Screen Notes: The Act of Killing

Our Screen Notes series allows a more in-depth discussion of the films that we are showing this year at Open City Docs Fest. Contributors from a variety of vantage points and fields including scientists, scholars and students have given their unique perspectives on the documentaries they've enjoyed, sharing their expertise and experiences to add an extra dimension to the documentaries.

Our first issue is from Mark Le Fanu, director of film history at the European Film College in Denmark. Besides his interest in Japanese cinema, he is the author of a widely-acclaimed pioneer study of the Russian film-maker Tarkovsky (The Cinema of Andrei Tarkovsky, BFI books), and is a frequent contributor to journals such as Sight & Sound and Positif.

Le Fanu has written about The Act Of Killing, which just won the Special Jury Award at the 20th Sheffield Doc/Fest last weekend. Directed by Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn and a filmmaker who has preferred to remain anonymous, the film was produced in Denmark, Norway, and the UK and released in 2012, with a run time of 159’. Nominated for the Open City Docs Grand Jury Award, The Act of Killing will be screened on Sat 22 June at 13:30 in the Bloomsbury Theatre, followed by a director Q&A session, for which you can buy tickets HERE.

In addition to the screening, director Joshua Oppenheimer will be hosting a Masterclass entitled Cinema and Memory on Saturday 22 June at 17:00 in which he will discuss the relationship between cinema, trauma and memory and trace the role of fiction in non-fiction and fantasy in reality within the documentary genre, providing an exclusive opportunity to access insights into one of the most thought-provoking documentaries of the year. Buy tickets HERE.

Please follow the link below to read Le Fanu's article. https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2ELCplMBK2QOE9ZQzhQRUJLN0E/edit?usp=sharing

or for historical background information, by John T. Sidel, the Sir Patrick Gillam Professor of International and Comparative Politics at London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) please follow the link below: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B2ELCplMBK2QUDFMQzBoSExqdXM/edit?usp=sharing

"What it's like when money's tight" - Austerity on film

When life is tough, jobs are scarce, and money doesn’t go as far as it used to, how do people cope? With the recent release of Baz Luhrmann’s film version of The Great Gatsby, which depicts extravagant consumption prior to the Great Depression of 1930s America, there’s no better time to reflect on what it means to be ‘well-off’ or ‘poor’ in our current age of austerity.

Open City Docs Fest are thinking about what the economic decisions made by the people in power actually mean for our everyday lives. We’re showing three films that discuss how people cope with feeling the squeeze and what it’s like to come face to face with hardship: Iceland, Year Zero (Iceland), To The Wolf (Greece) and Jaywick Escapes (UK), the latter having the added bonus of super-affordable tickets starting from just £6.

Austerity is inescapable: you can’t go anywhere without reading a news story, Facebook post or Tweet about it. Certainly families and businesses are feeling the effects, with unemployment growing to 2.52 million in March according to ONS statistics. Economic crisis has been in the news for so long now that it’s hard to remember what it actually means for an economy to collapse. Iceland, Year Zero is an evocative depiction of the aftermath of the collapse of the three main Icelandic banks in 2008, which caused thousands of people to lose their jobs, their savings and their dreams. Sigorour Hallmar Magnusson and Armande Chollat-Namy's film provides a very human perspective on financial meltdown. Buy tickets HERE.

Today’s definition of austerity is primarily about constraining economic policies, coupled with the political vision that we need to get ‘back to basics’ and cut ‘frivolous’ spending. The recent Greek economic crisis is a case in point, as Greece’s high levels of national debt, in conjunction with low national income, meant that they had to accept a bailout loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to save the country from going completely bankrupt. The bailout loan came with conditions, however, one of which was that the government had to introduce austerity measures to help balance the country’s books. Not only was the Greek economy in crisis, but life was only going to get tougher for the Greek people, as any cuts to public spending come at a price. Less public spending means less money for government-provided services such as welfare, healthcare, and education, all of which are needed more than ever when a country is in recession.

Get to grips with how austerity changes traditional ways of life forever, with our screening of To The Wolf by Christina Koutsospyrou and Aran Hughes which follows the lives of two shepherd families in a remote village high up in the Nafpaktia mountains. Combining documentary and fiction with an all-local cast, To the Wolf is both the reality and an unsettling allegory of today's Greece. Buy tickets HERE.

Sto Lyko (To the Wolf) - TRAILER from STO LYKO (TO THE WOLF) on Vimeo.

With the Greek economy as an alarming example, what’s happening closer to home? Only last week, UK Chancellor George Osborne decided to continue to cut public spending, in spite of the disapproval from the latest IMF report. Osborne’s cuts to benefits as detailed at length in the national press will affect many people across the country, and this clampdown on public spending prompts the question ‘are people’s livelihoods considered a needless expense?’ Economic recession and austerity measures affect certain areas and certain people more than others. New data from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development suggests that the poor have been hit hardest by the financial crisis and cuts to welfare spending may increase inequality further. Here at Open City Docs Fest we’re looking at how people make the best of things and retain their livelihoods when times are hard. Jaywick Escapes is a moving study of what is officially Britain’s most deprived place. The Essex town of Jaywick promises sea views at bargain rents, and this film by Karen Guthrie and Nina Pope follows three newcomers who see Jaywick as a chance for a fresh start. Buy tickets HERE

Jaywick Escapes: Trailer from Karen Guthrie on Vimeo.

Through our film screenings at Open City Docs we hope to explore what austerity and recession really mean to the people who are affected by it.

"Ground Control to Hackney Picturehouse" - The International Space Orchestra has landed!

The Open City team was joined by what seemed like half of London at the Hackney Picturehouse on Wednesday night for our sold-out showing of the hilarious and heartwarming film International Space Orchestra. Nelly Ben Hayoun, the charming French director, had us in stitches describing her madcap antics in making the film about her intergalactic adventure.

After the showing we were pleased to welcome Chris Hatherill from super/collider and Oliver Wainwright from The Guardian, who led a lively Q&A session after the screening.

If you missed out this time, don’t worry! We are showing International Space Orchestra again during the festival, and you can buy tickets HERE.

Watch the trailer here:

TEASER: Ground Control: An Opera in Space, Performance in front of the World largest Windtunnel, NASA Ames Research Center from International Space Orchestra on Vimeo.

Or why not check out the other film we are screening at Hackney Picturehouse, Man for a Day, on 21 June? - buy tickets HERE.

To the festival and beyond!

"Women Who Call The Shots"

Where are all the women in film? They aren’t shortlisted at Cannes, which is going on as we write: there is only one film directed by a woman on the list of twenty in competition - Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, with her film Un Château En Italie (A Castle in Italy). And the inclusion of a single female director is an improvement on last year’s selection's gender bias, when no female directors were nominated at all. Furthermore, in the sixty-five years of the Cannes Festival, only one woman has ever won the coveted Palme D’Or award – Jane Campion, for her 1993 film The Piano. Women don’t seem to win Academy Awards for Best Director either. Only four women have ever been nominated and only one has ever won - Kathryn Bigelow, in 2009, with The Hurt Locker. It seems that all the women are in front of – not behind – the camera. And that’s something that Open City Docs Fest wants to change.

Women are rarely nominated for the top prizes, and so they rarely win. It seems like women aren’t even being allowed the chance to compete to prove their worth. Here at Open City Docs Fest, films directed by women make up just under half of the programme and what's more, several female directors’ films are contenders for awards judged by our Grand Jury, demonstrating that we know that women’s films are worthy of accolades.

Here’s just one example from each awards category:

• Grand Jury Award - Tinatin Gurchiani (The Machine That Makes Everything Disappear)
  BUY TICKETS HERE
• Emerging International Filmmaker Award - Petra Costa (Elena) BUY TICKETS HERE
• Emerging UK Filmmaker Award - Eva Weber (Black Out) BUY TICKETS HERE

The exclusion of female directors from the top spots means a lack of female role models in the public eye to which women can relate, which in turn means less inspiration for women to start directing films themselves. The film industry being so male-dominated and rife with reports of sexism and discrimination, it’s no wonder women are being intimidated from picking up the megaphone and clapperboard. We’ve recognised the need to allow female directors a chance to share their knowledge with and inspire upcoming filmmakers, and so we are privileged to have the award-winning directors Molly Dineen and Katerina Cizek hosting workshops and teaching master classes.

For Molly's master class Portraits of Britain BUY TICKETS HERE.
For Katerina's class Digital Documentary in the 21st Century BUY TICKETS HERE.

From the audience’s perspective, without female directors we would miss out on the vast array of creative talents that women have to offer. Not only would we miss out on explorations of alternative subject matter from the traditional fare of action movies and rom-coms but also we’ll miss the unique perspectives and angles that female directors can provide. Discouraging people with a passion for directing means we could be discouraging the next Maya Deren, Agnes Varda, Lucy Walker or Nadine Labaki. With a programme including over thirty female directors’ films featuring on a variety of strands, Open City Docs Fest provides evidence that first, female directors are incredibly talented (which goes without saying) and second, they can tackle any subject and aren’t limited to traditionally feminine film genres.

Taking just one example from each strand:

• City Strand - Caroline Bâcle (Lost Rivers) BUY TICKETS HERE
• Science Frictions - Fran Robertson (Challenging Behaviours) BUY TICKETS HERE
• Hybrid Forms - Oonagh Kearney (Wonder House) BUY TICKETS HERE
• World Visions - Penny Lane (Our Nixon) BUY TICKETS HERE
• Theatre of the Oppressed - Salomé Lamas (No Man’s Land) BUY TICKETS HERE
• Music Docs - Nelly Ben Hayoun (International Space Orchestra) BUY TICKETS HERE

We also have to remember that the film industry is notorious for its sexist film stereotypes and the objectification of women – both of which could be tackled by having more female directors. Film is also an excellent way of visually displaying the struggles that women face worldwide every day. Films such as Solar Mamas by Mona Eldaiet and Jehane Noujaim, and Salma by Kim Longinotto show a new perspective on issues such as women’s rights to education and economic empowerment. Longinotto, Eldaiet and Noujaim all work to show women’s strength in the face of adversity, putting paid to tired film clichés such as ‘the damsel in distress’.

For tickets to Solar Mamas click HERE
For tickets to Salma click HERE

Open City Docs Fest is trying to redress the gender inequality in the film industry and give female directors the recognition and airtime they deserve. We’d love for you to come and join us in celebrating the women who call the shots!

"Drumroll, please!" Our festival is launched

Open City Docs Fest revealed its programme for this year's festival at its press launch at the Bloomsbury Theatre last week. Our extensive programme of over 130 films, workshops, master classes and panel discussions is now available online.
We showed our trailer for the festival for the first time:


Open City Docs Fest 2013 - Festival Trailer from MyStreet Films on Vimeo.

to over fifty guests, along with the trailers of three films we are particularly proud of being able to show this year – our Opening Gala film The 12 O’Clock Boys,


12 O'Clock Boys-Trailer from Thomas Niles on Vimeo.

our Closing Gala film Sofia’s Last Ambulance,


Sofia's Last Ambulance from Nukleus film (Croatia) on Vimeo.

and a film tipped to be the festival’s major talking-point The Act of Killing.


THE ACT OF KILLING - Trailer 2013 from Final Cut for Real on Vimeo.

Festival Director Michael Stewart and Communications Director Paul Drury introduced the trailers, while guests sipped on glasses of prosecco or G&Ts thanks to Beefeater Gin and nibbled on delicious summer rolls from Vietnamese kitchen Banh Mi 11

Open City Docs Fest is London’s Global Documentary Festival - devoted to exploring the world we live in through the vision of documentary film.

Spanning four-days (20-23 June 2013), this year’s Open City Docs programme of 100+ films includes world premieres, exceptional master classes and a grand jury of award-winning directors, producers and authors. The festival takes place at numerous venues across London including the Open City Docs’ special cinema tent, The Bloomsbury Theatre, The Hackney Picturehouse, and venues around University College London campus.

Open City Docs Fest nurtures the next generation of filmmakers by running workshops and screenings throughout the year across London, and is highly accessible - tickets start from just £6.

We’d like to thank the Open City staff, Aine Cassidy for her brilliant design work, Simon Ball for our brilliant trailer, the volunteers, and of course everyone who came for making the event such a success.

MyStreet: Your Story Told Through Film - Competition Launch

Open City Docs' online film channel MyStreet is gearing up to launch its 3rd annual documentary filmmaking competition from Between the Lines Festival (Rich Mix, London) with a free screening on Saturday 2 March 2013, 5pm.

Each year, MyStreet runs a competition where they shortlist the best 10 films about a UK location submitted in the past 12 months. It is a way of encouraging people to make films about their locality, by whatever means, and add to the living archive of everyday life.

'Our Nations Sons'' Scott Willis for Mystreet

These films are available to view online and act as part of the MyStreet community - an ever evolving slice of life, linked to the MyStreet map, searchable by postcode or town. 
Anyone around the world can upload a film about any location, but only those about a UK location will be eligible for the competition (see terms and conditions).

The deadline for MyStreet film submissions is Wednesday 15 May 2013. Shortlisted filmmakers will receive an access-all-areas pass to Open City Docs Fest 20-23 June 2013 where their films will be screened and judged by the Open City Docs Fest Jury chaired by Jeremy Irons (Actor & Producer, 'Trashed'). The three best MyStreet films will be awarded at the festival too!

'What the Neighbours Saw', by Danny Weinstein for MyStreet

“Between the Lines Festival is all about exploring the boundaries of documentary, which are shifting all the time. MyStreet is a kind of citizen journalism so it makes sense to bring that to a festival like Between the Lines that explores the challenges facing documentary makers in the new media landscape. We’re really excited to be launching this year’s MyStreet from there,” says Michael Stewart, Founder of Open City Docs Fest and MyStreet Director.

'55 Seconds' by Jan Cawood for MyStreet

MyStreet 2013 Launch + Screening 
@ Between the Lines Festival

SATURDAY 2 MARCH, 5pm-6.30pm

Location: Rich Mix, 35-47 Bethnal Green Road, London E1 6LA.
Click here for map.
FREE ENTRY.

INTERVIEW WITH FILMMAKER MARC ISAACS: ‘We are looking to live a life that is better’

We caught up with Marc Isaacs ahead of our Open City Docs Special Screening of The Road: A Story of Life and Death at AV Hill Theatre, UCL this Wednesday 6 February 2013.

The Road: A Story of Life and Death, produced by the BBC's Storyville documentary strand, sees director Marc Isaacs focus on the humanistic stories of immigration through character portraits of those living along the A5, an old Roman road which runs from Holyhead to Marble Arch in London.

A judge on last year's Open City Docs Fest Grand Jury, Marc Isaacs has made more than 10 creative documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 since 2001. His films have won Grierson, Royal Television Society and BAFTA awards, as well as numerous international film festival prizes. Marc also teaches documentary filmmaking at the NFTS, LFS and Royal Holloway.

With a filmmaking style that is distinguished by its empathetic approach, sense of humour and moments of profound intimacy, The Road: A Story of Life and Death is a revealing insight into the hopes and dreams of those who come to London in search of a better life.


What got you interested in documentary in the first place?
I kind of fell into it. I never had a plan to go and become a documentary filmmaker. It comes down to curiosity about the world and observing. I guess I’d always felt like a little bit of an outsider and just observed and wanted to look at things closely. But having curiosity and wanting to listen would be the main thing.

You were on the Grand Jury for Open City Docs Fest 2012 - what was your highlight of the festival?
Yes. Two films stood out: 5 Broken Cameras and the Italian Summer of Giacomo, which were both up for the Grand Jury prize, which I really liked. Everyone else rooted for 5 Broken Cameras but I liked the latter with long takes about a deaf boy in the summer, which was very, very different but I suppose the political agenda will be fitting to what traditionally people have looked to in documentary. But it’s not always the case for more subtle films.

What impact do you think The Road will have on the public's perception of those who come to London in search of a better life?
I would hope that despite individual circumstances, to show that fundamentally we are looking to live a life that is better, which it is a fairly universal thing, to look for a sense of home and the lengths we go to get there.

I suppose London is the Babylon of identities and demonstration of lives you might choose to lead?
Yes, exactly. And it’s this variety and diversity of existence which make things interesting.

How did you choose your characters and what kind of a planning did you do for the filming of The Road?
We did a lot of research about that stretch of the road. At one point we had three researchers who wanted to be a part of it and helped and we spent a lot of time, hours walking up and down that road, talking to people, listening and just seeing who and what there was. I had read a book on immigration and got in touch with the author who then turned out to have an even more fascinating story of his own and we asked him to be in the film.

What’s it like being a parent as well as a pretty prolific filmmaker?
I think this question should be asked of the mothers who are documentary filmmakers! It’s always good to have a balance and I’m lucky that I have a lot of understanding. I have a daughter who is 4 and a son who is 22 so there is a big gap. He’s come along and helped me on a few shoots and he’s studying film now, without an idea of what he wants to do.

Any advice for emerging filmmakers out there?
Yes, to not let the absence of funding deter you from getting your story. Doing things non-traditionally may get you looked over by distributors who will find it difficult to sell if it doesn’t fit into that industrialized template, so if you have to get an extra job to do it then that’s what you do. I would say borrow, steal or get a camera and make your film. Ten years ago the equipment wouldn’t have been cheap enough to just go and buy but of course that’s possible now and the absence of needing much of a crew should help you get your story. There is a lot of interesting work being made outside of the restrictive funders format.

What have been the biggest changes in documentary filmmaking?
The big thing that has changed documentary is television. The absence of a three-part narrative means that the more interesting or different ways of looking at life get lost because they are funded in that industrialized way. Unless it’s a format, which makes crude judgments of poor people, it’s difficult to make something with a slightly different agenda. There are people who still support interesting work, BBC is one and someone at Channel 4 who might take an interest, but anything which is not much like Hollywood gets looked over. I’m lucky to have a producer to have picked up and ran with the idea even before I had a real idea of what it was going to be. You’re sitting down and trying to convince someone to help you when you yourself can’t even be sure of what the final film will actually be.

What are you working on next?
There are a few things I’m working on but I can’t really talk about them yet.

Interview by Gloria Lin.

OPEN CITY DOCS SPECIAL SCREENING
The Road: A Story of Life and Death

Marc Isaacs / 2012 / UK / 75’

WEDNESDAY 6 FEBRUARY 2013, 7pm
Location: AV Hill Theatre, UCL, Malet Place WC1E 7JG -  Click here for map and directions.
Tickets: £7 / £5 (concession) Book here >>

The Road: A Story of Life and Death will be in cinemas from 22 February 2013
CERT: PG