DocLisboa 2004 - The Lisbon International Festival of Documentary Film, 24 - 31 October 2004
Established last year, the second DocLisboa looked both to capitalise on and further promote the upsurge in interest in documentary film-making that has been felt around the world. The festival looked to direct this newly attentive viewing public to littler known fare from smaller countries with less immediate box-office clout. Divided into five subject areas, the festival featured documentaries from the following strands:
1) International Competition
Featuring a selection of recent award-winning documentary films from around
the world the International Competition screened a series of international
award-winning films that had not been shown in Portugal for a variety of reasons.
Highlights included:
FRUITFUL SUMMER by Guo Jing and Ke Dingding, a slice of a young Chinese girl’s life that intercuts her harsh reality with glimpses of her private dreams
IN THE GARDEN OF THE WORLD by Maya Rosa; an exploration of the Alentejo, a poor agricultural region south of Lisbon, amongst the poorest areas of Europe; the problems it faces and its memory, identity and hopes.
SANTA LIBERDADE by Margarita Ledo Andión, dealing with the hijacking of the Portuguese transatlantic liner Santa Maria; the most audacious propaganda coup struck against the Franco and Salazar dictatorships.
A SCUOLA by Leonardo di Costanza. A year in the life of a Neapolitan High School and a reflection of the immense problems Western countries in general face in the construction of better societies.
GRANDAD’S WAKING DREAM by Anu Kuivalainen, the life and memories of an old Finn, now in his 89th year, who fought on the Russian Front in the Second World War.
YDESSA, LES OURS ETC by Agnès Varda, about an exhibition of 3,000 teddy bear photos. Who put this exhibition together, and why? Observant Varda fans should note that these films have been released as Cinecardaphoto, shown in Britain at the recent London Film Festival.
2) “Where is Portuguese Documentary Going?”
A panorama of contemporary Portuguese production in the field; which questioned
recent national production and its creative capacity, its means of production
and the paths open to it in the future. Boldly showing what a documentary
could be through the excellent programming throughout all the strands, this
segment examined where the Portuguese documentary was and where it is going:
Pertinent questions indeed for a world barely coping with the implications
of everybody, everywhere carrying a video camera via mobile phones.
Highlights included:
THE ARCHITECT AND THE OLD CITY by Catarina Alves Costa, following Portuguese architect Siza Vieira’s hapless attempts to design a plan to restore the Cape Verdean town of Cidade Velha
AUTOGRAFIA by Miguel Gonçalves Mendes, about the life, works and times of Portuguese Surrealist Mário Cesariny
BUENOS AIRES ANO ZERO by José Barahona, an exploration of contemporary Buenos Aires through the prism of Portuguese emigration
3) Understanding the Middle-East
A cross-section of films conceived to give a greater understanding of contemporary
problems in the Middle-East relinquishing the conventional media representations
we are subjected to. Such broadcasts bombard viewers with their superficial
urgency of message whilst constantly searching for the next ‘hit’.
As Control Room (Jehane Noujaim
, 2004) recently showed the documentaries we all watch daily, the news, may
assert journalistic veracity but are meticulously biased towards their target
audience. Anyone watching Fox News, Al Jeezera or the BBC might have wildly
differing perceptions of the current situation in Iraq for example. These
films allow deeper reflection on an issue that is dealt with on a daily urgent
basis by the news - but always superficially, showing what the documentary
as a genre can do.
Highlights included:
WADI GRAND CANYON by Amos Gitaï, in which the director revisits his native Haifa to relate the changes the city has undergone in the past ten years
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR MOGRABI by Avi Mograbi, recounting three parallel stories: the director’s making of a film for Israeli TV, his making of a film for the Palestinian authorities and his personal experiences concurrent to these two projects
THE ARAB DREAM by Elia Suleiman, about the struggle of the filmmaker to pursue his art in such desolate, dangerous times
4) Focus on Spain
A selection of films dealing with Portugal’s often ill-understood neighbour;
a growing player on the international scene. Besides bringing to Lisbon a
selection of films which have just been launched in cinemas in neighbouring
Spain this was one more illustration of the potential of the documentary to
enlighten and reflect on the identity of a country, by looking at the one
next door.
Highlights included:
LA ESPALDA DO MUNDO by Javier Corcuera’s tripartite meditation on injustice
THE BASQUE BALL, SKIN AGAINST STONE, by Julio Medem, a perspectivist exploration of the troubles in the Basque Country.
5) Special Sessions
In which one of the highlights was the master class led by Nicolas Philibert
(see here)
Highlights included:
HIS MASTER’S VOICE by Nicholas Philibert and Gérard Mordillat. Back in 1978, the future as imagined by twelve administrators of major French industrial companies.
THE FIVE OBSTRUCTIONS by Lars Von Trier and Jorgen Leth.
THE PERFECT HUMAN x 5