Berlin 2005 : the Talent Press

Monday, February 14th 2005

The Power of Design
Africa Rises Between Sex and Soccer
The Richness of the Sky (James Benning: TEN SKIES - Forum)
Film Talents Have Series of Quickies
Resolving the Conflict
In the Mood For Light
Kinder and Adults (Six Short Films from the Berlinale Kinderfilmfest)

The Power of Design

Production design is not just set building. It's a language - a vocabulary for the artificial art of film. This language determines the whole atmosphere of the story.The production designer creates the worlds to which we travel when we watch it. Think about the angst you felt when you visited THE CABINET OF DR. CALIGARI. Or the pressure and horror at the prison in DAS EXPERIMENT.

The production design exhibition at the Filmmuseum in Berlin supports the Retrospective programme at the Berlinale. At the exhibition it's possible to see settings, locations and scenes we all know by heart: from YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE to ALIEN, from THE TERMINAL to FANNY AND ALEXANDER.

The exhibition contains five sections - power spaces, private spaces, transit spaces, labyrinths and stages.

The first portrays power relations in films. How to keep visitors at an appropriate distance? Use the dark wood furniture, artificial lights and leather suites. How to communicate with the outside world? Use highly specialized fictional technology - complicated monitors and displays, buttons and keyboards.

The most interesting part of the exhibition for me were the labyrinths. The labyrinth is a very powerful metaphor. In film it usually appears as the psychological space, showing the dead-ends or exits of one's mind. The sets of THE NAME OF THE ROSE and SHINING are alone worth a visit to the museum, though I would have liked seeing the whole exhibition devoted to this subject.

The section of private spaces proves very well that production design also has as dramatic a function as costumes or music - homes speak a lot about their occupants. Think about the rooms in FANNY AND ALEXANDER or THE UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG.

The room of stages in film reminds us of the close interaction between the two art forms. Transit spaces introduce the sets of THE TERMINAL, 2001; A SPACE ODYSSEY and PLAYTIME and show how fundamental movement is to our lives, and thus to the reality of film.

This exhibition proves that filmic spaces locate and visualise the story and that production designers also influence the dramaturgy. At the same time their work has to support the narrative, and that means the production designer has to be artistically creative and flexible. Viewers know the stars and the directors - production designers are always in the background. Expositions like this force us to acknowledge them too.

Maria Ulfsak

Africa Rises Between Sex and Soccer

The order of importance is not given. Nor is it needed anyway. But the good news for black brothers and sisters at the Berlinale is that Africa is the focus this year, curiously sandwiched between sex and soccer.

The soccer bit is understandable, given Germany's preparation as the host of the FIFA World Cup in 2006. "Shoot Goals, Shoot Movies!" therefore, was rightly conceived as the theme for the short film competition on football and culture at the Berlinale Talent Campus.

Good idea, but since the mundial will not be held until next summer, it would have been better to let the talents showcase their films at next year's festival, as a prelude to the soccer tournament itself. To prepare film buffs for the fever pitch tournament in 2006, you will probably need a film like Hannes Stöhr's ONE DAY IN EUROPE, about the day of the European Cup Final as experienced by four different nationalities, except if you are neither a fan of Deportivo La Coruna nor of Galatasaray.

But making sex a special object of focus is yet to be seen four days after the festival started. If the extreme but ingeniously shot lustful scenes in Ventura Pons' IDIOT LOVE (AMOR IDIOTA) is the festival's yardstick for measuring a sexy festival, or the documentary, CYCLES OF PORN, or the revisit of DEEP THROAT, or even the intellectual discourse on Directing Sex at the Campus, sorry, Berlin does not enjoy a monopoly on such film nor does it have an edge on the subject. Besides, sex is perhaps one of the commonest issues at festivals, but hardly deserves a special endorsement.

That then leaves Africa with its head and shoulders higher among the focuses at the festival. This is remarkable because the Berlinale, which is older than most African countries, has chosen to focus on a continent that looks up to its richer and more advanced friends for assistance. It is the first time that a major festival has found the continent worthy of such honour - not even Cannes, where more African films have been screened in the past, and where Senegal's Ousman Sembene picked up an award.The credit goes to the Berlinale's director, Dieter Kosslick, who has repeatedly stressed the African focus this year. "There is an overreaching theme throughout the festival," Kosslick says. "This year's focus is on Africa - with numerous films that provoke emotions, inspire hope and entertain."

What other film can be more touching or represent hope than HOTEL RWANDA? So topical an issue is the revisit of the genocide in Rwanda that the Berlinale welcomes two films on that sad event, one of them, SOMETIME IN APRIL, in competition. In chosing MAN TO MAN as the opening film of the festival, the choice underscores, more than the condescending portrayal of the pigmies, a return to Africa, where man is thought to have originated from.

Four out of the 22 films in competition this year are about Africa. Among the other soccer-loving or sexually-attractive films, none other boasts of three Oscar nominations, with one of them for the Nigerian-born super actress Sophie Okonedo, like HOTEL RWANDA? The focus on Africa this year certainly does not look like an afterthought.

Whether the analysis of the focus or its implication raises different meaning in Cameroonian filmmaker, Nana Ntsanyu and Nigerian director, Seke Somolu or in the South African critic, Herbert, the reality of it is that there is a potential new bride in Africa that its Western suitors desire to court.

It therefore makes more sense to go and see the South African adaptation of the opera, CARMEN, or LOST CHILDREN by Oliver Stoltz and Ali Samadi Ahmad, or Beninois Idrissou Mara-Kpai's ARLIT, THE SECOND PARIS, and the story of the 78-year-old mother of rap music in GRIETJIE FROM GARIES, or just attend the panel discussion on the new challenges for African film festivals, than argue over what constitutes a focus on Africa as opposed to African filmmakers.

Steve Ayorinde

The Richness of the Sky
James Benning: TEN SKIES - Forum

TEN SKIES is not a film for everyday moviegoers as it asks for a very special attitude from the spectator. We need patience and we need to pay attention in a very different way than we usually do in cinemas. The film shows ten shots on ten different skies, every one for ten minutes.

James Benning, in both of his films present in Berlinale's Forum section (beside TEN SKIES he has also 13 LAKES), tries to make us experience film in a new way. Only after watching the same piece of sky for a few minutes
do we really begin to see it. We discover the different layers of clouds, their movement and colour, the light which changes. The film also gives us the possibility to interfere with our own thoughts. As there is enough time we can do what people often do when watching the sky: we can find different forms in the clouds, and sometimes they actually seem to have different personalities.

But mostly we discover something about perception. In our everyday life we perceive the world surrounding us by neglecting the unimportant elements and we take into consideration only what seems to contain relevant information for us. Here we have the possibility to concentrate on those things which pass us by so often. After two or three skies our attention is trained enough to be able to observe the slightest change. The experience can be compared to the situation when, after being in a bright room, we get into a dark one, and because or eyes need to adapt, we are only able to see properly after a few minutes. In one of the most beautiful scenes, if we pay attention, we have a real miracle going on: between the clouds a rainbow appears wanly, and it disappears until the end of the shot.

The soundtrack is also very important as it is the only guideline which can help us to guess what is beneath the sky we are watching. The tapping of shoes, the sound of cars passing by are the only clues about where we are.

Benning's experimental film is very similar to Abbas Kiarostami's FIVE which was presented in Cannes last year. In that film we can watch the seaside during five long unedited sequences, and our perception needs the same kind of adaptation. We learn from both of them that the crucial difference between attention and superficiality is the time we dedicate to the object of our perception.

TEN SKIES is surely the most minimalist film of this year's Berlinale and probably one of the most innovative regarding the filmic language. It is recommended for those who are looking for something fresh and experimental in contemporary cinema and are open to a new kind of experience.

Zsolt Gyenge

Film Talents Have Series of Quickies

You have five minutes to change your life, and then the whistle blows. So how would you grab that chance?

Inspired by the idea of "speed dating", in which a short chat hopefully leads to a life partner, Speed Matching is a fast-paced session for film people to find collaborators.

The UK Film Council and Skillset, who support UK audiovisual industry, have launched Speed Matching, allowing people from the film industry to get to know each other's strengths during a short professional "date". After five minutes of discussing project ideas and sounding out potential collaborators (measured by a stopwatch), the whistle blows and everyone swaps places. At the end of an hour, each person has met 10 potential partners. This also encourages them to make strong first impressions.

"When we organized networking events for writers in 2003, we used the idea of Speed Matching, a perfect opportunity for shy writers to talk. The idea came from 'speed dating', a safe and fun way for singles to meet partners," explains Jo Maurice, the Events & Marketing Manager, Communications of the UK Film Council. "In this structured process, no one is forced to socialize. It is a win-win situation. In the last two years Speed Matching has been held by the London Film Festival, Brief Encounters in Bristol, and since last year, at the BTC."

Starting with global speed matching, which brought together varied talents from all over the world, the programme became sector specific. For instance, directors and producers were given the opportunity to meet production designers. Italian director Carlo Avvanti, a participant, says: "I am very excited. Though it goes fast, you get a lot. You have to concentrate." Speaking English, of course, is another matter. "The first day was hard, then I got used to it", he grins. Hungarian production designer Edit Blaumann comments: "We get to know each other and we can learn the facts about other people very quickly." And would she work with a director she met here? Blaumann's answer is simple: "I only have a first impression. But I have to check what they said and did, collect more facts."

Although it is too early to guess if participants have found professional partners, one thing is clear: networking means a big deal in your career. As also in life.

Müge Turan

Resolving the Conflict

We have all heard of legendary conflicts on film sets - from violent ones like Orson Welles throwing a chair through a glass door, to heated arguments between directors and producers arguing over a movie's budget. Even the Philippines, my home country, is not exempt from such controversy, with stories circulating about a primadonna young actor throwing a fit and punching a director! The bottom line is this - even a top-notch script with a talented director and a seasoned cast is at risk from conflict. These things will arise, and when they do, they must be resolved swiftly and neatly. This was the topic of choice for "Successful Teams and How to Overcome Conflicts", a lecture held at the Berlinale Talent Campus yesterday.

Held in the auditorium of the House of World Cultures, the lecture began with a series of clips (from ADAPTATION, BOOGIE NIGHTS, STATE & MAIN and the ever-wonderful Peter Sellers in THE PARTY) that featured examples of conflicts during production.

The speakers for the event were Sandy Lieberson, producer of such films as SWASTIKA and STARDUST as well as Terry Gilliam's JABBERWOCKY and Alan Clarke's RITA, SUE AND BOB TOO; Jonathan Olsberg, chairman of Olsberg SPI, a London-based strategic advisory firm specialising in international film, television, and interactive media; and psychologists Julia Persitzky and Astrid Schnellhardt, both of Volkswagen Coaching GmbH.

The presentation covered a wide range of topics such as how to identify a conflict and how to prevent it from escalating, to a look at how such clashes, as a sign of a high level of commitment, may have positive aspects as well. Lieberson, a respected producer, spoke from experience stressing that "someone, and that often may be the director or producer, must step forward and take charge of the situation...of the film".

Lieberson mentioned an instance on the set of JABBERWOCKY, Terry Gilliam's first solo directing gig, where conflict arose between Gilliam and a particular veteran technician on the film who was being difficult. "If that's his attitude, tell him we can replace him," the brash young director told Lieberson. The technician, upon hearing this, became co-operative and wanted to work things out. "It was effective in that instance", Lieberson remarked, "but it's not always the way to go".

Fights are inevitable in the course of producing a film - what is importatnt is how you resolve them. If you'd rather not fire your director well into your shoot and have heated arguments with the young upstart you hired to replace him (as was was the case with actor-producer Kirk Douglas who dismissed Anthony Mann and signed Stanley Kubrick to take over SPARTACUS), then it's best to learn how to deal with, and overcome, conflicts on your set.

Alexis Tioseco

In the Mood For Light

For someone who has a reputation for 24-7 insobriety and unpredictability, Chris Doyle is extremely lucid - a reflection of his work with such respected directors as Wong Kar-Wai, Zhang Yimou and Phillip Noyce. Born in Australia, Doyle travelled extensively and eventually experimented with his first camera in Taiwan at the age of 28.

Now 52 and a repeat guest at the Berlinale, Doyle is still unmatched in favour amongst the 530 young filmmakers of the talent campus. He is worshipped by young cinematographers, but his philosophy is unpretentious. He is more than ready to admit his errors. When asked how he copes with mistakes on set, his answer quickly exposes a life philosophy: "You assimilate them". He talks about working on a picture in South America where a scene was shot near a huge waterfall: the air was full of water, and while they were trying to film the main character, the camera shots were becoming distorted by droplets. "Westerners would have said they couldn't shoot it, and stop until someone could fix the camera". Instead, the filmmakers adopted the unexpected visual effect as part of the emotional mise-en-scene - as the character became sadder, so too did the image.

Aspects of his camerawork, such as highly controlled tracking shots, sometimes fast (HERO, 2002) and sometimes slow (IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, 2001), are seemingly belied by his very improvisational approach. However his ability to accept the unexpected and to let things go rather than control them, actually seem to give him a wonderful balance. When asked if his approach entails fatalism, he says the word has negative connotations from the west, and he prefers the concept of destiny. He suggests we are all here on earth to discover certain things that the world reveals to us. The journey, not the destination, is important.

The best artists are often possessed of a certain darkness, a state of mind necessary for their creativity. Doyle describes his ideal working state as drunk, but when pushed says his best work is done when depressed, especially after the end of a relationship. "I'm quieter; I don't drink so much; I'm not going out trying to fuck every woman I see". So the depression is a positive experience? "Definitely".

Music is crucial to Doyle's concept of cinema. "All art aspires to music, just as all science aspires to mathematics". This beautifully rendered idea is manifested in his own films by a structure and rhythm drawn from music. When asked about music that inspires him, Doyle cites a song by country music legend Willie Nelson, "Mothers don't let your sons grow up to be cowboys". The point of the song, he says, is that your children would be better being doctors or lawyers, making lots of money and living the good life, because cowboys are lonely, even when with someone. Really it is a song about being an artist. If ascribing this kind of philosophy to country music seems a stretch, Chris points out that Willie Nelson is also a Taoist.

Dee Jefferson

Kinder and Adults
Six Short Films from the Berlinale Kinderfilmfest

Do kids films necessarily mean a cast of kids, cartoon figures, or having a suitable or easily-accessible theme designed for children? In today's selection of short films at the Berlinale Kinderfilmfest, we could see the authors trying to seek out an audience of children  and adults.

The 6-minute animation THE SKELETON WOMAN by Edith Pieperhoff is about an unfortunate woman who gets thrown off a cliff into the icy ocean by her father. She becomes a skeleton and haunts the ocean. A young fisherman meets her one day, and after overcoming his fear he tries to be her friend and help her to turn back into human shape.

THE SKELETON WOMAN has stories to tell and some really astonishing artwork. However, a child is not able to concentrate as easily as adults do, and they might feel confused. If they are able to relate only to certain image that interest them, and not the whole film, I think it is a pity.

THE DJARN DJARNS by Wayne Blair is a very mature work. It tells the story of a friendship between four young boys, the responsibility they feel towards their culture, and the love a young boy has for his father. It is about close relationship: kids (as very young adults) are learning to observe the interaction between people, especially the family bond which they are most familiar with.

Wayne Blair is also a famous actor, and I think this explains the insight he brings to every intimate moment. What I appreciate most is that the film is sometimes so light that it would be inappropriate to boast about its drama. It is not easy to be modest towards an issue like this.

Maria Mac Dalland's ODIN'S EYE is the story of the Creation, and the origin of man. Odin has created the world and tries to organise it by ousting the Giants. But when his son Balder has terrible dreams, Odin begins to think that maybe he has created the wrong kind of world.

ODIN'S EYE is visually outstanding work but I think its theme - birth, existence, and love and faith in the so-called origin of man - is a little simplified. I know it's a children's film but the issues are heavy, and having chosen them, Mac Dalland could have been more inventive.

MY DAD IS A CHAMP is about Stefan, who hasn't seen his father for years. He knows his father is a boxer, and so to be more like his dad, he begins to box too. On his birthday he goes out in search of his father with his 5 year-old brother, and when they eventually find him, he does not appear to be what Stefan had imagined. A big disappointment emerges...

This film by Morten Giese has impressive vitality. Like a road movie, it contains a crucial trip, the want to fulfil a long-time dream, and then the arrival at a turning point in life. This is an interesting film: young people can cherish the story and the performance of two good young actors, and it also leaves adults to think a little more.

Hsiang-Yao Huang

© FIPRESCI / Berlinale Talent Campus 2005

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