Organized by the Institute of Documentary Film in cooperation with FAMU, Ex Oriente Film 2021 second session workshop will offer a series of lectures, case studies, and masterclasses dedicated to various aspects of documentary filmmaking, production, and distribution.
Below find the Open Program for the 2nd Ex Oriente Film Session: Production and Story Development, taking place 25 – 30 October at Ji.hlava IDFF.
Monday, October 25
Screening: Town of Glory (dir. Dmitry Bogolyubov) – 4:30 PM — 6 PM @ Dukla Cinema
Nothing interesting happens in the small town of Yelnya on Russia’s western edge. The locals are leaving en masse and those who stay have few joys in life. One is the victory over fascism. At the start of the war, Stalin allowed the town to be symbolically freed – at the cost of the enormous loss of life – so as to inspire hope in his people and strengthen the spirit of heroism. Dmitry Bogolyubov’s personally tinged film tracks two local patriots and their families for three years. Teen-age Masha, who attends nationalist meetings, singing the praises of long-dead fallen heroes and ageing Sergei, who digs up their bones and secretly dreams that things will change. Through them, the film shows how the unhealed wartime trauma infiltrates generations, forming the social life of ordinary Russians and, with the help of political propaganda, gradually changes into hate towards the current “fascist” West.
Masterclass by Phil Jandaly supported by Filip Remunda: Narrative through Character – 6 PM – 7:30 PM @ Dukla Cinema
Phil Jandaly will discuss the editing process of Town of Glory with producer Filip Remunda. How does one build stories when there is no obvious narrative? They will look at digging out hidden dimensions in characters that on the surface don’t seem to have any, and the many stages of the editing process that you need to go through to get you there.
Tuesday, October 26
Lecture for Producers by Julianna Ugrin – 10 AM – 11:30 AM @ Hotel Gustav Mahler
Hungarian producer Julianna Ugrin will discuss two documentary projects she has been recently working on: The Missing Tale (dir. Klára Trencsényi, working title Wardens of Memory) and Holy Dilemma (dir. Marton Vizkelety and Julianna Ugrin, working title Our Father).
Thursday, October 28
Lecture by Cintia Gil: Good Encounters – 10 AM – 11:30 AM @ Hotel Gustav Mahler
Drawing the life of a film means looking for good companionships, and film festivals can be spaces where films not only meet their audience and critical context, but also future avenues for themselves and for their makers. This is a complex, sometimes confusing environment that needs to be approached with a critical spirit and a strong sense of priority. On the other hand, film programming is a specific way of thinking about films and determining relations, contexts, and validation. In this session, we will consider both sides of this question, and look for possible ways of enabling fruitful encounters based on respect, mutual interest and generosity.
Lecture by Agnieszka Zwiefka: Real fiction. The Fingerprint. Crossing the Boundaries in Documentary Storytelling – 5 PM – 6:30 PM Hotel Gustav Mahler
How to find a unique and organic style for your film? We will dive into the backstage of creating a film and look at different ways of discovering the nature of the story and how it should be told. Based on her personal experience of working with very different storytelling styles, Agnieszka Zwiefka will look at different ways of combining fiction scenes with a documentary core, using clips from her films. When and how do the precise ideas for the style of our films come out? Does it happen at the beginning, or does it come from the challenges the author faces in the filmmaking process?
