The Future of Filmmaking Lies in its Past
We spoke to the curator of Berlinale Shorts, Maike Mia Höhne to find out more about this year’s selection and the current state of filmmaking. text: Anita Libor
THE FUN PART One morning we get a phone call in the office. Barbara, our colleague from the Datacenter calls: “Why do you want to give an accreditation to Joao Viana? He already has one.” “What? How?!” “He got one via the Forum…” I do a quick search and yes, he has a feature length film in the Forum and suddenly everything makes sense: he has made a short and a feature, both based on the same material. I call my colleagues from the Forum: “Do you have a film from Portugal in this year’s selection?” “Yes.” “Are there parts in black and white and the rest printed in red?” “Yes, why?” “Me too!” “What?” “Yes, me too! You have the long version, I will screen the short version.” The power of cinema allows you to think about your subject in different ways, to tell stories and share moments with completely different approaches, to use footage in a liberating way: that’s how Joao, the director of Tabato and A Batalha de Tabato (The Battle of Tabato) explains his touch. THE LEITMOTIF It is often the first film to be chosen that gives an idea about what is going to happen and about the films that will come up within the next weeks. This year, Una Ciudad en una Ciudad (A City Within a City) was the first film to be selected, like last year it was Say Goodbye to the Story.
Una Ciudad en una Ciudad gives a detailed view into the tallest squatted house in the world. This squatted house represents a reflection of society, in Foucault’s sense. Many films of this year’s selection follow this idea. They go to special places, they go into detailed moments of life and find, like in a mirror, a picture of society. What is property - if property belongs to all? How do you deal with what is the same to all? What can you do if all you can do is wait? But life is not about waiting, but continuously continuing its own way. War gives a break to normal life. THE FILMMAKER When I select a film, I select a film. We watch it, we discuss it. I watch it several times and it still has to be interesting to me, even after I have seen it couple of times. And then we do research on the film and find out about the filmmaker - who they are, whether they have made any other films before, do I know them, etc. But still, I select a film: whether it was made by someone unknown, or by a famous name behind the oeuvre - it doesn’t matter.
WOSH by Daazo.com - the European Shortfilm Centre 7