JUST TALKING 14/3
14th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival’s “Just Talking” session of Wednesday, March 14, 2012 included directors Stratis Vogiatzis and Thekla Malamou (The Blind Fisherman), Juan Vallejo (Cerro Rico, Terra Rica), Bryan Carter (Dublin’s Trap), Arnaud Gaillard (Honk!), and Gerasimos Rigas (100 (173 Alexandras ave., Athens).
The documentary 100 (173 Alexandras ave., Athens) by Gerasimos Rigas, depicts daily life at the Athens Police HQ. “It’s a portrait of Athens, as the film records the various problems that citizens face, as well as what happens in the city on a daily basis. My intention was to speak about people cohabitating in Athens. It’s an existential, philosophical film on coexistence”, mentioned the director. He also added: “People calling the emergency number 100 are people feeling all alone in a jungle. The police, however, try to step in after the event and not in advance to inhibit it”. The filmmaker got the permission to film without great difficulty. “We spent several hours at the Police HQ. During the shoot, there where people that didn’t want us to film certain scenes and after a couple of restrictions we were put under, I started thinking about giving up. Nonetheless, it was important to record the snapshots presented in the film; it was like a play from the theatre of the absurd. People call 100 and expect someone to show up, but no one shows up. Like the general situation in Greece, we expect someone to reach for our rescue, but no one shows up”, explained Mr. Rigas. “The film is about the relationship between state and citizens, a rather schizophrenic relationship at the moment. We expect that the police will solve our problems, but at the same time, we are distrustful towards it”, concluded the director.
The filmmaker Juan Vallejo is from Colombia and has been living in the USA for the past few years. The film Cerro Rico, Terra Rica was shot at the mountain Cerro Rico, in southwestern Bolivia. During the 16th and 17th centuries this mountain provided c50% of the world’s silver and sustained the Spanish Empire during colonial times. The documentary focuses on the life of the miners that still work there. “The film is about sustainable development and overexploitation of resources. People at Cerro Rico feel their land has nothing more to produce, however, they still dream their children will become miners like them. It’s a hate-love relationship”, underlined the director.
The documentary The Blind Fisherman by Stratis Vogiatzis and Thekla Malamou, tells the story of an old fisherman who lost his eyesight and his one arm at the age of 11. However, for 70 years now he keeps on embarking on his boat and fishing. “The film shows us a different man, the paradox and the poetry of his life. Yiannis chooses to lead a lonely life, he is reserved towards other people, he builds his life withdrawn from the world. At the same time, he is full of energy, lives in the moment just like a child, his life is the sea and the journey”, explained Mr. Vogiatzis as far as his films hero is concerned. “Stories like the one of Yiannis are worth being recorded and narrated. We need such stories to inspire us and bring us closer to life, especially nowadays that the situation in our country is very tough. We have a documentary project in mind with that very aim, to bring out to light stories like this one”, added Mrs. Malamou.
The documentary Honk! by Arnaud Gaillard and Florent Vassault has a whole different subject. It is about a tough topic: death penalty. The idea arose when the sociologist Arnaud Gaillard, who was present at the 14th Doc Fest, went to the USA to continue his studies and specialize on the role of the death penalty in society’s value system. The film follows the story of three characters: a former death row inmate, a mother of a death row inmate and a wife waiting for her husband’s murderer to be executed. “The death penalty is more than just a punishment, it’s death, illusion, humor. Many Americans can see themselves in the film as the topic is examined from many different angles. We simply present our own opinion through the words of an American expert, because we didn’t want to give the impression that being Europeans we meant to lecture the Americans on ethics. We are the observers, we don’t judge anyone, we just present both sides’ version of truth”, Mr. Gaillard noticed. He also added: “We felt passion for our heroes, we loved them. People shared their opinions with us generously. They felt free to speak, as there is nothing immoral about it, they feel free to talk about it. There was even an interrogator that told us “death penalty is a part of people’s life here. So, here you are obliged to face this reality, no matter how absurd it may seem to a European”.
Bryan Carter with his film Dublin’s Trap wishes to cast light into EU migration policy consequences in Greece through the story of an Afghan asylum seeker who won a historic victory at the European Court of Human Rights. “My intention was to expose that the EU is also responsible for this problem. The financial crisis has made things even harder for Greece, triggering the formation of nationalist groups against immigrants. The EU turns a deaf ear to the problem and insists on implementing an unequal repatriation policy known as “Dublin II”. It’s a situation that leads nowhere”, noticed the director.
The discussion moved towards the topic of financing films. For the majority of the directors it has was their first film, realized on a low budget. “We worked without being paid. Until now, cinema depended on being financed by the state and now cinema suffers”, said Gerasimos Rigas. Stratis Vogiatzis and Thekla Malamou started shooting their film as an experiment, thanks to the leading character, the blind fisherman. “We are photographers. We learnt about the editing procedure and post production through the documentary’s production process. As for the financing, we had our friends’ support and we also built a financing platform and this experience taught us there is much good hidden in the crisis. People come closer, are more cooperative, show solidarity. Of course this isn’t the ideal context, but one has to be able to adjust”, the directors underlined. Bryan Carter addressed the General Association of the Professional Journalists of Belgium, which finances such projects undertaken by journalists. “I asked the Association to give me an amount of just 8.000 euro so that my proposal wouldn’t be rejected and I paid the rest up to the amount of 12.000 euro myself”, noticed the filmmaker from Belgium. As for the film Honk! Arnaud Gaillard explained: “I didn’t have to bother with the financing issue as we had a producer from the very beginning and we also found a co-financer on the way”. Juan Vallejo, in his turn, said: “Digital technologies offer a solution to financing a film, as it makes it possible for them to be shot with very few money. I owe money in connection to my film; however, I am excited for the new era of low budget films that arises. I think what really matters now is to find the audience for your film”.
