Let's get personal was the motto of this year's DOK INCUBATOR at the Leipziger Pfefermühle. And the presentation was full with people who came to see the nine selected documentaries. A fine initiate witch started by Andrea Prenghyova, the creator of the DOK.Incubator in collaboration with DOK Leipzig three years ago..
Dok Incubator is a course that runs for three weeks, during half a year, where you apply with a rough cut.
They work with the teams of director, editor and Producer, with their films, to improve their film and work with the producers and teams to learn how to do international financing and distribution. They also work with the films to make them more international as well. Director and editor has cooperation with big european editors to improve the films. The course is held in different European cities. It is a media supported program like EAVE, but just for documentaries in post production.
Claas Danielsen, the DOK Leipzig Director, together with Andrea Prenghyova – creator of the DOK.Incubator, journalist, film maker, documentary film producer and founder of Institute of Documentary Prague, and Ilo von Seckendorff.
There are some people everybody in the documentary business should know. So that's why I will start to introduce you to some of the doc legends! I will start with Tue Steen Müller my Danish friend and mentor. Its not a coincidence that he was given the EDN award this year in Thessaloniki at the doc festival for an outstanding contribution to the European documentary culture.
Ladies and gentlemen, if you do not know him already let me introduce you to Tue Steen Müller.
He is the one who encouraged and inspired me to get involved in this lovely field, and for that I owe him a lot! Thank you Tue!
Born 1947. Danish. He worked with short and documentary films for more than 20 years at the Danish Film Board - as press secretary, head of distribution and information and as a commissioning editor. He's co-founder of Balticum Film and TVFestival, Filmkontakt Nord and Documentary of the EU. He has travelled to European short and documentary festivals often to be seated as a jury member. He has given documentary courses and seminars in more than 30 countries. In 2004 he was awarded the Danish Roos Prize for his contribution to the Danish and European documentary culture. In 2014 he received the EDN Award “for an outstanding contribution to the development of the European documentary culture”. From 1996 until 2005 he was director of EDN (European Documentary Network). He has written articles for national and international newspapers and magazines. From 2006 he has been a freelance consultant and teacher in workshops like Ex Oriente, DocsBarcelona, Archidoc, Documentary Campus, Storydoc, Baltic Sea Forum, Black Sea DocStories as well as programme consultant for the festivals Magnificent7 in Belgrade, DOCSBarcelona, Message2Man in St. Petersburg and DOKLeipzig. From September 2007-2013 he taught at the Zelig Documentary Film School, Bolzano, Italy. He writes (almost) daily about documentaries in English on www.filmkommentaren.dk
DOK Leipzig, the oldest documentary film festival in the world is looking for a new Festival Director who is fluent in German and English and should take up her or his position on 1 January 2015.
In times of recession three Greeks try to take their destiny in their own hands.
Could this crisis be our chance to re-invent ourselves and our society?
This is the theme of the feature length documentary "Gr. work in progress" (the title is indeed not so good - but the film is!) by Elena Zervopoulou which made its premier at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in March. Elena Zervopoulou the film director who also did the production is a ethnopsychologist and holds a master in documentary making from the University in Paris.
In her film she succeed to make 3 strong portraits of Greeks who took their destiny in their own hands! This is what she was thinking about her film in December 2012... "The financial crisis strikes Greece and spreads out worldwide. We are loosing our financial security and our living standard, but how much of our values, our humanity and our decency is going down with the rest? Could this be our chance to re-invent ourselves and our society?"
The three protagonists together reflect the current potential for transformation in Greece. Positive change dynamics move from the bottom up. We follow the single individual (Giorgos) who finds the strength to overcome his difficulties and rebuild his life. The film examinee Grigoris’ family as it retightens its bonds and seeks a better quality of life. Finally, the journey takes us to the activist volunteer group behind the “potato movement” (Ilias) as their activities impact the society as a whole by challenging the commercial foods supply chain and practicing solidarity and direct democracy.
Danish Documentary is one of the world’s leading production companies when it comes to producing creative documentary films for the big screen and television.
The company is founded and co-owned by four celebrated Danish documentary directors, Phie Ambo, Pernille Rose Grønkjær, Eva Mulvad and Mikala Krogh, together with internationally acclaimed film producer Sigrid Dyekjær. What is Sigrid working on now?
I am working on a fantastic story, very unique, by Oscar nominated polish directorHanna Polak, Yula´s Dream, that we are editing right now. Hanna has followed a girl for 14 years on a garbage dump outside of Moscow. from she is 10 until she is 24 and actually gets away and moves to Moscow. Really a wonderful project and Hanna is a wonderful director. And the finished film was also wonderful - and won idfa in 2014!
I have just closed a 40 min film Eva Mulvad has made for Danish national tv The Castle I hope to launch it internationally on a festival in 2014. A funny, strange film about living in a castle in Denmark, exclusively, with other elderly people, where you have gardeners, cooks, maides, and servants, and you live in furniture from 1700 century. Here they have their own special elderly home, and in order to get in, you have to live up to certain rules. Not written rules, no the unwritten rules from the upper class. It has been a really fun film to produce. And we are finishing a film by Mikala Krogh about the biggest tabloid magazine in Denmark, where she has followed them for two years in the crises of the newspaper degrading and the net paper being the only thing young people wants to read, but nobody earns money on it, not even the tabloid magazines.
Sigrid Dyekjær is one of the most experienced producers in Denmark when it comes to national documentary production and international cooperation. In financing, producing and creative consulting Dyekjær has an extraordinary ability to knock in doors and break down boundaries in the film-industry.
Young Greek producers are struggling. Could you give them some practical tips?
Go international. Always think of how you can bring your film up for an international audience, how you can finance it internationally, and how you can move your film language in a direction where it is understandable, and emotional engaging to an international audience. In Denmark we accepted a long time ago, that nobody speaks danish in the world. We only have 5 million people in our country. If we should live by making films, we simply had to get our films out to the world. Nothing is happening in Denmark, we have the most boring, safe country in the world. But we were all brought up with Hans Christian Andersen, and the way he tells a story. So telling a story, no-matter weather it is from Denmark or where ever it is, can be done in a way, where other people, from other countries can understand it. To us it is not so important whether it is a good story, but it is important HOW you tell the story. Hans Christian Andersen is running in our blood, no doubt about that, his trademark was how the story was told, what was the outer story, the story your thought you were listening to, but underneath that, there was more to it, a deeper lawyer that went right into your bones and reminded you of something in your own life. I am sure the Greeks can do this; I am sure they can tell Greek stories in an international way. And there is so much more money to get hold of internationally than in Greece.
Photo credit: Marcin Kułakowski, PISF
Sigrid Dyekjær is one of the most experienced producers in Denmark when it comes to national documentary production and international cooperation. In financing, producing and creative consulting Dyekjær has an extraordinary ability to knock in doors and break down boundaries in the film-industry. Her latest documentary FREE THE MIND has so far sold 13.000 tickets in Danish cinemas and proved that there is indeed an audience for feature length documentaries.
Besides her work at Danish Documentary Sigrid teaches at the National Film School of Denmark, as well as doing master classes and lectures at film schools around the world, eg. her lecture 'Bridging the Gab' on documentary filmmaking and international pitching-sessions.
Sigrid is educated in dramaturgy from the University in Aarhus, and has been a part-owner of the production company Tju –Bang Film before she became part-owner of Danish Documentary Production.
What makes for a good story?
In my world there is no great story, there are only great Directors!
What is the connecting line between The monastery, Mechanical Love, The Good Life, Ai Weiwei, and all the other successful docs you have produced? (Ballroom Dancer...)
They all have really great directors. They are great storytellers, they invest themselves. and have a vision. The films are not perfect films, but they are personal films. I feel there is a director behind them, with a clear vision of what they want to tell, and they take care of telling it in an entertaining way, emotional way, so I get engaged as an audience.
You tell stories on the ground, on line and up in the air. You obviously are a hard-worker. How do you manage your work and private life?
I guess there never is a real answer to this, but my best answer is, I meditate, I do yoga 2-3 times a week - that helps me. AND I LOVE MY WORK.
Slots and strands in television are shrinking; the young audience does not watch TV anymore. Productions receive less and less funding. Yet, thousands of documentaries are produced every year and are screened in hundreds of festivals. Where can all this go? What is the future of docs?
I think we are in a time of change. Where a film previously was produced and distributed liniear, we now have the film in the center, circulated by a lot of possibilities around us. It forces us to think differently about our film, to be with our film in the center of it all, and look at all the possibilities we have around us. It has never been more fun to distribute your film, there are so many possibilities, ways of doing it, so much audience around the world you can get in contact with. Now you just have to learn tools, ways, social traffic in order to get in contact with them, but boy it is so much more fun! As long as we make great films, there is always an audience for them, you just have to find it.
Did you see any good films lately?
Tons - the new selection of films we will work with at this years Dok Incubator where I teach. Just wait until autumn, you will see 8 new wonderful films coming out of this program.
May I introduce you (if you do not know her already) to the Queen of Danish documentary film, Sigrid Dyekjær, who runs Danish Documentary Production. I have always wanted to interview her, to try to discover why her wand is magic!
You are regarded as the queen of production! What makes you and your team so successful?
Ha ha ha... I never said I was the queen of Danish documentary film; thank god there are a lot of queens in my country doing this. But I think what is special about us, is we never sacrifice the film in order to deliver. We rather want to spend 1-2 more years in developing the film, if we feel it is not there yet or even produce it for 2-3 years more, if it is not at the level where we feel we can get it, than finish it. It is a priveledge, but we will do it. We don´t think of ourselves in this, we only think about our film, and our audience. we don´t want to disappoint them.
Denmark is a small country with a big film industry - why is that?
We have quite good State funding. They have decided, even in financial crises, that giving money to culture and films is good; it makes people happy to see good films, and they get inspired, it gives a better mood and wellbeing to the people. The state has decided that you should be able to watch danish films in both cinema and on TV, so they have even given TV money to spent on films - only.
We also have a very professional industry now in Denmark, due to more money, a better film school.
Stay tunded! The article is going to be continued...
This is the letter Navina Khadib director of producer wrote after her visit to the Thessaloniki Documentary film festival.
Navinas film (first feature film) a wonderful documentary CASA LUZ about an children's home in Peru was part of the official selection.
Here is what she wrote to the festival after returning to Berlin.
Dear Thessaloniki Festival Team,
I can‘t tell you enough, how thankful I am for the invitation to your wonderful festival. I am still overwhelmed by your organization skills, helpfulness, good humor, the city and your passion for film. Your communication and hospitality were amazing, I even would say unique in this field.
I have attended quite a lot of festivals so far and none of them felt as perfect as yours. As I also worked for film festivals, I know how hard it is to organize and to hold a festival. All those tiny and big challenges which you simply can‘t prepare for and have to be flexible and persistent. You did such a great job on this.
In times of political instability it is even more important to overcome those tensions and borders by art and culture. Documentary films let us dive into the worlds of people and makes us empathize with them. I believe in this world empathy is the key and the answer. Your festival is a great contribution to it and it shows what can arise under the impulse of passion.
I really would like you to know that your work is special and important. Keep on this fantastic work. Thank you for everything.
Many regards,
Navina Khatib - Director and Producer / House of Light (Casa Luz)
Point of no return is a film by Alkmini Bourra produced for the ARTE Greek Theme Day, broadcast on ARTE in August 2013, spanning an entire day dedicated to Greece.
It is a film about people who have chosen to stay in Greece and fight for a better life. The more the idea of democracy crumbles, the more faith in a sense of community increases. The film shows contemporary Greece and its people, who don't want to be seen as victims but as citizens who are coping with this challenge.
Watch the ARTE GREEK THEME DAY presentations here, filmed in Metaxourgeio, a vibrant, alternative central Athens area.
Production: dreamerjointventure Berlin, ZDF/ARTE
You can watch Point of no return at the Thessaloniki Documentary Festival on March 20, 2014 at 15.00 at the John Cassavetes Cinema Theatre, or at the Market.
They work with the teams of director, editor and Producer, with their films, to improve their film and work with the producers and teams to learn how to do international financing and distribution. They also work with the films to make them more international as well. Director and editor has cooperation with big european editors to improve the films. The course is held in different European cities. It is a media supported program like EAVE, but just for documentaries in post production.
