expectations, prejudices, suspicions and stereotypes that any American with an Arab appearance and name will encounter. But to what degree is one’s identity determined by one’s birth country, and to what extent do we identify with the nation in which we live? During Alshaibi’s personal journey, he talks to friends and kindred spirits such as Marwan Kamel, the guitarist for a punk band called Al-Thawra. He believes that everyone has the right to be “complicated.” In the Taqwacore subculture of punk music, that right is expressed through an anarchistic approach to both Islamic and American cultural traditions. But Usama discovers firsthand just how persistent racist preconceptions can be.
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Usama Alshaibi: Soak (fiction, 2002) Muhammad and Jane (fiction, 2003) The Amateurs (fiction, 2003) Nice Bombs (2006) Profane (fiction, 2011)
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Russia, 2013 DCP, black-and-white, 59 min Director: Alina Rudnitskaya Photography: Alexander Filippov, Yuri Gaytsel,
Sergey Maksimov, Aleksandr Demianenko Screenplay: Sergey Vinokurov Editing: Alina Rudnitskaya, Sergey Vinokurov Sound: Alexey Antonov Music: Olafur Arnalds Production: Alina Rudnitskaya for 317 Film Screening Copy: 317 Film
Blood
WORLD PREMIERE
Krov
Alina Rudnitskaya This vivid black-and-white film captures the daily goings-on at a Russian blood bank. Each day, a small, closely-knit team packs a van full of the supplies they will need to do their job in the most remote corners of the countryside. In most Western countries, donating blood is an ethical deed that people do without financial compensation, but in Blood, a few touching scenes are enough to render the economic necessity palpable. Wherever the blood bank should end up, the line of donors is always long. The cashier who doles out the 850 rubles ($26) for each donation stresses that the money isn’t payment but a means to live healthily, but for many this is an important source of income – sometimes the only source. The nurses work away, poking needles into veins and managing the many liters of blood. Meanwhile, they converse with the donors, distract them a bit from the scary needles, and when one faints, raise his legs to get the blood flowing back to his head. This all takes place in a friendly, familiar atmosphere, which isn’t astonishing, for the team operates like a traveling circus and shares much love and anguish, not to mention meals washed down with copious amounts of alcohol.
Alina Rudnitskaya: Communal Residence (2002) Amazons (2003) Rural Lessons (2004) Civil Status (2005) Besame mucho (2006) Bitch Academy (2008) I Will Forget This Day (2011)
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Finland, 2013 DCP, color, 56 min Director: Anna-Karin Grönroos Photography: Mika Mattila Screenplay: Anna-Karin Grönroos Editing: Mikko Sippola Music: Ville Riippa Production: Pertti Veijalainen for Illume Oy Screening Copy: Illume Oy Involved TV Channel: The Finnish
Broadcasting Company YLE
Ecopolis China
WORLD PREMIERE
Ekopolis
Anna-Karin Grönroos The Finnish engineer and writer Eero Paloheimo is dreaming of a new Silicon Valley, with space for 20,000 people and 10 “innovation centers” focused on developing clean technology and an ecological way of living. He has been trying to push his plan through in Europe for 10 years, but bureaucracy has always gotten in the way. Paloheimo feels that democracy responds too slowly to solve the crisis facing the world. Now, he has come to believe China might well have a pioneering role in securing the future of mankind. Paloheimo’s plans overlap with those of multimillionaire Zhang Yue. He was the first Chinese person to own a private jet, but he has since adjusted his outlook and disposed of the plane. Zhang’s life revolves around sustainability, because, as he explains, it makes him feel happy and free. He is convinced that a better world will start not with ordinary people, but with the rich. And Zhang thinks big – really big. His dream city is the tallest and quickest-built mega-building, incorporating indoor farms for 20,000 people. And deep within this gigantic construction, people will be able to enjoy artificial sunlight.
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IDFAcademy Results
GREEN SCREEN
Anna-Karin Grönroos: Sibbofilmen (2003) The Making of Beyond Enemy Lines (2004) Send Me a Letter (2006) Metropol Dreams, 1-3 (2009) The First Year (2009)
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Poland, 2013 DCP, color, 54 min Director: Lidia Duda Photography: Kacper Lisowski Editing: Agnieszka Bojanowska, Jakub Sladkowski Production: Krzysztof Kopczynski for Eureka Media Screening Copy: Krakow Film Foundation Involved TV Channel: TVP
Everything Is Possible
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Wszystko jest mozliwe Lidia Duda
Teresa is an 80-year-old Polish woman who likes to travel. She hitchhikes wherever the winds of fate take her, and along the way she encounters all sorts of people in many different cultures. A language barrier doesn’t exist for this extrovert senior in sprightly good health. She gets by with some German, a little “brushed up” Russian, a few words of English, sign language, or simply intuition. This leads to lovely conversations, with each person talking in his or her own language. Take the Serbian fishermen placing a fish back in the lake: Laughing, Teresa says, “You gave it freedom,” and the fishermen cheerily replies, “We gave it life!” But these journeys are not the reason for the camera to be following this spirited character. It’s something too painful for her to explain herself. Her husband explains what drove her away, and the film alternates scenes of her encounters with her life at home, revealing a tragedy and the anatomy of an unconventional marriage.
Lidia Duda: Here Vodka Is God and Faith Addiction (2001), Our Place Pietrasze (2002), Feel Helpless with the World of My Characters (2002), Documentary series: Only Dad (2002), Brother, Welcome to the Gypsy Caravan (2003), Aquarium (2003), Hercules (2004), Hercules Ventures Into the World (2005), What Do You See with Eyes Closed? (2006), Brothers (2007), A Life in Shadow of the Radio (2008), Young Shark (series 2008-2009), Entangled (2012)
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Canada, 2013 DCP, color, 58 min Director: Gillian Hrankowski, April Butler Photography: April Butler, Gillian Hrankowski Editing: Tanya Maryniak Sound: Ewan Deane Music: David F. Ramos Production: April Butler & Gillian Hrankowski
for True Story Productions World Sales: Canamedia Screening Copy: True Story Productions Involved TV Channels: Knowledge Network, TVO Website: www.fatherfiguresdocumentary.com
Father Figures
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Gillian Hrankowski, April Butler
Canadian filmmaker April Butler’s father is smitten. But 73-year-old heart patient Dale is 50 years older than his girlfriend Girlie, who lives in the Philippines. Thrown into turmoil by this situation, the filmmaker – who is twice the age of her potential future stepmother – follows the happy couple. The film intercuts the director’s personal observations, which she gives both on-camera and in a voice-over, with one-on-one interviews with Dale, Girlie and family members. April is clearly torn. She is horrified by the behavior of her father, who appears to be seducing Girlie with invented stories about his wealth, and who happily lets his girlfriend take care of him in their apartment in the Philippines. But things feel quite different when April visits her father in Canada. Dale lives there for six months a year in order to keep receiving his meager pension, which he usually transfers right into Girlie’s account. Who is really benefiting the most from this relationship? Should April take action now that there are plans for a wedding in Hong Kong? Or are Dale and Girlie truly happy together? These explicit questions are blown aside when a shocking discovery tests April’s relationship with her father to the limit.
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Gillian Hrankowski: Not Just a Bad Day, Living with Bipolar Disorder (2007) April Butler: The Brothel Project (2010) Father Figures (2013)
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Israel, 2013 DCP, color, 52 min Director: Shirly Berkovitz Photography: Shirly Berkovitz Screenplay: Shirly Berkovitz Editing: Daniel Sivan, Noam Pinchas Sound: Shirly Berkovitz Music: Kutiman Production: Shirly Berkovitz for Berkovitz Films Executive Production: Noam Pinchas
for Laughing Buddha Films World Sales: CAT&Docs Screening Copy: Laughing Buddha Films Involved TV Channels: France 5, Yes Docu
The Good Son
WORLD PREMIERE
Shirly Berkovitz
This is the incredible story of Or, a 22-year-old Israeli man secretly saving for sex reassignment surgery in Thailand. Or’s own home videos make up the first part of the film, which starts with him attempting to persuade his parents to lend him $12,000, ostensibly so he can study at Oxford. Struck by loneliness and a terrible sense of guilt, Or counts the days until his departure from Tel Aviv. The second section of the film starts with the flight to Bangkok, where director Shirly Berkovitz captures Or’s first steps in her new life as a woman. We see her recovering from the operation, adopting a new identity, talking with fellow transgender people, on an emotional outing to a karaoke bar. Back in Tel Aviv, she must face her family and the price of seeking her true identity. “I’m about to show myself as the new me, as the female me. And it’s gonna be tough,” she says. This is an exciting tale about fear, self-doubt, willpower, and the importance of family and being able to be you are.
Shirly Berkovitz: Blocked (2004) 100% (2005) The Way Up (2009)
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 55 min Director: Jaap van Hoewijk Photography: Adri Schrover, Stef Tijdink Editing: Jos Driessen Sound: Diego van Uden, Benny Jansen Production: Eric Velthuis for kvfilms World Sales: NPO Sales Screening Copy: NPO Sales Involved TV Channel: VPRO Website: www.vanhoewijk.nl/killingtime
Killing Time
WORLD PREMIERE
Jaap van Hoewijk
When Elroy Chester was convicted for raping two teenage girls and killing their uncle in 1998, he was sentenced to death. Chester spent 15 years on death row, but now it’s June 12, 2013, and the long wait has come to an end. In Huntsville, Texas, preparations are being made to carry out the sentence. At precisely 6 p.m., Chester will be put to death by lethal injection. While his family prepares for a sad farewell, members of the victims’ family look forward to the closure of a long period of grief. Jaap van Hoewijk’s first feature-length documentary, the 1995 film Procedure 769, Witnesses to the Execution, focused on the people who come to watch the sentence getting carried out. In Killing Time, he shifts his attention to the next of kin as they and Chester watch his last hours, minutes and seconds tick away. Everyone kills the time before the execution in his own way. With his final moments approaching, we hear frank accounts from Chester’s sisters as well as the rape victims and their family. Occasionally their words are filled with hatred, but at other times the tone of their emotions and experiences is surprisingly nuanced. Meanwhile, the media circus is descending on Huntsville to report on Chester’s execution. And all this takes place against the backdrop of the certainty that many others will follow Chester. He was the 499th person in the state of Texas to be put to death since 1982, and there are 300 more convicts in Texan jails awaiting the same fate.
Jaap van Hoewijk: Procedure 769, the Witnesses to an Execution (1995) Borderline Cases (1996) Aangeraakt (2000) Familiegeheim (2001) Dag allemaal (2002) Beitel en hart (2003) Tamara (2005) This One’s for You (2006) Verhalen uit het meer (2008) Naar gene zijde (2009) Wereldwonder aan de Maas (2011) Kill Your Darling, the Cold Case of Melissa Halstead (2012) www.vanhoewijk.nl
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Greece, Cyprus, 2013 DCP, color, 52 min Director: Nina Maria Paschalidou Photography: Michael Aristomenopoulos Screenplay: Nina Maria Paschalidou Editing: Thodoris Armaos Sound: Leandros Ntounis, Nikos Konstantinou,
Hrvoje Petek, Momchil Bozhkov Music: Spyros Moschoutis, Michalis Moschoutis Production: Rea Apostolides & Yuri Averof for Anemon Productions, Nina Maria Paschalidou for Forest Troop Co-Production: Agitprop, Nukleus Film, Veritas Films World Sales: Films Transit International Inc. Screening Copy: Forest Troop Involved TV Channels: Al Jazeera International, ARTE, SVT, RTS, Knowledge Network Pitched at the Forum 2012
Kismet
WORLD PREMIERE
Nina Maria Paschalidou
Turkish soap operas are incredibly popular – and not just in Turkey. Throughout the Middle East, North Africa, the Balkans and Asia, millions of viewers are glued to every episode of series such as Noor, Fatmagul, Suleiman and Life Goes On. The Turkish cities used as locations have become tourist attractions, and huge numbers of parents name their children after the main characters. Kismet seeks out the secrets behind the soaps, which while breaking taboos also count many strict Christians and Muslims among their loyal audience. The film alternates interviews with the stars, directors, and scriptwriters with analyses by sociologists and portraits of faithful fans – most of them female – from Abu Dhabi, Cairo, Athens, Mostar, Sofia and Istanbul. The soaps transcend cultural and religious boundaries, and their devotees see them as much more than a temporary escape from their often-dismal social reality. They may swoon at the hotly debated romantic intrigues, but they are also emboldened by the female characters, all of whom are strong, independent fighters. Alongside illustrative scenes from the series, the documentary brings us the personal stories of women who followed in the footsteps of their heroines to fight for their rights, and to ultimately break free of oppressed lives.
Nina Maria Paschalidou: Krisis (2011) The Prism GR2011 (2011)
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Finland, Sweden, Norway, 2013 DCP, color, 58 min Director: Paul Anders Simma Photography: Elen Lotman Screenplay: Paul Anders Simma Editing: Anders Teigen Sound: Martti Turunen Music: Esa Kotilainen Narration: Svetlana Doroshenko Narrator: Olga Kirilova Production: Paul Anders Simma for SAFI Co-Production: Tundra film World Sales: Taskovski Films Screening Copy: Finnish Film Foundation Involved TV Channels: YLE, SVT Website: www.friendsofolga.com
Olga – To My Friends
WORLD PREMIERE
Olga – Till mine venner Paul Anders Simma
In the Russian part of Lapland, some 1,800 kilometers (1,100 miles) north of Moscow, winter temperatures dip down to the negative double digits. It’s as white as the eye can see here, and there’s hardly a human being to speak of. Here, Olga lives in a simple dwelling under a think layer of snow. She watches over the rations and vehicles of the reindeer herders, who won’t return until spring. This year, she spent 177 days by herself, with only a cat to keep her company. Olga is the only woman in the reindeer brigade, and the work isn’t without its dangers. Food often gets stolen, and she once came face to face with a bear and got run over by a herd of reindeer. But Olga feels right at home here. She grew up in an orphanage, and when her mother finally got some money together and came to pick her up, she felt like a stranger in her own family. She was the only one who didn’t speak Saami, the local language, and her family members are all big drinkers – alcoholism is a major problem in the Saami community. When rumors circulate that the brigade is going to be shut down, she is truly worried. If Olga loses her job and her house, what will become of her?
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Paul Anders Simma: Guovza (fiction, 1994) Duoddara árbi (fiction, 1994) The Minister of State (fiction, 1997) Give Us Our Skeletons! (1999) Kuin karhut lähtevät (2008) Poron surma (2012)
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
China, 2013 DCP, color, 52 min Director: Xiaoyu Niu Photography: Xiaoyu Niu Editing: Xiaoyu Niu Sound: Yao Liu Production: Qi Zhao for QI Films Co-Production: China International TV Corporation Screening Copy: Cloud Thinker
Playing with Shadows
WORLD PREMIERE
Xiaoyu Niu
In a final attempt to turn his hobby into a job, 27-year-old Li Zi, a passionate shadow puppeteer, enrolls in a kind of Chinese X Factor. His mother would rather have him apply for a more lucrative, regular job, because “Girls want to marry a man with a house and a car.” But the optimistic Li Zi is doing all he can to protect the vanishing ancient folk art, despite opposition from authoritarian Chinese society, his family and even his friends. In these days of economic boom in present-day China, it is no easy matter to follow dreams that go off the beaten track. The film follows Li Zi during the year he loses his innocence. Together with his puppeteer friends, he travels to the TV talent pageant in Shanghai, and at the national shadow puppetry championship in his hometown of Xi’an, he asks some critical questions about the exclusion of amateur puppeteers. In an interview, Li Zi and two of his fellow puppeteers reflect on the events. Karaoke songs express his mood: in tears, he sings, “All of a sudden I’m a numb old man with no passion, no dreams.”
Xiaoyu Niu: directing debut
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Russia, 2013 HDcam, color, 60 min Director: Gogol’s Wives Productions, Anonymous Anonymous Photography: Vasily Bogatov Editing: Taisiya Krugovikh Production: Taisiya Krugovikh for Gogol’s Wives Productions, Anonymous Anonymous Executive Production: Vasily Bogatov for Gogol’s Wives Productions Screening Copy: Gogol’s Wives Productions Website: www.facebook.com/riotvputin
Pussy Versus Putin
WORLD PREMIERE
Gogol’s Wives Productions, Anonymous Anonymous
In 2012, two members of the wild and anarchistic female band Pussy Riot were sentenced to two years in a Mordovian labor camp for “hooliganism motivated by religious hatred,” in the words of the prosecution. The Russian film collective Gogol’s Wives follow each step of the feminist punk band’s battle against Putin, including their first disruptive performances on a trolley bus wearing brightly colored balaclavas (emblazoned with the motto “Kill a Sexist”), scenes of them shooting their video about transparent elections, their controversial performance in the cathedral on Red Square, and footage shot from behind bars. They get support from many corners, including Madonna, who painted the words “Pussy Riot” on her back and wore a balaclava during her Moscow show. And a man on the street finds many allies when he loudly decries what he describes as an “inquisition.” In scenes such as these, the documentary portrays the grim state of present-day Russia, a divided country where conservatism and anarchy stand in stark opposition to one another. Pussy Riot believes that art has to be free, and they’re willing to take it to extremes. “Pussycat made a mess in the house,” they say, and the house is Russia. The filmmakers were not seeking to moralize through their observations of the debris. They simply edited the events together, and it’s up to the viewer to draw a conclusion.
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Gogol’s Wives Productions: Moscow I Love You (fiction, 2010) Film Theatre for Migrants (documentary, 2012) Bastoy Prison (documentary, 2012)
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Bulgaria, Finland, 2013 DCP, color, 60 min Director: Tonislav Hristov Photography: Orlin Ruevski Screenplay: Tonislav Hristov Editing: Tonislav Hristov Sound: Veselin Zografov Music: Sten Sheripov Production: Boris Despodov for Arthouse Blockbusters Ltd. World Sales: Taskovski Films Screening Copy: Taskovski Films
Soul Food Stories
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Istoria Za Hranata i Dushata Tonislav Hristov
In the Bulgarian village of Satovchka, there are as many philosophies of life as there are inhabitants. Orthodox Bulgarians and Islamic Turks live here alongside gypsies and communists. Violent conflicts are a thing of the past, and the villagers are united by friendly clubs they have set up themselves. Soul Food Stories zooms in on seven members of one of these clubs – all men, who meet regularly and say they can solve all the world’s problems over a good meal. But do the members of this club all live in the same world? While one of the members argues for acceptance of homosexuals, another dismisses them as “freaks” who cannot be allowed into the club. Women are also a great topic for these heated discussions. “Everything bad comes from TV. It taught our women to argue with us.” This is the opening quote of the film, spoken by a man who, has to decide whether to grant the women of the village an extra day in the clubhouse. The documentary shows interviews with this motley group of seven, as well as a number of other members of the aging village populace, including two Muslim women. Between the contemplative inhabitants, there is also a Finnish family – the first tourists to stay longer than 10 days in Satovchka.
Tonislav Hristov: Better Life (2003) Kids (2004) Something to Drink (2004) My Brother Fedja (2006) Searching for Happiness (2006) Family Fortune (2007) Virtual Love (2008) Rules of Single Life (2011)
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Israel, 2013 DCP, color, 60 min Director: Keren Shayo Photography: Daniel Kedem Screenplay: Keren Shayo Editing: Ayal Goldberg Sound: Itzik Cohen Music: Yosef Babliki Production: Osnat Trabelsi & Galit
Cahlon for Trabelsi Productions Executive Production: Esther van Messel for First Hand Films World Sales: First Hand Films Screening Copy: Trabelsi Productions Involved TV Channels: Radio Canada, SVT, Yes Docu Pitched at the Forum 2012
Sound of Torture
WORLD PREMIERE
Sipour masa Keren Shayo
Swedish-Eritrean radio host Meron Estefanos produces her program Voices of Eritreans in her home city of Stockholm. This weekly broadcast is devoted entirely to the hundreds of Eritrean refugees held hostage in wretched conditions in the Egyptian Sinai Desert. The Bedouins have held sway in the desert ever since the Egyptian revolution, so they kidnap Eritreans making their way to Israel and demand large ransoms from their families. We follow Meron in her attempts to turn the tide by making telephone contact with hostages and kidnappers alike during her radio show. The film focuses on the stories of two hostages. Hiriyti was pregnant when she got kidnapped. We hear the young woman in a phone conversation with Meron, and also with her husband Amaniel in Tel Aviv, who is doing everything he can to free his badly abused wife and their baby from a torture camp. The ransom for 20-year-old Timnit has been paid, but neither her brother nor her boyfriend have heard anything from her since her flight to the Egyptian-Israeli border 18 months ago. The battle for Hiriyti’s release and the search for Timnit take Meron to Sinai by way of Israel. There, she stumbles on the marks left by the many atrocities.
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Keren Shayo: directing debut
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Norway, 2013 DCP, color, 58 min Director: Mona Friis Bertheussen Photography: Hallgrim Haug Editing: Erik Andersson, Mona Friis Bertheussen Sound: Per Hansen, Willy Hetland Production: Mona Friis Bertheussen for Moment Film World Sales: Moment Film Screening Copy: Moment Film Involved TV Channels: TV 2, SVT, DR TV Website: www.twinsisters.no
Twin Sisters
WORLD PREMIERE
Tvillingsøstrene
Mona Friis Bertheussen In 2003, the infant Chinese twin sisters Mia and Alexandra were found in a cardboard box. They ended up in an orphanage and were put up for adoption, at which time the authorities apparently decided that it was a good idea to separate them, and to keep silent about the fact that they were twins. Twin Sisters tells their story from the perspective of both sets of adoptive parents: one from Sacramento, California, the other from a tiny village in picturesque Norway. Through a series of coincidences that they later attribute to fate, the parents meet each other during the adoption procedure in China and launch an investigation that reveals the little girls are sisters. They grow up with the knowledge that they each have a twin sister living on the other side of the world, and although their lives are very different and language is a barrier, the bond between them grows deeper. When the girls are eight, the American Mia and her parents go to Norway. Together with their amazed parents, we observe the girls in action. They not only look and act alike, but they are unmistakably and inextricably connected to one another.
Mona Friis Bertheussen: MS Tampa, Refugees at Sea (2003) Would You Like to Become a Norwegian? (2004) Norway Inc. (2005) Mette-Marit. Cinderella of Our Times (2007) Welcome to Norway (2008) The Miracle (2009) Hair (2011)
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IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Finland, South Africa, 2013 DCP, color, 49 min Director: Benjamin Oroza Photography: Meeri Koutaniemi Editing: Menno Boerema Production: Jussi Oroza for Videokuu Oy Executive Production: Don Edkins for STEPS International World Sales: Films Transit International Inc. Screening Copy: Videokuu Oy Involved TV Channel: YLE
Voices of El Alto
WORLD PREMIERE
Benjamin Oroza
A tent is pitched on the market square of El Alto, the Bolivian city perched 4,000 meters above sea level. The filmmakers ask random passersby to tell a personal story for the camera. The film opens with a young girl half giggling, half crying as she describes a very unpleasant experience. It seems that the impersonal camera has become the first confidant she has had for a long time. It’s a confronting first scene, but at its core it’s representative of what is to follow. The Finnish-Bolivian director Benjamin Oroza explains that this “story tent” – which he has been taking all over the world since 2009 – is a way of “making films with them, not about them. I want my films to convey a sense of us – while I remain silent and invisible.” Oroza’s sympathetic presence and the generosity of the passersby in sharing their personal experiences combine to create a sensitive collage of stories, a poignant and intimate insight into personal joy and sorrow. There’s everything from an optimistic anecdote about a first kiss to a loudly declaimed mini-play about the native population’s struggle for independence, along with accounts of runaway spouses, violent fathers, and the pain of being cast out by your own family.
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Benjamin Oroza: Once Upon a Night (fiction, 1981) MINE (1991) Cocaine (1993) Camargo amargo (1999) Kiss of Fire (2002) Aale Lindgrén – An Aria for the Oboe (2004)
Competition programs IDFA Competition for First Appearance Fifteen documentaries by directors making their first or second feature film are competing for the IDFA Award for Best First Appearance. With this competition, IDFA supports talented new filmmakers. A five-member international jury will evaluate the films, nominate three of them and select the winner from these. The IDFA Award for Best First Appearance consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of â‚Ź5,000.
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Canada, 2013 DCP, color, 95 min Director: Laura Bari Photography: Laura Bari Screenplay: Laura Bari Editing: Martina Moor Music: Florencia Di Concilio Production: Sarah Spring for Parabola Films,
Nathalie Cloutier for National Film Board of Canada, Laura Bari for Beso Films Executive Production: Colette Loumède for National Film Board of Canada World Sales: National Film Board of Canada Screening Copy: National Film Board of Canada Pitched at the Forum 2011
Ariel
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Laura Bari
Ariel is a 33-year-old Argentine who loses both his lower legs in an accident. He quickly determines to walk again one day, on prosthetic legs that he will design himself. Fortunately, he can use his hands to do what his legs no longer can. And what’s more, he’s a pretty inventive technical engineer. But how do you get back to living a normal life in a wheelchair? Canadian director Laura Bari followed Ariel for 10 years, starting in the period following his accident. Ariel takes care of his children, does odd jobs around the house and drives all around in his car. And he also works incessantly on his mechanical legs. He designs them, and with the help of his daughter, makes plaster casts of his knees, where his legs end and the prosthetics will be fitted. Ariel remains remarkably positive considering the arduous journey of transformation he must complete to walk again. But the handicap is not the only cause of setbacks, because his divorce also brings challenges for him. Between the ups and downs of his life, we see dream sequences of Ariel in the sand and on a salt flat, surrounded by people dancing and by different kinds of artificial legs. Will standing on his own two feet remain just a beautiful dream?
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Laura Bari: Antoine (2008)
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
France, Senegal, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 74 min Director: Idrissa Guiro, Mélanie Pavy Photography: Idrissa Guiro Editing: Mélanie Pavy Production: Idrissa Guiro for Simbad Films Screening Copy: Simbad Films
Ashes
WORLD PREMIERE
Cendres
Idrissa Guiro, Mélanie Pavy As Kyoko Kosaka lies dying in Paris, her daughter Akiko travels from Japan to care for her and, after her death, to arrange the cremation and inheritance. Directors Mélanie Pavy and Idrissa Guiro (previously at IDFA with his award-winning film Barcelona or Die) follow Akiko during her lonely journey, from collecting the urn in Paris to scattering the ashes in Japan. Meeting family members again, memories are evoked of the deceased and preparations made for a ceremony. Part of Akiko’s mother’s estate is a diary. In this diary, Kyoko talks – a voice from beyond the grave – about her motivations for moving to Paris. As a child, she had survived the atomic bomb on Hiroshima. As a young woman, she wanted nothing more than to live like a heroine from the New Wave films. She left her country after getting to know her future husband, French documentary maker Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau. In France, she acted in films by the likes of Chris Marker and Jean-Luc Godard. Kyoko’s diary excerpts form a powerful diptych with the actions of her daughter upon her return to Japan. A personal story of family ties and passing through grief and memory is transformed into an examination of post-war Japan, the French New Wave and the desire for freedom.
Idrissa Guiro: Barcelone or Die (2008) Mélanie Pavy: La conquête du nouveau monde (2012)
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IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Iran, 2013 DCP, color, 68 min Director: Morvarid Peyda, Mehrdad Ahmadpour Photography: Mehrdad Ahmadpour, Morvarid Peyda Screenplay: Mehrdad Ahmadpour, Morvarid Peyda Editing: Mehrdad Ahmadpour Sound: Mohammad Sadegh Tasbihi Production: Morvarid Peyda, Mehrdad Ahmadpour Screening Copy: Mehrdad Ahmadpour
Barre’s Silence
WORLD PREMIERE
Sokoote Barre
Morvarid Peyda, Mehrdad Ahmadpour The inhabitants of a remote Iranian village speculate and argue about the performance of their local pride and joy, Barre the fighting bull. The pain is palpable when he loses to his rival from a nearby village. Locals wager large amounts of money on these ancient bullfights, but what’s most at stake is the honor of the village. The bull’s owner Nader is sitting out a jail term, so his son-in-law Bahador is taking care of Barre. While the voiceover recounts the events leading up to Barre’s triumph and the impact of his defeat on the villagers, the camera focuses on the bull’s passionate admirers at the fights. Photos grace the shop windows and entire monthly wages are committed to his chance of winning. But once the party has come to a muted end, the villagers start to squabble. So who is actually Barre’s owner? Is it Bahador, who put lots of money into the bull, or Nader, who lent the animal out? And should Barre be entered for the next fight or not? Much like soccer, bullfights offer plenty of opportunities for intrigue and analysis – and there’s even a case of doping.
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Morvarid Peyda: directing debut Mehrdad Ahmadpour: directing debut
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 47 min Director: Martijn Payens Photography: Martijn Payens Screenplay: Martijn Payens Editing: Martijn Payens, Bram Van Cauwenberghe,
Arnout Vandamme
Sound: Gedeon Depauw, Bram Van Cauwenberghe,
Arnout Vandamme Music: Jarno van Es Narration: Bram Van Cauwenberghe, Martijn Payens Narrator: Rosina Harrison Production: Sarah Haaij for Mp² Media Screening Copy: Mp² Media
WORLD PREMIERE
Broadcasting the End – A Tale About a Magic Mountain Verslag van het einde – een verhaal over een magische berg Martijn Payens
A few less than 200 people live in the village of Bugarach in the South of France, and except for the beautiful scenery it has little to offer visitors. There are hardly any shops, and no special attractions whatsoever – until the mayor tells the local paper about the mountain alongside the village. He says it will be the sole safe refuge on Earth during the Apocalypse, which will take place on December 21, 2012. His pronouncements unleash a barrage of media hype. For months on end, the village is awash with the international media, and filmmaker Martijn Payens is on hand from the start. He presents the story as a classic fairy tale, with a friendly voice-over that introduces the mountain, and then simply records the goings-on. What effect is all this media attention having on the inhabitants? The hype results in a kind of Droste effect: faced by the absence of hordes of visitors, the press starts reporting on itself. Journalists film the other journalists, and in turn are captured by Payens’s camera. This documentary not only captures the media hype, but it also contributes to it.
Martijn Payens: Mushrooms of Concrete (2010) www.martijnpayens.com
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IDFA Competition for First Appearance
USA, Syria, 2013 DCP, color, 74 min Director: Joe Piscatella Photography: Bassel Shahade, Rob Hauer Editing: Matthew Sultan Production: Mark Rinehart World Sales: Preferred Content Screening Copy: Joe Piscatella Website: www.ChicagoGirlMovie.com
WORLD PREMIERE
#chicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator Joe Piscatella
A 19-year-old student named Ala’a Basatneh has been helping to coordinate the Syrian revolution from a suburb of Chicago since 2011, armed with all imaginable social media. And with 1,200 Facebook friends and 2,000 followers on Twitter, she has built up an impressive network. She posts demonstrations as Facebook events, plots escape routes using Google Maps and uploads footage shot by demonstrators. She also ensures that all kinds of recording equipment get to her friends, once ordinary students who now want to overthrow the rule by terror of President Bashar al-Assad. But what began as peaceful protest has escalated into a violent situation. We follow both Ala’a Basatneh and her Syrian friends throughout the crucial months. We see her friends mostly through their own footage, which gives a terrifying impression of brutal violence, death and devastated streets. The story of the young Syrians is accompanied by commentary from a range of experts in the fields of Syria, war, journalism and social media. What influence is the Internet having on the phenomenon of revolution? Why is a camera more effective than an AK-47? And why did the regimes in Egypt and Tunisia fall within a matter of days, while the Syrian regime is still holding out?
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Joe Piscatella: directing debut
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
France, 2013 DCP, color, 80 min Director: Gaël Mocaër Photography: Gaël Mocaër Editing: Gaël Mocaër Sound: Gaël Mocaër Production: Xenia Maingot for Eaux Vives
Productions, Gaël Mocaër for Gaël Mocaër Films Co-Production: Le Fresnoy Screening Copy: Gaël Mocaër Films Website: www.lejourdumineur.fr
The Coal Miner’s Day
WORLD PREMIERE
Le jour du mineur Gaël Mocaër
“That’s the fire emergency system. If there’s a fire, it bursts and the water falls down,” one of the mineworkers explains to the filmmaker. He is talking about a few bags of water, all the size of a fist, somewhat haphazardly hung from the low ceiling of the mineshaft. “Like a huge waterfall.” Every day, hundreds of men risk life and limb going down into the Buzhanska mine in Ukraine to mine coal with rusty old tools from the Soviet era. It is heavy, unhealthy, hazardous work, which thanks to the relatively high pay – two to four times what people earn in the city – is nevertheless tempting to many young men. Once a year, they are honored during the Day of the Mineworker – a relic from the Soviet era when the most deserving workers receive a rose from the director of the mine in a kitschy ceremony. For the rest of the year, the workers are ignored, pestered or intimidated by their bosses, and no one is concerned with their safety. Gaël Mocaër documented their work, their comradeship and dissatisfaction in and around the mine over the course of a year. Gradually overcoming the skepticism of the mineworkers, he manages to film a series of oppressive, revealing moments.
GREEN SCREEN
Gaël Mocaër: Antisocial (fiction, 2001) No Popcorn on the Floor (2009)
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IDFA Competition for First Appearance
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Jose Antonio Vargas Co-director: Ann Lupo Screenplay: Jose Antonio Vargas Editing: Sabrina Schmidt Gordon Music: Brendon Anderegg Production: Jose Antonio Vargas for Apo Productions Executive Production: Sean Parker for Founders Fund,
Matthew Hiltzik for Hiltzik Strategies, Liz Simons Screening Copy: Apo Productions Involved TV Channel: CNN Website: www.documented.us
Documented
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Jose Antonio Vargas
Jose Antonio Vargas is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist in the United States. He would seem the embodiment of the American dream, having made it from young Filipino immigrant to successful professional. But Vargas had a secret, which he shared with the rest of the world in a piece for New York Times Magazine in 2011: he was an “undocumented” immigrant, a nice way of saying he was in the country illegally. His mother had sent him to the U.S. when he was just 12, hoping he might have a chance at a better future. Vargas established the Define American project and joined the Dreamers, a group fighting for legal recognition of the approximately 11 million U.S. residents who, like Vargas, crossed the border at a young age and made a life for themselves there. Footage of the lectures and other activities the journalist undertakes for the Dreamers combine with memories of his youth and his grandparents, with whom he grew up, musings on what it means to be an American, and footage of his family in the Philippines. For Vargas, legality would facilitate a reunion with his mother; she can’t visit him in the States, and without papers he can’t leave the U.S., unless it’s for good.
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Jose Antonio Vargas: directing debut
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
UK, USA, 2013 DCP, color, 80 min Director: Rachel Beth Anderson Co-director: Timothy Grucza Photography: Rachel Beth Anderson Screenplay: Rachel Beth Anderson,
Timothy Grucza, Christina Burchard Editing: Christina Burchard, Luis Alvarez y Alvarez, Kate Taverna Music: Mark Degli Antoni Production: Tony Gerber for Market Road Films Co-Production: Lynn Nottage Executive Production: Mike Lerner for Roast Beef Productions, Brandon Litman for One Day on Earth Screening Copy: Market Road Films Website: www.firsttofall.com
First to Fall
WORLD PREMIERE
Rachel Beth Anderson
Two friends abandon their peaceful lives in Canada and return to their home country of Libya to fight in the revolution. Hamid (26) and Tarek (21) have never fired a gun, but in 2011 they run recklessly toward the war, fueled by their hatred of Muammar Gaddafi and their desire to be part of history. Once they get to Libya, their paths diverge immediately – Hamid blazes ahead with fearless enthusiasm, easily fitting into the boyish camaraderie among the rebel forces. Tarek’s journey is more introspective and unsure. He’s far from a natural-born soldier. Untrained fighters in an unconventional war, these boys risk everything to reach the front lines of battle. For eight months, the cameras document raw moments of personal and breathtakingly dangerous acts of war and sacrifice as Hamid and Tarek join the rebels taking on Gaddafi’s army. Director Rachel Beth Anderson captures the chaos and giddiness of revolution, the brutal loss of lives and innocence. Her intimate interviews with Hamid and Tarek chart their descent into war as they discover who they are and what they are capable of. In Tarek’s words, “The end of the story is different than what I thought.”
Rachel Beth Anderson: directing debut
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IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Sweden, Canada, 2013 DCP, color, 104 min Director: Linda Västrik Photography: Linda Västrik Screenplay: Linda Västrik Editing: Fredrik Alneng Sound: Amy Öström Music: Misele Bakpoe, Disembe Melanine Production: Linda Västrik for Linda Västrik Filmproduction,
Mila Aung-Thwin & Bob Moore for EyeSteelFilm Co-Production: Film I Väst Executive Production: Daniel Cross for EyeSteelFilm Screening Copy: Swedish Film Institute Involved TV Channels: YLE, NRK, SVT Website: www.forestofthedancingspirits.com
Forest of the Dancing Spirits
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
De dansande andarnas skog Linda Västrik
Akaya is late into her pregnancy, and she’s worried. Her firstborn died in childbirth, and if it happens again people will try to persuade her husband to divorce her. Children are extremely important to the Aka, a tribe of pygmies in the rainforest of the Congo Basin. This documentary focuses on their way of life, rituals, myths and legends, as well as their personal dramas. While the camera captures everyday activities, one of the village elders talks about the origins of the Aka and how the god Komba – not the creator, but the discoverer of the world – brought women and men together. We also learn about relations with the neighboring Ngandu tribe, a Bantu people who control the Aka as serfs. These “owners” make extensive use of the Aka’s skill in hunting, fishing and collecting honey from the woods. But if they are not satisfied, there is trouble. As with the threat to their land from a logging company, this is just another fact of life for the Aka. Forest of the Dancing Spirits is a film that remains close to its subject and sketches an honest portrait of a unique society.
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Linda Västrik: Dad and Me (2000)
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
South Africa, 2013 DCP, color, 93 min Director: Annalet Steenkamp Photography: Annalet Steenkamp, Benitha Vlok Screenplay: Emma Bestall Editing: Lucian Barnard, Emma Bestall, Ronelle Loots Music: Ben Breda Ludik Production: Joanna Higgs for Go Trolley Films,
Annalet Steenkamp for Filmshebeen Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Go Trolley Films Pitched at the Forum 2009
I, Afrikaner
WORLD PREMIERE
Ek, Afrikaner
Annalet Steenkamp Annalet “Makkie” Steenkamp belongs to a family of white Afrikaner farmers. She recorded moments in the everyday lives of her family for almost nine years, in an examination of their unbreakable bond with the land of South Africa. The family experiences firsthand how that bond is put to the test, and just how complex it is to set up a new social and political structure. Apartheid may be over, but racism has left deep scars in South African society. Blacks and whites live largely segregated lives, and the farmers, who still constitute the propertied and employing classes, experience a rampant growth in violence against them. The many sides of this story are visible in content as well as form, with Steenkamp alternating carefully framed shots of the South African landscape with footage of her family’s home life. We see four generations reflecting on their personal and political situation. The director’s grandmother fled the farm following several incidents of violence, her mother sleeps with an automatic weapon next to her bed, and her sister-in-law has doubts about starting a family. Her niece Shanel, however, who was born after apartheid, is fully involved with black culture. In her words, “Everyone’s blood is the same color red.”
IDFAcademy Results
Annalet Steenkamp: directing debut
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IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Hungary, Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 104 min Director: Eszter Hajdú Screenplay: Eszter Hajdú Production: Sándor Mester for Miradouro Media LDA Co-Production: Perfect Shot Films Screening Copy: Miradouro Media LDA Involved TV Channels: TVO, RTS, IKON, RBB/ARTE Website: www.judgmentinhungary.com Pitched at the Forum 2012
Judgment in Hungary Eszter Hajdú
In 2008 and 2009, a group of Hungarian right-wing extremists committed a series of attacks on random members of the Roma community. Six people were killed, including a five-year-old, and another five were injured. The trial of the four suspects lasted two-and-a-half years, and the verdict was passed in August 2013. Director Eszter Hajdú filmed the trial and condensed it to create an oppressive Kammerspielfilm starring the cold-blooded suspects, an irritable judge and the victims’ families. Without any commentary, Hajdú recorded the drawn-out and sometimes chaotic trial from the cramped courtroom’s public gallery. A small static camera shows the judge’s point of view, while close-ups highlight the emotions of the people touched by the crime. Sometimes we see the protagonists outside the courtroom, for example during the reconstruction at the crime scene. At the start of the trial, the victims and next of kin assume there will be justice, and they have faith that the Hungarian authorities will protect them. But will the extremists be found guilty? The widespread anti-Roma sentiment in Hungarian society, and the bungling (intentional or otherwise) on the part of the police give them reason to fear they will not.
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WORLD PREMIERE
IDFAcademy Results
Eszter Hajdú: directing debut
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Norway, 2013 DCP, color, 80 min Director: Beathe Hofseth, Susann Østigaard Photography: Susann Østigaard Editing: Siv Lamark Sound: Morten Green Music: Troels Abrahamsen,
Kjetil M Hovland, Mike Sheridan Production: Susann Østigaard & Beathe Hofseth for Fri Film Co-Production: Helle Faber Screening Copy: Norwegian Film Institute Involved TV Channels: NRK, DR TV, RUV
Light Fly, Fly High
WORLD PREMIERE
Beathe Hofseth, Susann Østigaard
Thulasi is a young Indian woman who knows she has a tough future ahead of her. Not only is she a woman, but she was born a “Dalit,” or “untouchable” in the Indian caste system. Her early years were a struggle for survival and now, as a young adult, she is determined to fight for a better life – quite literally. Making use of a government program that offers jobs to young athletes, she is trying to fight her way to the top in the boxing ring. But at nearly 25, she has almost reached the cut-off point to receive help from the program. Although she is one of the best boxers on her team, there are more obstacles to overcome than just the boxing championship. Taking part in these competitions is an expensive business, so the boss of the boxing association has the power to make or break her career. And as soon as you enter his office with its curtains drawn, you know exactly what he wants in return for his signature. But Thulasi is not prepared to exchange sexual favors for a piece of paper. Beathe Hofseth and Susann Østigaard’s first full-length documentary follows the courageous young woman through this crucial period, including her struggles inside and outside the ring. Will Thulasi be able to take control of her own fate and get an honest shot at an independent life?
Beathe Hofseth: directing debut Susann Østigaard: directing debut
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IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Hungary, 2013 DCP, color, 68 min Director: Kristóf Kovács Photography: Dávid Szepesi,
Claudia Kovács, Márton Vízkelety Screenplay: Kristóf Kovács Editing: Annamaria Batka, Eva Palotai Sound: Zoltán Vadon, Rudolf Várhegyi Music: Csaba Kalotas Production: Judit Stalter for Laokoon Film World Sales: Rise and Shine Screening Copy: Laokoon Film
Men with Balls
WORLD PREMIERE
Kristóf Kovács
The Hungarian village of Besence is situated on a dead-end road. It has a population of only 126, and there is 98% unemployment. But energetic Mayor Ignác has decided to put his poor village on the map. He applies here, there and everywhere for funds, and he succeeds in getting money for two projects: a horticultural project and a tennis court. Tennis in Besence? Well, why not? After the official opening and inauguration of the court, Kari the coach makes his entrance into the village pushing a shopping trolley full of tennis balls and rackets. There is great interest at first, and the first tennis season gets off to a brisk start. After all, it’s better than waiting for a job. The tone is optimistic: “I don’t think about my mortgage because tennis has set me free!” Fluidly edited scenes of village life alternate with the daily grind of concerns about money, work, and of course tennis. Summer in Besence passes by in an easy, laid-back rhythm. But it’s not long before tensions emerge around the court. Will the mayor be able to maintain the same level of enthusiasm if the melon harvest fails? And will he and Kari the coach ultimately succeed in getting their Besence Open off the ground?
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Kristóf Kovács: Full of Grease (2008)
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Switzerland, India, 2013 DCP, color, 92 min Director: Farida Pacha Photography: Lutz Konermann Screenplay: Farida Pacha Editing: Katharina Fiedler Sound: Sanjeev Gupta, Ramesh Birajdar Music: Marcel Vaid Production: Lutz Konermann for Leafbird Films GmbH Executive Production: Farida Pacha Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Leafbird Films GmbH
My Name is Salt Farida Pacha
Year after year, thousands of families move to a barren desert in India. They work for eight months straight to produce the “whitest salt in the world�, until monsoon season is upon them. My Name is Salt patiently observes the intense work done by a family of salt pan workers. Atmospheric shots set the tone: an empty landscape with an upside down bicycle, a jet plane flying high above, a bird on a heap of wood, insects flying around a lamp, salt walls in the morning sun. With a detached engagement, the film follows the daily operations in the salt fields: the raking, the tamping of mud, the hammering of the tools, as well as moments from everyday family life. At the end of the season, they collect the salt and load it up for sale before the heavy monsoon rain comes to turn the desert into sea.
WORLD PREMIERE
IDFAcademy Results
Farida Pacha: The Seedkeeper (short, 2005) The Women in Blue Berets (short, 2012)
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IDFA Competition for First Appearance
South Korea, 2013 DCP, color, 93 min Director: Sung-hee Kim Photography: Sung-hee Kim Editing: Hyuk-sang Lee Sound: Yong-su Pyo, Eun-ha Ko Music: Eui-kyung Choi Production: Il-rhan Kim for Collective for
Sexual Minority Cultures Pinks World Sales: CinemaDAL Screening Copy: CinemaDAL
Nora Noh
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Sung-hee Kim
Nora Noh is 84 and she is still wearing false eyelashes. The first fashion designer in South Korea and the undisputed Coco Chanel of South Korean fashion has been at the top of her game for 60 years. Her lifetime has coincided with sweeping westernization of South Korean culture and the emancipation of the country’s women. She even owes her first name to Nora, the headstrong heroine of the Norwegian play A Doll’s House. Noh has also garnered international acclaim, and her elegant creations have graced the covers of Bazaar and Vogue. So the time is ripe for a retrospective, and how could it take any other form than a fashion show? Assisted by the passionate young stylist Seu Eun-young, Noh starts preparing, but the collaboration doesn’t go very smoothly to say the least. Fluidly edited pieces of archive footage from South Korea of the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s are intercut with interviews with former customers, film stars and fashion experts talking about what Noh’s clothing meant to them. Noh has always designed expressly for working women. “Her clothes felt comfortable and liberating,” explains one of her admirers. Noh herself speaks in voice-over about her failed teenage marriage and the long career that followed. Reconstructions of key scenes from Noh’s life reveal an independent spirit that was unusual for the time. Meanwhile, the day of the show is fast approaching.
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Sung-hee Kim: directing debut
Competition programs IDFA Competition for Student Documentary Fifteen international graduation films are competing for the IDFA Award for Best Student Documentary. A three-member international jury will evaluate the films, nominate three of them and select the winner from these. The award consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of â‚Ź2,500.
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
The Call Lokroep Reber Dosky
For 20 years Habib lived in Istanbul with his family, one of thousands whose villages were destroyed in the Turkish army’s attempt to suppress Kurdish resistance. But seven years ago, Habib returned to his native village of Bakolini to work as a goatherd. When his family chose to remain in the city, Habib started a new one, but he is still hoping that his son Ramazan, now an adult, will leave Istanbul and come help him run the farm. Director Reber Dosky was born in Kurdish Iraq and has been living in the Netherlands for the past 15 years. In this graduation film from the Netherlands Film and Television Academy, Dosky carefully observes Habib’s everyday village life, capturing its essence in telling scenes. We see Habib clambering onto the roof of his adobe house to get enough cell reception to call his son Ramazan, and plodding through the mud among the farm’s dozens of goats. As the film progresses, the kew birds that Habib catches in wooden cages come to symbolize a paternal longing for the return of his son to the land of his ancestors. Will he manage to persuade the city boy to come back to his historical home?
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 25 min
Reber Dosky:
Mijn geluk in Auschwitz (2012)
Director: Reber Dosky Photography: Stephan Polman Editing: Jordi Beukers Sound: Claas Meier Music: Wouter van Bemmel Production: Vera Frohn & Steven Rubinstein Malamud for Nederlandse Film Academie Screening Copy: Nederlandse Film Academie Involved TV Channel: NTR Website: www.lokroepdefilm.nl
Carl & Niels Alexander Lind
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE As children, twin brothers Carl and Niels were inseparable, but now that they have grown up they face losing one another. In a poetic farewell ritual or rite of passage that takes place in intimate, dark spaces, they reflect on their bond with one another and how their characters relate to each other. In a mirror, their two faces seem to melt into one, but also flip out of sync when Niels expresses his great desire to be with Carl, while Carl maintains that he doesn’t miss Niels all that much. Declarations of love and pain follow one another. Audible instructions from the director at the beginning of the film make it clear that what we are watching is staged. The young men horse around half-naked in fake snow on a black stage under a starry sky, muse in one another’s arms, paint one another with fluorescent paint in a cave, submerge each other in water and watch butterflies on an illuminated wall. At times accompanied by bursts of accordion music, we occasionally hear wordless song as well. Gradually, the characters and desires of the young men shine through. A film about competition, sharing life, saying farewell and defining who you are without the other.
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Denmark, 2013 DCP, color, 29 min Director: Alexander Lind Photography: Troels Rasmus Jensen Editing: Esben Bay Gundsøe Sound: Thomas Arent Production: Alexander Lind for The National Film School of Denmark Screening Copy: The National Film School of Denmark Involved TV Channel: DR TV
Alexander Lind:
The Space Between Us (2011)
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Celebration Praznovanje Dajan Javorac
Bosnia-Herzegovina, 2013 DCP, color, 10 min
Dajan Javorac:
Forest (fiction, 2012)
Director: Dajan Javorac Photography: Simo Iljic, Dajan Javorac Editing: Srdjan Sipka Production: Dajan Javorac for GoatRoad Screening Copy: GoatRoad Awards: Herceg Novi Grand Prix for Best Student Documentary Montenegro Film Festival
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
It’s cold up on Mount Manjaca. “In the winter it snows, there’s nowhere to go,” says the central figure in Celebration. “We have to wait until someone comes to clear the road. Sometimes they come, and sometimes they don’t.” He diligently ploughs the knee-high snowdrifts as the wind howls at his ears. The landscape around him is white, the sky is gray and the trees are bare. In preparation for the Christmas celebrations, he draws water from the well while his mother milks the cows. Anything approaching a more moderate temperature – such as the water he hauls up from deep in the earth, or the udder-fresh milk – produces steam like boiling water. The long tongue the cow uses to lick her nose suddenly seems very appealing. The son talks about his favorite stuff to watch on TV, including local shows and Steven Seagal’s True Justice. With one eye on his livestock as they drink from ice holes in a frozen brook, he confesses his ambitions of becoming a TV host. But everything in his Spartan surroundings underlines his isolation from that other, inhabited world of his secret dreams.
Final Destination Galutinis tikslas Ricardas Marcinkus
Lithuania, 2013 DCP, color, 65 min Director: Ricardas Marcinkus Photography: Ricardas Marcinkus Editing: Ricardas Marcinkus, Dovile Sestavickiene Sound: Lina Semaskaite Music: Dovile Sestavickiene Narration: Ricardas Marcinkus Production: Rimante Daugelaite for Full Screen Screening Copy: Lithuanian Shorts
Ricardas Marcinkus:
I Am Not Alone (2011) Valentine One (fiction, 2013)
WORLD PREMIERE
Lithuanian ex-convict Povilas Marcinkus moves into a nursing home after 28 years in prison, and this one-legged former drug addict finds it difficult to adapt to such a small community. He shares a miniscule room with his huge collection of animals. Outside its doors, he lets his fellow residents know who’s boss – as far as he’s concerned, anyway. But his neighbors are often too muddled, feeble or drunk to deal with him. This behavior leads to him being evicted, and he ends up on the streets, where his life takes a quick turn for the worse. Povilas returns to his former drug-fuelled life, begging, stealing and getting high with his girlfriend. But filmmaker Ricardas Marcinkus returns with his camera, time and again, seeking out Povilas and painting a harrowing picture of a man caught in a vicious and miserable circle. From the outset, the protagonist tries to present himself as strong and right-minded, but some scenes reveal less noble characteristics – to his great rage and frustration. With the passing of time, we see Povilas becoming increasingly feeble and emaciated. He asks Marcinkus for money, food and help finding a rehab program. But will he appreciate the true value of Marcinkus ‘s helping hand?
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IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Medulla
Médula Melisa Miranda
WORLD PREMIERE
Three years ago, filmmaker Melisa Miranda’s mother suffered a brain hemorrhage that radically changed her personality. In just two hours, the woman she once was vanished before her daughter’s eyes. Her body became a husk that no longer contained her mother. In this highly personal film, Miranda searches for the lost memory of a woman she never really got to know and who is now more undecipherable than ever. As she says in voice-over, when she looks at old pictures of her mother she sees a stranger: her eyes are always sad and her attitude is distant. She was always distant, withdrawn into her own world, but in the wake of the hemorrhage she has drifted even further away from her children. Initially the mother doesn’t want to talk in front of her daughter’s camera; she doesn’t even want to say hello. Her daughter hopes buying back their old family car will trigger an improvement, but her mother’s memories remain sealed off. From time to time ink runs down the screen, as a visual complement to a life draining away. Miranda’s carefully constructed debut starts with a phrase by Aldous Huxley: “The totality is present, even in the broken pieces.”
Chile, 2013 DCP, color, 25 min
Melisa Miranda: directing debut
Director: Melisa Miranda Photography: Patricio Alfaro Editing: Melisa Miranda Production: Vicente Barros for Ursus Films Screening Copy: Ursus Films
Our Curse Nasza klatwa Tomasz Sliwinski
Our Curse is the director’s personal story about himself and his wife as they learn to live with their newborn son Leo’s rare medical condition. The disease is called Ondine’s curse, scientifically referred to as Congenital Central Hypoventilation Syndrome. It causes the sufferer to stop breathing when he or she falls asleep, and there’s no cure for it. Though the doctor sends the couple home talking of Leo’s illness as “a cool challenge,” they can hardly get their heads around it. Director Tomasz Sliwinski uses the camera as a diary in which visits to the hospital, the first day at home, the first outing and other daily activities are interspersed with scenes in which he and his wife voice their thoughts and fears. He doesn’t hold back from capturing the intensive care that they must offer their son on their own – care that is truly the difference between life and death. The documentary’s form would seem to follow the process that this family is going through. Gradually, their existential considerations disappear and we only see images like in the home movies of any “normal” family.
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Poland, 2013 DCP, color, 27 min Director: Tomasz Sliwinski Photography: Tomasz Sliwinski, Magda Hueckel Screenplay: Tomasz Sliwinski Editing: Tomasz Sliwinski, Justyna Król Production: Maciej Slesicki for Warsaw Film School Screening Copy: Warsaw Film School
Tomasz Sliwinski: directing debut
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Rings of Life Årsringar Ida Lindgren
Sweden, 2013 DCP, color, 13 min Director: Ida Lindgren Photography: Ida Lindgren Editing: Lisa Ekberg Music: Eirik Røland Production: Ida Lindgren for VisionProduktion Screening Copy: Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts
Ida Lindgren:
Clown Medicine (2012) The Convent Girls (2013)
WORLD PREMIERE
Hanna was seven years old when her five-year-old sister Emma suddenly became very ill. It happened after a boat trip, a happy day out for the family, with the little sisters playing in a ball pit and eating their fill of candy and cupcakes. Emma had a terrible headache when she got off the boat. A few hours later, she died. In this experimental documentary, Hanna talks about the sister she lost. Hanna is present only in voice-over, accompanying another story, told in images, starting with snowy trees and gradually engaging more closely with the subject. The spoken words are a mixture of dreams, thoughts, and recollections – including memories of that last happy day and its horrific conclusion, and they all provide insight into the world of a young girl suffering terrible grief. “I think you end up in a beautiful place. Somewhere pink, green and white. Or peach-colored. And there are clouds and horses and candy. Everything that you like. And only girls,” says Hanna, who is scared of spiders, but not of death. Her clear memories of Emma keep her going, and there is new joy to be found in her family as well.
Santra and the Talking Trees Santra ja puhuvat puut Miia Tervo
Finland, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 25 min Director: Miia Tervo Photography: Sini Liimatainen, Miia Tervo Editing: Kristiina Karsten Sound: Yrjö Saarinen Animation: Ami Lindholm Production: Cilla Werning for For Real Productions Screening Copy: Finnish Film Foundation
Miia Tervo:
The Seal (2005) The Little Snow Animal (2009)
WORLD PREMIERE
“Traditions are a form of love,” filmmaker Miia Tervo concludes as she searches for connections between the generations in an alienated world. A young, modern woman who has spent years traveling to faraway places where people cherish their traditions, Tervo ends up in her native Karelia region, in the borderland between Finland and Russia. Here, Tervo meets Santra, an elderly and traditional woman who puts her in touch with the Karelian culture of their ancestors. In this playful film essay, Tervo pays homage to Santra, who acts as a kind of surrogate grandmother to her and is introduced at a meeting of Finnish language teachers as “a living link to our ancient culture.” The filmmaker intersperses this portrait with short animated sequences and nostalgic, sepia-colored archive footage. In the sauna, Tervo shows Santra’s wizened body in all its naked glory, like an architectural monument in danger of collapsing. Or a tree of stories, to which Tervo sighs, “I envied all trees because they had roots.”
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IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Shrove Sunday Dina Barinova
WORLD PREMIERE Two men of a certain age, clearly brothers, inch their way through the room. They are singing. At least it sounds like they are trying to, as their monotone voices occasionally rise and fall. During their song, they stare apathetically into space without seeing a thing. Alyosha and Petya are blind, and they were born this way. In the next shot, we meet their sister Shura. Dressed warmly to beat the cold, she makes her way down a typical Russian street: gray, abandoned and full of holes. Like her brothers, she inches along more than walks, and every time a car passes by, she stops dead in her tracks along the side of the road. When she goes into a store to buy groceries, we realize that she too is blind. Since the death of their parents and her older bother, Shura has been caring for Alyosha and Petya. This family portrait sketches one day in their life, and sometimes it can feel voyeuristic. As if we are spying in through an open window, because after all, they can’t see us. This sensation only increases by virtue of the camerawork, which has every shot being taken from a fixed camera angle, making every action in the film feel even slower.
Russia, 2013 DCP, color, 32 min
Dina Barinova: directing debut
Director: Dina Barinova Photography: Dina Barinova Editing: Dina Barinova Production: Marina Razbezhkina for Marina Razbezhkina Studios Screening Copy: Marina Razbezhkina Studios
The Task
La tarea Rhiannon Stevens O’Sullivan
WORLD PREMIERE
It’s a regular workday for an elderly Cuban guard, and there’s not much going on. Sometimes he sits on a bench by the river, sometimes on a chair near the parking lot. Wherever he is, he spends his time watching passersby while schoolboys play in the trees above him. When a young filmmaker interrupts his routine, at first he doesn’t want to reveal why he’s working here. But gradually she attracts his interest, and soon the roles are reversed and he’s the one who is observing and commenting. As he abandons his position and wanders out of view to interrogate her behind the camera, their encounter becomes a reflection on hierarchies within cinema and beyond, between youth and age, past and future. Their brief conversations have a philosophical undertone and expose the great generation gap in Cuba.
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Australia, Cuba, Brazil, 2013 DCP, color, 21 min Director: Rhiannon Stevens O’Sullivan Photography: Giovanna Pezzo Editing: Juanjo Cid Sound: Gilda Gabriela Mata Parducci Production: Tati Mitre for EICTV Screening Copy: Rhiannon Stevens O’Sullivan
Rhiannon Stevens O’Sullivan: directing debut
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Tiger Mountain Hu tou shan Jie Wu
China, 2013 HDcam, color, 60 min Director: Jie Wu Photography: Jie Wu, Fangjun Yang Editing: Jie Wu Production: Yifan Li & Jie Wu for Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Fangjun Yang Screening Copy: Cloud Thinker
Jie Wu:
Old Yard (2011) Tofu Pudding Rice (2011)
WORLD PREMIERE
This moving documentary gives a voice to the residents of a village in the Chinese countryside that has been polluted by the coal mining industry and now receives no attention whatsoever from the authorities. Here, almost three-quarters of all deaths are caused by lung cancer. The film follows the impoverished villagers for a year-and-a-half as they trudge through their daily existence, which is dominated by polluted water, thick plumes of smoke from the chimneys of the nearby power stations, conversations about sick friends and relatives, funerals, and worries about their children’s future. One of the deathly ill former coal miners is Huaien Wang, one of the few to bring his case to court. Research into the causes of the pollution and death rate among the villagers was inconclusive, and promises made to the ousted farmers to share the profits from the power stations, or improve the quality of their environment, were never lived up to. Filmed in HD, this observational account focuses in on Huaien Wang’s family, as well as the smoking chimneys of the coal industry that has changed their lives so dramatically.
GREEN SCREEN
Two at the Border Nacht Grenze Morgen Tuna Kaptan, Felicitas Sonvilla
Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 30 min Director: Tuna Kaptan, Felicitas Sonvilla Photography: Tim Kuhn Screenplay: Tuna Kaptan, Felicitas Sonvilla Editing: Tuna Kaptan, Felicitas Sonvilla, Ulrike Tortora Music: Dmitri Grigoriev Production: Ferdinand Freising for University of Television and Film Munich Executive Production: Asli Özarslan Screening Copy: Donaukapitän
Tuna Kaptan:
Love, Respect and My Car (2009) Bordo Mavi (2011) Mr. Siebzehnruebl (2012)
Felicitas Sonvilla: Raumstation (2011)
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Ali and Naser are two young Arabs, a Syrian and a Palestinian, respectively. Based in the Turkish city of Edirne, they help refugees cross the border into Greece. Recently, most of these refugees have been from Ali’s native Syria, mostly men who are trapped between a government army that makes them shoot civilians and rebel groups that hunt down the soldiers. European authorities are working hard to patrol the border, part of which runs along a river. And because more and more manpower and means are being employed to stop the flow of refugees, this human trafficking is growing more dangerous and complicated each day. Filmmakers Tuna Kaptan and Felicitas Sonvilla follow the two men from close up as they hang around their apartment, smoke, chat about their families at home (where they might just return one day), and prepare their missions to get their clients out of Turkey. The camera also accompanies them on a trip to the border. Ultimately, it all looks pretty abysmal for both the men and their clients alike, as far fewer of these refugees are making it into Greece.
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IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Tyres
Ahaung hma athit Kyaw Myo Lwin
WORLD PREMIERE
Many hands are making many different things. In a workshop in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, used car tires are transformed into a series of completely new objects. In a consistent rhythm of cutting, scraping, pulling, sweating, tearing, shelling and cutting again, the tires are stripped of their original form. Unfolded and rolled up, they get another purpose a couple meters away, where skilled craftsmen take the pieces of rubber and turn them into buckets and flip-flops, and make steel brushes from the wire. The workshop is filled with workers from both sexes and all ages: a young woman in a sarong feeds her child in between her activities, while an old-timer drills holes with a homemade drill and shirtless boys play a game of chinlone, a traditional combination of sport and dance. Sometimes, the work takes its toll. In the opinion of one experienced recycler, “This kind of work won’t make you rich, you’ll just be able to get by. So why be greedy?” But the younger workers don’t listen to him, and he’s very aware of the fact. Everyone works at his or her own pace and rhythm: cutting, scraping, pulling, sweating, tearing, shelling and cutting again.
Myanmar, Germany, 2013 DCP, black-and-white, 30 min
Kyaw Myo Lwin: directing debut
Director: Kyaw Myo Lwin Co-director: Myo Min Khin Photography: Aung Ko Ko Screenplay: Kyaw Myo Lwin Editing: Myo Min Khin Production: Lindsey Merrison for Yangon Film School Screening Copy: Yangon Film School
GREEN SCREEN
White Soldier Danielle Zini
All-white soldiers walk through a sun-drenched landscape. These grown men seem to have done this before – the routine way they move along gradually diminishes the association with “playing soldiers.” The soundtrack of combat situations seems to be a memory of a time when it was for real. The outfit is a fashion-designer version of the current Israeli army uniform. The men – even their disheveled beards are painted white – are walking through occupied territory. After the patrol of abandoned terrain, they enter two villages to check the citizens’ papers and look in their trunks. Almost everyone is so subservient that they obey, and this is just the beginning – humor and deadly seriousness clash time and again. We follow this performance by Yuda Braun, an army veteran and artist who has patrolled Israel and the occupied territories as the white soldier for many years. Now, he travels with his friend Matan Goldberg; they order Arabic coffee and share memories. Like the time when Braun was a soldier and he shot someone during a firefight. Stunned, he called his parents, and they were proud. That Friday, they reported in the synagogue that their son had shot a ‘terrorist’. “I couldn’t deal with that.” And so now, he and Goldberg deal with their military pasts and their current status as civilians in a militarized society.
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Israel, The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 55 min
Danielle Zini:
Director: Danielle Zini Photography: Snir Kazir Screenplay: Yair Moss, Danielle Zini Editing: Danielle Zini Music: Itamar Ziegler Production: Yair Moss Screening Copy: Yair Moss
Awards: Dioraphte Award Netherlands Film Festival
directing debut
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Zelim’s Confession Natalia Mikhaylova
Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 60 min Director: Natalia Mikhaylova Photography: Natalia Mikhaylova Screenplay: Natalia Mikhaylova Editing: Philipp Gromov Sound: Selina Becker, Fabian Lackas Music: Leonard Petersen Production: Anya Gruenewald for HFF Konrad Wolf Potsdam Screening Copy: HFF Konrad Wolf Potsdam Website: www.zelimsconfession-film.com
Natalia Mikhaylova: directing debut
Imagine you’ve never held a weapon in your hands but are forced into admitting that you were involved in a terrorist attack. This is precisely what happened to a young Chechen named Zelim. One early morning, he was arrested in his mother’s house and held for five days at the police station for a crime he never committed. Despite being subjected to the most brutal forms of torture, he maintained his innocence, much to the cops’ dismay. Zelim denied any wrongdoing until he was near death, and finally he can tell his story to director Natalia Mikhaylova. She accompanies him as he wanders around Oslo recalling these painful memories. He comes across as an anxious, alert fellow as he talks about his sleepless nights, trying to put the traumatic events in perspective with a joke and a laugh. Thanks to Mikhaylova’s frank questions and the direct camerawork, the horrors that Zelim lived through come very close to us. Since his arrest, his family has been fighting a lonely battle against the authorities to clear his name, and he is probably not the only young man in Russia to have been through this.
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Competition programs IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary Fifteen documentaries are competing for the Dioraphte IDFA Award for Dutch Documentary. A three-member international jury will evaluate the films, nominate three of them and select the winner from these. The award consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of €5,000. Four of the films are also eligible for another IDFA Award and can be found in that section of the catalogue: Ne Me Quitte Pas and Shado’man (IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Competition), Killing Time (IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary) and Broadcasting the End – A Tale About a Magic Mountain (IDFA Competition for First Appearance).
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
15 Attempts 15 pogingen Aliona van der Horst
WORLD PREMIERE
Should you understand art? Visual artist Suchan Kinoshita thinks not. In fact, she says it’s better if you don’t. Filmmaker Aliona van der Horst became fascinated by Kinoshita and set out to investigate this question with her. Together, they have created a visual artwork in which various aspects of Kinoshita’s oeuvre are placed in a new context. Or perhaps more accurately: together, they make 15 attempts to do this. The creative process becomes part of the finished result, and this too perfectly suits the values Kinoshita supports. It results in a lot of works characterized by an undertone of searching for something. We are there when Kinoshita first explains an idea, when she tries to put this idea into practice, and again when she tries to explain her intentions and motivations to Van der Horst. She takes the filmmaker along on a search for letters on the streets, traverses the city in search of traffic circles to film and gets different people to simultaneously whisper texts to her. She is always guided by chance, because chance brings you to places you otherwise wouldn’t go and to thoughts you otherwise wouldn’t have.
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 50 min Director: Aliona van der Horst Photography: Aliona van der Horst, Maasja Ooms Editing: Maasja Ooms Sound: Rik Meier, Susanne Helmer Production: Monique Busman for De Familie Executive Production: Jean Marc van Sambeek for De Familie Screening Copy: De Familie Involved TV Channels: Human, NTR
Aliona van der Horst:
Dame met het witte hoedje (1997) Na de lente van ‘68 – Een kleine liefdesgeschiedenis (2001) Passie voor de Hermitage (2003) The Hermitage Dwellers (2004) Voices of Bam (2006) Allemaal film (2007) Boris Ryzhy (2008) The More You Know, the Less You Need (2010) Water Children (2011)
69: Love Sex Senior 69: Liefde seks senior Menna Laura Meijer
WORLD PREMIERE
In the eyes of most young people, the elderly have left their days of physical intimacy and love well behind them. Like aging bodies, relationships show signs of wear and tear after so many years, and many people believe that being in love and having sexual desires is all but impossible after the age of 70. In this intimate documentary, filmmaker Menna Laura Meijer proves the opposite. She asks a number of older people about their love lives and how they experience sexuality, and the interviews are peppered with observations on everyday life and interaction. Atie and Kees have been together for more than 60 years, but they still strike us as very much in love. Following a life full of heterosexual and homosexual encounters, an 85-year-old talks about how he has only now found his first true love – with all the physical desires and experiences that come along with it. We see a woman shuttle back and forth between her beloved husband, who has severe dementia, and her boyfriend, with whom she goes on trips. All of the protagonists in this film convincingly show that love and sex remain a significant part of our lives in all kinds of ways, even once we are old.
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The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Menna Laura Meijer Photography: Bert Haitsma Editing: Albert Markus Sound: David Spaans Production: Joost Seelen for Zuidenwind Filmproductions Executive Production: Estelle Bovelander for Zuidenwind Filmproductions World Sales: NPO Sales Distribution for the Netherlands: Cinema Delicatessen Screening Copy: Zuidenwind Filmproductions Involved TV Channel: VPRO
Menna Laura Meijer:
Separated (1999) Schoolsick (2001) Girls (2003) Boys (2005) Real Men (2005) Sexy (2007) Sweety (2008) Kyteman. Now What? (2011)
www.mennameijer.nl
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Ana Ana
Petr Lom, Corinne van Egeraat WORLD PREMIERE
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 75 min Director: Petr Lom, Corinne van Egeraat Photography: Petr Lom, Sarah Ibrahim, Nadine Salib, Wafaa Samir, Sondos Shabayek Editing: Petr Lom Production: Corinne van Egeraat for ZINdoc Co-Production: Lom Films, Daydream Productions World Sales: NPO Sales Distribution for the Netherlands: Cinema Delicatessen Screening Copy: ZINdoc Involved TV Channel: NRK Website: www.anaana.nl
Petr Lom:
Bride Kidnapping in Kyrgyzstan (2004) On a Tightrope (2007) Letters to the President (2009) Back to the Square (2012)
www.lomfilms.com Corinne van Egeraat:
Lord of the Jungle (2000) Cowboys in Kosovo (2004) Micha Klein, Speeding on the Virtual Highway (2007) Bridging the Gap (2009)
The title means “I am me” in Arabic, and the film invites four young Egyptian women to share their personal experiences. In the aftermath of the 2011 revolution, they reflect on their inner worlds, often filming themselves. Their situation, phase of life and offbeat worldviews mean they are constantly seeking to define themselves. A journalist explains that the uprisings made her lose faith in journalism. The power of the mendacious media was too much for her, so she is now directing theater plays, “to reveal truth in other ways.” In contrast, another of the women believes that the revolution has made anything possible. But all four of them find it difficult to be themselves in Egyptian society. One woman’s dream of becoming a ballerina is snuffed out because professional dancing is simply unacceptable. And any female who is still unmarried at 24 will be unique among her friends – a social inferior, in fact. A filmmaker who often has to work late travels only by car, because after midnight, any girl on the streets is considered potential sexual prey. “Sometimes I feel Egypt is eating me, devouring my personality,” sighs one woman. “I wish I lived in another country.”
Awake in a Bad Dream Wakker in een boze droom Petra Lataster-Czisch, Peter Lataster
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 114 min
Petra Lataster-Czisch & Peter Lataster:
Director: Petra Lataster-Czisch, Peter Lataster Photography: Peter Lataster Screenplay: Peter Lataster, Petra Lataster-Czisch Editing: Mario Steenbergen Sound: Gertjan Miedema Production: Marty de Jong for Lataster & Films World Sales: NPO Sales Distribution for the Netherlands: Mokum Filmdistributie Screening Copy: Lataster & Films Involved TV Channel: Human
www.latasterfilms.nl
De bekoring (1991), Tales of a River (1994), Call it Sleep (1996), River of Time (1999), Fragile Happiness (2001), Dreamland DDR (2003), Birth-Day (2004), This Will Never Go Away (2005), Ojuna (2005), I Like to Touch Everything (2006), If We Knew (2007), The Things You Don’t Understand (2010), Not Without You (2010), Jerome Jerome (2011), We (2012), Dutch Masters of the 21st Century: Auke de Vries (2013), Tomorrow Will Know (2013)
WORLD PREMIERE
One in eight Dutch women gets breast cancer, which means that most people know someone who struggles with this life-threatening disease. The part of a woman’s body where she is probably the most vulnerable, beautiful, proud and sexy becomes a source of despair and rage. For Ingrid, Vicky and Sabrina, breast cancer takes on various forms. They are working towards recovery through tough and painful treatment, but are acutely aware that the disease can rear its ugly head again without warning. They feel damaged and insecure, and their self-esteem is at stake, for the disease has eroded their sense of femininity. In a very personal and intimate way, Awake in a Bad Dream shows how the women and their partners try to regain control of their lives after the diagnosis. Without comment or interviews, the film follows Ingrid, Vicky and Sabrina as they face inevitable and painful choices at the hospital. How do they pick up the pieces, and who helps them do so? How do they and their partners handle the fear of an uncertain future? Hoping against hope, the three women tackle the disease with tenacity and humor in this ode to their zest for life and resilience.
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IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Borders
Grenzen Jacqueline van Vugt
WORLD PREMIERE
“When you don’t have papers in this country, you suffer,” as one young Nigerian woman in the Netherlands knows firsthand. When she arrived here, human traffickers forced her to pay back a lot of money, and she was then tricked into prostitution. All she can say from her asylum seeker’s cell is, “I’m not a criminal, but they treat me like garbage.” Jacqueline van Vugt traveled to Africa to observe the borders that lie between Nigeria and the European Union – between Nigeria and Niger, and on to Burkina Faso, Senegal and further to the north. At each country boundary, she met countless people dreaming of a better life, and convinced they would find it in the promised land of Europe. That dream exacts terrible sacrifices. Border zones are brutal environments marked by the ever-present threat of violence, exploitation and exhaustion. Men risk their lives on the high seas in plastic boats, while women are condemned to work for a pimp. One woman’s arm is tattooed with her address in case she gets lost or dies. The closer the migrants get to Europe, the more the dream loses its sheen. And anyone who makes it all the way will get nothing like the reception he had hoped for.
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 85 min Director: Jacqueline van Vugt Photography: Jacqueline van Vugt Editing: Barbara Hin Sound: Bouwe Mulder, Hens van Rooij, Pieter van Huystee jr. Production: Pieter van Huystee for Pieter van Huystee Film Screening Copy: Pieter van Huystee Film Involved TV Channel: IKON
Jacqueline van Vugt:
Ceci n’est pas un petit dejeuner sur l’herbe (fiction, 1995) KPL 70 11 12 078 (1995) Ofrenda de primavera (1997) Two Loves (2000) Morgen (fiction, 2001) Een droomreis – Dakar-Timboektoe (2002) Toda una vida (2003) Adios Nonino (2004) Bambara Blues (2007) Mama Don’t Like No Guitarpickers ‘Round Here (2009)
Days at the Lennon Park Los dias del Parque Lennon Annelies Kruk
WORLD PREMIERE
Relaxed, he sits on a bench beneath the sycamore trees, one arm slung nonchalantly over the backrest. When asked, his elderly bodyguard, Juan, will put his characteristic glasses on him. It is John Lennon, cast in bronze, lending his name to the John Lennon Park in Havana, Cuba. Tourists have their photos taken with him and then walk on, but Lennon also has his regular visitors. Such as war veteran Rodolpho, who does a pretty decent rendition of Lennon’s songs. Or lively octogenarian Ondina, who likes to tell young passersby about Lennon: “He was a revolutionary. He loved peace. That’s why Fidel put him here.” Director and cinematographer Annelies Kruk joins Lennon and his friends, records their musings and asks questions about their ideals, love and life. Lennon is a source of inspiration for the citizens of Havana – a dreamer like them. Seeing the world is not an option for these Cubans, but in the words of Rodolpho, “I believe I can bring the whole world here in the boat of my imagination.” In the background, we hear the sounds of the city, the wind and the chatter of birds. Lennon sits on his bench and smiles.
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The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 45 min Director: Annelies Kruk Photography: Annelies Kruk Screenplay: Annelies Kruk Editing: Aart Jan van der Linden Production: Annelies Kruk for Anniefilm Screening Copy: Anniefilm
Annelies Kruk:
NIMA (2004) Happy Faces (2006) La Loca Girl (2006) A Dress for Anuschka (2010) I Want to Go Home (2007) Father Wanted: With a Piggy Nose (2012)
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
FC Rwanda Joris Postema
WORLD PREMIERE
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 57 min
Joris Postema: directing debut
Director: Joris Postema Photography: Wiro Felix Editing: Stefan Kamp Sound: Hens van Rooij Music: Harry de Wit Production: JB Macrander for Bonanza Films Executive Production: Harmen Jalvingh for Bonanza Films World Sales: NPO Sales Screening Copy: Bonanza Films Involved TV Channel: EO
Twenty years after the genocide in which almost a million Tutsis and Hutus were murdered, the government contends that ethnicity no longer plays a role Rwanda. It claims that 98 percent of the population self-identifies as Rwandan, and the soccer field serves as the stage for this reconciliation. “We are not Hutus or Tutsis,” declare the players for the APR army team in the run-up to a big game against Rayon Sport, the people’s team. But journalist Daniel Sabiiti tells a different story. He says the players are all too aware of their ethnicity. Personally, he has lost contact with his own brother because he didn’t marry a Tutsi. And a good friend called off his marriage to a wonderful girl because it turned out she was “mixed.” “The tension is still there, it’s hidden.” And when the players recall their youth, they see corpses in the fields where they played their first games, and little brothers and sisters being taken away, never to return. Is it truly possible for them to forget all of this, or are they just too scared to be honest? Sabiiti doesn’t call it oppression, but does say, “It is safer to do what the government says.”
Land of Promise Land van aankomst René Roelofs, Paul Scheffer
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 102 min Director: René Roelofs, Paul Scheffer Screenplay: René Roelofs, Paul Scheffer Editing: Danniel Danniel Production: René Mendel for Interakt Executive Production: Bernet Crucq for Interakt Distribution for the Netherlands: Interakt Screening Copy: Interakt Involved TV Channels: NTR, IKON Pitched at the Forum 2011
Rene Roelofs:
Euskadi (1984), Koori (1986), FirstBorn (1987), De vreemdelingenpolitie (1989), De dienst (1990), Vreemd land (1995), Coconino County (1996), Kerstmis in Florpadorp (1997), Dierbaar (1999), Dutch Approach (2000), Zonen van Suriname (2001), Reis door de leegte (2002), En terecht: Mijn vader woont in Venezuela (2003), De Tweede Kamer (2004), Coma (2005), Roboliefde (2006), De leerplichtambtenaar (2008), Poortwachters (2009) a.o.
WORLD PREMIERE
Archive footage from newsreels, documentaries and fiction films illustrates the lasting effects immigration has had on European societies in the past 60 years. Land of Promise imparts a shared sense of loss, sympathizing both with immigrants as well as the societies taking them in. It goes almost without saying that migration brings conflict, but filmmakers René Roelofs and Paul Scheffer look beyond the question of guilt. Instead, they let the extraordinary images speak for themselves, using archive material from France, the UK, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands and Belgium to show that the modern-day conflicts can be seen as a sign of integration. This powerful and revealing compilation of footage spanning six decades shows how both parties have responded to migration over the years: leaders of nations, from Olof Palme and Thatcher to Cameron and Merkel; the civil servant from the Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs who advocates stricter laws on migrant workers from Morocco; the Belgian slumlord secretly collecting his foreign tenants’ child benefits; the Swedish woman worried about losing her job; the first mosque being built in one of Amsterdam’s poorest neighborhoods; and the riots in the French suburbs.
Paul Scheffer:
directing debut
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IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Misha and So On Misha enzovoort Cherry Duyns
WORLD PREMIERE
Some years ago, band leader, composer and pianist Misha Mengelberg started suffering from dementia. Cherry Duyns follows this European jazz icon throughout a week of performances in London’s Vortex jazz club. In view of his deteriorating condition, this is certain to be his last foreign gig. The members of his band start preparing to say their long-postponed farewells to Mengelberg, with whom they have played for decades. For Mengelberg, making music is as natural as drawing breath, but now that his own brain has declared war on him, the question arises of how long he can carry on playing with the ensemble ICP (Instant Composers Pool). Duyns cautiously asks the band members if he could be hurting himself by continuing to play? No way, one of them answers resolutely. The fact that Mengelberg is still onstage with the band in spite of his illness fits perfectly with his aesthetic belief that everyone can join in. After all, he loves confusion and craziness. In his clear moments, Mengelberg still has strong opinions about other composers, like John Cage (“pretty antagonistic music”) and Chopin (“spectacularly dull and irritating”). In a playful moment, he uses his walking stick to play the piano, but the question inevitably arises of whether the ensemble can go on without its lynchpin.
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 66 min Director: Cherry Duyns Photography: Erik van Empel Editing: Ulrike Mischke Sound: Menno Euwe Music: Misha Mengelberg Narration: Cherry Duyns Narrator: Cherry Duyns Production: Susanna von Canon for Stichting Enveloppe Screening Copy: Stichting Enveloppe Involved TV Channel: NTR
Cherry Duyns:
Lotgevallen (1975) De verlokking (1982) De verzonkenen (1984) De terugkeer (1984) Schuld als schaduw (1990) Laatste getuigen (1991) Toonmeesters (1994 & 1997) Heimat in Holland (1995) Wegman’s World (1997) De wording (1997) De oerspiegel (1998) De droom van de beer (2001) Armando, portret van een vriend (2005) De Panama Schets (2008) a.o.
Moving Stills – Kadir van Lohuizen Tinus Kramer
WORLD PREMIERE Photographer Kadir van Lohuizen travels the world in search of stories about people who, for whatever reason, have left their place of birth. His photographs tell the stories that simmer on after the big news corporations have left. In El Salvador, he voluntarily entered a prison so dangerous that even the guards would not go inside. In eastern Congo, he was so overwhelmed by the discovery that the train he was riding was filled with dead and near dead bodies that it left him emotionally scarred. In Moving Stills, we meet Van Lohuizen at the end of a long journey over the Pan-American Highway. He has traveled to the north of Alaska to photograph the controversial oil fields and the workers who have come from as far away as Nicaragua to work in them. On the other side of the world, climate change takes him to an island near Papua New Guinea, where rising sea levels have now produced climate refugees. Moving Stills shows the daily activities of this passionate photojournalist, for whom journalism is a way of life. With his photos, videos and audio recordings, Van Lohuizen aims to offer an alternative to the commercial news media by drawing attention to forgotten conflicts and disasters.
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 60 min Director: Tinus Kramer Photography: Onno Waal Screenplay: Tinus Kramer, Tamara Vuurmans Editing: Barbara Hin Sound: Tinus Kramer Production: Valérie Schuit for Viewpoint Productions World Sales: Illumina Films Screening Copy: Viewpoint Productions Involved TV Channel: NTR
Tinus Kramer:
Vriend en vijand (2005), Hoeda (2005), Killing Silence (2006), The Hunger Fighters (Part 1) (2007), Going Home (2007), A Closer Look (2008), Het spel (2008), Een sprankje hoop op maandagmiddag (2009), The Hunger Fighters (Part 2) (2009), Client Managment in Central Asia (2009), Unicef in Southern Sudan (2010), Testimonials (2010), Idelible Images (2011), Framing the Future (2011), Arab Voices (2011), Tandem (2011)
www.kraterprodukties.nl
80
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Photo-Eddy Foto-Eddy David de Jongh
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 83 min Director: David de Jongh Photography: David de Jongh, Peter Brugman Editing: David de Jongh, Hans Aarsman Production: Pieter van Huystee for Pieter van Huystee Film Screening Copy: Pieter van Huystee Film Involved TV Channel: NTR
David de Jongh:
In de frontlinie, de Amsterdamse politie in WOII (1993) De Nieuwendijk uit de bocht (1998) Toby Vos, leven en werk (2002) De grens van Frans Bromet (2008) Otto Frank, vader van Anne (2010)
www.daviddejongh.nl
WORLD PREMIERE
Perhaps irreverently, one might characterize the course of photographer Eddy de Jongh’s career as progressing from offbeat reportage to respectable passport photography. De Jongh, who died in 2002 at the age of 81, was once a major name in Dutch photojournalism. He chronicled the 1950s and 1960s as the in-house photographer of Dutch weekly Vrij Nederland and other magazines, and his photos adorned many a front cover. Sadly, the last years of his career were spent taking uninspiring portraits of Dutch celebrities for national TV news. In this film, his son David tries to find the reasons for what took place. De Jongh senior’s private life was not exactly picture-perfect, and his son doesn’t shy away from dealing with painful issues. Friends, colleagues, his many former wives and his children all attest to how difficult a man he was to deal with, with his alcohol abuse and a traumatic war past. The sometimes hard-to-face interviews are interspersed with photos from Eddy’s archive, home movies and many audio recordings. The many messages Eddy left on his son David’s answering machine are particularly revealing. This is both a personal quest and a richly illustrated document of the Netherlands in the post-war era, both in image and sound.
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SUBMIT YOUR FILM!
Early Deadline: November 22, 2013 Final Deadline: December 13, 2013 *Late submissions accepted to January 3, 2014. Higher fees apply.
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Competition programs IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Documentary Storytelling IDFA explores the cutting edge of digital and interactive documentary in its new media program DocLab. Fifteen projects are eligible for the firestarters IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Documentary Storytelling, which will be awarded to the project that deploys digital technology in the most creative and effective way to tell a documentary story. A three-member jury international will evaluate the projects, nominate three of them and select the winner from these. The award consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of â‚Ź2,500.
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
17000 Islands
Thomas A. Østbye, Edwin WORLD PREMIERE Former President Suharto of Indonesia had a dream. Despite constant tensions between various tribes and religions, he wanted to unite his people under a single nation. This is why he built the “Taman Mini” amusement park in the 1970s, one that is still open to this day. Suharto’s nationalist propaganda fascinated the Norwegian documentarian Thomas Østbye and the Indonesian director Edwin (known for fiction films like Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly and Postcards from the Zoo). Together, they made a film about the park in which they deconstruct the ideal of national unity. In this interactive version, the filmmakers invited the audience to destroy the film and create their own version. On the homepage, Indonesia appears as a mosaic of 17,000 islands, each of which consists of a film scene. Visitors to the site can pick the clips and use an online editor to cut them together, leading to the creation of a personal film. Gradually, the director’s cut of the original film is destroyed, as audience members provide their own visions of how the theme park represents Indonesia. Suharto’s one-sided picture of things makes room for the raw reality: a cacophony of voices that converse with each other. Or in the words of the filmmakers, “Break down the old image, and be part of a living map.”
Norway, Indonesia, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: Thomas A. Østbye, Edwin Production: Thomas A. Østbye for Thomas Østbye PlymSerafin World Sales: Norwegian Film Institute Screening Copy: Norwegian Film Institute Website: www.17000islandsinteractive.com
Thomas A. Østbye:
In Your Dreams (2005) Human (2009) Imagining Emanuel (2011) Take #2 (2012)
Edwin:
Kara anak sebatang pohon (fiction, 2005) Blind Pig Who Wants to Fly (fiction, 2008) Postcards from the Zoo (fiction, 2012) Someone’s Wife in the Boat of Someone’s Husband (fiction, 2013)
Burn Out
Le grand incendie Samuel Bollendorff, Olivia Colo
WORLD PREMIERE
In recent years in France, a suicide has been committed in public on average every two weeks: April 26, 2011, in the parking lot at France Telecom. October 26, 2011, in front of the Élysée Palace in Paris. February 13, 2013, at an employment agency in Nantes. And they all do it by self-immolation. Who were the real people behind the victims, and why could they find no alternative? First, photographer and web documentary maker Samuel Bollendorff made subdued shots of the scenes of the suicides, which evoke a desolate and forbidding atmosphere. And then he went to get the victims’ stories. Together with co-director Olivia Colo, he talked to family members, colleagues and social workers. They attended funerals and cremations, sifted through archives of radio and TV reports and interviewed experts. With a real sense of urgency, Bollendorff and Colo explain that there is more at play here than only personal desperation. The wave of suicides is a cry for help from a society on the verge of a collective burnout. The directors use a running ECG scan to structure their material. The viewer can click on the undulating and sometimes turbulent lines to watch clips. And then a perfectly straight line appears. It seemed to be the only way out for Djamal Chaar, Remy Louvradoux, Manuel Gongora and the others we meet here.
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France, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: Samuel Bollendorff, Olivia Colo Photography: Samuel Bollendorff Editing: Godefroy Fouray Webdesign: Jérôme Pidoux, Adrian Gandour Production: Arnaud Dressen for Honkytonk Films World Sales: Honkytonk Films Screening Copy: Honkytonk Films
Arnaud Dressen:
Ils venaient d’avoir 80 ans (2002) Cité dans le texte (2006) Voyage au bout du Charbon (crossplatform, 2008) The Big Issue (cross-platform, 2009) Homo-numericus (cross-platform, 2010) Rapporteur de crise (cross-platform, 2011) À l’abri de rien (cross-platform, 2011) Si vieillir m’était conté (crossplatform, 2012)
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Dream Homes Property Consultants Alexandra Handal
WORLD PREMIERE
UK, 2013, cross-platform color/b&w, interactive
Alexandra Handal:
From the Bed & Breakfast Notebooks (2009) Director: Alexandra Handal www.alexandrahandal.org Photography: Alexandra Handal Editing: Alexandra Handal, Boris Gerrets Sound: Alexandra Handal Narration: Alexandra Handal Narrator: Alexandra Handal Webdesign: Alexandra Handal Production: Alexandra Handal World Sales: Alexandra Handal Screening Copy: Alexandra Handal Website: www.dreamhomespropertyconsultants.com
Expropriated Palestinian houses are repackaged on the Israeli real estate market as “Arabstyle.” Their factual history is concealed behind this architectural euphemism. Taking the form of an on-line real estate agency, this web-based documentary revisits the individual history of these homes, uncovering Palestinian stories of displacement, dispossession and cultural cleansing from West Jerusalem. Built over the course of six years, Dream Homes delves into the memories of the Palestinian inhabitants who were chased out by Zionist forces in 1948. At first sight, the project presents itself as a high-end real estate agency, bearing an aura of a historical property consultancy. Upon closer examination, a whole world that has been destroyed begins to unpeel layer by layer, through stories of 28 Palestinians. Dream Homes exposes their loss, grief and pain, with a tragicomic edge. Personal tales of abrupt goodbyes, impossible reunions and suspended dreams intersect in this labyrinthine space, providing insight into the human experience of this conflict. Using a multitude of narrative forms, the work patiently and meticulously pieces together a world that was shattered in 1948.
The Faces of Facebook Natalia Rojas
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, Argentina, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive
Natalia Rojas:
Director: Natalia Rojas Production: Natalia Rojas World Sales: Natalia Rojas Screening Copy: Natalia Rojas Website: www.thefacesoffacebook.com
www.nataliarojas.com
directing debut
There are more than 1.2 billion Facebook profiles in this full-screen mosaic, so many that all you see is colored pixels. But zoom in on them and the faces become recognizable. They are the faces of people young and old: men and women, European, Asian and African. Natalia Rojas has used these profile photos to create a remarkable and fluid world map. Instead of a map of countries, it is a chart of people and how they present themselves. It is only by seeing so many portraits in one go that we realize the stereotypical ways in which the world’s citizens present themselves on Facebook: as a macho man with muscled torso, as the happy couple in front of a twinkling Christmas tree, as the happy tourist pretending to push over the leaning Tower of Pisa, as Super Mario from the eponymous video game, as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo or some other star soccer player. Rojas’s photo collage (ordered chronologically by date of signing up) confidently and accurately demonstrates that on Facebook we are not who we are, but who we long to be – and the person that we want other people to see in us. Dreamed identities – that’s the trademark of Mark Zuckerberg and his ilk.
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IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Fort McMoney David Dufresne
WORLD PREMIERE Fort McMurray, the heart of the Canadian oil industry, is the scene for a groundbreaking fusion of documentary and video game. The creators, including web pioneers NFB and Arte and journalists from Süddeutsche Zeitung and Le Monde, put you in their own shoes. Their mission is your mission: to unravel the interests that lurk behind the appearance of success, wealth and happiness. “Discover the city. Interrogate its protagonists. Control its destiny.” You walk like a detective through Fort McMurray, recreated as a virtual environment. During your wanderings, you can watch interviews with the Canadian environment minister and the chairman of energy giant Total. Lesser folk also have their say, like the owner of a strip club and a spokesman for an action group: “They call it development. We call it destruction.” Data visualizations of odometers that go in the red illustrate that it’s five minutes to midnight. What is the fate of McMurray? Will it keep descending into a spiral of oil dollars and greed, or is there more space for pine forests, rivers and snowy mountains? The choice is up to you, as you stand with your feet in the mud in this web documentary – just like journalists, politicians, spokesmen and policymakers.
Canada, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: David Dufresne Production: Hugues Sweeney for NFB, Dominique Willieme for NFB, Philippe Lamarre for TOXA, Raphaëlle Huysmans for TOXA World Sales: National Film Board of Canada Screening Copy: National Film Board of Canada Website: www.fortmcmoney.com
David Dufresne:
Quand la France s’embrase (2007) Prison Valley (cross-platform, 2011)
Hidden Wounds Interactive Tomas Kaan, Prospektor
WORLD PREMIERE “Redemption isn’t coming soon / I am stuck here with these hidden wounds / All the things they make me do.” Tom Barman, the lead vocalist with Belgian band dEUS, sings these words with a deep sadness in his voice. But he’s not singing about himself. The song concerns Jimmie Johnson, a British war veteran who is suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The faces of Johnson and his fellow sufferers pass by in sober portraits that are as haunted as Barman’s voice. From young to old, these veterans served in the Second World War, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Some have physical scars, but the real wounds are hidden behind their eyes. The viewer clicks on icons that appear onscreen to hear their painful and shocking testimonies. “What is war like? The old cliché: war is like hell.” And, “It’s a little bit like playing Russian roulette every day.” Elsewhere on this website that accompanies the video clip of the same name, there are complete interviews with former soldiers who have been marked for life. Apocalypse Now encapsulated it perfectly: “The horror! The horror!”
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The Netherlands, 2013, cross-platform color/black-and-white, interactive Director: Tomas Kaan, Prospektor Co-director: Arnold van Bruggen Photography: Daniel Bouquet Editing: Maurik de Ridder, Eefje Blankevoort Sound: Mark Glynne Webdesign: Sara Kolster, Thomas Lievestro Production: Arnold van Bruggen for Prospektor Executive Production: Eefje Blankevoort for Prospektor World Sales/Screening Copy: Prospektor Website: www.hiddenwounds.be
Tomas Kaan:
Dream City (2008) We Are Boys (2009) Days of Grass (2011)
www.thomaskaan.nl
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Hollow
Elaine McMillion INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
USA, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: Elaine McMillion Photography: Elaine McMillion Editing: Elaine McMillion, Sarah Ginsburg, Kerrin Sheldon Sound: Billy Wirasnik Music: Lee Strauss Webdesign: Jeff Soyk Production: Elaine McMillion for Hollow Interactive, LLC World Sales: Hollow Interactive, LLC Screening Copy: Hollow Interactive, LLC Website: www.hollowdocumentary.com
Elaine McMillion:
Lincoln County Massacre (2011) Tales of an AP Journalist (2012)
www.elainemcmillion.com
One in three American towns is dying, with more people leaving than coming. McDowell County in the eastern inland of West Virginia is just such a place. It’s population peaked in the 1950s at around 100,000, but a poor economic outlook means that it has fallen to just a little over 22,000. Who are the “last of the Mohicans,” why do they stay in McDowell, and how do they maintain a sense of community in this shrinking region? Making limited but effective use of interactivity, this web documentary introduces us 30 to residents with a surprising faith in the future. There are citizens here who run a food bank, gym or literacy training center, while another records the area’s natural beauty for posterity. They talk passionately about their enthusiasm for their declining hometown. Elaine McMillion transformed the portraits into a multimedia collage containing an impressive wealth of material. There are video interviews, photographs, data visualizations, quotes and moody dramatic soundscapes. Scroll along and they pass before you like pictures on a roll of film. It is McMillion’s morale booster for the people of McDowell, who are doing their utmost hope alive.
I Love Your Work Jonathan Harris
USA, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: Jonathan Harris Photography: Jonathan Harris Editing: Jonathan Harris Webdesign: Jonathan Harris Production: Jonathan Harris World Sales: Jonathan Harris Screening Copy: Jonathan Harris Website: www.iloveyourwork.net
Jonathan Harris:
Wordcount (cross-platform, 2004), 10x10 (cross-platform, 2004), Phylotaxis (cross-platform, 2005), We Feel Fine (cross-platform, 2006), Lovelines (cross-platform, 2006), Universe (cross-platform, 2007), The Whale Hunt (cross-platform, 2007), I Want You to Want Me (cross-platform, 2008), Today (crossplatform, 2010), Ballons of Bhutan (cross-platform, 2011), Cowbird (crossplatform, 2011)
Ten seconds is the average length of porn teasers, intended to entice viewers to pay to see more. And 10 seconds also happens to be the length of all 2,202 clips that acclaimed web pioneer Jonathan Harris shot of nine women active in the lesbian porn industry. He followed each of them with his camera for more than 24 hours, at home and in the workplace. In the film excerpts presented here either as a mosaic or timeline, we meet the successful director Jincey Lumpkin (“the Hugh Heffner of lesbian porn”), the tough queer queen Nic and her candid fellow actress Dolores: “You don’t need to perform sexiness, just do what you want to do.” Over the course of a day with Harris, they reveal both their bodies and their innermost thoughts. Or is that an illusion? Harris is attempting to identify that zone of tension between the public and the private, something illustrated by the specific and unconventional form this interactive documentary takes. Although Harris did film in “real time,” just as in his previous project The Whale Hunt, he did so at five-minute intervals. This results in gaps in the narrative that highlight the fact that although the women come close, they also keep their secrets.
www.number27.org
87
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Just a Reflektor
Vincent Morisset, Aaron Koblin WORLD PREMIERE The world of the young woman slithering sensually through the streets of Haiti becomes your world, and vice versa, in this interactive music video. For Just a Reflektor, Canadian band Arcade Fire, known for their theatrical art rock, once again collaborates with the Google laboratory (with whom they created their 2010 interactive video The Wilderness Downtown) and director Vincent Morisset, who was responsible for the pioneering interactive music video Neon Bible in 2007. For Just a Reflektor, you construct a video installation at home by connecting a smart phone or tablet to your desktop computer or laptop using the webcam and Wi-Fi. You can then use the small screen to mirror the video playing on the larger screen. Fiction and reality converge as your actions and movements become part of the clip. Sitting behind the screen, both the user and the young woman are “Trapped in a prison, in a prism of light,” as Arcade Fire’s lead vocalist Win Butler sings. In the Internet age, everyone is connected with everyone else. Morisset uses this captivating interactive experiment to ask what has happened to real connectedness.
USA, Canada, UK, 2013, cross-platform color/black-and-white, interactive Director: Vincent Morisset, Aaron Koblin Photography: Mathieu Laverdière Music: Arcade Fire Webdesign: Caroline Robert, Brandon Blommaert Production: Vincent Morisset for AATOAA, Sabah Kosoy for Google Creative Lab, Amelia Roberts for Unit9, Sach Baylin-Stern for Antler Films World Sales: AATOAA Screening Copy: AATOAA Website: www.justareflektor.com
Vincent Morisset:
Neon Bible (cross-platform, 2006) Miroir Noir (cross-platform, 2008) INNI (cross-platform, 2011) Sprawl II (cross-platform, 2011) BLA BLA (cross-platform, 2011)
The Last Hunt
Jeremy Mendes, National Film Board of Canada Digital Studio WORLD PREMIERE Antonio “Pit” Allard does it every year, but this is the last time. He is getting older, and his body feels stiffer and more tired. Every summer for as long as he can remember, Pit has retreated into the pine forests of Quebec, Canada, where he practices the ancient art of hunting. Hares, partridges, even a giant moose – he has caught them all. His grandson Alexi Hobbs, a city boy from Montreal, accompanies Pit with the camera on his “last” mission. The picturesque portraits of his grandfather in action illustrate a story written about his life. In this interactive photo book, Alexi gives reading and looking at the tablet a new dimension. The text can be read by scrolling down, but at the same time pictures slide like a film roll from left to right across the screen, interspersed with warm animations in watercolor. In this loving tribute to his grandfather, Alexi reflects on existential issues: the strength of family ties, the desire for the freedom of nature, the spirituality of the hunt and the connection between hunting and shooting pictures. What ties Pit and Alexi together most of all is their attention to detail: a rustling twig or the twisting lines of a hand.
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Canada, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive
Jeremy Mendes:
This Land (cross-platform, 2010) Bear 71 (cross-platform, 2012)
Created by: Jeremy Mendes, National www.jeremymendes.com Film Board of Canada Digital Studio Photography: Alexi Hobbs Web Creator: Vincent McCurley World Sales: National Film Board of Canada Screening Copy: National Film Board of Canada Website: www.thelasthunt.nfb.ca
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Out of Sight, Out of Mind. Wesley Grubbs
The almost 400 unmanned drone attacks in Pakistan since 2004 have claimed 3,000 lives, and only one-and-a-half percent of their victims were preselected targets. The rest of them were women, children and other innocent citizens. Drones are largely ineffective, but that fact doesn’t make much of an impression on the American military. That’s because these lethal little machines mean fewer American casualties, and they also keep the war away from public view: “Out of sight, out of mind.” That situation is going to change if Pitch has got anything to do with it. This Californian data visualization company presents the hard facts in an animated infographic, stylishly designed to look like a nocturnal drone mission. The timeline indicates the number of victims these clandestine operations have claimed month by month, with a peak from 2009 to 2011. The makers want to provide a broad audience with better information about this invisible technological war. Their timing is good, because the debate is gradually gathering momentum, as witnessed by the American newspaper articles added as extras to the infographic.
USA, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: Wesley Grubbs Co-director: Nicholas Yahnke, Mladen Balog Webdesign: Mladen Balog, Nicholas Yahnke Production: Wesley Grubbs for Pitch Interactive, Inc. Screening Copy: Pitch Interactive, Inc. Website: www.drones.pitchinteractive.com
A Short History of the Highrise Katerina Cizek
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Canada, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: Katerina Cizek Script: Katerina Cizek Production: Gerry Flahive for National Film Board of Canada Executive Production: Jason Spingarn-Koff for The New York Times World Sales: National Film Board of Canada Screening Copy: National Film Board of Canada Website: www.highrise.nfb.ca
Katarina Cizek:
HIGHRISE: Out My Window (cross-platform, 2010) HIGHRISE: One Millionth Tower (cross-platform, 2011)
Katerina Cizeks’s interactive documentary project Highrise, about living high above the ground, is also growing to epic proportions. After the portraits of apartment dwellers in Out My Window and the dreams of the future of architects in One Millionth Tower, this latest installment highlights the history of vertical living. It goes back much further than 1884, when the first skyscrapers were born in New York. Pre-industrial man already built into the sky with clay and mud: from the biblical Tower of Babel to the spectacular cave dwellings in the mountains of Arizona. The concrete revolution that marked the 20th century is now making room for a third phase: greenhouse skyscrapers. Each period is highlighted in a separate chapter, with a voice-over in rhyme (including by the singer Feist) and enlightening material from the archives of co-producer the New York Times. The interactive possibilities are modest, as in the Op Docs that the authoritative newspaper makes for its website. Visitors can leave the main movie to learn interesting facts and play funny games. For example, the Tower of Babel collapses by tapping on the screen. Will there ever be a new skyscraper on the site of the ruins?
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IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
The Sochi Project
Arnold van Bruggen, Rob Hornstra WORLD PREMIERE In 2007, Vladimir Putin stepped onto the stage at the International Olympics Committee’s annual meeting to the sound of the triumphal opening of Tchaikovsky’s first piano concerto. He was there to support Sochi’s candidacy for hosting the 2014 Winter Olympics. “It’s a unique place,” he began. “On the seashore you can enjoy a fine spring day, but up in the mountains it’s winter. Real snow is guaranteed.” What the Russian president didn’t mention is that a metaphorical winter is raging here as well. For Muscovites, Sochi is a summer capital, with its beaches and luxury resort spas. It is the ideal setting for the glitter and glamour of the games. But there’s trouble brewing behind those mountains. The largely unrecognized mini-state of Abkhazia has been a source of conflict since time immemorial, and it’s just a stone’s throw away. Further to the east are the vast war-torn regions of Chechnya and North Ossetia. This is the hidden story behind the upcoming games, and Rob Hornstra and Arnold van Bruggen have been covering it with their slow journalism project since 2007. Made partly with the support of donations, these “long reads,” photo series and video reports have now been assembled on a multimedia website. Coming soon, they will also be exhibited in various cities, including Amsterdam and Moscow – the lion’s den.
The Netherlands, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive
Arnold van Bruggen:
Director: Arnold van Bruggen, Rob Hornstra Photography: Rob Hornstra Webdesign: Kummer & Herrman Production: Arnold van Bruggen for Prospektor Co-Production: Kummer & Herrman World Sales: Prospektor Screening Copy: Prospektor Website: www.thesochiproject.org
Arnold van Bruggen & Tomas Kaan:
The Russian War (2009) Play for Keeps (2011) Hiden Wounds (2013)
Rob Hornstra:
directing debut
Type:Rider
Théo Le Du Fuentes EUROPEAN PREMIERE Gothic, Garamond, Futura, Helvetica, Comic Sans. There are fonts that some people detest, while others are loved immensely. In this app, a surprising combination of video game and book, you travel through the multifaceted history of typography. It all began with the cave drawings in Africa, the hieroglyphics in Egypt and Chinese calligraphy, but it didn’t really get going until the invention of the printing press by Gutenberg. From that moment on, one font after another was born: from Garamond, Times New Roman and Clarendon, which shine in transparent simplicity, to fonts made for the computer age, like the boxy Pixel and the playful Comic Sans. Bit by bit, they all come around in the pleasant and original design of this app. Type:Rider takes you on a journey through the history of typography. You play this game as two balls that likely represent a colon, but could also be an umlaut. The levels themselves are primarily composed of letters from a given font, and you’ll need to roll and jump your way through them while picking up letters of the alphabet and asterisks. When you’ve passed a level, a new chapter on the history of typography opens, all written in the font in question. In addition to the app for your computer, tablet and smart phone, Type:Rider also consists of an interactive installation for museums and a social media game on Facebook.
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France, 2013 cross-platform, color, interactive Director: Théo Le Du Fuentes Co-director: Charles Ayats Photography: Théo Le Du Fuentes Screenplay: Théo Le Du Fuentes, Charles Ayats Narration: Théo Le Du Fuentes, Charles Ayats Webdesign: Théo Le Du Fuentes, Charles Ayats Production: Arnaud Colinart for Ex Nihilo World Sales/Screening Copy: Ex Nihilo Involved TV Channel: ARTE Website: www.typerider.fr
Théo Le Du Fuentes: 17.10.61 (2011)
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Unspeak Menno Otten, Tommy Pallotta, Geert van de Wetering, Jennifer Abbott, Rob Schröder, Benoit Detalle, Marija Jacimovic
The Netherlands, 2013, cross-platform color/black-and-white, interactive Director: Menno Otten, Tommy Pallotta, Geert van de Wetering, Jennifer Abbott, Rob Schröder, Benoit Detalle, Marija Jacimovic Script: Steven Poole Webdesign: Catalogtree Production: Femke Wolting & Bruno Felix for Submarine World Sales: Submarine Screening Copy: Submarine Website: www.unspeak. submarinechannel.com
Top-down, smart phone, big data, piracy, pro-life. These words have very different meanings but they have one thing in common: they’re all examples of “unspeak,” a rhetorical and manipulative use of language deployed by politicians, lobbyists, CEOs, activists and other major players in the public debate. “Unspeak” means saying one thing by concealing another, claims Steven Poole, who first presented the term in 2006 in his fascinating book of the same title. This British journalist provides his own furiously paced and sarcasm-laden voice-over for this interactive film version. Over the course of six episodes, he explores the use of unspeak in current issues such as the credit crisis, climate change and social media. And on the subject of social media, Poole views the use of the word “social” as grossly euphemistic, because while we delude ourselves that we are strengthening family bonds and creating new friendships, all we’re actually doing is giving away personal information to advertisers. Poole decries this phenomenon in his blackly comic commentary, which is accompanied by found footage material from TV news, documentaries and feature films. This web documentary also contains a dictionary to which visitors can add their own examples of unspeak. Clear data visualizations illustrate the frequency with which these terms are used in mass media and on Twitter.
Pitched at the Forum 2011
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2013 Adv FT IDFA 92,5x92,5 02.indd 1
11-10-13 09:05
BIGGEST COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTARIES Dutch Documentary Collection: films from past and present beeldengeluid.nl
The Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision (Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid) keeps more than a century of Dutch audiovisual history, among which are the films of Dutch documentary makers. Every year Sound and Vision invites an acknowledged contemporary documentary maker to make a commis sioned film.
IDFA adv 92x92.indd 1
In 2013 Niek Koppen is this documen tary maker IN FOCUS. The commis sioned film Dutch Darlings has been released together with a selection of 8 films from his oeuvre – with English sub titles – on four DVD’s in the series Dutch Documentary Collection. The DVD box is for sale in the IDFA shop and via beeldengeluid.nl/shop
22-10-13 10:25
Competition programs IDFA DOC U Competition Nine films from IDFA’s competitive and non-competitive programs have been selected for the IDFA DOC U Competition, aimed at introducing young audiences to documentary cinema. A five-member jury consisting of young people ages 15 to 18 will evaluate the films, nominate three of them and select the winner from these. The IDFA DOC U Award consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of ₏1,500.
IDFA DOC Programs U Award Competition
DOC U DOC U introduces a young audience to documentary cinema. In consultation with young people, nine films have been selected from the entire IDFA 2013 program to compete in the DOC U Competition. During the festival, a jury consisting of five youngsters ages 15-18 watches and evaluates the selected films and will present the winner with the IDFA DOC U Award, which consists of a sculpture and a cash prize of €1,500.
IDFA DOC U also offers several special events: CJP Serves
Can’t find the forest for the trees in the sumptuous IDFA program? “CJP Serves” offers some relief for members of CJP (the Dutch Culture Youth Pass) with this special program. A selection of three wonderful films is screened, after which there’s time for discussion while enjoying traditional Dutch pub food. The program will include 69: Love Sex Senior and The Crash Reel as well as one of the IDFA 2013 Nominees. The One Minutes Jr. Awards: 2013 Nominees
Fifteen one-minute videos that represent youth voices from countries around the world, produced in a workshop, are screening
Sepideh – Reaching for the Stars
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with the documentaries nominated for the IDFA DOC U Award. The selected filmmakers also participate in the master class The One Minutes Jr. & IDFA. Master class: The One Minutes Jr. & IDFA
Over the course of a two-day master class, the 15 youngsters from Libya, Pakistan, Bosnia, and many other countries whose films are nominated for the 2013 One Minutes Jr. Competition each create a new one-minute film. During the master class, they work together with five talented young Dutch filmmakers. The master class is a collaboration between The One Minutes Jr., IDFA, Nowhere and UNICEF. Coolpolitics Talk @ IDFA
DOC U and Coolpolitics present a discussion about the film Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War, in which the Cuban rap duo Los Aldeanos is heralded as the voice of the lost generation. Risking his freedom and his life, director Jesse Acevedo takes the viewer inside the new revolution brewing within Cuba using guerilla methods and hidden cameras. After the screening, a discussion is being held with two young Dutch rappers (in Dutch).
IDFA DOC U Award Competition Programs
#chicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator
Consider
2013 DOC U Selection
The Ghosts in Our Machine
Joe Piscatella, United States/Syria, screening in IDFA Competition for First Appearance A 19-year-old American student has been helping to coordinate the Syrian revolution from a suburb of Chicago since 2011, armed with all imaginable social networks.
Light Fly, Fly High
#chicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator
69: Love Sex Senior
Menna Laura Meijer, The Netherlands, screening in IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary Elderly people talk candidly about their love lives and the role sexuality plays in them. Consider
Panu Saeng-Xuto, Thailand, screening in Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia Having survived a suicide attempt, Thai transgender Tay is once again proudly walking around at school in a red dress. The Crash Reel
Lucy Walker, United States, screening in Masters After an accident that left him with a brain injury, snowboarding champion Kevin Pearce can’t wait to return to the slopes, and his family can’t believe what they’re hearing.
Liz Marshall, Canada, screening in Best of Fests A plea for animal rights seen through the lens of photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, whom we follow on her mission to raise animal awareness. Beathe Hofseth & Susann Østigaard, Norway, screening in IDFA Competition for First Appearance A casteless Indian woman tries to box her way out of poverty, but her struggle for an independent life is hardest outside the ring. The Missing Picture
Rithy Panh, Cambodia/France, screening in Rithy Panh Retrospective Using clay figures and found footage, Rithy Panh recounts his own history during the Khmer Rouge dictatorship for the very first time. Sepideh – Reaching for the Stars
Berit Madsen, Denmark, screening in IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary A portrait of a courageous young Iranian woman who refuses to conform to expectations and dreams of a future as an astronaut. Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War
Jesse Acevedo, Cuba/United States, screening in Music Documentary A gripping undercover film about the militant Cuban underground rap duo Los Aldeanos, who tackle the injustices in their country in no uncertain terms.
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CinemaChile, the go-to agency for Chile’s audiovisual industry, promotes Chilean film both domestically and globally. CinemaChile represents Chilean documentary, dramatic feature, short film, animation and television productions in the world’s major film markets and festivals.
AD IDFA.indd 2
25th May – 1st June 2014 Deadlines for international submissions: 30th November 2013 for films completed before 31st October 2013 31st January 2014 for films completed after 31st October 2013 www.krakowfilmfestival.pl
29-10-13 14:59
non-Competitive programs Best of Fests In Best of Fests, the festival is presenting 21 documentaries that have made an impact on the international festival circuit this year, such as Riaan Hendricks’s The Devil’s Lair (supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund), Marc Bauder’s Master of the Universe and Kitty Green’s Ukraine Is Not a Brothel.
Best of Fests
As Time Goes By in Shanghai Uli Gaulke
EUROPEAN PREMIERE “People want to see us, because our faces reflect the good old days,” says a member of the Peace Hotel Jazz Band. Hailing from Shanghai, the band is the oldest of its kind in the world, and the band members – ranging in age from 65 to 93 – all have their own story. Now they’re being invited to perform at the North Sea Jazz Festival in the Netherlands. The gig will be the highlight of their careers, but they seem to take it in stride. They do enlist young female singer Jasmine for the occasion, and shamelessly flirt with her. At a leisurely pace and without any voiceover interruption, we watch as they prepare for their trip to Europe and the performance. In between, the musicians talk about their lives in China during the Japanese occupation, the nationalists, the Americans and the Cultural Revolution. Their passion for music has protected them from the ravages of time, but it has also left its mark on them. And these old fellows aren’t the least bit interested in making the switch to today’s generation. They’re respectable gentlemen, professional musicians – the kind of guys you can’t help but hold dear to your heart.
Germany, The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Uli Gaulke Photography: Axel Schneppat, Jörg Jeshel Screenplay: Uli Gaulke Editing: Sylke Rohrlach, Uli Gaulke, Markus C. M. Schmidt Sound: Raimund von Scheibner Music: Ari Benjamin Meyers Production: Helge Albers for Flying Moon Filmproduktion Co-Production: CTM LEV Pictures World Sales: Autlook Filmsales Screening Copy: Autlook Filmsales Involved TV Channel: WDR
Uli Gaulke:
Havanna mi amor (2000) Heirate mich – Casate conmigo (2003) Comrades in Dreams (2006) Pink Taxi (2009)
www.uli-gaulke.de
The Condemned Nick Read
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Federal Penal Colony No. 56 is situated in central Russia, in the middle of a forest larger than Germany and a seven-hour drive from the nearest city. In winter, temperatures fall to 40 below zero. There are 260 prisoners serving out their sentences here, all of them for murder. Following tough negotiations, filmmakers Nick Read and Mark Franchetti managed to gain access to this isolated world, where they focused their meticulous eye for detail on the prisoner’s daily lives. The sounds of slamming doors, bars and locks accompany Read’s shots of cells and marked bodies in the blue light of the taiga. In the toughest block, the prisoners live alone in bare cells a mere five meters square (54 square feet), and get just an hour of fresh air each day. Elsewhere, groups of men live in a more domestic environment where the biggest challenge is not the isolation, but the internal hierarchy. In remarkably candid interviews, the men talk about their crimes and their punishments. How do they stop themselves from going mad in a place like this? What does freedom mean to them? Is penitence and forgiveness possible for their terrible deeds? The prison’s director of 26 years also has his say. He too is condemned to this godforsaken place, not as punishment, but by a contract.
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Russia, UK, 2013 DCP, color, 80 min Director: Nick Read Photography: Nick Read Editing: Jay Taylor Music: Smith & Elms Production: Mark Franchetti for Red Zed Films Screening Copy: Red Zed Films
Nick Read:
Naked Sports (1996) The Killing of Mother India (1998) Warren Zevon: Keep Me in Your Heart (2001) Finest Hour (2004) Inside Israel’s Jails (2007) Return to Tiananmen (2008) Prisoners of Katrina (2009) Slumdog Children of Mumbai (2010) Return of the Lost Boys (2011) a.o.
Best of Fests
Cutie and the Boxer Zachary Heinzerling
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 82 min
Zachary Heinzerling: directing debut
Director: Zachary Heinzerling Photography: Zachary Heinzerling Editing: Andy Grieve, David Teague Production: Zachary Heinzerling & Patrick Burns for Ex Lion Tamer Inc, Sierra Pettengill & Lydia Dean Pilcher for Cine Mosaic World Sales: K5 Media Group GmbH Screening Copy: K5 Media Group GmbH Website: www.cutieandtheboxer.com
A tender, melancholic portrait of the Japanese artist couple Noriko and Ushio Shinohara. In addition to their daily routine, and Ushio’s famed dynamic painting technique with boxing gloves, we watch as they install an exhibition of their own work in a New York gallery. They argue about the title of the exhibition. Ushio suggests “Roarrr,” as it suits the energy of his work and the freedom that it offers. But Noriko wants it to be called “Love Is Roar.” The discussion shows how the two differ in artistic vision: Ushio is bursting with impulsiveness and builds giant neo-Dadaist chopper motors from cardboard and found material. Noriko is more practical and conceptual, illustrating the story of her life with Ushio in a mural on the gallery wall. Cutie and the Boxer captures the couple in their love for one another and their sacrifice to art. In Noriko’s words, “Sometimes we are like two flowers in a pot, sometimes we don’t get enough nutrients for both of us.” This is director Zachary Heinzerling’s film debut, and it offers a humorous and intriguing gander into the marriage of two artists who, despite their success and fame, still struggle with finding their own identity and paying the rent at the end of the month.
Awards: Best Director Documentary Sundance Film Festival Pitched at the Forum 2011
Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus Madeleine Sackler EUROPEAN PREMIERE
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 76 min Director: Madeleine Sackler Photography: Daniel Carter, Larissa Kabernik Editing: Anne Barliant, Leigh Johnson Sound: Steve Borne Music: Wendy Blackstone Production: Madeleine Sackler for Great Curve Films Executive Production: Andrea Meditch World Sales: Dogwoof Screening Copy: Great Curve Films Website: www.unstableelements.com
Madeleine Sackler:
The Lottery (2010) Duke 91&92: Back to Back (2012)
“Life under a dictatorship is very easy. There’s no need to make decisions, and there are no problems.” Belarus is governed by Alexander Lukashenko, Europe’s last dictator. In the run-up to the 2010 presidential election (and its predictable outcome) and for a year afterwards, Madeleine Sackler followed the trials and tribulations of Belarus Free Theater, an underground theater company based in Minsk and led by Natalia and Nikolai. They joined the massive demonstration that took place just a few days after the election – which the incumbent won with an overwhelming 79 percent of the vote. Although the protest itself was violently crushed, it marked the beginning of a tumultuous year of demonstrations, arrests, fear and intimidation. The group decides to move abroad and use theater to draw attention to the situation in Belarus. The camera follows their rehearsals, their emotional conversations with the home front, and their successful performances at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and elsewhere. Some of the actors are still in exile, but others are continuing to make underground theater in Belarus, in the hope that someday things will change.
Pitched at the Forum 2011
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Best of Fests
Desert Runners Jennifer Steinman
Blazing sun, no water, unbearable heat, rock-hard surfaces – these would not seem to be the ideal conditions for running a race. This is the setting however, where every year four races are held in the most inhospitable deserts of the world – in Chile, China, Egypt and Antarctica. In each of these challenging places, runners race 250 kilometers (155 miles) over five days. A select few of these runners hope to take on the ultimate challenge of the “Grand Slam” – running all four races in one calendar year. The documentary follows several of these runners through these deserts and back in their homes. We see the strains and demands of the races as runners haul themselves up mountainous sand dunes, struggle to stay hydrated and face perilous situations. But we also see the flowering of remarkable friendships and evidence of their unfathomable human determination. Gorgeous images of desert landscapes and a gripping musical soundtrack form a fitting backdrop for the story of the herculean task these regular people have set for themselves.
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 95 min
Jennifer Steinman:
Director: Jennifer Steinman Photography: Sevan Matossian Editing: Jessica Congdon, Jennifer Steinman Music: Eric Holland Production: Jennifer Steinman, Diana Iles Parker, Dean Karnazes, Yael Melamede for Salty Features World Sales: Cargo Film & Releasing Screening Copy: Salty Features Website: www.desertrunnersmovie.com
Awards: Most Popular Documentary Film Award Vancouver International Film Festival, Audience Award for Best Documentary Film Hamptons International Film Festival
South Africa, 2013 DCP, color, 82 min
Riaan Hendricks:
Motherland (2009)
The Devil’s Lair Riaan Hendricks
EUROPEAN PREMIERE Braaim is the leader of the Nice Time Kids, a gang of drug dealers in the Cape Flats, an impoverished suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The abject poverty can be attributed to the forced housing that began in the 1950s, part of the Apartheid regime’s plan to keep the non-whites segregated. In cinema verité style, the film offers an intimate and confronting look at Braaim’s life, his criminal entourage (almost none of whom conceal their identities) and his family. The camera remains a fly on the wall during gang meetings and drug use, accompanied now and then by atmospheric music and interspersed with monologues from the aging Braaim, who has increasing doubts about his career as a drug kingpin, and his wife Gadija, who is considering a divorce to protect their young children. And while Braaim must deal with ongoing marital problems, he also has to lead the armed turf war with two rival gangs: the Americans and the School Boys. Along the way, he fails to keep his children away from his lifestyle, in spite of the “Number 1 Dad” sign adorning the wall.
Director: Riaan Hendricks Photography: Riaan Hendricks Editing: Riaan Hendricks Sound: Riaan Hendricks Production: Neil Brandt for Fireworx Media World Sales: Journeyman Pictures Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Fireworx Media Involved TV Channel: TVO Website: www.devilslairfilm.com Pitched at the Forum 2012
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A Fisherman’s Tale (2003) Revolutionaries Love Life (2007) We Wait (2006) Baraka (2008) The Last Voyage (2010) The Sorrow of Umaqubula (2010) Cocaine, Suicide and the Meaning of Life (2011)
Awards: Best Documentary Director Screen Excellence Awards South Africa
IDFAcademy Results
Best of Fests
Dirty Wars Richard Rowley
USA, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 86 min Director: Richard Rowley Photography: Richard Rowley Editing: Richard Rowley, David Riker Sound: Christopher Barnett Music: David Harrington Narration: Jeremy Scahill, David Riker Production: Brenda Coughlin for Civic Bakery Executive Production: Scott Roth, Jess Search & Sandra Whipham for BRITDOC Foundation, Randall Wallace for Wallace Action Fund World Sales: HanWay Films Screening Copy: Civic Bakery Website: www.dirtywars.org
Richard Rowley:
Zapatista (1999) This Is What Democracy Looks Like (2000) Black & Gold (2001) The Fourth World War (2003) The War of 33 (2007) The Jena 6 (2007) Deserter (2007)
Awards: Cinematography Award for US Documentary Sundance Film Festival, Grand Jury Prize Boston Independent Film Festival, Golden Bear for Best Documentary Little Rock Film Festival, Courage in Filmmaking Award Little Rock Festival a.o.
A terrifying, revealing journey through the expansive, secret, lawless world of covert operations. Our guide is investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill, who previously uncovered the Blackwater scandal in Baghdad. Beginning with a night raid in Afghanistan by a secret American unit that left an entire family dead, Scahill travels to Yemen, the United States and Mali in search of answers and justice. Interviews with the victims of war, journalists, politicians, soldiers and local officials lead to Washington and the role of President Obama, who has direct authority over the secret Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) and the extrajudicial hunt for American citizens. With his personal quest, sober camerawork (which won best cinematography at Sundance), night shoots and piles of evidence, Scahill constructs a critical work in the tradition of Michael Moore that wows us with suspense and nuance instead of comedy and superlatives. A depressing elegy that shows how the never-ending War on Terror continues to create its own enemies with hit lists that just get longer and longer. In the words of an anonymous member of the JSOC, “We’ve created a hell of a hammer, that will continue searching for a nail.”
Drill Baby Drill Lech Kowalski
France, 2013 HDcam, color/b&w, 84 min Director: Lech Kowalski Photography: Lech Kowalski Editing: Lech Kowalski Sound: Emmanuel Soland Narration: Lech Kowalski Production: Odile Allard for Revolt Cinema World Sales: Revolt Cinema Screening Copy: Revolt Cinema Involved TV Channel: ARTE G.E.I.E.
Lech Kowalski:
DOA (1981) The Boot Factory (2000) Born to Lose (2001) On Hitler’s Highway (2002) East of Paradise (2005)
In the east of Poland near the Ukrainian border, there is an agricultural area known as the “lungs of Poland,” owing to its clean air and fertile soil. Here, farmers have lived for generations on the land, growing grain and keeping livestock. They all have their own well with clear, clean water. One day, the locals find out that one of the biggest power companies in the world, Chevron, is planning to drill in the area for shale gas. Initially, not everyone is opposed to these plans: they realize that new forms of energy are needed and hope that the region will profit from a new economic impulse. The mood quickly changes, however, when information comes to light about the harmful effects of shale gas drilling on public health and the environment, and when it becomes clear that Chevron is not prepared to be completely open about this. Led by the mayor and his wife, a village decides to take on the multinational. Documentary filmmaker Lech Kowalski records the protests – regularly hampered by employees of Chevron – and illustrates the story with images from the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, where drilling for shale gas has been going on for some time.
GREEN SCREEN 101
Best of Fests
The Ghosts in Our Machine Liz Marshall
An appeal for animal rights as seen through the lens of photographer Jo-Anne McArthur, whom we follow in her mission to raise animal awareness. She accomplishes this not by taking direct action, but through her photos. From mutilated foxes, frenzied mink and laboratory dogs to pigs and cows crammed together like sardines, her collection covers all aspects of animal cruelty. She is acutely aware that making her argument through these images is far more effective than using words. Because, as an undercover investigator comments, the industry and insurance companies can easily repair physical damage, but they are threatened by media attention. In her own words, “Liberating the animals is not gonna change the system. My role is to educate people.” Watching the film, we are taken along on guerilla photo shoots at monkey and fox breeders, protests against the pork industry, to visit adopted lab dogs and for a day of photography at an aquarium. We also get to visit Farm Sanctuary, a reservation for farm animals where McArthur takes refuge when the animal suffering gets too much for her. Here, and in McArthur’s internal monologue that accompanies the images, we are offered a window into the soul of this fervent animal lover. The contrast between the photos documenting the factory farms and the romantic images from the Farm Sanctuary becomes ever more jarring as the film progresses.
Canada, 2013 DCP, color, 92 min Director/Screenplay: Liz Marshall Photography: Liz Marshall, Iris Ng, John Price Editing: Roland Schlimme, Roderick Deogrades Sound: Garrett Kerr, Daniel Pellerin, Jason Milligan Production: Liz Marshall & Nina Beveridge for Ghosts Media Inc. Executive Production: Mila Aung-Thwin for EyeSteelFilm World Sales/Screening Copy: Films Transit International Inc. Involved TV Channel: The Documentary Channel Website: www.theghostsinourmachine.com
Liz Marshall:
Musicians in the Warzone (2001) Voices of Dissent (2003) Inside Your Threads (2004) Grandmothers: The Unsung Heroes of America (2007) Women: The Face of Aids (2007) A Generation of Orphans (2007) The Rawside of... The Bourbon Tabernacle Choir (2008) Girls of Latitude (2008) Water on the Table (2010)
Awards: Best Documentary Nature/ Environment Yorkton Film Festival
GREEN SCREEN
InRealLife Beeban Kidron
When filmmaker Beeban Kidron started seeing more and more teenagers around her doing nothing but stare at their cell phone screens, she started asking them questions. “What are you doing? With whom? Did your turn on your privacy preferences?” The answer was a unanimous shrug of the shoulders. InRealLife is the result of her search for an answer to some of her questions. Just what is the Internet anyway, and what impact is frequent use having on our children? The journey took her from the bedrooms of British teenagers who show her their favorite YouPorn videos to Silicon Valley, where the pulsing heart of the system pumps countless amounts of data around the world. In interviews with experts ranging from Nicholas Carr to Julian Assange, the Internet’s true nature surfaces. The promise of free information for all has made way for commercial exploitation of all our data. Nothing is really for free on the web. And all those attractive, fun and useful websites can also be addictive, estranging us from the real world. Kidron wonders if we can afford to stand by while our children are being outsourced to the net.
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UK, 2013 DCP, color, 86 min Director: Beeban Kidron Photography: Neil Harvey Editing: David Charap Sound: Ben Baird Production: Beeban Kidron for Cross Street Films, Freya Sampson for Studio Lambert Co-Production: Cross Street Films, BFI, Emily Hudson, Kathleen Fournier World Sales: Dogwoof Screening Copy: Dogwoof Involved TV Channel: Sky Atlantic Website: www.inreallifefilm.com
Beeban Kidron:
Carry Greenham Home (1983), Global Camble (fiction, 1985), Vroom (fiction, 1988), Itch (fiction, 1991), Used People (fiction, 1992), Hookers Hustlers Pimps and the Johns (1993), Great Moments in Aviation (fiction, 1993), To Wong Foo Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar (fiction, 1995), Amy Foster, Swept from the Sea (fiction, 1997), Texarkana (fiction, 1998), Cinderella (fiction, 2000), Murder (fiction, 2002), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (fiction, 2002), Anthony Gormley: Making Space (2007), Sex, Death and the Gods (2011)
Best of Fests
The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne Matthew Pond, Kirk Marcolina
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 74 min
Matthew Pond:
Director: Matthew Pond, Kirk Marcolina Photography: Peter Holland Editing: Kirk Marcolina, Darmyn Calderon Music: Mark Rivett Production: Matthew Pond & Kirk Marcolina for Treehouse Moving Images World Sales: Films Transit International Inc. Screening Copy: Treehouse Moving Images Website: www.dorispaynefilm.com
Camp Out (2006)
Undressing Vanessa (2009)
Kirk Marcolina:
Awards: Audience Choice Award Antenna Documentary Film Festival 2013
Single African-American mother Doris Payne is a notorious jewel thief born in segregated 1930s America. Now 83, she displays little regret for stealing two million dollars worth of jewels. Shot against the backdrop of an ongoing court case, and with the help of dramatized reconstructions, this film has the senior delinquent explaining her modus operandi – and not without a little pride. Exploiting her natural inventiveness and a range of identities, Doris succeeded for decades in purloining expensive rings from jewelry store display cases – thanks also to her engaging charm and attractive appearance. Friends and family comment on Doris’s behavior, who is still unable to resist outwitting jewelers. “She’s not going to stop, it’s like breathing in and breathing out: it is too easy for her,” explains one girlfriend, while another suggests it’s a continuing act of revenge against a society that wouldn’t let a black woman make her dreams come true. Modern investigation techniques meant Doris found it increasingly difficult to get away with her oldfashioned approach using her sleight-of-hand and acting skills. Will the judge send this elderly woman to prison? It all makes for a highly engaging film about bygone days, the romance of an honest-to-goodness jewel caper and the achievements of a recalcitrant lady chasing her own version of the American Dream.
Master of the Universe Marc Bauder
Germany, Austria, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Marc Bauder Photography: Boerres Weiffenbach Editing: Hansjoerg Weissbrich, Rune Schweitzer Production: Marc Bauder for Bauderfilm, Markus Glaser & Nikolaus Geyrhalter & Wolfgang Widerhofer & Michael Kitzberger for NGF Geyrhalterfilm Executive Production: Gunter Hanfgarn World Sales: Autlook Filmsales Screening Copy: Bauderfilm Involved TV Channels: Hessischer Rundfunk, SWR
Marc Bauder:
No Lost Time (2000) Grow or Go (2003) The Communist (2006) Last to Know (2006) The Top-Manager (2007) After the Revolution (2010) The System (fiction, 2011)
Awards: SRG SSR Award Semaine de la Critique Locarno International Film Festival
In a vacant story of a Frankfurt bank building, a former investment banker by the name of Rainer Voss talks openly about the hypnotic daily practice of financial services, which sometimes earned him millions of dollars in a single day. Few questions were asked and the opportunities were limitless in capitalism’s golden decade of the 1980s, meaning that Voss and many other young traders could rise to giddy heights. Now 50 and redundant, he strolls, somewhat timidly, around the deserted trading floor and empty conference rooms. He looks back on those bygone days of megalomania like Gordon Gekko from Wall Street returning to the scene of the crime. Voss thought he was a master of the universe, with his eight monitors and a button that he just had to click to impact events on the other side of the world. But that world became increasingly obscure, the consequences increasingly unpredictable, and in the end the bubble burst. Aside from his personal outpourings, Voss sheds light on the current economic situation in Europe, and he explains why banks are unlikely to change course or operate transparently. This is a unique and disheartening glimpse into a disconnected trade.
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Best of Fests
Menstrual Man Amit Virmani
EUROPEAN PREMIERE In this improbable success story, a poor and uneducated Indian helps supply rural women with sanitary napkins. Muruganantham devoted years to the development of easy-to-produce pads. It’s an enjoyable and briskly paced tale with dark undertones, because menstrual hygiene is far from ideal among India’s poor population, and Muruganantham himself has been cast as suspect and perverse. Infections are common, and menstruation is accompanied by superstition and fear. Something as simple as sanitary napkins can improve the lives of thousands of women. They still play a central role in Muruganantham’s life, and he crisscrosses India setting up factories and transforming himself into quite a social entrepreneur in the process. Dryly humorous, he explains his inspirational vision both to camera and in voice-over, and short scenes from Indian Bollywood films illustrate his words. We follow him to lectures on his unique “women-to-women” business model, and to remote villages where women such as the resolute Guddiya talk about their escape from poverty made possible by the factory: “My mindset has changed. I have built a new life for myself.”
India, Singapore, 2012 HDcam, color, 63 min
Amit Virmani:
Cowboys in Paradise (2009)
Director: Amit Virmani Photography: Amit Virmani Editing: Anand Kundra Production: Kui Luan Seah Executive Production: Kim Sterritt World Sales: Journeyman Pictures Screening Copy: Kui Luan Seah Website: www.menstrualman.com
Mission Congo David Turner, Lara Zizic
EUROPEAN PREMIERE In the wake of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, overcrowded refugee camps sprang up in the neighboring country of Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo. Around this time, American televangelist and multi-millionaire Pat Robertson ran a media blitz on his television station, the Christian Broadcasting Network, to raise money for his charity Operation Blessing. He gave glowing reports of the charity’s relief efforts in Congo, raising donations from viewers eager to assist. Absent from these reports was his simultaneous involvement in a very different mission: diamond mining. Friendly with a brutal dictator and in business with a pastor, Robertson searched for gems deep in the jungle, diverting cargo planes away from the refugee camps to transport mining equipment to a remote part of Congo. Using eyewitnesses, Mission Congo gives an insider’s view into Operation Blessing’s actual accomplishments in the squalid refugee camps, revealing the startling contradiction between what Robertson promised viewers and what others experienced on the ground.
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USA, 2013 DCP, color, 65 min Director: David Turner, Lara Zizic Photography: David Turner, Lara Zizic Screenplay: David Turner, Lara Zizic Editing: Michael Saia, Troy Mercury Sound: Chen Harpaz Music: Murray Gold Production: David Turner & Erin Heidenreich & Lara Zizic for C-Colony Productions World Sales: Cinephil Screening Copy: C-Colony Productions
David Turner:
Wojtek (1999) Sweet Burden (2000) Snowflake (fiction, 2000) Don’t Have, Don’t Give (fiction, 2002)
Lara Zizic:
Isabel Fish (fiction, 2006) Puppies Behind Bars (2007),
David Turner & Lara Zizic:
The Children’s Parliament (2010) Hungry for Change (2013)
Best of Fests
Mothers Huijing Xu
China, 2013 DCP, color, 70 min Director: Huijing Xu Photography: Huijing Xu Editing: Qing-song Liao, Yi-ling Huang Music: Qi Liu Production: Ben Tsiang for CNEX Limited World Sales: CAT&Docs Screening Copy: CAT&Docs
Huijing Xu:
Flyover (2005) River Flow River Bank (2010) Wedding Host (2011) God’s Spokesperson (2011)
Zhang Qing-mei is the director of Woman’s Care, a birth control center in a small Chinese village. At other times the village loudspeaker would be blaring with the sung and spoken praises of Chairman Mao, but she uses it to marshal women to check their compulsory IUDs. The powers that be have announced a change to the quota and twice as many women will have to be sterilized, meaning the single child policy is now exerting an even tighter grip on the village. Those who don’t cooperate have to pay, and those who don’t pay lose their residence and schooling permits for their existing children. We follow Qing-mei and her small group of male co-workers, who include the village’s acting mayor, as they resolutely enforce the policy. They go about their task with all the more dogged determination, now that the increasing proportion of single women means the list for sterilization is shrinking. At the top of the list is Rong-rong, a teacher and mother of two sons, who has already managed to avoid undergoing this painful procedure for a few years. Shots showing the increasing pressure on Rong-rong alternate with indoor scenes in which the mayor conveys his true feelings about the work they are doing. Other interviewees include former directors of Woman’s Care, who paint a picture of the policy throughout the years.
Pandora’s Promise Robert Stone
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 87 min Director: Robert Stone Photography: Robert Stone, Howard Shack Editing: Robert Stone, Don Kleszy Sound: Coll Anderson Music: Gary Lionelli Production: Robert Stone for Robert Stone Productions Co-Production: Impact Partners, Vulcan Productions Executive Production: Dan Cogan World Sales/Screening Copy: The Film Sales Company Involved TV Channel: CNN Website: www.pandoraspromise.com
Robert Stone:
Radio Bikini (1988) Farewell, Good Brothers (1992) American Babylon (2000) Guerilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst (2004) Oswald’s Ghost (2007) Earth Days (2009)
Awards: Best Environmental Documentary Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, Best Documentary Kuala Lumpur Eco Film Festival
GREEN SCREEN
With some films, you just know they are going to play a prominent role in the public debate. Pandora’s Promise is such a film, casting a highly revealing light on perhaps the biggest issue of the moment: the future of our energy supplies. This film is a fervent argument for nuclear power from an unexpected corner, featuring testimony from environment gurus and former anti-nuclear campaigners such as Mark Lynas and Stewart Brand. Filmmaker Robert Stone, who made his debut at the end of the 1980s with the alarming documentary Radio Bikini, about the American atomic tests in the Marshall Islands, has created a film report of their “conversion”: how they came to question the traditional viewpoint of the green movement in relation to atomic power, and arrived at the conclusion that nuclear power offers a hopeful perspective of a future free from fossil fuels. Cynically enough, this ideal has been pushed further and further off the agenda during decades of climate activism. Stylistically, the documentary joins the rhetorical tradition of films such as An Inconvenient Truth and Inside Job. Pandora’s Promise convincingly refutes a number of assumptions about nuclear power, while sketching out an optimistic picture of a clean nuclear future. This film is sure to fuel the discussion of global energy policy for a long time to come.
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Best of Fests
Powerless
Katiyabaaz Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar Power cables fill the sky over the streets of Kanpur, a city in India with three million inhabitants. It’s an intricate tousle of wires, both legal and illegal – the latter strung up by locals. They get their own men in for the job, because the “power company people never showed up.” One of those men is Loha Singh. He’s a true “katiyabaaz,” an Indian Robin Hood of electricity. “Who doesn’t know him?” the owner of a sewing studio says. “Thanks to him we can run our shops. He’s like a hero from the movies!” And the film demonstrates that the storekeepers depend on the katiyabaaz’s services. There are power outages – long ones – and a 16-hour day without power is a common occurrence. “By the light of a half-lit lamp lies all of Kanpur City,” sings a voice at the beginning of the documentary. A new govornment official at Kesco – the first woman to take on this position at the power company – has ambitious plans. She starts a war on the illegal taps and tries to change the system by carrying out raids. The power supply becomes part of a political campaign. Will things change this time?
India, 2013 DCP, color, 82 min
Fahad Mustafa:
Director: Fahad Mustafa, Deepti Kakkar Photography: Amith Surendran, Maria Trieb, Fahad Mustafa Editing: Maria Trieb, Namrata Rao Sound: Kunal Sharma, Vishakha Bokil Music: Amit Kilam, Rahul Ram, Nora Kroll-Rosenbaum Production: Fahad Mustafa & Deepti Kakkar for Globalistan Films Co-Production: ITVS World Sales: CAT&Docs Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Globalistan Films Website: www.powerless-film.com
directing debut
FC Chechnya (2010)
Deepti Kakkar:
Awards: Golden Gateway of India Mumbai Film Festival Pitched at the Forum 2012
Salinger Shane Salerno
For more than 50 years, J. D. Salinger, the ever-elusive author of The Catcher in the Rye, has been the subject of a relentless stream of newspaper and magazine articles as well as several biographies. Yet all of these attempts have been hampered by a fundamental lack of access to the man, and by the persistent recycling of inaccurate information. The complex and contradictory human being behind the myth has never been revealed. Director Shane Salerno and author David Shields attempt to penetrate the author’s meticulously built-up wall with Salinger, released simultaneously as a documentary and a written biography. The project was eight years in the making and includes interviews with hundreds of people, including Salinger’s friends, lovers and colleagues, many of whom have never gone on record before. Also, luminaries such as filmmakers Philip Seymour Hoffman, Martin Sheen and Robert Towne, authors Tom Wolfe, E. L. Doctorow and Gore Vidal, and Pulitzer Prize winners A. Scott Berg and Elizabeth Frank all talk about Salinger’s influence on their lives, their work and culture as a whole. Gaining access to previously unseen film footage, photographs and other materials, the film shows Salinger’s life in full: his childhood, his painstaking work methods, his marriages, his private world and the secrets he left behind after his death in 2010.
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USA, 2013 DCP, color, 120 min Director: Shane Salerno Photography: Buddy Squires, Anthony Savini Editing: Jeffrey Doe, Regis Kimble, Sabine A. Krayenbühl, Langdon Page Sound: Mark Roy Music: Lorne Balfe Production: Shane Salerno for The Story Factory World Sales: The Weinstein Company Distribution for the Netherlands/ Screening Copy: Paradiso Filmed Entertainment Website: www.salingerfilm.com
Shane Salerno:
Sundown: The Future of Children and Drugs (1991)
Best of Fests
The Special Need Carlo Zoratti
Germany, Italy, Austria, 2013 DCP, color, 84 min
Carlo Zoratti:
directing debut
Director: Carlo Zoratti Photography: Julián Elizalde Screenplay: Carlo Zoratti, Cosimo Bizzarri Editing: David Hartmann Sound: Andrea Blasetig Music: Dario Moroldo Production: Henning Kamm for Detailfilm Co-Production: Videomante Screening Copy: Detailfilm Involved TV Channels: RAI 3, ZDF Website: www.thespecialneed.com
Twenty-nine-year old Enea is “super-mega-duper smart and handsome,” but he’s also autistic. He has never had sex but really wants to, and there’s nothing wrong with his body that should stand in his way. As Italy doesn’t offer any legal solution to his problem, Enea embarks on a road trip with his friends Carlo and Alex. They start out at an Austrian brothel, then try a Swiss “sex assistant,” and finally decide to go to Hamburg and meet a group of German sex workers trained to deal with disabled clients. What started out as a quest for sex soon becomes a journey into Enea’s most intimate feelings and a way for his two friends to explore their own conceptions of love, friendship and freedom. The camera acts like a fly on the wall, capturing Enea’s world and the trip with his friends in the spirit of a feel-good movie. They are starry-eyed, carnal, lively and naughty, just as boys can be. But the film also shows how Enea is often forced to sit on the sidelines and watch as others satisfy their desires.
The Trials of Muhammad Ali Bill Siegel
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
USA, 2013 HDcam, color/b&w, 94 min Director: Bill Siegel Photography: Dana Kupper, Andy Black, Ines Sommer Editing: Liz Kaar, Aaron Wickenden Sound: Zak Piper Music: Joshua Abrams Production: Rachel Pikelny for Kartemquin Films Executive Production: Gordon Quinn & Leon Gast & Justine Nagan for Kartemquin Films World Sales: Autlook Filmsales Screening Copy: Kartemquin Films
Bill Siegel & Sam Green:
The Weather Underground (2002)
In 1967, the world’s most famous boxer faced a five-year prison sentence for refusing to serve in the military. It was the time of the Vietnam War, the rise of the Nation of Islam and the aftermath of the murders of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King – an explosive mix of race, religion and war. The boxer joined the Nation of Islam and changed his name from Cassius Clay to Muhammad Ali. For him, the organization offered the possibility of liberation from predominantly white American history and supremacy. It was a personal choice that he stuck to, just like his refusal to sign up and join U.S. forces on the front line in Southeast Asia. His views ended up becoming public knowledge – some groups condemned him while others praised him, leaving his boxing career hanging in the balance. This documentary brings together existing TV footage and photos and new interviews with those who were there at the time – going to show that these shocking events took place not even a lifetime ago.
107
Best of Fests
Ukraine Is Not a Brothel Kitty Green
“After the Soviet Union collapsed, Ukraine was left in crisis. In the 1990s, many Ukrainian women left the country to work in Europe but wound up in brothels. The world sees our country as one big brothel.” This is the modern history of Ukraine from the perspective of a member of Femen, the Ukrainian feminist initiative that communicates its message to the world with the naked feminine body as its medium. Femen wants people “to see Ukraine as a country where naked girls protest, not sell their bodies.” And that’s just the paradox that this documentary exposes. Young and attractive women make the news time and again by ringing church bells or climbing balconies topless, their breasts painted with slogans like “Sextremist” or “My name is democracy.” And of course there’s a man behind all of this: Victor Svatsky, who plays a dubious double role. The naked bodies attract the attention of the entire world. “It’s a marketing strategy,” one of the leaders of Femen tells us. “What’s the difference between a prostitute and a feminist?” another laughs cynically. The girls are very much aware of the paradox that stretches deep into their protest movement, but they don’t know how to escape it, and the unconventional marketing strategy doesn’t come without certain risks.
108
Australia, 2013 DCP, color, 78 min Director: Kitty Green Photography: Michael Latham Editing: Kitty Green Sound: Jed Palmer Music: Jed Palmer, Zoë Barry Production: Jonathan auf der Heide for Noise and Light, Kitty Green, Michael Latham Co-Production: Noise and Light World Sales: Cinephil Screening Copy: Noise and Light Website: www.ukraineisnotabrothel.com
Kitty Green:
She (2006) We Look and See (fiction, 2007) Spilt (2008) Art Nation (2010-2011)
non-Competitive programs Masters In Masters, the festival keeps track of its favorite documentary filmmakers and is presenting 19 new works from renowned auteurs: At Berkeley by Frederick Wiseman (Living Legend Award winner in 2009), Demonstration by Victor Kossakovsky (Top 10 curator at IDFA 2012), and Impressions of Time by Nina Hedenius.
Masters
Ain’t Misbehavin Un voyageur Marcel Ophüls
In this autobiographical documentary by Marcel Ophüls, the famous filmmaker relates the stories of his life. Often told in the locations where the events actually took place, the stories are edited into a continuous chronological story illustrated by archive footage and film excerpts, from his own work and that of others. With his theatrical way of speaking – with a lot of meaningful whispers and dramatic emphasis – Ophüls leads us through both his personal life and the history of Western cinema (and indirectly, political history) of the past century. He goes from his earliest memories, on a film set with his father (the equally famous filmmaker Max Ophüls, born Oppenheimer, 1902-1957), through his experiences in World War II to the highlights of his oeuvre, including the documentary masterpieces Le chagrin et la pitié (1969, Oscar nomination) and Hôtel Terminus (1988, Oscar® and Special Jury Award at IDFA). Ophüls loves to reminisce, including with actress Jeanne Moreau and director Costa-Gavras, and he proudly talks about his films and contacts with celebrities such as Stanley Kubrick and Marlene Dietrich, who once took him to a lesbian club. In this way, he honors François Truffaut’s request that he make a memoir of his life.
France, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 106 min Director: Marcel Ophüls Photography: Pierre Boffety, Vincent Jaglin Editing: Sophie Brunet Sound: Pierre Armand Production: Frank Eskenazi for The Factory Co-Production: Inthemood... World Sales: Wide House Screening Copy: Wide House Involved TV Channel: ARTE France
Marcel Ophüls:
L’amour à vingt ans (1962) Peau de banane (fiction, 1963) Munich or Peace in Our Time (1967) Le chagrin et la pitié (1969) A Sense of Loss (1972) The Memory of Justice (1973-1976) York Town – Le sens d’une victoire (1982) Hotel Terminus (1989) November Days (1991) Veillées d’armes (1994)
American Vagabond Susanna Helke
What can you do if you’re 18, gay, and living with your parents in a conservative part of the United States? James and his boyfriend Tyler head to San Francisco, “the gayest city in the world,” but all hope of a warm gay welcome soon evaporates. San Francisco isn’t particularly hospitable for penniless newcomers, and the boys end up on the streets in the shadow of the city – along with dozens of other gay teenagers who have been kicked out of their homes. At night James and Tyler sleep in the park, while during the day they search for work and a new life. But when summer ends and the rain comes, James has to face his past. With American Vagabond, director Susanna Helke has created an atmospheric and powerfully visual coming-of-age portrait. She also explores the boundary between classical documentary and creating an emotional experience. We hear James telling his story in voice-over over a hypnotic soundtrack accompanying shots of nocturnal San Francisco. In the second half of the film, the focus shifts to James’s relationship with his parents. Will they be able to conquer their fears about their son?
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Finland, Denmark, 2013 DCP, color, 85 min
Susanna Helke:
Director: Susanna Helke Photography: Susanna Helke, Marko Luukkonen Editing: Niels Pagh Andersen Music: Samuli Kosminen Production: Cilla Werning for For Real Productions Oy Co-Production: Radiator Film ApS World Sales: Deckert Distribution GmbH Screening Copy: Finnish Film Foundation Website: www.americanvagabondfilm.com
The Sin (1998) White Sky (1998) The Idle Ones (2001) Along the Road Little Child (2005)
Playground (2010)
Susanna Helke & Virpi Suutari:
Masters
The Armstrong Lie Alex Gibney
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 122 min Director: Alex Gibney Photography: Ben Bloodwell, Maryse Alberti Screenplay: Alex Gibney Editing: Andy Grieve, Tim Squyres, Lindy Jankura Production: Alex Gibney for Jigsaw Productions Executive Production: Matthew Tolmach for Matt Tolmach Productions, Frank Marshall for The Kennedy/Marshall Company World Sales: Sony Pictures Classics Screening Copy: Universal Pictures International
Alex Gibney:
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005) Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010) Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
In 2008, director Alex Gibney started filming Lance Armstrong’s comeback attempt at the 2009 Tour de France. “We wouldn’t be sitting here if I hadn’t come back,” Armstrong said in his 2013 TV interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which he finally admitted his systematic use of performance-enhancing drugs. The same year, Gibney edited together an exhaustive report on the period during which Armstrong lost not only his record number of Tour victories (seven, 1999-2005), but also – having for years maintained that as a cancer survivor he would never use such drugs – his position as chair of the Lance Armstrong Foundation for cancer victims. Supported by tense music, the documentary (which takes its title from a headline in the French sports paper L’Équipe, “Le mensonge Armstrong”) shows how the charismatic Armstrong kept everyone around him in line for years, and attacked when he needed to. “You’re not worth the chair you’re sitting on,” he snarled in 2009 at Paul Kimmage, a journalist who doggedly investigated his doping use. Gibney reveals that doping doctor Michele Ferrari continued to give Armstrong “advice” even after their contact had been officially ended, and shows how a tour bus stopped among the crowds watching the Tour, allegedly with a breakdown, but in reality to give the Armstrong team a blood transfusion.
The Art of Observing Life Marina Goldovskaya
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, Russia, 2013 HDcam, color/b&w, 71 min Director: Marina Goldovskaya Photography: Marina Goldovskaya Editing: Esther Shubinski Production: George Herzfield, Vivian Umino Executive Production: Robert Rosen Screening Copy: Different By Design
Marina Goldovskaya:
Valentina Tereshkova (1972), This Is Our Possesion (1973), Arkadiy Raykin (1975), The Experiment (1978), Pouskin and Pouschin (1980), After the Harvest (1981), Hello, It Is Beduliya Speaking (1985), For the Theatre to Be (1987), Tumbalalaika in America (1988), I Am 90, My Steps Are Light (1989), More than Love (1991), A Taste of Freedom (1991), The Shattered Mirror (1992), The Children of Ivan Kuzmich (1997), A Poet on The Lower East Side (1998) The Prince Is Back (1999), Anatoly Rybakov: The Russian Story (2006), A Bitter Taste of Freedom (2010) a.o.
Over an extended period of time, the celebrated documentary director Marina Goldovskaya interviewed a number of her fellow filmmakers, all pioneers of the American documentary, including some who have since died. The directors she interviewed are Richard Leacock, Albert Maysles, D. A. Pennebaker, Robert and Anne Drew, Chris Hegedus, Jonas Mekas, Lionel Rogosin, Allan King and Michael Rubbo. They talk in their living rooms about making films that are now considered milestones in the history of documentary cinema. Drew, Leacock, Maysles and Pennebaker discuss the designing of a light, portable sync sound camera for Primary, which set a new standard for documentary making and introduced cinema verité to the U.S. We are also present during master classes led by greats from the documentary world, whose dedication and experience are an inspiration to all. You might say that The Art of Observing Life is itself a master class. What the interviewees all share is their search for ways of capturing the full complexity of life, and this film is an homage to the documentary and some of its most notable figures.
111
Masters
At Berkeley Frederick Wiseman
Founded in 1868, the University of California, Berkeley is still the most prestigious public university in the United States. But how long will the institution be able to uphold its reputation in the face of ever-decreasing investment from the state of California? After all, excellent education and outstanding research cost money, so who will pay the bills? If students have to pay more, this erodes the public nature of the university, while staff layoffs impair the quality of the education offered. Meanwhile, allowing businesses to invest in academic research leads to conflicts of interest. During these troubled economic times, Frederick Wiseman arrives on campus. As we would expect of him, he films extensive footage of all aspects of this illustrious institution. We follow inspirational lectures, attend seminars, are shown how to analyze literature, see researchers tinkering with robots and, in brief intermezzos, experience the leafy campus where students from all over the world rub shoulders. Wiseman accomplishes this all without intervening, conducting interviews, providing background information or offering any additional soundtrack. At the same time, the film subtly builds towards its climax: while everyday university life carries on, groups of students prepare for a demonstration against the cuts. On the other hand, the university administration works to maintain Berkeley’s high standards, integrity and scholarly achievements.
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 244 min Director: Frederick Wiseman Photography: John Davey Editing: Frederick Wiseman Sound: Frederick Wiseman Production: Frederick Wiseman for Zipporah Films World Sales: Doc & Film International Screening Copy: Doc & Film International
Frederick Wiseman:
Titicut Follies (1967), High School (1968), Basic Training (1971), Primate (1974), Welfare (1975), Model (1980), Seraphita’s Diary (fiction, 1980), Racetrack (1985), Adjustment and Work (1986), Deaf (1986), MultiHandicapped (1986), Missile (1987), Blind (1987), Near Death (1989), Aspen (1991), Central Park (1991), Zoo (1993), High School II (1994), Ballet (1995), Public Housing (1997), Belfast, Main (1999), Domestic Violence (2001), Domestic Violence 2 (2002), The Garden (2005), State Legislature (2007), Boxing Gym (2010), Crazy Horse (2011) a.o.
Capitalism at Crossroad Street Kapitalisms Skersiela Ivars Seleckis
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
How do you show a society in transition? Take a street, its residents and the observing eye of a camera. This is just what happened on Crossroad Street, a surprisingly rural back street in the middle of the Latvian capital of Riga. Veteran filmmaker Ivars Seleckis filmed The Crossroad Street (1988, winner of the Joris Ivens Award at IDFA 1989) just before the fall of the Berlin Wall. He returned in 1999 shortly after Latvia’s independence to film New Times at Crossroad Street. Now that the financial crisis might be spelling an end to the capitalist dream, Seleckis is headed back one more time. In voiceover, he offers mildly ironic commentary on the daily routine of the residents, like Daiga, a single mom who is trying to keep her head above water. Then there’s the undertaker and amateur theologian Aldis, who believes that the Apocalypse is nigh. We bear witness to the highs and the lows of the close-knit community: the Midsummer festivities, the annual canoe race and Aldis’s financial ruin and subsequent loss of his Jacuzzi. In short interviews, the Crossroaders reflect on their lives in uncertain times, just as Seleckis occasionally looks back at excerpts from his earlier films. Despite the crisis, the residents persevere. As Daiga says, “We survived Russian times, so we just have to weather these times, too.”
112
Latvia, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 102 min Director: Ivars Seleckis Photography: Ivars Seleckis, Romualds Pipars Screenplay: Talivaldis Margevics Editing: Romualds Pipars Sound: Aivars Riekstins Music: Ivars Makstnieks Narration: Talivaldis Margevics Narrator: Juris Gornavs Production: Baiba Urbane for European Documentary Film Symposiums Screening Copy: European Documentary Film Symposiums
Ivars Seleckis:
Encounters in Guinea (1968), Valmiera Girls (1970), The Widening of the World (1980), The Manager (1980), Latvia from a Bird’s View (1984), The Maestro Without Tailcoat (1985), Our Talis (1986), The Crossroad Street (1988), Latvia, August 1989 (1989), Solitude (1990), Eduard Shevarnadze: From Past to Future (1992), Come Down, Pale Moon! (1994), Crocodile’s Move (1995), Salty Life (1996), Leeward Side (1998), New Times at Crossroad Street (1999), Primadonna on Rollerskates (2002), In the Shade of the Oak Tree (2007) a.o.
Masters
The Crash Reel Lucy Walker
USA, 2013 HDcam, color, 108 min Director: Lucy Walker Photography: Nick Higgins Screenplay: Lucy Walker, Pedro Kos Editing: Pedro Kos Production: Lucy Walker, Julian Cautherley for Good N’ Proper Executive Production: Sheila Nevins for HBO Documentary Films, Geralyn Dreyfous for Impact Partners, Dan Cogan for Impact Partners World Sales: The Film Sales Company Screening Copy: The Film Sales Company Involved TV Channel: HBO Enterprises Website: thecrashreel.com/
It all seems as easy as pie for 22-year-old snowboarding champion Kevin Pearce: he wins race after race, has a shot at getting into the Olympics and beats his rival Shaun White time and again. Then, on December 31, 2009, he falls while attempting a risky jump, sustaining a brain injury and ending up in a coma for 10 days. But as soon as he begins Lucy Walker: to recover, Kevin only wants one thing: to get back to freestyle snowboarding. With the Devil’s Playground (2002) help of home movies and spectacular race footage, filmmaker Lucy Walker recounts the Blindsight (2006) Countdown to Zero (2010) athlete’s growing success and dramatic fall. After three months of convalescence, Walker Waste Land (2010) captures the conversation between Kevin and his family, who can’t understand why he The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom (2011) would want to put his life in danger all over again. And just what is the effect of his brain www.lucywalkerfilm.com injury? In whatever case, Kevin knows what he wants: “I want that feeling back.” Accompanied by footage of their dramatic accidents, fellow athletes discuss the terrible injuries Awards: Audience Award SXSW Film they sustained. The film reflects upon the ethics of professional sports: should athletes be Festival, Audience Award Dallas International Film Festival, People’s protected from themselves? And aren’t we the audience complicit if we are drooling over Choice Melbourne International death-defying antics? Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature Port Townsend Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature New Hampshire Film Festival
Pitched at the Forum 2012
Death Row II Werner Herzog
USA, 2012 DCP, color, 4 x 52 min Director: Werner Herzog Photography: Dave Roberson Editing: Marco Capalbo Music: Mark Degli Antoni Production: Erik Nelson for Creative Differences Executive Production: Lucki Stipetic for Werner Herzog Filmproduktion, Dave Harding for Creative Differences Screening Copy: Werner Herzog Filmproduktion
Werner Herzog:
Herakles (1962), The Flying Doctors of East Africa (1969), Fata Morgana (1970), Stroszek (fiction, 1976), Woyzeck (fiction, 1979), Fitzcarraldo (fiction, 1982), Lessons of Darkness (1992), Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997), My Best Fiend (1999), Wings of Hope (1999), Grizzly Man (2005), Rescue Dawn (2006), Encounters at the End of the World (2007), The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans (fiction, 2009), Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), Into the Abyss (2011), Death Row (2012) a.o.
www.wernerherzog.com
The death penalty still exists in 33 states in the U.S., although in recent years far fewer are actually implementing capital punishment. Legendary director Werner Herzog describes this follow-up to his 2012 series On Death Row as “finishing an unfinished business”. He speaks at length with four death row inmates in candid interviews about their crimes and life behind bars. Blaine Milam was the youngest death row inmate in Texas when he was convicted, after he and his girlfriend killed her 13-month-old daughter during an attempted exorcism. Robert Fratta hired two hit men to kill his wife because she wanted to divorce him; inmates and guards describe him as the most frightening person they have ever seen. Darlie Routier stabbed her two young sons to death, for she felt they had begun to interfere with her life of parties and beauty parlors. Douglas Feldman fatally shot and killed two truck drivers in the space of an hour, riding up beside the trucks on a motorcycle and firing into the cabs. Herzog opens all four episodes with a disclaimer of sorts making his own position clear: “As a German, coming from a different historical background and being a guest in the United States, I respectfully disagree with the practice of capital punishment.”
113
Masters
Demonstration
Victor Kossakovsky & 32 Students WORLD PREMIERE On March 29, 2012, Spain experienced mass strikes against the government’s farreaching austerity plans. In the center of Barcelona, protests got out of hand and a small army of police armed with rubber bullets was needed to subdue the crowd. People congregated everywhere, fires were started and shops and offices closed down. Remarkably, the doors of the Opera House, where that day Léon Minkus’s Don Quixote was on the program, remained open. On this day, 32 film students from the Master of Creative Documentary course at the Pompeu Fabra University also took to the streets, with their cameras and Russian documentary maker Victor Kossakovsky, to make a film documenting the events of that day. The end result is a “film ballet,” consisting primarily of footage of the streets and squares shot from various perspectives. The images filmed on the streets are accompanied by Minkus’s music, mostly without ambient sound, which makes for an alienating effect.
Russia, Spain, 2013 HDcam, color, 70 min Director: Victor Kossakovsky & 32 Students Production: Victor Kossakovsky for Kossakovsky Film Production, Master in Creative Documentary Pompeu Fabra University Executive Production: Eva Vila World Sales: Kossakovsky Film Production Screening Copy: Eva Vila
Victor Kossakovsky:
Losev (1989) The Other Day (1991) Belovy (1993) Wednesday 19.07.1961 (1997) I Loved You (2000) Tishe! (2003) Svyato (2005) ¡Vivan las Antípodas! (2011) DisplAir (2012)
Happiness Thomas Balmès
WORLD PREMIERE Bhutan is one of the least developed countries in the world. There is barely any industry, and electricity was not commonplace until very recently. This meant that people led their lives without TV, let alone Internet. But both arrived at last in 1999, following an official announcement by King Jigme Singye Wangchuk. The advent of electricity was revolutionary for the tiny mountainside villages in this Himalayan kingdom. Peyangki is a dreamy and solitary eight-year-old monk who lives in the last village to get hooked up. In anticipation of this big event, Peyangki’s uncle decides to buy a TV set, which will take a three-day journey to Bhutan’s capital of Thimpu. Peyangki will go along on the trip, his first foray into the big city. “Do you expect TV to make you happy?” asks the lama of the last five monks at Peyangki’s monestery. The answer is a resounding “Yes.” The gorgeous shots of the scenery speak more than the people in this film, in which Thomas Balmès his tradition of being a silent witness to cultural developments around the world.
114
France, Finland, 2013 DCP, color, 75 min Director: Thomas Balmès Photography: Nina Bernfield, Thomas Balmès Editing: Ronan Sinquin, Alexandre Cardon Sound: Rajender Prasad, Sukanta Majumdar Production: Patrick Winocour & Juliette Guigon for Quark Productions, Kaarle Aho for Making Movies Oy Co-Production: TBC Productions Executive Production: Thomas Balmès for TBC Productions Screening Copy: TBC Productions Involved TV Channels: BOS, BBC, PBS, NHK, ARTE France
Thomas Balmès:
Maharadjah Burger (1997) The Gospel According to the Papuans (1999) Waiting for Jesus (2000) The Gospel According to the Papuans (2000) Christ Comes to the Papuans (2001) A Decent Factory (2004) How Much is Your Life Worth (2007) Babies (2010)
www.thomasbalmes.com Pitched at the Forum 2011
Masters
Human Geography Géographie humaine Claire Simon
France, 2013 DCP, color, 101 min Director: Claire Simon Photography: Claire Simon Editing: Catherine Rascon, Luc Forveille Sound: Sylvain Copans, Thomas Gastinel, Olivier Hespel Production: Richard Copans for Les Films d’Ici Co-Production: Film Factory Entertainment, Vosges Télévision Screening Copy: Les Films d’Ici
Claire Simon:
Les patients (1989) Recreations (1992) Coûte que coûte (1995) Sinon, oui (fiction, 1997) Mimi (2002) 800 km de différence – Romance (2000) Ça brûle (fiction, 2006) Les bureaux de Dieu (fiction, 2008) Gare du Nord (fiction, 2013)
Large numbers of travelers pass through the world-famous Parisian train station Gare du Nord every day, and director Claire Simon (Les bureaux de Dieu, Ça brûle) took her camera there to meet them. Her documentary forms part of a larger multimedia project that also includes a feature film entitled Gare du nord and an accompanying website. In the introduction to this film, Simon explains that, “To get to know Gare du Nord, it requires at least two people.” So she invites her French-Algerian boyfriend Simon Mérabet to join her. Seemingly without effort, this amiable man invariably wearing a long coat and carrying a backpack seems able to elicit remarkable life stories. People speak to him openheartedly about their homesickness, doubts, joys and dreams of the future. This mix of vacationers, business travelers, immigrants, semi-permanent inhabitants and workers make up the melting pot of cultures and stories. They’re all doing their best to survive in France’s complex society. The many conversations – some lengthy, some consisting of single sentences – are interspersed with atmospheric shots of life passing by on the platforms and in the extensive network of passageways. This is a documentary portrait both of a train station and its reflection of a society touched by globalization.
Impressions of Time Lakttagelser i tiden Nina Hedenius
Sweden, 2012 DCP, color/black-and-white, 95 min Director: Nina Hedenius Photography: Nina Hedenius Editing: Nina Hedenius, Ulf Neidemar Production: Nina Hedenius Film Screening Copy: SVT Involved TV Channel: SVT
Nina Hedenius:
Från en gård (1970) Människor på landet (1972) Rundö (1973) Olika världar (1986) Likt vinden far min längtan (1988) Det speglar i mitt öga (1992) The Old Man in the Cottage (1996) Från Sverige i tiden (2000) Christian – vårterminen 1999 (2000) The Art of Cleaning (2003) Way of Nature (2008)
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
In this poetic film essay, Nina Hedenius poses some fundamental questions: where do I come from? Where are we going, both as a society and as a species? What is the meaning of our existence? What, exactly, is time? Hedenius draws ample material from these questions in an investigation that reflects on her own body of work, which covers almost half a century. Throughout the years she has recorded scenes from daily life, both sublime and mundane: from the birth of a child, a Christmas celebration and the wait for inevitable death to a child being read a story and the mopping of a floor. She uses these fragments from the past in an attempt to interpret the present. Making ample use of contrasts, she compiles a series of images that sketch a profile of time. The silence of a house in the twilight blends with anonymous street views. The rural world from films like The Old Man in the Cottage (1996) and Way of Nature (2008) juxtaposes with the hustle and bustle of modern times. The sober life of the old farmer contrasts starkly with the hyper-consumerism of today. We are increasingly oriented towards the exterior, explains the voice-over, to the detriment of content and substance.
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Masters
The Irresistible Rise of Moïse Katumbi L’irrésistible ascension de Moïse Katumbi Thierry Michel
Meet Moïse Katumbi, big-time entrepreneur and director of the Tout Puissant Mazembe soccer team in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He is also the governor of Katanga, a province whose huge mineral wealth, totaling 80 percent of the nation’s resources, is of huge importance to the country’s economy. Katumbi’s political “program” consists primarily of making big promises and bestowing countless gifts and favors on people and organizations to further his popularity. This approach has allowed him to build a personality cult in good Congolese tradition. The film crew accompanies him on working visits where he is cheered by employees who are invariably underpaid and do dangerous and unhealthy jobs without any form of labor protection. We also hear from journalists about his intimate business relationships with foreign investors who have their eyes set on Katanga’s mineral wealth but have no interest in improving working conditions. Although Katumbi’s duplicity inevitably causes disappointment among his supporters, he repeatedly manages to mobilize the support of the poorly educated rural population. These are instructive insights into the workings of populism, and a glimpse of DR Congo’s future, which will surely have a place for Katumbi.
Belgium, 2012 DCP, color, 83 min Director: Thierry Michel Photography: Thierry Michel Editing: Idriss Gabel Sound: Michel Goossens Narration: Martin Spinhayer Production: Christine Pireaux for Les Films de la Passerelle Screening Copy: Les Films de la Passerelle Involved TV Channels: RTBF, RTS, VOO Website: www.moise-lefilm.com Awards: Jury Award International Panafrican Film Festival
Thierry Michel:
Farm of Fir (1971), Black Country, Red Country (1975), Chronicle of the Seasons of Steel (1980), Private Hotel (1985), Emergency Exit (fiction, 1987), Aid for Somalia: A Losing Battle (1994), Post-Colonial Nostalgia (1995), The Last Colonials (1995), Donka, the X-Ray of an African Hospital (1996), Mobutu, King of Zaire (1999), Iran, sous le voile des apparences (2002), Congo River (2005), Katanga Business (2009), Mine of Worries in Katanga (2009), Ore and Lore (2009), Metamorphosis of a Station (2010), Katanga, the War for Copper (2010), The Chebeya Affair: A State Crime? (2011)
Just the Right Amount of Violence Jon Bang Carlsen
“No matter how old we get, the wounds that our parents gave us will never heal,” says Danish director Jon Bang Carlsen, who had a less than close relationship with his own father. In the well-heeled suburbs of Los Angeles, he follows “interventionists” who (with parental permission) drag problem teenagers from their beds and take them to a strict “reeducation school” in Utah. While Carlsen tells the personal story of his father’s disappearance, he wonders about the extent to which the teenagers are really the problem, and about what role their parents play. Accompanied by his personal, ironic commentary, Carlsen gives the viewer a glimpse behind the façade of peaceable-looking middle-class family life in L.A. – capital of the world of make believe. He contrasts cheerful home movies with scenes in which parents betray their children by having them taken away by strangers, against their will. Carlsen takes the motto of this subjective film, which he refers to as a form of “dramatized verité,” from Nietzsche: “There are no facts, only interpretations.” At the end, he tells us why he chose to stage some of the film in his search for the truth.
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Denmark, 2013 DCP, color, 83 min Director: Jon Bang Carlsen Photography: Jacek Laskus, Mike Alba Editing: Morten Giese, Hilda Rasula, Rikke Selin Sound: Jess Wolfsberg Production: Helle Ulsteen for Kamoli Films Screening Copy: Danish Film Institute
Jon Bang Carlsen:
A Rich Man (1979), Hotel of the Stars (1981), The Phoenix Bird (1984), Before the Guests Arrive (1986), Ich bin auch ein Berliner (1990), It’s Now or Never (1996), How to Invent Reality (1996), Addicted to Solitude (1999), Portrait of God (2001), Zuma the Puma (2002), Confessions of an Old Teddy (2004), Blinded Angels (2006), Purity Beats Everything (2007)
www.jonbangcarlsen.com
Masters
The Last of the Unjust Le dernier des injustes Claude Lanzmann
France, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 210 min Director: Claude Lanzmann Photography: William Lubtchansky Editing: Chantal Hymans Sound: Antoine Bonfanti Production: David Frenkel for Synecdoche Films Co-Production: Le Pacte World Sales: Le Pacte Screening Copy: Le Pacte Involved TV Channel: France 3
Claude Lanzmann:
Israel, Why (1973) Shoah (1985) Tsahal (1994) A Visitor from the Living (1997) Sobibor, October 14, 1943, 4PM (2001) The Karski Report (2010)
Benjamin Murmelstein survived Theresienstadt concentration camp, where he was one of the “elders” on the Jewish Council. There are mixed feelings in the Jewish community about the role played by this former rabbi in Vienna. Filmmaker Claude Lanzmann interviewed Murmelstein way back in 1975 for his magnum opus Shoah, a nine-and-a-half hour documentary containing interviews with Holocaust survivors and eyewitnesses. In the end, Lanzmann decided not to include Murmelstein in Shoah, so he used the material for this separate film. The now 87-year-old filmmaker pays a visit to Theresienstadt, the “model concentration camp” conceived by SS leader Adolf Eichmann. Here, Lanzmann reflects on the course of history. He intersperses the old material and an extensive eyewitness account by Murmelstein with extracts from his memoirs. This only surviving elder from the camp describes how for many years he attempted to negotiate with Eichmann to let 100,000 Jewish Austrians leave the country. His stories give a different impression of Eichmann’s personality, and it means the film sheds new light on several crucial events along the road to the final horrors of the Holocaust. The filmmaker also reveals the cruel dilemmas that the members of the Jewish Council faced.
Pipeline Truba Vitaly Mansky
Russia, Germany, Czech Republic, 2013 DCP, color, 121 min Director: Vitaly Mansky Photography: Alexandra Ivanova Editing: Pavel Mendel-Ponamarev Sound: Dmitry Nazarov Production: Natalia Manskaya for Vertov. Real cinema Co-Production: Hypermarket Film, Saxonia Entertainment GmbH World Sales: Deckert Distribution GmbH Screening Copy: Deckert Distribution GmbH Involved TV Channel: Czech Television
GREEN SCREEN
Vitaly Mansky:
Bumerang (1988), Post (1990), Lenin’s Body (1991), Cuts of Another War (1993), Bliss (1995), Elcin: Another Life (2001), Putin: The Leap Year (2001), Broadway: The Black Sea (2002), t.A.T.u.’s Anatomy (2003), Our Homeland (2006), Virginity (2008), Dawn/Sunset: Dalai Lama 14 (2008), Beginning (2009) Nikolina Gora: Epilogue (2009), Motherland or Death (2011) a.o.
Awards: Best Documentary Film over 30 minutes Karlovy Vary International Film Festival a.o.
The Urengoy-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline was laid in 1983. It connected the secondlargest gas field in the world in Urengoy, West Siberia with the Western European market. The 4,500-kilometer (2,800-mile) pipeline has since become one of the Russian economy’s most vital arteries, with Vladimir Putin claiming that gas and oil revenues are good for half of Russia’s disposable capital. For 104 days, renowned director Vitaly Mansky and his crew traveled from the Siberian fringe of Europe through seven different countries to film life along the route connecting the two extremities of the continent. Not everybody benefits from Russia’s gas wealth, and the daily struggle is palpable. Mansky sometimes records a story in a literal fashion, but more often he reveals himself as an observer attempting to link all those different lives in beautifully filmed scenes. He ignores the geopolitical issues running beneath the surface, creating space for personal stories. Every place he visits in this road movie makes for a unique miniature: a group of men pulling out a load of stinking dead fish from an ice-hole in freezing Siberia; a wedding celebration on the border between Asia and Europe; the desperate attempts to dig a grave in the frozen ground; and a traveling clergyman trying to get converts with a train for a church.
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Masters
The Secret Life of Uri Geller – Psychic Spy? Vikram Jayanti INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE We mainly know the great mentalist Uri Geller for bending spoons and reading minds, but every once in a while, the Israeli showman hints at something about espionage, contacts with the CIA and secret missions. Is his role as an entertainer really a front for something totally different? Is Uri Geller a psychic spy? In this documentary, Geller’s claims are put to the test in interviews with people in the know, and these aren’t just any old people. Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, Apollo 14 astronaut Edgar Mitchell, various researchers from the Stanford Research Institute and former CIA agents talk about their meetings and experiences with Geller. Director Vikram Jayanti begins the quest for Geller’s identity back in the 1960s and presents archive footage related to all of Geller’s tall tales, accompanied by appropriate music or pop tunes from the period. In interviews, we can sometimes hear the director laughing, but as weird as things get, his film doesn’t pass judgment. When asked how he prefers to see himself, Geller tells us, “I love the mystery around it. A step before the truth, that’s Uri Geller.”
UK, 2013 video, color, 90 min Director: Vikram Jayanti Photography: David Falconer Rea Editing: Emma Matthews Sound: David Keene Music: Nicholas Singer Narration: Vikram Jayanti Production: Bruce Burgess for Spring Films, Vikram Jayanti for VIXPIX Films Ltd. Executive Production: Andre Singer for Spring Films World Sales: Spring Films Screening Copy: Spring Films
Vikram Jayanti:
James Ellroy’s Feast of Death (2001) Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine (2003) The Agony and the Ecstasy of Phil Spector (2009) Snowblind (2009) Rolf Harris Paints His Dream (2010) a.o.
Sex My British Job Nick Broomfield
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE London is home to an estimated 2,000 brothels, and 80 percent of the prostitutes are foreigners, most of them illegal. This film was shot quite literally from the viewpoint of undercover reporter Hsiao Hung Pai, who worked illegally as a cleaner in a claustrophobic brothel for several weeks and used spy camera glasses to record the goings on there – while coming under increasing pressure to prostitute herself. This intensely subjective approach means the film offers unusually personal insight into what drives undocumented Asian immigrants to become prostitutes, into the inhuman conditions in which they live, and especially into how inexperienced women are drawn into the world of the brothel. Comments such as “A blow job without a condom is normal” and “You will eventually lose your self-esteem” stand in stark contrast to the sugary-sweet Chinese feel-good music on the soundtrack. The film consists predominantly of diary-like reports accompanied by Hsiao’s voiceover, conversations with prostitutes and pimps in the brothel, and scenes of the women preparing to receive their clients, who appear and disappear in the stairwell. In intermezzos we see Hsiao handing over rushes to director Nick Broomfield, often seated in a car where they briefly discuss the state of affairs.
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UK, 2013 video, color, 63 min Director: Nick Broomfield Photography: Hsiao Hung Pai Editing: Ian Davies Production: Marc Hoeferlin for Lafayette Film Screening Copy: Lafayette Film Involved TV Channel: Channel 4
Nick Broomfield:
Who Cares (1970), Proud to Be British (1972), Behind the Rent Strike (1973), Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1993), Tracking Down Maggie: The Unofficial Biography of Margaret Thatcher (1994), Heidi Fleiss – Hollywood Madam (1995), Kurt & Courtney (1998), Biggie & Tupac (2002), Sarah Palin: You Betcha! (2011) a.o.
Nick Broomfield & Joan Churchill:
Juvenile Liaisons (1975), Soldier Girls (1980), Lily Tomlin (1986), Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)
www.nickbroomfield.com
Masters
The Unknown Known Errol Morris
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 104 min Director: Errol Morris Photography: Robert Chappell Editing: Steven Hathaway Music: Danny Elfman Production: Errol Morris, Robert Fernandez & Amanda Branson Gill for Moxie Pictures Executive Production: Diane Weyermann & Jeff Skoll for Participant Media, Julian P. Hobbs & Dirk Hoogstra & Molly Thompson for History Films World Sales: HanWay Films Screening Copy: HanWay Films
Errol Morris:
Gates of Heaven (1978) Vernon, Florida (1981) The Thin Blue Line (1988) A Brief History of Time (1991) Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997) Stairway to Heaven (1998) Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) The Fog of War (2003) Standard Operating Procedure (2008) Tabloid (2010)
www.errolmorris.com
In The Unknown Known, Academy Award®-winning director Errol Morris offers a mesmerizing portrait of Donald Rumsfeld, the larger-than-life figure who served as George W. Bush’s secretary of defense and as the principal architect of the Iraq War. Rather than conducting a conventional interview, Morris has Rumsfeld perform and explain his “snowflakes,” the enormous archive of memos he wrote across almost 50 years in Congress, the White House, in business, and twice at the Pentagon. The memos provide a window into history – not as it actually happened, but as Rumsfeld wants us to see it. Morris pays special attention to Rumsfeld’s linguistic gymnastics. Indeed, the title of the documentary is taken from a much-quoted Rumsfeld aphorism: “There are known knowns, there are known unknowns, there are unknown unknowns, but there are also unknown knowns: things that you think you know but that it turns out you did not.” But by focusing on the snowflakes, with their conundrums and contradictions, Morris takes us beyond this web of words and into the unfamiliar terrain of Rumsfeld’s mind, showing how the ideas, fears and certainties of one man, written out on paper, transformed America, changed the course of history – and led to war.
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non-Competitive programs Panorama In Panorama, the festival is presenting 33 films that are thought-provoking in their form and choice of theme.
Panorama
Aim High in Creation Anna Broinowski
EUROPEAN PREMIERE Anna Broinowski lives in a small, peaceful village in Australia, but the peace will potentially be gone for good if a company is allowed to start drilling for gas nearby. Broinowski is worried, both about what the drilling will do to the local nature and the possible effects on her daughter’s health. Inspired by revolutionary North Korean cinema, she sets out to make a propaganda film aimed at stopping the gas drilling. She travels to North Korea, where the country’s best filmmakers show her how to make a film in which the “bad local politicians” are defeated by the “heroic, hardworking citizens.” With the film rules of Great Leader Kim Jung Il as her guide, she apprentices with a North Korean director, takes acting and taekwondo lessons, and learns about film music. She also meets with people from the film industry, who on the one hand choose their words with the utmost caution, but on the other show genuine warmth. Back in Australia, her cast is drilled at a veritable Kim Jong Il boot camp, set up by Broinowski to help them convey true Socialist emotion. This amusing and thoughtful documentary brings North Korean and Western cinema closer together. And Broinowski takes the tips from her North Korean counterparts to heart: the camerawork, editing and music in the documentary all show elements derived from North Korean films.
Australia, 2013 DCP, color, 96 min Director: Anna Broinowski Photography: Nicola Daley, Geoffrey Simpson Editing: Cindy Clarkson, Karryn de Cinque Sound: Craig Carter, Andrew Neil Music: Pae Yong Sam, Dale Cornelius Production: Lizzette Atkins for Unicorn Films World Sales: High Point Media Group Screening Copy: High Point Media Group Website: www.aimhighincreation.com/
Anna Broinowski:
Helen’s War (2004) Forbidden Lie$ (2007)
GREEN SCREEN
Barbaric Land
Pays barbare Angela Ricci-Lucchi, Yervant Gianikian “Every era has its fascism.” Barbaric Land is the latest film in the militant oeuvre of artist couple Yervant Gianikian and Angela Ricci-Lucchi. It is a journey through history aimed at gaining a better understanding of our own era. They unearthed a wealth of material – from private archives and collections belonging to anonymous individuals – relating to Italian imperialism in the 1920s and 1930s. We see Mussolini visiting Libya, military parades in Italian cities, and Italian incursions into “primitive and barbaric” Ethiopia. A European gets a young African woman to display her breasts for the camera. There are shriveled corpses of people and cattle, all victims of a gas attack during the colonial war. Gianikian and Ricci-Lucchi have combined painful, horrific and disturbing images to evoke a hallucinatory trip in which the often timeworn photos and film excerpts are slowed, colored and re-photographed, and accompanied by music or half-spoken, half-sung commentary. By forcing our attention onto the material aspect of the photographic and cinematic image, the directors have raised questions about its role. Is it simply a witness, or an accomplice, or is it an instrument serving racism, demagoguery, the lust for power and the glorification of violence?
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France, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 65 min Director: Angela Ricci-Lucchi, Yervant Gianikian Photography: Yervant Gianikian, Angela Ricci-Lucchi Editing: Angela Ricci Lucchi, Yervant Gianikian Music: Giovanna Marini, Ullrich Kasten Production: Sylvie Brenet & Serge Lalou for Les Films d’Ici Screening Copy: Les Films d’Ici
Angela Ricci-Lucchi & Yervant Gianikian:
Catalogo 9,5 – Karagöez (1981) Du pôle à l’équateur (1986) Hommes, années, vie (1990) Prisonniers de la guerre (1995) Sur les cimes tout est calme (1998) Oh! Uomo (2004) a.o.
Panorama
Crustaceans
Crustáceos Vicente Perez Herrero
Spain, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 90 min Director: Vicente Perez Herrero Photography: Vicente Perez Herrero Editing: Vicente Perez Herrero Music: Lucia Perez Prat, Domingo Sanchez Narrator: Teresa Vallejo Production: Vicente Perez Herrero for Tiempos Dificiles Films Screening Copy: Tiempos Dificiles Films
Vicente Perez Herrero:
La vida privada (fiction, 1999) Código natural (fiction, 2000) Bestiario (fiction, 2001) Cien maneras de acabar con el amor (fiction, 2003) La piel vendida (2005) Corazón de jade (2006) Malamuerte (fiction, 2009) Flamenco from the Roots (2011)
WORLD PREMIERE
An ode to love in the time of crisis, unrest, agitation, violence, pain and hope. Crustaceans is set against the backdrop of the massive street protests in Spain against evictions and the dismantling of social rights between 2010 and 2013. It’s about two women who can’t live with or without each other: one who misses her child and the other who hangs poetic texts between the leaves of trees – ”Take a leaf, be the wind.” There are shots of slogans, drums, police lines, a half-empty cup of coffee and abandoned streets. There’s people who suffer, and heavily armed riot police cheering as they take off their helmets in solidarity. Comprised of both documentary and dramatized footage, this film is a loving humanitarian piece that resulted from the icy political reality that lacks all aspects of humanity. Intimate and poetic, personal and engaged, this documentary is carefully framed and shot very close to its human subjects, and accompanied by contemplative music and poetry.
The Death of Jaime Roldós La Muerte de Jaime Roldós Lisandra I. Rivera, Manolo Sarmiento
Ecuador, Argentina, 2013 DCP, color, 123 min Director: Lisandra I. Rivera, Manolo Sarmiento Photography/Screenplay: Daniel Andrade Editing: Manoela Ziggiatti, Sergio Venturini Sound: Esteban Brauer, Juan José Luzuriaga, Diego German Kartaszewic Music: Daniel Mancero Narration/Narrator: Manolo Sarmiento Production: Lisandra I. Rivera for LaMaquinita Co-Production: M&S Producciones Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: LaMaquinita
Lisandra I. Rivera & Manolo Sarmiento:
Problemas personales (2002)
Awards: Award for National Film Encuentros del Otro Cine
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
In 1979, Jaime Roldós Aguilera became the first democratically elected president of Ecuador; on May 24, 1981, he and his wife Martha died in a plane crash. Was it an accident or a premeditated attack on a young leader who had made a lot of powerful enemies in a very short time? If so, who was behind it? And is it a coincidence that several of Roldós’s supporters also died in plane crashes? Directors Manolo Sarmiento and Lisandra I. Rivera dive into the archives, talk about the affair with those close to it, and visit the three children Roldós and his wife left behind. This investigative documentary is an attempt to find out what was really going on behind the scenes. What secret powers and interests were pulling the strings? The personal accounts about the background combine with the aftermath of Roldós’s death to create a drama of Shakespearean proportions. Additional information adds new perspectives to official archive footage. The directors hope that this thoroughly researched film will provide answers to questions and fearful suspicions. As Sarmiento explains in voice-over, although this drama is not widely known about, it played a crucial political role in Ecuador and neighboring Latin American countries.
IDFAcademy Results
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Panorama
dinosaurs Terra Long
EUROPEAN PREMIERE Five-year-old Morgan’s apparently innocuous drawings of dinosaurs are actually steeped in the traumas caused by his monstrous father. The camera slowly tracks across the images, and they gradually lose all semblance of innocence as Morgan, now an adult, describes in voice-over how he and his little brothers were tyrannized. He talks of terrible events, often with a chuckle in his voice as if he is sharing an anecdote. He explains how any movement at home could trigger a violent reaction. Ultimately, while his little brother rebelled, Morgan drew dinosaurs as a reflection on his father’s destructive power and his own desire to strike back. The film uses a variety of visual media – drawings, home movies, found footage and machinima (animations made using computer games) – to convey the imaginary world that gave Morgan the strength to communicate about his personal traumas, then and now.
Canada, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 12 min Director: Terra Long Photography: Terra Long Screenplay: Morgan I.P. Fics Editing: Terra Long Production: Terra Long Screening Copy: Terra Long
Terra Long:
Blue Turtles (2008) Take 5 (2011)
The Director: An Evolution in Three Acts Christina Voros EUROPEAN PREMIERE As a child, Frida Gianni thought she would have kids and live an inconspicuous life, but that’s not exactly how things turned out. Ever since she was hired as a designer for Italian fashion house Gucci in 2004, the modest and levelheaded Gianni has constantly been in the spotlight. This has only intensified now that she is creative director and has the daunting task of coming up with new collections time and again, catering to many different markets in these globalized times. How does a relatively young designer manage to stay afloat in a world where money is as important as creativity, especially when that designer is so averse to glamour and power? Director Christina Voros follows Gianni behind the scenes for a full year. We see the protagonist in creative sparring sessions with dressmakers and other designers during the development and presentation of a new collection and on a trip through Asia, where people have also discovered the charms of European haute couture. In three acts, the film paints a detailed picture of the Italian fashion house, with beautiful stories and archive footage from the past, recordings from its turbulent present, and Gianni’s plans for her professional and personal future.
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USA, Italy, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 95 min Director: Christina Voros Photography: Christina Voros Editing: Filippo Conz Music: Adam James Sherlock Production: Christina Voros Executive Production: James Franco & Vince Jolivette & Miles Levy for Rabbit Bandini World Sales: Submarine Entertainment Screening Copy: Rabbit Bandini
Christina Voros:
The Ladies (2008) 127 Hours: An Extraordinary View (2010) KINK (2013)
www.christinavoros.com
Panorama
Everyday Rebellion The Riahi Brothers
Austria, Switzerland, Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 118 min Director: The Riahi Brothers Photography: Mario Minichmayr, Arash T. Riahi, Arman T. Riahi, Dominik Spritzendorfer Editing: Nela Märki, David Arno Schwaiger Sound: Atanas Tcholakov, Abe Dolinger, Hjalti Bager-Jonathansson, William Franck Production: Arash T. Riahi & Michael Seeber & Sabine Gruber for Golden Girls Filmproduktion Co-Production: Mira Film Screening Copy: Golden Girls Filmproduktion Involved TV Channels: ORF, ARTE/ZDF, SRF Website: www.everydayrebellion.com
Arash T. Riahi:
Eclipsa-n-am ce face – Let the World End (1999) Mississippi (2004) The Souvenirs of Mr. X (2004) Exile Family Movie (2006) For a Moment Freedom (fiction, 2008) Everything Will Not Be Fine (2012)
Arman T. Riahi:
Electrotrash (fiction, 2005) Dark Head (2011)
Nonviolent resistance against regimes is more effective than the violent variety. That is one of the scientifically based conclusions that form the basis of this kaleidoscopic look at alternative and creative forms of resistance in the world. From underground cultural activities in Iran and silent demonstrations in Egypt, via the topless provocations of Femen in Ukraine, to the Occupy movement in the United States, Everyday Rebellion follows pioneers of these new forms of protest as they prepare and implement acts of resistance. Meanwhile, governments and law enforcement agencies often don’t know what to do. In many cases, these actions are still forcibly nipped in the bud, and activists often fear for their lives in their own countries. Meanwhile, Srda Popovic teaches the principles on which successful peaceful resistance are based, such as creating unity among opponents of oppressive regimes. A scientist talks about her research findings on the effectiveness of various forms of resistance around the world, showing that protesting in a creative way is much more beneficial than simply throwing stones and Molotov cocktails. The documentary is part of an extensive multimedia project, including the website www.everydayrebellion.com, where visitors can follow inventive acts of resistance from around the world.
Facing Fear Jason Cohen
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
USA, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 23 min Director: Jason Cohen Photography: Svetlana Cvetko Screenplay: Jason Cohen Editing: T.M. Christopher Music: David Kesler Production: Jason Cohen for Jason Cohen Productions, LLC Co-Production: Fetzer Institute Screening Copy: Jason Cohen Productions, LLC Website: www.facingfearmovie.com
Jason Cohen:
directing debut
Awards: Audience Award for Outstanding Documentary Short Outfest Los Angeles
As a 13 year-old, Matthew Boger was thrown out of his home for being gay. While living on the streets of Hollywood, he was savagely beaten in a back alley by a group of neo-Nazi skinheads. One of his attackers was Tim Zaal, whom Boger meets by chance some 25 years later while working at the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. With their worlds turned upside down, the two embark on a journey of forgiveness and reconciliation that challenges both to grapple with their own beliefs and fears. This incident from their youth has had a great impact on both their lives, and they are wrestling with the past. Self-doubt, anger and fear are just a few of the emotions they struggle through as they face their unimaginable situation. For Boger, the process exposes buried issues with his own mother, while Zaal hopes to come to terms with his violent act and his former beliefs. Interviewed separately, they reflect on a disturbed youth and the effort required to find forgiveness. Neither could imagine that it would to lead to an improbable collaboration... and friendship.
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Panorama
The Fourth Brother Si ge Tong Xu
WORLD PREMIERE
This dark, black-and-white documentary is an intimate portrait of a man who has spent half his life in prison. Following his release, he is now back to his old tricks in an industrial city in northeastern China. We are introduced to him by his sister, who visits him in the house where he lives with his wife. She explains that Fourth Brother, or Si Ge, as she calls him, disappeared when she was seven or eight and they only met again 20 years later. The camera follows the brother in his exploits and records his elaborate descriptions of pickpocketing techniques and stories about how he ended up in jail: a game of Mah-jongg got out of hand and turned into a fight involving Fourth Brother’s gang, and people got killed. In jail, he managed to avoid police bullying and outright torture by the highly inventive but nonetheless gruesome method of self-mutilation. But now there is drinking and smoking and laughing to be done, and at times the viewer forgets for a moment just how hopeless this existence really is.
China, 2013 HDcam, black-and-white, 86 min Director: Tong Xu Photography: Tong Xu Editing: Tong Xu Sound: Tong Xu Production: Tong Xu Screening Copy: Cloud Thinker
Tong Xu:
Wheat Harvest (2009) Fortune Teller (2010) Shattered (2011)
Hidden Wounds
Tomas Kaan, Arnold van Bruggen WORLD PREMIERE “Redemption isn’t coming soon / I am stuck here with these hidden wounds / All the things they make me do.” Tom Barman, the lead vocalist for Belgian band dEUS, sings these words with a deep sadness in his voice. The song is not about himself, but about the many ex-soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In 2010, Barman read an article in The Guardian about the life of a British veteran. After his discharge, Jimmy Johnson divorced his wife, hit the bottle, and then killed a man while having a panic attack. He is by no means an exception: more soldiers are now dying because of their war traumas than on the battlefield itself. This subdued video interweaves Johnson’s tragedy with restrained portraits of fellow sufferers, from young to old, who served in the Second World War, Vietnam and Afghanistan. Sometimes they are visibly scarred, but the real wounds are hidden behind their eyes. Barman’s song is intercut with their words, and they leave little room for the imagination: “What is war like? The old cliché: war is like hell” And, “It’s a little bit like playing Russian roulette every day.” Those who want to hear the complete horror stories can visit the interactive version of the clip, which has been selected for the IDFA DocLab Competition for Interactive Documentary.
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The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 8 min Director: Tomas Kaan, Arnold van Bruggen Photography: Daniel Bouquet Editing: Maurik de Ridder Sound: Mark Glynne Music: Tom Barman Production: Arnold van Bruggen for Prospektor Executive Production: Eefje Blankevoort for Prospektor Screening Copy: Prospektor Website: www.hiddenwounds.be
Tomas Kaan:
Dream City (2008) We Are Boys (2009) Days of Grass (2011)
Arnold van Bruggen:
The Russian War (2009) Play for Keeps (2011)
Arnold van Bruggen & Rob Hornstra:
The Sochi Project (2013)
Panorama
The Horses of Fukushima Matsurino uma Yoju Matsubayashi
Japan, 2013 DCP, color, 74 min Director: Yoju Matsubayashi Photography: Yoju Matsubayashi Editing: Yoju Matsubayashi Production: Yoshiko Hashimoto for Documentary Japan Inc. Executive Production: Shigeki Kinoshita for Tongpoo Films World Sales: Asako Fujioka Screening Copy: 3JoMa Films
Yoju Matsubayashi:
Flowers and Troops (2009) Fukushima: Memories of the Lost Landscape (2011)
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
What bad luck for the 23 horses that survived the 2011 nuclear disaster at Fukushima. Having withstood the tsunami, they were stuck in their stables near the disaster area, which had been closed by the Japanese government with a radius of 20 kilometers (12 miles). Their caregivers were forced to evacuate without them, so the horses were not only exposed to an extremely high dose of radiation, but also to starvation. Only when they are taken to stables outside the zone does it become clear how difficult it will be to save the survivors. The ribs of our protagonists can still be counted after several months. There is not enough money for food, no permission to let them out of the stables, and due to the lack of exercise they get colic. A thousand-year-old tradition seems their only bit of luck: the local horse festival in which they were to take part means that the government can’t slaughter them. But how suitable are these traumatized animals for the festival? After all, the smallest things make them panic. Perhaps their salvation has more to do with the country’s black market for horsemeat, which is a delicacy in Japan. One-fifth of it comes from Fukushima, but fortunately for these poor animals, they ate radioactive grass.
GREEN SCREEN
Houses for All Casas para todos Gereon Wetzel
Germany, 2013 DCP, color, 56 min Director: Gereon Wetzel Photography: Gereon Wetzel Editing: Gereon Wetzel Production: Ingo Fliess for if... Productions Screening Copy: if... Productions Involved TV Channel: 3sat
Gereon Wetzel:
Castells (2006) The Reproduction Crisis (2007) How to Make a Book with Steidl (2010) El Bulli – Cooking in Progress (2011)
Sometimes it feels like you’re watching stills, photos of ghost towns after a nuclear strike. How else could one explain the apartment buildings looking so desolate? But then we see leaves on trees moving in the wind, so we know it’s a film after all. And then a man walks by, the caretaker of a residential development nobody ever got to use. He is the only living soul in the area and spends his days wandering around, exercising and sunbathing by an empty pool. Houses for All is packed with scenes like this one. There is no explicit explanation for what we are seeing, but the publicity videos of overambitious real estate megaprojects speak for themselves. Most Spaniards can barely make ends meet – let alone pay a mortgage – but the developers keep on building. It makes for bleak yet beautiful scenes of desolate roads and playgrounds overgrown with weeds, and of Spanish people living in some woods by the side of the road with all their belongings, because in spite of all the vacant housing, they can’t afford to live there. The film leaves it to the viewer to judge, but really there is only one possible conclusion: if there is one country that’s really suffering from the real estate bubble, it is Spain.
127
Panorama
The Human Experiment Dana Nachman, Don Hardy
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Why are so many women getting breast cancer? Why are couples finding it increasingly difficult to get pregnant? In filmmaker Dana Nachman’s opinion, the hazards we face from the chemicals all around us are more worrying than visible disasters such as terrorist attacks and train accidents. She follows researchers, activists and others in the know from San Francisco to New York in their struggle to get manufacturers to remove toxic substances from their products. The film sketches the impact artificial preservatives are having on our health, revealing the ravages that seem to be taking place, unnoticed, within our bodies. Often, manufacturers are not required to list added toxins on their packaging, and some chemicals have not even undergone adequate testing. Concerned Americans are taking action by putting warning stickers on cosmetics or drawing up petitions to institute rules on product labeling. We meet a couple that is trying to have a baby through IVF and attend meetings of breast cancer patients campaigning against carcinogens in food and other products. The Human Experiment raises the question of whether companies are using unknowing consumers as guinea pigs. But there is also good news: increased awareness of sustainability is leading to piecemeal changes in culture among producers of cosmetics and food, and the study of “green chemistry” can now be found at more and more universities.
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Dana Nachman, Don Hardy Photography: Don Hardy Editing: Don Hardy Music: Scott Hardkiss Narration: Dana Nachman Narrator: Sean Penn Production: Chelsea Matter & Don Hardy & Dana Nachman for KTF Films Executive Production: Sean Penn World Sales: Submarine Entertainment Screening Copy: KTF Films Website: www. thehumanexperimentmovie.com
Dana Nachman & Don Hardy:
Close to Home (2002) Dreams to Dust: Americans Interned (2007) Witch Hunt (2008) Love Hate Love (2011)
GREEN SCREEN
In God We Trust
Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek Eleanor Squillari couldn’t believe it when her boss, entrepreneur Bernie Madoff, was arrested on charges of large-scale fraud in 2008. She had been his secretary for 25 years, and he was like family to her. But like many other Madoff employees, she had no idea of what had been going on the infamous 17th floor of the New York Lipstick Building. Together with the rest of the world, Squillari learned that Madoff and some of his cohorts had swindled their clients out of 65 billion dollars through a so-called Ponzi scheme. She was there when the FBI stormed the building, and she picked up the first phone calls from the victims – often ordinary people who had lost their hardearned savings forever. “I’ll never forget those phone calls,” says Squillari. She realized how close she had been to the eye of the storm, and decided to help the authorities in their investigation. She turned a room in her house into what she called “the war room,” and embarked on a crusade to uncover the truth about her former employer. “I became obsessed,” she says about those early days. “It was the first thing I thought of when I got up in the morning, and the last thing before going to sleep at night.” Slowly, the true scale of Madoff’s swindle becomes clear, and we see that it went far beyond only the Ponzi scheme. Looking back, Squillari realizes what kind of person Madoff really is.
128
USA, 2012 DCP, color, 83 min
Derek Anderson:
Director: Derek Anderson, Victor Kubicek Photography: Tom Houghton, Rad Roubeni Editing: Melody London Production: Derek Anderson & Victor Kubicek for The Halcyon Company, Orlando Wood for Magic Hour Entertainment Screening Copy: The Festival Agency Website: www.ingodwetrustthemovie.com
directing debut
directing debut
Victor Kubicek:
Panorama
In the Wake of Stalin L’ombre de Staline Thomas Johnson
France, 2013 HDcam, color, 90 min Director: Thomas Johnson Photography: Katell Djian Screenplay: Thomas Johnson, Marie Brunet-Debaines Editing: Jérôme Legrand Sound: Artur Strakhov, Anna Zharkikh Music: Benoit Pimont Narration: Thomas Johnson, Marie Brunet-Debaines, Emilia Koustova Production: Sylvie Cazin for Institut National de l’Audiovisuel World Sales/Screening Copy: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel Involved TV Channel: ARTE G.E.I.E.
Thomas Johnson:
Learning from the Great Apes (1998), Green Gold (1999), Gorillas in the War (2000), The Kennedy Secrets (2000), Flight 93 the New American Heroes (2001), Our Sons: Why Did Yhey Cecome Kamikaze (2002), Homo Futurus, the Inside Story (2004), The Last Days of Dian Fossey (2005), Hand and Spirit – Poetical Work Around the Belgium Writer and Poet Henry Bauchau (2005), The Last Days of Indira Gandhi (2006), The Battle of Chernobyl (2006), Atomic Alert (2009), In the Name of God (2012), Living with (or without) Nuclear Energy (2013)
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
The dictator Stalin is seen as one of the three most important historical figures in Russia. His spirit pervades Russia’s political life today: the terror and the killing of millions have still not formally been condemned, and his ideas of a “Great Russia” and rejection of the West still enjoy popular support. Thomas Johnson, who worked for many years as journalist in the Soviet Union, tells us in voice-over about how Stalin’s terror has been covered up under a form of collective amnesia. He sets his film against a backdrop of historical images, archive footage and discussions with experts and survivors of the repressions. School history books play down the gulags, and the personality cult that surrounded Stalin is reflected in the PR of current Russian President Putin. One of the experts points out that uncertainty in times of crisis makes Russians look back with nostalgia at the Great Patriotic War (as World War II is still known in Russia), which was won during Stalin’s reign. Recent events such as the conviction of the band Pussy Riot and the brutal repression of demonstrations for democracy show that Stalin’s myth is alive and well. Forgetfulness concerning the reign of terror imposed by the dictator, who died 60 years ago, is casting contemporary Russian politics in a disturbing light.
Pitched at the Forum 2012
KINK
Christina Voros
USA, 2013 HDcam, color, 79 min Director: Christina Voros Photography: Christina Voros Editing: Ian Olds Production: James Franco for Rabbit Bandini Executive Production: Miles Levy & Vince Jolivette for Rabbit Bandini World Sales: Rabbit Bandini Screening Copy: Rabbit Bandini Website: www.kinkdoc.com
Christina Voros:
The Ladies (2008) 127 Hours: An Extraordinary View (2010) The Director: An Evolution in Three Acts (2013)
www.christinavoros.com
Kink.com is the world’s biggest producer of S&M porn, and its studios are housed in San Francisco’s huge former National Guard Armory building. Whatever your preference, from foot fetishism to bondage, kink.com has a channel for it. Director Christina Voros and producer James Franco filmed behind the scenes of this flourishing company. This revealing and explicit film opens a window onto a subculture that is generally hidden away. We learn that Kink.com is a surprisingly normal and sympathetic employer, and it safeguards its staff’s welfare. The actors and actresses are themselves sado masochists – they have to be, explains one of the directors, because you can’t fake real pain and ecstasy. So people who are only doing it for the money are soon found out. An intense torture scene is followed by cuddles, and between gang bang scenes the actors exchange recipes (“It’s gotta be organic.”). In interviews, the actors and directors talk candidly about their work and their passion. Just what is it that’s driving them to do this? And what about the position of women in the sex industry? Is it possible to be both a feminist and a pornographer?
129
Panorama
Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine Michele Josue
EUROPEAN PREMIERE In 1998, a 21-year-old American named Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in Laramie, Wyoming for being gay. People were scared, angered and shocked by the tragedy, and it set off a wave of outrage in the United States. Proponents and opponents of gay rights spoke out, while the sensation-seeking press focused on the grief of Matthew’s family. His social circle and the gay community at large could only hope that his death would at last wake up the lawmakers. Fifteen years after the murder, Michele Josue made this film about her friend Matt, so that the world could get to know him as she did and not forget him. Josue visits Matt’s family and friends and chronologically follows the path of his life. We get to know a kind and talented boy who was very interested in other people. And we discover how after his youth, which he spent in Saudi Arabia as the child of an oil industry safety specialist, he was delighted to make good friends at a Swiss boarding school. But a trip to Morocco took a terrible turn, and it was years before he started feeling better – in Laramie. And the terrible incident that took place there continues to haunt both his loved ones and so many others.
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 89 min
Michele Josue: directing debut
Director: Michele Josue Editing: Michele Josue Sound: Terence Lloren Music: Nicholas Jacobsen-Larson Narration: Michele Josue Narrator: Michele Josue Production: Liam McNiff for Run Rabbit Run Media Executive Production: Arleen McGlade, Linda Karn Screening Copy: Run Rabbit Run Media Website: www.mattshepardisafriendofmine.com
Minerita
Raúl de la Fuente EUROPEAN PREMIERE Life is really tough in the bleak Cerro Rico mining district in Potosi, Bolivia. This is true for the men risking their lives going down into the mine shafts looking for silver ore, and also for the women, who are viewed by men as fair game. Lucia (40), Ivonne (16) and Abigail (17) talk about their daily lives, in which they are constantly dealing with violence, much of it sexual. Lucia works as a night guard and often has to protect herself by setting off TNT. She wanders the inhospitable area accompanied by a pack of dogs. Ivonne always carries rocks with her to throw at potential attackers. But they are not even safe at home. “You can’t even trust your own brothers and father,” Ivonne explains. Abigail is the only woman in the area who goes down into the mines herself. She knows that as a minor she is not officially allowed to work there, but nobody has ever told her about her rights. The camera follows her down the pitch-black shafts, where the miners pray to a demon. “There’s no god in the mine,” says Abigail. In an area where not even weeds can grow, these tough and vulnerable women survive with a mix of courage and dynamite.
130
Spain, 2013 DCP, color, 28 min Director: Raúl de la Fuente Photography: Raúl de la Fuente Screenplay: Raúl de la Fuente Editing: Raúl de la Fuente Sound: Axel O’Mill Music: Mikel Salas Production: Amaia Remírez for Kanaki Films Screening Copy: Kanaki Films
Raúl de la Fuente:
Nömadak, TX (2007) Black Virgin (2012)
Panorama
Monk with a Camera Guido Santi, Tina Mascara
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 90 min
Guido Santi:
Director: Guido Santi, Tina Mascara Photography: Ralph Q. Smith, Ugo Lo Pinto Editing: Guido Santi, Tina Mascara Sound: Andy Hay Production: Guido Santi & Tina Mascara for Asphalt Stars Productions Executive Production: Vishwanath Alluri, Andrew Herwitz for The Film Sales Company, Leonardo Colla World Sales: The Film Sales Company Screening Copy: The Film Sales Company Website: www.monkwithacamera.com
Chris & Don: A Love Story (2007)
Mandala (2003)
Guido Santi & Tina Mascara:
The son of a diplomat, Nicholas Vreeland is also the grandson of Diana Vreeland, the chief editor of Vogue in the 1960s and an icon of fashion, photography and perfectionism. Growing up in a world of glamour and outward affection, little Nicky naturally took it all in. He became a photographer as well as a dedicated dandy, as his stepbrother describes him. And then he encountered Buddhism and Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, founder of the Tibet Center in New York City. When Nicholas’s cameras, lenses and other photographic equipment were stolen one day, he saw it as a sign. He became a monk, and to do that he had to join a monastery. Now, decades later, the monastery is in need of additional housing and a new temple. Nicky plunges back into his old world of photography, and unwittingly assumes a role in the political games surrounding the disputed Buddhist nation of Tibet. In the words of his brother-in-law, Ptolemy Thompkins, “If somebody would write a screenplay about Diana Vreeland’s grandson becoming a Buddhist who said no to all artifice, all fluffy surface, I think somebody who read it would say, ‘It’s too obvious.’ Yet, that’s what happened.”
The Mulberry House Bayt al toot Sara Ishaq
Yemen, Syria, Egypt, Scotland, 2013 DCP, color, 65 min Director: Sara Ishaq Photography: Sara Ishaq Screenplay: Sara Ishaq Editing: Doaa Fadel Sound: Sara Ishaq Music: Ahmed Al-Shaiba Production: Diana El Jeiroudi for Proaction Film Co-Production: Seen films, Setara Films Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Seen films
Sara Ishaq:
Karama Has No Walls (2011)
Pitched at the Forum 2012
WORLD PREMIERE
Sara Ishaq is Yemeni-Scottish and spent her childhood in Yemen. At the onset of puberty, she agreed with her father that she should go live with her mother in Scotland. Ten years later, in 2011, she travels back to her birth country and took her camera along. She wants to feel at home in the place that was once so close to her, but it’s more complicated than that. Outside the gates, people are protesting against President Ali Abdullah Saleh’s authoritarian rule, and Ishaq and her family get involved. Family members donate blood and cook lots of food for the demonstrators on the square. Ishaq makes a contribution of her own by acting as a correspondent, sharing local news with the international press. In this personal film, the director records events in her own home throughout this tumultuous period, because it’s not only outdoors that changes are afoot. Shifts are taking place in her relationship with the country – and with her father, who starts seeing his daughter through new eyes and is proud of her courage and dedication. Ishaq films their conversations, as well as everyday life at home, where there are lots of guests and the children are always running around, and where her father and grandfather rule the roost.
IDFAcademy Results
131
Panorama
No Land No Food No Life Amy Miller
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE All was well for many generations, when local farmers working in fertile regions of developing countries could subsist on their own produce. They kept livestock on their expansive plots of land and grew a variety of crops, and there were often surpluses that they could sell to pay for their children’s schooling. Filmmaker Amy Miller demonstrates that this situation is now drastically changed, and similar situations can be found in one village after the other in Mali, Uganda and Cambodia. All the farmers there have been banished from their land by huge agricultural companies with international investors. Governments consistently give these companies the green light and help them take over the territory. “We would never give up our land. It would be like selling our souls. It would be like dying,” says a combative Malian woman who witnessed her land being seized forcibly by a deployment of 120 policemen. This socio-critical film alternates interviews with the farmers, the usurpers and other interested parties with scenes of demonstrations and conferences of a grassroots activist movement. Voice-over narration and plain animations combine to create a historical context and highlight a distressing situation that only exacerbates the food and climate crises.
Canada, 2013 DCP, color, 75 min Director: Amy Miller Photography: Sylvestre Guidi Editing: Boban Chaldovich Sound: Martin Allard, Louis Léger, Bruno Bélanger Music: Benoit Groulx Screenplay/Narration: Amy Miller Narrator: Neve Campbell Production: Catherine Drolet for Films de l’Oeil Inc. Screening Copy: Films de l’Oeil Inc. Involved TV Channels: Télé-Québec, Super Channel Website: www.nolandnofoodnolife.com
Amy Miller:
Outside of Europe (2008) Myths for Profit (2009) The Carbon Rush (2012)
GREEN SCREEN
No Man’s Land Michael Graversen
Every year, hundreds of children and teenagers from Afghanistan, Iraq and Africa flee their homelands to Denmark, and by no means are all of them issued a residence permit. They spend their time waiting for a decision in special refugee centers, and 40 of them, ranging in ages from 10 to 18, live in the Jægerspris refugee center. They kill time playing table soccer, horsing around and joking with each other, or chatting on Danish dating sites. But life in no man’s land is full of frustrations, too. It’s not always easy when the final judgment comes, and it’s difficult for many to understand. And that includes the social workers who are so devoted to these boys – boys who have to grow up much too soon. When an Afghan teenager is asked whether he would want to return to live with his family if it turned out that they were alive and well, he replies, “Imagine if a 14-year-old Danish boy with no parents had to travel to Afghanistan and live by himself. Would he get by? I don’t think so. So, yes, if my family is found I’d love to go back to them.”
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UK, 2013 DCP, color, 29 min Director: Michael Graversen Photography: Michael Graversen Editing: Michele Chiappa Sound: Rauol Brand Music: Alex Harwood Production: Michael Graversen for National Film and Television School Screening Copy: National Film and Television School
Michael Graversen:
Toxic Ground (2006) The Pact (2011) The Last Night Shift (2012)
www.michaelgraversen.com
Panorama
The Queen
La reina Manuel Abramovich
Argentina, 2013 DCP, color, 19 min
Manuel Abramovich: Clouds (2012)
Director: Manuel Abramovich Photography: Manuel Abramovich, Juan Renau Editing: Iara Rodriguez Vilardebó Sound: Sofía Straface Production: Daniela Raschcovsky for Salomón Cine Executive Production: Melanie Schapiro for Salomón Cine, Manuel Abramovich Screening Copy: Salomón Cine
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
We are in a village somewhere in Argentina, and it’s carnival time. Memi is around 11 years old, and she’s preparing to be Queen of the Carnival, a dazzling honor accompanied by costumes, sequins and a magnificent headdress. “The crown is huge, weighs four kilos, studded with rhinestones and amethysts,” Memi’s mother proudly explains. While the mother and her girlfriends are lost in the excitement, Memi’s head is reeling from the tension. The camera watches the young girl in close-up. She is stoical – regal, even – as she suffers the attentions of the adults who are always offscreen. Memi’s face betrays nothing but her eyes speak volumes, such as when her mother extols the virtues of hair spray containing the anesthetic Lidocaine. In this case, it’s clear you really do have to suffer for beauty – a lesson Memi learns early on. The camera captures Memi’s mixed expression of fear, pride and resignation perfectly. “Memi, a bit tighter?” asks her mother, to which the girl replies, “I don’t know, I don’t feel my head anymore.”
Recollections Nathanael Carton
Japan, 2013 DCP, color, 13 min Director: Nathanael Carton Photography: Nathanael Carton Editing: Nathanael Carton Music: Chris Duss Production: Jonathan Berguig for notrac productions Screening Copy: notrac productions
Nathanael Carton:
Jonathan’s Home (2009) Descent (2010) Suu and Uchikawa (2011)
While clearing the debris after the March 2011 tsunami in Japan, rescuers in and near the city of Yamamoto found around 750,000 photos. They had been damaged by sea water, oil and mud, and they were stuck together and often unrecognizable. When young Yuji Mizoguchi realized how much a photo could mean to a surviving relative, he started looking for ways to repair the images. With the help of 500 volunteers, his Project Salvage Memory has now restored more than a 250,000 photographs, which are available for viewing at their photo center. Mizoguchi explains that one particular photo turned out to be of priceless value: “A man once told me he had no pictures of his wife, and that her body hadn’t been found, so he coudn’t get his head around it. With the restored picture, a funeral was possible.” This benevolent project is the very antithesis of the tsunami’s destructiveness, and the film concentrates on the volunteers, the victims, the people they lost, but never on the event itself. There is no need for such images anyway, because the rows of neatly built shelter homes with little plastic porches say far more than the wall of mud that destroyed in a moment what it had taken a lifetime to build.
133
Panorama
The River
El oued, l’oued Abdenour Zahzah
WORLD PREMIERE
The Oued El Kebir River in Algeria has its source in Blida-Atlas at 1,525 meters (5,000 feet) and ends some 60 kilometers (37 miles) later in the Mediterranean, close to Algiers. During a journey on foot along the river, director Abdenour Zahzah encounters mini-societies of people who give us a very different picture of Algeria. We meet a man who is worried about the Nestle factory, as it is only offering disadvantages to his village – from the razed playground to the increase in traffic. Another man is indignant about when they started having to pay for water back in 2007. Further down the river, someone is washing his van, while still another is wandering through a decrepit windmill that closed down in the dismal 1990s, when the area fell to terrorists and the first large-scale massacre took place. Downstream, people live among rats and garbage dumps, and homeless kids drink aftershave. “Don’t broadcast these images abroad,” one man calls from his bike. “The French will say, ‘Look what happened to the Algerians.’ But we are doing well.”
Algeria, 2013 DCP, color, 86 min Director: Abdenour Zahzah Photography: Nasser Medjkane Screenplay: Abdenour Zahzah Editing: Abdenour Zahzah, Franssou Prenant Sound: Adamou Lotfi Music: Toti Basso Production: Abdenour Zahzah for Thala Films Co-Production: Enjazz Fund/Dubaï Film Festival World Sales: Thala Films Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Thala Films
Abdenour Zahzah:
Frantz Fanon, the Memories from the Asylum (2002) Under the Sun, the Lead (2005) Le non-faire (2007) The Long Walk to the NEPAD (2009) Garagouz (2011) Andalucia (2012)
The Silence of the Flies El silencio de las moscas Eliezer Arias
WORLD PREMIERE
There is no greater tragedy for any mother than the loss of her child. Against the majestic backdrop of the Venezuelan Andes, Marcelina and Mercedes recount the story of their daughters Nancy and Maria José. At the precarious age of 15, the two girls decided to end their lives. Director Eliezer Arias places their deaths in the broader perspective of rural communities where suicide is taking on epidemic proportions. It is the young men in particular who are drinking the pesticide Parathion to bring an end to a hopeless situation. A father of 13 children explains that only two of his five sons are still alive. Flies and suicide are everywhere, but no one talks about them. This fraught silence echoes through the design of the film. Those left behind stare into the lens, silent and immobile. Intercut with shots of the magnificent scenery and photographs of the deceased, the scenes from daily life combine to create a calm and associative sequence of images. In the accompanying voice-over, the two mothers reveal aspects of the drama that left such a devastating mark on their lives.
134
Venezuela, 2013 DCP, color, 92 min Director: Eliezer Arias Photography: Gerard Uzcátegui Editing: Charles Martinez Sound: David De Luca Music: Leo Blanco Production: Raúl Bravo for Nortesur Producciones, Eliezer Arias Co-Production: Musical Lab Executive Production: Gonzalo Chacon Mora Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Eliezer Arias
Eliezer Arias:
Our History Is in Our Land (2008)
IDFAcademy Results
Panorama
Super Jews Superjoden Nirit Peled
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 66 min Director: Nirit Peled Photography: Paul Hawinkels, Hans Bouma, Stijn van Santen Screenplay: Nirit Peled, Simon van Melick Editing: Paul Delput Sound: Sander den Broeder Narration: Nirit Peled Narrator: Nirit Peled Production: Valérie Schuit for Viewpoint Productions World Sales: Illumina Films Screening Copy: Viewpoint Productions Involved TV Channel: NTR
Nirit Peled:
Say My Name (2009)
WORLD PREMIERE
An Israeli woman living in Amsterdam investigates why fans of the Ajax soccer team have appropriated the nickname “Super Jews” – complete with Star of David hats, Israeli flags and songs like “Hava Nagila.” We meet hooligans, an Ajax archivist, former Ajax president Uri Coronel and a Holocaust survivor. Who is the “real” Jew: the non-religious Israeli woman with an aversion to her own country’s flag, or the “Jews” who flock to the stadium and dedicate their lives to the team? Super Jews is about identity, the use of symbols, and what it means to be or feel Jewish. Filmmaker Nirit Peled takes on the role of narrator and guide in the land of Ajax, against the backdrop of her present-day life in Amsterdam and her past in Israel, a country she is very critical of. Though she is initially turned off by the “Super Jew” phenomenon, her viewpoint becomes more nuanced as she learns more about it, and she manages to gain perspective on how she personally relates to the cult of Jews. Consisting of intimate interviews in which Peled appears onscreen, the film also boasts recordings in and around the Ajax Arena, archive footage of Ajax supporters from before the Second World War, coverage of a group of fans’ trip to Israel, newspaper clippings and YouTube videos of hooliganism.
IDFAcademy Results
Supermensch The Legend of Shep Gordon Mike Myers EUROPEAN PREMIERE
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 84 min Director: Mike Myers Photography: Andreas Von Scheele, Michael Pruitt-Bruun Editing: Joseph Krings Sound: Fiona McBain Production: Mike Myers for Nomoneyfun Films Inc Screening Copy: A&E IndieFilms
Mike Myers:
directing debut
Anyone who has worked in the American entertainment industry in the past few decades knows who Shep Gordon is. Manager of such artists as Alice Cooper, Blondie and Luther Vandross, Gordon is a living legend who, between his wild life and booming career, still found the time to invent the “celebrity chef” phenomenon. A remarkable person full of fantastic stories, he is also blessed with a personality that is at once empathetic and feisty. In the words of his friend Michael Douglas, “He has the ability of real compassion, but also can be a motherfucker.” In this debut film from actor Mike Myers, we get a portrait of a true phenomenon who operated in a time when no one really knew how to effectively promote a musician. Gordon’s life consisted of sex (“No head, no backstage pass”), drugs and rock ‘n’ roll, and luckily a nice big pot of money. In the words of Alice Cooper, who has been Gordon’s client for the past 43 years, “He wrote the book, and everybody else is reading from it.” Through archive footage, photos and countless incredible off-hand anecdotes about the business, we get a picture of a man who has squeezed so many adventures into one career that he has often had to pay the price in his personal life.
135
Panorama
Temptation Viktar Dashuk
WORLD PREMIERE When the elderly documentarian Viktar Dashuk becomes ill and asks his doctor how long he has, his doctor thinks this is a stupid question. After all, he is no longer able to get his wife pregnant, so evolutionarily speaking he’s long past his expiration date. For a moment, the filmmaker can’t decide: should he die with dignity or go out with a fight? Then he starts writing love letters to his nurse and decides to make a film about himself, to ensure his own immortality through art. An important theme in Dashuk’s personal piece is his home country of Belarus. In between black-and-white archive footage of the country long ago and more recent recordings of the political unrest taking place there, Dashuk’s antagonist also appears, and he’s also trying to make himself immortal. President Alexander Lukashenko has been ruling his country with an iron fist for decades, and many journalists, human rights activists and presidential candidates have paid the price. “Many people want to leave some trace behind,” explains Dashuk. “So they build pyramids, palaces and monuments. They write books and make their last wills. They shoot films, gain power and start wars. The most horrible thing happens when the idea of immortality settles in the mind of a cruel ruler.”
Belarus, 2013 DCP, color, 83 min Director: Viktar Dashuk Photography: Viktar Dashuk Screenplay: Viktar Dashuk Editing: Anonymous Sound: Anonymous Production: Viktar Dashuk Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Viktar Dashuk
Viktar Dashuk:
Woman from the Killed Village (1976), Handful of Sand (1977), Dumb Cry (1978), Justice of Memory (1980), I Wanted to Shoot (1980), I Met You (1982), If a Girl Is Born (1983), Mercy (1984), Crime (1989), Punishment (1990), Belarusian Maigret (1992), Between Satan and God (1996), Long Knives Night (1997), Reporting from the Rabbit Hutch (2000), Magnum Misteria (2003), Themis as a Lady of Loose Morals (2006), Vasyl Bykau: Nostalgia (2007), The Face and the Mask (2008), Kingdom of Dead Mice (2009), The Gamester (2010), SelfPortrait in Handcuffs (2012) a.o.
Torre David: The World’s Tallest Squat Daniel Schwartz, Markus Kneer WORLD PREMIERE Torre David is the world’s tallest squat. This skyscraper in the center of Caracas, Venezuela, was never completed and stood vacant for over a decade. Five years ago, 750 families from the slums moved into the tower, installed water and electricity, and turned this building intended as bank headquarters into their home. “For me, being here is an opportunity that came from a tragedy,” says one occupant who lost his house in a flood. With its open stairwells and gaping holes, this half-completed carcass of a building houses innumerable little paradises rising up from the concrete floors poured by the new residents themselves. There’s a shop, a basketball court, a parking garage, a guard and a lock on the door to keep out criminals. Forty percent of Caracas’s population lives in slums. “In the slum, life is lawless. Here, it’s safe,” explains one woman, and another explains how filthy the building was when they first entered five years ago. Photos illustrate the story in split screen. The squatters work communally to make the building habitable. Short interviews alternate with scenes from everyday life in the tower, accompanied by rap music from El Cancerbero and others.
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Venezuela, Switzerland, 2013 DCP, color, 23 min
Daniel Schwartz:
Director: Daniel Schwartz, Markus Kneer Photography: Daniel Schwartz, Markus Kneer Screenplay: Alfredo Brillembourg, Hubert Klumpner Editing: Markus Kneer Sound: Daniel Schwartz Production: Alfredo Brillembourg & Hubert Klumpner for Urban Think Tank Executive Production: Daniel Schwartz, Markus Kneer Screening Copy: Urban Think Tank
directing debut
directing debut
Markus Kneer:
Panorama
The Trouble with Aid Ricardo Pollack
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
UK, 2012 DCP, color, 119 min Director: Ricardo Pollack Photography: Mike Robinson Editing: Joe Carey Music: Miguel d’Oliveira Narration: Ricardo Pollack Narrator: David Harewood Production: Ricardo Pollack for Wall to Wall Executive Production: Jonathan Hewes for Wall to Wall World Sales: Wall to Wall Screening Copy: Wall to Wall Involved TV Channel: BBC
Ricardo Pollack:
Lost Worlds (2002) The Accused (2006) 18 with a Bullet (2006) Partition: The Day India Burned (2007) The American Future (2008) Great Ormond Street (2010) Black in Latin America (2011) How Facebook Changed the World (2011)
The humanitarian aid phenomenon arose roughly half a century ago. It seemed so simple: where people are in need, they should receive help. The sick should be tended, the hungry fed, refugees given refuge. Doctors Without Borders, Oxfam, the Red Cross and many other organizations collected money to offer a helping hand worldwide. What started out as simple idealism has turned into a massive aid economy that attracts not only praise, but also a lot of criticism. In The Trouble with Aid, Ricardo Pollack invites representatives of various aid agencies to speak as a kind of self-assessment. How has the principal aim of giving aid turned out in all the places where it has been needed? The interviews are supported by a host of archive footage full of iconic images: hollow-eyed children with bellies distended from starvation, Bob Geldof’s Band Aid project, the UN’s Restore Hope operation and the Dantesque refugee camps in Goma. Using the examples of seven humanitarian disasters from recent history, from Biafra to Afghanistan, Pollack gives a critical impression of a sector frequently forced to admit – to its own dismay – that idealism is not always equal to opportunism, that suppliers of aid are often confronted by complex moral dilemmas and that, sometimes, aid organizations even contribute to the conflict in question.
The Undertaker Pogrebnik Dragan Nikolić
Serbia, Germany, 2013 HDcam, color, 52 min Director: Dragan Nikolić Photography: Dragan Nikolić Screenplay: Dragan Nikolić, Jovana Nikolić Editing: Milan Popović, Srdjan Radmilović Production: Jovana Nikolić for Prababa Production Screening Copy: Prababa Production Involved TV Channels: NRK, TV Slovenia, YLE, ZDF, Arte Film
Dragan Nikolić:
Hot Line (2004) National Park (2006) The Caviar Connection (2008)
WORLD PREMIERE
A Serbian named Bata works in his father-in-law’s company “Drnda Internacional”, an undertaker’s business. Mr. Drnda started the company when he returned home from working as a laborer in Germany and Austria. It’s now an international business with 26 hearses, which brings Serbians who died abroad back home, or repatriates tourists whose vacations in Serbia ended badly. At this point, the owner has limited his own activities to thinking up ads and determining the long-term corporate strategy. Bata drives back and forth between Eastern and Western Europe transporting various corpses. With an ever-gray sky, the hits of yesteryear on the radio and some heated exchanges with customs officers, he makes it back home, looking pretty calm and collected. But the trips and especially the human interaction take their toll on him. After all, undertakers have to blow off some steam, too. The camera remains focused on Bata the entire time, and we don’t even get a glimpse of a dead body. As a result, this isn’t a morbid tale of death, but rather an intimate portrait of an undertaker.
Pitched at the Forum 2011
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Panorama
The Visit Odwiedziny Matej Bobrik
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Deep in a Polish forest stands a nursing home. On weekdays the residents lead a quiet existence, but Sunday is big day, because that’s when friends and family are welcome to visit. Preparations start from the crack of dawn. While one resident has a decent shave, another makes his bed, and the staff ensures the common area is welcoming. All this takes place in silence, and the only sound is of the loud chorus of birds. There are shots of carefully positioned family photos, silent witnesses to former lives. Mutedly, a few residents wait in the garden for the arrival of the visitors. They smoke, pace up and down, and react to any sound coming from the gate their guests will come in through. But the bumpy country lane leading to the nursing home remains empty, and the tension is etched into every face. Hours pass, and morning makes way for afternoon. Some residents walk about like restless caged animals while thunderclouds chase away the sun. They can stay outside for a little while longer, but then they will really have to give up. The rain pelts down on the garden, but the visitors didn’t come. Did they lose their way in the magic forest? Were they held back by the storm? Will they come next week? There is not a word of dialogue, but the collective dejection is palpable.
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Poland, 2013 DCP, color, 11 min Director: Matej Bobrik Photography: Artur Sienicki Editing: Grzegorz Szczepanik Production: Ewa Jastrzebska for Munk Studio – Polish Filmmakers Association Screening Copy: Krakow Film Foundation
Matej Bobrik:
directing debut
non-Competitive programs Music Documentary As in previous years, the music documentary gets a spotlight at IDFA. In the program section Music Documentary, the festival is screening 16 films, selected in collaboration with the Amsterdam cultural center de Melkweg. The films are eligible for the IDFA Music Audience Award, consisting of a cash prize of â‚Ź2,500. This program is supported by VSBfonds.
Music Documentary
As the Palaces Burn Don Argott
WORLD PREMIERE The latest film by Don Argott (who won the IDFA PLAY Award for Music Documentary with his previous film Last Days Here) starts out as a leisurely portrait of the heavy metal band Lamb of God. The friendly band members reflect on their lives while we are treated to footage of their concerts all over the world: screaming guitars, guttural songs and head-banging masses from Colombia to India. We also meet several fans, clad in their characteristic tattoos and black shirts. Lamb of God offers guidance and an outlet, whether you live in Bogota, Jerusalem or Richmond, Virginia. But when the band lands in Prague, the story takes a bizarre turn. Two years before, a Czech fan died after falling from the stage, and now singer Randy Blythe is arrested and indicted on manslaughter charges. The band is in shock, both because of the tragic death of the fan and out of concern for the erratic Blythe. The second half of the film nicely captures the emotional impact the trial has on Blythe and his friends. In voice-over, they talk about the case and their relationship with their fans. As the Palace Burns is an unexpectedly sensitive look into a scene that is so often associated with violence.
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 88 min Director: Don Argott Photography: Don Argott, Demian Fenton Editing: Demian Fenton Music: Mark Morton Production: Sheena Joyce for 9.14 Pictures Co-Production: Epic Records Executive Production: Larry Mazer World Sales: Monoduo Films Screening Copy: 9.14 Pictures
Don Argott:
Rock School (2005) Two Days in April (2007) The Art of the Steal (2009) Last Days Here (2011)
Don Argott & Sheena Joyce:
The Atomic States of America (2012)
Basically, Johnny Moped Fred Burns
Back in the 1970s, the London-based punk band Johnny Moped regularly performed in the famous club The Roxy. The band members were schoolboys from the London suburb of Croydon, unimpeded by any musical talent. With their recalcitrant attitude, unruly music and the bravura of enigmatic front man Paul Halford, the group landed firmly on its feet in the emerging punk rock scene. But although they were able to keep up with the big names of the day, and even got a record deal, the band never succeeded in attracting a wide audience. In interviews, members of the group and a collection of eccentric eyewitnesses to British music history look back at the punk era and try to work out what went wrong. Was the band’s ultimate failure attributable to Halford’s drinking, opposition from his in-laws, or his elusiveness? Former band members such as singer Chrissie Hynde (who went on to form the Pretenders) and guitarist Captain Sensible (who happens to be the filmmaker”s father) tell the distinctive story of the rise and fall of this punk legend, their obscure cult status and related excesses. Atmospheric gig footage and the weathered faces of the punks interviewed – now well into middle age – paint an entertaining and poignant nostalgic picture of a special era.
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UK, 2013 HDcam, color, 77 min Director: Fred Burns Photography: Fred Burns Editing: Fred Burns Production: Fred Burns Executive Production: Christopher Hird for Dartmouth Films, Martin Kelly for Heavenly Films Limited Screening Copy: Dartmouth Films Website: www.basicallyjohnnymoped.com
Fred Burns:
Forget Cassettes (2008) The Collectors (2011)
www.fredburns.co.uk
Music Documentary
Europe in 8 Bits Javier Polo
WORLD PREMIERE
Spain, 2013 DCP, color, 75 min
Javier Polo:
Director: Javier Polo Photography: Alex Asensi, Vince Merino Screenplay: Javier Polo Editing: Yago Muñiz Sound: Alex Bordanova Production: Lina Badenes for Turanga Films S.L., Javier Polo Screening Copy: Turanga Films S.L. Website: www.europein8bits.com
www.javierpolo.es
directing debut
In the 1990s, everybody was playing Donkey Kong and Super Mario Bros. on their Gameboys. Almost two decades later, some curious minds dusted off the machine to turn it into a musical instrument. And now they’re playing in tiny clubs for excited crowds, using their old game console as a turntable. The 8-bit tones recall the sounds of yesteryear, but they have been repackaged into something radically new. In this infectiously enthusiastic documentary, we hear a rapid succession of quotes from the stars of what is now called “chip music”. Together, they tell the inside story of the rise of the music and its significance. It’s not just about a nostalgic longing for their teen years, but it’s also a rebellion against the idea that newer and more complex technology makes life better. It’s precisely because of its limitations that 8-bit creativity can attain such heights. The story is sprinkled with lively animations, hilarious archive footage and, most of all, thrilling music. You’re guaranteed to leave the theater with a smile on your face.
Jingle Bell Rocks! Mitchell Kezin
WORLD PREMIERE
Canada, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 93 min
Mitchell Kezin: directing debut
Director: Mitchell Kezin Photography: Van Royko, Kirk Tougas Editing: Ryan Mullins Sound: Jeff Henschel Production: Bob Moore & Mila Aung-Thwin for EyeSteelFilm World Sales: EyeSteelFilm Screening Copy: EyeSteelFilm Website: www.jinglebellrocks.com
IDFAcademy Results
Mitchell Kezin is a Christmas music junkie. He has been ever since he was a little boy. But we’re not talking about Bing Crosby, Mariah Carey or Wham. Instead, Kezin has searched the world for the best original, alternative Christmas music – songs that embrace our modern, eclectic, conflicted approach to Yuletide celebrations. Now a filmmaker, Kezin decides to bring his obsession to the screen by going on a road trip through the United States and Canada, on a quest to unearth the stories behind 12 of the wildest, weirdest and most poignant Christmas songs you’ve likely never heard. Along the way, he visits with musical legends and some lesser knowns, from The Free Design to Run DMC’s Joseph Simmons to the The Flaming Lips’s Wayne Coyne, and connects with kindred Christmas spirits, music critics, radio DJs and obsessed collectors, like filmmaker John Waters and legendary musicologist Dr. Demento, all of whom help to paint a kaleidoscopic picture of the flipside of Christmas music. With titles like “Christmas in Vietnam” and “Santa Claus Was a Black Man,” it’s clear that these songs echo social developments by singing out against racism, war, violence or consumerism. Jingle Bell Rocks! is a personal cinematic trip through the dust bins of the alternative Christmas music universe.
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Music Documentary
Journey to Jah
Noël Dernesch, Moritz Springer INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE The German singer Gentleman and his Italian counterpart Alborosie are two of the most important reggae artists in Europe. In 1999, Alborosie went on a two-week trip to Jamaica. He’s been living there for 14 years now and plays to enthusiastic Jamaican audiences together with Gentleman. Journey to Jah paints a varied picture of the importance and spiritual meaning of reggae on the Caribbean island, where music is used to fight violence, sexism and poverty. As Alborosie says, “God lives here, but Satan too.” For seven years, filmmakers Noël Dernesch and Moritz Springer followed the two “Jamaicanized” artists on their flight from Western consumerism and their search for the roots of the Rastafarians and reggae music, and for a way to give meaning to their lives. Several musicians on the island support them along the way. They play together on the streets and are faced with the joyful, but also harsh reality of life on the island. Footage focusing on their lives as musicians is interspersed with interviews and stylized montages of scenes from everyday life. The result is a kaleidoscopic impression of a world where music serves as a path to unity.
Germany, Switzerland, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Noël Dernesch, Moritz Springer Photography: Marcus Winterbauer Editing: Christoph Senn, Michèle Barbin, Andreas Menn Sound: Moritz Springer Music: Beat Solér Production: René Römert & Jan Krüger for Port au Prince Film & Kulturproduktion GmbH Co-Production: PiXiU Films GmbH Executive Production: Karol MarteskoFenster for Thought Engine Media Screening Copy: Port au Prince Film & Kulturproduktion GmbH Website: www.journeytojah-film.com
Noël Dernesch:
Die Kunst des Geigenbaus (2003) Breakfast in America (2004)
www.noeldernesch.com Moritz Springer:
Der Zauberhut (2002) Dem Chaos entsprungen (2003)
Awards: Audience Award Zürich Film Festival
Mattanja Joy Ellen van Kempen
WORLD PREMIERE All eyes in the Dutch recording industry are focused on Mattanja Joy Bradley. She’s a Radio 3FM Serious Talent, and top DJ Giel Beelen describes her as one of the best singer-songwriters in the country. Accompanied by her dog Opa [Grandpa], she crisscrosses the country in an old bus, traveling from radio sessions to concerts, and from family visits to meetings with her management. The fact that these people want to have a say in what she does with her time and her songs definitely takes some getting used to. While she’s trying to find her way in this new life – with a new band, a new house and a new bed – she visits London, the place she spent her turbulent teenage years, hitchhiking and squatting. Returning to London, it all comes flooding back to her: how she fell in love like never before at 17, to a boy who later turned out to be violent. Then she started using drugs, until a near-death experience put her back on track. For Mattanja, the words “Nil Volentibus Arduum” [Nothing is impossible if you really want it] tattooed on her arm symbolize an end to those turbulent years. But she still finds it difficult to decide how candid she should be about her former life in her new one.
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The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 50 min Director: Ellen van Kempen Photography: Arjen de Wit Editing: Peter van den Dungen, Ellen van Kempen Sound: Kees van Gool Music: Mattanja Joy Bradley Production: Peter van den Dungen & Theo Andriessen for Movedmedia Screening Copy: Movedmedia Involved TV Channel: Omroep Brabant
Ellen van Kempen:
Tijdloze momenten (2002) Peerke Donders: Zijn brieven, zijn leven (2009)
www.ellenvankempen.nl
Music Documentary
Mercedes Sosa, the Voice of Latin America Mercedes Sosa, la voz de Latinoamérica Rodrigo H. Vila
Argentina, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 93 min Director: Rodrigo H. Vila Photography: Ariel Gonzalez, Hans Bonato, Mariano Cuneo Screenplay: Rodrigo H. Vila Editing: Luciano Origlio Music: Diego Vila Production: Rodrigo H. Vila & Guillermo Rossi & Sabina Sigler for Cinema 7 Films Executive Production: Dalila Zaritzky World Sales: Autlook Filmsales Distribution for the Benelux: IDFA Bertha Fund Screening Copy: Cinema 7 Films
Rodrigo Hernan Vila:
Secret Societies: The String Pullers (2008) Projekt Huemul: The Fourth Reich in Argentina (2009) Mercedes Sosa: Cantora, An Intimate Journey (2009) The Hero of Two Sisters Mountain (2011) The Nazi’s Conspiracy in Latin America (2011) The Seven Lives of General Perón (2012) The Same Love, the Same Rights (2012)
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
The death of Argentine folksinger Mercedes Sosa in 2009 meant Latin America lost a great voice – not just her characteristic singing voice, but also her courageous voice of protest. She was the people’s heroine. As a member of Manifesto del Nuevo Cancionero [The New Songbook Manifesto], she risked her own life to embolden her fans, many of whom were oppressed and disadvantaged. She received many death threats and was even exiled by the military regime in the 1980s, but she never forgot her fans and her people. In this extensive portrait of Sosa – the woman, the singer, the activist – director Rodrigo H. Vila follows her son Fabian as he explores his mother’s legacy, talking to relatives, friends and fellow musicians about her private life and musical career. Together with them, he travels the world visiting places that were important to the singer, who died of kidney failure at 74. The emotional stories related by the interviewees and Fabian himself are complemented by Mercedes’s own account, drawn from the many interviews she gave throughout her career. This multilayered film is further enriched with personal photographs and archive recordings of Sosa’s concert performances, which were legendary in many ways.
Awards: Audience Award Best Documentary Panamá International Film Festival
Muscle Shoals Greg Camalier
USA, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 111 min Director: Greg Camalier Photography: Anthony Arendt Editing: Richard Lowe Production: Stephen Badger & Greg Camalier for Ear Goggles Productions World Sales: Submarine Entertainment Screening Copy: Ear Goggles Productions Website: www.MuscleShoalsMovie.com
Greg Camalier: directing debut
For many years, the city of Muscle Shoals, Alabama exerted a magnetic attraction on rock ‘n’ roll and soul legends such as the Rolling Stones and Aretha Franklin, producing classic tunes such as “Brown Sugar,” “I’ll Take You There” and “When a Man Loves a Woman.” The remote city has just 8,000 inhabitants and lies on the Tennessee River, which was already known to Native Americans as the “Singing River.” A key figure in the music scene there was Rick Hall, who grew up very poor and later set up the FAME Studios to prove something to his hometown, where he had always felt he had been held back. In his studios, Hall allowed black music and white music to merge, forming the characteristic “Muscle Shoals sound.” His studios became a place where skin color didn’t matter, even before the Civil Rights Movement really got going. Interspersed with many music clips, artists like Bono, Mick Jagger, Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Keith Richards, Percy Sledge, Etta James, Jimmy Cliff and many others talk about the attraction of Muscle Shoals and why the place still exerts such an influence in the world of music to this day.
Awards: Audience Award Hot Docs Film Festival, Grand Prize Boulder International Film Festival
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Music Documentary
Narco Cultura Shaul Schwarz
Richard Soto is at the center of the storm that is the Mexican drug war. He is a forensic examiner in Juarez, one of the most dangerous cities in the world – there were 3,622 murders in 2010 alone. Every day, Soto drives around his beloved but so terribly violent city picking up lifeless bodies. Award-winning photographer Shaul Schwarz brings the daily dramas to the screen with great calmness and sensitivity, accompanied by a voiceover in which Soto reflects on his life in Juarez. Meanwhile, a subculture is blossoming in the United States that sings the praises of the drug world through the Mexican version of gangsta rap known as narcocorridos. And family man Edgar Quintero is reaping the rewards with his narcocorridos, about the lives of the Mexican drug barons who have such elevated status among Latin American youth. The songs reflect a macabre vision of the American dream, in which the drug trade is the key to fame, success, and an escape from poverty. The camera closely follows Quintero as he goes about his dynamic life, replete with music, drugs and weapons. Narco Cultura is a twosided film: while Quintero exalts the purported virtues of the drug world onstage in El Paso for a cheering crowd, Soto is reciting a short prayer before embarking on his long day. He wouldn’t be the first forensic examiner to become a victim of drug violence.
USA, Israel, 2013 DCP, color, 103 min
Shaul Schwarz:
Director: Shaul Schwarz Photography: Shaul Schwarz Editing: Bryan Chang, Jay Sterrenberg Music: Jeremy Turner Production: Jay Van Hoy & Lars Knudsen for Parts & Labor Films, Todd Hagopian for Ocean Size Pictures World Sales: K5 Media Group GmbH Screening Copy: K5 Media Group GmbH Website: www.narcoculture.com
www.shaulschwarz.com
directing debut
Awards: Jury’s Award Flagstaff Mountain Film Festival, Best Director Of A Documentary Feature Fantastic Fest
One Minute for Conductors Elena Goatelli, Angel Esteban
WORLD PREMIERE In Italy, more than 130 young people from all over the world take part in a week-long, nerve-wracking competition to be crowned best conductor. The camera follows the preparations of five finalists, their disappointments and triumphs, and above all their love of music and the complex art of conducting a symphony orchestra. Even though they stand with their backs to the jury, the knowledge that all eyes are on them makes conducting a piece of classical music an epic struggle. From the concert hall, the beady-eyed members of the jury follow every gesture and movement of the participants, who behind the scenes panic about blackouts, an unknown score or a poorly rehearsed piece of music. And then there is the performance itself: did the Bartok really sound as the composer intended? Not all conductors relish their place in the limelight, but the strength of their love of music quickly overcomes this stage fright. In front of the camera, the international candidates talk about their passion for music and the prospects their vocation offers, and the interviews are intercut with footage of the competition. The calm, soothing sounds of the classical compositions contrast more and more starkly with the rising tensions in the run-up to the final.
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Spain, Italy, 2013 DCP, color, 87 min
Elena Goatelli:
Director: Elena Goatelli, Angel Esteban Photography: Angel Esteban, Alvaro Luna, Sergio Ocaña Screenplay: Elena Goatelli, Angel Esteban Editing: Antonio Frutos, Angel Esteban Sound: David Espinosa, Fernando Pocostales Production: Elena Goatelli for Kottom Films Screening Copy: Kottom Films
Angel Esteban:
Endometriosis, la punta del iceberg (2012) directing debut
Music Documentary
Rêve Kakudji
Koen Vidal, Ibbe Daniëls INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Belgium, 2013 DCP, color, 53 min
Koen Vidal:
Director: Koen Vidal, Ibbe Daniëls Photography: Thomas Fadeux Screenplay: Ibbe Daniëls, Koen Vidal Editing: Raf Serneels Production: Eric Goossens & Frederik Nicolai for Off World Co-Production: Casa Kafka Pictures Screening Copy: Off World Involved TV Channels: VRT Canvas, SF
directing debut
directing debut
Ibbe Daniëls:
As a boy, Serge Kakudji always made a lot of noise, but even back then his mother noticed that there was a kind of beauty underneath all the racket. When Serge was seven, he saw an opera on TV, and from that moment on he had a mission: he simply had to become an opera singer. But how can you become an opera singer when you live in the slums of Lubumbasi in the DRC? Completely by chance, American opera singer Laura Claycomb discovered Serge’s singing talent and paid for him to study at a music school in Paris. There, he was confronted by prejudice, stereotyping and great expectations. Laura, who takes on the role of a kind of temporary mother, almost seems to attach more importance to Serge’s career than he does, even though Serge says in voice-over that he will settle for nothing less than to reach the absolute top as a countertenor. The camera observes Serge in marvelous scenes as he pushes his way through the white elitist jungle, where his talent is recognized but he is seen as an exotic phenomenon. As one opera director puts it, “His movements are somewhere in between Michael Jackson and something primitive.” This wonderfully stylized, observational documentary offers an intimate window into the head of a young man caught between two worlds, who is trying, in fits and starts, to live his dream.
The Stone Roses: Made of Stone Shane Meadows
UK, 2013 DCP, color, 96 min Director: Shane Meadows Photography: Laurie Rose Editing: Matthew Grey, Chris King, Tobias Zaldua Sound: David Mitchell Production: Mark Herbert for Warp Films Executive Production: Katherine Butler for Film4, Robin Gutch for Warp Films, Alex Marshall for Warp Films, Simon Moran, David Root for Channel 4 World Sales: Altitude Film Sales Website: www.madeofstonefilm.com
Shane Meadows:
Small Time (fiction, 1996) Twenty Four Seven (fiction, 1997) A Room for Romeo Brass (fiction, 1999) Once Upon a Time in the Midlands (fiction, 2002) Dead Man’s Shoes (fiction, 2004) This Is England (fiction, 2006) Somers Town (fiction, 2008) Le Donk & Scor-zay-zee (fiction, 2009)
www.shanemeadows.co.uk
“You know and I know, but you can’t write it down, can you?” This is a fan’s reply to the question of what makes the Stone Roses so special. “But there’s a reason why I still have my hair like this, 20 years later,” he laughs, pointing to his receding Madchester haircut, “and why I’m here while the child-minder is at home looking after my baby.” He is one of the fortunate few who have gotten a free ticket for a very exclusive surprise concert: the first in a series of reunion gigs by the band that was a permanent fixture on festival stages throughout Europe with its mix of 1960s guitar pop and 1980s dance beats, only to break up in 1996 due to internal strife. In The Stone Roses: Made of Stone, director Shane Meadows – who has captured the British working class in feature films like Dead Man’s Shoes and This Is England – concentrates on the Manchester scene that spawned both the band and its original army of fans. He is not afraid to let his own adoration show – a love of the band colors the film, which rather than picking at old wounds allows the audience to share in the pleasure of rehearsals, life on the road together and the euphoria of a sold-out gig.
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Music Documentary
Twenty Feet from Stardom Morgan Neville
Who are the nameless voices that accompany rock stars onstage? The background singers of major artists look back at the early days of pop and talk about their anonymous existence in the shadow of fame – one that is characterized by abuse, plagiarism, but also quite a bit of musical passion and pleasure. Invisible to the average audience, these background singers have occasionally made it big with their long-held notes and flawless voices. Sting, Mick Jagger, Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder and others stop in to sing the praises of these folks, but this film puts the spotlight on the background singers themselves. They discuss their music careers with pride and passion, and their occasionally startling stories include tales of stolen song recordings that boosted the careers of others, and not getting credit where credit is due. But there are also fantastic anecdotes about working with worldfamous bands. The interviews are interspersed with performance footage in almost all popular music genres, and of course accompanied by a kick-ass soundtrack. Twenty Feet from Stardom is a compelling portrait of vocal talent that opted for a career in the service of other people’s success.
USA, 2012 DCP, color, 90 min Director: Morgan Neville Photography: Nicola Marsh, Graham Willoughby Editing: Douglas Blush, Kevin Klauder, Jason Zeldes Sound: Dennis Hamlin Production: Morgan Neville & Caitrin Rogers for Tremolo Productions, Gil Friesen Distribution for the Netherlands: Wild Bunch Benelux distribution Screening Copy: Wild Bunch Benelux distribution Website: www. twentyfeetfromstardom.com
Morgan Neville:
Shotgun Freeway: Drives Through Lost L.A. (1995), The Songmakers Collection (2001), Muddy Waters Can’t Be Satisfied (2003), Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: ‘Cowboy’ Jack Clement’s Home Movies (2005), The Cool School (2008), Johnny Cash’s America (2008), Search and Destroy: Iggy & The Stooges’ Raw Power (2010), Troubadours (2011) a.o.
Morgan Neville & Robert Gordon: Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story (2007)
Awards: Best Documentary Golden Space Needle Award Seattle International Film Festival
Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War Jesse Acevedo
EUROPEAN PREMIERE Together, Bian (El B) and Aldo (El Aldeano) form the popular Cuban underground rap duo Los Aldeanos [The Villagers]. They defy the regime and use strong language to denounce the injustices taking place in their country. They hitchhike around the country to play controversial concerts that always end up with someone pulling the plug and their self-produced CDs sell very well. But the risks being taken become clear when two young people end up in prison for listening to the duo’s music. Los Aldeanos’s rap is the beating heart of the film, which was shot completely undercover in cities like Havana and Holguín as well as on the road through Cuba. There is dynamic footage of the capital’s street culture – with street dance and basketball – intercut with scenes from the rappers’ concerts and family lives. There’s also a chilling visit to a slum, where abject poverty and despair prevail. The fear becomes all too clear in the interviews with family members, not to mention the authorities’ intimidation practices, which are illustrated by footage of police operations and a member of the secret service appearing on the street. Something that makes a lasting impression is the rappers’ militancy, joy of living and courage while fighting for a better future. The film starts with scenes from the 1959 revolution – Los Aldeanos declares it dead and calls for a new one.
146
Cuba, USA, 2012 DCP, color/black-and-white, 74 min Director: Jesse Acevedo Photography: Mandefro Pagan Editing: Aaron Ohlman Music: Los Aldeanos Production: Aaron Ohlman, Jesse Acevedo for La Pasión Films Co-Production: First Look Media Screening Copy: La Pasión Films
Jesse Acevedo:
Tudo Azul (2005)
Music Documentary
Whatever Forever: Douwe Bob Linda Hakeboom, Rolf Hartogensis
WORLD PREMIERE
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 46 min Director: Linda Hakeboom, Rolf Hartogensis Co-director: Lex Uiting Photography: Rolf Hartogensis Editing: Tim Roza Music: Douwe Bob Posthuma Production: Geert Oostveen for VARA Executive Production: Kathleen Warners for VARA Screening Copy: VARA Involved TV Channel: VARA
Linda Hakeboom:
The Happy Sad Route (and a Comedian) (2013)
www.lindahakeboom.nl Rolf Hartogensis: directing debut
In 2012, 19-year-old Douwe Bob Posthuma won the talent show the Best Dutch Singer-Songwriter. It got his musical career off to a flying start, but this young native of Amsterdam had always known that success has a dark side. His father is the legendary Simon Posthuma, who worked with The Beatles, and whose many years of sex, drugs, booze and rock ‘n’ roll have taken their toll. He suffers from dementia brought on by alcohol abuse and has no one left but his devoted son. As Douwe Bob explains, “My father’s always existed in a state of ‘fuck it.’” Now that he is experiencing success himself, Douwe Bob often reflects on the intensity of life as an artist. Does he really want to follow in the footsteps of his greatest hero? This portrait of a talented and passionate musician shines an intimate light on the close bond between father and son. They share an apartment, go drinking together and play music until the sun comes up. But we also see Douwe Bob playing to packed audiences and traveling to Morocco with his band to work on new songs. He talks frankly about his relationship with his father, and about his dreams (and nightmares) of the future.
Los Wild Ones Elise Salomon
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 77 min Director: Elise Salomon Photography: Yamit Shimonovitz Screenplay: Elise Salomon, Ryan Brown Editing: Ryan Brown Sound: Scott R. Lewis Music: Dominic Bisignano Production: Jessica Golden for Let’s Get Wilder Productions, LLC Executive Production: Richard Golden Screening Copy: Let’s Get Wilder Productions, LLC Website: www.loswildones.com
Elise Salomon: directing debut
Awards: Best Documentary Phoenix Film Festival, Best Feature Reel Indie Film Fest
Reb Kennedy grew up in a backstreet district in Dublin, Ireland. Working from his “head office” in Los Angeles (a shed in his backyard), he’s been running the Wild Record Label since 2001: “The smallest biggest record label you never heard of – yet.” Kennedy is the musical godfather to a lively group of Mexican “rockabillies” in word and deed. As one of the musicians says, “He’s more of a dad than my real dad.” The bands on his roster have names like Luis & the Wildfires, Chuy & the Bobcats, Pachuco Jose & Los Diamantes, the Desperados, the Delta Bombers and the Rhythm Shakers. But the rockabilly scene is limited in scope, and none of the bands is able to make a living playing concerts. In these conditions, the question is how long Reb – a vinyl purist if ever there was one – can maintain his aversion to iTunes. In the words of Chatterbox, organizer of the European Rockabilly Festival, “These people should be megastars. And to us, they are.” This portrait of a subculture built around 1950s music, fashion and energy includes scenes of meetings and of concerts shot in saturated colors. It’s about the importance of “family,” keeping the past alive, and the beauty of imperfection.
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non-Competitive programs Paradocs The “periphery� of the documentary genre takes center stage in the Paradocs program. It showcases what is going on beyond the frame of traditional documentary filmmaking, on the borders between film and art, truth and fiction, and narrative and design. This year, Paradocs is presenting 11 films.
Paradocs
Ashura
Asura Köken Ergun We are in a concrete basement. There are puddles at the back and a few plastic stools. Voices rise up. Boys strike their right hand rhythmically on their chest and cry out in chorus that they will give their lives for Hussein. Their leader urges them on – with the help of a cheat sheet. “Today, at this moment,” he says, and the boys answer, “I wish I were in Karbala.” After this practice session, we see the march on the streets. Every year, Shiite Muslims commemorate the death of Hussein, the prophet Mohammed’s grandson who died at the Battle of Karbala in 680. They reenact the event at a mosque, in charming handmade “historical” outfits. The actors mime to an audiotape playing in the background. When the young teenagers have finished their rehearsal, one of them picks up his cell phone. Everyone seems aware of the camera, and they correct each another if one of them poses too much. One boy dressed as a soldier asks, “Why do I have to look like everyone else?” These are the boys who must perpetuate this commemorative tradition. Although they understand its gravity, they are still too young to stay serious the whole time. The strangers’ eyes causing the awkwardness belong to us, the audience.
Turkey, 2013 DCP, color, 24 min Director: Köken Ergun Photography: Emre Erkmen, Batu Tezyüksel Editing: Köken Ergun Sound: Thomas Wallmann Production: Köken Ergun, Onur Gökmen, Merve Elveren Screening Copy: Köken Ergun
Köken Ergun:
I, Soldier (2006) The Flag (2006) Tanklove (2009)
The Bed Is Broken Raluca Racean Gorgos
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Two Romanian boys roam around an abandoned building, looking for metal to sell to the scrap dealer. The camera accompanies them, exploring the spaces in the empty building: factory floors, stairwells, offices – the floors of which are covered with a sea of thick old files. There doesn’t seem to be much left worth taking, as the building has been stripped to the bone already. Broken windows, missing doors, a mattress left behind by someone passing through. The younger boy has done a drawing on a wall: “Here’s the toboggan… here’s the prison for small children… a cat… a bunny… two stars in the sky… and there’s a… What do you call it? A bed.” While the camera calmly observes them, more and more questions arise. Who are these boys? Where do they come from? How did they get here? Is this a game, or is it work? Is it freedom, or neglect? Are they playing with one another, or is it bullying? Then they find someone else to play with: a puppy, just as displaced and playful as the two friends. In an environment where there isn’t much room for childhood, the little dog’s carefree enthusiasm serves as a reminder of what it means to be a kid.
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Romania, 2013 DCP, color, 24 min Director: Raluca Racean Gorgos Photography: Ana Maria Vijdea Editing: Dan Stefan Parlog Sound: Tudor Petre Production: Dan Nutu for Aristoteles Workshop Association Screening Copy: Raluca Racean Gorgos
Raluca Racean Gorgos:
Cromoterapia (fiction, 2010)
Paradocs
Castles in Spain Des châteaux en Espagne Pauline Horovitz
France, 2013 DCP, color, 26 min Director: Pauline Horovitz Photography: Pauline Horovitz Screenplay: Pauline Horovitz Editing: Solveig Risacher Sound: Pauline Horovitz Music: Sonia Megías López Narration: Pauline Horovitz Narrator: Pauline Horovitz Production: Patrick Winocour & Juliette Guigon for Quark Productions Screening Copy: Quark Productions
Pauline Horovitz:
The Flats (2006) It Began with a Smile (2006) One Day I Decided (2007) The Preservation Instinct (2009) Polanski and My Father (2010) Barouh’ Hachem (2010) My Pets (2010) My Beloved Kneidleh (2010) Big Girls Don’t Cry (2012)
WORLD PREMIERE
This dryly-humorous portrait focuses on a father whose suitcase is always packed and ready for departure to Spain, the El Dorado for favorable conditions for survival. His daughter is the director of this film, and she decides to test her Jewish family’s idealized characterization of Spain during a trip there together. Told like an old western, this burlesque tale takes on an impressive range of subjects, from the importance of languages, repressed Eastern European Jewish heritage and the Almeria movie studio to the remarkable non-kosher portion of Spanish cuisine and a cameo by the camel from Lawrence of Arabia. The building blocks of the film include interviews in which the father sings Spain’s praises, observations from their journey through Spain, picture postcards and moments from For a Few Dollars More. In voice-over, director Pauline Horovitz describes the impact of her family’s history on her own life. As well as the female voice singing “padadapampam” – which adds a gawky sense of vulnerability echoing Miranda July’s work – the jaunty soundtrack includes tunes such as “Me olvidé de vivir” by Julio Iglesias. But beneath this layer of frivolity lies a tragic past that has been concealed as part of the family’s survival strategy. The film is dedicated to family members murdered during the Second World War.
Dust Breeding Élevage de poussière Sarah Vanagt
Belgium, 2013 video, color, 47 min Director: Sarah Vanagt Photography: Sarah Vanagt Screenplay: Sarah Vanagt Editing: Effi Weiss Sound: Maxime Coton Production: Sarah Vanagt for Balthasar Co-Production: Centre Vidéo de Bruxelles Screening Copy: Centre Vidéo de Bruxelles
Sarah Vanagt:
After Years of Walking (2003) Little Figures (2003) Begin Began Begun (2005) Les mouchoirs de Kabila (2005) First Elections (2006) Power Cut (2007) Ash Tree (2007) Silent Elections (2009) Boulevard d’Ypres (2010) The Corridor (2010)
Sarah Vanagt & Katrien Vermeire: The Wave (2012)
While the former Serbian leader Radovan Karad ic is being tried at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Sarah Vanagt inspects the courtroom using paper, pencil and chalk. When the courtroom is empty between sessions, she places sheets of paper on top of objects and then scrapes a pencil back and forth across them to reveal the underlying surface structures. It’s a technique that produces images in their plainest form. A small digital camera follows the hand of the artist as she makes her rubbings – of the table where witnesses stand and give evidence, of the chair the accused sits in, and of the window the translator sits behind. Shots of her hypnotic ritual are accompanied by fragments of sound and footage from the legal proceedings in which the accused, who is defending himself, questions the authenticity and interpretation of images depicting war crimes committed under his rule. Dust Breeding examines the obstacles that present themselves when reconstructing a war, even when the events concerned are abundantly documented. By zooming in on the tangible objects in the courtroom and treating them as if they were items of evidence, the artist is attempting to decipher a code from the traces left by the war.
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Paradocs
Journal
Sirah Foighel Brutmann, Eitan Efrat Originally exhibited as an installation, this work by artists Sirah Foighel Brutmann and Eitan Efrat captures three temporal layers in one shot. First, there is the handheld camera moving along a series of photos of official visits to the Yad Vashem Holocaust History Museum in Jerusalem. The dignitaries themselves are looking at the iconic image that sums up the Holocaust, a barrack in Buchenwald concentration camp full of emaciated prisoners looking straight into the lens. It was taken by an American soldier named H. Miller five days after the liberation of the camp. Sirah Foighel Brutmann’s father’s photographic archive forms the basis of Journal, just as it did for their Printed Matter. André Brutmann was a freelance photographer in the Middle East, and between 1986 and 2000 he often shot official visits to Yad Vashem. Efrat and Brutmann made a selection of photos from this extensive series, and in January 2013, they hung them and videoed them at Wiels Contemporary Art Center in Brussels. The result is a multilayered video in which they play with time, movement and point of view. There is silence all around: the only sound is of the cameraman breathing.
Belgium, 2013 DCP, color, 16 min
Sirah Foighel Brutmann & Eitan Efrat:
Director: Sirah Foighel Brutmann, Eitan Efrat Photography: Mathias Windelberg Editing: Sirah Foighel Brutmann, Eitan Efrat Sound: Laszlo Umbreit Production: Andrea Cinel for Argos Screening Copy: Til Far
Sirah Foighel Brutmann, Eitan Efrat & Daniel Mann:
Prrrride (2009) Tri-ger (2009) Printed Matter (2011) Complex (2008)
Natpwe, the Feast of the Spirits Natpwe, le festin des esprits Tiane Doan na Champassak, Jean Dubrel
This black-and-white documentary will humble even the most diehard IDFA attendee. In comparison to the Natpwe festival in Myanmar, the IDFA diet of coffee and film is quite easy to digest. There, tens of thousands of people swarm to the village of the same name to adulate the nats – the spirits of the Burmese pantheon – for five long days. The filmmakers alternately show the experiences of a chance visitor – who sees mostly just chaos and madness – with the transcendence of the mediums. These are people who are in contact with another world. We see their bodies, but in spirit they are somewhere else. The noise dies away and we hear dull sounds. People scatter money around and swig from bottles of drink, and blessings are muttered. It may all seem a little threatening to outsiders, but the participants are certainly enjoying themselves. People appear to be taken over – sometimes spiritually, sometimes physically. Those who need it are cared for – a glass of water, a fanning to provide cool air – and some are held. Those whose bodies can take even more enlightenment dance. A lot remains incomprehensible, and that is exactly the point: to experience is better than to know. Every now and then the police start swinging their riot clubs, but no one – including the transvestites – seems to mind.
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France, 2012 HDcam, black-and-white, 31 min
Tiane Doan na Champassak:
Director: Tiane Doan na Champassak, Jean Dubrel Photography: Tiane Doan na Champassak Screenplay: Tiane Doan na Champassak, Jean Dubrel Editing: Jean Dubrel, Amélie Degouys Sound: Tiane Doan na Champassak, Jean Dubrel, Romain Colonna d’Istria Production: Jean Dubrel Screening Copy: Jean Dubrel
On Earth as in Heaven (2003)
directing debut
Jean Dubrel:
Awards: Best Short Documentary Award Cebu International Documentary Film Festival
Paradocs
Nothing Is Going to Happen Er gaat niets gebeuren Roeland van Doorn
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 12 min
Roeland van Doorn: directing debut
Director: Roeland van Doorn Photography: Roeland van Doorn Editing: Roeland van Doorn, Esra Piké Production: Roeland van Doorn Screening Copy: Roeland van Doorn Website: www.ergaatnietsgebeuren.nl
WORLD PREMIERE
Initially, it looks like an episode of the British series Crimewatch. A security camera films a shop entrance from high above, and we see mainly pavement. An armed robber could walk into the shot at any moment, or someone might run off with the loot, but nothing happens. The next image is from a camera in a residential neighborhood. It looks like the camera is mounted on a roof, but once again, no burglars climb in or out of the window, although we do see a neighbor walking his dog. Cut to a narrow street with cars parked on both sides – the camera is pointing almost straight down. Artist Roeland van Doorn walks into view. Using a receiver, he collects the unencrypted signals from security cameras. He is also carrying a camera, with which he adds sound to the footage. The result is a view of the Netherlands, including interiors, provided by our own desire for surveillance.
Patio
Pátio Alysson Muritiba
Brazil, 2013 DCP, color, 17 min Director: Alysson Muritiba Photography: Elisandro Dalcin Screenplay: Alysson Muritiba Editing: Alysson Muritiba, João Menna Barreto Sound: João Menna Barreto Production: Antônio Jr. for Grafo Audiovisual Screening Copy: Grafo Audiovisual
Alysson Muritiba:
A fábrica (fiction, 2011) Circular (fiction, 2011) C(us)todians (2013)
In the exercise yard of a Brazilian jail, prisoners are praying, playing football, singing and practicing capoeira. A voice, which might initially belong to anyone within these walls, talks about crime, family and freedom. As the film progresses, one prisoner in particular comes into view. He receives a visit from his son, and at the end he is transformed into a free man. Most of the film is shot from a single vantage point, through a grate, affording a view over most of the small, walled exercise yard where about 30 men hang around. Instinctively, the viewer starts to seek out the man whose voice we hear. When it’s dark and the yard is empty, we hear the sound of a TV broadcasting news about an armed robbery, followed by a soccer report. This is a film about the passing of time, the importance of space, and the relationship between the group and the individual, and between captivity and freedom. And there’s the added bonus of a song about the origins of the capoeira martial art dance among African slaves. It is sung by a man with a chordophone, in the same exercise yard in São José dos Pinhais, Brazil.
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Paradocs
The Private Life of Fenfen Leslie Tai
WORLD PREMIERE Fenfen is a remarkable Chinese woman born in a small rural village in 1983. She has been keeping a video diary since 2007, and in this film we follow three years of her life. Fenfen talks about the boy she has met, and who her parents have rejected because he is younger and lives far away. Her family has found what they consider a more suitable candidate for marriage: he lives nearer by and is also older and wealthier. There’s not a hint of her holding back as this young woman discusses her feelings and dilemmas, and she films the people in her life, such as her first husband, and her new boyfriend Zhong. But what makes this film highly unusual is that in addition to the video diary itself, we see viewers reacting to scenes from the film screened on TVs in a restaurant, a hair salon and other places. Not everyone is particularly interested, but some episodes do trigger responses from their audiences, such as the one in which Fenfen reveals why she was hospitalized. The film is a unique window into the internal life of a young Chinese woman and of the people that fill her life, and judge it.
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 29 min Director: Leslie Tai Photography: Leslie Tai Editing: Leslie Tai Sound: Sarah Berkovich, Chocho Tang, Yixuan Wang Music: Klaus Muzak Production: Leslie Tai Screening Copy: Leslie Tai
Leslie Tai:
Sister Heaven Sister Earth (2009) Lonely Lotus (2010) Burial Shroud (2011) Superior Life Classroom (2011) Grave Goods (2012)
The Questioning Cha Fang Rikun Zhu
On July 24, 2012, Rikun Zhu opened the door of his hotel room to find police officers standing there, at least eight of them. While driving earlier that day, he had noticed that he was being followed by officers in plain clothes. Zhu is a human rights activist, and he knew he could count on a hostile reception in Jiangxi province. Other activists have been beaten up here, arrested for no reason and even tortured. So when there was a knock on his door at midnight, he turned on a camera placed on his bedside table before seeing who was there. With the excuse of a “room inspection,” the horde of policemen barges in. Zhu lights a cigarette. A flabby policeman then walks in, waving his badge. He wants to see some ID, but that turns out to be easier said than done.
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China, 2013 DCP, color, 21 min Director: Rikun Zhu Photography: Rikun Zhu Editing: Xiaochuan Yu Production: Rikun Zhu for Fanhall Films Screening Copy: Fanhall Films
Rikun Zhu:
directing debut
Paradocs
Via Dolorosa Menno Otten
WORLD PREMIERE
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 15 min
Menno Otten:
Director: Menno Otten Photography: Lennart Verstegen, Menno Otten Editing: Saskia Kievits Sound: Evelien van der Molen, Cilia Erens Production: Frank Hoeve for BALDR Film Screening Copy: BALDR Film
www.mennootten.nl
Time within Time (2009)
Each year, pious men stagger through the Via Dolorosa in Malaga. Literally translated, this means the Way of Sadness, but it also refers to the Way of the Cross, Jesus Christ’s painful journey through Jerusalem with the cross on his shoulders. In Malaga, the men carry tronos, or heavy platforms containing statues of saints, in a procession through the streets. In contrast to what the name would make us expect, director Menno Otten makes the conscious decision not to show the road at all. Together with cinematographer Lennart Verstegen, he only films close-ups of the men. Right before they bear the weight, you can see the tension. They drink some water, then we hear the signal for them to lift, and they push the weight high on their shoulders. We don’t see the statues either, but apparently the colossus is in the air and now they have to start moving. Perhaps it’s due to the intensive training or because of the immense amount of weight, but the men heave their way through the streets in perfect harmony – side by side, back to breast. When they transfer the weight from one leg to the other, a whole new gallery of grimaces can be seen. The camera zooms in on them, and the men do the work in the orange glow of the streetlamps.
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non-Competitive programs Paradocs: Barbara Visser The Making of Movies Artist and filmmaker Barbara Visser was invited by IDFA Paradocs to curate a program on “making of� documentaries. Five classics of the genre are screening at the festival, accompanied by an installation at De Brakke Grond. Together, they show that however much is revealed of the machinations of moviemaking, the mystery of it only grows. This program is supported by Ammodo.
Paradocs: Barbara Visser – The Making of Movies Paradocs
How the Cinema Machine Starts to Roll The artist and filmmaker Barbara Visser curated the theme program Paradocs: The Making of Movies and created the cinematic installation Take 0: The Making of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm. Both reflect on the complex process of making a film.
“Is this a movie? Who’s moving who?” – A homeless man in Central Park, passing the set of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm “He didn’t really know what he was doing at all. That’s why Bill is a truly great man, a man of supreme courage. Because he didn’t really know what he was doing, but went ahead anyway. Our mind stirred the film to life. Bill may be the emperor of the film, but if the film is great, it’s only because the emperor admits that he has no clothes. And that real life is all just living theater and we are all onstage together, naked, improvising it as we go along.” – Bob Rosen, production manager for Symbiopsychotaxiplasm The five selected films all explore the chemistry on the sets of fiction films, yet their treatment of the subject they’re exploring is radically different. Whereas Les Blank’s Burden of Dreams is as immersed in the Peruvian jungle as everyone else on the set for Werner Herzog’s Fitzcarraldo, Serge Bromberg made a reconstruction after the fact of the creation of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s unfinished masterpiece L’enfer. Jesper Jargils’s The Humiliated not only shows how Lars Von
Trier’s The Idiots came to life, but also weaves in an audio track of the director reading from the diaries he kept during the making of the film. These elaborate on his often problematic relationship with his actors, whom he pushes to their limits. As a result, they turn against him in disgust or anger. The exact opposite is visible on the set of Akira Kurosawa’s epic Ran, where the old master is observed at work by Chris Marker in A.K., depicting Kurosawa’s ability to direct a huge outdoor set with the smallest of gestures: on the plains at the foot of Mount Fuji, the old master nods and the whole cinema machine starts to roll. A unique place in the program is taken by William Greaves’s Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One, whose origins are explored in the film installation Take 0: The Making of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm. Greaves’s film is the point of departure for a study on the film’s perspectives on the process of filmmaking, acting and group dynamics, which were quite radical at the time of its creation. The aim of the project is to look at the philosophy behind Symbiopsychotaxiplasm, and how it is translated to current times, for example in relation to the context of today’s oversaturated social media landscape and (so-called) reality TV. Drawing from Arthur Bentley’s Inquiry into Inquiries, Essays in Social Theories (1954), Greaves stated that “Symbiopsychotaxiplasm affirms more aggressively the role that human psychology and creativity play in shaping the total environment; while at the same time, these very environmental factors continually affect and determine human psychology and creativity.” Another reference for Greaves’s work is the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, a term originally derived from quantum mechanics. Greaves translates the elements of place and impulse, energy and time, into tools for a social study, with the film set serving as the ultimate laboratory. The fact that most of Greaves’s crew was working under the impression that they were making a fiction film called Over the Cliff created an intentional difference in perspective between the crew’s and the director’s focal point on the set, eventually prompting the crew to discuss whether the director was mad and had to be “overthrown,” or whether they were in the presence of a genius who should be fully supported in his quest. Any “making of” movie shows the machinery behind film production. But as both the film program and the installation show, revealing the system does not demystify the films. Instead, it does the opposite: the more that is revealed, the more the mystery grows. Barbara Visser
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One
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Paradocs: Barbara Visser – The Making of Movies and Take 0: The Making of Symbiopsychotaxiplasm were created by Barbara Visser in collaboration with Bart Haensel and IDFA Paradocs’s Joost Daamen.
Paradocs: Barbara Visser – The Making of Movies
A.K.
Chris Marker
France, 1985 35mm, color, 75 min Director: Chris Marker Photography: Frans-Yves Marescot Editing: Chris Marker Sound: Junichi Shima Music: Toru Takemitsu Production: Serge Silberman for Greenwich Film Productions World Sales: Tamasa Distribution Screening Copy: Tamasa Distribution
Chris Marker:
Olympia 52 (1952), Lettre de Sibérie (1957), ¡Cuba Sí! (1961), Description d’un combat (1961), Le Joli Mai (1963), Si j’avais quatre dromadaires (1966), Rhodiacéta (fiction, 1967), Le mystère Koumiko (1967), À bientôt, j’espère (1968), La bataille des dix millions (1971), Puisqu’on vous dit que c’est possible (1973), La solitude du chanteur de fond (1974), Le fond de l’air est rouge (1977), Sans soleil (1983), Mémoires pour Simone (1986), Le tombeau d’Alexandre (1993), Casque bleu (1995), Level Five (1997) a.o.
Serge Silberman, the French producer of Akira Kurosawa’s Ran (1985), asked Chris Marker to make a behind-the-scenes portrait of the great Japanese director on the set of the film at the foot of Mount Fuji. Marker was one of a generation of documentary filmmakers who exchanged the “objective” documentary for a more subjective form, as is demonstrated by the voice-over he wrote. Making-of documentaries were unusual in those days, and Marker (whose love of cinema had previously led to loving homages to Andrei Tarkovsky, Sergei Eisenstein and Alfred Hitchcock) gave the genre his own twist by making A.K. a poetic, self-reflexive exploration of Kurosawa’s oeuvre. The result is a work of art on the making of a work of art – an ode to Kurosawa in which it is principally the details that attract Marker’s attention. In Marker’s hands, the extras trying on their samurai costumes, the endless waiting and even the weather become ruminations on the nature of filmmaking. A.K. is divided into the chapters “Battle,” “Patience,” “Faithfulness,” “Speed,” “Horses,” “Rain,” “Lacquer & Gold,” “Fire,” “Fog” and “Chaos,” all themes that Marker saw throughout Kurosawa’s work.
Burden of Dreams Les Blank
USA, 1982 DCP, color, 94 min Director: Les Blank Photography: Les Bank Editing: Maureen Gosling Sound: Maureen Gosling Narration: Michael Goodwin Narrator: Candace Laughlin Production: Les Blank for Flower Films Screening Copy: Harrod Blank
Les Blank:
Dizzy Gillespie (1964) The Blues Accordin’ to Lightnin Hopkins (1969) Spend It All (1971) Chulas Fronteras (1976) Garlic Is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980) In Heaven There Is No Beer? (1984) The Maestro: King of the Cowboy Artists (1994) The Maestro Rides Again! (2005) All in This Tea (2007) a.o.
A disconcerting account of the crazy circumstances under which Werner Herzog shot his masterpiece Fitzcarraldo (1982). Just like his megalomaniac lead character, Herzog wanted to haul a steamship across a mountain in the Peruvian jungle in order to create an opera in the wilderness. The shoot was plagued by an endless series of setbacks. Jason Robards, the intended star of the film, had to drop out due to illness after almost half of the film had been shot. His replacement, Klaus Kinski, made good on his reputation for tyrannical tantrums and soured the mood on set with his explosive fits of rage. And then there was the border war between Peru and Ecuador that ravaged the crew’s camp, not to mention a plane crash, prolonged downpours and hostile locals. Many actors left the set, including Mick Jagger, who didn’t have time to sit out the long delays. According to Herzog, you only get to know people under extreme pressure. Set up as an ethnographic document by the recently deceased documentary filmmaker Les Blank, this documentary shows us the real Herzog, hysterically defying the impossible.
www.lesblank.com
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Paradocs: Barbara Visser – The Making of Movies
Henri-George Clouzot’s Inferno L’enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea
The story behind the failure of Henri-Georges Clouzot’s Inferno is bizarre, fascinating and shrouded in mystery. For decades, the raw material for the project was unavailable, partly because Clouzot’s widow didn’t trust anyone with it. She even showed film researcher Serge Bromberg the door – but fortunately the two of them then got stuck in an elevator together for two hours and Bromberg pleaded with her to do something special with the material. She agreed, and the result is this fascinating documentary about a bizarre, money-hemorrhaging, doomed film project. With Inferno, Clouzot wanted to take the audience into the mind of a madman, so he created a story about obsessive jealousy in which the viewer’s grip on reality gradually slips away as he is led through the fears and obsessions of the main character. But the project got completely out of hand, as Bromberg illustrates using interviews, new edits, innovative lighting and a psychedelic climax. It becomes clear that Clouzot’s own obsessions with the project grew to uncannily resemble the madness of his main character. Bromberg shows what Clouzot had in mind with the film, although in interviews the latter hinted that even he didn’t know exactly what went wrong during the ill-fated shoot in 1964.
France, 2009 DCP, color/black-and-white, 102 min
Serge Bromberg:
Director: Serge Bromberg, Ruxandra Medrea Photography: Jérôme Krumenacker, Irina Lubtchansky Screenplay: Serge Bromberg Editing: Janice Jones Music: Bruno Alexiu Production: Serge Bromberg for Lobster Films Distribution for the Netherlands: ABC Theatrical Distribution – Cinemien Screening Copy: Park Circus Limited
The Extraordinary Voyage (2011)
Chaplin Today: City Lights (2003)
Serge Bromberg & Eric Lange: Ruxandra Medrea: directing debut
The Humiliated Jesper Jargil
In the spring of 1997, in preparation for making The Idiots, Danish director Lars von Trier asked fellow filmmaker Jesper Jargil to make screen tests of individual actors. Jargil agreed, on the condition that he could be present during the entire shoot of The Idiots. The documentary that resulted is The Humiliated, a fascinating account of the making of that controversial film that offers unique insight into Von Trier’s methods. The director drives himself and his actors to extremes. Von Trier’s doubts and dilemmas are clear from a video diary that he taped himself and that Jargil was allowed to use for his documentary. We also see scenes Von Trier made for The Idiots that were ultimately discarded on the cutting table. Most striking is Von Trier’s free and completely idiosyncratic way of dealing with his cast and crew. He is alternately strict, sarcastic, sensitive, detached and emotional, creating an alienating atmosphere on the set, which to him is apparently a prerequisite for a successful film.
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Denmark, 1998 video, color, 83 min Director: Jesper Jargil Photography: Jesper Jargil Screenplay: Jesper Jargil Editing: Mette Zeruneith, Daniel Dencik Sound: Per Streit Music: Camille Saint-Saens Production: Jesper Jargil for Jesper Jargil Film Screening Copy: Danish Film Institute Involved TV Channel: DR TV
Jesper Jargil:
Per Kirkeby – Vinterbillede (1996) The Exhibited (2000) The Purified (2003)
Paradocs: Barbara Visser – The Making of Movies
Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One William Greaves
USA, 1968 video, color, 75 min Director: William Greaves Photography: Stevan Larner, Terence Macartney Filgate Screenplay: William Greaves Editing: William Greaves Production: William Greaves for William Greaves Productions, Inc. Co-Production: Manuel Melamed Screening Copy: William Greaves Productions, Inc.
William Greaves:
Emergency Ward (1959) Four Religions (1960) Still a Brother (1968) The Voice of la Raza (fiction, 1972) The Fighters (1974) From these Roots (1974) That’s Black Entertainment (1990) Raplh Bunche: An American Odyssey (2001) Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take 2 1/2 (2005) a.o.
Three cameras record this documentary-in-a-documentary-in-a-documentary. Director William Greaves’s camera films the screen tests of a number of actors, while a second camera records Greaves and the actors, and a third films the whole thing. There is no plot or script, and the film is even more difficult to comprehend than its title is to pronounce. All we know about the film at the heart of the documentary, for which the screen tests are being done, is the unremarkable working title Over the Cliff, and its theme, which is sexuality. Whether on the set or not, everything they film has to be “constantly related to sexuality,” Greaves instructs. Cast and crew guess at the director’s intentions, and the third camera shows them heatedly discussing the project. Is he a genius, or just making it up as he goes along? “For all we know, Bill is standing outside that door, directing this whole scene. Maybe we’re all acting,” one of them muses. Like the audience, the crew is caught in a kind of no-man’s land between fiction and non-fiction, accompanied by a jazz soundtrack by Miles Davis, while Greaves attempts to bring about a “creative piece of cinematic experience.”
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non-Competitive programs Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend This year, IDFA Paradocs is collaborating with the Amsterdam Art Weekend (November 29-December 1) for a program of 14 recent works of video art from De Rijksakademie, De Ateliers and Amsterdam galleries. This program is supported by Ammodo.
Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA
Los Andes
The Andes Cristobal León, Joaquín Cociña Between 2010 and 2013, Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña created a series of short films entitled The Third World. The series is made up of Padre.Madre., El Templo, El Arca and Los Andes. The artists described the films as the foundational chapters of a new creed. They present a savage procession, moving between sacred and intimate, beautiful and horrific, canonical and arbitrary, sublime and bestial. Every film is both the beginning of a myth and its immediate decay. In Los Andes, a restless primal spirit takes possession of an office. Drawings appear on the walls, plant-like forms sprout from the computer and overgrow the desktop. As it finds its way trough the office space, the mysterious entity transforms into the limbs of a giant and dissolves again.
Chile, 2012 DCP, color, 4 min Director: Cristobal León, Joaquín Cociña Screenplay: Cristobal León, Joaquín Cociña Editing: Cristobal León, Joaquín Cociña Production: Cristobal León, Joaquín Cociña Courtesy of: Upstream Gallery Screening Copy: Upstream Gallery
Cristóbal León & Joaquín Cociña: Lucía (2007) Nocturno de Chile (2008) Luis (2008) Padre. Madre. (2011) El templo (2011) El arca (2011)
www.leoncocina.com
Anima
Charlotte Dumas The horses of the Arlington National Cemetery, the military cemetery near Washington, D.C., escort eight funeral processions every day, bringing fallen soldiers to their final resting place. Charlotte Dumas followed the animals for several months, capturing them in the moments just before, during and after they were resting. Horses often sleep standing up, occasionally lying down, but they always remain alert. The video shows how vulnerable these strong animals are during these moments of sleep and wakefulness. The muscular animals relax, lay themselves down and slowly shut their eyes. The title of this first video work by photographer Dumas, Anima, is the Latin word for the soul, the immaterial, spiritual aspect of man and animal. The video is closely related to Dumas’s photo series of the same name.
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The Netherlands, 2012 DCP, color, 14 min
Charlotte Dumas:
Director: Charlotte Dumas Photography: Charlotte Dumas Editing: Charlotte Dumas, Bart van den Broek Courtesy of: Galerie Paul Andriesse Screening Copy: Galerie Paul Andriesse
www.charlottedumas.nl
directing debut
Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA
As Long as You Are Not Reminded Too Often Feiko Beckers
The Netherlands, 2012 DCP, color, 5 min Director: Feiko Beckers Photography: Feiko Beckers Production: Feiko Beckers Courtesy of: Jeanine Hofland Contemporary Art Screening Copy: Jeanine Hofland Contemporary Art
Feiko Beckers:
Now I know How It Feels to Have Two Blocks of Plaster Instead of Hands (2004), Dropping an Anvil (2006), An Attempt to Get Struck on the Head by a Falling Plant Knocked over by My Cat (2007), Being Reunited with My Father after We Haven’t Seen Each Other for a Week (2008), Walking Up and Down to a Woman I Once Had a Crush on (Square, Triangle, Circle and Diamond) (2010), Making a Birthday Cake with My Mother (2010), Accident with Red Car (2010), A Certain Time and a Certain Place (2011), Merely a Part of Life (2011), Slow and Gradual (2012), Safe and Sound (2013)
In his work, artist Feiko Beckers attempts to approach complex feelings and emotional events in such a way that they become clear and understandable. In his videos and performances, Beckers both recounts and stages stories from his own life, often revolving around personal failures, accidents or embarassments he has experienced, in an attempt to find answers to the unexpected and relentless nature of these unfortunate events. In As Long As You Are Not Reminded Too Often, he shows us a continuously changing red dinner table. It starts out as a round table, then changes into a square and finally into a triangular table. These changes relate to the story that Beckers tells about battling loneliness and his solution: creating an environment that is only suitable for one person by throwing away everything in his apartment that reminds him of the presumed presence of others.
www.feikobeckers.com
The Blank Stare Gabriel Lester
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 15 min Director: Gabriel Lester Photography: Benito Strangio Production: Nan Reunis Courtesy of: Galerie Fons Welters Screening Copy: Galerie Fons Welters
Gabriel Lester:
Choreography (2001), The ColaYoghurt Project (2004), Urban Surface (2005), All Wrong (2005), Piano Piano (2005), Peace Is Not the Absence of Conflict (2006), All Right (2006) Nightshade (2007), The Last Smoking Flight (2010), Cleromancy (2010), Smoke Some Loop (2011), The Big One (2011), The Secret of Cities (2013)
This conceptual video work consists of a sequence of five rooms in which people, creatures and spirits are all connected by their gaze. Here arises an inward look, for the characters in the film, but for the viewer as well. In a seamless fashion, the film moves from a scene of an everyday waiting room to an observation room in a mental institution, to what could be the prayer room of a religious sect, to a company of creatures in the future and, finally, to a space where infinity awaits. The Blank Stare is the last film in a silent film trilogy that started with The Last Smoking Flight (2008) and The Big One (2010), in which artist Gabriel Lester explores the inward gaze: introspection, reflection, daydreaming and magical thinking.
www.gabriellester.com
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Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA
Brilliant Punitive Raids Juul Hondius
Composed of photographic images, this film tells the story of a brutal yet hitherto little-known event in the complex history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The 1988 assassination of the equally adored and detested PLO leader Khalil-al-Wazir, better known as Abu Jihad, instantly made him into a martyr and hero. As artist Juul Hondius discovered, however, images of Abu Jihad are relatively hard to find. This inspired Hondius to create these images himself. In his characteristically cinematic and highly stylized imagery – and with a degree of freedom and imagination – the artist reconstructed and staged the events leading up to the assassination, frame by frame. The sequence of still photos is not intended as a historically correct reconstruction of events, but rather zooms in on the personal experience of the Israeli soldiers involved, even evoking sympathy, and the unsettling contradiction between their make-believe play of two people in love and the cold-blooded killing of a man.
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 12 min
Juul Hondius:
Director: Juul Hondius Photography: Juul Hondius, Job Stribos Screenplay: Juul Hondius Editing: Juul Hondius Music: Merlijn Snitker for Recsound Production: Juul Hondius Courtesy of: Akinci Screening Copy: Akinci
www.juulhondius.com
USA, 2012 DCP, color, 10 min
Muzi Quawson:
directing debut
Doll Parts Muzi Quawson
London-based artist and photographer Muzi Quawson explores the construction of identities within American subcultures by examining the lives of people on the fringes of the mainstream. In her filmic narrative Doll Parts, she explores the daily lives of two young musicians. Filmed against the backdrop of Los Angeles, the short film pays homage to the traces of Americana that still exist on the fringes of modern culture. China Morbosa, the film’s main subject, personifies the heroes of the late 1970s punk rock movement and the liberalism reminiscent of the hippie generation.
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Director: Muzi Quawson Photography: Muzi Quawson Screenplay: Muzi Quawson Editing: Muzi Quawson Production: Muzi Quawson Courtesy of: Annet Gelink Gallery Screening Copy: Annet Gelink Gallery
The Old Home (2007-2009) Shawmut Circle (2011)
Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA
Gonda
Ursula Mayer
UK, 2012 DCP, color, 31 min Director: Ursula Mayer Photography: Margaret Salmon Screenplay: Maria Fusco Editing: Ursula Mayer Production: Ursula Mayer for Mayer Productions Courtesy of: Galerie Juliette Jongma Screening Copy: Lux
Ursula Mayer:
Goldflames Out in the Sky (2002) Fallen Imperial (2003) Acoustic Mirror (2004) Villa Mairea (2006) Portland Place 33 (2006) Keeling House (2006) Interiors (2006) The Crystal Gaze (2007) The Lunch in Fur (2008) Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight (2009)
This short film is inspired by Ayn Rand’s 1934 play “Ideal,” in which the controversial Russian-American writer and philosopher explains her concept of Objectivism and its stubbornly anti-altruistic and individualistic position. As a critical counter to Rand, Gonda creates kaleidoscopic spaces in which images, texts and sounds constantly change positions to affect presupposed ideals of identity and existence. Functioning as a love poem to cinema, the film addresses key philosophical issues like gender and ethics, emphasizing that spectatorship is still the point of friction in cinema. The film’s highly stylized imagery shows that the cinematic image actually gazes back on us. The inquiry into Ayn Rand’s world can be seen as a critical reading of aspects of revolutionary modernism and how they continue to impact our society today.
www.ursulamayer.com
Jack
Emile Zile
The Netherlands, Australia, 2012 DCP, color, 12 min Director: Emile Zile Photography: Mikael Brain Editing: Emile Zile Music: Philip Brophy Production: Emile Zile Screening Copy: Emile Zile
Emile Zile:
Larry Emdur’s Suit (2002) Holy Cow (2006) Performance Anxiety (2007) Salo 93 (2007) Five Production Company Logos in 3D (2010)
www.emilezile.com
Emile Zile’s short digital video Jack focuses on a figure either lost in, or purposely drifting through, a nondescript, semi-industrial place. The film was developed after Zile met a dancer named Jack while running a performance workshop. Part portrait and part initiated event, the film shows Jack responding to spatial environments around Footscray, a suburb of Melbourne, through a series of vocalized sound effects, bodily interventions and imaginary scenarios. The location could be almost anywhere: Queens in New York or Salford in Manchester. Emerging from a twilight zone, the figure we follow is similarly ubiquitous: a disenfranchised youth, a wanderer, a young and listless man. This figure is feared the world over for his seemingly wanton disregard for systems, rules and consequences. Of course the reality here is more unruly, and possibly too complex for simple narratives.
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Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA
Montmartre Emma van der Put
Maintaining a balance between empathy and detachment, the video works of Emma van der Put look at everyday acts as if they were seen for the very first time. Mesmerizing and slightly alienating, her recordings of a particular space during a limited time span reveal the uncomfortable side of social life. However mundane the observed events may be (a gathering at a festival, a crowd in a touristy square), Van Der Put’s keen use of framing, panning and editing lifts the scenes beyond the trivial anecdote. In Montmartre, she turns her camera on the famous tourist haunt in Paris, resulting in a portrait (or caricature) of the square.
The Netherlands, 2011 DCP, color, 4 min Director: Emma van der Put Photography: Emma van der Put Editing: Emma van der Put Production: Emma van der Put Courtesy of: Galerie tegenboschvanvreden Screening Copy: Galerie tegenboschvanvreden
Emma van der Put:
Scenes uit een avond (2009) Drie bewegende stillevens, Vanitas (2010) Godinne (2011) Mother (2012) Funfair (2012) Maritime Festival (2012) Ship (2012)
Mr. President Nina Yuen
In this video, individual rituals for coming of age are juxtaposed with the collective transition of society into a new era. Here, excerpts of many children’s letters to past presidents are reread in the framework of the 2012 U.S. presidential election. The sentences become both timeless and topical when placed within the current state of the nation. Using a varied collection of found texts and original material, director Nina Yuen narrates an engaging stream-of-consciousness work with a dream-like aesthetic, grappling with themes of memory, childhood and loss while playing with the dichotomy between fantasy and tangibility. As she fills in the rosy cheeks of a young girl in a vintage photograph with a red marker, Yuen’s soft voice whispers, “Whatever the world is going to do to her, it has started to do.” The viewer knows that she is not talking about one particular child, but for all those children now grown. Listening to her whispered cascade of thoughts, one can feel the future slipping away.
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USA, 2012 DCP, color, 5 min Director: Nina Yuen Photography: Nina Yuen Screenplay: Nina Yuen Editing: Nina Yuen Production: Nina Yuen Courtesy of: Galerie Juliette Jongma Screening Copy: Lima
Nina Yuen:
Don (2006) Clean (2006) Rimbaud (2007) White Blindness (2008) Joan (2009) David (2010) Juanita (2011) The School (2012)
www.ninayuen.com
Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA
Pareidolia
Saskia Olde Wolbers
The Netherlands, 2011 DCP, color, 13 min Director: Saskia Olde Wolbers Photography: Saskia Olde Wolbers Editing: Saskia Olde Wolbers, Jonathan Cook Music: Daniel Pemberton Production: Rosie Putler Courtesy of: Galerie Diana Stigter Screening Copy: Maureen Paley.
Saskia Olde Wolbers:
Day-glo (1999) Kilowatt Dynasty (2000) Placebo (2002) Interloper (2003) Trailer (2005) Deadline (2007) a.o.
www.saskiaoldewolbers.com
A short film based on the events surrounding the creation of Eugen Herrigel’s book Zen in the Art of Archery. This popular German book set in Japan in the 1930s gained a cult following in Europe during the post-war years. The author’s interpretation of Zen archery pivots on an incident he observed while living in Japan. When his eccentric archery master Awa Kenzo shot two arrows in a darkened hall and one bisected the other, he allegedly exclaimed, “It, the Divine, has shot!” Yet the presence of a translator has since been disputed, raising questions of subjectivity, interpretation and belief. Pareidolia is told from the point of view of a fictional translator between the master and his German apprentice, and the translator’s alter ego, a bird. The title points to the need for caution in storytelling, referring to the tendency of human perception to discover meaning in random structures.
Pee on Presidents Melanie Bonajo
The Netherlands, 2012 DCP, color, 4 min Director: Melanie Bonajo Editing: Melanie Bonajo Production: Melanie Bonajo Screening Copy: Melanie Bonajo
Melanie Bonajo:
The End of Color (2010) Manimal (2012) Herstories of the (Social) Naked Body (2012)
A collection of over 500 photographs of urinating girls taken by Melanie Bonajo between 1998 and 2013, empowering vulnerable moments of women searching for a hiding place (or not) to pee in public. The accompanying music is “Pee on Presidents,” written and performed by ZaZaZoZo, Bonajo’s band with Joseph Marzolla. It is a protest song that ridicules patterns of hierarchy, sexism, bureaucracy and patriarchal structures in our society.
www.melaniebonajo.com
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Paradocs: Amsterdam Art Weekend at IDFA
Staging Silence II Hans Op de Beeck
Visual artist Hans Op de Beeck based this film around abstract, archetypal settings that lingered in his memory as the common denominator of the many similar public places he experienced. The video images themselves are both ridiculous and serious, just like the eclectic mix of pictures in our minds. The decision to film in black-and-white heightens this ambiguity: the theatrical approach invokes the legacy of slapstick, as well as the insidious suspense and latent derailment of film noir. The title refers to the staging of such dormant decors where the spectator can project himself as the lone protagonist. Our mental images are disproportionate mixtures of concrete information and fantasies, and in this film they materialize before the spectator’s eyes through anonymous tinkering and improvising hands. Arms and hands appear and disappear at random, manipulating banal objects, scale models and artificial lighting into alienating yet recognizable locations. These places become animated decors for possible stories – evocative visual propositions to the spectator.
Belgium, 2013 DCP, black-and-white, 22 min Director: Hans Op de Beeck Courtesy of: Galerie Ron Mandos Screening Copy: Galerie Ron Mandos
Hans Op de Beeck:
All Together Now... (2005) Extensions – Animated Film (2009) Staging Silence (2009) Sea of Tranquility – The Movie (2010) Parade (2012) a.o.
www.hansopdebeeck.com
Tactica
Fernando Sanchez Castillo For Tactica, the Spanish artist Fernando Sanchez Castillo invited a group of blind people interested in politics and history to feel, and thereby to “see,” monuments and portraits of the dictator Francisco Franco. Bronze equestrian statues, wax statues, marble busts: everyone talked about them, but nobody wanted to have them. Anything reminiscent of the dictator has been removed from public space in recent years and stored in dark warehouses and army depots. Some blind people who lost their sight later in life could remember the statues from the past; others who were born blind discovered what the dictator looked like through their sense of touch. The film is an intense account of the encounter with this Spanish dictator, but also with abstract ideas such as power, time, taboos and memory.
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Spain, 2012 DCP, color, 17 min Director: Fernando Sanchez Castillo Photography: Christina Lucas, Angel de la Rubia Editing: Raul Silva Courtesy of: Galerie tegenboschvanvreden Screening Copy: Galerie tegenboschvanvreden
Fernando Sanchez Castillo:
Rich Cat Dies of Heart Attack in Chicago (2004) Pegasus Dance (2007) a.o.
non-Competitive programs Interactive Reality IDFA explores the cutting edge of digital and interactive documentary in its new media program DocLab. This year, IDFA DocLab and Flemmish Arts Center De Brakke Grond present the Interactive Reality program, a new initiative celebrating documentary storytelling in the age of the interface. This program is supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL and the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts (AFK).
DocLab: Interactive Reality DocLab
DocLab: Interactive Reality Together with the interdisciplinary arts center De Brakke Grond, IDFA DocLab is presenting the Interactive Reality program, which consists of an exhibition, a conference, a talent development program and a series of live cinema events, all celebrating documentary storytelling in the age of the interface. Our digital world is complex, disturbing and exciting at the same time. More importantly, it’s real. Increasingly, our lives and most intimate emotions take place online, exchanged on screens and stored in data centers all around the world. Meanwhile, technologies formerly considered to be science fiction are now within everyone’s reach – from computer glasses and 3D printers to flying robots and interfaces controlled by thoughts and feelings. It’s time to reflect, time for new forms of documentary storytelling that make us grasp the meaning of our interactive reality. Explore the potential of interactive documentary storytelling at the Interactive Reality Exhibition. In addition to installation versions of projects selected for the IDFA DocLab Competiton for Digital Documentary, the exhibition also features commissioned works like Paolo Cirio’s Street Ghosts and Brent Hoff and Alexander Reben’s Emotional Arcade, which boldly confront digital reality and playfully redefine the scope of documentary storytelling. A guided tour gets underway every day at 4:00 p.m. These and other groundbreaking interactive projects are also featured in a series of DocLab Live Cinema Events, ranging from intimate personal screenings to live navigations and large-scale audience participation – from events with food, live music and theatrical performances to emotional competitions using facial recognition and biometric data.
Interactive Reality Conference
Meet the interactive pioneers from both traditional and new documentary media, learn how they navigate the digital revolution, the mistakes they made and their visions for the future, at the Interactive Reality Conference on November 24. Confirmed speakers and experts include Jonathan Harris (We Feel Fine, I Love Your Work), Vincent Morisset (BlaBla, Just a Reflektor), Kira Pollack (TIME Magazine), Loc Dao (National Film Board of Canada), Marianne Levy Leblond (ARTE France), Jason Brush (Possible), Sarah Wolozin (MIT) and many more. Presented by Ove Rishoj Jensen (EDN), Caspar Sonnen (IDFA DocLab) and Veerle Devreese (De Brakke Grond).
Interactive Reality Lab
The Interactive Reality Lab, an initiative by IDFA DocLab, De Brakke Grond and iDrops in collaboration with the Netherlands Film Fund, is a meeting place for international experts and a talent development program for 20 documentary makers and interactive storytellers from the Netherlands and Belgium. How do successful digital pioneers like Alexandre Brachet (Upian), Hugues Sweeney (NFB Interactive) or Brett Gaylor (Mozilla Foundation) make use of the freedom offered by the Internet, without getting lost in its boundlessness? How do they create projects that go beyond technological innovation and manage to touch our emotions? The Interactive Reality Lab invites world-renowned artists and experts to share their knowledge and experience, aiming to contribute to the international development of the interactive documentary genre as well as to discover, stimulate and nurture new talents from the Netherlands and Belgium. www.brakkegrond.nl/interactiverealitylab
For an overview of all interactive events, as well as an online database featuring more than 100 of the best interactive documentary projects, please visit www.idfa.nl/doclab. The Interactive Reality program is curated and organized by IDFA DocLab and the Flemmish Arts Center De Brakke Grond, and supported by the Creative Industries Fund NL, AFK (the Amsterdam Fund for the Arts), Mediafonds, Netherlands Film Fund, iDrops and firestarters by Vodafone.
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#Alleman Bert Hana
WORLD PREMIERE
The Netherlands, 2013 Live Cinema Event, 90 min
Bert Hana:
Director: Bert Hana Editing: Floortje Zonneveld Music: Chop Wood Narration: Sylvia Witteman Narrator: Bert Hana Production: Arjen Barel for Bureau Barel World Sales: Bureau Barel Website: www.alleman.nu
www.berthana.nl
Directing debut
Fifty years after the release of documentary master Bert Haanstra’s Alleman (still the best-attended Dutch documentary of all time), theater director and actor Bert Hana presents his tribute to the iconic film, a live documentary that travels through the streets of the Netherlands by way of their digital images. Over the past few years, Hana created an immense archive of images of the Netherlands through Google Street View. As Haanstra’s documentary did in 1963, these images depict the ordinary Dutchman and typical scenes of daily life in our country. We cross the barren plains of Zeeland and the crowded communal gardens in Amsterdam, encounter rowdy teenagers and bickering soccer moms, and behold Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring.” Passing through the various scenes, a fascinating picture of our flat little country emerges. Combining the theater’s direct address with cinema’s visual power and accompanied by a live soundtrack, #Alleman asks what has changed over the past 50 years. Have we exchanged prudishness for worries about privacy? Has the abundance of information made us richer? The project will have its world premiere during DocLab Live: #Alleman + Street Ghosts on November 24.
Emotional Arcade Brent Hoff, Alexander Reben
WORLD PREMIERE
USA, 2013 Installation; Live Cinema Event, 90 min Director: Brent Hoff, Alexander Reben Production: Brent Hoff World Sales: Brent Hoff Participants Live Cinema Event: Brent Hoff, Alexander Reben, William Uricchio (MIT)
Brent Hoff:
Walleyball (2005) Drunk Bees (2007) The Crying Competition (2009) The Love Competition (2012)
Brent Hoff & Alexander Reben:
Robots in Residence (cross-platform, 2012)
The human desire to control and manipulate our feelings and their expression is matched only by our equally intense urge to share these emotions. Technological advances have made it more possible than ever to measure expressions of emotion. What used to be seen as magic has now been established as valid science, and human emotions can be turned into neurological data through measurements of physiological changes in the capillaries, pulse, body temperature, involuntary stress responses and other microfacial expressions. Commissioned by IDFA DocLab, De Brakke Grond and firestarters by Vodafone, this interactive installation uses a range of technologies, including modified EEG headsets and biometric sensors, as well as carnivalesque props to set up a series of “emotional competitions,” games such as “Rage Balloons,” in which contestants compete to fill balloons with their feelings, and a “Love Competition.” The games are playful variations on our never-ending quest to understand each other and ourselves, and a commentary on the fact that these days, even our most intimate emotions are mediated through data centers and touch screens. The project will be presented as an interactive installation from November 21-24, as well as during DocLab Live: firestarters presents Emotional Arcade on November 22.
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DocLab: Interactive Reality
Jonathan Harris and the Slow Web WORLD PREMIERE The Internet is like food. It’s easy to find fast and mass-produced junk, but much harder to find something truly special – or take the time to sit down and enjoy it when you’ve finally found it. That is why more and more web artists are embracing the concept of “The Slow Web.” Just like the Slow Food Movement did for food, this digital counterpart invites us to switch off our instant messages and take a moment to enjoy the web in full screen, as a place for art, reflection and stories that will still have meaning tomorrow. Some of the best examples of this can be found in the works of Jonathan Harris, one of the most important artists the Internet has known so far. Like a chef in a digital haute cuisine restaurant, Harris uses simple ingredients like data, images and interfaces to cook up mind-blowingly beautiful and thoughtprovoking online experiences. IDFA DocLab, De Brakke Grond, the Food Film Festival and the Dutch Cultural Media Fund invite you to a unique evening of interactive documentary storytelling and food, in which Harris guides us through some of his most personal and groundbreaking interactive projects, from the timeless internet classic We Feel Fine to his latest masterpiece I Love Your Work. While we watch, chef Gilbert Kolff serves up an array of specially designed snacks to accompany the interactive experiences on the big screen. The event takes place on November 23 at 8:00p.m. at De Brakke Grond.
Live Cinema Event, 90 min Participants: Jonathan Harris, Gilbert Kolff, Hans Maarten van den Brink In collaboration with: Dutch Cultural Media Fund and the Food Film Festival
Jonathan Harris:
Wordcount (cross-platform, 2004) 10x10 (cross-platform, 2004) Phylotaxis (cross-platform, 2005) We Feel Fine (cross-platform, 2006) Lovelines (cross-platform, 2006) Universe (cross-platform, 2007) The Whale Hunt (cross-platform, 2007) I Want You to Want Me (cross-platform, 2008) Today (cross-platform, 2010) Ballons of Bhutan (cross-platform, 2011) Cowbird (cross-platform, 2011)
www.number27.org
Playing with Reality WORLD PREMIERE In terms of making money, the video game industry already surpassed the film industry long ago. Nowadays, with games like GTA V, the game world is also starting to focus more on creating stories and heroes of its own, instead of making playable versions of existing movies or comic books. At the same time, however, independent documentary filmmakers, game developers and interaction designers are also collaborating more than ever before, creating new and playful forms of storytelling and interactive art. During the live cinema event “Playing with Reality,” three and game-changing examples of this are presented live and played collectively with the audience. Type:Rider is a beautifully designed tablet game that lets its audience unlock the unknown stories behind some of the most loved (and hated) fonts. 17000 Islands is an interactive experiment in documentary image making that invites its audience to remix, re-edit and ultimately destroy the original film made by directors Thomas A. Østbye and Edwin. Finally, the audience is welcomed to collectively play the world premiere of Fort McMoney, one of the most ambitious documentary games ever made. The project presents a huge documentary game world in which players influence the virtual future of Fort McMurray, the third largest oil field on earth. The event takes place on November 25 at 8:00p.m. at De Brakke Grond.
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Live Cinema Event, 90 min
David Dufresne:
Participants: David Dufresne, Thomas A. Østbye, Arnaud Colinart, Théo Le Du Fuentes
Thomas A. Østbye:
Quand la France s’embrase (2007) Prison Valley (cross-platform, 2011) In Your Dreams (2005) Human (2009) Imagining Emanuel (2011) Take #2 (2012)
Théo Le Du Fuentes: 17.10.61 (2011)
DocLab: Interactive Reality
Street Ghosts Paolo Cirio
Italy, USA, 2013 Installation, interactive
Paolo Cirio:
Director: Paolo Cirio Production: Paolo Cirio World Sales: Paolo Cirio Website: www.streetghosts.net
www.paolocirio.net
directing debut
07)
2011)
For the “Street View” function of its online maps, search-behemoth Google has been industriously photographing the entire world. They don’t bother to ask for permission from the cities they capture, or the people who are photographed, literally in passing, as collateral damage in Google’s dreams of digitization. The artist Paolo Cirio turns Google’s practice on its head, and uses the company’s copyrighted photographs, without permission, to change the image of the streets. Life-sized pictures of people found on Google’s Street View are printed and posted at the exact spot where they were photographed. The posters are printed on thin paper and affixed to the walls of public buildings, giving them an ethereal quality – as if Cirio has made visible the specters of what would otherwise only have existed in Google’s digital world. These street ghosts have already shown up in New York, Marseille and Berlin, and will now also adorn buildings in Amsterdam. While the physical evidence of the ghosts’ appearance may vanish quickly, their documentation on the project’s website will remain forever. Paolo Cirio will present the project at the Interactive Reality Exhibition at De Brakke Grond, as well as during DocLab Live: #Alleman + Street Ghosts on November 24.
Vincent Morisset and the Age of the Interface WORLD PREMIERE
Live Cinema Event, 90 min Participants: Vincent Morisset, Jason Brush, Jonathan Puckey (Moniker), Jo Caimo
Vincent Morisset:
Neon Bible (cross-platform, 2006) Miroir Noir (cross-platform, 2008) INNI (cross-platform, 2011) Sprawl II (cross-platform, 2011) BLA BLA (cross-platform, 2011)
Moniker
Pointer Pointer (cross-platform, 2012) Do Not Touch (cross-platform, 2013)
How do interactive artists and storytellers confront the incredible pace at which digital technology is evolving and new ways in which audiences can interact with their works? Innovation is not about being the first to use a new technology – it’s about using it in unexpected, appealing and meaningful ways. Few have been able to do this as well as the Canadian new media artist Vincent Morisset. In the final live cinema event of the Interactive Reality program, Morisset reflects on current trends and showcases some of his most amazing works live – from his flat (but interactive) 3D film Colorblind Clyde to his latest collaboration with Google and Aaron Koblin Just a Reflektor. Morisset is joined onstage by likeminded artists and experts, including Jason Brush (interaction designer and teacher at UCLA), the Dutch collective Moniker (who present Do Not Touch, their celebration of the computer mouse) and new media artist Jo Caimo, who eats a camera. The event takes place on November 26 at 8:00p.m. at De Brakke Grond.
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transmedia jeugdseries audiodrama
dramaseries korte film
dansfilm
games
jeugddocumentaire videoclips
documentaire
animatie GRENZEN
www.mediafonds.nl
Jacqueline van Vugt
IKON/Pieter van Huystee Film & TV
non-Competitive programs Kids & Docs Kids & Docs is presenting 17 of the best new international youth documentaries. Eight of the selected titles are a result of IDFA’s annual Kids & Docs Workshop (see page 236), which offers directors the opportunity to develop a documentary for young people.
Kids & Docs
The Barrel
El galón Anabel Cristina Rodríguez
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Water, water everywhere. Thirteen-year-old Luis David doesn’t know life any other way. He lives with his family in Congo Mirador, a village on stilts in Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. This is an immense body of water, and the biggest oil field in Venezuela. Every day, a few thousand barrels of oil are tapped and turned into a whole lot of dollars. Luis David doesn’t notice much of this, except that they have to go further to find fish as there’s too much oil in the water. And that once in a while, a plastic oil drum will float by. The village children know what these are good for: if you cut one of the long sides out of the barrel, you get a kind of floating bathtub – a great little boat for an oil drum race. But Luis David hasn’t found a barrel of his own yet, so he goes looking for one. At the same time, he shows us around his watery world, including his house, the fisherman he works for and the waterways that run beneath the houses. Luis David doesn’t go to school anymore, and neither do his friends. That was way too boring, so he now spends his days on and in the water. The camera follows his gaze and skims across the surface, or looks from on high on Luis David down below. Water, water everywhere.
UK, Venezuela, 2013 DCP, color, 11 min Director: Anabel Cristina Rodríguez Photography: Robin Todd Screenplay: Marianela Maldonado Editing: Sepp Brudermann Sound: Franklin Hernández Music: Waldemar D´Lima Production: Sepp Brudermann for Spiraleye Productions Executive Production: Don Edkins for STEPS International Screening Copy: Spiraleye Productions
Anabel Cristina Rodríguez:
One, Two and Three Women (fiction, 2008) Letter to Lobo (2013)
Awards: Best Short Documentary Award Caracas Doc 2013
Chikara – The Sumo Wrestler’s Son Sumobryderens søn Simon Lereng Wilmont
WORLD PREMIERE
Chikara is a 10-year-old Japanese boy who has been training all summer long for an important sumo-wrestling match. He’s very talented, and expectations are high – especially given that his father Harumitsu used to be a professional sumo wrestler. Like many other Japanese parents, Harumitsu works very hard and Chikara doesn’t see his father as often as he would like. So when his father manages to help him train, Chikara tries to do his very best. He wants his father to be proud of him, and that means he needs to win. But in the weeks leading up to the competition, the young boy starts to doubt himself, and he becomes more and more nervous. He doesn’t want to bother his father with worry, but sometimes the tears flow anyway – to Chikara’s huge frustration. He should be stronger than that. As we follow the boy through his intense training sessions and on the occasional day off, he shares with us his inner thoughts, deepest feelings and doubts.
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Denmark, 2013 DCP, color, 32 min Director: Simon Lereng Wilmont Photography: Lars Skree, Simon Lereng Wilmont Editing: Michael Aaglund Music: Asger Og Peder Production: Monica Hellström Weston for Final Cut for Real Co-Production: Nordisk Film & TV Fond, Danish Film Institute Executive Production: Signe Byrge Sørensen for Final Cut for Real Screening Copy: Danish Film Institute Involved TV Channels: NRK Super, DR Ultra
Simon Lereng Wilmont:
Ramona’s Journey (2004) Closed Rooms (2005) The Game (2007) Above the Ground, Beneath the Sky (2008) The Dormitory Master (2009) Traveling with Mr. T (2009)
www.simonlerengwilmont.com
2008)
008)
Kids & Docs
Farewell My School Selamat tinggal sekolahku Ucu Agustin
Indonesia, 2013 video, color, 13 min Director: Ucu Agustin Photography: Sesarina Puspita, Affan Diaz Editing: Darwin Nugraha, Lucky Kuswandi, Bernardes Salvano Sound: Dono Firman Music: Rizky Akbar Wicaksono Production: Nia Dinata for Kalyana Shira Foundation Executive Production: Petra van Dongen for Kalyana Shira Foundation Screening Copy: Kalyana Shira Foundation
Ucu Agustin:
Pramoedya; The Last Chapter (2006), Death in Jakarta (2006), The Making of Think-Act-Change (2007), Nine Lives of a Women (2007), Women Behind the Censor (2008), 9802: An Unfinished One (2008), Pertaruhan (At Stake): Ragat’e Anak (2008), Waktu itu, Januari 2008: Sebuah Catatan Kaki (2009), Conspiracy of Silence (2010), Jakarta Knocking the Door (2011), Death in Jakarta Reloaded (2012), Behind the Frequency (2012)
Lintang is 11, and for seven years now he has been attending a school in Jakarta for children with a visual handicap. And he loves it there. He is almost completely blind, and his best friends can see nothing at all. Lintang explains that he’s got “low vision,” and he can only distinguish things from extremely close-up. Several shots illustrate what the young Indonesian protagonist can actually see, and it’s not very much. But Lintang and his friends have grown accustomed to all the challenges that come with being blind, and they spend their days swimming, playing outside and making music. Everyone at school knows Lintang is the best drummer there, but their music lessons come to an end when Lintang’s parents decide he should go to a regular school. After all, he is a very independent 11-year-old who can cook, do laundry and shop for groceries all by himself. As the day of departure approaches, the camera follows Lintang and his buddies, both at school and in their happy free time together. The boys are more concerned about the approaching separation than about their inability to see. They practice together for Lintang’s spectacular farewell performance.
Hear This!
Moet je horen! Soulaima El Khaldi
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 16 min
Soulaima El Khaldi: directing debut
Director: Soulaima El Khaldi Photography: Roel van ‘t Hoff, Benito Strangio Editing: Denise Janzée Sound: Menno Euwe, Ivar Trentelman Production: Albert Klein Haneveld for Hollandse Helden World Sales: Hollandse Helden Screening Copy: Hollandse Helden Involved TV Channel: BOS
Sometimes there are advantages to having deaf parents. When 10-year-old Tristan has had enough of his mother’s vacuuming, he just pulls the plug – she won’t notice it’s turned off anyway. Of course it’s great fun for Tristan and his little sister, who can both hear. They communicate effortlessly with their parents and their mostly deaf friends. But contact between their parents and the hearing world outside is a little more challenging, as illustrated by something as simple as a shopping trip for new shoes, or a meal out. They can live with it just fine, but it’s hard for Tristan to take the fact that his soccer club doesn’t want his father to train Tristan’s non-deaf team. After all, his father is on the Dutch national soccer team for the deaf and he knows everything about the game! Tristan’s perspective is defining for the documentary, and he shares his thoughts with the viewer in voice-over. At a certain point, even he starts to have his doubts, and discusses the problem with a young friend while playing soccer. The question is what the other children on the team will think about it, so Tristan and his father decide to organize a trial run.
IDFAcademy Results
179
Kids & Docs
A Home for Lydia Lydia blijft Eline Helena Schellekens
Lydia’s mother is from Cameroon, her father from Nigeria, but she and her brother were born in the Netherlands. None of them have a Dutch residence permit, and that’s a concern for Lydia. What if her parents have to go back to their home countries? Who will she have to go with? While her father prepares the food, Lydia asks him whether he’s scared. Of course he is, he admits, “But I’m not going anywhere. This is my country.” That’s exactly the way Lydia thinks, too. Most of the scenes from their domestic life radiate a sense of cheerfulness, positivity and strength. After they’ve moved for the seventh time, to make sure no one finds out they are undocumented, Lydia is sick and tired of it. She doesn’t want to have to make new friends again, but it’s not long before her mother has managed to put a smile back on her face. And as it turns out, it’s not long before she has managed to find a new classmate to play with. Lydia is remarkably unreserved in front of the camera. She tells her story partly in the expressive and moving songs that she made in improvisation sessions with musician Sean de Vries. She sings in Dutch, providing her own accompaniment on harmonica – although her dance steps and rhythms betray her African heritage.
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 17 min Director: Eline Helena Schellekens Photography: Ernst Herstel Editing: Patrick Schonewille Sound: Richard Wilder Music: Sean Vries, Lydia Production: Jan-Willem Bult for KRO Youth Executive Production: Doreth Matheeuwsen for KRO Youth World Sales: KRO Sales Screening Copy: KRO Youth Involved TV Channel: KRO Youth
Eline Helena Schellekens: Amadou (2010) Daar is het beter (2011)
IDFAcademy Results
Layla’s Melody
Laylas melodi Jens Pedersen, Taj Mohammad Bakhtari
WORLD PREMIERE
Sometimes, 11-year-old Layla is jealous of her friends at the music school in Kabul. Their families visit them regularly, and they often return from summer vacation wearing new clothes. But even though she misses out on some things, this little Afghan girl is happy. After the Taliban murdered Layla’s father in their home village when she was very young, her uncle sent her to the orphanage in Kabul where she lives to this day. Layla hasn’t seen her mother for five years now, but then her uncle calls her out of the blue with the great news that her mother is in the city and wants to meet her. Layla immediately discusses the issue with her girlfriends. She is delighted but also concerned, because in the village she comes from, children of her age have to get married. Is that the reason her mother is suddenly in town? Despite her young age, Layla already knows for sure that she doesn’t want to return to her village: “I’d have to obey some man who would steal my future.” Her heart full of conflicting feelings, she gets into her uncle’s car to go to her mother. While Layla naturally wants to hug her, she’s apprehensive about the possible loss of her present life and dreams of the future.
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Denmark, 2013 DCP, color, 17 min Director: Jens Pedersen, Taj Mohammad Bakhtari Photography: Taj Mohammad Bakhtari, Jens Pedersen Editing: Jesper Osmund Sound: Niels David Rønsholdt, Gert Gregersen Production: Jakob Gottschau for Express TV-Production Executive Production: Jens Pedersen for Pedersen & Co. World Sales: DR International Sales Screening Copy: Pedersen & Co. Involved TV Channel: DR TV
Jens Pedersen:
Entre Amigos (2003), City of Cigars (2005), Kingdom of Clothes (2005), Banana Republic (2005), The Untouchables (2006), The Big Bean Scam (2007), The Winners of Globalisation (2008), From Brothel to Bridehood (2009), Countries in a Hot Spot (2009), Cops on a Mission (2010), Nicaragua – Dictatorship Restored? (2011), A Dagnosed Boy (2012), Faith – Hope – Afghanistan (2013),
Taj Mohammad Bakhtari:
Faramosh shodogaan (2007), Frishta (2007), Sahar ‘the Carpet Maker Girl’ (2008), Kabul Ambulance (2011)
Kids & Docs
Leaders Przywodcy Pawel Ferdek
Poland, 2013 HDcam, color, 50 min Director: Pawel Ferdek Photography: Pawel Ferdek Screenplay: Pawel Ferdek Editing: Thomasz Ciesielski Music: Mikolaj Trzaska Production: Wojciech Szczudlo for Kalejdoskop Film Studio Executive Production: Kamil Skalkowski for Kalejdoskop Film Studio World Sales: Kalejdoskop Film Studio Screening Copy: Kalejdoskop Film Studio
Pawel Ferdek:
Glass Trap (2007) A Film for You: Gdynia (2007) Scrap Oddesey (2009) Beautiful Misunderstanding (2009)
WORLD PREMIERE
Student Council elections temporarily dominate life at a primary school in Warsaw. Children there get to announce their candidacy and come up with campaigns to promote themselves. The film follows Marcel, Helena, Kais and Filip at school and at home during this exciting campaign. They all have their reasons for participating: one just wants to win, while the other feels it’s important to be properly informed. We watch as they present their electoral viewpoints, with family members getting involved and giving them advice at home, and then as the candidates’ chances become obvious during recess. Marcel isn’t very popular at school, and unfortunately his candidacy doesn’t do much to change that. For others, the opposite is true – much to the frustration of the other candidates (giving candy to your friends must count as bribery, right?). At debates in the run-up to the election, classmates ask critical questions. How can you promise there will be ice cream in the cafeteria if the principal has already said it will never happen? Unlikely! So, what will turn out to be the quickest way to the top? To present a strong platform, to be skilled at debate, or simply to be popular?
Little Miss Piggy Of je worst lust Ellen Vloet
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 18 min Director: Ellen Vloet Photography: Aage Hollander Screenplay: Ellen Vloet Editing: Patrick Minks Sound: Tim van Peppen Music: Benny Sings Production: Willemijn Cerutti for Cerutti Film Screening Copy: Cerutti Film Involved TV Channel: VPRO
Ellen Vloet:
Rika en ‘t mannetje (2012) Zien en gezien worden (2013)
WORLD PREMIERE
Eleven-year-old Brechtje lives on a pig farm. Compared to her classmates in the nearby village, she is a tomboy, used to living in the great outdoors and plowing through the fields in her rubber boots. She loves animals, and seeing them get killed breaks her heart. But on the farm, dozens of piglets are born every day that will be full-grown pigs in no time at all, ready to be slaughtered for their meat. For years, this has been a natural part of Brechtje’s life. But now that she is growing up, she is developing her own opinions and starting to rebel against the agrarian lifestyle. Whereas she used to think the pigs were cute, she now finds working in the stables boring and smelly. On top of that, her daily bicycle trips back and forth to school add to her sense of isolation. The nearest village is two kilometers away, so the farm is far removed from “real life”. Brechtje fantasizes about life in the big city, far away from the farm.
IDFAcademy Results
181
Kids & Docs
Louis the Ferris Wheel Kid Louis van het reuzenrad Tara Fallaux
The move from elementary school to high school is tense for any child. But most children only have to leave behind the security of their old school, not their childhood home as well. This short documentary follows Louis, the child of a traveling carnival family, from the final day of his “mobile school” to the day they leave him behind, at the house where he will live for most of his high school years. On weekdays, he will be living with other carnival kids. Home for Louis is clearly the amusement park, where he knows everyone and everyone knows him. He nimbly climbs from one Ferris wheel cart to the next, and he is totally at ease opening the door for a group of girls. But now he has to leave this all behind. There are hardly any interviews, and none are needed: his mother’s long explanation about which shirts match which pants (while Louis’s expression is one of “Who cares?”) speaks volumes. Louis does briefly talk about the downsides of carnival life – such as saying goodbye to friends and having to make new ones – and about what he’s going to miss the most: his much younger little brother.
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 17 min
Tara Fallaux:
Director: Tara Fallaux Photography: Diderik Evers Editing: Dorith Vinken Sound: Bram Meindersma Production: Gijs Kerbosch & Roel Oude Nijhuis & Gijs Determeijer for 100 Halal Productions Executive Production: Olivia van Leeuwen for 100 Halal Productions Screening Copy: 100 Halal Productions
www.tarafallaux.com
directing debut
IDFAcademy Results
Once Upon a Tree Het meisje en de boom Marleen van der Werf
WORLD PREMIERE
Eleven-year-old Filine’s favorite tree stands in the middle of the woods: a huge old oak. She clambers up its sturdy branches to the top and looks out at the world. There’s also plenty to see on the tree itself. Using a magnifying glass, she examines the lives of various insects and looks at the bark and moss on the branches. During her expeditions, the young nature lover notices that several trees have been cut down. She is very worried: will they cut down her favorite tree, too? And how can it be that, in just a few seconds, you can just cut down something that has taken so long to grow so big? What’s more, these trees are home to countless animals and insects. Filine comes up with a creative plan to save the rest of her beloved woods from destruction. Director Marleen van der Werf films the young, elfin girl in her favorite places in the woods, a place she knows a huge amount about. Filine’s adventure is accompanied by marvelous, detailed footage of all kinds of animals in their native habitats. The images reinforce the stories the young protagonist so passionately tells – about everything that lives in our wondrous, immensely important nature.
182
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 15 min
Marleen van der Werf:
Director: Marleen van der Werf Photography: Dick Harrewijn, Marleen van der Werf Editing: Tim Wijbenga Sound: Bram Meindersma, Sander den Broeder Music: Dennis van Tilburg Production: Philipe Wentrup for Human Screening Copy: Human Involved TV Channel: Human Website: www.onceuponatreethemovie.com
www.marleenvanderwerf.nl
Wadland (2012)
IDFAcademy Results
Kids & Docs
The Red Carpet
La alfombra roja Manuel Fernández, Iosu López
Spain, 2012 DCP, color, 12 min
Manuel Fernández:
Director: Manuel Fernández, Iosu López Photography: Manuel Fernández Screenplay: Manuel Fernández, Iosu López Editing: Rubén Sánchez Sound: Anonio Muñoz Music: Iosu López Narration: Manuel Fernández, Iosu López Production: Iosu López Screening Copy: LINE UP Shorts
The American Seam (2011)
31st of April (2009)
Iosu López:
www.iosulopez.com Awards: Best Short Film Ciclo De Cortometrajes Por Los Derechos Humanos, Best Documentary Short Film Rodinia Short Film Festival, Best Documentary – Youth Audience Award Cronograf: Festival International De Film Documentar, Tropic Of Europe Prize Festival Internacional De Cortos De Almuñécar
Twelve-year-old Rubina lives with her family in the Garib Nagar slum just outside of Mumbai. The rusty containers that serve as housing are virtually piled on top of one another, and stand in between heaps of trash. Children frolic in the landfill, where goats and rats also wander about. Around 150 million Indians live in similar squalor. It looks pretty rough, but Rubina is happy with her neighborhood. In her eyes, it’s always a pleasant place to be, with plenty of other kids to play with – after all, every house boasts handfuls of children. While the merry little girl talks about life in the slum, we are treated to the sight of young faces covered in soot and messy alleyways. Little ones swim freely in a filthy well, while others piece together an evening meal. You might consider these dire conditions, but Rubina doesn’t mind. Of course she gets sick on a regular basis, and it’s tough walking around in water up to your ankles during the rainy season. But you can also look at it another way: at least then you get to shower every day! Though Rubina attended the 2008 Academy Awards for her role in the box-office hit Slumdog Millionaire, very little has changed for her. In her own words, “This is not a movie, this is my life.”
Shanne and Her Friends Shanne og veninderne Ulla Søe, Sussie Weinold
Denmark, 2012 DCP, color, 38 min Director: Ulla Søe, Sussie Weinold Photography: Martin Munch Editing: Camilla Ebling Sound: Peter Albrechtsen Music: Sune Martin Production: Mette Mailand for Plus Pictures World Sales: Plus Pictures Screening Copy: Plus Pictures
Ulla Søe:
Our First Child (2007) Mr. Beard (2008) Dancing Simon (2009) My Dog (2010) The Girls Room (2012)
Sussie Weinold:
Small Faces (2005) The Family (2006) The Art of Surviving as a Child (2008) Streetdance (2011) The Girls Room (2012)
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Shanne is 13 and her good friend from school is moving to France. That’s a major problem for Shanne, because it won’t be easy to find someone she can walk to school with and hang out with during recess. The thing is, everyone’s already part of a group. And as Shanne herself explains, she’s the kind of girl who needs to have a friend. Her best friend Emma goes to a different school, and in the time they do get to spend together, Emma seems to be rethinking their friendship. During summer vacation, Emma hung out with Shanne’s arch-enemy, and now Shanne is struggling to maintain her status as best friend. But a new school year brings new opportunities and new friendships. All the classes get reorganized, and Shanne finds herself in a group of girls she feels comfortable with. Her connection is particularly strong with Daniella, with whom she shares Colombian roots. “We really were best friends,” reflects Shanne about Emma, “and we still are, but not like before.” She discovers that building new friendships is a precarious business, and that she has changed. “You change a bit when you’re with someone new.” Perhaps the moody Emma isn’t the best imaginable girlfriend after all.
183
Kids & Docs
Sunflower Seeds Antonis Tolakis
WORLD PREMIERE They have the same dreams all young boys have: becoming a pro soccer player, or a doctor. And they play like ordinary children: climbing trees, dancing and making music together, swimming in the fountain, throwing little stones at one another. But however carefree they may seem, this group of boys roaming the streets of Athens faces some serious problems. In a country where most people can barely keep their heads above water, there is hardly any room for refugees, which these boys are. Don’t come to Greece, one of them advises us. Children lose their parents, for they can’t earn a living. One of the boys is 12-year-old Sayid. His father is unemployed, so Sayid has to earn a few euros every day by selling sunflower seeds. He and his family suffer from the poverty and growing xenophobia that have overtaken the country. “I’ve been here about two years, and it feels like 20 years have passed,” Sayid tells us. The film begins with a quote from Bertolt Brecht about how it’s a shame that children don’t stay children. If they did, we could keep telling them fairytales.
Greece, 2013 DCP, color, 27 min
Antonis Tolakis: Voiceless (2012)
Director: Antonis Tolakis Photography: Antonis Tolakis Screenplay: Antonis Tolakis Editing: Pietro Radin Sound: Orestis Kaberidis Production: Antonis Tolakis for Antonis Tolakis Production World Sales: Antonis Tolakis Production Screening Copy: Antonis Tolakis Production
Through the Fire Door het vuur Miguel Narings
WORLD PREMIERE
“What are you going to do this weekend?” the teacher asks her students. Armando has by far the most spectacular answer of the all: perform a stunt at the seaside resort of Scheveningen. He doesn’t say it with the bravado you might expect, but rather a little shyly. It’s immediately obvious that there’s a good story here, and it turns out to be completely true: Armando is really going to drive through a sea of fire. The announcer gives him quite a bit of build-up by saying that Armando has wanted to be a stuntman since the age of six, and dreams of a career in Hollywood. Now the talk has been talked, and he has to walk the walk. But at the last minute he pulls out – apparently, he’s not the daredevil he thought he was after all. Life’s not easy with a father who works as a window washer during the week and a stuntman on weekends. But the fat lady hasn’t sung yet – they’re going to try it another way. The tension builds to the max, with a lot of slow motion and dropping out the sound. Alongside the intimate, unassuming scenes between father and son, music and other devices accentuate the show element of the stunt scenes.
184
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 16 min Director: Miguel Narings Photography: Jefrim Rothuizen Screenplay: Miguel Narings Editing: Tim Roza Sound: David Spaans Music: Bas Bron Production: Carlijn Kamps for AVRO Executive Production: Jolanda Drion for AVRO World Sales: AVRO Screening Copy: AVRO Involved TV Channel: AVRO
Miguel Narings:
The Simple Things in Life (2010) A Day in the Life of Haas & Hahn (2012) This is Not the End (2013)
www.miguelnarings.com
IDFAcademy Results
Kids & Docs
Through the Looking Glass De ietsnut Martijn Blekendaal
The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 20 min Director: Martijn Blekendaal Photography: Pim Hawinkels, Mladen Vekic Screenplay: Martijn Blekendaal Editing: Finbarr Wilbrink Sound: Ivar Trentelman, Sander den Broeder Narration: Martijn Blekendaal Production: Jolanda Drion for AVRO World Sales: AVRO Screening Copy: AVRO Involved TV Channel: AVRO
Martijn Blekendaal:
Benny (2011) The Man in Black (2011)
WORLD PREMIERE
Even though Marijn is only 12, he has known for years that he wants to be an artist. And he has talent: he can transform the most mundane objects into something really special at the drop of a hat. In his words, “By looking at things differently, you think about things differently. So you can make them into something else.” Marijn is a promising talent and has vision, so he gets admitted to a preparatory course at the Royal Academy of Art in The Hague. It’s an exciting time for him, as he starts preparing for his first big exam. He is working on 3D portraits of his classmates that will form the basis of his first exhibition, to be judged by an expert jury. We follow this young but extremely serious artist in the run-up to his big day. Marijn struggles to get the portraits just right. The fact that his work will be seen and judged in an adult way by real experts for the first time is great, but at the same time it’s complicated. How can he deal with serious criticism? And will his work be good enough to allow him to stay on at the art academy?
IDFAcademy Results
To Be a B-Girl Yasmin Angel
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE
Germany, 2013 HDcam, color, 20 min Director: Yasmin Angel Photography: Stefan Eisenburger, Frank Raatschen, Yasmin Angel Editing: Yasmin Angel Sound: Robert Keilbar Production: Janna Velber for Boogiefilm, Meike Martens for Blinker Filmproduktion GmbH Co-Production: Boogiefilm Screening Copy: Blinker Filmproduktion GmbH Involved TV Channel: WDR
Yasmin Angel:
Niemals aufgeben (fiction, 2011) A este lado (2012) Am rande (2013) Le Noctambule (fiction, 2013)
www.yasminangel.com
Girls who break dance are a rarity, but Jildou is one of them. She took part in her first battle at the age of 13, and now she is about to go to college. She knows that break dance is often associated with the ghetto. Maybe this is because a lot of its practitioners come from mixed backgrounds, as does she: her mother is German, her father Iraqi. Aside from her dancing, she dreams of the cliché happy life with two kids. This dynamic portrait switches from interviews and episodes from Jildou’s everyday life to footage of the battles she takes part in: exciting confrontations in which the dancers challenge and comment on one another. It’s all about who’s the best. They dance to hip hop music, cheer, catcall, applaud and gesticulate. Relaxing in a quiet dance studio, Jildou explains the meanings of the different gestures. Boys use one of them to show the length of their manhood, just one illustration of what a male-dominated world it is. But Jildou has now formed her own crew (“How I Met a B-Girl”) with girls from all over Germany. They are the only team of girls (and the only Germans) who are trying to compete in what for years has been the biggest tournament in the breakdance world: The Battle of the Year.
185
Kids & Docs
Tonight We’ll Become Women Vannacht worden we vrouwen Josefien Hendriks
Neighbors and best friends Ismini (13) and Komal (12) regularly sleep over at one another’s houses. As real “sandbox friends” – who have known each other since they were very young children – they know everything about one another. But of course they don’t know everything about life yet, so there’s a lot to talk about. For example, what happens when you get your period? And when does it happen? What is the difference between just a school friend and the close friendship Ismini and Komal have? How do you know if you are in love with a boy? And what time is it exactly? During a long night together, Ismini and Komal will cover all the issues teenage girls think about, and they will begin the transformation into young women. But will their close friendship hold up? The girls are filmed from above while they discuss all kinds of topics in voice-over. They lie in bed, they move, laugh and share the blankets. The stop-motion technique suggests the passing of time and the playful animation – a ticking clock on their flat girlish bellies and moving tampons and sanitary napkins – illustrate the content of the conversation, which is so vitally important to them. In the meantime, Ismini and Komal do what all serious best friends do: dance, dress up, play with one another’s hair – and giggle the night away.
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The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 15 min Director: Josefien Hendriks Photography: Claire Pijman Screenplay: Josefien Hendriks Editing: Albert Elings Sound: Evelien van der Molen Music: Marc Lizier Production: Boudewijn Koole for JvdWfilm Executive Production: Jolanda Segers for JvdWfilm Screening Copy: JvdWfilm Involved TV Channel: OHM
Josefien Hendriks:
We Ain’t Going Anywhere (2009) Between the Lines (2012) Fucking Beautiful (2012) Everything Will Be Different Now (2013)
IDFAcademy Results
non-Competitive programs Rithy Panh Retrospective In honor of Cambodian director Rithy Panh’s outstanding documentaries, IDFA is presenting a selection of six titles from his rich body of work. The retrospective includes his latest film The Missing Picture, which recently won the Un Certain Regard prize at the Cannes Film Festival. In addition to the retrospective, the festival is screening the director’s Top 10 favorite documentaries.
Rithy Panh Retrospective Rithy Panh Retrospective
Soft-Spoken Screams Having escaped the Khmer Rouge regime himself in 1979, Rithy Panh revisits Cambodia’s horrific recent past in his work and captures the aftershocks that still shake the present. What are we to make of a past that resists being seen? Rithy Panh’s quietly devastating films handle Cambodia’s recent history with care by giving it space to breathe. Aptly titled The Missing Picture, his latest documentary serves as a metaphor for his entire body of work: to give a voice and a face to his country’s suffering under the Khmer Rouge communist dictatorship. Often they are soft-spoken voices and expressionless faces, which gives these films an almost unreal tranquility. To hear former prisoners of the notorious S21 prison camp talk matter-of-factly about the torture they endured in S21, the Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, or the guards reminisce about the most efficient way to break people, is as revealing as it is bewildering and obscuring. It’s also hard to take
Photo: Richard Dumas
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in at times, as when the guards explain how bodies of prisoners got drained for blood, as if they were harvested. There aren’t many instances in the history of film where the perpetrators of such atrocities show themselves in the way they do here. Panh leaves himself and his questions out of the frame, but it’s obvious he gets them to talk by asking about details. When did you decide to torture a person? How many people were locked up in a single cell? How was your body chained to the wall? The regime also kept detailed notebooks of prisoner’s forced confessions, which still exist today. One of the few survivors of S21 explains how he stayed alive by painting portraits of the guards using only soft strokes and providing the faces with an innocent pink glow, because anything else meant disrespect and resulted in torture. Panh’s films provide a glimpse into the psychology of guilt. According to the guards, there was no way to resist the regime without being killed yourself. They regard themselves as victims of a cruel historic accident. This denial of responsibility is even more striking in Duch: Master of the Forges of Hell. Interviewed in the prison where he is serving a life sentence, the former director of S21 and head of the regime’s internal security branch subtly but consequently uses “they” when referring to the Khmer Rouge. He hides behind abstractions and refrains from giving details because he knows that is where his demons are. He does not want to remember. If you remember, Duch decided long ago, you have to fight yourself. All of Panh’s films show that an apparent tranquility hides a gaping wound, a pain and despair that can barely be contained. Going beyond the already daunting task to reveal links between past and present, Panh manages to connect the political extremism of the recent past with the economic extremism of Cambodia’s current liberal capitalist course. The basic premise of Paper Cannot Wrap Up Ember, in which the director talks to prostitutes living in a derelict building in Phonm Penh, has an elegant and brutal simplicity. Their stories of hardship – no money, extortion, violence, having to pay for their own abortions, which are the result of most clients refusing to use condoms – lay bare a society feeding off the weak. Panh shows this even more poignantly in The Land of the Wandering Souls. There’s a tragic absurdity to the lives of chronically underpaid workers who slaved for seven days a week to provide Cambodia with Alcatel’s fiberglass cable, back in the Internet boom days of 1999. It’s a cable they will never use, intended for a future they will never be a part of. Nonetheless, the past is right there beneath their feet as they dig up live explosives and the remains of victims of the Khmer Rouge.
Rithy Panh Retrospective Rithy Panh Retrospective
The Missing Picture
This is also what Rithy Panh’s films do: they stay close to the ground and dig up the past, careful where they place the shovel. Even though many would probably prefer not to be reminded of what lies buried, Panh is convinced that the only way for his country to move forward is through confronting it. That will not be easy, as he shows elegantly in The Burnt Theatre, about the rundown National Theater in Phonm Penh that has become a metaphor for the annihilation of Cambodia’s theater culture under the Khmer dictatorship. Inside, actors tell stories and rehearse for a staging of Cyrano, while outside, throughout the film, Panh records the pulsating sounds of pile drivers building a casino and hotel resort. No one wants to hear the actors. Panh’s films provide a crucial missing picture and will go on to become witnesses and memories themselves, even though the director never stops warning that they only provide reflections of the past – distorted reflections at best. That may be, but without them the horrors of one of the most violent extremist regimes in history would have remained invisible forever.
Filmography Rithy Pahn Site 2 (1989) Cambodia: Between War and Peace (1991) The Rice People (fiction, 1994) Bophana: A Cambodian Tragedy (1996) One Evening After the War (fiction, 1998) The Land of the Wandering Souls (2000) Que le barque se brise, que la jongue s’entrouve (fiction, 2001) The People of Angkor (2003) S21, the Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (2003) The Burnt Theatre (2005) Paper Cannot Wrap Embers (2007) The Sea Wall (fiction, 2008) The Catch (fiction, 2011) Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell (2012) The Missing Picture (2013)
Ronald Rovers Film critic, de Filmkrant
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Rithy Panh Retrospective
The Burnt Theatre Rithy Panh
Although the Khmer Rouge systematically eradicated Cambodian culture, the National Theater in Phnom Penh remained intact, probably because they needed a venue for their propagandistic meetings. The destruction didn’t come until 1994, when the theater burned down, ironically during construction to restore it. In this film, Rithy Panh uses the ruins of the theater as a backdrop for his tribute to the extinct national theater tradition and a plea to give the arts a prominent place in the national consciousness, especially because they can help the country reconcile itself with its traumatic past. Many actors were murdered by the regime, and Panh invites young actors to share their memories of them in interviews, which are interspersed with rehearsals for an adaptation of Cyrano de Bergerac. Meanwhile, they also must make a living, performing in nightclubs and karaoke videos. The dictatorship is gone, but nowadays poverty is a very real threat for many Cambodians. Nearby, we hear the constant sound of pile drivers as a casino and hotel resort appear out of nowhere, monuments to the new capitalist ideology that is determining the country’s political direction. The contrast to the collapsed theater makes it painfully evident where the priorities lie.
Cambodia, France, 2005 video, color, 83 min Director: Rithy Panh Photography: Prum Mésar Screenplay: Rithy Panh, Agnès Sénémaud Editing: Marie-Christine Rougerie Music: Marc Marder Production: Catherine Dussart for Catherine Dussart Production (CDP) World Sales: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel Screening Copy: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel
Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell Duch, le maître des forges de l’enfer Rithy Panh
While S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine focuses on the guards from secret prison camp S21, Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell zooms in on Duch, commander of this infamous punishment camp where 12,380 met their deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. Interviewed in prison during his trial, this frail elderly man talks in cold, almost abstract terms of the horrors that took place under his command. The prisoners were seen as animals, walking corpses – there was never any intention of releasing them. But then again, other camps were even worse, Duch assures us. Panh’s documentary confirms the banality of mass murderers noted by philosopher Hannah Ahrendt. Duch refers to his involvement with the Khmer Rouge as a strategy for survival, in the same way that suppressing painful memories is also a way to survive – not only because this saves him from asking himself difficult questions, but it also means he needn’t answer those asked by others. It is difficult to say what this man really thinks and feels. His conversion to Christianity could be prompted simply by the forgiveness this religion offers, but it could equally be a sign of genuine contrition. Once again, it turns out that to make simple judgments about the nature of evil is often to distort the facts.
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Cambodia, France, 2011 video, color, 110 min Director: Rithy Panh Photography: Prum Mésar Screenplay: Rithy Panh Editing: Marie-Christine Rougerie Sound: Sear Vissal Music: Marc Marder Production: Catherine Dussart for Catherine Dussart Production (CDP) World Sales: Films Distribution Screening Copy: Films Distribution
Rithy Panh Retrospective
The Land of the Wandering Souls La terre des âmes errantes Rithy Panh
It’s 1999, and the French telecom giant Alcatel is starting to lay the first fiber-optic cable through Southeast Asia. The project provides a few months’ labor through local contractors for Cambodian workers, who dig the ditches for the cable. The grotesque irony is that they are working for progress that will never be theirs. They are so ignorant of its purpose that it is explained to them through the analogy of a wizard with eyes and ears that can see and hear the whole world. “It’s for the Internet,” says one; “I don’t even have electricity,” says the other. Some of them have brought along their entire family to work, but the pay is so low it is impossible to save – even if they work around the clock until their hands are covered in blisters. It’s also a dangerous project, because they often dig up grenades. And then there are the foremen who withhold their pay. Some try to share their woes with their workmates, but every one of them is clearly on his own. Every action and transaction is a struggle, and any money saved increases the chance of survival. And onward rolls the reel, connecting places in the world unknown to these people.
Cambodia, France, 2000 video, color, 102 min Director: Rithy Panh Photography: Prum Mésar Screenplay: Rithy Panh Editing: Isabelle Roudy, MarieChristine Rougerie Music: Marc Marder Production: Cati Couteau for Institut National de l’Audiovisuel World Sales: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel Screening Copy: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel
The Missing Picture L’image manquante Rithy Panh
Cambodia, France, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 90 min Director: Rithy Panh Photography: Prum Mésar, Rithy Panh Editing: Marie-Christine Rougerie, Rithy Panh Sound: Eric Tisserand Music: Marc Marder Production: Catherine Dussart for Catherine Dussart Production (CDP) World Sales: Films Distribution Distribution for the Netherlands: Contact Film Cinematheek Screening Copy: Contact Film Cinematheek
Awards: Un Certain Regard Award Cannes Film Festival, Best Documentary Award Jerusalem Film Festival
No reconstructed interviews with perpetrators and victims like in his earlier films S21 and Duch, but rather clay figures and found footage are the means by which Rithy Panh recounts his own history during the Khmer Rouge dictatorship. Halfway through life, the images of our childhood return, explains the voice-over – Panh is almost 50 – and those images are always bittersweet. But Panh has to create them himself, for besides the Khmer’s propaganda, which included orchestrated documentaries and badly acted action scenes illustrating their triumphs, there is no recorded material from that time. The French voice-over is based on texts from Panh’s book The Elimination. We see a single photo cutout of brothers and sisters, from a happy time before Pol Pot’s troops stormed the capital with their “pure” revolution. But as the voice-over explains, the revolution begins with purity and ends with hate. Hundreds of clay figures stand frozen in landscapes as the camera wanders over them. They’re called paintings of death, silent witnesses filling in for those with a voice. Images like these also raise questions about representation. If all historic images and reconstructions are fictitious, how can you make a gruesome but invisible history comprehensible without resorting to bogus drama and sensation? What is the essence of it all?
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Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers Le papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise Rithy Panh
In an unfinished apartment building in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, prostitutes talk about their lives: their miserable wages, their madam’s cut for “protecting” them, the abortions they have to pay for themselves and the beatings they endure from their customers. They try to find warmth and security by huddling together and sharing their experiences. To numb their pain, they smoke yama, a synthetic mix of caffeine and methamphetamine. They dream of a rich older man who will take them away, and someone always knows someone who knows someone else whom that happened to, but it certainly doesn’t happen to them. Returning to the rural areas where most of them came from is impossible, for they are bound to their madam in a stranglehold and first must resolve their debts to her. The faces are emotionless, and there is no message here. The restraint with which the film captures modern slavery in the Cambodian sex industry makes the women’s stories all the more poignant.
Cambodia, France, 2007 video, color, 87 min Director: Rithy Panh Photography: Prum Mésar Editing: Marie-Christine Rougerie Sound: Sear Vissal Music: Marc Marder Production: Catherine Dussart for Catherine Dussart Production (CDP) Co-Production: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel World Sales: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel Screening Copy: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel
S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine S21, la machine de mort khmère rouge Rithy Panh
From 1975 to 1979, some two million Cambodians were killed in the massive purges under Pol Pot’s Khmer Rouge. In penal colony S21 in Phnom Penh, some of the most horrendous events took place. A quarter century later, acclaimed director Rithy Panh returns to the camp with two survivors and their former captors – guards, interrogators, a doctor and a photographer. There, he confronts them with each other and their past. Their personal accounts are a cautious attempt to help Cambodia come to grips with a troubled collective memory. Supported by photos and reports, the camera calmly documents the stories of those who lived through it all. Still completely shell-shocked, the victims seek explanations and apologies, while the inflictors mainly wash their hands of the matter. After all, they were only following orders, but this required them to suspend their own conscience, for their leaders were always right. Not without enthusiasm, the ex-guards demonstrate in the empty rooms how they used to treat their prisoners. Apart from an enumeration of the official sentences and causes of death, the film gives a detailed account of the actual torture methods and massacres. S21 provides a pessimistic view of human nature, and the dividing line between civilization and barbarism appears shockingly thin.
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Cambodia, France, 2003 video, color, 101 min Director: Rithy Panh Photography: Prum Mésar, Rithy Panh Editing: Marie-Christine Rougerie, Isabelle Roudy Sound: Sear Vissal Music: Marc Marder Production: Cati Couteau for Institut National de l’Audiovisuel World Sales: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel Screening Copy: Institut National de l’Audiovisuel Involved TV Channel: ARTE France 4
non-Competitive programs Rithy Panh’s Top 10 Cambodian director Rithy Panh has selected his Top 10 favorite documentaries, including Pedro Costa’s In Vanda’s Room, Robert Kramer’s Milestones and two classics by Dutch director Joris Ivens, The Football Incident and A Tale of the Wind. In addition to the Top 10, IDFA is also screening a selection from Panh’s rich body of work.
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RityRithy PanhPanh’s Top 10Top 10
“Poetry is possible, even after genocide” Through his films, French-Cambodian filmmaker Rity Panh carefully and painstakingly attempts to reconstruct Cambodia’s recent past under the Khmer Rouge and the aftershocks of a regime that destroyed a quarter of the country’s population. For IDFA 2013, he has selected 10 films that he feels deeply connected with. Was it hard to select these 10 films?
“It was very hard because I like a lot of films. Curiously, I don’t like to talk so much about them. In the end, I tried to choose films that reflect me, my involvement with the world and my sincerity in filmmaking.” They all explore the complex relationship between truth and fiction, an element that is also very present in your own films.
“A documentary has quality when there is some element of fiction in it. Take In Vanda’s Room. Where does the fiction end? I don’t know, but it’s a documentary film. Or take A Man Vanishes: at the end we discover that maybe everything we’ve been watching was fiction. Or take Cassavetes’s films, which are not in the selection. When one of his actors expresses a deep-felt belief, or if the take lasts more than a minute, you could argue that the film stops being a fiction film. In Alone, Wang Bing’s version of the life of these three young girls living alone in the mountains is his version, but through the long takes, he manages to capture something close to reality.”
“Of course: we both make films about these enormous subjects like genocide and human dignity. But Lanzmann always refused to use images, such as archive footage or painting, except in his latest film. I don’t refuse anything because, again, a documentary is not reality, it’s my reality. I can never know what exactly happened in my country’s past under the Khmer Rouge. Only the victims and the perpetrators know something. What I can do is use what’s at my disposal to approach the truth. But another director can make another S21. My film is not definitive, it’s not the end of history. It’s more like a false mirror.” Lanzmann is sometimes very present in the frame. You never do that.
“There is no need for me to be there. I like to give all the screen time to the people I interview. Even the time outside of the frame. Sometimes I give them a question an hour before I start filming, to give them a chance to remember and try to find the right words, to find something much more precise in their memory. Sometimes I shoot directly, like Lanzmann or Jean Rouch or Wang Bing. Sometimes that’s necessary. Sometimes I come back one year later and ask the same question. It took me three years to make S21. You know,
Milestones
In Vanda’s Room
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Going back in time, do you feel your searches into Cambodia’s past started out in the footsteps of Claude Lanzmann?
Rithy Panh’s TopTop 10 10 Rity Panh
the camera is a disturbing presence. Of course I made The Land of Wandering Souls more like cinema verité, like Rouch’s films. But even then, really, where is the verité? I don’t know.”
1976, he’s a different man. But even then it’s not just propaganda. It also manages to capture very precisely what ideology is and how it works. It’s very interesting to see these films in 2013.”
Trying to reconstruct the past has complicated issues of representation. The title of your last film The Missing Picture refers to that.
Did you ever meet Joris Ivens and Marceline Loridan Ivens?
“Through images, I try to reconstruct the identity and dignity of the people. Adorno said that writing poetry after Auschwitz is barbaric. For 20 years I thought he was right. But now I think poetry is possible. Painting is possible. Even after genocide. We need to use artistic creativity to find the images that disappeared, discover how we can define dignity again, think about how we can approach a certain reality and find a good distance between us and the people we film. Most of the directors in this Top 10 list did not make a film about people but made a film with people. In Milestones, for example, you sense that Robert Kramer shares something very deeply with the people in his film. He really believes in his film – it’s like a faith. I wanted to show filmmakers who express involvement, engagement. Political, historical and social involvement, like Wang Bing and Joris Ivens. Ivens’s involvement with the Chinese communist revolution is very sincere, even though he changed his view in the course of his life. That’s why at the end he made A Tale of the Wind, about the elusiveness of truth. At the time of The Football Incident, a short from
“I have met Marceline. She will come to Amsterdam during the festival. She’s a very, very nice person and she has a lot to say.” Ivens’s involvement was different from the involvement that Wang Bing shows in his films. Where does such involvement of the filmmaker end?
“I don’t know. There’s one thing these 10 films have in common: the filmmakers were free. You must be free when you make a film. Even I Am Cuba, a Soviet propaganda film, has freedom in its form, in the movement of the camera. What Scorsese did many years later was already in that film. But it’s true, ideologically not all of the filmmakers were free. It will be very interesting for students of cinema to see these 10 films, one after the other, and see how different directors from different countries deal with the truth, deal with reality, deal with memory, how they film political and social issues. Making a film, I think, is like finding your way, your place, where you are in this world.” Ronald Rovers Film critic, de Filmkrant
A Tale of the Wind
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Rithy Panh’s Top 10
Alone
Gudu Wang Bing Ten years after Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks, which documented China’s transition to a modern industrial society and the growing pains this involves, filmmaker Wang Bing finds three sisters aged four, six and ten living with no parents 10,000 feet above sea level, in a small village in Yunnan province. Their mother has disappeared, while their father works in a nearby city and comes home every now and again to bring them new clothes. Family members and other villagers help keep the three children alive – efforts which, along with the communal vegetable garden, evoke the old days of socialism. This oscillation between modernization on the one hand and older values on the other is reflected by switching from long, patient observation by the camera to sudden accelerations and questions from the filmmaker, who operates the camera himself while recording the silent desperation and deprivations of this fragmented family. The mist that surrounds the village almost daily gives the impression that it has withdrawn from the rest of the world – although this proves an illusion. The surrounding areas are modernizing, the mayor explains, so the cost of living will have to increase here, too. All this escapes the children completely. They are too busy collecting food and delousing one another to notice.
Hong Kong, France, 2012 DCP, color, 89 min Director: Wang Bing Photography: Wenhai Huang, Wang Bing, Peifeng Li Screenplay: Wang Bing Editing: Louis Prince Sound: Wang Bing, Wenhai Huang Production: Sylvie Faguer for Album Productions Co-Production: Chinese Shadows Screening Copy: Chinese Shadows Involved TV Channel: ARTE France
Wang Bing:
West of the Tracks (2003) Fengming, a Chinese Memoir (2007) Crude Oil (2008) Coal Money (2008) The Ditch (fiction, 2010)
Dont Look Back D.A. Pennebaker
A few years after the birth of Direct Cinema, D. A. Pennebaker created the genre’s first undeniable masterpiece with this documentary of Bob Dylan’s 1965 British tour. At the invitation of Dylan’s manager, Pennebaker traveled alongside the singer-songwriter. Using his fly-on-the-wall style, he set the bar for all subsequent documentaries on pop music. Dont Look Back mainly concentrates on the events around the shows. Although the whimsical Dylan only seems to relax onstage, the film features almost no concert footage. With artists like Joan Baez, Alan Price and Donovan in his wake, the troubadour travels across the coal-dusted landscape by car and train and jams in dingy hotel rooms. Surrounded by shady impresarios and managers, hysterical fans and fanatical journalists, the singer regularly loses his cool. The secret of the film lies not only in Pennebaker’s ingenuity, but particularly in the fact that this was the first time the still somewhat timid Dylan was filmed so extensively.
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USA, 1967 35mm, black-and-white, 96 min Director: D.A. Pennebaker Photography: D.A. Pennebaker Editing: D.A. Pennebaker Sound: Jones Alk Production: Albert Grossman, John Court for Leacock-Pennebaker, Inc. World Sales: Jane Balfour Services Screening Copy: EYE Film Instituut Nederland
D.A. Pennebaker:
Monterey Pop (1968), Company: Original Cast Album (1970), One P.M. (1972), Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1973), Elaine Stritch at Liberty (2006), Startup.com (2001)
D.A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus:
Town Bloody Hall (1979), DeLorean (1981), Rockaby (1981), Dance Black America (1983), Jerry Lee Lewis (1990), The War Room (1993), Keine Zeit (1996), Bessie (1998), Moon over Broadway (1998), Only the Strong Survive (2002), Return of the War Room (2008), Kings of Pastry (2009) a.o.
www.phfilms.com
Rithy Panh’s Top 10
Farrebique – The Four Seasons Farrebique – les quatres saisons Georges Rouquier
France, 1946 35mm, black-and-white, 90 min Director: Georges Rouquier Photography: André A. Dantan Screenplay: Georges Rouquier Editing: Madeleine Gug Sound: René Lucuyer Music: Henri Sauget Narration: Georges Rouquier Production: Jacques Girard Screening Copy: Les Documents Cinématographiques
Georges Rouquier:
Beauty and the Bullfighter (fiction, 1954) Lourdes and Its Miracles (1955) S.O.S. Noronha (fiction, 1957) Biquefarre (fiction, 1983)
Awards: FIPRESCI Prize Cannes Film Festival, Grand Prix Du Cinéma Français Cannes Film Festival, Gold Medal Venice Film Festival, Grand Epi d’Or Rome
Between 1944 and 1946, actor-director Georges Rouquier employed the fictional realism of Robert Flaherty’s Nanouk of the North to depict French farming life in the postwar period. Much of the film was clearly staged, in contrast to for instance the patient observations of Raymond Depardon’s Profils paysans trilogy. Rouquier’s style made waves, and film critics awarded the film their most important award at the inaugural Cannes Film Festival. Rouquier chose to focus on the village of Goutrens, in his home region Aveyron. Farrebique is the name of a farmstead that has been owned by the same family for generations. Now, quarrels about its inheritance by the eldest son stand in the way of a much-needed renovation. Rouquier attempts to show the similarities between the people and the land: the cracks in the walls, the rows of soil in the freshly ploughed fields, and the furrows on weathered faces. Over the course of four seasons, with rare time-lapse images, the camera creates a saga about people who would otherwise never have appeared onscreen. In spite of the critical acclaim with which the film was received, Rouquier didn’t manage to make the sequel Biquefarre until 1983, only a few years before his death.
The Football Incident
Une histoire de ballon, lycée no. 3: Pékin Joris Ivens, Marceline Loridan-Ivens
France, 1976 video, color, 20 min Director: Joris Ivens, Marceline Loridan-Ivens Production: Capi Films Screening Copy: Capi Films Awards: Best Documentary Short César Awards
Joris Ivens & Marceline Loridan-Ivens:
17 Paralelle la guerre du people (1967), Auteur du pétrole: Taking (1976), Entraînement au cirque de Pekin (1976), Impression d’un ville: Shangai (1976), La pharmacie: Shangai (1976), Le village de Pëcheurs: Shantoung (1976), Une repetition a l’opera de Pekin (1976), Une caserne: Nankin (1976), Une femme, une famille: Pékin (1976), Lúsine de generateurs: Shanghai (1976), A Tale of the Wind (1988) a.o.
This short film actually focuses not on the soccer incident itself, but on its consequences. A boy kicks a ball after a teacher has said recess is over. This apparently minor incident prompts a classroom discussion in which the events are examined ideologically. Joris Ivens and Marceline Loridan-Ivens’s film is one part in the 12-part series How Yukong Moved the Mountains, which they made from 1972 to 1976 at the invitation of the Chinese Prime Minister Zhou En-Lai. Zhou was attempting to introduce more moderate policies following the first radical and violent years of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Despite the chaos it had brought to Mainland China, Zhou wanted to present a positive image to the outside world. Ivens and Loridan traveled with young filmmakers around a country that was all but sealed off from the rest of the world. Despite being filmed in cinema verité style, the director’s gaze does not fall on the darker aspects of the regime. In this episode, Chinese schoolchildren in the class and playground chat effusively, spontaneously and unaffectedly.
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I Am Cuba Soy Cuba Mikheil Kalatozov
This 1964 Russian-Cuban co-production is a masterpiece. Not necessarily for its theme or story, but all the more for its lyrical imagery. Director Michail Kalatozov (1903-1973) is more widely known for his The Cranes Are Flying (1957), the most prominent expression of the slacking of cultural censorship in late-1950s Soviet Union, and I Am Cuba shows that its makers took advantage of this new artistic freedom. The film tells four stories from the buildup to Cuba’s violent revolution in 1959. In Havana, Maria faces shame when a man who fancies her discovers how she makes a living. Pedro, an aging farmer, is summarily told that his land has been sold to a multinational. A student watches as his friends get shot by police when they try to distribute a pro-Castro leaflet. And a farmer named Mariano joins the guerrillas in their fight when his family is threatened. The film was a nightmare for the Soviet censors, since depraved capitalism gets the upper hand over revolutionary heroism. On top of that, it features jazz and rock ‘n’ roll – anti-Soviet music to say the least. I Am Cuba was shelved, virtually unseen, until the American director Martin Scorsese rediscovered the film in 1992.
Cuba, Russia, 1964 35mm, black-and-white, 141 min Director: Mikheil Kalatozov Photography: Sergei Urusevsky Screenplay: Enrique Pineda Barnet, Yevgeny Yevtushenko Editing: Nina Glagoleva Sound: Vladlen Sharun Music: Carlos Fariñas Production: Bela Fridman, Semyon Maryakhin, Miguel Mendoza World Sales: Mr Bongo Screening Copy: Independent Cinema Office Awards: Archival Award National Society Of Film Critics
Mikhail Kalatozov:
Opening of Zahesi, Electric Power Station, (1927), Stud Farm (1927), Afghan Khan in the Tibilisi (1928), Moscow MXAT Theatre in Tibilisi (1929), Little Blonde Girl (fiction 1930), Jim Shvante (Salt for Svaneti) (1930), Nail in the Boot (fiction, 1931), Courage (fiction, 1939), Wings of Victory (1941), Conspiracy of the Doomed (fiction, 1950), The First Echelon (fiction, 1957), Letter Never Sent (fiction, 1960), The Red Tent (fiction, 1969)
Mikhail Kalatozov & Nutsa Gogoberidze: Their Empire (1928)
In Vanda’s Room No quarto da Vanda Pedro Costa
This is the second part of Pedro Costa’s “Fontainhas” trilogy, following Ossos and preceding Colossal Youth. The trilogy is named after a slum on the outskirts of Lisbon, where the filmmaker became friends with people he has invited back in various films – a slum that has virtually disappeared. The first two films reveal the daily malaise of people who struggle to survive in this underworld on earth: a woman and her baby in Ossos, and two addicts named Vanda and Zita in In Vanda’s Room. Costa didn’t capture them from afar, but rather immersed himself in the community. His rigorous formalism dictated that precisely the right light and the appropriate distance from the people had to be found, and that he as the filmmaker should be on the same footing as his subjects. Exploitation and sensation were impermissible. In fact, Costa sought out the contrary: his patient observations play down the scenes. There’s no plot here, and the action regularly jumps around in time, but it remains unclear as to what has happened in the interim. This isn’t important though – in Costa’s mind, the primary function of cinema is to make the beholder feel that something is completely out of whack.
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Portugal, 2000 35mm, color, 179 min Director: Pedro Costa Photography: Pedro Costa Editing: Patricia Saramago, Dominique Auvray Sound: Stephan Konken Production: Francisco Villa-Lobos for Contracosta Produções, Karl Baumgartner for Pandora Film, Andres Pfaeffli for Ventura Film Screening Copy: OPTEC Involved TV Channels: ZDF, RTSI
Pedro Costa:
Blood (fiction, 1989), Down to Earth (fiction, 1994), Bones (fiction, 1997), Where Does Your Hidden Smile Lie? (2001), Colossal Youth (fiction, 2006), Change Nothing (2009), Our Man (2011)
Awards: Prize Of Excellence Yamagata International Documentary Festival, FIPRESCI Prize Yamagata International Documentary Festival, Youth Jury Award Locarno International Film Festival, Don Quixote Award Locarno International Film Festival, France Culture Award Foreign Cineaste of the Year Cannes Film Festival
Rithy Panh’s Top 10
A Man Vanishes Ningen johatsu Shohei Imamura
Japan, 1967 HDcam, color/black-and-white, 130 min Director: Shohei Imamura Photography: Kenji Ishiguro Screenplay: Shohei Imamura Editing: Mutsuo Tanji Sound: Takeshige Kunio, Toshiro Mayuzumi Music: Toshiro Mayuzumi Production: Shohei Imamura for Imamura Productions Co-Production: Art Theatre Guild of Japan, Nihon Eiga Shinsha World Sales: Wide House Screening Copy: Wide House
Shohei Imamura:
Stolen Desire (fiction, 1958), Nishi Ginza Station (fiction, 1958), My Second Brother (fiction, 1960), Mohumatsu Returns Home (1973), Karayuki-San, the Making of a Prostitute (1975), Vengeance Is Mine (fiction, 1979), Why Not? (fiction, 1981), The Ballad of Narayama (1983), Zegen (fiction, 1987), Black Rain (fiction, 1989), The Eel (fiction, 1997), Dr. Agaki (fiction, 1998), Warm Water Under a Red Bridge (fiction, 2001) a.o.
Shohei Imamura’s Japanse New Wave classic starts off with the search for Tadashi Oshima, a 32-year-old salesman who has mysteriously disappeared. Once intended as a series about the large number of disappearances in Japanese society, this meta-documentary initially masquerades as a TV report, with an interviewer painstakingly trying to reconstruct the life of a man. Along the way, however, the film turns into a reflection on the subjectivity of filmmaking and Japanese culture in general. The more witnesses tell us about the man who has disappeared, the more elusive he becomes: the narrative counterpart to Imamura’s typically (and consciously) “chaotic” visual style. Abrupt zooms and grainy close-ups imitate the realism of TV reports, but as the contours of the missing man blur among the ever-expanding and ever more contradictory witness statements, A Man Vanishes takes on an increasingly abstract form, with sudden cuts, out-of-sync audio and reactions from the crew to the making of the film. Imamura exposes the construction of reality and provides a sardonic commentary on the assumed realism of cinema verité. This deliberately derailed documentary is like a snake biting its own tail.
Awards: Best Director Mainichi Film Concours
Milestones
Robert Kramer, John Douglas
USA, 1975 35mm, color/black-and-white, 195 min
Robert Kramer & John Douglas:
Director: Robert Kramer, John Douglas Photography: John Douglas, Robert Kramer, Barbara Stone Screenplay: Robert Kramer Editing: John Douglas, Robert Kramer Music: Bobby Büchler Production: David Stone for Stone Media, Barbara Stone Screening Copy: Capricci Films
In the Country (fiction, 1967), The Edge (fiction, 1968), Ice (fiction, 1970), Scenes from the Class Struggle in Portugal (1977), Guns (fiction, 1980), Notre Nazi (1985), Diesel (fiction, 1985), Route One USA (1989), Starting Place (1994), Walk the Walk (fiction, 1996), Cities of the Plain (fiction, 2001)
The People’s War (1970)
Robert Kramer:
In the mid-1970s, propped in between 1960s civil rights and 1980s individualism, Robert Kramer and John Douglas interviewed dozens of American men and women who had rebelled against the establishment in the past decade. As founders of the Newsreel Collective, Kramer and Douglas had filmed The People’s War in Vietnam in 1969, about society in North Vietnam that was living (and dying) under American fire. Milestones centers around the leftist activists in the States, but it’s much more than a political statement. Through a combination of documentary and staged reenactments, it reveals the ideals of a generation that saw its vision crushed by reality. They had big dreams, but as the New York Times wrote in response to the film, if it had only rained for 20 days, Noah too would have had to leave his ark and make a life for himself in that same country. Such was the fate of these leftist activists. The situations are dramatized, but the ideas and experiences are real. For some, dreams have been replaced by narcissistic apathy, while others still live in communes and cling desperately to the remains of a utopia.
John Douglas:
Summer ‘68 (1969)
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Rithy Panh’s Top 10
A Tale of the Wind
Une histoire de vent Joris Ivens, Marceline Loridan-Ivens In their final film, Joris Ivens and Marceline Loridan-Ivens find a playful balance between fiction and documentary. At the beginning of the film, Ivens himself elucidates the story as follows: “At the end of the 19th century, the Old Man, the protagonist of this story, was born in a country where people went to extremes to tame the sea and control the wind. With his camera in hand, he filmed the stormy history of his time. When he is 90, this survivor of documented world wars leaves for China. He has conceived the insane plan to film the invisible wind.” In the film, Ivens plays himself: an aging filmmaker trying to capture the wind. The result is an allegorical fairytale in which numerous characters from Chinese mythology clash with excerpts from Ivens’s rich oeuvre and quotations from A Trip to the Moon by French illusionist and filmmaker George Méliès, in which Ivens himself suddenly has the starring role.
France, The Netherlands, 1988 35mm, color, 78 min
Joris Ivens & Marceline Loridan-Ivens:
Director: Joris Ivens, Marceline Loridan-Ivens Photography: Thierry Arbogast, Jacques Loiseleux Screenplay: Joris Ivens, Marceline Loridan-Ivens, Elisabeth D. Editing: Geneviève Louveau Sound: Jean Umansky Music: Michel Portal Production: Marceline Loridan-Ivens for Capi Films Screening Copy: Capi Films Involved TV Channels: NDR, Channel 4, WDR
Awards: Special Award São Paulo International Film Festival, Documentary Film Jury Special Award European Film Awards
17 Paralelle la guerre du people (1967), Le village de Pëcheurs: Shantoung (1976), Une repetition a l’opera de Pekin (1976), Une caserne: Nankin (1976), Une femme, une famille: Pékin (1976), Lúsine de generateurs: Shanghai (1976) a.o.
Touki Bouki – Journey of the Hyena Djibril Diop Mambety
This Senegalese debut became a critical success in 1973 thanks to its inventive dream sequences and darkly comic tone. It’s a road movie about two young people who dream of going to Paris but especially returning to Senegal afterwards, so they will be celebrated and respected by their countrymen. Working for the trip takes time and effort, so they decide to steal the money. But even this proves more difficult than they might have thought, and they don’t end up getting very far. Touki Bouki won the International Federation of Film Critics Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for its playful editing together of fantasy and neo-realism, at the time a unique combination in African cinema. Six years earlier, Med Hondo’s Franco-Mauritanian Soliel O bemoaned the post-colonial slavery of African immigrants in the dream city of Paris, but Touki Bouki points the finger at its own people as well, where corrupt public servants and a lethargic new generation impede progress through their greed. At the same time, the film resists a one-sided message, for the arrogant attitude of the French is the subject of much mockery. But beyond all these comic observations, a serious problem is lurking: the attraction of Western wealth and a young generation of Africans who inevitably become frustrated because they can’t attain it.
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Senegal, 1973 video, color, 88 min Director: Djibril Diop Mambety Photography: Georges Bracher, Pap Samba Sow Screenplay: Djibril Diop Mambety Editing: Siro Asteni Music: Joséphine Baker, Mado Robin, Aminata Fall Production: Djibril Diop Mambety World Sales: Maag Daan Crossmedia Screening Copy: Cineteca di Bologna
Djibril Diop Mambety:
Contra’s City (fiction, 1968) Badou Boy (fiction, 1970) Let’s Talk, Grandmother (1989) Hyenas (1992) Le Franc (fiction, 1994) The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun (fiction, 1999)
Awards: International Critics Award Cannes Film Festival, Diploma Award Moscow Film Festival, FIPRESCI Prize Moscow Film Festival
non-Competitive programs Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia In recent years, fiction films from Southeast Asia have gained a firm foothold in the international film world, prompting IDFA to investigate how documentary filmmakers in the region are developing. The resulting program consists of 14 recent documentaries from Myanmar (formerly Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. Through everyday observations, they reveal life in countries in transition, where new boundaries and relationships are being explored. The short film Tyres is also screening in the IDFA Competition for Student Documentary and can be found in that section. This program is supported by Stichting Democratie & Media.
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Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Small Stories About Big Changes In recent years, feature films from Southeast Asia have gained a firm foothold in the international film world, prompting IDFA to spotlight creative documentary films from young filmmakers in the region – emerging voices eager to share their stories with their countrymen and the world. Fourteen recent documentaries from Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are screening at this year’s festival. Through small everyday observations, they reveal that life in these countries is in constant transition, and new boundaries and relationships are being explored there every day. The conflicts and struggles are different in each country, but they all show a duality within their changing societies. Malaysia is one of the top 10 economies in the world, but it is often listed among the bottom 10 when it comes to freedom of speech. In Cambodia, filmmakers are still invested in revealing the tragedies of the country’s recent history, but they also realize that there are other stories to tell. And while Myanmar has recently shaken off the shackles of its military regime, that doesn’t mean that anything goes. Young filmmakers are chronicling these changes with a remarkable
energy. When an IDFA delegation traveled through the region earlier this year, this energy was most clearly visible at the Yangon Film School in Myanmar. Only five years old and with very limited means, the institute is nevertheless a hotbed of cinematic activity. This is where we stumbled upon Behind the Screen, for instance, in which the filmmaker dissects his parents’ marriage. They were film icons in 1960s Myanmar, and it turns out the heartrending scenes they acted out on the silver screen are a pretty accurate reflection of their real lives. In many ways, Behind the Screen is exemplary for the whole program, in its telling of a larger cultural story through a personal one. These filmmakers are not responding to their circumstances with sweeping political statements, but instead focus on personal stories, often about family life, to say something about life in their country. The Vietnamese short Grandfather and the Malaysian House/Grandparent reflect on life in these two very different countries through their stories of grandparents, and Consider holds up a mirror to Thailand’s reputation as a sexually liberated country where anything goes with its story of the many hardships a transgender person has faced in her life. The genial short Chocolate Comedy (also part of the program section Stand-Up Documentary) focuses on a young Indonesian boy’s attempts to become a stand-up comedian, while his community still looks down on this foreign art form. Travel is an important theme in the films. The Indonesian film The Mangoes gives us the very personal story of another transgender person who travels from her new home in metropolitan Jakarta to the village where she was born, facing her family for the first time. While the filmmaker refrains from giving comment, the road trip in the film speaks volumes about modern-day Indonesia. Boundary portrays an age-old border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia through a road trip taken by the filmmaker, weaving the philosophy, sociology and his personal experiences into an artistic whole. While Boundary is the only film in this theme program to focus on borders explicitly, in the end that is what all 14 films are about. Each in their own way, they lay bare and challenge the borders of their societies.
Boundary
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Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
400WORDS 400KATA Ismail Basbeth
Indonesia, 2013 DCP, color, 13 min Director: Ismail Basbeth Co-director: Fajar Martha Santosa Photography: Satria Kurnianto, Suryo Wiyogo Screenplay: Ismail Basbeth Editing: Ismail Basbeth Sound: Ken Nanemikayon Music: Charlie Meliala Production: Ismail Basbeth for Bosan Berisik Films Screening Copy: Bosan Berisik Films
Ismail Basbeth:
Hide and Sleep (fiction, 2008) Harry Van Yogya (2010) Shelter (fiction, 2011) Ritual (fiction, 2012) Who the Fuck Is Ismail Basbeth (2012) The Thieves (fiction, 2012)
WORLD PREMIERE
An engaged couple is lunching in a cafeteria, and we follow their conversation as they go into minute detail about what needs to be organized for the upcoming wedding. She stabs compulsively at the food on her plate as they discuss the dowry, and he waves around his hands. Then, quite suddenly, they stop. Now we find out that the conversation was a setup. We are watching a film about the film the couple made about the period leading up to their nuptials. We learn that in Indonesia’s culturally divided society, neither the preparations nor the wedding itself are simple. By way of proof, the conversation doesn’t proceed entirely as they had planned for their wedding video. The discussion continues behind the camera, with the director frequently appearing onscreen and getting involved. The young man asks him what he thinks. Laughing, he answers, “For me, just to listen to it, I feel: damn, marriage is a complicated thing!” This is a glimpse into the life of a modern young people struggling with their parents’ cultural legacy.
Behind the Screen Aung Nwai Htway
WORLD PREMIERE
Myanmar, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 35 min Director: Aung Nwai Htway Photography: Su Su Thaing Win, Aung Nwai Htway, Kyaw Ko Ko, Khin Maung Kyaw Screenplay: Aung Nwai Htway Editing: Aung Nwai Htway Production: Lindsey Merrison for Yangon Film School Screening Copy: Yangon Film School
Aung Nwai Htway:
Beyond the Tsunami (2007) An Untitled Life (2008) A Bright Future (2009) The Bamboo Grove (2011) Robe (2011) On Holiday (2011)
A son dissects the marriage of his parents, who were film icons in 1960s Myanmar (then known as Burma). It turns out the heartrending scenes they acted out on the silver screen are a pretty accurate reflection of their real lives. While the camera slides across the glamour photos from their heyday, the filmmaker looks on, entranced. He grapples with the incredible fame of his parents. Now that he is reconstructing their relationship, he sees the old film footage through different eyes – as if it might contain the answers he didn’t get as a child, when his parents separated. This merging of family history and film excerpts creates a magical mix of fact and fiction, or – as the son calls it – “the real and the celluloid wedding.” The son’s public revelation of how things went wrong is an emancipatory act, as divorce is still a big taboo in Myanmar. But the filmmaker doesn’t publicly jump onto the barricades. Rather, he keeps things personal, showing the pain caused by the divorce, both for him as a child and for his parents. He also shows how, 50 years ago, ambitions in Myanmar in the area of film were in line with Hollywood: the first film his parents appeared in together was called Sweet Sixteen.
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Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Boundary
Fahtum Pandinsoong Nontawat Numbenchapol In a documentary about the long, drawn-out, violent border dispute between Thailand and Cambodia over the Preah Vihear Hindu temple (a Unesco World Heritage Site since 2008), you wouldn’t necessarily expect the filmmaker to include an in-depth look at the traditional fishing trade, which has a fisherman apologizing for the wobbling of his boat (“There’s not normally a camera onboard.”). The omission of voice-over is another unorthodox element: explanations are given in the form of text superimposed on the images of a road trip to the border area. Director Nontawat Numbenchapol often also omits the sound altogether: what you see is not what you hear. These stylistic devices force us to let go of our prejudices; just like the local population, we simply don’t know when something may happen. This allows the director, who himself is “curious and confused” about what exactly is going on, to get closer to the essence of the dispute over the decaying temple. The focus on the ordinary, everyday lives of the locals says more about the situation than any authority ever could.
Thailand, France, Cambodia, 2013 DCP, color, 96 min
Nontawat Numbenchapol: By the River (2013)
Director: Nontawat Numbenchapol Photography: Nontawat Numbenchapol Editing: Nontawat Numbenchapol Sound: Nopawat Likitwong Music: Katenan Juntimathorn Production: Nontawat Numbenchapol for Mobile Lab Co-Production: Vycky Films Screening Copy: Mobile Lab
The Brick Htoo Tay Zar, Htuu Lou Rae, Min Thu Aung, Yan Naing Ko, Zin No No Zaw INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE A 90-minute drive from Yangon, the largest city in Myanmar (formerly known as Burma), there is a small village completely dominated by its biggest export product: bricks. Everyone, young and old, male and female, contributes to the production of bricks. The Brick is a documentary short that records the everyday lives of the inhabitants of the village. These are not the familiar images of very young children performing heavy labor, but rather emphasize the community, in which everyone performs his or her own difficult task. Brick production is part and parcel of everyday life for every inhabitant of the village: young boys hack clay from the ground, women press the clay into molds, men bake the bricks in a kiln and finally a truck loaded with bricks leaves the village. Part of the Solidarity Shorts International Workshops, the film was shot and edited in just six days by inexperienced filmmakers who had never even used a camera before. The Brick exudes a feeling of serenity. The calm, quiet images and the repetitive nature of the work give it a steady rhythm that makes interviews superfluous and allows the images to speak for themselves.
Myanmar, Poland, 2013 DCP, color, 15 min
All directors:
directing debut
Director: Htoo Tay Zar, Htuu Lou Rae, Min Thu Aung, Yan Naing Ko, Zin No No Zaw Co-director: Jan Czarlewski Photography: Zin No No Zaw, Htuu Lou Rae, Htoo Tay Zar Editing: Jan Czarlewski Production: Maciej Kuziemski for Lech Walesa Institute Screening Copy: Lech Walesa Institute
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Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Chocolate Comedy Komedi coklat Chairun Nissa
Indonesia, 2013 video, color, 13 min Director: Chairun Nissa Photography: Vera Ita Lestafa, Dian Raisha Editing: Aji Pradityo, Bernardes Salvano Production: Nia Dinata for Kalyana Shira Foundation Executive Production: Petra van Dongen for Kalyana Shira Foundation Screening Copy: Kalyana Shira Foundation
Chairun Nissa:
Little Barry (2010) V Talks (2011) Black Umbrella (2011) Hi5teria (2011) We vs. Corruption (2011)
This portrait of seven-year-old stand-up comedian Fatih Unru from Indonesia shows the difference between big and small: however grown-up the boy may act onstage, he’s still a little kid with a lot to learn. His act is all about chocolate, the sweet that every child longs for. But a cruel twist of fate means this is the one thing sweet-toothed Fatih is allergic to. So he does what every good comedian does: he turns his misfortune into material. Fatih is interviewed at home, in the intimacy of his room, and filmed in his daily life, at school and during his act. Not only do we get to know this well-spoken young man, but we also get a peek into the world of his adult stand-up counterparts in contemporary Jakarta.
Consider
Panu Saeng-Xuto EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Thailand, 2013 DCP, color, 20 min Director: Panu Saeng-Xuto Photography: Panu Saeng-Xuto, Aukrit Pornsumpunsuk Editing: Panu Saeng-Xuto Production: Panu Saeng-Xuto for On-air Production Screening Copy: On-air Production
Panu Saeng-Xuto:
Wander Cinema (2008) Open-Air Movie to Love (2008) Pre-Attitude (2010) 3_GEN (2010) Dream Thailand (2012) Taxi 24hrs (2012) Take Care (2013)
The teenaged Tay is a ladyboy, or “kathoey,” as members of this relatively well-tolerated transgender group are called in Thailand. These are people who take on a traditional female role, and some describe them as a third sex. The documentary starts with Tay looking out over the twilit city. Offscreen, the filmmaker asks him a question: “Do you think you made a mistake that you are now in the media?” Tay answers, “I kind of do.” The voice then asks, “If you could go back in time, what would you have changed or fixed?” Tay replies, “I would not try to kill myself again.” Interviews with sympathetic fellow students and a teacher who is also a kathoey demonstrate the level of acceptance of his orientation at his Christian school Saint Joseph Mueang-Ake. This becomes most triumphantly clear when Tay appears at a school Christmas party in a beautiful red dress. But as his tearful mother explains, a single intolerant and violent teacher drove him to attempt suicide. Elsewhere in the film, we see Tay going about his daily life, traveling to and from school, and silently touching up his makeup in front of the mirror.
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Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Gaddafi
Panu Aree, Kong Rithdee, Kaweenipon Ketprasit INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Of the 69 million people living in Thailand, four percent are Muslim. All these 2.5 million people have both a Thai and an Islamic name, but one of them has only one name. “My real name,” he tells us. Mohammad Gaddafi is a handsome schoolboy. He has had to explain to his friends many times how he got his name. The former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi was his father’s hero, and ever since the colonel drove King Idris I out of Libya in 1969, his father had said that he would name his first-born after the revolutionary. This is just what he did, and he still defends his choice passionately. But since Gaddafi’s violent demise in 2011, the Thai Gaddafi’s mother has been more worried than ever about her son’s unusual name. Gaddafi is now old enough to file for his own identity card – the perfect opportunity to consider a name change. By giving the floor to both advocates and opponents, the interviews with this Thai Muslim family pose the age-old question: what’s in a name?
Thailand, 2013 DCP, color, 23 min Director: Panu Aree, Kong Rithdee, Kaweenipon Ketprasit Photography: Kaweenipon Ketprasit Screenplay: Panu Aree, Kong Rithdee Editing: Kaweenipon Ketprasit Production: Panu Aree for Walad Dorleen Film Screening Copy: Walad Dorleen Film
Panu Aree:
In Between (2006) The Convert (2008) Baby Arabia (2010) O.B.L. (2011)
Kong Rithdee & Kaweenipon Ketprasit & Panu Aree: The Convert (2008) Baby Arabia (2010) a.o.
Grandfather Phuong Thao Dong
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Vietnamese filmmaker Phuong Thao Dong gets up close and personal with her father and her elderly grandfather, who still has a great head of gray hair but hardly knows where he is anymore. She films her grandfather as he eats, snoozes and just sits, and edits in events such as a frank exchange of views on the right care for the old man, whose hands are slowly turning black and blue. Funnily enough, this is a film you almost want to watch with your eyes closed: the grandfather’s monotonous counting or the beautiful old lullabies he still knows and sings for his son on request eclipse his physical disintegration. These show the man he is, or has always been. As the son puts it, “We need to learn how to listen so that we can be together.”
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Vietnam, 2012 video, color, 10 min Director: Phuong Thao Dong Photography: Phuong Thao Dong Editing: Phuong Thao Dong Production: Hanoi Doclab, Phuong Thao Dong Screening Copy: Hanoi Doclab
Phuong Thao Dong:
Window Open Window (2013) Moudlin Room (2013)
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
House/Grandparent Rumah/Tok Azharr Rudin
Malaysia, 2013 HDcam, color, 10 min Director: Azharr Rudin Photography: Azharr Rudin Editing: Azharr Rudin Production: Azharr Rudin Screening Copy: Azharr Rudin
Azharr Rudin:
Dancing Kites (2004) Majidee (fiction, 2005) This Longing (fiction, 2008) The Boatbuilders of Mermaid Island (2013)
WORLD PREMIERE
This short film paints a picture – in image and sound and without any comment – of an elderly lady’s household in a suburb in Malaysia. The viewer becomes part of the atmosphere in the house. We watch as the grandmother endures an endless amount of stuff, her family members and her inevitable decline. The house is as old as the woman, but she is in better shape. Perhaps that’s because of the pressed leaves from a plant in her garden that she uses to wash her hair. But maybe it’s the lively household, with the many children and grandchildren running about. Or is it her stoicism? Nothing interrupts the old woman’s daily routines, not even the group of carpenters replacing the wooden rafters that have been eaten away at by termites. Grandma prays, washes and lies on the floor napping, just like her cats. The handheld camera respectfully records the old woman’s life, creating a miniature monument to it.
The Mangoes
Mangga golek matang di pohon Tonny Trimarsanto
Indonesia, 2012 video, color, 98 min Director: Tonny Trimarsanto Photography: Tonny Trimarsanto Editing: Tonny Trimarsanto Sound: Tonny Trimarsanto Music: Mas Waryana Production: ES Damayanti Screening Copy: Tonny Trimarsanto
Tonny Trimarsanto:
The Dream Land (2003) Serambi (2006) Renita Renita (2007) Its a Beautiful Day (2011)
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is something of an attraction to transgender people. Renita lives in Jakarta in a tiny space that doubles as her hairdressing salon. Local women and children come here to have their hair done, and she has a lot of friends who are also transgender. Relaxing on mats and cushions, they discuss politics, being transgender in Jakarta, cosmopolitan life as they imagine it should be, and the latest fashions. Life moves peacefully along, without too many ups and downs. But Renita, or Reni as she is known, used to be Mohammad Zein – back when he lived with his parents in the city of Palu. Twenty years ago, his father presented him with an ultimatum: either you are a man, or you are not my son. Reni has not seen her family or birthplace since, but now she wants to go back there. In this documentary, director Tonny Trimarsanto and Reni engage in occasional conversation with one another, although the director is never a real presence. The film is a highly intimate peek into the complicated life of a transgender person, in which the filmmaker plays a modest role.
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Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Two Girls Against the Rain Sopheak Sao
It’s raining when the camera visits the humble dwelling of two Cambodian women who met in the 1970s while the Khmer Rouge was in power. They have been lovers ever since. Both in their late fifties, Soth Yun and Sem Eang tell their story without bitterness, but there is great pain beneath their words. Nobody wanted to believe that two women would be able to support themselves, and they have had to overcome the hostility of their families. Today they feed nephews, nieces and their grandchildren, while also taking care of a blind and physically handicapped sister. But they are still waiting for official recognition from the village authorities. The depth of history, sorrow and love captured unsentimentally in these 10 minutes is a valuable contribution to the gay emancipation debate in Cambodia. The film concludes with the observation that while King Norodom Sihanouk of Cambodia expressed support for same-sex marriage in 2004, no such law has yet been drafted.
Cambodia, 2012 DCP, color, 11 min Director: Sopheak Sao Photography: Sopheak Sao Screenplay: Sopheak Sao Editing: Yasy Phan Sound: Sopheak Sao Music: Chris Zippel Production: Sopheak Sao Screening Copy: Sopheak Sao
Sopheak Sao:
Survivor (2011) Photo Phnom Penh (2011) Quiet Movement (2012) Woman’s Hearing 2013 (2013)
www.sopheaksao.com
Awards: Best Documentary Short Kashish Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2013
Tyres
Ahaung hma athit Kyaw Myo Lwin
WORLD PREMIERE
Many hands are making many different things. In a workshop in Yangon, the former capital of Myanmar, used car tires are transformed into a series of completely new objects. In a consistent rhythm of cutting, scraping, pulling, sweating, tearing, shelling and cutting again, the tires are stripped of their original form. Unfolded and rolled up, they get another purpose a couple meters away, where skilled craftsmen take the pieces of rubber and turn them into buckets and flip-flops, and make steel brushes from the wire. The workshop is filled with workers from both sexes and all ages: a young woman in a sarong feeds her child in between her activities, while an old-timer drills holes with a homemade drill and shirtless boys play a game of chinlone, a traditional combination of sport and dance. Sometimes, the work takes its toll. In the opinion of one experienced recycler, “This kind of work won’t make you rich, you’ll just be able to get by. So why be greedy?” But the younger workers don’t listen to him, and he’s very aware of the fact. Everyone works at his or her own pace and rhythm: cutting, scraping, pulling, sweating, tearing, shelling and cutting again.
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Myanmar, Germany, 2013 DCP, black-and-white, 30 min Director: Kyaw Myo Lwin Co-director: Myo Min Khin Photography: Aung Ko Ko Screenplay: Kyaw Myo Lwin Editing: Myo Min Khin Production: Lindsey Merrison for Yangon Film School Screening Copy: Yangon Film School
Kyaw Myo Lwin: directing debut
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Where I Go Kavich Neang
EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Cambodia, France, 2013 DCP, color, 55 min Director: Kavich Neang Photography: Kavich Neang, Sopheak Sao, Ambroise Boussier Editing: Kavich Neang, Saobora Narin Sound: Kacada Sam, Sopheakday Touch, Chamroeun Chea Music: Julien Poulson Production: Rithy Panh for Bophana Production Co-Production: Vesoul International Film Festival Screening Copy: Bophana Production
Kavich Neang:
Kong Nay’s Story (2008) Dancing in the Building (2008) Smot (2009) A Scale Boy (2010)
This psychological drama focuses on a Cambodian boy of mixed parentage, disowned by both his mother and grandmother and with an African father he never knew. This Cameroonian soldier came to Cambodia in the early 1990s as part of the United Nations Transitional Authority (UNTAC) and then left as quickly as he came – most likely without even knowing he had fathered a child. Searching for his roots, the now 18-year-old San Pattica confronts his family (and, incidentally, the UN) with their inability to provide him and his half-sisters with a good home, let alone a decent education. The filmmaker records those confrontations plainly. He is present, he films what he sees, and presents what is said or done without pretense or comment. The pain that the family members inflict on one another hits the viewer with full force. Empathy grows for Pattica, who grew up in a children’s home and suffers daily discrimination. He would like to make something more of his life than did his addict mother, who is living on the streets with a piece of canvas for a home, or his grandmother, who is more interested in her playing cards than in her grandchildren’s future.
Wukan: The Flame of Democracy James Leong, Lynn Lee
WORLD PREMIERE
Singapore, 2013 DCP, color, 90 min Director: James Leong, Lynn Lee Photography: James Leong Editing: Keith Lynch Sound: Lynn Lee, James Leong Production: Lynn Lee for Lianain Films Executive Production: Flora Gregory & Ingrid Falck & Fiona Lawson-Baker for Al Jazeera English Screening Copy: Al Jazeera English Involved TV Channel: Al Jazeera English Website: www.lianainfilms.com
James Leong & Lynn Lee:
Passabe (2005) Aki Ra’s Boys (2006) Homeless FC (2006) The Great North Korean Picture Show (2012)
Wukan is a village in the Chinese province of Guangdong, and in 2012, its inhabitants experienced a phenomenon that was unique in this country: democratic elections. This event was so exceptional that it attracted the attention of the international press. The elections didn’t take place without a struggle, however, and there were weeks of protest and the death of an activist leader in the run-up to them. But ultimately the villagers were successful in ejecting the incumbent local Communist government, which had held power for decades and was accused of irresponsibly selling off Wukan land. The documentary begins when the dust has settled after the uprising, and the demands made in the heat of battle are being fulfilled. Although battle scars are still clearly visible, there is now some serious work to be done. Recovering the land is a slow process, and the villagers turn up the pressure on their newly elected committee. Democracy is no guarantee for social calm, and Wukan is a textbook example of the wave of new democracies sweeping across the globe. One villager, red with anger, yells at his new leader, “You are like Egypt’s President Morsi!”
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non-Competitive programs Based on the Same Story In collaboration with EYE Film Institute Netherlands, IDFA is presenting a program of seven documentaries accompanied by seven fiction films on the same subjects. Screenings of the documentaries are followed by indepth discussions with filmmakers, investigating the similarities and differences between the two films and questioning whether documentaries are by definition more truthful than their fictional counterparts. This program is supported by Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds.
Based on the Same Story Based on the Same Story
Pitting Documentary Against Fiction
As part of the program section Based on the Same Story, film critic Nicolas Rapold (Film Comment, The New York Times) discusses the similarities and differences between the selected documentaries and narrative films with their creators at the festival. To get the conversation started, Rapold spoke with editor Joe Bini, who worked with Werner Herzog on both Little Dieter Needs to Fly and its fictional counterpart Rescue Dawn. How did Herzog present each of the two projects? What was the general plan for the narrative structure?
Little Dieter was the first film I worked on with Werner. It was also the first documentary I had ever been a part of. Werner had originally intended to film Dieter’s story as a fictional film, but it took quite a few years to get the funding together. Meanwhile, he was offered an opportunity to do a non-fiction version for ZDF Television, and that is how the documentary came to be. There was no general plan, other than the obvious fact that the narrative film had a script that had been floating around for a while. The documentary was much more of a free-form structure, as the films that we do usually are. The interesting thing for me, in comparing these two films, is the fact that Little Dieter is a film that takes a more fictionalized approach in a way – with its dream sequences, fabricated and poetic moments – whereas Rescue Dawn actually has some amazing real moments. For example, the scenes where you see Christian Bale being dragged
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Little Dieter Needs to Fly
Rescue Dawn
Interview: Editor Joe Bini
behind a water buffalo, hanging upside down, or shoved into a well. He really went through all that, and I think you can see it on the screen. Also, how emaciated Christian and Jeremy Davies [as Dieter’s fellow prisoner, Gene] allowed themselves to become in taking on their roles. It brings a “reality” to the story that the documentary version could not. And the documentary is “fictionalized” in a way that the fiction film only hints at. What are the similarities and differences between cutting together a performance in a narrative film, and editing a documentary focused on a single person?
I don’t really see much difference at all. In both cases you are looking for truthfulness in the performance, believability. Each has its own more pragmatic problem-solving issues. For example, in Little Dieter, Dieter had a tendency to ramble on and on in long, unpunctuated sentences. We ended up just turning down his voice in spots and having Werner speak right over it, in order to shorten what Dieter was saying and/or to get us to the next scene. I feared this would be a rather blunt approach, but it worked. The audience is generally grateful whenever you can keep a story moving by any means necessary. A key formal feature of Herzog’s documentaries is his voice-over, as in Little Dieter. At what stage in the editorial process does it enter into the picture?
We write the voice-over as we are editing the film. Therefore, it is completely based on the imagery and flow of the film editing. The
Based on the Same Story Based on the Same Story
Found or archive footage is used in both Rescue Dawn and Little Dieter. What are your thoughts on working with such footage, and how it affects a movie’s realism or sense of history?
I do not have a general approach to using found or archive footage in a film, whether it be a documentary or a fictional film. It is entirely dependent on the context of the particular film you are using it in. In Rescue Dawn, I would agree that it serves the purpose of setting up an actual historical context against which this true story takes place. In Little Dieter, it is used additionally to set an emotional tone.
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General Idi Amin Dada
text is not pre-facto or post-facto to the editing, but rather just facto – it comes into being at the same time. There are two general types of voice-over in a film like Little Dieter. The first type is the more pragmatic, necessary information voice-over – it gets you from place to place, scene to scene. We generally write this text together, based on the film’s needs. With the second type, the more poetic voiceover, the text is usually all Werner and the imagery is all me. As I am going through the rushes, I look for imagery that I know I can eventually use in this capacity. Even if it’s not clear upon first viewing how the images will be used, if they are interesting, I always know they will end up in the film somehow. Often, they make it in as part of a voice-over montage.
Both movies use reenactments. Is there a special challenge to cutting these together? How much of a role do you have in making sure you have the footage you need?
Reenactments? Yuck! I suppose you could say that Rescue Dawn, since it is a fictional film, is entirely a reenactment. Heavy concept! If by reenactments in Little Dieter you mean, for example, the scenes where Werner makes Dieter run through the jungle with his hands tied behind his back, I think this achieves something a lot more than a simple reenactment. I find that, when looking at it, I am much more concerned with the reality of what Dieter the person is experiencing in the actual moment of filming, than I am reflecting on what it was like for him at the time – even though I am simultaneously doing that as well. It gets your brain working in a couple of different directions at the same time, and that’s a very fun place to be. The same can be said for the effective use of archive footage. In an ideal world, the audience’s mind should be working simultaneously here as well. For example, in the film Wild Blue Yonder (2005), we constructed a goofy sci-fi narrative as a means of keeping the audience’s interests going via a linear narrative. At the same time, we visualized this by using actual home movie footage shot by astronauts inside the space shuttle. In such a case, the viewer knows that he or she is looking at two things at the same time, and this makes it doubly interesting.
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Blind Spot. Hitler’s Secretary Im toten Winkel. Hitler’s sekretärin André Heller, Othmar Schmiderer
She dreamed of becoming a dancer, but applied for a job as Hitler’s private secretary. As she grew older, Traudl Junge became increasingly aware of how naïve her decision was. She grew up in an apolitical family, and for her, Hitler was the father figure she had lacked at home. She worked for him in the “Wolf’s Lair” starting in the autumn of 1942, and remained loyal to him until his suicide in the Berlin bunker, where she wrote down his last will and testament. Only after the war did Junge gradually begin to realize the magnitude of the suffering caused by the Führer and her role in it. “I thought I stood at the source of the information, but in fact I was in a blind spot.” She felt betrayed and guilty, and became a fervent opponent of National Socialism. In Blind Spot, Junge (born Gertraud Humps) speaks about her life before, with and after the Führer on camera for the first time. The film consists of two interviews and excerpts from a screening, during which Junge adds a few comments to the story she told earlier.
Austria, 2001 video, color, 90 min Director: André Heller, Othmar Schmiderer Photography: Othmar Schmiderer Editing: Daniel Pöhacker Sound: Othmar Schmiderer Production: Danny Krausz & Ulrike Ladenbauer for DOR Film Screening Copy: DOR Film
André Heller:
Jessye Norman – ‘Ich leb allein in meinem Himmel, meinem Lieben, meinem Lied’ (2005), Scheitern, scheitern, besser scheitern (2010), Qualtinger (2011)
Othmar Schmiderer:
Josef Hauser – Klang und Raum (1988), Verbotene Jagden (1990), Mobile Stabile (1992), Am Stein (1995), An Echo from Europe – Vienna Art Orchestra on Tour (1998), Back to Africa (2008), The Fabric of Home (2011), History and the Open (2013)
Downfall
Der Untergang Oliver Hirschbiegel In Downfall, or Der Untergang in German, Oliver Hirschbiegel reconstructs events in and around the “Führerbunker” in Berlin during the final days of the Third Reich. The Red Army is fast approaching and the German defenders are all but exhausted, but Hitler refuses to surrender. The atmosphere in the bunker becomes ever more oppressive. When Hitler finally realizes the hopelessness of the situation, he prepares to commit suicide. Downfall is bookended by two excerpts from an interview in the documentary Blind Spot: Hitler’s Secretary, but secretary Traudl Junge is by no means the only main character in the film. In addition to her memoirs, the script also made use of the book Der Untergang: Hitler und das Ende des Dritten Reiches [The Downfall: Hitler and the End of the Third Reich] by historian Joachim Fest, and the testimony of a number of other key players such as Albert Speer and army medical officer Ernst-Günther Schenck. But Junge’s perspective remains a clear influence on the presentation of Hitler’s character, as played in the film by Bruno Ganz. In Downfall, Hitler repeatedly explodes in a grotesque rage, but in his contact with his young secretary he also shows a fatherly side: a first in the history of Hitler portrayals. In German media, this led to a heated debate on the question of whether it is morally acceptable to present “the monster” in such a human light.
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Germany, Austria, Italy, 2004 35mm, color, 156 min Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel Photography: Rainer Klausmann Screenplay: Bernd Eichinger Editing: Hans Funck Music: Stephan Zacharias Production: Bernd Eichinger for Constantin Film Produktion Distribution for the Netherlands: A-Film Screening Copy: Beta Cinema Gmbh Involved TV Channels: ORF, Rai Cinema, NDR, WDR
Oliver Hirschbiegel:
Das Experiment (fiction, 2001) Mein letzter Film (fiction, 2002) The Invasion (fiction, 2007) Five Minutes of Heaven (fiction, 2009) Diana (fiction, 2013)
Based on the Same Story
Dont Look Back D.A. Pennebaker
USA, 1967 35mm, black-and-white, 96 min Director: D.A. Pennebaker Photography: D.A. Pennebaker Editing: D.A. Pennebaker Sound: Jones Alk Production: Albert Grossman, John Court for Leacock-Pennebaker, Inc. World Sales: Jane Balfour Services Screening Copy: EYE Film Instituut Nederland
D.A. Pennebaker:
Monterey Pop (1968), Company: Original Cast Album (1970), One P.M. (1972), Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1973), Elaine Stritch at Liberty (2006), Startup.com (2001)
D.A. Pennebaker & Chris Hegedus: Town Bloody Hall (1979), DeLorean (1981), Rockaby (1981), Dance Black America (1983), Jerry Lee Lewis (1990), The War Room (1993), Keine Zeit (1996), Bessie (1998), Moon over Broadway (1998), Only the Strong Survive (2002), Return of the War Room (2008), Kings of Pastry (2009) a.o.
A few years after the birth of Direct Cinema, D. A. Pennebaker created the genre’s first undeniable masterpiece with this documentary of Bob Dylan’s 1965 British tour. At the invitation of Dylan’s manager, Pennebaker traveled alongside the singer-songwriter. Using his fly-on-the-wall style, he set the bar for all subsequent documentaries on pop music. Dont Look Back mainly concentrates on the events around the shows. Although the whimsical Dylan only seems to relax onstage, the film features almost no concert footage. With artists like Joan Baez, Alan Price and Donovan in his wake, the troubadour travels across the coal-dusted landscape by car and train and jams in dingy hotel rooms. Surrounded by shady impresarios and managers, hysterical fans and fanatical journalists, the singer regularly loses his cool. The secret of the film lies not only in Pennebaker’s ingenuity, but particularly in the fact that this was the first time the still somewhat timid Dylan was filmed so extensively.
www.phfilms.com
I’m Not There Todd Haynes
USA, Germany, Canada, 2007 35mm, color/b&w, 135 min Director: Todd Haynes Photography: Edward Lachman Screenplay: Todd Haynes Editing: Jay Rabinowitz Production: John Goldwyn for John Goldwyn Productions, John Sloss, James D. Stern for Endgame Entertainment, Christine Vachon for Killer Films Distribution for the Netherlands: A-Film Screening Copy: A-Film
Todd Haynes:
Poison (fiction, 1991) Safe (fiction, 1995) Velvet Goldmine (fiction, 1998) Far from Heaven (fiction, 2002)
Whether they are narrative films or documentaries, most biographies of musicians follow a particular pattern: they deliver the life and career of the protagonist in chronological order, often supported by commentary from people who were there. Or they follow a musician during a tour and go onstage and behind the scenes, such as in D. A. Pennebaker’s Bob Dylan biopic Don’t Look Back. In the Oscar®-nominated I’m Not There, director Todd Haynes takes a very different approach: he portrays the musical mystery that is Bob Dylan using six different actors, each of whom portrays a part of the troubadour’s complex personality. The actors (Heath Ledger, Marcus Carl Franklin, Richard Gere, Christian Bale, Ben Whishaw and Cate Blanchett) don’t bother trying to look like Dylan – with the exception of the sole female, Cate Blanchett, who bears a striking resemblance to the musician in his younger days – but reveal themselves as the human being, musician, actor and philosopher behind the singer-songwriter. The film is a mixture of fiction and fictionalized documentary, complete with interviews with the main characters and commentary from those around them.
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General Idi Amin Dada Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait Barbet Schroeder
In the early 1970s, Barbet Schroeder asked Ugandan dictator Idi Amin if he could make a portrait with and about him. Much to his surprise, the vain Amin thought this was a great idea, and Schroeder got free rein to film the feared leader – but only under Amin’s own direction, of course. Amin determined which events the film crew could attend: a reenactment of an attack on the Golan Heights, and a swimming competition won by the great leader. An exceptional part of the film consists of recordings of a “consultation” with the council of ministers – in this context, consultation meant a tirade from the tyrant, who was concerned about Uganda’s international image. And several weeks later, the Minister of Foreign Affairs responsible for improving that image was found dead in a river. Naturally, Amin thought he would be getting a propaganda film, but the editing and voice-over leave no doubt about the real nature of the superficially charming and witty former soldier. This version could only be shown after Amin’s death: while still alive, the Ugandan leader forced the removal of scenes and commentary he didn’t like by holding all French nationals in Uganda hostage.
France, 1974 35mm, color, 92 min Director: Barbet Schroeder Photography: Néstor Almendros Editing: Denise de Casabianca Sound: Alain Sempé Music: Idi Amin Production: Jean-François Chauvel, Charles-Henri Favrod, Jean-Pierre Rassam World Sales: Les Films du Losange Screening Copy: Les Films du Losange
Barbet Schroeder:
More (fiction, 1969), The Valley (fiction, 1972), Maîtresse (fiction, 1975), Koko, A Talking Gorilla (1977), Tricheurs (fiction, 1984), Barfly (fiction, 1987), Reversal Of Fortune (fiction, 1990), Single White Female (fiction, 1992), Kiss of Death (fiction, 1995), Before and After (fiction, 1996), Desperate Measures (fiction, 1998), Our Lady of the Assassins (fiction, 2000), Murder by Numbers (fiction, 2002), Terror’s Advocate (2007), Inju (fiction, 2008)
The Last King of Scotland Kevin Macdonald
When General Idi Amin took power in a coup, Uganda rejoiced, but the cheers were quickly stifled by the torture and execution of anyone who dared oppose him. And he had a lot of opponents, as we see in the fiction film The Last King of Scotland, which shows events in Uganda through the eyes of a young Scottish doctor named Nicholas Garrigan (James McAvoy). At first, he enjoys the favor of the dictator (a terrifying but charismatic Forest Whitaker), who served in the British army and admired the rebellious, independent spirit of the Scots. But as the film progresses, Amin is increasingly revealed to be a capricious tyrant: he makes enemies all over the place and becomes ever more paranoid and unpredictable. Unlike in the documentary portrait General Idi Amin Dada, here we see the events that finally led to the Ugandan leader becoming an international political pariah – something he sought to avoid at any cost. A number of scenes from the documentary are also included in this film, such as the swimming competition. In the fiction film, Amin gets a head start from the fearful competitors, while in real life, the competition began fairly and the dictator came in first through sheer force. This captures the relationship between the leader and the rest of his country more clearly than any acted scene could.
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UK, USA, Germany, 2006 35mm, color, 121 min Director: Kevin Macdonald Photography: Anthony Dod Mantle Screenplay: Peter Morgan, Jeremy Brock Editing: Justine Wright Music: Alex Heffes Production: Andrea Calderwood for Slate North, Lisa Bryer, Charles Steele Executive Production: Allon Reich, Tessa Ross Distribution for the Netherlands: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment Screening Copy: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Kevin Macdonald:
The Making of an Englishman (1995), Chaplin’s Goliath (1996), One Day in September (1999), A Brief History of Errol Morris (2000), Being Mick (2001), Touching the Void (2003), The Last King of Scotland (fiction, 2006), My Enemy’s Enemy (2007), State of Play (fiction, 2009), Life in a Day (2011), The Eagle (fiction, 2011), Marley (2012) a.o.
Awards: Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences, Best Director Award British Independent Film Awards a.o.
Based on the Same Story
Girls
Devochki Valeriya Gaï Germanika
Russia, 2006 video, color, 46 min Director: Valeriya Gaï Germanika Photography: Valeriya Gaï Germanika Editing: Valeriya Gaï Germanika Production: Mihail Sinev for Kinoteatr Doc Screening Copy: Kinoteatr Doc
Valeriya Gaï Germanika:
Sisters (2005) He’s Gone (2007) Infante’s Birthday (2007) Boys (2007) Everybody Dies, But Me (fiction, 2008)
Cat, Svetka, Alexa and Helly are teenage girls in Russia. They are interested in the typical things Russian girls do for fun: they discuss which drinks give you the most alcohol for your money, they climb trees, hang around in playgrounds, dance and kiss boys, try to pierce their own navels and experiment with drugs. But they also talk about their ambitions in the grim stairwells of the apartment blocks where they live. They argue about socks, then philosophize deeply about religion, God and forgiveness. And then start fighting about it all. Throughout the film, the camera stays very close to them (right in their sometimes rather splotchy faces). There is no attempt to make anything look good, as this is raw reality and there is no romance when they dance with boys, hampered by their overly long limbs – they stomp along angularly to pounding beats in an anonymous field. Their friendship is based on shared misery, with little room for niceties or empathy. A candid, unpolished window into the lives of marginalized teenagers, trying with and in spite of one another to find a place and a purpose in a society that doesn’t care.
Everybody Dies, But Me Vse umrut, a ya ostanus Valeriya Gaï Germanika
Russia, 2008 video, color, 81 min Director: Valeriya Gaï Germanika Photography: Alisher Khamidkhodjaev Screenplay: Yuriy Klavdiev, Aleksandr Rodionov Editing: Yuliya Batalova, Ivan Lebedev Production: Igor Tolstunov for Igor Tolstunov Production Firm (PROFIT) Executive Production: Darya Khlyostkina Screening Copy: Igor Tolstunov Production Firm (PROFIT)
Valeriya Gaï Germanika: Sisters (2005) Girls (2005) He’s Gone (2007) Infante’s Birthday (2007) Boys (2007)
Russian teenage girls Janka, Katya and Vika are best friends forever, but as the night of the big dance approaches, opportunism proves stronger than loyalty. These teenage girls – no longer children, not yet women – are determined to go, but bad luck gets in the way of their plans. Katya has a fight with her parents and ends up grounded. What’s more, her behavior has alienated her from everyone at school, and this affects Janka and Vika as well. Their friendship for life proves less resilient than they thought, as does the young girls’ innocence. They think they are invincible, but they ultimately pay a high price for their overconfidence during the long-awaited dance. Unlike in the documentary Girls, which depicts teenage Russian girls exclusively among themselves, the girls in this fiction film by the same director show us their environment, where we find an explanation for their behavior: neglect, overprotective parents or a traumatic event within the family. The film contains much more drama than the slow-paced documentary, including fighting, sex, arguments and suicide attempts. In Russia, coming of age is often rougher and more cynical than elsewhere in the world.
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Little Dieter Needs to Fly Werner Herzog
As a young German kid, Dieter Dengler already dreamed of becoming an American test pilot. Growing up in post-war Germany, he hardly knew his father, who was killed in World War II. At the age of 18, Dengler left Germany with only 50 cents in his pocket. After drifting about for some time in San Francisco, he enrolled in the American army to fight in Vietnam. During his very first mission in 1966, he was shot down and captured by the Vietcong. Werner Herzog tells Dengler’s life story in four episodes entitled “The Man,” “The Dream,” “The Punishment” and “The Redemption.” Dengler’s own accounts of his childhood, the cruel tortures he underwent in captivity and his miraculous escape are all very gripping. Herzog himself is the narrator and the interviewer, but apart from that he stays in the background. As in many of his documentaries, he plays fast and loose with the distinction between fact and fiction, remaining loyal to his creed that art contains more truth than reality.
Germany, 1997 35mm, color, 80 min Director: Werner Herzog Photography: Peter Zeitlinger Screenplay: Werner Herzog Editing: Joe Bini, Rainer Standke, Glen Scantlebury Sound: Ekkehard Baumung Narration: Werner Herzog Narrator: Werner Herzog Production: Lucki Stipetic for Werner Herzog Filmproduktion World Sales: Freunde der Deutsche Kinemathek Screening Copy: Freunde der Deutsche Kinemathek
Werner Herzog:
Herakles (1962), Fata Morgana (1970), Land of Silence and Darkness (1971), Woyzeck (fiction, 1979), Fitzcarraldo (fiction, 1982), Lessons of Darkness (1992), My Best Fiend (1999), Wings of Hope (1999), Grizzly Man (2005), Rescue Dawn (2006), Death Row II (20113) a.o.
www.wernerherzog.com Awards: Special Jury Award International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, IDA Award International Documentary Association, Golden Spire San Francisco International Film Festival
Rescue Dawn Werner Herzog
It’s no secret that Werner Herzog is extremely interested in the life of Dieter Dengler, a pilot for the American Air Force who ended up in a prison camp during the Vietnam War. Perhaps it’s because of their shared background: both men grew up in the ruins of post-war Germany, and both came from poverty. After making a documentary about Dengler’s life entitled Little Dieter Wants to Fly (1997), Herzog directed this feature based on the story of Dengler’s escape from the camp in Laos. Once again, Hertzog highlights his subject’s unconventional personality. His reasons for wanting to fly were remarkable: he was inspired as a little boy when he looked right into the eyes of a pilot who had bombed his city. “You’re a strange bird, Dieter,” says his friend Duane. “A guy tries to kill you and you want his job.” Dengler is always straightforward, optimistic, and he wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s not afraid of verbally abusing the guards, even if his fate is in their hands. And as soon as he arrives at the prison camp, he declares his intention to make his escape. It’s an idea that’s barely conceivable for his fellow prisoners, who are on the verge of insanity after their long imprisonment. But Dengler’s persistence is the only way out for them all.
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USA, Luxembourg, 2006 35mm, color, 126 min Director: Werner Herzog Photography: Peter Zeitlinger Screenplay: Werner Herzog Editing: Joe Bini Music: Klaus Badelt Production: Elton Brand, Harry Knapp, Steve Marlton Executive Production: Freddy Braidy, Jimmy de Brabant, Michael Dounaev, Gerald Green, Elie Samaha Distribution for the Netherlands: Dutch Filmworks Screening Copy: Dutch Filmworks
Werner Herzog:
Herakles (1962), Fata Morgana (1970), Land of Silence and Darkness (1971), Woyzeck (fiction, 1979), Fitzcarraldo (fiction, 1982), Lessons of Darkness (1992), Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997), My Best Fiend (1999), Wings of Hope (1999), Grizzly Man (2005), The Wild Blue Yonder (2005), Encounters at the End of the World (2007), The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans (fiction, 2009), Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010), Ode to the Dawn of Man (2011), Death Row II (2013) a.o.
www.wernerherzog.com
Based on the Same Story
Manhunt Greg Barker
USA, UK, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 103 min Director: Greg Barker Photography: Frank Lehmann, Erich Roland Editing: Joe Bini Music: Philip Sheppard Production: John Battsek for Passion Pictures, Julie Goldman for Motto Pictures Screening Copy: Chasing the Flame, LLC Involved TV Channel: HBO Enterprises
Greg Barker:
The Survival of Saddam (2000) The Commanding Heights (2001) Campaign Against Terror (2002) Ghosts of Rwanda (2004) The Age of Aids (2006) Showdown with Iran (2007) Sergio (2009) Koran by Heart (2011)
When two Boeings ploughed into the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, terrorism analysts at the CIA knew right away that this was the work of Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. For years beforehand, CIA experts had been sending reports to the White House about threats from the Arab world, but little notice was taken of them. This small team of female agents known as “The Sisterhood” tracked the activities of Al Qaeda for a full 20 years until the discovery of Osama Bin Laden’s hideout in 2011. Archive material from news broadcasts and videos of Bin Laden are intercut with the key players describing their espionage operations. Endlessly branching whiteboard diagrams reflect the team’s labyrinthine pursuit of members of the terrorist organization. The recurring mystery remained: who is the link to Bin Laden? Step by step, the film takes the viewer through the process that eventually led to the discovery of the world’s most wanted terrorist, and it also affords a peek into the hidden world of the U.S. intelligence community. It turns out to be populated by ordinary people wondering whether waging war is really part of their job description.
Zero Dark Thirty Kathryn Bigelow
USA, 2013 DCP, color, 157 min Director: Kathryn Bigelow Photography: Greig Fraser Screenplay: Mark Boal Editing: William Goldenberg, Dylan Tichenor Production: Megan Ellison, Mark Boal, Kathryn Bigelow Executive Production: Greg Shapiro, Colin Wilson, Ted Schipper Distribution for the Netherlands: A-Film Screening Copy: A-Film
Kathryn Bigelow:
The Loveless (fiction, 1981) Blue Steel (fiction, 1989) Point Break (fiction, 1991) Strange Days (fiction, 1995) The Weight of Water (fiction, 2000) K-19, The Widowmaker (fiction, 2002) The Hurt Locker (fiction, 2008)
This dramatized reconstruction of the 10-year hunt for Osama Bin Laden follows CIA agent Maya (Jessica Chastain), who was recruited as a student to find the world’s most wanted terrorist. Through a series of meetings, top-secret meetings and interrogations with members of Al-Quaeda, we are initiated into the life and work of a woman who has only one assignment: to lead her team of Navy Seals to Bin Laden’s hiding place. This feature film takes over where the documentary Manhunt left off: while the CIA agents interviewed in that film held their tongues as soon as the conversation moved to torture, Zero Dark Thirty’s very first scenes treat us to images of waterboarding. As her colleague Dan (Jason Clarke) carries out these heinous acts, Maya looks on in silence. The explicit torture scenes generated quite a bit of controversy in the United States, but this second feature film by Kathryn Bigelow about the War on Terror still managed to get an Oscar® nomination. The heroic tale of the young woman who manages to find Bin Laden’s hideout is a thrilling action film in the best tradition of good guys versus bad, and we’re on the edge of our seats even though we know how it’s going to turn out.
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Based on the Same Story
One Day in September Kevin Macdonald
Kevin Macdonald reconstructed the bloodbath carried out at the 1972 Munich Olympics 17 years after the event. Step by step, he recounts how Palestinian terrorists took 11 Israeli athletes hostage. Some of those most deeply involved talk about their experience on that fateful day in September, including victims, Olympic organizers and journalists. And for the first time ever, we hear from the only surviving terrorist Jamal Al-Gashey. Archive footage of relaxed athletes in cheerfully colored sports gear sets the scene for an Olympiad that was meant to dispel the dark shadow of the 1936 Games in Berlin. That same cheeriness takes on an obscene aspect when the competition continues despite the hostage crisis. We see athletes sunbathing just meters away from the drama unfolding in a nearby apartment. The German authorities’ interventions are equally discomforting: the hostage takers were able to watch the police attempting a rescue on live TV. Media reporting was intensive but provided little clarity when it was necessary, and an erroneous police statement led to widespread relief until the truth came out. Macdonald’s steadily paced chronological account of the day’s events means the drama’s historic dénouement remains shocking, even if we know exactly what’s coming.
UK, 1999 video, color/black-and-white, 91 min Director: Kevin Macdonald Photography: Neve Cunningham, Alwin Küchler Editing: Justine Wright Sound: Amir Boverman Production: John Battsek for Passion Pictures, Arthur Cohn for Arthur Cohn Productions Executive Production: Lillian Birnbaum Screening Copy: BBC – Storyville Involved TV Channel: BBC
Kevin Macdonald:
The Making of an Englishman (1995), Chaplin’s Goliath (1996), A Brief History of Errol Morris (2000), Humphrey Jennings: the Man Who Listened to Britain (2000), Being Mick (2001), Touching the Void (2003), The Last King of Scotland (fiction, 2006), My Enemy’s Enemy (2007), State of Play (fiction, 2009), Life in a Day (2011), The Eagle (fiction, 2011), Marley (2012) a.o.
Awards: Academy Award for Best Documentary Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Best Newcomer Award British Independent Film Awards
Munich
Steven Spielberg In the wake of the 1972 bloodbath in Munich, when 11 members of the Israeli Olympic team were murdered after being taken hostage by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September, Israel began a secret retaliatory action. Mossad agent Avner Kaufman (Eric Bana), inexperienced and with a pregnant wife at home, is asked to lead the mission. Steven Spielberg’s feature takes over where the documentary One Day in September left off. We watch as American athletes unwittingly help the Palestinians scale the fence of the Olympic Village, as terrorist Jamal Al-Gashey explains in One Day. We see the fight in the apartment, the failed rescue attempt and the false news reports that followed. By hunting for key members of Black September, Kaufman gets the chance to protect his homeland and follow in the footsteps of his war-hero father. But the killing takes its toll on him, and with each murder the doubts, fears and the remaining hit list just seem to increase. Like One Day in September, Munich is told from the Israeli perspective, which is now both victim and seeker of retribution. Spielberg ventures to capture the larger story behind the bloodbath: the right to a homeland. In this way, Kaufman’s mission is symbolic of a national trauma, and how that can engender a personal one.
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USA, Canada, France, 2005 35mm, color, 164 min Director: Steven Spielberg Photography: Janusz Kaminski Screenplay: Tony Kushner, Eric Roth Editing: Michael Kahn Music: John Williams Production: Kathleen Kennedy, Barry Mendel, Colin Wilson, Steven Spielberg Distribution for the Netherlands: Sony Pictures Releasing (Holland) Screening Copy: Sony Pictures Releasing (Holland)
Steven Spielberg:
Jaws (fiction, 1975), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (fiction, 1977), Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (fiction, 1981), E.T. the ExtraTerrestrial (fiction, 1982), Jurassic Park (fiction, 1993), Schindler’s List (fiction, 1993), Saving Private Ryan (fiction, 1998), Minority Report (fiction, 2002), Catch Me If You Can (fiction, 2002), The Terminal (fiction, 2004), The Adventures of Tin Tin (fiction, 2011), War Horse (fiction, 2011), Lincoln (fiction, 2012) a.o.
non-Competitive programs WWI: The First War on Screen Looking ahead to the centennial of World War I in 2014, IDFA collaborates with NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision and EYE Film Institute Netherlands for this program of eight archival films highlighting many different aspects of the Great War. In addition, EYE is screening highlights from their WWI collection. This program is supported by vfonds.
TheThe First World War: theon First War on Screen WWI: First World War Screen
Documentary and the First World War Holland neutraal, de leger- en vlootfilm
For many years, historians have argued that cinema first showed its potential as a new and modern weapon of war during the First World War. The proof they have offered is generally meager and consists of titles like Charlie Chaplin’s comedy Shoulder Arms (1918) and D. W. Griffith’s Hearts of the World (1918), a feature film that was partly shot in the French trenches. Of the abundant amount of non-fiction material shot during the war, only the British documentary Battle of the Somme (1916) has obtained some status. The modest selection of First World War documentaries that IDFA is presenting on the eve of the centennial of the Great War shows it is time for a reassessment. The orthodox view on the history of “real” documentary – in its Griersonian definition as the “creative treatment of actuality” – is that it only started a couple of years after the First World War, with Robert Flaherty’s films Nanook of the North (1922) and Moana (1926). This view was best summed up by Paul Rotha, one of the leading British documentary filmmakers in the 1930s and 1940s, in his book Documentary Film (third edition, 1952). He castigated the early non-fiction films for making “no effort to approach their subjects from a creative or even dramatic point of view, no attempt to govern the selection of images by methods other than those of plain description, no endeavor to express an argument or fulfill a special purpose.” Non-fiction films of the First World War may not have been appreciated in their own right, but their value as treasure troves for historical footage, particularly in Second World War propaganda, was generally recognized. This interest was renewed in the era of television, when series such as the BBC’s The Great War (1964) made extensive use of archive film. When examining this historical
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footage, researchers and historians found themselves confronted with the problem of authenticity. Was it allowed to use footage that had obviously been faked, such as the soldiers “going over the top” in Battle of the Somme? Interestingly, spectators during the First World War had been just as concerned with the authenticity of the images presented to them. Contemporary newspaper reports did not hesitate to reveal some of the tricks filmmakers resorted to, such as attaching a bayonet to a gun with a spring so that it would retract into the barrel instead of perforating the victim’s torso. The debate was taken to a more abstract level by French philosopher Paul Virilio, who argued that 20th-century war technologies were influenced by, and in turn had influence on, vision and perception technologies such as the cinema. It was an uneven development. In his War and Cinema (1984), Virilio points out that during the 1914-1918 war, “modern warfare had become incompatible with the art of cinema.” Hence the resort to faking, one could add. With the arrival of the New Film History movement in the 1980s, scholars were taking a fresh, unbiased look at cinema’s early years. They were assisted by film archives that opened their doors to scholars and re-examined their preservation and exhibition policies. As a consequence, many films from the silent era, including the years of the First World War, were restored in their original form. In many cases, this meant they were tinted and/or toned, i.e. dyed in different colors, and every care was taken to project them at the correct speed. Although the interest in non-fiction films from the silent era initially lagged behind the dramas and comedies, scholars have now come
The First World WarWar on Screen WWI:War: The the FirstFirst World on Screen
The First World War documentaries screening at IDFA make clear that these archival films encompass more than military parades and soldiers “going over the top”: addressing the home front was just as important. Stylistically, they range from newsreel-type film reports to a mixture of fact and fiction to elaborate reenactments. Above all, they refute Rotha’s dismissal: they do have creative points of view, they do govern the selection of images, and they do express arguments. Bert Hogenkamp Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision / VU University Amsterdam
Moving Tales from the Trenches Highlights from EYE’s WWI Collections
Poster voor Der magische Gürtel
to regard early documentaries as a subject worthy of attention. As a result, more is known about the conditions under which First World War propaganda films were produced. In Germany, for example, it was the Army High Command that pushed for a centralized Bild- und Filmamt (BUFA), while in Great Britain the Ministry for Information was responsible for propaganda films. In most cases, bodies like these commissioned the films from private production companies, which may explain why existing formats such as the industrial, travel or educational film were so eagerly adapted for propaganda purposes.
The Netherlands did not take part in WWI, but the Dutch followed the war closely, not only in the newspapers, but also in the newsreels they saw at the cinema. After the war, more WWI-related films accumulated on Dutch territory by various means, such as the films that Kaiser Wilhelm II brought with him when he got exiled to the Netherlands. Consequently, today the Dutch national film archive EYE holds many unexpected moving images from the period 1914-1918. In 2014, EYE will make 100 hours of these films available through the website European Film Gateway 1914 (EFG1914.eu), a project bringing together over 20 European archives and 650 hours of WWI-related holdings. The project is broadly defined to include a large variety of materials: not only the newsreels or documentaries produced by both sides, but also registrations of daily life throughout Europe (including neutral territories), or even examples of popular genres like comedies or romances that were produced for entertainment purposes. A screening at IDFA will feature highlights from the approximately 300 films that EYE is contributing to the EFG1914 project, introduced by EYE’s silent film curator Elif Rongen-Kaynakçi, who will contextualize the surprising discoveries and unexpected gems that resurfaced in the two years of preparation for the project. This sneak preview includes never-before-screened images of cities like Tartu, Sarajevo, London and Berlin, and features intriguing personalities like the aviators Pégoud and Captain Alcock, General von Lüttwitz, and of course Kaiser Wilhelm II.
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The First World War: the First War on Screen
A Day in the Life of a Munition Worker This revealing film uniquely documents the work carried out by women in wartime. It reconstructs a typical day at an arms factory with the intention of getting women interested in doing similar work. During World War I, women were responsible for around 80 percent of arms production. The film shows the dangerous work they did, such as filling up and assembling bombs and grenades with only rudimentary safety measures. We see a woman leaving her house early in the morning, boarding the train to the factory, and donning overalls and rubber footwear as she fills and assembles the bombs and grenades. The film then goes on to highlight the hygiene and medical checks. It ends with a medium shot of a woman taking off her mask and smiling to the camera, followed by a fluttering Union Jack.
UK, 1917 35mm, black-and-white, 12 min Production: War Office Cinema Committee Screening Copy: Imperial War Museum London
Friedensverhandlungen in Brest-Litowsk This short documentary focuses on the 1917 peace negotiations between Germany and the Soviets in Brest-Litovsk, now Brest, in Belarus. In 1917 and 1918, peace talks took place between Russia – where the Soviets had just risen to power – and the Central Powers of Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. The film starts with the delegates’ arrival in the city, with Trotsky among them. We then witness their arrival at the casino where negotiations are to be held, and some of them pose in front of the camera. Russia was in bad shape at the time, partly because hundreds of thousands of soldiers had deserted the army. The peace agreement would work out poorly for the Soviets, but they were hoping for a communist revolution in Germany. Germany was now able to put all its troops into action on the front. The film ends with shots of German and Russian soldiers fraternizing at the snow-bedecked front, where they are shown exchanging items with one another.
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Germany, 1918 35mm, black-and-white, 9 min Production: Bild- und Film Amt (BUFA) Screening Copy: Bundesarchiv – FilmarchivBerlin
The First World War: the First War on Screen
Hochseefischerei der Deutschen Marine
Germany, 1918 35mm, color, 21 min Production: Bild- und Film Amt (BUFA) Screening Copy: Bundesarchiv – FilmarchivBerlin
Scarcity of food during World War I meant its distribution was controlled by the military authorities. This film paints a picture of the supply problems in the winter of 1917. At the time, fish sorting was carried out under the supervision of German military officers. This tinted film shows the preparations in the harbor, the fishing at sea and the fish being prepared on land for consumption. It has all the appearance of an educational film, were it not for the constant presence of German military officers.
Holland neutraal, de leger- en vlootfilm Willy Mullens
The Netherlands, 1917 35mm, black-and-white, 165 min Director: Willy Mullens Production: Willy Mullens for Alberts Frères Screening Copy: EYE Film Instituut Nederland
Willy Mullens:
De mésaventure van een Fransch heertje zonder pantalon aan het strand te Zandvoort (fiction, 1905) Strand te Blankenberge (1906) Achter de wolken schijnt de zon (1925) a.o.
In 1916, the Dutch Ministry of War commissioned a cinema owner in The Hague named Willy Mullens to make a film showing that the military were ready to defend the country’s neutrality, while also boosting the people’s appreciation of the armed forces. Mullens and his camera crew presented the broadest possible range of army and navy activities in meticulous detail: everything from torpedo shooting to the transportation on tiny mattresses of carrier pigeons in shockproof straitjackets. On January 9, 1917, the film premiered in Mullens’s own cinema, with Queen Wilhelmina and many dignitaries in attendance. It went on to be screened widely in Dutch cinemas, with special screenings for the elderly and schoolchildren. Although the reception was mostly positive, socialists and anti-militarists protested against the film.
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Lille im dritten Kriegsjahr It is October 1916, and the northern French city of Lille has fallen into German hands. The front isn’t far away, so there are always lots of German soldiers in town – on their way to the front or passing their free time in the city. This short documentary captures Lille in wartime using the classic narrative form of the travel movie, starting with the arrival at the station and ending with the departure from the city. The film is intended to show that life in Lille is going on as usual, while at the same time displaying the German presence there. The latter prevails as the film progresses, and it ends with a train full of German soldiers going on leave to Germany.
Germany, 1917 35mm, black-and-white, 17 min Production: Flora-Film GmbH Screening Copy: Bundesarchiv – FilmarchivBerlin
Der Magische Gürtel Hans Brennert Under the command of Captain Lothar von Arnauld de la Perière, the German submarine U-35 was very successful in taking out enemy ships. A camera crew joined the submarine for its five-week tour of the Mediterranean in the spring of 1917, filming events as 10 ships were sunk. All the footage was shot on deck, as apparently the cameras weren’t sufficiently light-sensitive to film inside the submarine itself. There is strong emphasis on the proper treatment of the crews from the defeated vessels, which were only sunk once the crews were safely in lifeboats. The film was approved by the German censor in August 1917 and subsequently screened in cinemas to wide acclaim. The English would later use it as an anti-German film. A tinted version that fell into British hands after the war formed the basis for the film’s recent restoration.
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Germany, 1917 35mm, black-and-white, 45 min Director: Hans Brennert Production: Bild- und Film Amt (BUFA) Screening Copy: Imperial War Museum London
The First World War: the First War on Screen
Met onze jongens aan den IJzer Clemens De Landtsheer
Belgium, 1928 35mm, black-and-white, 83 min Director: Clemens De Landtsheer Screening Copy: CINEMATEK Koninklijk Filmarchief – Cinémathèque royale
Clemens De Landtsheer:
Aankomst in 1926 van Prinses Astrid met Fylgia (1926) Overstromingen in 1929 (1929) De Landdag van Wemmel 1930 (1930) a.o.
During World War I, Belgium was crisscrossed with the trenches that would come to symbolize the conflict. When it was over, Flemish veterans used their experience at the front for the Flemish Movement, whose core aim was the emancipation of the Flemish people. The memory of the war was kept alive through the annual Pilgrimage of the Yser River. Director Clemens de Landtsheer was himself a veteran of the war, and it was 10 years after the armistice that his work was screened for the first time. While being a fine example of the representation of the reality of war, it is also propaganda for the Flemish Movement. It is both a bitter indictment of war and the suffering of the Flemish soldiers and a tribute to the so-called Front Movement. The original was adapted several times, but it was and remains a propaganda documentary – revenue from the screenings were used to help build Yser Tower in the city of Diksmuide.
Mrs. John Bull Prepared
UK, 1918 35mm, black-and-white, 45 min Production: Films Division Ministry of Information United Kingdom Screening Copy: Imperial War Museum London
The division of labor between the sexes changed fundamentally during World War I. Women replaced male workers in almost every field, allowing the men to be put into action at the front. The women’s rights movement used this development as a springboard for radical change in women’s position in society. Now, women were doing jobs that had been unthinkable before the war. They were working as mail carriers, ticket collectors on public transportation, railway employees and members of the auxiliary police force. Even in traditionally all-male industries – such as the blast furnaces, mining, and the machine, metal, electricity and chemical industries – the number of female employees greatly increased. This film presents a conflict situation concerning this changing female role in an average family. It features documentary footage of the new division of labor within the framework of a fictional narrative about Smith, a businessman who, after sleeping for four years, awakens to find himself in a new world.
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24 SEP-03 OCT 2014 UTRECHT filmfestival.nl
Holland Film Meeting The annual get-together of Dutch and foreign film professionals September 25th - 28th 2014, Utrecht
For more information please contact:
• Holland Film Meeting +31 30 230 38 00 hfm@filmfestival.nl
• Signe Zeilich-Jensen Head of Industry Holland Film Meeting +31 6 129 904 56 Signe@filmfestival.nl
• Willemien van Aalst Festival Director Netherlands Film Festival +31 6 542 078 90 Willemien@filmfestival.nl
filmfestival.nl/profs_en
Binger Filmlab EYE International MEDIA Desk Nederland
City of Utrecht Screen International FPN
BIGGEST COLLECTION OF DOCUMENTARIES Dutch Documentary Collection: films from past and present beeldengeluid.nl
The Dutch Institute for Sound and Vision (Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid) keeps more than a century of Dutch audiovisual history, among which are the films of Dutch documentary makers. Every year Sound and Vision invites an acknowledged contemporary documentary maker to make a commis sioned film.
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In 2013 Niek Koppen is this documen tary maker IN FOCUS. The commis sioned film Dutch Darlings has been released together with a selection of 8 films from his oeuvre – with English sub titles – on four DVD’s in the series Dutch Documentary Collection. The DVD box is for sale in the IDFA shop and via beeldengeluid.nl/shop
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non-Competitive programs Treasures – Restored Oscar® Nominated and Winning Films In collaboration with the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision, IDFA presents four classic Dutch documentaries that were nominated for or won an Oscar®. These and other treasures from the Sound and Vision archives have been painstakingly restored, and are now ready for audiences at home and abroad.
Treasures – Restored Oscar® Films
Glass
Glas Bert Haanstra In the glassworks of Leerdam, glass objects are made both by hand and with the help of machines. The glassblowers work according to traditional methods – driven by fantasy and craftsmanship, they skillfully shape their handiwork. In mechanical glass manufacturing, machines turn out series of glass products at a high speed. When Bert Haanstra was commissioned to make an industrial film about the glassworks, he soon realized that more could be made of this visibly invisible subject than a mere promotional film showing the industrial process from raw material to end product. On his own initiative, he decided to make a short artistic film. In Glass, we see the art of glassblowing as a rhythmical play between hot glass and the precise timing of a craftsman. A complicated, dexterous ballet demonstrates the art of traditional glassblowing. This contrasts with the bigger glassworks, where everything is wellordered. But things can go wrong there, too, and human hands are the ministering angels in the production process. In 1959, Haanstra received an Academy Award® for Best Documentary Short Subject for the film.
The Netherlands, 1958 DCP, black-and-white, 10 min Director: Bert Haanstra Photography: Eddy van der Enden Screenplay: Bert Haanstra Editing: Bert Haanstra Music: Pim Jacobs Production: Bert Haanstra for Bert Haanstra Films B.V. Screening Copy: Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid
Bert Haanstra:
De Muiderkring herleeft (1949), Spiegel van Holland (1950), Strijd zonder einde (1955), Over glas gesproken (1958), Fanfare (fiction, 1958), De zaak M.P. (fiction, 1960), Zoo (1961), Alleman (1963), De stem van het water (1966), Bij de beesten af (1972), Dokter Pulder zaait papavers (fiction, 1975), Vroeger kon je lachen (1983), Chimps onder elkaar (1984) a.o.
Awards: Academy Award® Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences
High Stakes in the East John Fernhout
1943 was a unique year in the history of the Oscar® for Best Documentary. In solidarity with the Allied forces fighting in Europe, the Academy selected 25 long and short documentaries about the war, many of which were made by or for the Allied governments or armed forces. One of these was High Stakes in the East, made on behalf of the Netherlands Information Services of the Dutch government in exile. In the aftermath of the Allied defeat in the battle for Java, after which the island fell into Japanese hands, this propaganda film made for American audiences shows what has been lost. “Why are the Netherlands East Indies so important to the modern world?” the bombastic voice-over asks at the beginning of the film. The answer lies in the raw materials to be found in these “Dutch treasure islands.” Accompanied by archive footage of Javanese crafts and industries, the narrator sums these up: rice, sugar, tea, rubber, oil. For contemporary audiences, the nonchalant way in which the population of Java is also seen as a raw material is a portent of the colonial independence struggles that would flare up after World War II.
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The Netherlands, 1942 DCP, black-and-white, 10 min Director: John Fernhout Production: David Selznick for Brandon Films Incorporated Screening Copy: Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid
John Fernhout:
Hallo Everybody (1933) L’île de Pâques (1934) Land in zicht (1937) The Dutch Traditon (1942) Buiten de grenzen (1944) De tiendaagse tocht (1945) The Last Shot (1946) Forgotten Island (1947) Blue Peter (1958) Fortress of Peace (1965) Sky Over Holland (1967) Het bewaarde landschap (1985) a.o.
Treasures – Restored Oscar® Films
Sky Over Holland John Fernhout
The Netherlands, 1969 DCP 4K, color, 22 min Director: John Fernhout Photography: Douwes Fernhout, Robert Gaffney Screenplay: Simon Koster Music: Robert Heppener Production: Douwes Fernhout, John Fernhout Screening Copy: Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid Awards: International Grand Prix Cannes Film Festival
John Fernhout:
Hallo Everybody (1933) L’île de Pâques (1934) Land in zicht (1937) The Dutch Traditon (1942) High Stakes in the East (1942) Buiten de grenzen (1944) De tiendaagse tocht (1945) The Last Shot (1946) Forgotten Island (1947) Blue Peter (1958) Fortress of Peace (1965) Het bewaarde landschap (1985) a.o.
This dynamic documentary produced for the 1967 World Fair in Montreal captures the Netherlands from the air. Skillfully edited, these astonishing shots of Dutch skies filmed with a 70mm panorama camera mounted on a fighter jet skillfully create a genuine connection with the landscapes captured in paint by the nation’s artists. Besides the skies of Holland made famous by the Dutch Masters, there are echoes of Mondriaan’s geometric color planes in the endless vistas of bright-hued tulip fields. Other scenes provide a fascinating impression of Dutch culture: although the film starts off with nostalgic tableaus (the cheese market in Gouda, folk dancing at a cattle market), a more modern, industrialized Netherlands gradually comes into view. We see the construction of the Delta Works, TV set production in Phillips factories and transportation on inland waterways. The film was screened in Montreal on a screen 20 meters wide, and it was the greatest success in the career of John Fernhout, scion of a famous artistic dynasty. It won a Golden Palm at Cannes in 1967 and in Cannes and was nominated for the Oscar® for Best Documentary Short Subject the following year. The gorgeous 70mm images were scanned at a massive 8K resolution to preserve as much image information as possible, and then carefully restored to produce the 4K projection that is premiering at IDFA.
This Tiny World
Die kleine wereld Charles Huguenot van der Linden
The Netherlands, 1973 DCP, color, 15 min Director: Charles Huguenot van der Linden Photography: Lajos Kalanos Editing: Charles Huguenot van der Linden Sound: Ron Haanschoten Narration: Janet Edzforth Production: Martina & Charles Huguenot van der Linden Screening Copy: Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid
Charles Huguenot van der Linden: Young Hearts (fiction, 1936) Dutch in Seven Lessons (1948) Tussenspel bij kaarslicht (1959) Bouwspelement (1962) Big City Blues (fiction, 1962) a.o.
Director Charles Huguenot van der Linden describes his documentary This Tiny World as “an unassuming thing,” and these words reveal his surprise when it won an Academy Award®. In fact he’s right, but great love and skill went into the making of this film that offers a nostalgic view of old toys. These lovingly restored treasures from private collections and museums are brought to life with an equal amount of love in the film’s miniature universe. And by presenting them in chronological order, the film provides a unique perspective on the course of industrialization, moving from handcrafted wooden horses and carts to tin cars and then plastic spaceships. The female narrator’s kindly voice adds another layer of relationships with greater human themes. It was surely a very personal project for this unjustly all-but-forgotten figure in Dutch film history. The film is dedicated to his grandchildren, and he brings the film to a close with these words: “In gratitude for all the toys I received as a child, and in regret for having destroyed them.”
Awards: Academy Award® Best Documentary Short Subject Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences
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non-Competitive programs Niek Koppen in Focus IDFA and the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision have selected Niek Koppen to be documentary filmmaker in focus for 2013. IDFA is screening his new film Dutch Darlings, which the filmmakers created for the occasion, as well as three other highlights from his oeuvre.
Niek Koppen in Focus
The Battle of the Java Sea De slag in de Javazee Niek Koppen
The Battle of the Java Sea on February 27, 1942 was one of the most memorable episodes in Dutch maritime history, and Rear Admiral Karel Doorman is inextricably linked to this event. His famous slogan “I charge, follow me!” has become winged words in Dutch parlance. The battle signified more than a disastrous confrontation between the Japanese and Allied naval forces. It was a confrontation between East and West, between the old and the new age, and one that had an enormous influence on political and social relations worldwide. Director Niek Koppen is personally involved in his subject: his mother’s first husband died during the battle, and his uncle Henk Koppen was one of the survivors. For this film, Koppen spoke with survivors of the battle from both sides. Their emotionally charged accounts provide a captivating picture of an event that had far-reaching consequences for all those who lived it. Truth has many faces, and each story casts another personal light on this chapter in world history.
The Netherlands, 1995 35mm, color, 135 min Director: Niek Koppen Photography: Kester Dixon Screenplay: Niek Koppen Editing: Erik Disselhoff Sound: Otto Horsch Production: Eddy Wijngaarde for Odusseia Films World Sales: Selfmade Films Screening Copy: EYE Film Instituut Nederland
Niek Koppen:
Siki (1992) Gré Brouwenstijn, a Dutch Diva (1995) Het Werkteater 1970-1985 (1997) The Hunt (1997) Working for Labour (1998) Honour Your Father and Your Mother (2000) Toneelgroep Amsterdam (2001) Holland danst (2004) Gold (2007) Dutch Darlings (2013)
Awards: Gouden Kalf Nederlands Film Festival 1996
Dutch Darlings Levende klederdracht Niek Koppen
WORLD PREMIERE
Some of them are young, but most of them are old and need help getting dressed. What they have in common is that they always dress in the traditional costumes worn by their parents, grandparents and great-grandparents. Nick Koppen’s new documentary shows that traditional Dutch costumes aren’t only to be found on display in museums, because there’re also being worn on the streets in some parts of the Netherlands. Koppen’s film follows women wearing traditional costumes in their daily lives, from the towns of Westkapelle to Bunschoten-Spakenburg and from Marken to Staphorst. We see them shopping for groceries, singing sea shanties and playing Rummikub in the afternoon. He paints a colorful picture of these women who lead a traditional life, while also being objects of interest for tourists and their fellow Dutch citizens alike. In typical Koppen style – simply recording events and being part of the group without judging – the women talk about their experiences making and wearing their clothes. The film brings to life both the colorful costumes and the women who wear them.
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The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 55 min Director: Niek Koppen Photography: Erik van Empel Screenplay: Niek Koppen Editing: Erik Disselhoff Sound: Mark Wessner Production: Jan de Ruiter for Selfmade Films Executive Production: Anja Cloosterman for Selfmade Films Screening Copy: Selfmade Films Involved TV Channel: NTR
Niek Koppen:
Siki (1992) The Battle of the Java Sea (1995) Gré Brouwenstijn, a Dutch diva (1995) Het Werkteater 1970-1985 (1997) The Hunt (1997) Working for Labour (1998) Honour Your Father and Your Mother (2000) Toneelgroep Amsterdam (2001) Holland Danst (2004) Gold (2007)
Niek Koppen in Focus
Gold
Goud Niek Koppen
The Netherlands, 2007 video, color, 106 min Director: Niek Koppen Photography: Peter Brugman Editing: Erik Disselhoff Sound: Otto Horsch Music: Harry de Wit Production: Niek Koppen & Jan de Ruiter for Selfmade Films World Sales: Selfmade Films Screening Copy: Selfmade Films
Niek Koppen:
Siki (1992) The Battle of the Java Sea (1995) Gré Brouwenstijn, a Dutch Diva (1995) Het Werkteater 1970-1985 (1997) The Hunt (1997) Working for Labour (1998) Honour Your Father and Your Mother (2000) Toneelgroep Amsterdam (2001) Holland danst (2004) Dutch Darlings (2013)
Awards: Kristallen Film Nederlands Film Festival 2007
In October 2006, the Dutch women’s hockey team became world champions for the first time in 16 years. Niek Koppen’s documentary about the period leading up to this victory begins with the celebrations accompanying their arrival as champions at Amsterdam Airport. He then leaps 10 weeks back in time to the start of intensive preparations for the World Cup. Koppen uses neither comments nor interviews, but the extensive access to his subjects lets him show how excited the players and the technical staff are about the competition in Spain. Rather than focusing primarily on the sport itself, the director highlights the difficult process the team is going through. “Is it in our culture or something that we all have to talk, talk, talk?” sighs trainer Marc Lammers at one point. At the training camp, Koppen shows us the motivational speeches and assessment interviews; at the matches themselves – even the nerve-wracking final – the camera pays more attention to the trainer and reserve players in the dugout than the action on the field. Through this unique insider’s perspective on a team under intense pressure, we experience their sense of loss, disappointment, rage, solidarity and intense joy.
Siki
Niek Koppen
The Netherlands, 1992 16mm, color, 60 min Director: Niek Koppen Photography: Kester Dixon Editing: Erik Disselhoff Sound: Otto Horsch Music: Youssou N’Dour Production: Eddy Wijngaarde for Odusseia Films World Sales: Selfmade Films Screening Copy: EYE Film Instituut Nederland
Niek Koppen:
The Battle of the Java Sea (1995) Gré Brouwenstijn, a Dutch Diva (1995) Het Werkteater 1970-1985 (1997) The Hunt (1997) Working for Labour (1998) Honour Your Father and Your Mother (2000) Toneelgroep Amsterdam (2001) Holland danst (2004) Gold (2007) Dutch Darlings (2013)
Shortly after World War I, M’Barick (Louis) Fall from Senegal became world famous as “Battling Siki,” the first black light-heavyweight boxing champion, after he beat French idol Georges Carpentier in a sensational fight in 1922. Only three years later, Siki died a violent death in New York, the tragic end to a short but remarkable life. Director Niek Koppen made this portrait of the boxer in 1992, 70 years after the legendary fight in Paris. But more than making a biography of Siki, he shows us the legends that have lived on about this remarkable athlete. we learn about these legends from a multitude of voices. Some are eyewitnesses, old men by now: the boxers who trained with Siki in Rotterdam, and an old chum who used to tear up the backstreets of the Senegalese harbor town Saint-Louis with him. Others are once removed: the proper Dutch biographer, the grandiloquent American sportswriter and the contemplative Swedish novelist, who all wrote books about Siki. Each paints a slightly different picture: Siki as the invincible African hero, Siki as the “noble savage” from the jungle, and Siki as the extravagant dandy and womanizer. Koppen accompanies the interviews with unique historical footage and photographs, creating an authentic portrait of this mythical character.
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non-Competitive programs Stand-up Documentary In collaboration with Amsterdam comedy club Toomler, IDFA is showing seven documentaries about stand-up comedy. While documentary and comedy may seem strange bedfellows at first glance, in fact they have a lot in common: both aim to illuminate hidden aspects of our society, never straying too far from reality in their ambition to get to the core of our existence. The short film Chocolate Comedy is also part of the theme program Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia and can be found in that section. This program is supported by VSBfonds.
Stand-Up Documentary
Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor John Wager INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE Five disabled American veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan talk about getting wounded and the periods of sorrow, depression and recovery that followed. All five are now working as stand-up comics. Director and producer John Wager and his co-producer Ray Reo are co-founders of Comedy Warriors, a project that helps disabled veterans become stand-ups. All five veterans already had the habit of making jokes about their problems, and now they get coaching from well-known stand-up comics like Zach Galifianakis, Lewis Black and Bob Saget. They have plenty of questions for them: how should you stand onstage? What role do you assign to visible wounds (a missing limb or a scarred face)? How can you make a joke hit home even harder? All of the participants affirm that humor can heal – and this goes for all comedians. In the words of Bob Nickman, screenwriter-producer of the TV series Freaks and Geeks, ‘Very happy, well-adjusted people don’t go into stand-up. It’s a way of dealing with pain.’ The documentary builds up to the five budding stand-ups’ first big show, the L.A. Improv in Hollywood, and features excerpts from their acts.
USA, 2013 DCP, color/black-and-white, 74 min Director: John Wager Photography: Alex Kenyon, Shawn Schaffer Editing: Ken Schretzmann, Arielle Amsalem Sound: Steve Nealey, Andy Theiss Music: Jim Papoulis Production: John Wager & Ray Reo for Galileo Media Arts Co-Production: Bernadette Luckett Executive Production: Steven Beer Screening Copy: Galileo Media Arts Website: www.comedywarriors.com
John Wager:
Bicycle Lessons (2010)
Awards: Golden Palm Award Best Documentary & Golden Palm Award for Veterans’ Service and Sacrifice Palm Beach International Film Festival, Audience Award for Best Documentary San Antonio Film Festival
The Happy Sad Route (and a Comedian) Linda Hakeboom WORLD PREMIERE In this personal road movie, Dutch stand-up comedian Jan Jaap van der Wal travels through former Yugoslavia. Over the past few years, a small group of comedians have been trying to set up a comedy scene in the region, but it has proven to be quite a challenge: audiences are hard to find, and money seems to be even more scarce. But most importantly, the comedians and their audience all share a pretty tough history to be making fun of. Choosing “differences are funny” as their motto, the up-and-coming comedians in this fledgling comedy scene attempt to get past the taboos and traumas of history. Van der Wal travels to Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to meet with fellow comedians and to perform there himself. The battles fought by the Balkan comedians urge him to reflect on his own future as a stand-up comedian in the Netherlands.
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The Netherlands, 2013 DCP, color, 50 min Director: Linda Hakeboom Photography: Jeffrey Slaa Screenplay: Linda Hakeboom Editing: Tim Roza Sound: Jaim Sahuleka Music: Eefje de Visser Production: Martijn Mosk, Linda Hakeboom & Jan Jaap van der Wal for Het Station World Sales: Het Station Screening Copy: Het Station Involved TV Channels: Human, NTR
Linda Hakeboom:
Whatever Forever: Douwe Bob (2013)
Stand-Up Documentary
Joan Rivers – A Piece of Work Ricki Stern
USA, Scotland, UK, 2010 HDcam, color, 84 min
Ricki Stern:
Director: Ricki Stern Co-director: Annie Sundberg Photography: Charles Miller Editing: Penelope Falk Sound: Brad Bergbom, Seth Keal Music: Paul Brill Production: Seth Keal & Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg for Break Thru Films Inc. World Sales: IFC Films Screening Copy: Break Thru Films, Inc. Website: www.joanriversapieceofwork.com
The Trials of Darryl Hunt (2006) The Devil Came on Horseback (2007) The End of America (2008) Burma Soldier (2011) The Sky Is Not the Limit (2012) Knuckleball (2012) Let Them Wear Towels (2013)
In My Corner (1998)
Ricki Stern & Annie Sundberg:
The American comedienne Joan Rivers was born in 1933 and she’s always been hard at work, but now it’s 2009 and her career is in the doldrums. Her greatest fear is staring her in the face: an empty calendar. Director Ricki Stern follows Rivers over a year of deep lows, high points and a great deal of uncertainty. Rivers’s forthright account hides huge insecurity – something that also seems to be at the root of her liberal use of plastic surgery. Her own story combines with that of her entourage and her only daughter Melissa to create a juicily funny and tragic portrayal of a remarkable, self-deprecating and hugely driven woman. It seems that big city theater performances are a thing of the past; “Kathy Griffin is taking all of those away,” Rivers jokes. And following the umpteenth show in some small town, she can’t help but be frustrated. “Forty years in the business and this is where I fucking end up?” But then she’s invited onto Donald Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice. She jumps for joy, because she would have been happy to wear a diaper for an incontinence ad. Anything for a bit of face time.
Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic Marina Zenovich
Marina Zenovich: USA, UK, 2013 HDcam, color/black-and-white, 85 min Independent’s Day (1998) Director: Marina Zenovich Photography: Christine Burrill Editing: Chris Peterson Music: Erin Davis, Mocean Worker Production: Sara Hutchison Executive Production: Roy Ackerman for Fresh One, Jennifer Lee Pryor for Tarnished Angel Inc World Sales: CBS International Screening Copy: Fresh One Involved TV Channels: Showtime Networks Inc., BBC
Who is Bernard Tapie? (2001) Estonia Dreams of Eurovision! (2002) Tim Noble & Sue Webster: Now Here (fiction, 2006) Vanessa Beecroft in Berlin (fiction, 2006) Robert Wilson: Video Portraits (2008) Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008) Heroes Among Us (fiction, 2010) Roman Polanski: Odd Man Out (2012)
Comedian Richard Pryor died in 2005 at 65 years old. He was both a self-made and a selfunmade man. As a stand-up comic, he broke racial and social taboos during America’s civil rights era, and he brought black street slang to the general public. He titled his successful debut album That Nigger’s Crazy, much to the discomfort of white interviewers. Film recordings of his shows demonstrate how his controversial character earned him many fans, but it also cost him lucrative work in Las Vegas as well as the starring role in Mel Brooks’s 1974 film Blazing Saddles (which Pryor co-wrote), and his own TV series The Richard Pryor Show. Besides abundant and often unique archive footage, this film features interviews with a string of ex-wives and friends including Whoopi Goldberg, Robin Williams and Jesse Jackson, all of whom paint a picture of a troubled comedian. Despite a spiritual journey to Africa, it was ultimately the drugs that were his undoing. Watching TV while he was high, Pryor saw a Vietnamese monk setting fire to himself and decided to do the same – an event that this documentary illustrates with scenes from his 1986 autobiographical feature Jo Jo Dancer. Fortunately, Pryor was always able to draw on his personal misfortunes in his stand-up work, up to and including the multiple sclerosis that finally killed him. As he said, “Nothing was too sad some humor couldn’t be found in it.”
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Stand-Up Documentary
The Tunnel
Jody VandenBurg, Domenico Favata INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE “The naughty boy of the alternative circuit.” This is what they call The Tunnel, an old and grimy comedy club in a gray industrial area of South London. In the 1980s, the club was the breeding ground for performers who tended to stay off the beaten path and a venue where young amateurs proved themselves. In a documentary packed with archive photos and footage of comedians and hecklers alike, we look back at tumultuous times. Because of the open stage policy, folks were all welcome to perform: from a wig act with joints and absurdist mime to a man who just stood still until the audience had forced him offstage, there was something of everything. This didn’t mean that everyone was wild about what they saw. On the contrary, when the audience didn’t like you, you were thoroughly trashed. In the words of comedian Simon Munnery, “Once you’ve been through The Tunnel, you didn’t fear any other gig.” Munnery felt the audience’s daggers firsthand, as evidenced by the archive footage. Together with such comedians as Kevin McCarthy and Harry Enfield, Munnery reminisces about the unbridled creativity and spontaneity of The Tunnel, the magic of the audience (which consisted by and large of regulars), the sudden closure of the club, and its eccentric proprietor, Malcolm Hardee, who died in 2005.
UK, 2012 HDcam, color/black-and-white, 35 min
Jody VandenBurg:
Director: Jody VandenBurg, Domenico Favata Photography: Ossi Jalkanen Editing: Domenico Favata Sound: James Ian Gray, Julia Thompson Production: Naomi de Pear for Tunnel Films World Sales: Tunnel Films Screening Copy: Tunnel Films
directing debut
directing debut
Domenico Favata:
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley Whoopi Goldberg INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE During her career as a comedienne, Jackie “Moms” Mabley (1894-1975) was a true trailblazer. Debut director Whoopi Goldberg is one of the comedians who Mabley inspired. Goldberg gets many of her colleagues to speak about this inspiring woman, including Joan Rivers, Anne Meara, Bill Cosby, Eddie Murphy, Sidney Poitier and Harry Belafonte. They discuss segregation, the civil rights movement and the Chitlin’ Circuit, a special circuit of venues for black artists. Mabley herself is also present, in old sound recordings, illustrated by text and cutout animation, and in excerpts from movies and TV appearances. She performed with greats like Cab Calloway, Louis Armstrong and Miles Davis, and as a character looked “like my mother,” according to comic Kathy Griffin: with a large floral-print dress and no teeth. Thanks to this harmless-looking exterior and her huge popularity, Mabley got away with sharp political criticism, was invited to the White House, and went to Sing Sing prison to perform every year. In the words of Joan Rivers, “A lady, standing up there, telling the truth.”
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USA, 2013 HDcam, color/black-and-white, 72 min Director: Whoopi Goldberg Photography: Rudy Valdez, Jim Wooden Editing: Geeta Gandbhir, Maya Mumma Production: One Ho II, LLC Executive Production: Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Leonardis, George Schlatter Screening Copy: Whoop, Inc.
Whoopi Goldberg: directing debut
offsCreen aCtivities IDFA is more than just a film festival. It helps shape the documentary field: with its markets IDFA Forum and Docs for Sale, the IDFA Bertha Fund supporting filmmakers in developing countries, various workshops and activities for up-and-coming documentary talent, and an abundance talks, debates and events throughout the festival.
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Markets & Funding
Docs for Sale
IDFA Forum
Established in 1996, Docs for Sale is the leading marketplace for creative documentaries, offering streaming video all year round and excellent networking opportunities for buyers and sellers of quality documentaries during IDFA.
IDFA Forum is Europe’s largest meeting place for professionals working in the documentary sector. New documentary projects are pitched to commissioning editors as well as other potential financiers.
Now in its 18th year, Docs for Sale is an extensive, internationally oriented market for documentaries. Featuring more than 450 titles this year, all of which have undergone a strict selection process, the market offers digitized viewing services on 60 viewing sets, backed by an extensive database and catalogue. The viewings are recorded in the database, which can then be consulted by producers. Docs for Sale guests are mainly buyers from international TV networks, festival programmers, and distributors looking for new documentary material.
Ninety percent of all projects selected for a pitch find additional financing at the Forum, and almost all of the projects presented at the Forum end up getting made. This year saw a total of 470 submissions, of which 50 projects were selected. These projects will be pitched in different pitch categories, depending on their current stage of development, genre and financing.
Through the Docs for Sale Online platform, established in 2008 and accessible by subscription only, buyers and exhibitors can view documentaries whenever they want and wherever they are. This way, buyers and festival programmers who can’t make it to Amsterdam still have the opportunity to catch up with the Docs for Sale selection, and those who are coming to IDFA can do much of their viewing prior to and following the festival, leaving them more time for networking and closing deals during the festival itself. The Docs for Sale Online catalogue contains both new titles selected for IDFA 2013 and older documentaries that deserve a second look. It is continuously updated throughout the year. The 18th annual Docs for Sale takes place November 22-29 at art society Arti et Amicitiae (Rokin 112).
In the traditional Central Pitch setup, producers take turns pitching their latest projects to broadcasters from around the world. Over the course of two mornings, 17 projects are presented. In the Round Table setup, 25 projects in different production stages are pitched in an intimate setting to a small group of commissioning editors and other financiers who have indicated their specific interest in the project. This year, two new categories have been added to the Forum lineup. The Docs4Cinema Meetings are designed for documentary projects suitable for theatrical release that can benefit from one-on-one meetings with producers interested in co-production, distributors and funds. Three projects have been selected. In the Work in Progress Screenings, five selected filmmakers receive professional feedback from Forum and Docs for Sale delegates in the audience, who in turn get the chance to preview new and exciting projects. All public pitches are followed by prearranged one-on-one meetings, which give the producer-filmmaker teams time to discuss their project with potential financiers. The 21st edition of IDFA Forum takes place November 25-27 at the Compagnietheater (Kloveniersburgwal 50).
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Markets & Funding
IDFA Bertha Fund The IDFA Bertha Fund (formerly known as the Jan Vrijman Fund) supports documentary filmmakers and festivals in Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East and parts of Eastern Europe, enabling those in developing countries to find their own unique voice. The Fund not only provides financial support, but plays a crucial advisory role as well. Since it was established in 1998, the IDFA Bertha Fund has supported more than 500 projects. Because the selection criteria are so rigorous – based as they are on a project’s originality, cinematic quality and market potential – support from the Fund is generally considered to be a seal of approval. One of the strengths is the catalytic effect that the Fund’s involvement with a project can have in terms of attracting additional financing. With a total budget of €281,000, the IDFA Bertha Fund was able to support a selection of 34 new projects in 2013. In addition to the support given to the development and production of documentary films, the Fund also supported festivals in the Dominican Republic and Myanmar. Apart from screening a large part of the year’s harvest of completed films supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund at IDFA, the Fund works with filmmakers to enhance the distribution of their films worldwide. All of this is done in order to generate maximum attention for filmmakers from the developing world, to stimulate local film cultures and to turn the creative documentary into a truly global film art.
Screening at IDFA 2013
IDFA 2013 is presenting 11 new documentaries supported by the IDFA Bertha Fund, showcasing a diversity of filmmakers, regions, styles and subjects. This year’s selection also shows the Fund’s function of supporting filmmakers by facilitating access to the various industry activities at IDFA. The directors of I, Afrikaner, My Name Is Salt, The Devil’s Lair, The Death of Jaime Roldós, The Mulberry House and The Silence of the Flies all participated in the IDFA WorldView Summer School in the past. Additionally, The Devil’s Lair, I, Afrikaner and Powerless were pitched at past editions of the IDFA Forum. IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Return to Homs (Talal Derki, Syria/Germany) – Opening film IDFA Competition for First Appearance
I, Afrikaner (Annalet Steenkamp, South Africa) My Name Is Salt (Farida Pacha, Switzerland/India) Best of Fests
The Devil’s Lair (Riaan Hendricks, South Africa) Powerless (Fahad Mustafa & Deepti Kakkar, India) Panorama
The Death of Jaime Roldós (Manolo Sarmiento & Lisandra I. Rivera, Ecuador/Argentina) The Mulberry House (Sara Ishaq, Yemen/Syria/Egypt/Scotland) The River (Abdenour Zahzah, Algeria) The Silence of the Flies (Eliezer Arias, Venezuela) Temptation (Viktar Dashuk, Belarus) Music Documentary
Mercedes Sosa, The Voice of Latin America (Rodrigo Vila, Argentina)
The Devil’s Lair
M U N D U S
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Training & Education
IDFAcademy IDFAcademy bridges the gap between film school and practice with tailor-made training programs focused on talented international documentary filmmakers, both during the festival in a four-day training program for emerging filmmakers and producers from Europe, and throughout the year in the IDFAcademy Summer School and two workshops in the Netherlands. The IDFAcademy program gives emerging filmmakers the opportunity to meet highly esteemed documentary professionals who share their knowledge of the industry. Through master classes, case studies, lectures, panels, small-scale workshops and roundtable sessions, participants learn about the latest developments and sharpen their industry awareness. Every IDFAcademy day concludes with Meet the Professionals, round table sessions and one-on-one meetings with professionals attending IDFA. All participants get the opportunity to ask questions, get advice and listen to experts from different documentary disciplines. Earlier this year, the IDFA WorldView Summer School invited 30 young filmmakers, editors and producers from 13 different countries to Amsterdam. Mentored by internationally renowned tutors, participants took their documentary projects to the next level in a week of lectures, workshops and discussions. The IDFA-Mediafonds Workshop, organized from May to November in cooperation with the Dutch Cultural Media Fund, helps aspiring documentary filmmakers turn an original idea into a ready-to-make film plan. The workshop delivers an average of eight projects each year, of which approximately 40 percent are realized. During the festival, the best plan receives the Mediafonds Documentary Award of €125,000 towards the realization of the film. A select group of aspiring filmmakers gets the chance to participate in the Kids & Docs Workshop, which runs from September through February as a joint venture of IDFA, Cinekid and the Dutch Cultural Media Fund. Since the start of the workshop in 1999, it has produced 71 children’s documentaries. Participants develop a film plan for a 15-minute documentary that is suitable for and aimed at children of 12 years and younger. Filmmakers who complete the entire course receive support from one of the eight participating broadcasters, and the most promising film plan wins the Mediafonds Kids & Docs Award
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IDFAcademy Results
Films that emerged from one of the IDFAcademy programs are labeled IDFAcademy Results. This year’s IDFA program includes the following 18 films: IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Ecopolis China (Anna-Karin Grönroos, Canada/Finland) IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Judgment in Hungary (Eszter Hajdú, Hungary) I, Afrikaner (Annalet Steenkamp, South Africa) My Name Is Salt (Farida Pacha, Switzerland/India) Best of Fests
The Devil’s Lair (Riaan Hendricks, South Africa) Panorama
The Death of Jaime Roldós (Lisandra I. Rivera & Manolo Sarmiento, Ecuador/Argentina) The Mulberry House (Sara Ishaq, Yemen/Syria/Egypt/Scotland) The Silence of the Flies (Eliezer Arias, Venezuela) Super Jews (Nirit Peled, The Netherlands) Kids & Docs
Hear This! (Soulaima El Khaldi, The Netherlands) A Home for Lydia (Eline Helena Schellekens, The Netherlands) Little Miss Piggy (Ellen Vloet, The Netherlands) Louis the Ferris Wheel Kid (Tara Fallaux, The Netherlands) Once Upon a Tree (Marleen van der Werf, The Netherlands) Through the Fire (Miguel Narings, The Netherlands) Through the Looking Glass (Martijn Blekendaal, The Netherlands) Tonight We’ll Become Women (Josefien Hendriks, The Netherlands Music Documentary
Jingle Bell Rocks! (Mitchell Kezin, Canada)
Training & Education
IDFA Education
The IDFA Education program consists of special film screenings for youngsters during the festival and teaching tools that can be accessed online throughout the year. About 6,500 Dutch students are coming to IDFA to attend earlymorning screenings. Films have been selected for three different age groups. For primary schools (children ages 9-12), three short documentaries are screening in pairs of two: Jan’s Mom (Anneloor van Heemstra), Sounds for Mazin (Ingrid Kamerling) and Bente’s Voice (Marijn Frank). For high school children ages 12-14, the selection includes Bente’s Voice (Marijn Frank), Delete (Janetta Ubbels) and Father Wanted: With a Piggy Nose (Annelies Kruk). High schoolers ages 15-18 will watch Which Way Home (Rebecca Cammisa), The Chosen Ones (Geertjan Lassche) and The Imposter (Bart Layton).
IDFA Education is also collaborating with theaters around Amsterdam and elsewhere in the Netherlands so as many students as possible can attend the screenings. The theaters are Podium Mozaïek, EYE Film Institute and Bijlmer Park Theater in Amsterdam, Lux in Nijmegen, Filmhuis Den Haag (The Hague). IDFA offers a wide range of documentaries for screening in classrooms, available on DVD as well as streaming through the festival’s video-on-demand platform IDFA.tv. In addition to these screenings and teaching aids, IDFA Education organizes in-school master classes and workshops, introducing students to filmmakers who discuss their practical experiences.
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Offscreen activities
IDFA Media Talks IDFA is a film festival, but it is also a meeting place where filmmakers, experts and audiences exchange ideas in debates, master classes, conferences and Q&A sessions. Every year, IDFA invites a filmmaking legend to the festival. Following in the footsteps of grand masters like Werner Herzog, Frederick Wiseman and Victor Kossakovsky, this year Cambodian director Rithy Panh has selected his Top 10 favorite films and is being honored with a retrospective. During the festival, Panh will give a master class to shed light on his selection and delve into his own methods and filmmaking history. Nearly all filmmakers with films in the IDFA program get a chance to meet their audience in Q&A sessions after screenings, but 18 films get a special focus with Extended Q&As. Stimulating directors, industry experts and specialized moderators are on hand to engage with the audience in deeper discussions about the issues that the films address. For guests who wish to sharpen their awareness of the documentary industry and get up to speed on its latest developments, IDFA is organizing eight Industry Talks under the general title “The Future of …” covering such topics as VOD rights, the latest trends in crossmedia, and new distribution models.
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A calm oasis in the middle of the IDFA hurricane, the Hi-Tea with Ally and Peter is open to all at 4 p.m. each day in the VIP room of the Tuschinski. These engaging daily chats are hosted by IDFA director Ally Derks and the ubiquitous IDFAcolyte Peter Wintonick. Each session features a pair of special filmmakers, doc stars or secret guests informally talking about personal issues and professional ideas. In his stimulating and provocative KeyTalk Why Documentaries Matter, BBC Storyville’s Nick Fraser will discuss the future and relevance of the documentary genre, based on his eponymous book. Do documentaries really change the world, as is sometimes said? Is the accusation that they’re only made by and for the leftist elite true? These and other questions are answered, with ample oppurtunity for the audience to have their say. Documentary takes over the spotlight in the Amsterdam theater De Kleine Komedie for three days. In three Dutch-language programs, the documentary genre is pitted against three other art forms – music, photography and non-fiction writing – in a lively theatrical setting. See www.idfa.nl and the IDFA app for an up-to-date overview of all offscreen activities during the festival.
Special Selection
Green Screen As part of IDFA’s continuing commitment to such issues as the environment, sustainability and biodiversity, the festival has selected 13 films from its program to be labeled as Green Screen films. These documentaries creatively elucidate issues surrounding our environment and how we interact with it. No Land No Food No Life
Shown throughout the festival, this special selection will get an extra spotlight on Green Screen Day, in collaboration with the Green Film Making Project (an initiative by sustainability platform Strawberry Earth).
The following films have been given the Green Screen label: IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary Ecopolis China (Anna-Karin Grönroos, Finland) IDFA Competition for First Appearance The Coal Miner’s Day (Gaël Mocaer, France)
The Ghosts in Our Machine
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary Tiger Mountain (Jie Wu, China) Tyres (Kyaw Myo Lwin, Myanmar/Germany) Masters Pipeline (Vitaly Mansky, Russia/Germany/Czech Republic) Best of Fests Drill Baby Drill (Lech Kowalski, France) The Ghosts in Our Machine (Liz Marshall, Canada) Pandora’s Promise (Robert Stone, United States) Panorama Aim High in Creation (Anna Broinowski, Australia The Horses of Fukushima (Yojyu Matsubayashi, Japan) The Human Experiment (Dana Nachman & Don Hardy, United States) No Land No Food No Life (Amy Miller, Canada)
The Human Experiment
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia The Brick (Htoo Tay Zar, Htuu Lou Rae, Min Thu Aung & Yan Naing Ko, Myanmar/Poland)
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indexes
Index | Award Winners
Award Winners 1988 – 2012 VPRO IDFA Award for Best Feature-Length Documentary
2012 First Cousin Once Removed, Alan Berliner, United States, 2012 2011 Planet of Snail, Seung-Jun Yi, South Korea, 2011 2010 Position Among the Stars, Leonard Retel Helmrich, The Netherlands, 2010 2009 Last Train Home, Lixin Fan, China/Canada, 2009 2008 Burma VJ – Reporting from a Closed Country, Anders Østergaard, Denmark/Sweden/United Kingdom/Norway, 2008 2007 Stranded, Gonzalo Arijon, France, 2007 2006 The Monastery – Mr. Vig & the Nun, Pernille Rose Grønkjær, Denmark, 2006 2005 My Grandmother’s House, Adán Aliaga, Spain, 2005 2004 Shape of the Moon, Leonard Retel Helmrich, The Netherlands, 2004 2003 Checkpoint, Yoav Shamir, Israel, 2003 2002 Stevie, Steve James, United States, 2002 2001 Family, Phie Ambo & Sami Saif, Denmark, 2001 2000 The Sea That Thinks, Gert de Graaff, The Netherlands, 2000 1999 André Hazes – She Believes in Me, John Appel, The Netherlands, 1999 1998 Photographer, Dariusz Jablonski, Poland, 1998 1997 Wasteland, Andrei Schwartz, Germany, 1997 1996 Atman, Pirjo Honkasalo, Finland/Germany, 1996 1995 Délits flagrants, Raymond Depardon, France, 1994 1994 Solo, the Law of the Favela, Jos de Putter, The Netherlands, 1994 1993 The Belovs, Victor Kossakovsky, Russia, 1993 1992 La memoria del agua, Héctor Fáver, Spain, 1992 1991 Dreams and Silence, Omar Al-Qattan, Belgium, 1991 1990 Christo in Paris, Albert & David Maysles, United States, 1990 1989 The Crossroad, Ivars Seleckis, Latvia, 1988 1988 Birthplace Unknown, Karin Junger, The Netherlands, 1988 and Island, Ruben Gevorkyants, USSR, 1988
Special Jury Award
2011 5 Broken Cameras, Emad Burnat & Guy Davidi, Palestine/Israel/ Netherlands/France, 2011 2010 You Don’t Like the Truth – 4 Days Inside Guantánamo, Luc Coté & Patricio Henriquez, Canada, 2010 2009 The Most Dangerous Man in America, Judith Ehrlich & Rick Goldsmith, United States, 2009 2008 Forgetting Dad, Rick Minnich & Matthew Sweetwood, Germany, 2008 2007 Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go, Kim Longinotto, United Kingdom, 2007 2006 Tender’s Heat. Wild Wild Beach, Alexander Rastorguev, Russia, 2006 2005 Our Daily Bread, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Austria, 2005 2004 Liberia: An Uncivil War, Jonathan Stack & James Brabazon, United States, 2004 2003 The Corporation, Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott, Canada, 2003 2002 On Hitler’s Highway, Lech Kowalski, France, 2002 2001 Elsewhere, Nikolaus Geyrhalter, Austria, 2001 2000 Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale, Laurie Gwen Shapiro & David Shapiro, United States, 2000 1999 A Cry from the Grave, Leslie Woodhead, United Kingdom, 1999 1998 Pavel and Lyalya – A Jerusalem Romance, Victor Kossakovsky, Russia, 1998 1997 Little Dieter Needs to Fly, Werner Herzog, Germany, 1997 1996 The Typewriter, the Rifle and the Movie Camera, Adam Simon, United Kingdom, 1996 1995 Picasso Would Have Made a Glorious Waiter, Jonathan Schell, United States, 1994 1994 Choice and Destiny, Tsipi Reibenbach, Israel, 1993 1993 Losses to Be Expected, Ulrich Seidl, Austria, 1992 1992 Black Harvest, Robin Anderson & Bob Connolly, Australia, 1992 1991 Djembéfola, Laurent Chevallier, France, 1991 1990 The Collector, Erik Strömdahl, Sweden, 1989 1989 The Power of Solovki, Marina Goldovskaya, USSR, 1988 1988 Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie, Marcel Ophüls, France/ United States, 1988
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Members of the Jury 2012 Susan Froemke (United States), Michael Glawogger (Austria), Maria Goos (The Netherlands), Jørgen Leth (Denmark), Kenneth Turan (United States) 2011 Moussa Sene Absa (Senegal), Sandy Lieberson (United States), Dennis Lim (United States), Laila Pakalniņa (Latvia), Suzanne Raes (The Netherlands) 2010 Lixin Fan (Canada), Orlando Bagwell (United States), Monique van de Ven (The Netherlands), Frederic Boyer (France), Vibeke Bryld (Denmark) 2009 Geoffrey Gilmore (United States), Anders Østergaard (Denmark), Jean-Marie Téno (Cameroon/France), Jenny Westergård (Finland), Willeke van Ammelrooy (The Netherlands) 2008 Christoph Jörg (Germany), Wouter Barendrecht (The Netherlands), Deepa Dhanraj (India), Bianca Stigter (The Netherlands), Sandra Ruch (United States) 2007 Diane Weyermann (United States), Jos Stelling (The Netherlands), Ilan de-Vries (Israel), Roberto Berliner (Brazil), Vidyarthy Chartterjee (India) 2006 Claire Aguilar (United States), Igor Blažević (Czech Republic), Jasmine Dellal (United Kingdom), Niek Koppen (The Netherlands), Gerald Peary (United States) 2005 Luke Holland (United Kingdom), Jehane Noujaim (United States), Leonard Retel Helmrich (The Netherlands), Carmen Cobos (The Netherlands), Tamara Trampe (Germany) 2004 John Anderson (United States), Karen Cooper (United States), Pieter van Huystee (The Netherlands), Pirjo Honkasalo (Finland), Yoav Shamir (Israel) 2003 Roberto Berliner (Brazil), Bob Connolly (Australia), Peter Mettler (Switzerland), Joyce Roodnat (The Netherlands), Monika Treut (Germany) 2002 Phie Ambo (Denmark), Maziar Bahari (Iran), Pieter van Huystee (The Netherlands), Dennis O’Rourke (Australia), Jonathan Stack (United States) 2001 Jane Balfour (United Kingdom), Amit Breuer (Israel), Peter Brosens (Belgium), Gert de Graaff (The Netherlands), Peter Wintonick (Canada) 2000 John Appel (The Netherlands), Les Blank (United States), Zita Carvalhosa (Brazil), Victor Kossakovsky (Russia), Rada Sesic (The Netherlands) 1999 Dariusz Jablonski (Poland), Mandy Jacobson (South Africa), Emiko Omori (United States), Pieter Verhoeff (The Netherlands), Paul Yule (United Kingdom) 1998 Erika de Hadeln (Germany), Ot Louw (The Netherlands), Tue Steen Müller (Denmark), Toni Venturi (Brazil), Diane Weyermann (United States) 1997 Arthur Dong (United States), Kerstin Hagrup (Denmark), Jørgen Leth (Denmark), Robby Müller (The Netherlands), Katsue Tomiyama (Japan) 1996 Nicholas Fraser (United Kingdom), Marina Goldovskaja (Russia/United States), Torben Skjodt Jensen (Denmark), Amir Labaki (Brazil), Anne Lordon (The Netherlands/France) 1995 Elaine Charnov (United States), Chris Haws (United Kingdom), Irina Knochenhauer (Russia/Germany), Jos de Putter (The Netherlands), Sibylle Schönemann (Germany) 1994 Erik Barnouw (United States), Andrzej Kolodinski (Poland), Sonja de Leeuw (The Netherlands), Norma Marcos (Palestine), Lionel N’Gakane (South Africa) 1993 Karl Gass (Germany), Heddy Honigmann (The Netherlands), Stephen Peet (United Kingdom) Dea Sudarman (Indonesia), William Uricchio (United States/The Netherlands) 1992 Santiago Alvarez (Cuba), Rinki Bhattacharya (India), Lise Roos (Denmark), Jos Stelling (The Netherlands), Ilan de-Vries (Israel) 1991 Nouchka van Brakel (The Netherlands), Rafi Bukaee (Israel), Marion Mitchell (France), Helke Misselwitz (Germany), Jerzy Toeplitz (Poland) 1990 Ireen van Ditshuyzen (The Netherlands), Chris Hegedus (United States), K. Michel (The Netherlands), Juris Podniek (Latvia), Mick Hart Williams (United Kingdom) 1989 Johan Anthierens (Belgium), Robert Daudelin (Canada), Richard Kaplan (United States), Ellen Waller (The Netherlands), Marceline Loridan (France) 1988 Judy Irola (United States), Hedda van Gennep (The Netherlands), Mark-Toomas Soosaar (Estonia), Jan de Vaal (The Netherlands), Frederick Wiseman (United States)
Index | Award Winners
NTR IDFA Award for Best Mid-Length Documentary
2012 Red Wedding, Lida Chan & Guillaume Suon, Cambodia/France, 2012 2011 Montenegro, Jorge Gaggero, Argentina, 2011 2010 People I Could Have Been and Maybe Am, Boris Gerrets, The Netherlands, 2010 2009 Iron Crows, Bong-Nam Park, South Korea, 2009 2008 Boris Ryzhy, Aliona van der Horst, The Netherlands, 2008 2007 To See if I’m Smiling, Tamar Yarom, Israel, 2007 2006 Enemies of Happiness, Eva Mulvad, Denmark, 2006 2005 Before Flying Back to the Earth, Arûnas Matelis, Lithuania/Germany, 2005 2004 Georgi and the Butterflies, Andrey Paounov, Bulgaria, 2004 2003 Surplus – Terrorized into Being Consumers, Erik Gandini, Sweden, 2003 2002 Interesting Times – The Secret of My Success, Jinchuan Duan, China, 2002 2001 Haj-Abbas’ Wives, Mohsen Abdolvahab, Iran, 2001 2000 Jung (War) in the Land of the Mujaheddin, Fabrizio Lazzaretti & Alberto Vendemmiati, Afghanistan/Italy, 2000 1999 Kids from the Coal Land – A Lettre to Henri Storck, Patric Jean, Belgium, 1999 1998 Hephzibah, Curtis Levy, Australia, 1998 1997 Gigi, Monica... & Bianca, Yasmina Abdellaoui & Benoît Dervaux, Belgium, 1996 1996 Mr. Behrmann – Life Dream Death, Andreas Voigt, Germany, 1995 1995 6 Open, 21 Closed, Amit Goren, Israel, 1994
Special Jury Award
2008 Lady Kul el Arab, Ibtisam Mara’ana, Israel, 2008
IDFA Award for Best Short Documentary
2009 Six Weeks, Marcin Janos Krawczyk, Polen, 2009 2008 Slaves – An Animated Documentary, Hanna Heilborn & David Aronowitsch, Sweden/Norway/Denmark, 2008 2007 The Tailor, Oscar Pérez, Spain, 2007 2006 My Eyes, Erlend E. Mo, Denmark, 2006 2005 Butterfly Man, Samantha Rebillet, Australia, 2004 Members of the Jury 2012 Nicolas Entel (Argentina), Peter Friedman (United States), Hedda van Gennep (The Netherlands), Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran), Farah Nayeri (Iran) 2011 David Fisher (Israel), Boris Gerrets (The Netherlands), Maris Ramos (The Netherlands), Miranda Siegel (United States), Ben Tsiang (China) 2010 Bong-Nam Park (South Korea), Greg Sanderson (United Kingdom), Jennifer Fox (United States), Henk Camping (The Netherlands), Ilana Tsur (Israel) 2009 Lorenzo Hendel (Italy), Ibtisam Mara’ana (Israel), Zola Maseko (Mozambique), Jennifer Merin (United States), Mercedes Stalenhoef (The Netherlands) 2008 Nishtha Jain (India), Rik Stallaerts (Belgium), Jeanne Wikler (United States), Thomas White (United States), Jess Search (United Kingdom) 2007 Cees van Ede (The Netherlands), Kerstin Hagrup (Sweden) , Rudy Buttignol (Italy), Anna Glogowski (Brazil), Goran Radovanovic (Serbia) 2006 Heather Croall (Australia), Arunas Matelis (Lithuania), Mercedes Moncada Rodriguez (Nicaragua), Tomohide Terai (Japan), Silvia Hallensleben (Germany) 2005 Bert Janssens (The Netherlands), Marie Nathanson (Canada), Cyril Neyrat (France), Andrey Paounov (Bulgaria), Vera Vlajic (Serbia) 2004 Erik Gandini (Sweden), Wessel van de Hammen (The Netherlands), Irina Kanousheva (Bulgaria), Björn Koll (Germany), André Pâquet (Canada) 2003 Rudy Buttignol (Canada), Peter Forgacs (Hungary), Carel Kuyl (The Netherlands), Luciano Rignolini (France), Jay Rosenblatt (United States)
2002 Fransico Cesar-Filho (Brazil), Anna Glogowski (Brazil), Aliona van de Horst (The Netherlands), Catherine Olsen (Canada), Eila Werning (Finland) 2001 Julie Anderson (United States), John Hughes (Australia), Noshka van der Lely (The Netherlands), Marguerite Seguy (France), Juan Fransisco Urrusti (Mexico) 2000 Willemien van Aalst (The Netherlands), Madeleine Avramoussis (France), Thomas Balmès (France), Patric Jean (Belgium), Iikka Vehkalahti (Finland) 1999 Catherine le Clef (Belgium), Werner Dütch (Germany), Cees van Ede (The Netherlands), Sigve Endresen (Norway), Paul Pauwels (Belgium) 1998 Cees van Ede (The Netherlands), Jeremy Gibson (United Kingdom), Peter Friedman (France), Karolina Lidin (Denmark), Kim Longinotto (United Kingdom) 1997 Cees van Ede (The Netherlands), Hans Beerekamp (The Netherlands), Chris Haws (United Kingdom), Mette Hoffman Meyer (Denmark), Andreas Voigt (Germany) 1996 Cees van Ede (The Netherlands), Hans Beerekamp (The Netherlands), Carel Kuyl (The Netherlands) 1995 Cees van Ede (The Netherlands), Hans Beerekamp (The Netherlands), Carel Kuyl (The Netherlands), Andree van Es (The Netherlands), Jeanne Wikler (The Netherlands/United States)
IDFA Award for Best First Appearance
2012 Soldier on the Roof, Esther Hertog, The Netherlands, 2012 2011 The Vanishing Spring Light, Xun Yu, China/Canada, 2011 2010 Kano: An American and His Harem, Monster Jimenez, Philippines, 2010 2009 Colony, Ross McDonnell & Carter Gunn, Ireland/United States, 2009 2008 Constantin and Elena, Andrei Dascalescu, Romania, 2008 2007 End of the Rainbow, Robert Nugent, Australia/France, 2007 2006 We Are Together (Thina simunye), Paul Taylor, United Kingdom, 2006 2005 The Angelmakers, Astrid Bussink, Hungary/The Netherlands/Scotland, 2005 2004 The Bridge, Ileana Stanculescu, Romania, 2004 2003 My Flesh and Blood, Jonathan Karsh, United States, 2003 & The Very Best Day, Pavel Medvedev, Russia, 2002 2002 Barbeiros, Mervi Junkkonen, Finland, 2001 2001 Bitch, Igor Voloshin, Russia, 2001 2000 Hybrid, Monteith McCollum, United States, 2000 1999 Between 2 Worlds, Bettina Haasen, Germany, 1999 1998 Howling for God, Dan Alexe, Belgium, 1998 1997 Anthem, an American Road Story, Shainee Gabel & Kristin Hahn, United States, 1997 Members of the Jury 2012 Maria Luz Climent (Spain), María Lourdes Cortés (Costa Rica), Renzo Martens (The Netherlands), Djo Tunda Wa Munga (Democratic Republic of the Congo), Sara Rüster (Sweden) 2011 Liang Bibo (China), Ollie Huddleston (United Kingdom), Monster Jimenez (The Phillipines), Margje de Koning (The Netherlands) en Basil Tsiokos (United States) 2010 Jawed Taiman (United Kingdom), Bill Nichols (United States), Outi Saarikoski-Schimberg (Finland), Walter Stokman (The Netherlands), Omar Amiralay (Syria) 2009 Cameron Bailey (Canada), Andrei Dascalescu (Romania), Joan Legalamitlwa (South Africa), Brian Winston (United Kingdom), Herman de Wit (The Netherlands) 2008 André Bennett (Canada), Diana Nenadi (Croatia), Marrie Bot (The Netherlands), Oscar Pérez (Spain), Sally Berger (United States) 2007 Jonathan Stack (United States), Jane Balfour (United Kingdom), Amir Labaki (Brazil), Arik Bernstein (Israel), Pieter van Lierop (The Netherlands) 2006 Astrid Bussink (The Netherlands), Doug Block (United States), Dimitri Eipides (Greece), Cecilia Lidin (Denmark), Andrei Plakhov (Ukraine)
251
Index | Award Winners
2005 Asano Fuijko (Japan), Bert Hogenkamp (The Netherlands), Ulla Jacobsen (Denmark), Nenad Puhovski (Croatia) Ileana Stanculescu (Romania) 2004 Eugene Hernandez (United States), Ditsi Carolino (Philippines), Jean-Pierre Rehm (France), Nodu Murphy (South Africa), Ineke Smits (The Netherlands) 2003 Michel Euvrard (Canada), Leslie Felperin (United Kingdom), Flavia de la Fuente (Argentina), Annette Willis (Australia), Karin Wolfs (The Netherlands) 2002 Leo Bankersen (The Netherlands), Marina Drozdova (Russia), Mathias Heybrock (Germany), Peter Keough (United States), Jorge Yglesias (Cuba) 2001 Ronald Bergan (United Kingdom), Peter van Bueren (The Netherlands), Ingrid Dokka (Norway), Ludmila Hristova-Diakova (Bulgaria), Gustavo Noriega (Argentina) 2000 Göran Bjelkendal (Sweden), Caroline Buck (Germany), Koen van Daele (Slovenia), Nelson Hoineff (Brazil), Annelotte Verhaagen (The Netherlands) 1999 Victoria Belopolskia (Russia), Jos van der Burg (The Netherlands), Eva af Geijerstam (Sweden), Marc Glassman (Canada), Sasa Radojevic (Yugoslavia) 1998 Heikki Jokinen (Finland), Jeroen Lok (The Netherlands), Irit Shamgar (Israel), Carlos Alberto Mattos (Brazil), Alexander Yankiev (Bulgaria) 1997 Andrzej Kolodynski (Poland), Angela Baldassarre (Canada), Hans-Günter Dicks (Germany), Mieke Bernink (The Netherlands), Altaf Mazid (India) 1996 Eduardo Antin (Argentina), Huib Stam (The Netherlands), Espen Mineur Saetre (Norway), Peter Cargin (United Kingdom), Monica Haïm (Romania)
IDFA Award for Best Student Documentary
2012 Pablo’s Winter, Chico Pereira, Scotland/Spain, 2012 2011 The Betrayal, Karen Winther, United Kingdom/Norway, 2011 2010 What’s in a Name, Eva Küpper, Belgium, 2010 2009 Redemption, Sabrina Wulff, Germany, 2009 2008 Shakespeare and Victor Hugo’s Intimacies, Yulene Olaizola, Mexico, 2008 2007 Paradise – Three Journeys in This World, Elina Hirvonen, Finland, 2007 Members of the Jury 2012 Arto Halonen (Finland), Vanja Kaludjercic (Croatia), Herman de Wit (The Netherlands) 2011 Stella Bruzzi (Italy), Eva Küpper (Belgium), Willem-Jan Otten (The Netherlands). 2010 Sabrina Wulff (Germany), Jelle van Doornik (The Netherlands), Andreas Koefoed (Denmark) 2009 Matthijs Wouter Knol (The Netherlands), Yulene Olaizola (Mexico), Jonathan Stack (United States) 2008 Ellen Kuras (United States), Nenad Puhovski (Croatia), Elina Hirvonen (Finland) 2007 Heddy Honigmann (The Netherlands), Ot Louw (The Netherlands), Helena Zajícová (Czech Republic)
IDFA Award for Best Dutch Documentary
2012 Soldier on the Roof, Esther Hertog, The Netherlands, 2012 2011 900 Days, Jessica Gorter, 2011 2010 Position Among the Stars, Leonard Retel Helmrich, The Netherlands, 2010 2009 The Player, John Appel, The Netherlands, 2009 Members of the Jury 2012 Thierry Detaille (Belgium), Jessica Gorter (The Netherlands), Alex Lee (New Zealand), Tobias Müller (Germany), Pascale Ramonda (Portugal) 2011 Luciano Barisone (Italy), Hans Robert Eisenhauer (Germany), Aliona van der Horst (The Netherlands), Anne Marie Kürstein (Denmark) en Orwa Nyrabia (Syria) 2010 Daniela Michel (Mexico), Alissa Simon (United States), Pieter Verhoeff (The Netherlands) 2009 Sean Farnel (Canada), Sandra den Hamer (The Netherlands), Leena Pasanen (Finland)
252
IDFA DOC U Award
2012 Little World, Marcel Barrena, Spain, 2012 2011 The Last Days of Winter, Mehrdad Oskouei, Germany/Austria, 2011 2010 Autumn Gold, Jan Tenhaven, Germany/Austria, 2010 2009 The Yes Men Fix the World, Andy Bichlbaum & Mike Bonanno, France/ United States, 2009 2008 Kassim the Dream, Kief Davidson, United States/Germany, 2008 2007 Planet B-Boy, Benson Lee, United States, 2007 2006 A Lesson of Belarussian, Miroslaw Dembinski, Poland, 2006 2005 Shadya, Roy Westler, Israel, 2005 2004 Nabila, Håkan Berthas, Sweden, 2003
IDFA DocLab Award for Digital Storytelling
2012 Alma, a Tale of Violence, Miquel Dewever-Plana & Isabelle Fougère, France 2011 Insitu, Antoine Viviani, France, 2011 2010 HIGHRISE/Out My Window, Katerina Cizek, Canada, 2010 Members of the Jury 2012 Elisabeth Holm (United States), Bjarke Myrthu (Denmark), William Uricchio (United States) 2011 Ingrid Kopp (United Kingdom), Martijn de Waal (The Netherlands) en Rob McLaughlin (Canada) 2010 Alexandre Brachet (France), Antoinette Hoes (The Netherlands), Zach Wise (United States)
BankGiro Loterij IDFA Audience Award
2012 Searching for Sugar Man, Malik Bendjelloul, Sweden/United Kingdom, 2012 2011 5 Broken Cameras, Emad Burnat & Guy Davidi, Palestine/Israel/ Netherlands/France, 2011 2010 Waste Land, Lucy Walker, United Kingdom/Brazil, 2010 2009 The Cove, Louie Psihoyos, United States, 2009 2008 RiP – A Remix Manifesto, Brett Gaylor, Canada, 2008 2007 To See If I’m Smiling, Tamar Yarom, Israel, 2007 2006 We Are Together (Thina simunye), Paul Taylor, United Kingdom, 2006 2005 Sisters in Law, Kim Longinotto & Florence Ayisi, United Kingdom, 2005 2004 The Yes Men, Dan Ollman, Sarah Price & Chris Smith, United States, 2003 2003 My Flesh and Blood, Jonathan Karsh, United States, 2003 2002 Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore, United States, 2002 2001 Offspring, Barry Stevens, Canada, 2001 2000 Desi, Maria Ramos, The Netherlands, 2000 1999 Crazy, Heddy Honigmann, The Netherlands, 1999 1998 Two Dads, Ko van Reenen, The Netherlands, 1998 1997 Vision Man, William Long, Sweden, 1997 1996 Blue Eyed, Bertram Verhaag, Germany, 1996 1995 Anne Frank Remembered, Jon Blair, United Kingdom, 1995 1994 Choice and Destiny, Tsipi Reibenbach, Israel, 1993 1993 The Belovs, Victor Kossakovsky, Russia, 1993 1992 Black Harvest, Robin Anderson & Bob Connolly, Australia, 1992 1991 Djembéfola, Laurent Chevallier, France, 1991 1990 In Memory of the Day Passed By, Sharunas Bartas, USSR, 1989 1989 Skierskala, Ivars Seleckis, Latvia, 1988 1988 The Last Judgement, Herz Frank, Lithuania/USSR, 1987
Mediafonds Documentary Award
2012 Wij zijn 18, Tomas Kaan 2011 Waterlijken, Nelleke Koop 2010 C.K., Barbara Visser 2009 De dertiende man, Martijn Blekendaal 2008 Monsters onder het bed, Sarah Mathilde Domogala 2007 Zintuigen, deuren naar de ziel, Elizabeth Rocha Salgado 2006 Eeuwige moes, Catherine van Kampen 2005 De grote schaduw van Stampersgat, Patrick Bus 2004 Sannes droom, Frodo Terpstra 2003 Tsjechisch kerstfeest, Simonka de Jong 2002 Lagonda, Robin van Erven Dorens 2001 Corsokoorts, Dorien Janssen 2000 Wheels of Fortune, Wilco Bello 1999 De mentale kwestie, Lies Niezen
Mediafonds Kids & Docs Award
2012 Sounds for Mazin, Ingrid Kamerling
IDFA Melkweg Award for Best Music Documentary
2012 Searching for Sugar Man, Malik Bendjelloul, Sweden/United Kingdom, 2012 2011 Last Days Here, Don Argott & Demian Fenton, United States, 2011
Index | Addresses 100% Halal Productions Herenmarkt 10 1013 ED Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6391402
A-Film Meeuwenlaan 98-100 1021 JL Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 3445144
317 Film Leninsky prospekt 82, apt. 165 198332 St. Petersburg Russia +7 911 9195868
Akinci Lijnbaansgracht 317 1017 WZ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6380480
contact@100procenthalal.nl www.100procenthalal.nl
317film@mail.ru
3JoMa Films 5-4-1-306 Shinjuku-ku 1600022 Tokyo Japan +81 80 50296626 yojyu220@gmail.com
Members of the Jury 2012 Kaleem Aftab (United Kingdom), Jeroen Berkvens (The Netherlands), Safinez Bousbia (Algeria), Erik Gandini (Sweden), Ondi Timoner (United States) 2011 Miriam Leah Brenner (The Netherlands), Lotje IJzermans (The Netherlands), Rodrigo Letier (Brazil), James Mottram (United Kingdom), Zjakki Willems (Belgium)
9.14 Pictures 115 Cuthbert Street 19106 Philadelphia USA +1 215 2380707
IDFA Award for Best Green Screen Documentary
A&E IndieFilms 235 East 45th Street 10017 New York USA +1 212 2109722
2011 Bitter Seeds, Micha X. Peled, United States/India, 2011 2010 Into Eternity, Michael Madsen, Denmark/Sweden/Finland, 2010
Honourable Mention
2010 The Pipe, Risteard Ó Domhnaill, Ierland, 2010 Members of the Jury 2011 Joe Berlinger (United States), Cath Le Couteur (Australia), Michael Madsen (Denmark), Juan Carlos Rulfo (Mexico) en Maartje Somers The Netherlands) 2010 Appy Sluijs (The Netherlands), Nikolaus Geyrhalter (Austria), Nino Kirtadze (France)
Zapper Award
1996 Love Beyond Boundaries – Made in Japan, Puck de Leeuw, The Netherlands, 1996 1995 My Vote Is My Secret – Chroniques Sud-Africaines 1994, Julie Henderson, Thulani Mokoena & Donne Rundle, France, 1994 1994 Death of a Nation – The Timor Conspiracy, David Munro, United Kingdom, 1994
Index | Addresses
dargott@914pictures.com www.914pictures.com
tanisha.malcom@aenetworks.com www.aetv.com
AATOAA 3710 St-Laurent #1 H2X2V4 Montreal Canada +1 514 4979786
vmorisset@aatoaa.com www.aatoaa.com
ABC Theatrical Distribution – Cinemien Amsteldijk 10 1074 HP Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 5776010 info@cinemien.nl www.cinemien.nl
info@a-film.nl www.a-film.nl
info@akinci.nl www.akinci.nl
Al Jazeera English Lower Ground Floor SW1X 7XW London England +44 207 2012858
flora.gregory@aljazeera.net www.aljazeera.net
Altitude Film Sales 4 Market Place, top floor W1W 8AD London England +44 207 6120662 info@altitudefilment.com www.altitudefilment.com
Anemon Productions Stisihoru Street 5 10674 Athens Greece +30 210 7211073 info@anemon.gr www.anemon.gr
Annet Gelink Gallery Laurierstraat 187-189 1016 PL Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 3302066 info@annetgelink.com www.annetgelink.com
Anniefilm Zocherstraat 47-I 1054LS Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 6 43022696
annelieskruk@gmail.com www.anniefilm.nl
Antonis Tolakis Production Hasias Avenue 147 13122 Ilion, Athens Greece +30 21 2625840 antonis.tolakis@gmail.com
253
Index | Addresses
Apo Productions 52 West 14th Street, apt. 2 10011 New York USA +1 650 5156883
BALDR Film Oudezijds Achterburgwal 77 1012 DC Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 3032670
Argos Werfstraat 13 1000 Brussel Belgium +32 2 2290003
Balthasar Boulevard d’Ypres 62 1000 Brussels Belgium +32 486 222696
Eliezer Arias Calle Casiquiare, Qta. Vidal Planta Alta, Colinas de Bello Monte 1050 Caracas Venezuela +58 212 5041312
Dina Barinova Moskovsky prospekt 82, apt. 128 394016 Voronezh Russia +7 951 5635997
jon@apoproductions.com www.apoproductions.com
info@argosarts.org www.argosarts.org
earias12uk@yahoo.co.uk
Arthouse Blockbusters Ltd. 42 Cherni Vrah Blvd., apt. 35 1407 Sofia Bulgaria +359 899 674151 borisdespodov@yahoo.com
Asphalt Stars Productions 422 North Hayworth Avenue, apt. 7 90048 Los Angeles USA +1 310 4981109
asphaltstarsproductions@gmail.com
Autlook Filmsales Spittelberggasse 3/14 1070 Vienna Austria +43 720 346934
welcome@autlookfilms.com www.autlookfilms.com
AVRO ‘s-Gravelandseweg 80 1217 EW Hilversum +31 35 6717911 The Netherlands jolanda.drion@avro.nl www.avro.nl
info@baldrfilm.nl www.baldrfilm.nl
info@balthasar.be www.balthasar.be
dinazavra7@gmail.com
Galit Cahlon 10 Tiomkin Street 65783 Tel Aviv Israel +972 3 5660398
C-Colony Productions 85 Adams Street 112901 Brooklyn USA +1 917 4025759
Bonanza Films Sumatrakade 689-691 1019PV Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6263801
Canamedia 2 Pardee Avenue, Suite 102 M6K 3H5 Toronto Canada +1 416 3638683
Centre Video de Bruxelles 111, Rue de la Poste 1030 Brussels Belgium +32 2 2211050
Boogiefilm Venloestraße 241-245 50823 Cologne Germany +49 16 31901348
Capi Films 61, Rue des Saints-Peres 75006 Paris France +33 1 42224023
Century Films Studio 32, Clink St. Studios 1 Clink Street SE1 9DG London England +44 207 3786106
melaniebonajo@gmail.com www.melaniebonajo.com
mail@bonanza.nl www.bonanza.nl
info@boogiefilm.de www.boogiefilm.com
galia13@gmail.com
andrea.stokes@canamedia.com www.canamedia.com
marcelineloridanivens@orange.fr capifilms-loridan-ivens.com
Born Free Media 34 7th Street 2195 Linden South Africa +27 11 9127814
Capricci Films 3, Rue de Clermont 44000 Nantes France +33 2 40892059
Bosan Berisik Films Ngadisuryan KT 1/67 55133 Yogyakarta Indonesia +62 81 227903790
shirly.berkovitz@gmail.com
contact@hideprojectindonesia.com www.hideprojectindonesia.com
Cargo Film & Releasing 611 Broadway, #630 10012 New York USA +1 212 9958139
Beta Cinema Gmbh Gruenwalder Weg 28d 82041 Munich Germany +49 89 673469828
Break Thru Films, Inc. 375 Riverside Drive, #13A 10025 New York USA +1 212 6756568
CAT&Docs 18, Rue Quincampoix 75004 Paris France +33 1 44 61 77 48
Harrod Blank 450 East 8th Street 85607 Douglas USA +1 510 8414128
Bundesarchiv Filmarchiv Fehrbelliner Platz 3 10707 Berlin Germany +49 18 8877700
Catherine Dussart Production (CDP) 25, Rue Gambetta 92100 Boulogne France +33 1 46 050022
Bauderfilm Görlitzerstr 53 10997 Berlin Germany +49 30 42087232 info@bauderfilm.de www.bauderfilm.de
Berkovitz Films 6th Rotberg Street 53262 Givatayim Israel +972 54 5241888
beta@betacinema.com www.betacinema.com
excentrix@aol.com www.cameravan.com
Blinker Filmproduktion GmbH Venloer Straße 241-245 50823 Cologne Germany +49 22 15397460 mm@blinkerfilm.de www.blinkerfilm.de
254
Melanie Bonajo Hugo de Grootkade 84/3 1052 LX Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 6 17804848
carolyn@bornfreemedia.co.za www.bornfreemedia.co.za
info@breakthrufilms.org www.breakthrufilms.org
filmarchiv@bundesarchiv.de www.bundesarchiv.de
Bureau Barel Meer en Vaart 290 1068LE Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4121415
informatie@bureaubarel.nl www.bureaubarel.nl
contact@capricci.fr www.capricci.fr
contact@cargofilm-releasing.com www.cargofilm-releasing.com
info@catndocs.com www.catndocs.com
cdpdussart@aol.com
CBS International 10880 Wilshire Blvd., suite 1600 90024 Los Angeles USA +1 310 2345277
barry.charmberlain@cbs.com www.cbs.com
missioncongo@gmail.com
info@cvb-videp.be www.cvb-videp.be
info@centuryfilmsltd.com www.centuryfilmsltd.com
Cerutti Film Wikkelaan 10 2116 TB Bentveld The Netherlands
willemijncerutti@gmail.com
Chinese Shadows 248 Queen’s Road East, Unit 2005 Wanchai Hongkong +852 81 971297 chineseshadows@gmail.com
Cine Mosaic 130 West 25th Street, #12A 10001 New York USA +1 212 625 3797 info@conemosaic.net
Cineaste Maudit Vardar Blvd., building 22A, entrance D 1330 Sofia Bulgaria +359 888 370839 info@cine-ma.com www.cine-ma.com
Cinema 7 Films Capitán R. Freire 1164 1426AVX Buenos Aires Argentina +54 11 45535612 docs@cinema7.com www.cinema7.com
Index | Addresses
Cinema Delicatessen Arie Biemondstraat 111 1054 PD Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4207123
info@cinemadelicatessen.nl www.cinemadelicatessen.nl
CinemaDAL 3/F 134-2 Myeongnyun 3ga Jongno-gu 110523 Seoul South Korea +82 2 3372135 sales@cinemadal.com www.cinemadal.com
CINEMATEK Koninklijk Filmarchief 9, Rue Baron Horta 1000 Brussels Belgium +32 2 5511903 access@cinematek.be www.cinematek.be
Cinephil 18 Levontin Street 65112 Tel Aviv Israel +972 3 5664129 info@cinephil.co.il www.cinephil.co.il
Cineteca di Bologna Via Riva di Reno 72 40122 Bologna Italia +39 051 2194820
cinetecadirezione@cineteca.bologna.it www.cinetecadibologna.it
Paolo Cirio +1 646 3095414
p.cirio@gmail.com www.paolocirio.net
Civic Bakery 45 Main Street, Suite 547 11201 Brooklyn USA +1 917 4148797 brendacoughlin@mac.com
Cloud Thinker Ba Li Qiao Nan Jie 16# 257132 Tongzhou China +86 13 910406900 richard@cloudthinker.cn
CNEX Limited 1 Xilou Hutong Yonghegong Street 100007 Beijng China +86 10 64073571
Dartmouth Films Somerset House South Wing, Strand WC2R 1LA London England +44 794 7596777
Les Documents Cinematographics 38, Avenue des Ternes 75017 Paris France +33 1 45722775
Collective for Sexual Minority Cultures Pinks Mangwon-dong 5F425-33 121-231 Seoul South Korea +82 23 376541
Viktar Dashuk Nezavisimosty Avenue 98 220114 Minsk Belarus +375 29 6641570
Dogwoof 16 Baldwins Gradens, unit 211 EC1N 7RJ London England +44 207 8333599
contact@cnex.org.cn www.cnex.org.cn
rainbowact@naver.com
Contact Film Cinematheek P.O. Box 3100 6802 DC Arnhem The Netherlands +31 26 4434949 info@contactfilm.nl www.contactfilm.nl
Corra Films Inc. 197 Grand Street, #7W 10013 New york USA +1 212 9658600 info@corrafilms.com www.corrafilms.com
Creative Differences 4640 Lankershim Blvd., #20 91602-1890 North Hollywood USA +1 818 4324200
fred@dartmouthfilms.com www.darthmouthfilms.com
spadard@gmail.com
De Familie Schollenbrugstraat 4 huis 1091 EX Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6633303 info@defamilie.net www.defamilie.net
Deckert Distribution GmbH Marienplatz 1 4103 Leipzig Germany +49 341 2156638 info@deckert-distribution.com www.deckert-distribution.com
Detailfilm Jenfelder Allee 80 22045 Hamburg Germany +49 40 66884790
info@lesdocs.com www.lesdocs.com
info@dogwoof.com www.dogwoof.com
DOMUS – Stellenbosch University Department of Music Cnr. Neethling & Victoria Streets 7600 Stellenbosch South Africa +27 21 8082345 music@sun.ac.za www.sun.ac.za
Donaukapitan Adlzreiterstraße 11 80337 Munich Germany +49 16 36338067 tunakaptan@gmx.de
DR International Sales Emil Holms Kanal 20 999 Copenhagen Denmark +45 35 203040
erik@cdtvmail.com
info@detailfilm.de www.detailfilm.de
Danish Documentary Sankt Annæ Plads 10B 1250 Copenhagen Denmark +45 26 162535
Different By Design 12233 West Olympic Blvd., #120 90064 Los Angeles USA + 1 310 6892470
drsales@dr.dk www.drsales.dk
Doc & Film International 13, Rue du Portefoin 75003 Paris France +33 1 42775687
jean.dubrel@gmail.com
info@danishdocumentary.com www.danishdocumentary.com
Danish Film Institute Gothersgade 55 1123 Copenhagen Denmark +45 33 743400 dfi@dfi.dk www.dfi.dk
greg@dxdproductions.com www.dxdproductions.com
doc@docandfilm.com www.docandfilm.com
Documentary Japan Inc. 1F Wako, building 8-12-20 Minato-ku Tokyo Japan +81 35 5703551 info@documentaryjapan.com www.documentaryjapan.com
Jean Dubrel 8, Rue Charles Nodier 75018 Paris France +33 6 86261003 Dutch Filmworks Burgemeester Verderlaan 15 3544 AD Utrecht The Netherlands +31 88 1202020 info@dfw.nl www.dfw.nl
Ear Goggles Productions 1113 Spruce Street, Suite 402 CO 80302 Boulder USA +1 303 5306905
Eaux Vives Productions 8, Rue Godillot 93400 Saint Ouen France +33 1 74734473
info@eauxvivesproductions.com www.eauxvivesproductions.com
Eclipse Film Thököly út 112/b. 1146 Budapest Hungary +36 20 2128636
julianna.ugrin@eclipsefilm.hu
EICTV KM 4 y medio vereda nueva none San Antonio de los Baños Artemisa, La Habana Cuba +53 47 383152 promocioninternacional@eictv.co.cu
Eureka Media Smulikowskiego 13/10 00-384 Warsaw Poland +48 22 8284810 eureka@ntcm.com.pl www.eurekamedia.info
European Documentary Film Symposiums Smerla iela 3 1006 Riga Latvia +371 67 210022 pipars@mailbox.riga.lv
Ex Lion Tamer, Inc. 130 West 25th Street, #12A 10001 New York USA +1 512 6806972 Cutieandtheboxer@gmail.com
Ex Nihilo 52, Rue Jean Pierre Timbaud 75011 Paris France +33 1 53363232 exploitation2@agatfilms.com www.agatfilms.com
Express TV-Production Studiestraede 24, 2 floor 1455 Copenhagen Denmark +45 33 918114 mail@express-tv.dk www.express-tv.dk
Freddy@EarGogglesproductions.com
255
Index | Addresses
EYE Film Instituut Nederland P.O. Box 37767 1030 BJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 5891400
Les Films d’Ici 62, Boulevard Davout 75020 Paris France +33 1 44522323
Flying Moon Filmproduktion Seestraße 96 13353 Berlin Germany +49 30 32297180
Galerie Fons Welters Bloemstraat 140 1019 LJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4233046
Globalistan Films 143 Gandhi Nagar 20010 Ghaziabad India +91 85 27302849
EyeSteelFilm 7095, Rue Marconi, Suite 201 H2S 3K4 Montreal Canada +1 514 9374839
Films Distribution 6, Rue de l ‘École de Médecine 75006 Paris France +33 1 53103399
For Real Productions Meritullinkatu 33E 170 Helsinki Finland +35 8 91351864
Galerie Juliette Jongma Gerard Doustraat 128a 1073 VX Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4636904
Go Trolley Films 18 Dunkley Square Gardens 8001 Cape Town South Africa +27 21 4623213
The Factory 38, Rue des Martyrs 75009 Paris France +33 1 55312721
Films Transit International Inc. 252 Gouin Boulevard East H3L 1A8 Montreal Canada +1 514 8443358
Forest Troop Liopesi and Zinopoulou 16-18 11476 Athens Greece +30 69 45891239
Galerie Paul Andriesse Leliegracht 47 1016 GT Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6236237
GoatRoad Krfska 126 78000 Banja Luka Bosnia-Herzegovina +38 76 5448885
Fresh One 19 Nile Street N17LL London England +44 20 33755099
Galerie Ron Mandos Prinsengracht 282 1016 HJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 3207036
Fri Film Nordahl Bruns gt 22B 165 Oslo Norway +47 970 36023
Galerie tegenboschvanvreden Bloemgracht 57hs 1016 KE Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 3206768
Asako Fujioka 1-18-10 Kamisaginomiya Nakanoku 1650031 Tokyo Japan +81 70 50899203
Galileo Media Arts 96 Lake Avenue 12866 Saratoga Springs +1 518 5836566 USA
Full Screen S. Konarskio Street 8-34 LT03123 Vilnius Lithuania +3 70 69889083
Gebrueder Beetz Filmproduktion GmbH Im Mediapark 6a 50670 Cologne Germany +49 221 3979696
info@eyefilm.nl www.eyefilm.nl
info@eyesteelfilm.com www.eyesteelfilm.com
thefact@club-internet.fr
Fanhall Films Xiaopu, Songzhuang, Tongzhou District 101118 Beijing China +86 106 9598179 zhurikun@fanhall.com www.fanhall.com
The Festival Agency 44, Rue de Clery 75002 Paris France +33 9 54904863
info@thefestivalagency.com www.thefestivalagency.com
The Film Sales Company 165 Madison Avenue, Suite 601 10016 New York USA +1 212 4815020 contact@filmsalescorp.com www.filmsalescorp.com
Les Films de la Passerelle 62, Rue Renory 4031 Liège Belgium +32 43 423602 films@passerelle.be www.passerelle.be
Films de l’Oeil Inc. 5323, Rue de Brebeuf, Suite 200 H2J 3L8 Montreal Canada +1 514 5077505 info@filmsdeloeil.com www.filmsdeloeil.com
256
courrier@lesfilmsdici.fr www.lesfilmsdici.fr
info@filmsdistribution.com www.filmsdistribution.com
office@filmstransit.com www.filmstransit.com
Filmshebeen 16 Ash Road Observatory 8010 Cape Town South Africa +27 21 4623213
filmshebeen@googlemail.com
Final Cut for Real Forbindelsesvej 7 2100 Copenhagen Denmark +45 3543 6043 monica@final-cut.dk www.final-cut.dk
Finnish Film Foundation Kanavakatu 12 160 Helsinki Finland +358 9 6220300 ses@ses.fi www.ses.fi
Fireworx Media Pvt Bag X9, Box 218 2109 Johannesburg South Africa +27 11 4034934
neil@fireworxmedia.co.za www.fireworxmedia.co.za
First Hand Films Neunbrunnenstraße 50 8050 Zürich Switzerland +41 44 3122060 info@firsthandfilms.com www.firsthandfilms.com
info@flyingmoon.com www.flyingmoon.com
info@forreal.fi www.forreal.fi
info@foresttroop.com www.foresttroop.com
jo.ralling@freshone.tv www.freshone.tv
beathe@frifilm.no www.frifilm.no
fujioka@tokyo.yidff.jp
info@fullscreen.lt
Galerie Diana Stigter Elandsstraat 90 1016 SH Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6242361 mail@dianastigter.nl www.dianastigter.nl
mail@fonswelters.nl www.fonswelters.nl
info@juliettejongma.com www.juliettejongma.com
info@paulandriesse.nl www.paulandriesse.nl
info@ronmandos.nl www.ronmandos.nl
info@tegenboschvanvreden.com www.tegenboschvanvreden.com
info@galileomediaarts.com www.galileomediaarts.com
info@gebrueder-beetz.de www.gebrueder-beetz.de
Ghosts Media Inc. 117 Parkmount Road M4J 4V3 Toronto Canada +1 416 8681700 ninab@beevision.com
info@globalistan.org www.globalistan.org
info@gotrolley.com www.gotrolley.com
goatroadgroup@gmail.com
Gogol’s Wives Productions Aviatsionnaja 13154 123182 Moscow Russia +7 910 4436778 gogolswives@gmail.com
Goldcrest Films International 65-66 Dean Street W1D4PL London England +44 20 74377972 mail@goldcrestfilms.com www.goldcrestfilms.com
Golden Girls Filmproduktion Seidengasse 15/3/20 1120 Vienna Austria +43 1 8105636 office@goldengirls.at www.goldengirls.at
Good N’ Proper 5410 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 512 90036 Los Angeles USA +1 323 9548228 mrgood@goodnproper.com www.goodnproper.com
Google Creative Lab sabahkosoy@google.com
Grafo Audiovisual Rua Doutor Pedrosa 80420120 Curitiba Brazilië +55 41 30950608
contato@grafoaudiovisual.com www.grafoaudiovisual.com
Index | Addresses
Great Curve Films 15E 62nd Street 10065 New York USA +1 212 9812626
contact@greatcurvefilms.com www.greatcurvefilms.com
Kitty Green 66 Raleigh Street 3071 Thornbury Australia +37 257101721
kittygreen@netspace.net.au
The Halcyon Company 8455 Beverly Boulevard, penthouse 90048 Los Angeles USA +1 917 3488006
info@thehalcyoncompany.com www.thehalcyoncompany.com
Alexandra Handal 372 Old Street Rosden House, Suite 242 EC1V 9LT London England alexandrahandal@gmail.com
HanWay Films 24 Hanway Street W1T 1UH London England +44 20 72900750
info@hanwayfilms.com www.hanwayfilms.com
Jonathan Harris jjh@number27.org www.number27.org
HazazaH Pictures Plantage Parklaan 9 1018 SR Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4226422 info@hazazah.com www.hazazah.com
Jonathan Hewes 85 Gray’s Inn Road WC1X 8TX London England +44 207 2419229
jonathan.hewes@walltowall.co.uk
HFF Konrad Wolf Potsdam Marlene Dietrich Allee 11 14482 Potsdam Germany +49 331 62020 distribution@hff-potsdam.de www.hff-potsdam.de
High Point Media Group Deane House Studios, Suite 16 NW5 1LB Greenwood Place, London England +44 20 74246870 info@highpointfilms.co.uk www.highpointfilms.co.uk
Brent Hoff 849 Valencia Street 94110 San Francisco USA +1 917 4956886 brentmhoff@gmail.com
Hollandse Helden Overleek 29 1141 PE Monnickendam The Netherlands +31 20 3317417 mail@hollandsehelden.nl www.hollandsehelden.nl
Hollow Interactive, LLC 947 Abott Road 25071 Elkview USA +1 304 5456192 elaine@hollowthefilm.com
Honkytonk Films 18/20, Rue Claude Tillier 75012 Paris France +33 1 73716844 contact@honkytonk.fr www.honkytonk.fr
Human P.O. Box 135 1200 AC Hilversum +31 35 6722020 human@omroep.nl www.human.nl
Sara Hutchison 1116 Nowita Place 90291 Venice USA +1 310 6251561
pgwynnemorgan@mac.com
IDFA Bertha Fund Frederiksplein 52 1017 XN Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6273329
idfaberthafund@idfa.nl www.idfa.nl/idfaberthafund
if... Productions Lindwurmstraße 108a 80337 Munich Germany +49 89 12472238 info@ifproductions.de www.ifproductions.de
IFC Films 11 Penn Plaza, 15th floor 10001 New York USA +1 917 5426385 info@ifcfilms.com www.ifcfilms.com
Igor Tolstunov Production Firm (PROFIT) Mosfilmovskaya Street, building 1 119991 Moscow Russia +7 495 9377192 plotkina@profitkino.ru www.profitkino.ru
Diane Iles Parker 333 Caledonia Street, loft 94965 Sausalito USA +1 415 3390543 diana@spokenmedia.com
Illume Oy Palkkatilankatu 7B 240 Helsinki Finland +358 9 1481489 illume@illume.fi www.illume.fi
Illumina Films Leidsestraat 106-3 1017 PG Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6248395 robin@illuminafilms.nl www.illuminafilms.nl
Imperial War Museum London Lambeth Road SE1 6HZ London England +44 20 74165000 mail@iwm.org.uk www.iwm.org.uk
Independent Cinema Office 79-80 Margaret Street Kenilworth House, 3rd floor W1W 8TA London England +44 20 76367120
info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
Interakt Bakkersstraat 10 1017 CW Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6237982 interakt@interakt.nl www.interakt.nl
Jane Balfour Services 122 Elgin Crescent, flat 2 W112JN London England +44 207 7271528 janebalfour@btconnect.com
Jason Cohen Productions, LLC 1860 Capistrano Ave 94707 Berkeley USA +1 415 3852101 jason@jasoncohenproductions.com www.jasoncohenproductions.com
Jeanine Hofland Contemporary Art De Clercqstraat 62 1052 NJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 7531596 mail@jeaninehofland.nl www.jeaninehofland.nl
Jigsaw Productions 601 West 26th Street, 17th floor 10001 New York USA +1 212 3523010 info@jigsawprods.com www.jigsawprods.com
Journeyman Pictures 4 High Street Thames Ditton KT7 ORY Surrey England +44 20 83984616 films@journeyman.tv www.journeyman.tv
JvdWfilm De Kempenaerstraat 11B 1051 CJ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6885049 info@jvdwfilm.nl www.jvdwfilm.com
K5 Media Group GmbH Konradinstraße 5 81543 Munich Germany +49 89 37505590 info@k5mediagroup.com www.k5mediagroup.com
Kalejdoskop Film Studio Chelmska Street 21 00-724 Warsaw Poland +48 22 8511779 studio@kalejdoskop.art.pl www.kalejdoskop.art.pl
Kalyana Shira Foundation Jalan Bunga Mawar 9P Antasari 12410 Jakarta Selatan Indonesia +62 21 7503223 kalyanashirafound@gmail.com www.kalyanashirafound.org
Kamoli Films Taarbæk Parcelvej 1 2930 Klampenborg Denmark +45 2143 5238 ludovica@iname.com www.kamolifilms.com
Kanaki Films Artikutza Plaza 4, 2nd floor 20015 San Sebastian Spain +34 65 9298322 info@kanakifilms.com www.kanakifilms.com
Kartemquin Films 1901 West Wellington 60657 Chicago USA +1 773 4724366 info@kartemquin.com www.kartemquin.com
Kinoteatr Doc Perevedenousaky per 18 105082 Moscow Russia +7 495 9842397 sinev@kinoteatrdoc.ru www.kinoteatrdoc.ru
Kossakousaky Film Production P.O. Box 144 190008 St. Petersburg Russia +7 812 7140230
victor@kossakousaky.spb.ru
257
Index | Addresses
Kottom Films Luis Cabrera 41 28002 Madrid Spain +34 91 4110323
kottomfilms@gmail.com www.kottomfilms.com
Krakow Film Foundation Ul. Basztowa 15/8a 31-143 Krakow Poland +48 12 2946945 info@kff.com.pl www.kff.com.pl
KRO Sales ‘s Gravelandseweg 80 1217 EW Hilversum The Netherlands +31 35 6713375 frank.weijers@kro.nl www.kro.nl
KTF Films 85 Saratoga Avenue, Suite 214 95051 Santa Clara USA +1 650 4501105 chelsea@ktffilms.com www.ktffilms.com
kvfilms Oude kraan 72 6811 LL Arnhem The Netherlands +31 26 3617521 info@kvfilms.nl www.kvfilms.nl
La Pasion Films 8710 Wonderland Park Avenue 90046 Los Angeles USA +1 310 4350945 lapasion@sbcglobal.net cargocollective.com/acevedo
Lafayette Film Deans Watermill RH16 2QY Lindfield England +44 1444 484510
info@nickbroomfield.com www.nickbroomfield.com
LaMaquinita Cristobal Gangotena E11-233 e Isabel la Católica EC170109 Quito Ecuador +593 22 3227824 roldospelicula@gmail.com
258
Laokoon Film Balzac Street 37 1136 Budapest Hungary +36 1 3540491
office@laokoonfilm.com www.laokoonfilm.com
Lataster & Films Derde Oosterparkstraat 228 1092 EK Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6925767 info@latasterfilms.nl www.latasterfilms.nl
Michael Latham p/a 30 Union Street 3056 Brunswick Australia
michael.latham.is@gmail.com
Laughing Buddha Films BO 3263 40591 Bet Yehoshua Israel +972 50 5222530 noampinchas@gmail.com
Leafbird Films GmbH Bergellerstraße 26 8049 Zürich Switzerland +41 44 5548667 mail@leafbirdfilms.com www.leafbirdfilms.com
Lech Walesa Institute Al. Jerozolimskie 11/19 00-508 Warsaw Poland +48 22 6222220 biuro@ilw.org.pl www.ilw.org.pl
Tom Leonardis 1650 Broadway 11228 New York USA +1 212 2456900
tomleonardis@gmail.com
Let’s Get Wilder Productions, LLC 225 East Broadway, Suite 105A 91204 Glendale USA jessica@jessicagolden.net
LevelK Gl. Kongevej 137 B, 3rd floor 1850 Copenhagen Denmark +45 48 443072 tine.klint@levelk.dk www.levelk.dk
Lianain Films 71 Jalan Kelabu Asap 278264 Singapore Singapore +65 98 296068 lynn@lianainfilms.com www.lianainfilms.com
Lima Arie Biemondstraat 111 1054 PD Amsterdam The Netherlands info@li-ma.nl www.li-ma.nl
LINE UP Shorts Calle Góndola, 12. 2º 21100 Punta Umbría Spain +34 64 5861119
lineupshorts@gmail.com lineupshorts.wordpress.com
Lithuanian Shorts A. Smetonos Street 7a-24 01115 Vilnius Lithuania +37 06 7316548 info@filmshorts.lt www.lithuanianshorts.com
Terra Long 114 Robert Street M5S2K3 Toronto Canada +1 647 4068586
terrajean@gmail.com
Iosu Lopez Calle Odonnell 38 28009 Madrid Spain +34 68 6190322
info@iosulopez.com http://www.iosulopez.com
Lux 18 Shacklewell Lane, 3rd floor E8 2EZ London England +44 20 75033980 info@lux.org.uk www.lux.org.uk
Maag Daan Crossmedia tdm@maagdaan.com maagdaan.com
Magic Hour Entertainment 100 Battersea Church Road SW11 3YL London England +44 207 2409955 orlando@magichourfilm.com
Magyar Filmunio Varosligeti Fasor 38 1068 Budapest Hungary +36 1 3517760 filmunio@filmunio.hu www.filmunio.hu
Making Movies Oy Linnankatu 7 160 Helsinki Finland +358 9 6213828 mamo@mamo.fi www.mamo.fi
Marina Razbezhkina Studios Pyatnitskaya 43-3-27 119017 Moscow Russia +7 495 9513525 docmasterskaya@gmail.com
Market Road Films 232 3rd Street 11215 New York USA +1 718 8555565
info@marketroadfilms.com www.marketroadfilms.com
The Match Factory Balthasarstraße 79-81 50670 Cologne Germany +49 221 5397090
info@matchfactory.de www.the-match-factory.com
Andrea Meditch p/a One Discovery Place 20910 Silver Spring USA +1 240 6623328 ameditch@gmail.com
Mira Film Weststraße 182 8003 Zürich Switzerland +41 43 9603684 info@mirafilm.ch www.mirafilm.ch
Mobile Lab 55/211 Prueklada Village Klong 4 12150 Pathumthani Thailand +66 18 688153 mobilelab2010@gmail.com www.mobilelabproject.com
Mokum Filmdistributie Prinsengracht 452 1017 KE Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4283025 info@mokumfilm.nl www.mokumfilm.nl
Moment Film Ullevalsveien 49 171 Oslo Norway +47 93 007545
mona@moment-tv.no www.momentfilm.no
Monoduo Films Wildenbruchplatz 5 12045 Berlin Germany +49 178 1876787
sales@monoduo.net www.monoduofilms.com
Yair Moss Shamay 17 94631 Jerusalem Israel +972 523 664111
mossyair@gmail.com www.yairmoss.com
Motto Pictures 1234 A Street 11215 Brooklyn USA +1 718 9231950
info@mottopictures.com www.mottopictures.com
Movedmedia Reduitlaan 27, loft 2.10 4814 DC Breda The Netherlands +31 76 2100102 info@movedmedia.nl www.movedmedia.nl
Mp² Media Zocherstraat 23 1054 LR Amsterdam The Netherlands
info@martijnpayens.com www.martijnpayens.com
Index | Addresses
Mr Bongo 24 Old Steine, 2nd floor BN1 1EL Brighton England +44 1273 600546
Nederlandse Film Academie Markenplein 1 1011 MV Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 5277333
Munk Studio – Polish Filmmakers Association Krakowskie Przedmiescie 7 00-068 Warsaw Poland +48 22 5565440
NGF Geyrhalterfilm Hildebrandgasse 26 1180 Vienna Austria +43 1 4030162
info@mrbongo.com www.mrbongo.com
info@filmacademie.nl www.filmacademie.nl
biuro@sfp.org.pl
info@geyrhalterfilm.com www.geyrhalterfilm.com
Nanouk Films Pau Claris 97, 1-1 8009 Barcelona Spain +34 934 196022
Nina Hedenius Film Norra Gardon, Löa 71494 Kopparberg Sweden +46 580 30025
nanouk@nanouk.tv www.nanouk.tv
National Film and Television School Station Road HP9 1LG Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire England +44 14 94731452 info@nfts.co.uk www.nfts.co.uk
National Film Board of Canada 3155, Chemin Cote-de-Liesse H4N 2N4 Montreal Canada +1 514 4964134 distribution@nfb.ca www.nfb.ca
The National Film School of Denmark Theodor Christensens Plads 1 1437 Copenhagen Denmark +45 32 686400 infoz@filmskolen.dk www.filmskolen.dk
Nederlands Instituut voor Beeld en Geluid P.O. Box 1060 1200 BB Hilversum The Netherlands +31 35 6778035 klantenservice@beeldengeluid.nl www.beeldengeluid.nl
dokumentarfilm@svt.se
Noise and Light 30 Union Street 3056 Brunswick Australia +61 40 9258098
jonathan@noiseandlight.com
Nomoneyfun Films Inc 350 South Beverly Drive, 2nd floor 90212 Beverly Hills USA +1 310 9946924 jwuntitled@untitledent.com
Nortesur Producciones Av. El Rosario, Ed. La Estancia Norte, apt. 83, Urb. Los Chorros 1071 Caracas Venezuela +58 212 2399109 nortesur.producciones@gmail.com
Norwegian Film Institute P.O. Box 482 Sentrum 105 Oslo Norway +47 22 474500 post@nfi.no www.nfi.no
notrac productions Minami-Aoyama 5-5-11-401, Minato-ku 107-0062 Tokyo Japan +81 36 4276609 info@notrac.com www.notrac.com
NPO Sales P.O. Box 26444 1202 JJ Hilversum +31 35 6773561 The Netherlands info@nposales.com www.nposales.com
NTR P.O. Box 29000 1202 MA Hilversum +31 35 6779333 publiek@nps.nl www.omroep.nl/nps
Ocean Size Pictures 285 West Broadway, Suite 500 NY 10013 New York USA +1 212 3666540 info@oceansizepictures.com www.oceansizepictures.com
Odusseia Films Stadhouderskade 6 1054 ES Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6071199 films@odusseia.com
Off World Deschampeleerstraat 24-26 1081 Brussel Belgium +32 2 4124040 frederik@offworld.be www. offworld.be
On-air Production 169/4 Wangdorm Road 10600 Bangkok Thailand +66 89 1203930 omelet.ome@gmail.com
One Ho II, LLC c/o Whoop, Inc. NY 10019 New York USA +1 212 245 6900
info@firsthandfilms.com
OPTEC Rua 1º de Dezembro 101, 2ºC 1200-358 Lisbon Portugal +351 21 3426553 filmes@optec.pt www.optec.pt
Le Pacte 5, Rue Darcet 75017 Paris France +33 1 44695959
contact@le-pacte.com www.le-pacte.com
Maureen Paley. 21 Herald Street E2 6JT London England +44 20 77294112
Plus Pictures Vester Voldgade 83/1 1552 Copenhagen Denmark +45 33 111210
Paradiso Filmed Entertainment Van Eeghenstraat 92 1071 GL Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6159222
Port au Prince Film & Kulturproduktion GmbH Paul Lincke Ufer 44a 10999 Berlin Germany +49 30 31955412
Park Circus Limited 1 Park Terrace G3 6BY Glasgow Scotland +44 141 3322175
Prababa Production Nicifora Ninkovica 50/17 11070 Belgrade Serbia +381 19 435107
Parts & Labor Films 177 North 10th Street 11211 New York USA +1 718 5995244
Prisma Film- und Fernsehproduktion Rathausstraße 3/18 1010 Vienna Austria +43 1 4063770
info@maureenpaley.com www.maureenpaley.com
info@paradisofilms.nl www.paradisofilms.nl
info@parkcircus.com www.parkcircus.com
info@partslaborfilm.com
Passion Pictures 33-34 Rathbone Place W1T 1JN London England +44 20 73239933
info@passion-pictures.com www.passion-pictures.com
Pedersen & Co. Hvidtjoernevej 34 2720 Vanloese Denmark +45 40 757172
producer.pedersen@gmail.com
Pieter van Huystee Film Noordermarkt 37-39 1015 NA Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4210606 info@pvhfilm.nl www.pvhfilm.nl
Pitch Interactive, Inc. 2140 Shattuck Avenue, suite 806 94704 Berkeley USA +1 510 9840196 wes@pitchinteractive.com www.pitchinteractive.com
info@pluspictures.dk www.pluspictures.dk
info@port-prince.de www.port-prince.de
info@prababa.rs www.prababa.rs
office@prismafilm.at www.prismafilm.at
Proaction Film P.O. Box 60353 Damascus Syria +963 11 3137460
info@proactionfilm.com www.proactionfilm.com
Prospektor Witte de Withstraat 32-hs 1057 XZ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 7762173 info@prospektor.nl www.prospektor.nl
QI Films B-2601, Yang Guang 100, Guanghua Road 2#, Chaoyang District 100016 Beijing China +86 18 729502999 imageandsound@gmail.com
Quark Productions 22, Rue du Petit Musc 75004 Paris France +33 14 4543950 quarkprod@wanadoo.fr www.quarkprod.com
259
Index | Addresses
Rabbit Bandini 3500 West Olive suite 1470 91505 Burbank USA +1 818 9537510
miles@jameslevymanagement.com
Racean Gorgos, Raluca Str. Sf Andrei 5A, Ilfov 77160 Popesti-Leordeni Romania +40 74 4692664 ralugorgo@gmail.com
Radiator Film ApS Filmbyen 23 8000 Århus Denmark +45 87 321919
henrik@radiatorfilm.com www.radiatorfilm.com
Red Zed Films 18 Eastwood Road N10 1NL London England +44 788 7680548 nick@nickread.org www.nickread.org
Revolt Cinema 38, Rue des 7 Arpents 93500 Pantin France +33 6 60299109 kingoutlaw@noos.fr
Rise and Shine Schlesische Straße 29/30 10997 Berlin Germany +49 30 47372980 info@kloosundco.de www.kloosundco.de
Robert Stone Productions 11 Morton Road 12572 Rhinebeck USA +1 808 5725823
info@robertstoneproductions.com www.robertstoneproductions.com
Natalia Rojas
natalia@nataliarojas.com www.nataliarojas.com
Rommel Film Fidicinstraße 40 10965 Berlin Germany +49 30 6937078
info@rommelfilm.com
260
Azharr Rudin 25, Jalan 14, Taman Greenwood Indah 68100 Batu Caves, Selangor Malaysia +60 36 1880568
Kui Luan Seah 3B Teo Hong Road 88322 Singapore Singapore +65 96 941044
Jennifer Steinman p/a 1321 Walnut Street 94709 Berkeley USA +1 91 72505291
Run Rabbit Run Media 1425 Allison Avenue 90026 Los Angeles USA +1 323 7175887
Seen films 6 Hadaaik St. Thakanat Al Maadi 11728 Cairo Egypt +20 10 69113334
Steps International 7 Glynnville Terrace Gardens 8001 Cape Town South Africa +27 21 4655805
SAFI Vuorikatu 16A9 170 Helsinki Finland +358 9 42899179
Selfmade Films Nieuwpoortkade 2a 1055 RX Amsterdam +31 20 6060789
azharr.rudin@gmail.com
liam.mcniff@mac.com
safi@safi.nu www.safi.nu
Salomon Cine Humboldt 2433, 6th floor 1425 Buenos Aires Argentina +54 911 58795665 salomoncine@gmail.com
Salty Features 104 West 14th Street, 4th floor 10011 New York USA +1 212 9241601 info@saltyfeatures.com www.saltyfeatures.com
Sopheak Sao 6, St. 264, Chaktomuk, Daun Penh 12207 Phnom Penh Cambodia +85 510 529552
sopheakfilmmaker@gmail.com
Sasha Klein Productions LTD 32-B Petachia Street 96549 Tel Aviv Israel +972 3 6481675 klein.sasha@gmail.com
Satel Film Linzer Straße 375 1140 Vienna Austria +43 1 58872
bettina.kuhn@satel.at www.satel.at
luan@coupcom.com
info@seenfilms.com www.seenfilms.com
mail@selfmadefilms.nl www.selfmadefilms.nl
Sichuan Fine Arts Institute Huangjueping 108, Jiulongpo District 400053 Chongqing China +86 23 89087316 info@scfai.edu.cn www.scfai.edu.cn
Sony Pictures Classics 550 Madison Avenue, 8th floor NY 10022-3211 New York USA +1 212 8338833 Sony_Classics@spe.sony.com www.sonyclassics.com
Spiraleye Productions Bruder Road 1 N14AT London England +43 66 43490599
seppbrudermann@gmail.com
Spring Films 47 Conduit Street W1S 2YP London England +44 20 33274930 info@springfilms.tv www.springfilms.tv
Het Station Weissenbruchstraat 8 1058 KM Amsterdam The Netherlands linda@hetstation.nl www.hetstation.nl
jenfilm@me.com
info@steps.co.za www.steps.co.za
Rhiannon Stevens O’Sullivan 21/14A Chapel Street 3182 St. Kilda East Australia +61 490 137213 ransos@hotmail.com
Stichting Enveloppe Prinseneiland 97hs 1013 LN Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6386611 canon@xs4all.nl www.st-enveloppe.nl
Stockholm Academy of Dramatic Arts Valhallavägen 189 115 53 Stockholm Sweden +46 81 2053100 info@stdh.se www.sada.se
Studio Lambert 42 Beak Street W1F 9RH London England +44 20 74323141
enquiries@studiolambert.com
Submarine Rapenburgerstraat 109 1011 VL Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 3301226 yaniv@submarine.nl www.submarine.nl
Submarine Entertainment 525 Broadway 10012 New York USA +1 212 6251410 info@submarine.com www.submarine.com
SVT Oxenstiernsgatan 26-34 10510 Stockholm Sweden +46 8 7840000 info@svt.se www.svt.se
Swedish Film Institute Hollywoodvägen 46 19277 Sollentuna Sweden +46 8 6651100 info@sfi.se www.sfi.se
Synecdoche Films 8, Rue Étienne Marcel 75002 Paris France +33 1 44885634 welcome@synecdoche.fr www.synecdoche.fr
Leslie Tai 10455 North Blaney Avenue 95014 Cupertino USA +1 408 8578131 leslie.tai@gmail.com
Tarnished Angel Inc 16847 Bosque Drive 91436 Encino USA
jennifer@richardpryor.com
Taskousaki Films 7 Granard Business Centre NW7 2DQ London England +38 76 5652046 info@taskousakifilms.com www.taskousakifilms.com
TBC Productions 22, Rue Davy 75017 Paris France +33 1 42295759
thomasbalmes@gmail.com www.thomasbalmes.com
Thala Films 12, Rue Frères Djennadi 9000 Blida Algeria +213 558 986204 abdenourzahzah@yahoo.fr
Index | Addresses
Tiempos Dificiles Films Calle Alfonso VI 6 28005 Madrid Spain +34 91 3664128
tiemposdificilesfilm@mac.com www.tiemposdificilesfilms.com
Tunnel Films 33 York Grove SE15 2NY London England +44 77 93251688
tunnelfilms@gmail.com www.tunnelfilms.co.uk
Tondowski Films Pessiner Weg 12 14662 Mühlenberge Germany +49 33 23820587
Turanga Films S.L. Calle Escorial 14-3ºD 28004 Madrid Spain +34 69 1719141
TOXA 1435, Rue Saint-Alexandre #700 H3A 2G4 Montreal Canada +1 514 9899500
David Turner 85 Adams Street, apt. 5c 11201 Brooklyn USA +1 917 2151610
alex@tondowskifilms.de www.tondowskifilms.de
info@toxa.com www.toxa.ca
Trabelsi Productions 4 Hashfela Street 66183 Tel Aviv Israel +972 3 5660398
osnat@trabelsiproductions.com www.trabelsiproductions.com
Treehouse Moving Images, LLC 152 South Sycamore Ave., #502 90036 Los Angeles USA +1 917 4554480 kirk@treehouseimages.com www.treehouseimages.com
Tremolo Productions 1950 Sunset Boulevard 90026 Los Angeles USA +1 213 4139200
info@tremoloproductions.com www.tremoloproductions.com
Tonny Trimarsanto Griya Prima Barat 5 57436 Klaten Jateng Indonesia +62 272 324143
trimarsanto@hotmail.co.id www.trimarsantofilms.com
True Story Productions 3096 Laurel Street V5Z 3T5 Vancouver Canada +1 604 7646372 gillian_hrankowski@shaw.ca
contacto@turangafilms.com www.turangafilms.com
VARA P.O. Box 175 1200 AD Hilversum The Netherlands +31 35 6711911 vara@vara.nl www.vara.nl
Ventana-Film GmbH Meinekestraße 24 10719 Berlin Germany +49 173 3747905 hre@ventana-film.com
Vertov. Real cinema 12 Tverskaya Street, building 8 125009 Moscow Russia +7 915 2738625
filmturner@gmail.com
vertov@list.ru www.vertov.ru
Unicorn Films Union Street 23 3205 South Melbourne Australia +61 03 96993677
Videokuu Oy Laivalahdenkaari 5 A 29 810 Helsinki Finland +358 46 8884016
info@unicornfilms.com.au www.unicornfilms.com.au
University of Television and Film Munich Bernd Eichinger Platz 1 80333 Munich Germany +49 89 689570 festival4@hff-muc.de www.hff-muc.de
Upstream Gallery Van Ostadestraat 294 1073 TW Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 4284284 info@upstreamgallery.nl www.upstreamgallery.nl
Urban Think Tank Neunbrunnenstraße 50 8050 Zürich Switzerland +41 44 6339080 urbanthinktank@mac.com www.u-tt.com
Ursus Films Los Estanques 1916 7500731 Santiago Chili +56 98 2281672 ursus.cine@gmail.com
jussi@videokuu.com
Videomante Via Leonardo da Vinci 3 33043 Cividale del Friuli Italia +39 34 96187698 erica@videomante.it
Viewpoint Productions Cruquiusweg 111 C1 1019 AG Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6363678 docs@viewpointdocs.com www.viewpointdocs.com
Eva Vila Balmes 132-132 8008 Barcelona Spain +34 670 536325
evavila23@yahoo.es
VisionProduktion Blekingegatan 12 11856 Stockholm Sweden +46 73 7600609
info@visionproduktion.se
Christina Voros 16 Hancock Street 11216 Brooklyn USA +1 617 5016595
christinavoros@hotmail.com www.christinavoros.com
Walad Dorleen Film 100/310 Soi 18 Moo 10250 Bangkok Thailand +66 81 8325094 panuaree@gmail.com
Wall to Wall 85 Gray’s Inn Road WC1X 8TX London England +44 20 74857424 mail@walltowall.co.uk
Warp Films Electric Works, Sheffield Digital Campus S1 2BJ Sheffield England +44 114 2866280 admin@warpfilms.com
warp.net/films
Warsaw Film School Ul. Generala Zajaczka 7 01-518 Warsaw Poland +48 22 545599 info@szkolafilmowa.pl www.szkolafilmowa.pl
Werner Herzog Filmproduktion Spiegelgasse 9 1010 Vienna Austria +43 1 5129444
office@wernerherzog.com www.wernerherzog.com
Whoop, Inc. 1650 Broadway 10019 New York USA +1 212 2456900
tomleonardis@gmail.com
Wide House 9, Rue Bleue 75009 Paris France +33 1 53950464
festivals@widemanagement.com www.widehouse.org
Wild Bunch Benelux distribution Haarlemmerdijk 159 1013 KH Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 5357554
info@wildbunch.nl www.wildbunchdistribution.nl
William Greaves Productions, Inc. 230 West 55th Street 10019 New York USA +1 212 2656150 wmlgreaves@aol.com www.williamgreaves.com
Xu, Tong Xiao Pu Bei Jie 126#, Song Zhuang Zhen, Tongzhou 101118 Beijing China +86 13801113879 tt1727@hotmail.com
Yangon Film School Ebereschenallee 15 14050 Berlin Germany +49 30 30614448
info@yangonfilmschool.org www.yangonfilmschool.org
Zeppers Film & TV Johannes Verhulststraat 174 1075 HC Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 20 6758594 info@zeppers.nl www.zeppers.nl
Emile Zile 25 Rosamond Street 3183 Balaclava Australia +31 6 39075441 ez@emilezile.com www.emilezile.com
ZINdoc Lekstraat 152-1 1079 EZ Amsterdam The Netherlands +31 6 24873171 corinne@zindoc.nl
Zipporah Films One Richdale Avenue, 4 02140 Cambridge USA +1 617 5763603 info@zipporah.com www.zipporah.com
Zuidenwind Filmproductions P.O. Box 4673 4803 ER Breda The Netherlands +31 76 5140871 info@zuidenwind.nl www.zuidenwind.nl
261
Index | Premieres
Index | Premieres World Premieres 15 Attempts Aliona van der Horst
76
17000 Islands Thomas A. Østbye, Edwin
84
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
400WORDS Ismail Basbeth
203
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
69: Love Sex Senior Menna Laura Meijer
76
Ai Weiwei The Fake Case Andreas Johnsen
16
#Alleman Bert Hana
173
DocLab: Interactive Reality
American Arab Usama Alshaibi
34
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Ana Ana Petr Lom, Corinne van Egeraat
77
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
The Art of Observing Life Marina Goldovskaya
111
Masters
140
Music Documentary
Ashes Idrissa Guiro, Mélanie Pavy
51
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Awake in a Bad Dream 77 Petra Lataster-Czisch, Peter Lataster
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Barre’s Silence Morvarid Peyda, Mehrdad Ahmadpour
52
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
203
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Blood Alina Rudnitskaya
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Broadcasting the End - A Tale About a Magic Mountain Martijn Payens
53
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
IDFA Competition for First Appearance, IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
35
Chikara - The Sumo Wrestler’s Son Simon Lereng Wilmont
262
67
Kismet Nina Maria Paschalidou
41
First to Fall Rachel Beth Anderson
57
Land of Promise René Roelofs, Paul Scheffer
79
Fort McMoney Dufresne David
86
The Last Hunt Jeremy Mendes
88
178
55 123 78
Masters
85
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
The Fourth Brother Tong Xu
126
Panorama
The Good Son Shirly Berkovitz
39
Happiness Thomas Balmès
114
The Happy Sad Route (and a Comedian) Linda Hakeboom
238
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Masters
Stand-Up Documentary
Hidden Wounds 126 Tomas Kaan, Arnold van Bruggen Panorama
Hidden Wounds Interactive Tomas Kaan, Prospektor
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
234
Niek Koppen in Focus
36
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
DocLab: Interactive Reality
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
54
Demonstration 114 Victor Kossakovsky, 32 Students
Emotional Arcade Brent Hoff, Alexander Reben
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Final Destination Ricardas Marcinkus
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Ecopolis China Anna-Karin Grönroos
60
Music Documentary
40
Panorama
Dutch Darlings Niek Koppen
Judgment in Hungary Eszter Hajdú
Killing Time Jaap van Hoewijk
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Dream Homes Property Consultants Alexandra Handal
85
Music Documentary
79
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Days at the Lennon Park Annelies Kruk
The Faces of Facebook Natalia Rojas
FC Rwanda Joris Postema
Coach Zoran and His African Tigers 18 Sam Benstead
Crustaceans Vicente Perez Herrero
141
151
Kids & Docs
The Coal Miner’s Day Gaël Mocaër
Jingle Bell Rocks! Mitchell Kezin
20
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
#chicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator Joe Piscatella
141
Farewell to Hollywood Henry Corra, Regina Nicholson
Burn Out 84 Samuel Bollendorff, Olivia Colo Castles in Spain Pauline Horovitz
Europe in 8 Bits Javier Polo
Just a Reflektor 88 Vincent Morisset, Aaron Koblin
IDFA Competition for First Appearance, DOC U
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Behind the Screen Aung Nwai Htway
78
Paradocs
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary, DOC U
As the Palaces Burn Don Argott
Borders Jacqueline van Vugt
173
86
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
House/Grandparent Azharr Rudin
207
I, Afrikaner Annalet Steenkamp
59
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary, IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Layla’s Melody 180 Jens Pedersen, Taj Mohammad Bakhtari Kids & Docs
Leaders Pawel Ferdek
181
A Letter to Nelson Mandela Khalo Matabane
22
Life Almost Wonderful Svetoslav Draganov
23
Kids & Docs
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Light Fly, Fly High 61 Beathe Hofseth, Susann Østigaard IDFA Competition for First Appearance, DOC U
Little Miss Piggy Ellen Vloet
181
Mattanja Joy Ellen van Kempen
142
Medulla Melisa Miranda
68
Kids & Docs
Music Documentary
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Index | Premieres
Men with Balls Kristóf Kovács
62
Misha and So On Cherry Duyns
80
Monk with a Camera Guido Santi, Tina Mascara
131
Moving Stills Kadir van Lohuizen Tinus Kramer
80
The Mulberry House Sara Ishaq
131
My Name is Salt Farida Pacha
63
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Panorama
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Panorama
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Ne Me Quitte Pas Sabine Lubbe Bakker, Niels van Koevorden
24
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary, IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Nothing Is Going to Happen Roeland van Doorn
153
Paradocs
Olga - To My Friends Paul Anders Simma
42
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Once Upon a Tree Marleen van der Werf
182
One Minute for Conductors Elena Goatelli, Angel Esteban
144
Kids & Docs, IDFA Junior
Music Documentary
Photo-Eddy David de Jongh
81
Playing with Shadows Xiaoyu Niu
43
IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
The Private Life of Fenfen Leslie Tai
154
Paradocs
Pussy Versus Putin Gogol’s Wives Productions, Anonymous Anonymous
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
44
Putin’s Games Alexander Gentelev
25
Return to Homs Talal Derki
26
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
69
The River Abdenour Zahzah
134
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Panorama
69
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
28
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary, IDFA Competition for Dutch Documentary
Shrove Sunday Dina Barinova
70
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
The Silence of the Flies Eliezer Arias
134
Panorama
The Sochi Project 90 Arnold van Bruggen, Rob Hornstra IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Song from the Forest Michael Obert
29
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Sound of Torture Keren Shayo
46
30
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Sunflower Seeds Antonis Tolakis
184
Kids & Docs
Super Jews Nirit Peled
136
Through the Fire Miguel Narings
184
Kids & Docs
Through the Looking Glass Martijn Blekendaal
185
Kids & Docs
Tiger Mountain Jie Wu
71
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Torre David: The World’s Tallest Squat 136 Daniel Schwartz, Markus Kneer Panorama
Twin Sisters Mona Friis Bertheussen
47
Tyres Kyaw Myo Lwin
72
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia, IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
The Undertaker Dragan Nikolić
137
Via Dolorosa Menno Otten
155
Voices of El Alto Benjamin Oroza
48
Panorama
Paradocs
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
135
Alphabet Erwin Wagenhofer
17
Ariel Laura Bari
50
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
The Bed Is Broken Raluca Racean Gorgos
150
Paradocs
The Brick 204 Htoo Tay Zar, Htuu Lou Rae, Min Thu Aung, Yan Naing Ko, Zin No No Zaw Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Capitalism at Crossroad Street Ivars Seleckis
112
Carl & Niels Alexander Lind
66
Celebration Dajan Javorac
67
Masters
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor John Wager
238
Stand-Up Documentary
The Condemned Nick Read
98
Best of Fests
The Death of Jaime Roldós 123 Lisandra I. Rivera, Manolo Sarmiento Panorama
Music Documentary
The Wild Years Ventura Durall
31
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Wukan: The Flame of Democracy James Leong, Lynn Lee
International Premieres
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
Whatever Forever: Douwe Bob 147 Linda Hakeboom, Rolf Hartogensis
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Stream of Love Agnes Sós
Temptation Viktar Dashuk Panorama
Rings of Life Ida Lindgren
Shado’man Boris Gerrets
70
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
Santra and the Talking Trees Miia Tervo
The Task Rhiannon Stevens O’Sullivan
209
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Displaced Perssons Åsa Blanck, Johan Palmgren
19
Documented Jose Antonio Vargas
56
Everything Is Possible Lidia Duda
37
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Panorama
263
Index | Premieres
Facing Fear Jason Cohen
125
Panorama
Father Figures 38 Gillian Hrankowski, April Butler IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
Gaddafi Panu Aree, Kong Rithdee, Kaweenipon Ketprasit
206
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Hollow Elaine McMillion
87
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
The Human Experiment Dana Nachman, Don Hardy
To Be a B-Girl Yasmin Angel
185
Aim High in Creation Anna Broinowski
122
Nora Noh Sung-hee Kim
64
The Trouble with Aid Ricardo Pollack
137
As Time Goes By in Shanghai Uli Gaulke
128
Panorama
Impressions of Time Nina Hedenius
115
In the Wake of Stalin Thomas Johnson
129
98
The Queen Manuel Abramovich
133
Soul Food Stories Tonislav Hristov
45
Supermensch The Legend of Shep Gordon Mike Myers
135
The Trials of Muhammad Ali Bill Siegel
107
Type:Rider Théo Le Du Fuentes
90
Best of Fests
The Barrel Anabel Cristina Rodríguez
178
Two at the Border Tuna Kaptan, Felicitas Sonvilla
Consider Panu Saeng-Xuto
205
Stand-Up Documentary
71
The Visit Matej Bobrik
138
Panorama
Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley Whoopi Goldberg
Kids & Docs
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia, DOC U
IDFA Competition for Student Documentary
21
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary
124
Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War Jesse Acevedo
146
The Director: An Evolution in Three Acts Christina Voros
124
Where I Go Kavich Neang
209
Los Wild Ones Elise Salomon
147
Best of Fests
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
58
No Land No Food No Life Amy Miller
132
The Horses of Fukushima Yoju Matsubayashi
127
Rêve Kakudji Koen Vidal, Ibbe Daniëls
145
The Life and Crimes 103 of Doris Payne Matthew Pond, Kirk Marcolina
118
The Mangoes Tonny Trimarsanto
Best of Fests
IDFA Competition for Feature-Length Documentary, DOC U
118
Masters
Shanne and Her Friends Ulla Søe, Sussie Weinold Kids & Docs
183
Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine 130 Michele Josue Panorama
Menstrual Man Amit Virmani
104
Mercedes Sosa, the Voice of Latin America Rodrigo H. Vila
143
Minerita Raúl de la Fuente
130
Best of Fests
Music Documentary
Panorama
264
207
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Masters
Sepideh - Reaching for the Stars 27 Berit Madsen Sex My British Job Nick Broomfield
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Panorama
Music Documentary
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Music Documentary, DOC U
Forest of the Dancing Spirits Linda Västrik
The Secret Life of Uri Geller Psychic Spy? Vikram Jayanti
Best of Fests
dinosaurs Terra Long
Journey to Jah 142 Noël Dernesch, Moritz Springer
Panorama
IDFA Competition for Mid-Length Documentary
100
Panorama
Music Documentary
Panorama
The Devil’s Lair Riaan Hendricks
Panorama
Panorama
An Inconsolable Memory Aryan Kaganof
IDFA Competition for First Appearance
Panorama
Dangerous Acts Starring the 99 Unstable Elements of Belarus Madeleine Sackler Best of Fests
240
104
Best of Fests
The Tunnel 240 Jody VandenBurg, Domenico Favata
Stand-Up Documentary
Masters
Mission Congo David Turner, Lara Zizic
Panorama
Panorama
Emerging Voices from Southeast Asia
Grandfather Phuong Thao Dong
89
IDFA DocLab Competition for Digital Storytelling
Kids & Docs, IDFA Junior
206
European Premieres
A Short History of the Highrise Katerina Cizek
Music Documentary
Index | Countries
Index | Countries Algeria The River
134
Argentina The Death of Jaime Roldós The Faces of Facebook Mercedes Sosa, the Voice of Latin America The Queen
123 85 143 133
Australia Aim High in Creation Jack The Task Ukraine Is Not a Brothel
122 167 70 108
Austria Alphabet Blind Spot. Hitler’s Secretary Downfall Everyday Rebellion Master of the Universe Putin’s Games The Special Need
17 214 214 125 103 25 107
Belarus Temptation
136
Belgium Dust Breeding The Irresistible Rise of Moïse Katumbi Journal Life Almost Wonderful Met onze jongens aan den IJzer Ne Me Quitte Pas Rêve Kakudji Staging Silence II
151 116 152 23 227 24 145 170
Bosnia-Herzegovina Celebration
67
Brazil Patio The Task
153 70
Bulgaria Life Almost Wonderful Soul Food Stories
23 45
Cambodia Boundary The Burnt Theatre Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell The Land of the Wandering Souls The Missing Picture Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine Two Girls Against the Rain Where I Go
204 190 190 191 191 192 192 208 209
Canada Ariel dinosaurs Father Figures Forest of the Dancing Spirits Fort McMoney The Ghosts in Our Machine I’m Not There Jingle Bell Rocks! Just a Reflektor The Last Hunt Munich No Land No Food No Life A Short History of the Highrise
50 124 38 58 86 102 215 141 88 88 220 132 89
Chile Los Andes Medulla
164 68
China The Fourth Brother Mothers Playing with Shadows The Questioning Tiger Mountain
126 105 43 154 71
Cuba I Am Cuba The Task Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War
198 70 146
Cyprus Kismet
41
Czech Republic Pipeline
117
Denmark Ai Weiwei The Fake Case American Vagabond Carl & Niels Chikara - The Sumo Wrestler’s Son The Humiliated Just the Right Amount of Violence Layla’s Melody Sepideh - Reaching for the Stars Shanne and Her Friends
16 110 66 178 160 116 180 27 183
Ecuador The Death of Jaime Roldós
123
Egypt The Mulberry House
131
Finland American Vagabond Ecopolis China Happiness Olga - To My Friends Santra and the Talking Trees Soul Food Stories Voices of El Alto
110 36 114 42 69 45 48
France A.K. Ain’t Misbehavin Alone Ashes Barbaric Land Boundary Burn Out The Burnt Theatre Castles in Spain The Coal Miner’s Day Drill Baby Drill Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell Farrebique - The Four Seasons The Football Incident General Idi Amin Dada Happiness Henri-George Clouzot’s Inferno Human Geography In the Wake of Stalin The Land of the Wandering Souls The Last of the Unjust The Missing Picture Munich Natpwe, the Feast of the Spirits Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine Shado’man A Tale of the Wind Type:Rider Where I Go
159 110 196 51 122 204 84 190 151 55 101 190 197 197 216 114 160 115 129 191 117 191 220 152 192 192 28 200 90 209
Germany Alphabet As Time Goes By in Shanghai Downfall Everyday Rebellion Friedensverhandlungen in Brest-Litowsk Hochseefischerei der Deutschen Marine Houses for All I’m Not There Journey to Jah Judgment in Hungary The Last King of Scotland A Letter to Nelson Mandela Lille im dritten Kriegsjahr Little Dieter Needs to Fly Der Magische Gürtel Master of the Universe Pipeline Putin’s Games Return to Homs Song from the Forest The Special Need To Be a B-Girl
17 98 214 125 224 225 127 215 142 60 216 22 226 218 226 103 117 25 26 29 107 185
265
Index | Countries
Index | Countries Two at the Border Tyres The Undertaker Zelim’s Confession
Greece Kismet Sunflower Seeds
41 184
Hong Kong Alone
196
Hungary Judgment in Hungary Men with Balls Stream of Love
60 62 30
India Menstrual Man My Name is Salt Powerless
104 63 106
Indonesia 17000 Islands 400WORDS Chocolate Comedy Farewell My School The Mangoes
84 203 205 179 207
Iran Barre’s Silence
266
71 72 137 73
52
Israel The Good Son Narco Cultura Putin’s Games Sound of Torture White Soldier
39 144 25 46 72
Italy The Director: An Evolution in Three Acts Downfall One Minute for Conductors The Special Need Street Ghosts
124 214 144 107 175
Japan The Horses of Fukushima A Man Vanishes Recollections
127 199 133
Latvia Capitalism at Crossroad Street
112
Lithuania Final Destination
67
Luxembourg Rescue Dawn
218
Malaysia House/Grandparent
207
Myanmar Behind the Screen The Brick Tyres
203 204 72
The Netherlands 15 Attempts 69: Love Sex Senior #Alleman Ana Ana Anima As Long as You Are Not Reminded Too Often As Time Goes By in Shanghai Awake in a Bad Dream The Battle of the Java Sea The Blank Stare Borders Brilliant Punitive Raids Broadcasting the End - A Tale About a Magic Mountain The Call Days at the Lennon Park Dutch Darlings FC Rwanda Glass Gold The Happy Sad Route (and a Comedian) Hear This! Hidden Wounds Hidden Wounds Interactive High Stakes in the East Holland neutraal, de leger- en vlootfilm A Home for Lydia Jack Killing Time Land of Promise Little Miss Piggy Louis the Ferris Wheel Kid Mattanja Joy Misha and So On Montmartre Moving Stills - Kadir van Lohuizen Ne Me Quitte Pas Nothing Is Going to Happen Once Upon a Tree Pareidolia Pee on Presidents Photo-Eddy Shado’man Siki Sky Over Holland The Sochi Project Super Jews A Tale of the Wind This Tiny World Through the Fire Through the Looking Glass Tonight We’ll Become Women
76 76 173 77 164 165 98 77 234 165 78 166 53 66 78 234 79 230 235 238 179 126 86 230 225 180 167 40 79 181 182 142 80 168 80 24 153 182 169 169 81 28 235 231 90 135 200 231 184 185 186
Unspeak Via Dolorosa Whatever Forever: Douwe Bob White Soldier
91 155 147 72
Norway 17000 Islands Light Fly, Fly High Olga - To My Friends Twin Sisters
84 61 42 47
Poland The Brick Everything Is Possible Leaders Our Curse The Visit
204 37 181 68 138
Portugal In Vanda’s Room
198
Romania The Bed Is Broken
150
Russia The Art of Observing Life Blood The Condemned Demonstration Everybody Dies, But Me Girls I Am Cuba Pipeline Pussy Versus Putin Shrove Sunday
111 35 98 114 217 217 198 117 44 70
Scotland Joan Rivers - A Piece of Work The Mulberry House
239 131
Senegal Ashes Touki Bouki - Journey of the Hyena
51 200
Serbia The Undertaker
137
Singapore Menstrual Man Wukan: The Flame of Democracy
104 209
South Africa The Devil’s Lair I, Afrikaner An Inconsolable Memory A Letter to Nelson Mandela Voices of El Alto
100 59 21 22 48
South Korea Nora Noh
64
Index | Countries
Index | Countries Spain Crustaceans Demonstration Europe in 8 Bits Minerita One Minute for Conductors The Red Carpet Tactica The Wild Years
123 114 141 130 144 183 170 31
Sweden Displaced Perssons Forest of the Dancing Spirits Impressions of Time Olga - To My Friends Rings of Life
19 58 115 42 69
Switzerland Everyday Rebellion Journey to Jah My Name is Salt Torre David: The World’s Tallest Squat
125 142 63 136
Syria #chicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator The Mulberry House Return to Homs
54 131 26
Thailand Boundary Consider Gaddafi
204 205 206
Turkey Ashura
150
England The Barrel Basically, Johnny Moped Coach Zoran and His African Tigers The Condemned A Day in the Life of a Munition Worker Dream Homes Property Consultants First to Fall Gonda InRealLife Joan Rivers - A Piece of Work Just a Reflektor The Last King of Scotland Manhunt Mrs. John Bull Prepared No Man’s Land One Day in September Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic The Secret Life of Uri Geller - Psychic Spy? Sex My British Job The Stone Roses: Made of Stone The Trouble with Aid The Tunnel
178 140 18 98 224 85 57 167 102 239 88 216 219 227 132 220 239 118 118 145 137 240
USA American Arab The Armstrong Lie The Art of Observing Life As the Palaces Burn At Berkeley Burden of Dreams #chicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor The Crash Reel Cutie and the Boxer Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus Death Row II Desert Runners The Director: An Evolution in Three Acts Dirty Wars Documented Doll Parts Dont Look Back Emotional Arcade The Faces of Facebook Facing Fear Farewell to Hollywood First to Fall Hollow The Human Experiment I Love Your Work I’m Not There In God We Trust Joan Rivers - A Piece of Work Just a Reflektor KINK The Last King of Scotland The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne Manhunt Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine Milestones Mission Congo Monk with a Camera Mr. President Munich Muscle Shoals Narco Cultura Out of Sight, Out of Mind. Pandora’s Promise The Private Life of Fenfen Rescue Dawn Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic Salinger Street Ghosts Supermensch The Legend of Shep Gordon Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One The Trials of Muhammad Ali Twenty Feet from Stardom The Unknown Known Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley Los Wild Ones Zero Dark Thirty
34 111 111 140 112 159 54 238 113 99 99
Venezuela The Barrel The Silence of the Flies Torre David: The World’s Tallest Squat Vietnam Grandfather Yemen The Mulberry House
178 134 136 206 131
113 100 124 101 56 166 215 173 85 125 20 57 87 128 87 215 128 239 88 129 216 103 219 130 199 104 131 168 220 143 144 89 105 154 218 239 106 175 135 161 107 146 119 146 240 147 219
267
Index | Directors
Index | Directors A Jennifer Abbott Manuel Abramovich Jesse Acevedo Ucu Agustin Mehrdad Ahmadpour Usama Alshaibi Derek Anderson Rachel Beth Anderson Yasmin Angel Panu Aree Don Argott Eliezer Arias B Taj Mohammad Bakhtari Thomas Balmès Laura Bari Dina Barinova Greg Barker Ismail Basbeth Marc Bauder Feiko Beckers Sam Benstead Shirly Berkovitz Kathryn Bigelow Wang Bing Åsa Blanck Les Blank Martijn Blekendaal Matej Bobrik Samuel Bollendorff Melanie Bonajo Hans Brennert Anna Broinowski Serge Bromberg Nick Broomfield The Riahi Brothers Arnold van Bruggen Fred Burns April Butler
268
91 133 146 179 52 34 128 57 185 206 140 134
180 114 50 70 219 203 103 165 18 39 219 196 19 159 185 138 84 169 226 122 160 118 125 90, 126 140 38
C Greg Camalier Jon Bang Carlsen Nathanael Carton Paolo Cirio Katerina Cizek Joaquín Cociña Jason Cohen Olivia Colo Henry Corra Pedro Costa
143 116 133 175 89 164 125 84 20 198
D Ibbe Daniëls Viktar Dashuk Clemens De Landtsheer Talal Derki Noël Dernesch Benoit Detalle Djibril Diop Mambety Tiane Doan na Champassak
145 136 227 26 142 91 200 152
Phuong Thao Dong Roeland van Doorn Reber Dosky John Douglas Svetoslav Draganov Jean Dubrel Lidia Duda David Dufresne Charlotte Dumas Ventura Durall Cherry Duyns
206 153 66 199 23 152 37 86, 174 164 31 80
E Edwin Eitan Efrat Corinne van Egeraat Köken Ergun Angel Esteban
84 152 77 150 144
F Tara Fallaux Domenico Favata Pawel Ferdek Manuel Fernández John Fernhout Sirah Foighel Brutmann Mona Friis Bertheussen Raúl de la Fuente G Valeriya Gaï Germanika Uli Gaulke Alexander Gentelev Boris Gerrets Yervant Gianikian Alex Gibney Elena Goatelli Gogol’s Wives Productions Whoopi Goldberg Marina Goldovskaya Michael Graversen William Greaves Kitty Green Anna-Karin Grönroos Wesley Grubbs Idrissa Guiro H Bert Haanstra Eszter Hajdú Linda Hakeboom Bert Hana Alexandra Handal Don Hardy Jonathan Harris Rolf Hartogensis Todd Haynes Nina Hedenius Zachary Heinzerling Susanna Helke André Heller Riaan Hendricks
182 240 181 183 230, 231 152 47 130
217 98 25 28 122 111 144 44 240 111 132 161 108 36 89 51
230 60 147, 238 173 85 128 87, 174 147 215 115 99 110 214 100
Josefien Hendriks Werner Herzog Oliver Hirschbiegel Jaap van Hoewijk Brent Hoff Beathe Hofseth Juul Hondius Rob Hornstra Pauline Horovitz Aliona van der Horst Gillian Hrankowski Tonislav Hristov Aung Nwai Htway Charles Huguenot van der Linden
186 113, 218 214 40 173 61 166 90 151 76 38 45 203 231
I Shohei Imamura Sara Ishaq Joris Ivens
199 131 197, 200
J Marija Jacimovic Jesper Jargil Dajan Javorac Vikram Jayanti Andreas Johnsen Thomas Johnson David de Jongh Michele Josue
91 160 67 118 16 129 81 130
K Tomas Kaan Aryan Kaganof Deepti Kakkar Mikheil Kalatozov Tuna Kaptan Ellen van Kempen Kaweenipon Ketprasit Mitchell Kezin Soulaima El Khaldi Beeban Kidron Sung-hee Kim Markus Kneer Yan Naing Ko Aaron Koblin Niels van Koevorden Niek Koppen Victor Kossakovsky Kristóf Kovács Lech Kowalski Robert Kramer Tinus Kramer Annelies Kruk Victor Kubicek
86, 126 21 106 198 71 142 206 141 179 102 64 136 204 88 24 234, 235 114 62 101 199 80 78 128
L Claude Lanzmann Peter Lataster Petra Lataster-Czisch Théo Le Du Fuentes Lynn Lee Cristobal León
117 77 77 90, 174 209 164
Index | Directors
James Leong Gabriel Lester Alexander Lind Ida Lindgren Petr Lom Terra Long Iosu López Marceline Loridan-Ivens Htuu Lou Rae Sabine Lubbe Bakker Kyaw Myo Lwin
M Kevin Macdonald Berit Madsen Vitaly Mansky Ricardas Marcinkus Kirk Marcolina Chris Marker Liz Marshall Tina Mascara Khalo Matabane Yoju Matsubayashi Ursula Mayer Elaine McMillion Shane Meadows Ruxandra Medrea Menna Laura Meijer Thierry Michel Natalia Mikhaylova Amy Miller Melisa Miranda Gaël Mocaër Moniker Vincent Morisset Errol Morris Willy Mullens Alysson Muritiba Fahad Mustafa Mike Myers N Dana Nachman Miguel Narings Kavich Neang Morgan Neville Regina Nicholson Dragan Nikolić Chairun Nissa Xiaoyu Niu Nontawat Numbenchapol O Michael Obert Saskia Olde Wolbers Hans Op de Beeck Marcel Ophüls Benjamin Oroza Thomas A. Østbye Susann Østigaard Menno Otten
209 165 66 69 77 124 183 197, 200 204 24 72, 208
216, 220 27 117 67 103 159 102 131 22 127 167 87 145 160 76 116 73 132 68 55 175 88, 175 119 225 153 106 135
128 184 209 146 20 137 205 43 204
29 169 170 110 48 84, 174 61 91, 155
P Farida Pacha Tommy Pallotta Johan Palmgren Rithy Panh Nina Maria Paschalidou Mélanie Pavy Martijn Payens Jens Pedersen Nirit Peled D.A. Pennebaker Vicente Perez Herrero Morvarid Peyda Joe Piscatella Ricardo Pollack Javier Polo Billy Pols Matthew Pond Joris Postema Prospektor Emma van der Put
63 91 19 190 – 192 41 51 53 180 135 196, 215 123 52 54 137 141 103 79 86 168
Q Muzi Quawson
166
R Raluca Racean Gorgos Nick Read Alexander Reben Angela Ricci-Lucchi Kong Rithdee Lisandra I. Rivera Anabel Cristina Rodríguez René Roelofs Natalia Rojas Georges Rouquier Richard Rowley Azharr Rudin Alina Rudnitskaya
150 98 173 122 206 123 178 79 85 197 101 207 35
S Madeleine Sackler Panu Saeng-Xuto Shane Salerno Elise Salomon Fernando Sanchez Castillo Guido Santi Sopheak Sao Manolo Sarmiento Paul Scheffer Eline Helena Schellekens Othmar Schmiderer Rob Schröder Barbet Schroeder Daniel Schwartz Shaul Schwarz Ivars Seleckis Keren Shayo Bill Siegel Paul Anders Simma Claire Simon Tomasz Sliwinski Felicitas Sonvilla
99 205 106 147 170 131 208 123 79 180 214 91 216 136 144 112 46 107 42 115 68 71
Agnes Sós Ulla Søe Steven Spielberg Moritz Springer Annalet Steenkamp Jennifer Steinman Ricki Stern Rhiannon Stevens O’Sullivan Robert Stone
30 183 220 142 59 100 239 70 105
T Leslie Tai Htoo Tay Zar Miia Tervo Min Thu Aung Antonis Tolakis Tonny Trimarsanto David Turner
154 204 69 204 184 207 104
V Sarah Vanagt Jody VandenBurg Jose Antonio Vargas Linda Västrik Koen Vidal Rodrigo H. Vila Amit Virmani Ellen Vloet Christina Voros Jacqueline van Vugt
151 240 56 58 145 143 104 181 124, 129 78
W Erwin Wagenhofer John Wager Lucy Walker Sussie Weinold Marleen van der Werf Geert van de Wetering Gereon Wetzel Simon Lereng Wilmont Frederick Wiseman Jie Wu
17 238 113 183 182 91 127 178 112 71
X Huijing Xu Tong Xu
105 126
Y Nina Yuen
168
Z Abdenour Zahzah Zin No No Zaw Marina Zenovich Rikun Zhu Emile Zile Danielle Zini Lara Zizic Carlo Zoratti
134 204 239 154 167 72 104 107
269
Index | Films
Index | Films 1-9 15 Attempts 15 pogingen 17000 Islands 400KATA 400WORDS 69: Liefde seks senior 69: Love Sex Senior
76 76 84 203 203 76 76
A A.K. Ahaung hma athit Ai Weiwei The Fake Case Aim High in Creation Ain’t Misbehavin La alfombra roja #Alleman Alone Alphabet American Arab American Vagabond Ana Ana The Andes Los Andes Anima Ariel The Armstrong Lie Årsringar The Art of Observing Life As Long as You Are Not Reminded Too Often As the Palaces Burn As Time Goes By in Shanghai Ashes Ashura Asura At Berkeley Awake in a Bad Dream
159 72 16 122 110 183 173 196 17 34 110 77 164 164 164 50 111 69 111 165 140 98 51 150 150 112 77
B Barbaric Land Barre’s Silence The Barrel Basically, Johnny Moped The Battle of the Java Sea Bayt al toot The Bed Is Broken Behind the Screen The Blank Stare Blind Spot. Hitler’s Secretary Blood Borders Boundary The Brick Brilliant Punitive Raids Broadcasting the End - A Tale About a Magic Mountain Burden of Dreams Burn Out The Burnt Theatre
270
122 52 178 140 234 131 150 203 165 214 35 78 204 204 166 53 159 84 190
C The Call Capitalism at Crossroad Street Carl & Niels Casas para todos Castles in Spain Celebration Cendres Cha Fang Des châteaux en Espagne #chicagoGirl – The Social Network Takes on a Dictator Chikara - The Sumo Wrestler’s Son Chocolate Comedy Coach Zoran and His African Tigers The Coal Miner’s Day Comedy Warriors: Healing Through Humor The Condemned Consider The Crash Reel Crustaceans Crustáceos Cutie and the Boxer D Dangerous Acts Starring the Unstable Elements of Belarus De dansande andarnas skog A Day in the Life of a Munition Worker Days at the Lennon Park The Death of Jaime Roldós Death Row II Demonstration Le dernier des injustes Desert Runners The Devil’s Lair Devochki Los dias del Parque Lennon Die kleine wereld dinosaurs The Director: An Evolution in Three Acts Dirty Wars Displaced Perssons Documented Doll Parts Dont Look Back Door het vuur Downfall Dream Homes Property Consultants Drill Baby Drill Duch, le maître des forges de l’enfer Duch, Master of the Forges of Hell Dust Breeding Dutch Darlings
66 112 66 127 151 67 51 154 151 54 178 205 18 55 238 98 205 113 123 123 99 99 58 224 78 123 113 114 117 100 100 217 78 231 124 124 101 19 56 166 196, 215 184 214 85 101 190 190 151 234
E Ecopolis China Ek, Afrikaner Ekopolis Élevage de poussière Els anys salvatges Emotional Arcade L’enfer de Henri-Georges Clouzot Er gaat niets gebeuren Europe in 8 Bits Everybody Dies, But Me Everyday Rebellion Everything Is Possible
36 59 36 151 31 173 160 153 141 217 125 37
F The Faces of Facebook Facing Fear Fahtum Pandinsoong Familjen Persson i främmande land Farewell My School Farewell to Hollywood Farrebique - les quatres saisons Farrebique - The Four Seasons Father Figures FC Rwanda Final Destination First to Fall The Football Incident Forest of the Dancing Spirits Fort McMoney Foto-Eddy The Fourth Brother Friedensverhandlungen in Brest-Litowsk
85 125 204 19 179 20 197 197 38 79 67 57 197 58 86 81 126 224
G Gaddafi El galón Galutinis Tikslas General Idi Amin Dada Général Idi Amin Dada: Autoportrait Géographie humaine The Ghosts in Our Machine Girls Glas Glass Gold Gonda The Good Son Goud Le grand incendie Grandfather Grenzen Gudu
206 178 67 216 216 115 102 217 230 230 235 167 39 235 84 206 78 196
Index | Films
Index | Films H Happiness The Happy Sad Route (and a Comedian) Hear This! Henri-George Clouzot’s Inferno Hidden Wounds Hidden Wounds Interactive High Stakes in the East Une histoire de ballon, lycée no. 3: Pékin Une histoire de vent Hochseefischerei der Deutschen Marine Holland neutraal, de leger- en vlootfilm Hollow A Home for Lydia The Horses of Fukushima House/Grandparent Houses for All Hu tou shan The Human Experiment Human Geography The Humiliated
114 238 179 160 126 86 230 197 200 225 225 87 180 127 207 127 71 128 115 160
I I Am Cuba I Love Your Work I, Afrikaner I’m Not There De ietsnut Im toten Winkel. Hitler’s sekretärin L’image manquante Impressions of Time In God We Trust In the Wake of Stalin In Vanda’s Room An Inconsolable Memory InRealLife L’irrésistible ascension de Moïse Katumbi The Irresistible Rise of Moïse Katumbi Istoria za hranata i dushata
198 87 59 215 185 214 191 115 128 129 198 21 102 116 116 45
J Jack Jingle Bell Rocks! Jivot pochti prekrasen Joan Rivers - A Piece of Work Le jour du mineur Journal Journey to Jah Judgment in Hungary Just a Reflektor Just the Right Amount of Violence
167 141 23 239 55 152 142 60 88 116
K Kapitalisms Skersiela Katiyabaaz Killing Time KINK Kismet Komedi coklat Krov
112 106 40 129 41 205 35
L Lakttagelser i tiden Land of Promise The Land of the Wandering Souls Land van aankomst The Last Hunt The Last King of Scotland The Last of the Unjust Layla’s Melody Laylas melodi Leaders A Letter to Nelson Mandela Levende klederdracht Life Almost Wonderful The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne Light Fly, Fly High Lille im dritten Kriegsjahr Little Dieter Needs to Fly Little Miss Piggy Lokroep Louis the Ferris Wheel Kid Louis van het reuzenrad Lydia blijft
115 79 191 79 88 216 117 180 180 181 22 234 23 103 61 226 218 181 66 182 182 180
M Der Magische Gürtel A Man Vanishes Mangga golek matang di pohon The Mangoes Manhunt Master of the Universe Matsurino uma Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine Mattanja Joy Médula Medulla Het meisje en de boom Men with Balls Menstrual Man Mercedes Sosa, the Voice of Latin America Mercedes Sosa, la voz de Latinoamérica Met onze jongens aan den IJzer Milestones Minerita Misha and So On Misha enzovoort The Missing Picture Mission Congo Moet je horen! Monk with a Camera
226 199 207 207 219 103 127 130 142 68 68 182 62 104 143 143 227 199 130 80 80 191 104 179 131
Montmartre Mothers Moving Stills - Kadir van Lohuizen Mr. President Mrs. John Bull Prepared La Muerte de Jaime Roldós The Mulberry House Munich Muscle Shoals My Name Is Salt
168 105 80 168 227 123 131 220 143 63
N Nacht Grenze Morgen Narco Cultura Nasza klatwa Natpwe, le festin des esprits Natpwe, the Feast of the Spirits Ne Me Quitte Pas Ningen johatsu No Land No Food No Life No Man’s Land No quarto da Vanda Nora Noh Nothing Is Going to Happen
71 144 68 152 152 24 199 132 132 198 64 153
O Odwiedziny Of je worst lust Olga - To My Friends Olga – Till mine venner L’ombre de Staline Once Upon a Tree One Day in September One Minute for Conductors El oued, l’oued Our Curse Out of Sight, Out of Mind.
138 181 42 42 129 182 220 144 134 68 89
P Pandora’s Promise Paper Cannot Wrap Up Embers Le papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise Pareidolia Patio Pátio Pays barbare Pee on Presidents Photo-Eddy Pipeline Playing with Shadows Pogrebnik Powerless Praznovanje The Private Life of Fenfen Przywodcy Pussy Versus Putin Putin’s Games Putins Spiele
105 192 192 169 153 153 122 169 81 117 43 137 106 67 154 181 44 25 25
271
Index | Films
Index | Films
272
Q The Queen The Questioning
133 154
R Recollections The Red Carpet La reina Rescue Dawn Return to Homs Rêve Kakudji Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic Rings of Life The River Rumah/Tok
133 183 133 218 26 145 239 69 134 207
S S21, la machine de mort khmère rouge S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine Salinger Santra and the Talking Trees Santra ja puhuvat puut The Secret Life of Uri Geller - Psychic Spy? Selamat tinggal sekolahku Sepideh - Reaching for the Stars Sex My British Job Shado’man Shanne and Her Friends Shanne og veninderne A Short History of the Highrise Shrove Sunday Si ge Siki The Silence of the Flies El silencio de las moscas Sipour masa Sky Over Holland De slag in de Javazee The Sochi Project Sokoote Barre Song from the Forest Soul Food Stories Sound of Torture Soy Cuba The Special Need Staging Silence II The Stone Roses: Made of Stone Stream of Love Street Ghosts Sumobryderens søn Sunflower Seeds Super Jews Superjoden Supermensch The Legend of Shep Gordon Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One Szerelem patak
192 192 106 69 69 118 179 27 118 28 183 183 89 70 126 235 134 134 46 231 234 90 52 29 45 46 198 107 170 145 30 175 178 184 135 135 135 161 30
T Tactica A Tale of the Wind La tarea The Task Temptation La terre des âmes errantes This Tiny World Through the Fire Through the Looking Glass Tiger Mountain To Be a B-Girl Tonight We’ll Become Women Torre David: The World’s Tallest Squat Touki Bouki - Journey of the Hyena The Trials of Muhammad Ali The Trouble with Aid Truba The Tunnel Tvillingsøstrene Twenty Feet from Stardom Twin Sisters Two at the Border Two Girls Against the Rain Type:Rider Tyres U Ukraine Is Not a Brothel The Undertaker The Unknown Known Unspeak Der Untergang V Vannacht worden we vrouwen Verslag van het einde – een verhaal over een magische berg Via Dolorosa The Visit Viva Cuba Libre: Rap Is War Voices of El Alto Un voyageur Vse umrut, a ya ostanus W Wakker in een boze droom Whatever Forever: Douwe Bob Where I Go White Soldier Whoopi Goldberg Presents Moms Mabley Los Wild Ones The Wild Years Wszystko jest mozliwe Wukan: The Flame of Democracy
170 200 70 70 136 191 231 184 185 71 185 186 136 200 107 137 117 240 47 146 47 71 208 90 72, 208 108 137 119 91 214 186 53 155 138 146 48 110 217 77 147 209 72 240 147 31 37 209
Z Zelim’s Confession Zero Dark Thirty
73 219