PRESS CONFERENCE
BLOOD BROTHER/PAOLO CHIMNEY SWEEP/HUNGRY MINDS
On Sunday, March 17, 2013, a Press Conference was held as part of the 15th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Present were directors Beatrix Schwehm, (Hungry Minds), Bruno Chouinard (Paolo Chimney Sweep) and Steve Hoover (Blood Brother).
Beatrix Schewhm’s documentary Hungry Minds focuses on mobile libraries in India, Mongolia and Africa. The director spoke about how she decided to focus on these: “I stumbled on the subject by accident. I met a librarian at a yoga class and as we were talking, I remembered that I came in contact with books when I was 16 years old. I also thought that books open a new path to perception and feeling and on how people from faraway places work. This man spoke to me about mobile libraries and then I researched the subject. I ended up finding 28 mobile libraries, but I had to choose those that were mobile but also had some sort of steady base. So I ended up with three which are in Bengal, Kenya and Mongolia, where books reach far off villages”. Regarding the common characteristics of the people responsible for these mobile libraries, Ms Schwehm said: “All three are visionaries and they are trying to change things from the inside, to change something in their own country. I love their way of thinking”. She noted: “It was very interesting to me that the approach was different in each country, while at the same time you learn something about the country itself through its library. For example, in Kenya we expected to find nomads reading about their mythology, but there were many children’s books in Swahili and English, while in Bangladesh political writer Tugora is very popular, he is like Thomas Mann in Germany. I was also impressed by the fact that Mongolian writers translate many children’s books so that children can also read foreign literature. They believe their vision will inspire something important, that books are ‘seeds’, something that is very moving”. Speaking about the development of these libraries, she noted: “The libraries continue to do what we see in the documentary. A characteristic example is the floating library in India, which began 14 years ago with a computer and 500 dollars and now has 180,000 members in many villages. It uses solar energy and provides free use and access”.
Director Bruno Chouinard, in turn, talked about his acquaintance with chimney sweep Paolo, leading character of the documentary Paolo, Chimney Sweep. “I met him in the country, where I was staying. I saw him on a roof while I waited at a bus stop in the village and I couldn’t believe that a chimney sweep would be this remarkable. I am a visual artist, so when I saw him working I couldn’t keep my eyes off him. The cleaning of the chimney was a visual poem. Months later, when my chimney needed cleaning, I found his card in the only phone booth in the village and I called him to come to my house. When he arrived in a small truck, he opened the trunk and classical music could be heard. I thought that this man was surrounded by a special atmosphere”. Commenting on Paolo’s statement that people respect him more as a chimney sweep than as a teacher – which he used to be – the director said: “Paolo’s customers become his friends and develop a close relationship with him. He has many friends. We all love him. Even now, although he is no longer a chimney sweep, he drives the same little truck and wears the same hat. This is not an act, it is part of his identity”. Speaking about Paolo’s relationship with his father, the director said: “His father did the same job, and used to take him with him in order to learn the job since he was very young, when he was 12-13 years old. But at some point he had a serious accident - falling off a ladder, he had a serious concussion. That depressed him psychologically, and he sold his business. So Paolo had to restart the business from the beginning. But it is very moving that most of his customers returned to him”.
Taking the floor, American director Steve Hoover spoke about the experience of filming his best friend, Rocky, who now lives in India and cares for orphans suffering from AIDS in the documentary Blood Brother. Commenting on Rocky’s statement that “India takes all your humor out of you”, the director said: “Rocky was very affected by the whole situation he was living. When I left India we of course kept in touch, and when I returned six months later he was very down psychologically. He tried to find ways to support himself psychologically, but it was difficult due to the complexity of reality in India. He is a very emotional person. And certainly it is very interesting to see the ways he could find himself again. However, Rocky had many triumphs, was a winner, won back whatever he might have lost.”Referring to the difficult nature of his subject, Hoover noted: “There were situations in which you could see children suffering. As a subject, it was difficult and you felt that the edges of ‘right’ and ‘wrong’ were mixed up. You constantly asked yourself if you should leave the camera aside and help. You felt that what you are doing is wrong, however I believe I managed to stand against my instinct and focus on my purpose, the long-term help I could offer. What doesn’t appear in the film is the continuous discomfort one feels in India, the heat and heavy atmosphere that drains your energy. The only thing I wanted to do is leave, but I saw my friend not leaving and in some way I was ‘condemned’ to see him doing all these things and I kept becoming a better person. My wish was to not give up”. Asked about Rocky’s condition today, the director noted: “Rocky came back to the USA for a few months since there is still a bureaucratic issue with his visa, and then he returned to India. He is married and is just fine. Odd and incredible things continue to happen in his life, and he is happy to be there, he feels he has found the place he wants to be”. Finally, answering a question about the financial demands of his film, he explained that the travel expenses of the crew were funded entirely by donations and campaigns. “We set a financial goal which we surpassed. We went to India, we worked, spent all the money and returned. We tried to find creative solutions. For example, since I work for a production company, they allowed me to use the studio for editing. I financed my second trip myself. I think that I’ll use more traditional methods for the next film, I am tired of asking for money, I feel badly”, he added.
The films are part of the 15th TDF program, which is financed by the European Union’s Regional Development Fund for Central Macedonia, 2007-2013.
