PRESS CONFERENCE
LITTLE LAND / TOMORROW’S LAND / THE MACHINE WHICH MAKES EVERYTHING DISAPPEAR
Directors Nicola Zambelli (Tomorrow’s Land - How We Decided to Tear Down the Invisible Wall, co-directed by Andrea Paco Mariani), Tinatin Gurchiani (The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear) and Nikos Dayandas (Little Land) gave a press conference on Friday, March 22, 2013, as part of the 15th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
Tomorrow’s Land takes place in the Palestinian village of At-Tuwani,which is subjected to continuous attacks by Israeli settlers who live in the nearby settlement of Ma’on. Villagers have responded in a non-violent manner, using cameras that record the attacks as their “weapon”. Nicola Zambelli, who co-directed the documentary, explained: “When you visit the village, you get a taste of what is happening throughout Palestine: a cold war. There are multiple check points, gaining admission is very difficult, but the most disheartening of all is seeing the conditions in which people live. The media focus on armed confrontations, not on the cruel, daily life of the people, and this is a conscious, politically motivated decision, one that conforms with the wishes of political elites to perpetuate the confrontation, with little regard to human suffering”. One of the most powerful scenes of the film shows how students are bullied and intimidated on their way to school. “The settlers would not let the children go to school, so their parents organized protection patrols. This image is dramatic, but the main point of our film is to show how the villagers are dispossessed by buffer zones and population tampering”, added the director. Many Palestinians use videocameras both to record acts of violence and as a means of self-defense. “The non-violence strategy requires that you record what is happening. The enemy does the same of course, engaging in an ‘image war’, where the winner is the one whose story is heard”, Zambelli concluded.
Gurchiani’s The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear is a collage of interviews with people who talk about modern Georgia. “Returning to Georgia, after having spent many years living in Europe, I decided to make a fiction film that would bridge the gap. So I called out to people, but everyone I talked to had a different story to tell. So I decided to make a documentary about the real life of real people instead”, explained the director, adding: “As the interviewees wanted to share their feelings and experiences, the result is very emotional and moving. What surprised the director was “how people open up to others, thanks to the magic of cinema”. Gurchiani illustrated this point with the example of a young woman, who had been abandoned by her mother when she was still a girl. “She wanted to meet with her mother, and was looking for an excuse to overcome her anger. It turned out that what the mother and daughter needed was to have a third party present in their reconciliation”. Asked whether her film is the mirror image of modern Georgia, Gurchiani replied: “This is my own subjective view on Georgia. I chose young people and let them talk about conditions in the country. I came to the conclusion that they cannot identify with Georgia and are unable to start a life there”.
Little Land follows the steps of 35-year-old Thodoris, who moves to the island of Ikaria when the financial crisis hits Greece, and becomes initiated to the secrets of the islanders’ longevity. Director Nikos Dayandas said that he reached the island in a state of anxiety: “I realized my career was at stake. If ERT [the Greek state TV] collapsed, and I was no longer able to make documentaries, I would probably have to film weddings and christenings to survive. I came to Ikaria not knowing whether I would ever have the chance to make another film. I felt I had no control over my own life. In Ikaria, however, the islanders paid little attention to the crisis; they talked about simpler things: their livestock, their farms, the neighboring village considering a name change... The islanders of Ikaria produce most of the food they consume and do more than one job. The film’s protagonist maintained livestock, vineyards and beehives, while he runs his own shop and makes deliveries. This made me think that I would also like to learn how to do more things, instead of one only”. Dayandas also talked about the philosophy of the islanders: “They live by the principles of ancient Greeks - ‘‘everything flows’’, ‘‘moderation in all things’’ . For them this is not just empty words, but a practical philosophy of life. I wanted to capture the essence of all that I learned in one “pill”, this film which I hope will help change the way people think about the crisis”.
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.
