‘Eighty per cent of US documentaries today are in the me-and-my-grandmother category,’ a friend told me the other day while referring to the noticeable ‘dictatorship of the personal’ in recent documentaries. Although I almost agreed with him (though sceptical about the accuracy of the percentage), I am willing to say that Lusztig’s film definitely transcends this fashionable category.
Six weeks after September 11, the 8th annual Sheffield International Documentary Festival hosted fewer international delegates than in recent years, but for those making the trip the festival provided its usual down-to-earth, thought-provoking combination of documentary films and sessions looking at the art and challenges of doc-making.
It is not a great piece of cinematography. Actually it is pretty bad in that respect. Many frames are out of focus, the camera movements are abrupt and often shaky, the sound is imperfect. In other words, the technical quality cannot even be characterized as semi-professional!
Finnish documentarist Pirjo Honkasalo honoured the 12th Nordic Panorama in Århus last September with her presence at a seminar organized by Nordicil (Association of Nordic Film Schools) and EDN.
Don Edkins producer on “Steps for the Future” was in Copenhagen to present the project at a press conference last November. Anette Olsen spoke with him.
The “Steps for the Future” film collection about living with HIV and AIDS in Southern Africa are strong, unconventional stories told by the Africans themselves. Some are more focussed on the struggle against the disease than others, some are very personal stories. The diversity in approach, style and format and the love and respect for the depicted persons make watching these films a powerful experience.
The two “Reality” festivals, i.e. Cinéma du Réel in Paris and Visions du Réel in Nyon, featured two controversial films in their programs last spring.
A girl visits her mother in prison. That’s the story. The whole story. The girl sits on a bed in a room at her grandparents’ house. She says nothing. She is in a car, her grandfather drives. She says nothing. They take a break and have a bite to eat at a highway café. She says nothing. She enters the prison and sits with her mother. No words.
When the Internet started to skyrocket, many had the idea that it would democratize the media by giving everybody access to publicise their views, in contrast with the printed media, radio, television and film where control is centralized.