CAMERIMAGE 2017 DOCUMENTARY SPECIAL SCREENINGS

Monday November 6th, 2017

We announce the Documentary Special Screenings of the 25^th anniversary edition of the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography CAMERIMAGE.

Bobbi Jene

After a decade of stardom in Israel, the American dancer Bobbi Jene takes intensity to a new level: she decides to leave her great mentor/choreographer Ohad Nahardi and the love of her life behind to return to the US. Determined to establish herself, she creates her own violently personal and boundary-breaking performances. A woman’s fight for independence and the dilemma of its consequences.

Director: Elvira Lind
Cinematographer: Elvira Lind

Produced by: Sonntag Pictures ApS

Denmark, Sweden, Israel, USA, 2017

Boli Bana

At night, the young boy Ama and his companions travel through the bush of Boli Bana. A herd of huge and at the same time benevolent cattle accompanies them. By day, the young girl Aissita is the centre of attention of Boli Bana village. A witch has arrived for a ritual. For Aissita this is the beginning of adulthood. It is a nomadic and mystic world that comes into being through the eyes of these children. A Fulani childhood in Burkina Faso.

Director: Simon Gillard
Cinematographer: Simon Gillard

Produced by: Hélicotronc SPRL

Belgium, 2017

City of Ghosts

A real-life international thriller, City of Ghosts exposes a new type of warfare: a battle over ideas, a fight for hearts and minds, a conflict over clicks and views. Captivating in its immediacy, it follows the journey of ‘Raqqa is Being Slaughtered Silently’ – a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. With astonishing, deeply personal access, this is the story of a brave group of citizen journalists as they face the realities of life undercover, on the run, and in exile, risking their lives to stand up against one of the greatest evils in the world today.

Polish title: Miasto duchów

Director: Matthew Heineman
Cinematographer: Matthew Heineman

Produced by: Our Time Projects

Polish distributor: Mayfly Ltd

USA, 2017

Collection

Mieczysław lives with his wife, Wladzia, in a small, lost village. Clinging to life, he lives a simple existence, taking care of his disabled wife. In his spare time, the old man tries to save relics of the past for future generations.

Polish title: Kolekcja

Director: Marcin Polar
Cinematographer: Marcin Polar

Produced by: Film House Paweł Wilkołek

Polish distributor: Film House Paweł Wilkołek

Poland, 2017

Come Back Free

A poetic documentary about life in a war torn Chechen village, with the cemetery as its symbolic focal point. The village lives and breathes in unison. The Chechen gravediggers are always busy. Death is an everyday visitor. It does not even matter that yet another war has ended. The people live stuck in a circle of vengeance. They also gather into circles to chant prayers to God. Only the cows graze calmly next to the cemetery and the children happily go about their business. The Chechens’ parting words to one another are, ‘May you come back free!’

Director: Ksenia Okhapkina
Cinematographers: Vitaly Afanasiev, Maksim Drozdov, Ksenia Okhapkina

Produced by: Vesilind OU

Estonia, 2016

David Lynch: The Art Life

David Lynch takes us on an intimate journey through the formative years of his life. From his idyllic upbringing in small-town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema’s most enigmatic directors. David Lynch: The Art Life is infused with Lynch’s own art, music, and early films, shining a light into the dark corners of his unique world and giving audiences a better understanding of the man and the artist. As Lynch states, ‘I think every time you do something, like a painting or whatever, you go with ideas and sometimes the past can conjure those ideas and colour them, even if they’re new ideas, the past colours them.’ We’re invited in and given a private view from Lynch’s compound and painting studio in the hills high above Hollywood as Lynch retells personal stories from his past that unfold like scenes from his films. Strange characters come into focus, only to fade again into the past, leaving an indelible mark on Lynch, the artist. We become witnesses to the fears, misunderstandings and struggles that Lynch overcomes and along the way, meet the various people that have helped to mould him. It becomes evident early on in Lynch’s life that he views the world differently, absorbing its shadows and weaving a dream-like tapestry for audiences worldwide to become tangled in. This film is dedicated to Lynch’s youngest daughter and serves as a private memoir from father to daughter. By pulling back the curtains on the icon, we hope to uncover the individual, David Lynch.

Director: Jon Nguyen
Cinematographer: Jason S.

Produced by: Absurda, Duck Diver Films, Hideout Films, Kong Gulerod Film
USA, Denmark, 2017

Dust

Dust follows what happens to the body and belongings of a single, lonely person when they pass away. With its ascetic form, the film asks questions about the meaning of life, the importance of the individual, and the value of material goods.

Polish title: Proch

Director: Jakub Radej
Cinematographer: Józefina Gocman

Produced by: Uniwersytet Śląski - Wydział Radia i Telewizji im. K. Kieślowskiego (UŚ WRiTV)

Polish distributor: Uniwersytet Śląski - Wydział Radia i Telewizji im. K. Kieślowskiego (UŚ WRiTV)

Poland, 2017

Eero Saarinen: the Architect Who Saw the Future

Explore the life of Finnish-American modernist architectural giant Eero Saarinen (1910–1961), whose visionary buildings include National Historic Landmarks such as St. Louis’ iconic Gateway Arch and the General Motors Technical Center in Michigan. Saarinen also designed New York’s TWA Flight Center at JFK International Airport, Yale University’s Ingalls Rink and Morse and Stiles Colleges, Virginia’s Dulles Airport, and modernist pedestal furniture like the Tulip chair. Eero’s sudden death at the age of 51 cut short one of the most influential careers in American architecture. Today, Saarinen’s work stands apart and continues to inspire, especially among renewed interest in twentieth-century architects and artists who exploded the comfortable constraints of the past to create a robust and daring American aesthetic.

Director: Peter Rosen
Cinematographer: Eric Saarinen

Produced by: Peter Rosen Productions inc.

USA, 2016

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami

Grace Jones: Bloodlight and Bami is an electrifying journey through the private, public, and performance worlds of pop culture icon Grace Jones. Jones’ bold aesthetic echoes throughout the film – director Sophie Fiennes creates a powerful cinematic experience, contrasting musical sequences with intimate personal footage to reach beyond the artist’s iconic veneer.

Director: Sophie Fiennes
Cinematographer: Remko Schnorr

Produced by: Blinder Films, Sligoville, Amoeba Film

Ireland, UK, 2017

Gray House

Gray House is an experimental feature film by Austin Lynch and Matthew Booth, starring Denis Lavant (Holy Motors; Beau Travail), Dianna Molzan, and Aurore Clément (Paris, Texas; Lacombe, Lucien). The film looks at places and ways of life across the United States, considering the spatial and metaphysical relationships between individuals and their environments. Constructed sequences filmed at a fisherman’s bait camp on the Gulf Coast of Texas, an intentional community in rural Virginia, and a modern house in Los Angeles are intercut with documentary passages from an Oregon women’s prison and a North Dakota oil field. Through sustained images of these politically and socially charged locations, observations of actors inhabiting their roles and their environments, and direct address interviews with oil field workers pursuing opportunity and inmates serving long-term sentences, Gray House advances a conversation about nature, identity, and progress.

Director: Austin Lynch
Cinematographer: Matthew Booth

Produced by: Beechvibes, LLC

USA, 2017

Gregory Crewdson: There But Not There

Still from GREGORY CREWDSON: THERE BUT NOT THERE (2017).

Dir. Juliane Hiam.
© Gregory Crewdson. Courtesy Gagosian.

A decade after the completion of Gregory Crewdson’s opus Beneath the Roses, director Juliane Hiam offers a rare glimpse into the casting and artistic process behind the making of the series. Hiam, who worked as Crewdson’s casting director at the time, gives viewers a personal insight into Crewdson’s creative mind through the lens of previously unseen and intimate footage that places the viewer on set and often in the front seat of casting excursions for these works of art. We experience the magnitude of the production, including some images that required the cooperation of city departments and entire townships. Yet despite the productions’ immense scale and the spectacle of the resulting artworks, the quiet, intimate moments behind the creation of the visual masterpieces is a revelation. We witness firsthand the lasting relationships between artist and subject matter, and feel the deep love for the place that gives inspiration to his artistic practice.

Director: Juliane Hiam
Cinematographer: Juliane Hiam

Produced by: Crewdson Studio

USA, 2017

Hotel Sunrise

Against the lethargic backdrop of a defunct rail transhipment station on the Slovakian–Ukrainian border, we follow the stories of four protagonists who strive to break the vicious, immutable cycle of life on the periphery of society armed only with their unwavering desire for happiness. Desire alone does not guarantee success, nor the propriety of the protagonists’ decisions. The characters in this film find their own ways to navigate the dysfunctional system, often skirting the law and common sense, but their stories are all the more genuine, expressive, and human for it. Their everyday life is the town of Čierna nad Tisou – once called the ‘Golden Gate of Socialism’, now little more than a smuggling den on the Eastern European border.

Original title: Hotel Úsvit
Director: Mária Rumanová
Cinematographers: Michal Fulier, Radka Šišuláková

Produced by: Punkchart Films

Slovakia, 2016

Kodachrome Elegies, The

Kodachrome was a film stock noted for its rich tones and vibrant colours. The Kodachrome Elegies is a short experimental documentary that evokes the bygone era of Kodachrome’s pinnacle. While it is a paean to this lost film stock, the film suggests the end of an era and the loss of innocence.

Director: Jay Rosenblatt
Cinematographer: 8 mm Kodachrome home movies shot by Jerome and Roberta Rosenblatt

Produced by: Locomotion Films

USA, 2017

lebens[t]raum: Young Refugees in Germany

lebens[t]raum portrays four young refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, and Eritrea. Biniam, Dima, Saddam, and Imran are accompanied for one day in their new home of Amberg, granting the audience an intimate look into their thoughts, wishes, and dreams. The film also provides background information on their respective home countries, questions the current deportation policy of the federal government, and demands an improvement in integration. Clearly, the refugee ‘crisis’ is also a great opportunity for Germany.

Original title: lebens[t]raum: Gemeinsam. Junge Flüchtlinge in Amberg

Directors: Nailja Luth, Simeon Sopp
Cinematographer: Simeon Sopp

Produced by: Nailja Luth

Germany, 2017

Makala

A young man from a village in the Congo hopes to offer his family a better future. His only resources are his own two hands, the surrounding bush, and an iron will. When he sets out on an exhausting, perilous journey to sell the fruit of his labour, he discovers the true value of his efforts, and the price of his dreams.

Director: Emmanuel Gras
Cinematographer: Emmanuel Gras

Produced by: Bathysphere

France, 2017

Mifune: The Last Samurai

Mifune: The Last Samurai, a new film by Academy Award-winning filmmaker Steven Okazaki, explores the accidental movie career of Toshiro Mifune, one of the true giants of world cinema. Mifune made 16 remarkable films with director Akira Kurosawa during the Golden Age of Japanese Cinema, including Rashomon, Seven Samurai, and Yojimbo. Together they thrilled audiences and influenced filmmaking around the world, providing direct inspiration for not only The Magnificent Seven and Sergio Leone and Clint Eastwood’s breakthrough, A Fistful of Dollars, but also George Lucas’ Star Wars.

Director: Steven Okazaki
Cinematographers: Tohru Hina, Yasuyuki Ishikawa

Produced by: Creative Associates Limited, Farallon Films

Japan, 2016

Nowhere

Home isn’t a geographical term. Life doesn’t revolve around a nuclear family. What drives a person is how, where, and with whom they choose to spend their short and valuable time.

Director: Alvi Pakarinen
Cinematographer: Alvi Pakarinen

Produced by: Aalto-yliopisto Taiteiden suunnittelun korkeakoulu - Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture

Finland, 2017

On the Road

On the Road is a documentary that shows rugby players linked to the Builder’s Team in Łódź. Although rugby is not a well-known sport in Poland, in Łódź a team of giant, muscular men play this complicated and uncommon sport that uses an egg-shaped ball. The team is made up of people who come after work to devote their time to the sport instead of spending that time with their children. Overcoming the problems of their everyday lives, they attempt to create a team of world-class players. Will they achieve their goal?

Original title: W drodze

Directors: Artur Frątczak, Roman Kałuża-Wierzchosławski
Cinematographer: Roman Kałuża-Wierzchosławski

Produced by: Roman Kałuża-Wierzchosławski

Poland, 2017

Out of the Limelight

The new documentary by Rafael Lewandowski tackles the rich and fascinating story of Zygmunt Lubicz Zaleski – a philosopher, writer, and poet who spent most of his life in France. Like many other independence activists, he was forced to emigrate because of the political climate. He was active, but out of the limelight. In spite of this, he had a tremendous impact on the creation of a strong, independent Poland through cultural activities.

Original title: Z dala od orkiestry
Director: Rafael Lewandowski
Cinematographer: Piotr Niemyjski

Produced by: Fundacja Zygmunt Zaleski Stichting, Vertigo

Poland, 2017

Pomor Women

A film about the lives of three Pomeranian women: Pelagia, Martha, and Anastasia. They live on the shores of the White Sea in northern Russia. They are united: the harsh conditions of life, departed husbands, fishermen, and constant expectation. Is there a future for these people?

Original title: Pomorskie Zhonki

Director: Anna Katorina
Cinematographer: Pavel Skvortsov

Produced by: ATK-Studio Film Company

Russia, 2016

Raoul Coutard, From Saigon to Hollywood

Raoul Coutard invites us on a journey through his extraordinary career as the iconic cameraman of the “Nouvelle vague”. From Saigon to Hollywood, from war to peace, the revolutionary cinematographer of Breathless tells us his dreams, his adventures and his encounters with Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Pierre Schöndorffer, Jacques Perrin, Jeanne Moreau, Brigitte Bardot… The writing of a great page of the history of cinematography.

Original title: Raoul Coutard, de Saigon a Hollywood

Director: Matthieu Serveau
Cinematographers: Philippe Breart, Matthieu Serveau

Produced by: Yenta Production

France, 2006

Republika - Birth of a Legend

It is the mid-1970s. In Toruń there is an artistic circle gathered around the Od Nowa student club. Young people are trying out various forms of artistic activity. Theatres and music groups are being created; visual artists and performers can be seen around the city. In this artistic melting pot, a couple of friends form a band called Res Publica, later known as Republika. This is the beginning of a film recounting the first period of Republika’s activity, which ended with its break-up in 1986. A number of interesting, little-known music and film records have been used in the picture. The audience will have the opportunity to listen to fragments of songs and see unpublished photographs of the band, and we will hear some thought-provoking interpretations of selected pieces by Republika. What they will also see in this story of friendship and the rise of a cultural phenomenon is the historical context of the creative turmoil that existed around the Od Nowa student club. Members of Republika and Res Publica appear in the film, as well as their friends and representatives of the music community.

Original title: Republika - narodziny legendy

Director: Ryszard Kruk
Cinematographers: Wojciech Budny, Ryszard Kruk, Kajetan Pochylski

Produced by: Fundacja Nie-Art

Poland, 2017

Volte

Twelve-year-old Zuzia has been practicing vaulting for two years and has an extraordinary role atop the acrobatic pyramid. She is a ‘flyer’, lifted by the stronger and more experienced vaulters, called the ‘base’.
Another intensive season begins. During training, it becomes apparent that the girl has lost some of her grace and lightness. At first the coach blames the base, but they finally admit that Zuzia is too big to lift. It has become clear that she is just ‘growing’, and her role is given to a younger girl.

Original title: Wolta

Directors: Monika Kotecka, Karolina Poryzała
Cinematographer: Monika Kotecka

Produced by: Moth Films Magdalena Bryk

Poland, 2017

Water and Sugar: Carlo Di Palma, The Colours of Life

This documentary is not only the story of the artistic life of Carlo Di Palma, director of photography and artist-craftsman, but also a veritable journey into Italian cinema through more than 100 films on which he collaborated – from the neorealism of Visconti, De Sica, and Rossellini, to the masterpieces that marked the history of world cinema, including Red Desert and Blow Up by Michelangelo Antonioni, and Carlo Di Palma’s long collaboration with Woody Allen.

Original title: Acqua e zucchero: Carlo Di Palma, i colori della vita
Director: Fariborz Kamkari
Cinematographer: Fabio Zamarion

Produced by: Acek

Italy, 2016

Woman and the Glacier

The Lithuanian scientist Ausra Revutaite has spent 30 years in the Tian Shan mountain range in Central Asia, straddling the borders between Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the autonomous Chinese region of Xinjiang. Some 3,500 meters above sea level with only her faithful dog and grey cat for company, she studies climate change on Tuyuksu Glacier at an old Soviet-era research station. She loves the solitude and silence that her painstaking work brings her. Magnificent shots of her surroundings and everyday work are interspersed with archive footage of the people who preceded her by a century. Not much seems to have changed.

Original title: Moteris ir Ledynas

Director: Audrius Stonys
Cinematographer: Audrius Kemežys

Produced by: Studio UKU

Lithuania, 2016