Images of the 21stCentury
March 14-23, 2014
JUST TALKING 17/3
The “Just Talking” sidebar section of the 16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival continued Monday, March 17 with the following participants: Annamaria Gallone (She is my Husband), Ananda Henry-Biabaud (But, I Remember Seeing Sorcerers Fly Away), Jesse Roesler (The Starfish Throwers), Gabor Ferenczi (Overdose - Run For A Dream), Dimitris Statiris (Relentless) and Costas Pliakos (Yusef’s Song).
While introducing his film The Starfish Throwers, Jesse Roesler noted that it refers to "the story of three ordinary people - a retired teacher from Minnesota, a leading chef from India and a twelve-year old girl from South Carolina - that make unusual things, in order to relieve the hunger of their fellow men". Gabor Ferenczi, whose documentary Overdose - Run For A Dream focuses on a special horse, said: "Overdose is the name of a wonderful horse who in 2008 won 12 consecutive races and became a symbol of luck in Hungary so much so that everyone thought it would save us from the economic crisis." Talking about her documentary She is my Husband, which records the decision of 52-year-old Alessandro to become a woman, and his relationship with his partner Roberta, director Annamaria Gallone said : "I am not interested in making a voyeuristic film, but to present a love story." The documentary Yusef's Song by Costas Pliakos reflects the current situation in Libya after the Arab spring, through the story of young Yousef, the most famous rapper in the country "There were many inconsistencies in the story, like how a young Muslim who uses “Satan’s” music can speak for the revolution . Through Youssef I follow his generation, which is not politicized, but has dreams for the future", said the director. On the other hand, the film But, I Remember Seeing Sorcerers Fly Away Henry-Biabaud follows the lives of three women in a favela in Caracas, who try to solve their problems by resorting to the help of a magician . As for the documentary Relentless by Dimitris Statiris, it chronicles the story of an Italian man who was saved from violence and drugs thanks to boxing. "The search for another person’s reality through a documentary ends up being your own adventure. At the end you discover many things about yourself," said the director.
"I like to hear people's stories. It's hard to for someone to show you their soul, but when it happens it's like a miracle,"said Ms Gallone, stating that what entranced her about her heroes was "their determination and passion". On the other hand, the deeper relationship of love and affection that is behind the action of giving a sandwich to someone who is hungry, was what moved Mr. Roesler. "As documentary makers we should understand people. The whole process is an exploration of others and of ourselves," said Mr. Ferenczi. For Mr. Pliakos, the challenge was to try to understand an Islamic country, with which he had never before come in to contact, to understand his hero and through this process learn things for himself.
While making a documentary, the filmmakers have to convince their heroes to let them briefly into their lives. "You need to get close to the protagonists before you start the filming," said Ms Gallone, adding that from her experience, people do not need an incentive to open up because "everybody likes to talk about themselves." For Ms. Henry-Biabaud it was easier to approach people living in countries such as Venezuela, whereas in France, for example, there was a greater prejudice. "Almost all of us film the poor. The rich do not want to speak on camera," noted Mr. Ferenczi, noting that the filmmaker has a responsibility to the people who want to show their lives. Directors often face ethical dilemmas. For example, the family of the heroine in Henry-Biabaud’s film was ashamed of certain scenes and asked that they not be included in the film. "It was a difficult choice, but when these people have done so much for you, you cannot expose them," said the director. Roesler offered another example. His hero from India always dreamed of having his own restaurant and just before it opened the authorities shut it down. "If I showed the attitude of the authorities in the film, my hero was worried that they would make his ??life difficult afterwards. And then I wondered if it is worth “killing” the good for something better. "In the case of Mr. Statiris, the hero opened up so much that he started talking about his adventures as a drug dealer. "If I included these quotes, the movie would be shocking, but he would have legal problems and so I decided not to include them," explained the director. Gallone had a similar problem as the heroine spoke a lot about her personal life and then told her "please do not put it in. "I would have had a stronger film if I had included these quotes, but now I can look her in the eye," she said. For Pliakos the most difficult choice was to keep a balance while talking to an Arab about the U.S. and Israel.
Another issue that was discussed was how the authors find their subjects. Most of them replied that it is their subjects that 'meet' them, describing the process as "love and passion at first sight." As noted by Ferenczi, usually the protagonists want to show the image they have of themselves, or that which they would like others to have of them, and this is a great difficulty for the documentary. Pliakos had a similar experience when the protagonist stopped during a take and said ''don’t make me look mean.''
The process of creating a documentary that has no predetermined script such as feature films do, is often full of surprises. As when the 80 year old boxing coach in the film by Dimitris Statiris almost cried remembering the young athlete’s first victory. "For three years, every day hid a surprise for me," said Gallone about her own documentary, while for Henry - Biabaud the biggest surprise was that the film was completed and it now takes part in the 16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Ferenczi had the biggest surprise when he discovered during editing that he did not know what the ending of story would be, while for Pliakos "a country like Libya is full of surprises, if you keep your eyes open “.
The directors referred to whether the creator can be an objective observer. "You are never objective. You tell a great story in a short time and you are too close to reality to have an objective viewpoint”, observed Gallone. She added: "There are different kinds of truths and emotional truth is one of them. The most important films are not objective." To which Henry - Biabaud replied: "the most exciting thing is the relationship between my viewpoint with reality. Through the film I want to enliven my own reality." In this regard, Stateris added: "When you take up the camera nothing is true. Even the position of the camera changes reality”. For his part, Ferenczi added that: "There is no reality without someone to see it and reality in cinema depends on the tracking angle and editing."
