THE DOG
FELICE CHI È DIVERSO HAPPY TO BE DIFFERENT
FINDING VIVIAN MAIER
DIRECTOR Allison Berg, Frank Keraudren PANORAMA DOKUMENTE USA 2013, 101’, English/Without ST
DIRECTOR Gianni Amelio PANORAMA DOKUMENTE Italy 2014, 93’, Italian/English ST
DIRECTOR John Maloof, Charlie Siskel PANORAMA DOKUMENTE USA 2014, 84’, English/Without ST
07.02. / 22:30 CineStar 7 08.02. / 15:30 Colosseum 1
10.02. / 17:00 CineStar 7 11.02. / 12:00 CineStar 7
08.02. / 14:30 CineStar 7 09.02. / 22:30 CineStar 7
12.02. / 17:00 CineStar 7 13.02. / 12:00 CineStar 7
13.02. / 17:30 Cubix 7 15.02. / 17:00 International
11.02. / 17:00 CineStar 7 12.02. / 12:00 CineStar 7
14.02. / 14:00 International
Over ten years in the making, Allison Berg’s and Frank Keraudren’s powerful documentary The Dog follows the life of John Wojtowicz, who spectacularly attempted to secure the money for his partner’s sex change by robbing a bank in Brooklyn in 1972. His attempted heist was made famous by Sidney Lumet’s 1975 film Dog Day Afternoon. Making use of copious archive footage, photographs and testimonials from contemporaries, the filmmakers follow not only Wojtowicz’s occasionally bizarre life and progression from lower-middle class rightwinger to militant gay activist, but also provide an unconventional survey of gay culture in New York during the past forty years. The Dog is truly a labour of love with Wojtowicz as its fascinating anti-hero, captured here in all his humaneness: ‘the dog’ (as he likes to call himself) is lovable, manic, heroic, hopelessly sentimental, self-destructive, sex-obsessed, violent, manipulative, obsessive and unpredictable. His drastic, earthy humour also makes him a fantastic storyteller.
13.02. / 15:30 Colosseum 1
An older gay couple in a city in northern Italy talk about their decades-long relationship. A man describes how he was physically abused by his father because of his sexual identity. Another, who had a high-flying career, recounts a sexually fulfilled life and mentions numerous homosexual politicians. Gay men from across the social classes and regions of the country have their say and discuss the different conditions which determined gay life in Italy. Their stories recall isolation, discrimination, suffering and violence, but also reveal designs for a happy life. There is a discomfiting and controversial discrepancy between the reality of the individual accounts and the media coverage. The latter often portrays gay people with a discriminatory irony or is manipulating and vitriolic, especially where intellectuals are concerned. With Felice chi è diverso, Gianni Amelio relates a gay history of Italy since fascist times. His anthropological study becomes a cultural history of the country. His analysis of social conditions is both moving and enraging and refuses to allow the audience to remain indifferent.
John Maloof loves forced sales where he can acquire items from an individual’s private estate. One day he makes the astonishing discovery of a box of undeveloped films and negatives that were found in an attic. The material reveals moving moments of ordinary life in America which are reminiscent of the street photography of major artists such as Helen Levitt or Robert Frank. There are a particularly large number of photographs of children, absorbed in play, or staring confidently into the lens. But who was behind the camera? And why were the photographs of Vivian Maier, who died alone at the age of 83, never discovered? John Maloof embarks on his research. He is hunting for clues about the life of this woman who for over forty years travelled the world with her camera, dressed boldly in men’s checked shirts, and worked as a nanny in Chicago’s wealthy suburbs. When he visits these families they describe Maier as a reserved and introverted woman who nonetheless observed her environment with great attention. His ensuing portrait is a fascinating depiction of an artist with an open gaze to which even strangers consented, allowing her to plumb their soul with her lens.