16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival –
Images of the 21stCentury
March 14-23, 2014
JUST TALKING 22/3
The “Just Talking” sessions of the 16th Thessaloniki Documentary Festival drew to a close on Friday, March 22nd. Participating were directors Agnes Sos (Stream Of Love), Menelaos Karamaghiolis (Should I stay or should I go?) Dan Bronfeld (Apollonian Story), Navina Khatib (House Of Light), Claus Drexel (On The Edge Of The World), Matthew Pond (The Life And Crimes Of Doris Payne) and Mouna B. Stewart (It's Better To Jump).
The Life and Crimes of Doris Payne Matthew Pond (co - directed by Kirk Marcolina) paints the portrait of African-American Doris Payne, one of the most notorious jewel thieves. The film The House Of Light by Navina Khatib (co - directed by Alexandra Weltz) unfolds in an orphanage in Peru, while the documentary It's Better To Jump By Mouna B. Stewart (co - directed by Patrick Stewart and Gina Angelone) presents the demographic, economic and social changes in the city of Akka on the coast of northern Israel. On the other hand, the documentary Stream Of Love by Agnes Sos talks about love, sex and the joy of life in old age in the backdrop of a Hungarian village, while the film Apollonian Story by Dan Bronfeld (co - directed by Ilan Moskovitch) tells the unusual story of a man who lives in a house built in a cave. Menelaos Karamaghiolis’ documentary Should I stay or should I go? focuses on the dilemma facing thousands of young people in Greece at these times of crisis, and On The Edge Of The World by Claus Drexel focuses on the homeless people of Paris.
"There are many wonderful stories out there, which you could not imagine as a screenwriter. There are obvious elements, but also unknown aspects to discover that make up the portrait of a man," said Mr. Pond." I was always fascinated by films and festivals," said Ms Khatib, adding that when she was a volunteer at the orphanage which is the focus of the film, she realized from the start that she wanted to make a documentary. "It was difficult, many times I wanted to quit, but once you enter the world of cinema you do not come out easily," she said. The film’s editor Anna Pesavento added: The moment you approach the hero with the camera and he decides to open up to you, is precious. I had never experienced anything similar in fiction." As Mr. Bronfeld admitted, "When I was younger I did not like films, so I did not see many movies," but in this first film he really wanted to capture that special relationship of the hero with his son. Mr. Karamaghiolis started with the intention of making fiction films and then turned to documentaries because at that time there was funding from ERT. "I met wonderful people through this process. In the beginning I didn’t hold the documentary in very high esteem. But today I think it is one of the most important things available to restructure the way we tell stories," said the director. For Ms Stewart, this documentary, her debut, "was the experience of a lifetime. If you have preconceived opinions you "sabotage" yourself", she noted, explaining that in the process one discovers things different from what might be at first obvious. In contrast, Ms Sos has been making documentaries for the last twenty years. "I am glad that each time I learn something new and present it to the public. The film has authenticity," she said. On his part, Mr. Drexel said that he went to the movies less than his friends and found himself in the field of cinema accidentally, seeing as how he came from the field of music. "Documentaries are different because you have no script and you write them as you are shooting. The idea is to find a deeper, ecstatic truth," he said.
Taking cue from a quote that is heard in the documentary The House Of Light, about how life is perfect when you have enough love to share, the debate revolved around the question of what makes up for a perfect life. Ms Khatib posed this question to the characters of her film, on the occasion of a television program in Germany, entitled "Perfect Life”. "In Germany everything revolves around work and money. In Peru, however, nobody talked about material possessions, houses and cars. It was so nice to hear them talk about love. In the West one might look down on them thinking that they are crazy hippies, but they believe in what they say, it's a way of life for them," said the director. "For me, a perfect life is being in touch with nature and yourself. Being able to be happy is much more important than money,” added Ms Pesavento. "I am convinced that the golden age of humanity was before the Neolithic ''revolution''. Then there was no war, no borders, no need for money. People lived in harmony with nature, made art with stones, life was simpler," said Mr. Drexel, while according to Mr. Pond, today with the help of technology life is simple for artists. "I am on a journey of defining what is good and bad and what the perfect life is, what I am looking for," he said Mr. Bronfeld on his side. "Everyone is chasing perfection, but they never reach it. For myself, researching and entering stories, gives me more weapons to deal with the problems of my life. Art is the way to solve the mystery of everyday life", said Mr. Karamaghiolis. "I am grateful that I live within these stories, I have the privilege to ''cancel'' myself. In fiction you're the master of history, but in documentaries reality is stronger than you," he explained. For Ms Sos documentaries are important because, as she noted, "they allow people who do not have any time to delve deeper into the lives of others." For her part, Ms. Stewart noted that "thanks to technology we have strong and effective tools to spread stories, and to create a sense of community in the world, which is very important."
"For my fiction films, I was also the producer. It took me ten years to pay off the first film and prepare the next. So I turned to documentaries", said Mr. Karamaghiolis, adding however that the sudden closure of ERT meant that many contracts with the broadcaster were never honoured. "However, Greek directors persist. I do not know how we survive, but we're still alive," added Mr. Karamaghiolis. Referring to the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival, he said that "I did not expect that so many people would stand in long queues to see documentaries. The audience of Thessaloniki shows that there is a future and hope."
