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Events :::
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Festival of Ethnological Film | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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XVIII International Festival of Ethnological Film ...October 22nd – October 25th 2009 |
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The jury of the 18th International Festival of
Ethnological Film, held in Belgrade from October 22-25 included following members: - Suzanne Hammacher, Great Britain - Dr Rolf Husmann, Germany - Djordje Kacanski, Serbia. The jury saw all 30 films the Commission selected for the competition, paying special attention to aesthetic achievement and their topics in accordance with principal conceptual guidelines of the Festival. Along with very constructive discussions and comments about the films, the jury had a very difficult task to select the best ones from the series of excellent films of all categories and aspirations of ethnological film. Some films were seen twice, either partially or fully, in order to reassess comments of the jury members important for the final evaluation. In all of this, the jury was provided by the Festival organizers and staff with everything necessary, and even more, for which the jury extends most cordial gratitude to Biljana, Vanja, Milica, Jelena, Aleksandra, Sasa, Vilma and many others who contributed to the success of the Festival in all its segments. The jury worked independently and was not exposed to any pressures or unprincipled suggestions. The jury is glad to announce that this year’s production of ethnological films represented by the national selection of the Republic of Serbia has experienced significant, qualitative and meaningful ascent and was very well presented in comparison to excellent works of the international selection which might further stimulate the development and ascent of the Festival in coming years and even greater financial support of the authorities. We saw an inspiring variety of films using archival photography and film which created an authentic visual discourse between visible and intangible culture in a creative way. We therefore decided to give special commendations to three films which we consider to be particularly innovative in the way archival material and Intangible Culture Heritage is brought on screen. This is done in acknowledgment of the efforts of the organisers of this festival, who are here at the Ethnographic Museum dedicated to visual anthropology in their newly established sector of Intangible Culture Heritage. One special acknowledgment goes to The Umiaq Skin Boat, by Inukjuak filmmaker Jobie Weetaluktuk (Canada, 2008, 31 minutes). A group of Inukjuak elders decide to build again a traditional canoe, not used in the community for the past 50 years. The process of building the boat triggers the reconstruction of memories. Traditional knowledge, ‘oral literature’, accounts and archival photography are interwoven into a piece of solid ethnography. We also want to acknowledge the visually rich reminiscence project presented in ‘I picked up my Courage’ (Check Title ‘I got up my courage, Ho fatto il mio corragio, by Italo-Canadian Filmmakers Giovanni Princigalli and Carlo Ghioni (Canada, 2009, 50 minutes). The stories and memories of elderly Italian migrant workers who arrived in Montreal in the 1950s/60s are brought to life with the help of rare and beautiful archive footage and songs. And last but not least a special commendation goes to the Serbian film ‘Just an other moment’ by Vladimir Manic (Serbia, 2008, 20 minutes) for the creative way to visualise the memories of 90-year old Nacko Nikolovov by re-enacting his memories in a short sepia feature. Finally, the jury unanimously has decided: The Grand Prix Dragoslav Antonijevic: Caviar Connection, Dragan Nikolic, Serbia / USA, 52 min., 2008) By offering a very impressive, temporal and very sophisticated portray of the whole world of open-hearted people who, despite everything, managed to survive in correlation with big fish they highly respect, the author succeeded in alluding to vague outlines of their uncertain perspective after the European Union bans beluga fishing on the Danube. With good narration and in the naturalistic fashion, the documentary content acquires the form of a true and memorable life story with excellent portrays of people who know what their destiny will bring just about tomorrow, yet not knowing what the new circumstances will bring. It is a specific community of people who, although sometimes brutally conflicted, do know that they cannot make it without each other. Just like with a big fish, which is a true subject of the fishermen’s stories, the fish which talks and which will, if caught, grant them at least a wish to survive, if no become famous. Having learnt about the beluga fishing ban, people will formally give up on what they and their forefathers did. The future will show whether they will actually do it or not, as the proverbial essence of a fisherman’s story before cameras is known. Some stylistic feculence and rawness of the film – yet in a well paced rhythm and tempo – obviously stem from the low budget structure of the film. Just as the destiny of living subjects on the other, yet main side of the camera, as they are „low budget“ as well, although they play their authentic, leading, life roles that they want to overcome through their invention and achieve the fame of their forefathers. Award for National Film: Рапресент Rapresent (Serbia, 31 mins, Ivana Todorovic) The film takes us to the streets of Belgrade where we meet Bojan, a 19 year old homeless. After finding, in a rubbish bin, a left-over birthday cake, he eats it, sitting in a park, together with filmmaker Ivana Todorovic and her camera. Bojan talks freely about his life as an orphan who, once a well-educated boy, became a lonely young man drawn into a life of hip hop music and graffiti, heroin and the daily struggle for survival. The streets of Belgrade have become his home, and he defends it. The relationship between filmmaker and protagonist in this film is amazingly close. Through Ivana’s admirable camerawork – always extremely near, but never intruding - it is as if we, the viewers, become part of that street life, which fascinates us as much as it disgusts us. We learn about Bojan’s everyday techniques of survival and the values he cherishes, but is denied more often than not, namely trust and respect. Ivana Todorovic has a rare talent of building relationships of mutual trust, something that is a core value for any anthropologist in the field. Ivana’s combination of that true gift with her excellent skills as a filmmaker is what makes this film outstanding. It is overwhelming in many moments for any viewer, but it will be of particular use for academics dealing with youth culture and social deprivation, as well as for social workers who can learn a lot from what Bojan tells us in this film. Real life, tragically, does not allow them to talk to Bojan any more, as by now an overdose of heroin has put an end to his young life. In the course of the festival we watched several very good international films but were unable to single out one outstanding film. Therefore we decided to split the International Award between two films, which both make a remarkable effort to use visual anthropological research approaches and at the same time aim at creating a format addressing the general public and therefore make a valuable contribution to showcase anthropological research in the mainstream. She River (La Fiuma) – Encounters by the River Po and Surroundings (Italy, 64 minutes, 2007, Rossella Schillaci and co-filmmaker Giancorrado Barozzi) A mighty river like the Po in northern Italy invites poetic allegories of calmness and eternity, continuity and change. Following the river’s course on a historical map, we are led in “River/La Fiuma” through landscapes and along industrial land-marks in which we encounter people formed by harshness and joy, harmony and lust for life, by their songs, tales and legends. Based on sound anthropological research, Rossella Schillaci and co-filmmaker Giancorrado Barozzi have produced a poetic film narrated in a series of nine episodes. Through them, we learn about the river, the land, the fish – but foremost about the people who let us share their lives by telling us their stories. Very well filmed, and edited in a rhythm which allows us to watch and see, ” River / La Fiuma” is presented in a classical narrative style. The protagonists talk to us and make us listen. Although episodic in character and seemingly haphazard in its choice of themes, the film lets us understand the people and their relationship with the river. It is almost too beautiful a film, extremely well subtitled, and a feast for the eyes and ears of any cineaste, but also for viewers like you and me. The Invisible City – (Spain, by Lucia Asué Mbomío Rubio, 54 minutes, 2008, produced by Anthropodocus). Cañada Real, on the outskirts of Madrid is the biggest illegal settlement in Europe. It has gradually grown over the years on the track of an ancient public cattle path and is now ‘home’ of over 40’000 people, mainly Spanish, Maghrebians, Roma and Romanian communities. The production team of Anthropodocus follows the aftermaths of the violent demolition of some houses by the police, records the various views and voices of the community members and documents the investigations and interpretation of anthropologists and government agencies involved in the process. Even we were not always satisfied with the camera and the editing we were pleased to see an example of political or ‘action anthropology’ where anthropological research and the documentation of the voices of various protagonists are brought together in a narrative and which successfully showcases anthropological research methods for a mainstream audience. Special Award to a film which is outstanding on the grounds of using little facilities and a small budget. Survival, (Poland, Lukasz Debski, 31 min, 2009) We all know very well that this is a reality for many ethnological films which often have no institutional funding and are made on a shoestring budget. The Filmmaker we considered mastered this situation in an excellent way is Lukasz Debski and Anna Jarkiewicz from Poland. By using mastery and typical aesthetics of the film expression fostered at the University in Lodz, brilliant picturesqueness, sound and music, authors managed to penetrate into the world of a strange individual, different from others – who neither hides it nor regrets it, as it is what it is – and who wants to succeed as everyone else different from him. The central theme reveals a warm human story that has been elevated to modern urban poetics through the efforts of the film hero, very thoughtful framing and editing, and approach to main character. |
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Little BIG Festival Coming of Age As a host and organizer of the International Festival of Ethnological Film, the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade is soon to celebrate the 18th festival – the event held each fall is symbolically coming of age. The term and the slogan “Little BIG Festival” is a paraphrased title of the famous movie of the anthropological content, “Little Big Man” (starring Dustin Hoffman), which inspired film critic Bozidar Zecevic when he wrote his work entitled “Little Big Film”, dedicated to ethnographic film. This is the opportunity to announce that a miscellany of the same title is soon to be published by the Ethnographic Museum. The competition program and informative section of this year's festival offer 67 films from 23 countries. Archival films will be shown within two separate programs by which we want to point to values of ethnographic content stored in film archives (films by Croatian ethnologist Milovan Gavaci and documentaries about the recent past of Belgrade produced by the “Dunav Film”). There will be a round table about the theme and creative dilemma “What to Do with Unedited Film Material”. The Festival also brings new elements of the visual identity of the event, including the new design and concept of the catalogue. The Selection Committee (consisting of: Professor Nevenka Redzic-Tot, MA, President, and members Tanja Felo and Marko Stojanovic, MA) highlights an enviable quality of films submitted for this year's festival. The participation of more young filmmakers with good movies is encouraging. Unlike the earlier, negative trend in the quality of domestic production of ethnographic films, we are pleased to note that this year the number of good domestic movies is much higher. The Selection Committee also emphasizes the considerable response of successful low-budget works, some of which go side by side with films from a much richer production base. Finally, the emphasis has been placed on the successful cooperation between professional filmmakers and expert anthropologists and ethnologists in the production of certain films. During the Festival, we expect many participants and guests from home and abroad. The importance of the Festival itself will be also highlighted by the participation of eminent personalities of the European ethnological film such as Rolf Husmann (Germany) and Susan Hamacher (England), as well as members of the jury, Asen Balikci (Bulgaria), Nasko Kriznar (Slovenia), and others... Due to the Festival of Ethnological Film, the Ethnographic Museum in Belgrade is prepared to establish its own film studio, i.e. the center for visual anthropology at the newly established Sector of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Welcome to the 18th International Festival of Ethnological Film! |
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