World of Young Cinema - the Cannes 2016 issue

YOUNG CINEMA a magazine for emerging filmmakers published by daazo.com – the European Shortfilm Centre

Visit the GERMAN PAVILION for more information about German short films!

2016 CANNES PREMIERE

Sunday, 15 May 2016 路 6:00 pm 路 OLYMPIA 1

CANNES EDITION 2016

9 NEW GERMAN SHORT FILMS available at the Short Film Corner at the Festival de Cannes and on Preview DVD. www.ag-kurzfilm.de

www.german-films.de

CONTENTS 6 12 43 53 61

Ascending the golden steps – young cinema at the 69th Festival de Cannes Mapping your Mind – a celebration of creativity The different shapes of time – formats and genres Festival Focus – Vienna Independent Shorts Challenges and perspectives – entering the world of cinema

Fear and anxiety at a close-up – an interview with Cannes regular Simón Mesa Soto, page 8 Stepping in the waves of Beirut – talking to Short Film Palme d’Or winner Ely Dagher, page 10 In the circles of Cannes – Naomi Kawase, president of the Cinéfondation Jury, page 31 Catching little fish in the biggest pond of Europe – Suburbia goes to Cannes, page 34 European co-production rocks!

– this year’s Producers on the Move, page 36 Your Cannes dictionary – what is what in Cannes?, page 40 Freedom or the The Five Obstructions?

– short genres from a director’s point of view, page 44 The Format Never Stops – a short history of film formats, page 47 Does it hurt to experience a film?

– reality and memory in cinema, page 48 From paralysis to opportunity – on adapting to the changes in the art of film, page 50 Fear is not an option – the mission of Vienna Independent Shorts, page 54 “between art and filmmaking” – an interview with the artistic director of VIS, page 56 Road to the Oscars® – how to become an Acadamy Award qualifying festival?, page 58 Artist in residence – Réka Bucsi’s VIS, page 59 “It’s a marathon to make a feature film, not a sprint” – an interview with Sparrows director Rúnar Rúnarsson, page 62 Firsts first – producers talk about their first features, page 64 “Talent does not dry up” – emerging women filmmakers and their tortuous path, page 66 Festival Panorama, page 70

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Migdia CHINEA

Migdia Chinea is a UCLA MFA in Film, 2012 with 75 on-screen writing credits. A director/writer who struggles to maintain her Glendale, CA historic landmark, she is working on her 6th guerilla feature film When it rains… and she shoots everything out of her home. Read her article on emerging women filmmakers on page 68.

Panni BODONYI

Zoltán BUKOVICS

Panni is a Hungarian freelance illustrator based in Copenhagen.

She enjoys working with any kind of printed or digital media that involves visual storytelling, be it children’s book illustration, comics or board game design.

Her illustrations are the life and soul of this issue of World of Young Cinema. www.invisiblefriend.dk

Zoltán is the layout designer of this issue of World of Young Cinema.

After his media and communication studies he wanted to be a photographer for NatGeo, but instead he went on to design books and magazines, and the branding of Budapest Transport Centre (BKK).

What was the first film that made you say "wow"?

Blade Runner and it still makes me say WOW.

Probably not the first, but one of the most memorable wow-experience for me was the Cloud Atlas by Tom Tykwer and The Wachowskis. It’s a perfectly designed chaos – a genius adaptation of a beautiful story about being human and how everything is connected.

The Thirteenth Floor by Josef Rusnak, my first encounter with the virtual world.

Film of your choice for a first date?

La Grande Belleza – Love Rome.

I think I would go for something extreme, like The Duke of Burgundy for example, or Lawrence Anyways.

Intouchables by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano

Film of your choice for a quiet night in on your own?

Carol – read the book and love mystery author Patricia Highsmith.

One of the masterworks by my favourite director, Wim Wenders.

Yves Robert’s 60s French comedy Ni vu, ni connu with Louis de Funès.

What comes to mind when you hear "Cannes"?

Brigitte Bardot, Roger Vadim and Marcello Mastroianni.

Excellent European art cinema.

North and South.

North in the summer, South in the winter.

Clive Owen.

I’m in love with the landscape of planet Pandora in Avatar.

Antonioni – Blow up – I love mystery triangles.

It would be difficult to choose – they are both geniuses and both have created many significant films.

My friend Virág Zomborácz developed her quirky debut feature Afterlife there, which went on to become a great international festival hit.

North or South?

Your secret crush?

Julianne Moore.

Tarantino or Antonioni?

Antonioni. Actually, anyone but Tarantino. To me, his work is nothing but a form of guilty pleasure.

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illustration by Panni Bodonyi

West.

CREATIVITY AND FRESHNESS – a letter from the editor, Zsuzsanna Deák

Dear Friends, As I’m writing these words, the final programme of the Cannes Film Festival has just been announced. Once again, I’m almost bursting with excitement and anticipation when I think about all that awaits us at the biggest film event in Europe. There are the old classics of course, and the established filmmakers who return there year after year; however, there is also the new talent that manifests itself as the Cinéfondation and short film selections, and the debut features that compete for the Camera d’Or – so much creativity and freshness! We have attempted to offer a glimpse into this amazing world of new talent in this magazine: please find our interviews and articles on the young cinema aspects of Cannes starting on page 6. Our ever popular Mapping Your Mind section returns as well, where Cinéfondation directors describe their films through the art of drawing.

The main focus of this issue of World of Young Cinema is formats, both from a technical and an artistic point of view. Turn to page 42 and in that section you can read all about the history of different film formats, find an essay analyzing film experience from a philosophical angle, see how a filmmaker tackles different formats and genres and consider the blurred line between cinema and video, film and content.

Wherever we go, people ask us about our festival experiences. This is why we decided to dedicate a whole section to a different film festival in every issue of World of Young Cinema. Please meet Vienna Independent Shorts: we introduce this fresh and young but thoroughly professional event on page 53. We hope to reconnect with many of our readers at this exciting event which takes place right after Cannes.

Finally, we attempt to offer insight into the challenges that emerging filmmakers face.

We interviewed the director of festival favourite Sparrows and asked three young European producers about their debut feature film experience. You can read about directing from a woman’s point of view in our article on emerging women filmmakers.

We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed writing it.

Here’s to a great festival!

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G

ASCENDIN

THE GOLDEN STEPS There seems to be a change in the air… The most tangible sign of this is the poster of the 69th Festival de Cannes. It has broken with the decades-long tradition of showing one iconic film star, instead, choosing to show an iconic moment of film. Furthermore, it reflects the first film that was made about films; an ode to traditional cinema, Godard’s Contempt. So, it would seem the focus of attention in Cannes will be on the heart of cinema this year; artistic vision and creative force. World of Young Cinema is only too happy to follow the same path. Please find our collection of articles and interviews on the fierce, creative vibes that can be found all over this year’s festival.

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illustration by Panni Bodonyi

FEAR AND ANXIETY AT A CLOSE-UP Two years ago Simon Mesa Soto’s short film Leidi, the story of a young girl travelling through her village to find the father of her son, won the Short Film Palme d’Or at the 67th Cannes Film Festival. This year, Simon is returning to the Official Competition with Madre, which once again follows a girl who is leaving her home to attend a porn audition. The film is part of the Break the Silence project, which creates awareness of sexual abuse against young children. interview by Janka Pozsonyi

You won your first Palme d'Or at quite a young age. How has winning this award changed your life and career as a filmmaker?

Leidi was my last work from film school. It was a big deal for me to get such an award when I was at a starting point of exploring the ways I wanted to make films. It was great and I have learned many things in the past two years. However, it doesn’t mean I am different from other directors of my age; there are many directors I like who didn’t get festival attention with their shorts but made great films. Right now the best thing for me is not to think too much about it and to keep on making the next one.

Now that you're re-living the experience of Cannes again, what do you think is going to be different the second time around?

I won’t have the pressure and anxiety of the first time when I was discovering what Cannes is all about. Right now I am more concerned about my first feature film, so I guess that will be a great moment to talk to people about it.

Both of your films follow a strong female character. Is there a connection between the story of Leidi and Madre?

It somehow happens in a very intuitive way; when I am writing a script I am always trying to find interesting characters and situations and it is at the end when I realize there is a connection between them. Both are young girls from the same city and pass through very emotional situations and both films have some similarities in the way I observe them. However, I try to add different elements as I explore new ways of telling a story. For instance, in Leidi the

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landscape around her was very important for me, while on Madre the camera is always very close to her as I was more interested in her face.

Can you tell us a bit more about the story of Madre? How did you come up with the idea of a young girl's travel to a porn audition?

At first, when I was invited to the Break the Silence project, I wasn’t sure I wanted to make a film about the sexual abuse of children because I didn’t know much about it. However, as I started researching I found out many stories of girls in these situations and felt the need to tell the story. I came across a series of porn videos with young girls from Medellin, some of them underage, and I was shocked by the expressions of fear and anxiety on their faces. This is why we tell the story predominantly with close-up shots of our female character. I wanted to highlight what we don’t see when watching these videos online, following her life before and after her experience.

What is Break the Silence? How did you get involved in the organization?

I got a Facebook massage from David Herdies, a producer from the Swedish company Momento Film. He saw my previous film and invited me to take part in Break the Silence, a project that gathers four directors from different parts of the world with the challenge of telling a story that will create awareness and increase public engagement about sexualized violence against children.  still photo from Madre

DAAZO FESTIVAL DISTRIBUTION PORTFOLIO

FINDING A WAY OUT OF THE MAZE OF FESTIVALS

Daazo’s Festival Distribution Portfolio offers all the help a director needs, especially when it comes to choosing the right festivals. Here are some of the freshest shorts ‘strategised’ by Daazo – two of which have already caught the attention of some of the most significant and prestigious film festivals.

Do you want to know more about the films?

Do you want to be part of it?

DROP A MAIL TO INFO@DAAZO.COM!

LOVE (2016) | Director: Réka Bucsi | 14 min. | animation Festivals: Berlin International Film Festival |Hong Kong International Film Festival South by Southwest | LA Film Festival

End of Puberty (2015) | Director: Fanni Szilágyi | 13 min. | coming-of-age Festivals: 40th Toronto Film Festival | Filmfestival Cottbus | Vilnius International Film Festival

Superbia (2016) | Director: Luca Tóth | 16 min. | animation Festival: Semaine de la Critique du Festival de Cannes

Sing (2016) | Director: Kristóf Deák | 25 min. | coming-of-age Festivals: European Film Festival of Lillel (Audience Award) TIFF Kids Festival People’s Choice Award – Favourite Short Film Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia

Dialogue (2016) | Director: Gábor Fabricius | 7 min. | 35mm | drama, experimental Waiting for an international premiere.

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Stepping in the waves of Beirut – an interview with Short Film Palme d’Or winner Ely Dagher interview by Janka Pozsonyi

The animated short film Waves 98’ premiered at the Official Short Film Competition at last year’s Cannes Film Festival, and returned home with the Short Film Palme d’Or. Lebanese director Ely Dagher created this animated piece about his frustrated life as a teenager in Beirut, which defined him to be the man he is today.

What's the first thing that comes to your mind when you think about your time back in Cannes?

Everything happened so fast that it's a big happy blur. The first image that comes to mind was meeting the whole film department from the festival on the first day and discussing the film with them. It is when the reality of the situation really hit.

The story is actually based on your adolescence in Beirut. What did the city mean to you then, and what does it mean to you now?

After the end of the war in 1990, Beirut was as segregated and divided as ever.

I spent the first 16 years of my life on the outskirts of the city without ever stepping foot in the centre or going to the other side. Then, towards the end of my teenage years, I discovered the city and made new friends and it felt like I had discovered another world. It was a

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time of positivity and rebuilding. To this day, I remain very attached to Beirut.

Did you get a reaction from your hometown after the festival? Did it start any interesting conversations?

The reaction in Beirut was so gratifying.

All the things I expressed in the film were well received and felt by the audience and it was wonderful to hear how they related to the film with their own experiences. I think the film voiced my frustration and that of many other people in Beirut and its surrounding regions.

The visual elements of the film are dazzling. How did you come up with the idea of this mixed animation technique?

I don’t have a classical background in film or animation. I have always worked in different mediums and have had an eclectic style which came naturally to this project. It was important for me to

emphasise the fact that it is based on a real experience by using real archive footage. I also wanted to offer a surreal image of Beirut but I wanted to use the actual textures of the landscape which is why I incorporated photographs and video to represent it.

Could you share one of your favourite memories from the making of the film?

The film took three years to make and it was a surprisingly amazing experience all the way through. I shared many magical moments with the team I was working with but I think one of the most memorable was the few days I spent in London working with Matthew on the score and sound design. It was in that moment that everything finally came together and just clicked.

It's been a year since you won the Palme d'Or. How did this award affect your life and career and has it led to new opportunities?

Of course, but not necessarily in the way people expect. It opens up some opportunities but above all it has strengthened my resolve to pursue filmmaking.

How was the festival life of the film after Cannes? Did you submit the film yourself, or did you work with an organisation or team that helped you with the submissions?

After Cannes, the submission process becomes a bit easier because a lot of festivals contact you directly. I started off doing it by myself but I was joined by a colleague from the production team which made things easier.

What are you working on now?

Do you plan to work with animation again?

I have quite a few small projects in film and other art practices underway but I have also started writing a feature film. Animation will always be a part of my work somewhere since drawing has always been a big part of my life however, I will also be focusing more on live action for the moment. Even though my next projects will be live action doesn't mean that I won't be doing any animation in the future. The medium, be it live action or animation, is ultimately here to serve the story and the content of the film which will always have priority over it. ď §

still photos from Waves ‘98

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illustration by Panni Bodonyi

To illustrate better the relationship between directors and their work, the filmmakers whose short films have been selected for the Cinéfondation programme were asked to draw spontaneously something about their film, using a pencil and a piece of paper – or any other medium they could think of. Anything would do – a symbol, a landscape, fresh and raw, straight from their imagination.

GUDH NEST

Ten-year-old Ajay finds it difficult to cope with a new space. Set in the backdrop of a revolution for a new state, Nest is about his journey into the labyrinth of memories from his native village. All he remembers are a few vague moments of his village life and some bitter experiences.

Saurav Rai India

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AILLEURS SOMEWHERE

Suffering from consumer’s fever, a young man starts a journey to the end of the world.

Mélody Boulissière France

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LA SANTA CHE DORME SLEEPING SAINT

Laura Samani Italy

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Giacomina is twelve, chosen as guardian of Saint Achillea for the annual procession. It would be the most beautiful day, but her best friend is found in a state of seeming death, though the body is still warm. While the village is hailing it as a miracle, walking in procession with the girl instead of the statue, Giacomina is the only one wondering if everything is really lost.

BUSINESS

A girl, alongside her guitar, reunites with her father in a hotel room. He is a business man on a visit to Argentina, the country he once called home. She’s back from playing at a concert. Night falls between those four white walls, until the sun rises again.

Malena Vain Argentina

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DOBRO FINE

Mira, a Romani woman, decides to sit and rest at the front entrance of Selma’s block of flats. Selma notices her and becomes annoyed by the situation. She will try everything to kick Mira out, but she will refuse by only answering her with the word “fine”. These two women will start an endless fight that can only end well.

Marta Hernaiz Pidal Bosnia

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POUBELLE TRASH

Georges, a very angry garbage man, goes to knock on the door of a wealthy man who has left sharp and dangerous objects in his garbage bags. George is willing to kick his ass but when the door opens, he finds out that the rich man is handicapped and in a wheelchair...

Alexandre Gilmet Belgium

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BEI WIND UND WETTER WHATEVER THE WEATHER

Wally’s childhood is increasingly turned upside down by her mother’s alcohol addiction. She experiences the excesses and consequences of addiction first hand.

Desperately, the eight-year-old tries to keep up normality in her own life and the life of her family by any means.

A roller coaster ride between helplessness, excessive demands and desperation begins. It’s a daily struggle for survival.

Remo Scherrer Switzerland

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THE ALAN DIMENSION

Alan Brown uses divine powers of precognition to foresee the fate of mankind… and breakfast. Meanwhile, Wendy has had enough of being married to “the next step in cognitive evolution”.

Jac Clinch United Kingdom

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LA CULPA, PROBABLEMENTE THE GUILT, PROBABLY

Michael Labarca Venezuela

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It is the dead of night and there is a blackout in the city.

A single mother is visited by Cรกndido, her former partner and her most recent failure as a father figure for her little daughter. He returns as he wants to protect them in the dark, probably...

1 킬로그램 1 KILOGRAM

Five years after her son’s death, Min-young joins a group for women who have lost children, only to listen to someone laughing.

Park Young-ju Korean Republic

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LAS RAZONES DEL MUNDO THE REASONS IN THE WORLD

I can’t tell you my name. I’m twelve weeks pregnant. They pay my boyfriend and me to look after people. We want to go far away. We’ve saved enough money, but they brought us one last guest. He’s eight years old. We’ve never looked after a child. He’s sick and my boyfriend doesn’t want to do anything about it. I shouldn’t take him out. I’m afraid that something will happen. I hope they pay the ransom soon.

Ernesto Martínez Bucio Mexico

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SUBMARINE

Under the imminent threat of Lebanon’s garbage crisis, Hala, a wild child inside of a woman, is the only one to refuse evacuation, clinging to whatever remains of home.

Mounia Akl USA

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TOATE FLUVIILE CURG ÎN MARE ALL RIVERS RUN TO THE SEA

Radu is having a hard time dealing with his mother’s death.

Alexandru Badea Romania

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‫אנה‬

ANNA

It is a hot summer day, and for the first time in years, Anna unexpectedly finds herself alone, without her son.

She sets out for the day, roaming the streets of her small desert town, looking for a man who can touch her, even just for one brief moment.

Or Sinai Israel

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IN THE HILLS

Shahram is a young immigrant who lives in the idyllic countryside of the Cotswolds in England.

To integrate into the new society, he chooses a rather radical approach.

Hamid Ahmadi United Kingdom

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A NYALINTĂ S NESZE THE NOISE OF LICKING

A woman is being watched every day by the neighbour’s cat as she takes care of her exotic plants. Day by day the cat is lured further into her sensual world, until one night he disappears and their perverted ritual comes to an end.

Time passes, the plants grow large and the woman lives her life in isolation, content by the jungle surrounding her.

Until one day a peculiar man pays her a visit.

Nadja Andrasev Hungary

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– Naomi Kawase’s long career at the biggest film festival text by Janka Pozsonyi

Naomi Kawase is a visionary creative who has been a regular guest on the coast of Cannes since she was a first-time filmmaker, and this year she’s returning as the head of the Cinéfondation and Short Film Jury! We thought that a proper introduction needs to be in order for those who are not familiar with her work, from her early days of directing to her acknowledgement as an awarded and celebrated director at one of the most important European film festivals.

Born in the Japanese countryside of Nara, the power of nature and the simple lifestyle affected her style in filmmaking from a very early age. Having graduated from Osaka School of Photography, she immediately turned her focus on the world of films at the Osaka Visual Arts College. There she made her first documentary called Embracing; a story of her family, and the effect of her father’s abandonment and death to every family member.

Her first 35 mm film called Suzaku won her the Camera d’Or award (given to the best debut film) at the 50th Cannes Film Festival in 1997. The film is set in the mountains of Nishiyoshino, the area where Kawase spent her childhood. At the centre of the story we see a family, suffering from the economic decline of their village. The director is constantly using autobiographical elements in almost all of her films, even in the latest ones. In 2006, she directed a 40-minutelong documentary called Tarachime, once again a personal story of her family and her relationship with her old aunt who raised her, who would soon fade into dementia.

Her fourth feature film The Mourning Forest premiered at the 60th Cannes Film Festival, and won her none other than the Grand Prix, the award with the highest

standing at the festival. The film follows a nurse who, while grieving her departed child, makes friends with an elderly man.

He is constantly searching and trying to connect with his dead wife in the forest.

The film once again takes place in Nara, Naomi Kawase’s hometown. In 2011, her film Hanezu premiered in Competition in Cannes, the film takes place at the city of Asuka, recalling its ancient history and based on the novel by Masako Bando.

The circle of Cannes doesn’t stop here for Naomi Kawase: her next feature Still the Water – a love/crime story of two young people set on the island of Amami – was also got selected to enter the main competition in 2014. The 16-year-old Kaito and his girlfriend Kyoko find a dead body floating in the sea, and while they are dealing with the discovery of the crime they also learn a lot about each other, about love and the circle of life. Finally, last but not least, Kawase’s last feature Sweet Red Bean Paste was also selected for the festival, to the Un Certain Regard selection last year. It’s a beautiful story of an old lady with a positive outlook on life, and a middle-aged man who is her complete opposite. He runs a bakehouse with only one traditional Japanese pastry, ‘dorayaki’, on the menu. She helps him with her cooking talent, and in the process also awakens in him a new joy for living.

Besides her successive presence in the competition, she was also a member of the main jury in 2013, alongside Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, Nicole Kidman, Christoph Waltz, and a bunch of other talented filmmakers. Based on her prolific output to date, the judging for this year’s short films, as the head of the Jury, shouldn’t be a problem for a regular like her. 

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CANNES FILM FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT

“I grew up watching many International movies from all different parts of the world and I love helping indie filmmakers and film festivals, it’s my passion.”

INTRODUCING GOTHAM CHANDNA Passionate about social media, digital marketing, community engagement and building digital ecosystems one pixel at a time. He is ranked one of the most influential people on Twitter in the PR industry. Panel Speaker at Cannes, Sundance and LA Femme Film Festivals.

Gotham Chandna has executed some of the highly engaging LIVE social media campaigns during Sundance, Oscars, Cannes and Aruba and Shanghai Film Festivals, to name a few.

films at the Cannes Short Film Corner is very dynamic. The marketing plan from last year may not be the best this year. Gotham is equipped with an arsenal of marketing ideas and the technological tools to bring desired results. At Cannes, you can see him arrange meetings with film festival directors, buyers, distributors, VOD website professionals, or setup media interviews which not only help to promote filmmakers’ current projects but add to their marketing and promotion strategy for their future projects.

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He has helped over 50 independent filmmakers attending the Cannes Film Festival, Marché du Film and Short Film Corner with their marketing, audience reach, promotional initiatives and outreach.

Gotham’s work has been featured in LA Magazine, Inc., Huffington Post, Yahoo and several other media outlets.

Activities of Gotham Chandna during Cannes Film Festival 2016 include: Cannes Film Festival Workshops for Independent Filmmakers This is a very hands-on session for indie filmmakers to learn the many ways to harness the power of digital channels and social media to stay ahead of the game.

Gotham works on assessing the filmmakers current position, assess their needs and help them build a strategic path to their goal utilizing the tools and strategies used by agencies for big budget films.

Cannes Short Film Corner PR & Marketing Campaign A La Carte marketing and PR campaign for the short film makers. Marketing for

“Cloud 21 handled the promo in Cannes and all over the world, while my film was at the Short Film Corner. I got four offers for international distribution. I’ll be directing my first feature later this year.”

M

Y

CM

MY

Jean-Pierre Bergeron (Alone with Mr. Carter).

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Working with talent For Cannes 2016 Gotham is working closely with Nawazuddin Siddiqui who is the lead in the Director’s Fortnight Film Raman Raghav 2.0, a biopic that has him playing the notorious serial killer.

#WEMAKECANNES Gotham is involved in the launch of We Make at Cannes. We Make is an elite collective that has been dedicated to fostering the careers of top young directors, producers, writers, editors, and other creative minds from around the world since 2008. Powered by Ideas United — an award-winning creative studio.

For more information, please visit www.cloud21.com and @gothamc on Twitter.

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SFC Highlights is a service offered by World of Young Cinema magazine and Daazo.com to promote the films entered into the Short Film Corner in order to help them find an audience and industry interest. 11 films have been included in the SFC Highlights of World of Young Cinema. Their posters are displayed below, together with the directors’ contact info.

MAYA SIMCHI

MICHAEL BURSHTEIN

“Cup of Coffee” BASED ON A TRUE STORY A FILM BY

NURIT TZOREFF MARKUSE

Nurit Tzoreff – Markuse | nuritzor@bezeqint.net | nuritzor@gmail.com +972 (0)50 8155221 | All Rights Reserved © Mobile in Cannes

Children are Angels

0677268408

Nicolas Lugli

Nurith Tzoreff-Markuse

Bahar Ebrahim

nicolas@studiolugli.fr

cosscafe@gmail.com

bahar.ebra@gmail.com

Anatoliy Kim

Sha Su

Julius B. Kelly

ss_sue@hotmail.com

julius.b.kelly@gmail.com

Marie-Hélène Boyd

Annabel Graham

Sascha Reimold

acteurs.sans.frontieres@gmail.com

theravinefilm@gmail.com

sascha.reimold@michaelafilm.de

anatoliy.kim@nyfa.edu

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SFC HIGHLIGHTS

Marc Pannia contact@marcpannia.com

Paul Holtzhausen paulholtzfilm@gmail.com

David Solomon

Calum Rhys

daasolomon@gmail.com

calumrhys@gmail.com

Kristof Hoornaert

Krist贸f De谩k

vanacker.wim@gmail.com

kristof.deak@yahoo.co.uk

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U N I F R A N C E P RO U D LY S UP P ORTS THES E 1 5 F R E NC H SHO RT FILMS S ELECTED AT CAN N E S 20 1 6 OFFICIAL SELECTION - COMPETITION APRÈS SUZANNE (Félix MOATI) LA LAINE SUR LE DOS (Lotfi ACHOUR) IL SILENZIO (Farnoosh SAMADI, Ali ASGARI) DIRECTOR’S FORTNIGHT CHASSE ROYALE (Lise AKOKA, Romane GUERET) DECORADO (Alberto VÁSQUEZ) LÉTHÉ (Dea KULUMBEGASHVILI) CRITICS’ WEEK CAMPO DE VÌBORAS (Cristèle ALVES MEIRA) L’ENFANCE D’UN CHEF (Antoine DE BARY) LIMBO (Konstantina KOTZAMANI) LE SOLDAT VIERGE (Erwan LE DUC) BONNE FIGURE (Sandrine KIBERLAIN) EN MOI (Laetitia CASTA) CINÉFONDATION AILLEURS (Mélody BOULISSIÈRE) ARAM (Fereshteh PARNIAN) GABBER LOVER (Anna CAZENAVE CAMBET)

20 of the most energetic, emerging producers from across Europe have been selected by European Film Promotion (EFP) to participate in the networking platform Producers on the Move at the Cannes International Film Festival. They talk to World of Shorts about their work, philosophy and objectives. text by Zsuzsanna Deák

Undine Filter is the founder of the independent film production company Departures Film which focuses on powerful and uncomfortable films.

“I love working as a producer because this job combines organisation with creativity.

No day is like the other as no project is like another one. There is always variation.

I like to work with people from different cultural, religious and social backgrounds – it’s a great personal enrichment.”

“I would like to conserve my energy and my love for filmmaking in order to have the same strength I have now to produce films which are powerful and un-adapted.

I love what I do so I hope that it will not have changed in 10 years’ time.”

“The Producers on the Move programme offers the unique opportunity to meet others, to exchange ideas and to get to know the other participants on a very personal level. Every co-production is like a marriage for a limited time: you go through highs and lows and you have to cooperate. It’s based on the same vision and on mutual trust.”

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Milan Stojanovic is a Belgrade based film producer, festival programmer, EAVE graduate and a camp fire expert.

“Although I have huge respect for directing and acting, I feel producing is the most comprehensive occupation in cinema and I feel this is the field that allows me to contribute the most.”

“The biggest problem I couldn’t solve as a producer was: keeping the writer/director from expanding the 5-min animation film to a 30-min animation film. In production process. A living hell.”

“I did one international co-production as a producer, but several more as a line producer and every time I learned a lot – different ways of budgeting, technical approaches, different mentalities. And the words ‘silence, please’ in all the languages.”

“Obviously, the first films I produced are the ones that made me fall in love with this job, but when I watched the first rough cut of Banat by Adriano Valerio, I was deeply moved. The ability to tell something through images, the poetry of the unsaid and of certain blurs can still make me say ‘Wow’ and forget the business for benefit of the arts.”

“Taking part in the artistic aspects of the film’s creation is part of the producer’s work. Choosing a director (or author) rather than another is already an artistic choice. If I had time, I’d participate in the writing of the script itself.”

Bendig Heggen Strønstad is a real Norwegian viking doing polar expeditions when he is not producing genre films with a mythical and fantastic touch.

“You can do a bunch of shorts while waiting to get your next feature going and you can just tell a short part of a longer story.”

“In ten years’ time I’ll either be living in a small cottage up in the mountains in Norway hunting and fishing for food, going to the stream for water, no cell phone connection and no electricity.

Or constantly producing content with a mythical, fantastic and supernatural touch for an international audience.”

“I like to be involved in projects from an early stage giving input and bouncing ideas back and forth with the writers and directors. Also, I think it’s important to be at the set regularly to get the feel and mood of the production.”

“Only by creating a space for new visions and producing possibilities can we try to create/produce films that are capable of crossing our country’s borders. We need films that give an international air to our industry.”

Boštjan Ikovic is a Slovenian producer who turns ideas into projects, and projects into serial success.

“Film runs in the family; I was born with it, I live with it and I’ve been doing it for quite a while.”

Aet Laigu is an Estonian producer and screenwriter (alter ego Al Wallcat).

“Producing allows me to realize all my strength as a human being and an individual.”

“Any location scouting is an adventure, because you always meet new and interesting people and discover their stories.”

“On shooting a lot of things can go wrong, but the most important thing is that you predict what can go wrong and when it happens you need to think clearly and quickly to solve it.”

“I always try to create a good atmosphere for my crew. When the energy is low or something is extremely hard to shoot I always want to put up new wind and cheer them up…”

illustration by Panni Bodonyi

Emanuele Nespeca started his cinema experience in 2005 producing festival movies like Pietro by Daniele Gaglianone (Locarno) and Notizie degli scavi by Emidio Greco (Venice), Il futuro by Alicia Scherson (Sundance Film Festival) and Banat by Adriano Valerio (Venice Critic’s Week).

Klaudia Smieja is one of Poland’s internationally active producers, currently working on Holland’s journalistic thriller Gareth Jones.

“The first that made me say wow? Funny that I just come back to this movie two days ago… It was Gandahar. I was 9 then and I took the canon of the human body beauty from there.”

“I think I‘m in the good place right now with lots challenges around which stimulate and push me to move further. And I hope I will never lose this feeling of going in the right direction in the next 10 years.”

“Before I jumped into producing I had been working as a location manager for years.

So here I have many rocks in my pockets.

The very unusual one we made for Agnus Dei, where we were searching for closed convents.”

A cross pollination of fiction and documentary formed Janneke Doolaard – managing director of Dutch production company KeyDocs – as a producer, not just to cross genre borders, but because every story has its own, unique form: anything goes if it works.

“Once I read somewhere that ‘a country without documentaries is like a family without a photo album’. I wanted to contribute to the heritage of stories, deepening the identity of society.”

“I gradually discovered that what interested me most was not telling stories but to ensure that certain stories were told. So, due to a habit of connecting people as well, I became ‘like a spider in the web’.”

“I am interested in hybrid projects not because of crossing borders of different genres in itself, but I believe every story has its own, unique form: anything goes if it works.”

“From the perspective of financing and content, I believe, being a small but present and ambitious player on the international market, to balance on the border of experience that exactly fits the programme in Cannes.”

Starting 2003, Joël Jent has produced several documentary and short film projects, including films under his own direction. He appreciates arthouse cinema, is a binge-watching enthusiast and pursues his dream of producing an international drama series in the near future.

“I do as well love the process of developing – discussions and refining – it seems to me much like the work of a sculptor.”

“I like the mix of my line of work. It has a very creative part, but it is as well about believing – in the film and being able to pull it off and in a further step creating the framework to make it possible.”

“I think it is important for a director to have a producer he can trust and to have a critical counterpart that keeps on questioning him and his decisions, when others don’t anymore.”

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“You are the father of the film – even if the director gives birth to it, it is your baby as well.”

“It was with Tarantino´s Pulp Fiction when I understood there was a different way of telling stories.”

“I am an engineer turned producer so in ten years I could be anywhere.”

“In many productions we do serve coffee, clean the table, drive the truck, and do whatever is necessary.”

Dagne Vildziunaite is a Vilnius-based film producer working in her 8-year-old film production company ,”Just a moment” and at the moment shooting her 16th film.

“The first film that dazzled me was Stalker by Tarkovsky. I just remember that at some point I understood I’m watching it with mouth open. That was the film that took me to another reality.”

“I always tell young people – do not rush to get “decent” job, better spend time looking for yourself.”

“I can’t remember scouting but shooting in church was a really strange thing. It really gave me a strong feeling of what a “set up reality” we all live without really questioning it.”

Mikkel Jersin has produced/ co-produced a variety of price winning feature films that have premiered in competition in Cannes, Berlin and Toronto, but recently, Jersin and two partners have launched a Copenhagen based production company called Snowglobe and a slate of fresh titles by new talents and acclaimed directors.

“I think it’s important as a producer, to try what it’s like to direct a movie, so that there is no buried dream of becoming the director one day and so that one can emphasize with the challenges of the director.”

“In Denmark there is no strict hierarchy anywhere, which is probably one of the reasons why Danish films are doing so great. People are allowed great responsibility and because of that do their best.”

“The most adventurous location scouting I did was in Iceland in the North East valleys and at the end of civilization. It was for the feature film Sparrows.”

“Good people always bring me luck.”

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illustration by Panni Bodonyi

Pedro Hernández Santos was a qualified engineer until his film director friend Antonio Mendez Esparza asked him for help to produce his avant-garde and awarded debut Here and There.

Sometimes it is di cult to find your way in the maze of Cannes’s sections and parallel programmes, often referred to by their French name by festival veterans. Here is our little help in the form of a dictionary. French and English do have a lot in common, as it turns out!

YOUR CANNES DICTIONARY “Every year in May, Cannes gives a sort of snapshot – both ephemeral and lasting, when one adds up the years – of what constitutes the art of cinema.”

Thierry Frémaux, festival director

SÉLECTION OFFICIELLE ‘o cial selection’

a collection which serves to highlight the diversity of cinematic creation through its di erent sections.

COMPÉTITION ‘competition’ films that are representative of “auteur cinema having a wide audience appeal”

UN CERTAIN REGARD ‘a certain regard’ films with various types of visions and styles, those with an original aim and aesthetic

HORS COMPÉTITION ‘out of competition’ films that are not selected into the o cial programme, but still deserve a screening, and a reaction from the audience and the press

CANNES CLASSICS new or restored prints, tributes to filmmakers or foreign cinema, documentaries on filmmaking

CINÉFONDATION short and medium length films coming from film schools all over the world, o ering a testimony to the diversity and dynamism of young international filmmakers

SÉANCES SPÉCIALES SÉANCES DE MINUIT ‘special screenings’ – ‘midnight screenings’ special opportunities to view more personal works

MARCHÉ DU FILM

VILLAGE INTERNATIONAL

QUINZAINE DES RÉALISATEURS

‘film market’ a meeting place for industry professionals, who get together every year on the Croisette with one goal: the successful production of all films

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‘international village’ an exhibition and networking venue that enables countries to showcase and raise the profiles of their cinematography, their cultural indentity and their film institutions

‘directors’ fortnight’ an independent minded and noncompetitive event which supports individually talented filmmakers by introducing their work to the critics and the audience

CANNES COURT MÉTRAGE ‘Cannes short film’

an entity which brings two sections – Short Film Corner and the Short Film Competition together, to encourage emerging talents, and the format of short film SHORT FILM CORNER an area for meeting people, exchanging ideas and promoting films with a programme including industry meets, workshops and conferences

COMPÉTITION ‘competition’ a selection of short films represented at the Competition, at the end of which the short films Jury awards a Palme d’Or or ‘Golden Palm’

CINÉFONDATION SÉLECTION ‘selection’ part of the o cial selection with a programme of short and medium length films (see o cial selection)

ATELIER ‘atelier’ an initiative which selects about fifteen projects for feature length films from around the world, and invites their directors to the festival to meet a group of film professionals, giving them the chance to gain access to international financing and speed up the production process

SEMAINE DE LA CRITIQUE ‘critics’ week’ a showcase of first and second feature films by directors from all over the world – the aim of the programme is to explore and reveal new creations, by discovering new talents in both the feature and short film industry RÉSIDENCE ‘residence’ a programme that welcomes a dozen young directors who are working on their first or second fictional feature film project every year, in two sessions lasting four and a half months, providing them with a place of residence in Paris, a personalised programme accompanying the writing of their scripts, and forums with film industry professionals

L’ACID a sidebar which takes its name from the initials of its sponsor – the Association du Cinema Indépendent pour sa Diffusion ‘Association for Distribution of Independent Cinema’, an organisation dedicated to helping independent films find distribution, presenting around nine feature films from around the world which do not have distribution attached

http://www.festivalcannes.fr, http://www.quinzainerealisateurs.com, http://www.semainedelacritique.com

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The different shapes of The format of short film is an open territory for a lot of genres; fiction, advertisement, short documentary etc...

Also, the length of a film is definitely not a limit if you want to tell a short but meaningful story. And shorts are getting bigger and better every year – more and more short film festivals are becoming Academy Award-qualifying, and create more attention for this great artform. Here we recount the success story of one particular festival – the Vienna Independent Shorts – which takes place right after Cannes. A wonderfully civilized way to relax after the rush of the Cote d’Azur: dive into some fine short films and tasty Sacher cake!

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Freedom or the obstructions?

– short genres from a director’s point of view text by Judit Anna Molnár and Márton Szirmai

The short film format is an elusive one – when one thinks one has caught and understood it, it has already evaporated. From time to time, short films turn up on the internet, sometimes on the big screen before feature films, or on television – or even curated in blocks at film festivals. Shorts sometimes have the intention of conveying a message, other times they advertise a product, but often their purpose is solely to entertain. But where does a filmmaker begin?

What must he consider when he is commissioned to create a commercial, or a public service advertisement? What obstacles will he face? And finally: what is more important: creative freedom, or gaining professional experience?

Filmmaker Márton Szirmai and his partner in art (and life) Judit Anna Molnár explore the format and its genres from the point of view of the creator.

Commercial If film means condensation, then a commercial means condensation multiplied. It is a common misconception that making a feature film is the most complex challenge for a director when to put a clear message in 90 seconds to a great effect is just as, if not more, difficult. There is no time to stop and look in an advertisement: the effect one has to create must happen in seconds.

This way, conceiving form and content is more direct and more didactic: we cannot let the viewers stray away, we cannot let them explore a hundred different narratives because our commissioner does not pay us to do that. Why do filmmakers enjoy experimenting with this strict genre then? Many directors of feature films have gained a great amount of experience with commercials: besides learning a lot about condensation, montage, editing and how to guide actors, they can gain technical knowledge

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that inspires them and makes them more confident in their career, to the delight of their audience – and this means that although commercials might often be controversial from a social point of view, their contribution to the film industry is priceless.

Public service advertisement Many directors are thrilled when they are asked to convey an important social message through the art of motion picture. When directing a public service advertisement, the filmmaker’s artistic freedom is greater because the commissioner draws up less limitations. It is also a wonderful field for experimenting, and offers great satisfaction to work in the service of a good cause. These works are then shared and viewed by a great number of people on the internet. All in all, the public service advertisement is always a grateful subject and even directors

who could never be persuaded to shoot a commercial would never say no to directing one.

Short television documentary The obstacles – and helping hands – filmmakers encounter when directing a TV series vary country by country. In many territories, commissioning editors are there for directors: they hold their hands along the way and offer them help during shooting and post-production – naturally, keeping the priorities of their TV channel in mind. In other countries, directors get a free hand with their TV project: the financing party, or the TV channel doesn’t supervise the creative process. The same model sometimes works for the televison channel’s own programmes, too, not only for the external projects. But what is better for a director? Creative freedom is a wonderful thing, however, an extra pair of expert eyes can offer a huge amount of added value. It can inspire and motivate, change one’s attitude, and show a way out when the creator is temporarily stuck. Just as much as deadlines can be truly inspiring, restrictions can often become the cradle of great solutions.

Live actions short Considering distribution, short films are the most difficult segments of the film industry. This affects the directors, too.

But on the plus side: the stakes are not as high as in the case of features – neither financially, nor from a professional point of view. Short film is a great field for experimenting: not only to find one’s way in the labyrinth of genres, but also to perfect one’s directing skills. How could one learn how to guide actors better than through directing short films?

Actors are keen to say yes to shorts, because the shooting takes only a few

days. Short film teaches us to express ourselves better – we can find out that almost everything can be told within a shorter amount of time that we had thought – or, on the contrary, we can learn that our idea requires a full feature film. The risk of failure is smaller, because the audience can forgive – and forget – a boring film easier if it is short. Why are most short film makers from young generations? Is it a cultural phenomenon?

Or is the format less alluring to directors as they get older? There are many possible answers, but the truth is probably the least romantic answer: when one gets older and has his own family, it is no longer possible to dedicate all one’s time to selfless pro bono work, and has to look for other options with a better market value: after all, the creative process of a short film requires almost the same amount of immersion from the director’s side as a full-length feature – only the stakes are lower.

Short musical One doesn’t often encounter short musicals. They can be a slippery slope for the director: there are not many examples and inspirations for them, and it is very easy to go wrong. And yet, there are a few experiments – and if the experiments happen to be successful, a positive reception can make up for one’s troubles.

It is also a huge challenge for the composer when the main part is played by music. It also means that the actors have to show a new and very different face. The director, however has to be even more prepared than everyone else.

Naturally, it is important to choose actors with a good singing voice. If one makes a casting mistake, it can put a great strain on the audio postproduction department, while deciding for a voice change can cause a lot

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of upset. A good sense of rhythm is a must, too, because the real singing is usually recorded at an earlier stage, and during shooting, the actors usually mouth their part. Even if there are no technical problems, dramaturgical challenges can still cause a few sleepless nights. For younger generations, even a musical from the 1960s can come across as funny. If one considers musical as the genre of the extremes, and doesn’t shy away from becoming childish or slightly infantile, it is worth experimenting with it: at the end of the day, whatever happens, one will have learnt something new.

Animation

illustration by Panni Bodonyi

Every director should make at least one animation. The specific creative process of this genre offers a power to learn, improve and plan only comparable to that of the old times, when films were still shot on celluloid. In this genre, everything has to be perfectly conceived and planned before shooting. The director has to have every single image in mind in advance – there is no “we have five cameras, and we will edit everything in the studio” option.

The images are made for the voice recorded beforehand – the freedom that “we will polish the text during the shoot” does not exist. One has to know the

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exact length of every take – “we will cut it somewhere” is not a possibility.

When making an animation, there are hardly any leftovers compared to a live action shooting. It needs precise planning, concentration, and a much greater amount of preparation than any other genre. We could almost say that it is shooting and post-production in one.

So, why is it worth the effort?

A director can never be as free as with an animation. One can show everything, really, everything. The producer won’t tell you that the budget doesn’t stretch to a crane, your DOP won’t say that there is no time for building a tracking shot, the actor won’t complain of a headache, and the weather will be as good or as bad as you choose. One the other hand, this is the genre where the director won’t be able to blame anyone for a mistake.

Each personality is comfortable with different genres. Some feel at home in the solitude of their studio. Others love conveying their message short, and there are those for whom series are an ideal way of expressing themselves.

Some are inspired by complete artistic freedom, and others need Trier’s five obstructions. 

by Janka Pozsonyi

– A short history of film formats Looking back in 1890, the use of the 35mm film we find two men: the inventor George Eastman, the head of Eastman Kodak, and Thomas Edison who used film in his invention, the ‘Kinetoscope’, for the first time. The Lumière brothers introduced their Cinématographe for 35mm film, making its debut on 28th December 1895 where they presented 10 short films including their own film, Sortie des Usines Lumière à Lyon (Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory).

The first known moving picture to be recorded in ‘technicolour’ was only rediscovered a few years ago; the film, made by Edward Raymond Turner in 1902, depicts three children playing in a garden.

With its extreme high quality, the 70mm film completely changed filmmaking. The first 70mm format film was produced in 1896, featuring the Henley Regatta, a famous rowing event on the River Thames.

After 1900 all kinds of different formats started to appear, along with the first ‘fireproof’ celluloid films (the original reels were made of a highly combustible Nitrate base). This made it possible for a broader public to grab a camera and start shooting everything around them.

Many different cameras started to be produced around this time, including the Birtac, the Biokam, the Pocket-Chrono, the Micrograph and the French Pathé Webo.

These all played a big part in improving film formats and resulted in many of the incredible technologies that are still being used by filmmakers today. Kodak

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The Format Never

Choosing the right format for your film is just as important as all the other pre- and post-production madness a film goes through.

Every film festival expects different formats nowadays, but of course it wasn’t always like that. Let’s step back in time to recall the world of movie formats.

essentially dominated the sub-35mm market producing its 16mm film. This led to a width which is still very popular today: the ‘Regular’, and then the ‘Super’ 8mm film which appeared around the 1960s. The ‘Super 8’ remains one of the cheapest film formats. Manufactured by Kodak and Fuji, it was extremely popular during the 1960s and 1970s.

The first digital film format on sale to the public was the Sony D1 in 1986.

According to the text books it was said to record ‘an uncompressed standard definition component video signal in digital form’. This was followed by the D2 digital videocassette format. The first feature-length film to be shot, edited and distributed digitally in its entirety was The Last Broadcast in 1998.

Nowadays, movies can be distributed in a growing range of media; on hard drives, online streaming, through dedicated satellite links or optical discs like Blu-ray.

This means there is no longer a single ‘common’ form to submit a film to a festival; whether a DCP file, celluloid film, Quicktime-file, Blu-ray, HDCAM, Digibeta, Beta SP, or even DVD. As with the music industry and the continuing love of vinyl and the tape cassette, some people will always find one format that suits them best but perhaps underlying this is a desire to hold on to a physical connection with the filmmakers of the past. 

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Does it hurt to experience a FILM? text by Gábor Fabricius

Media is a full reflection of the structure of society. Advertising, as many do not know, is not only a creative playground, but the largest laboratory on earth of social and socio-psychological studies. Brands are the ones – probably right after government intelligence – who have the highest demand for data. What does a certain segment of society think of some current issues? What could be a possible answer for their fears? How to shape their dreams, and what vision to give them?

NGOs such as research institutes or universities are the ones who publish most of this data. Knowing reality and using reality as such is the most important building block for a creative. Data is the best ingredient for a creative chef.

My relationship with reality therefore is a long and deep one. Albert Einstein – along with most cynics – argues that “reality is merely an illusion” but he adds immediately that it is “a very persistent one.” So reality is not about knowing universally what’s up, since nothing is up at the end of the day – but to know what most people think what reality is.

In this sense reality is a persistent notion that appears to be the course of things in most of the people’s eyes. A subjective collection that happens to be similar. That is reality. Now that is building material for a creative who wants to reach out and change the way people see the world.

In this sense fictional characters have to have some reality in them, fictional

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still photo from Dialogue

dramatic twists have to have some truth, symbolic visuals have to have some surface to be able to relate to a shared subjectivity. Reality is about the relation to our inner world, the recalling of a memory that we have somehow experienced: lived, imagined, dreamed, heard, read. If a moving image does not have that relation, it is not a film. It can be a thrilling game, an exciting show or fun entertainment that is great achievement indeed – but not a film experience.

Therefore film for me is not entertainment.

Entertainment is a great technique, a tool to get the attention of the audience. It can be almost mathematically constructed, as Hollywood demonstrates. I would not call drama in itself the heart of film either.

It is too much about communicating an opinion through action.

For me film is an experience.

Just as in real life experiences, it is immensely hard to detect what the

elements of it are. In this sense for example Olafur Eliasson’s installation art sometimes can be closer to a film experience than many block buster shows.

So, my question, coming from the world’s largest socio-psychological laboratory of reality is: how to get a person into an experience?

Oh, many hate that! To be part of an experience? It is an energy consuming, frustrating road with sometimes unexpected rewards! Sorry folks!

Experience creators want you to leave your comfort zone. We want you to feel dizzy, questioned, confused – that you may not understand what you have seen, and unsure about what you think about a certain topic. We want you to realize that you are racist, arrogant, self centred.

Does it hurt? We want you to have a real life experience where you have to keep thinking for days to figure out your new position, since we have pointed out your current one that is shameful! We want to play with your identity! You think you are good. Well. We will not satisfy you, we want to rape your identity that has been built up and that you are very proud of!

Reality does the same with us. Every day.

That is why we do not watch reality but we live it, we share it.

A film experience engages the participant, not the viewer, Gábor Fabricius is a media designer, film director and writer.

Gábor is an MA graduate from Central Saint Martin’s College in London. In 2000, Fabricius won the golden Media Lion award at the Cannes Lions Festival, then moved towards directing shorts and documentaries. In 2014 his short Skinner premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. In 2016 he shot his short film Dialogue on the migrant crisis at the newly installed barbed wire at the edge of the EU. www.othersidestories.com

or the audience! A great film experience has a participant who actively contributes.

It is not a passive role, but a real part in the film-experience, since the experience is created by the sharer, in the participant’s brain.

Nobel Prize winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman was studying the psychology of experiences. He points out that a human has a day-to-day living reality and a long-term reality. Kahneman argues for “two selves” – the “Experiencing Self” and the “Remembering Self”, and proves that “we actually don’t choose between experiences, but memories of experiences”. That is why a film experience is primarily a memory game. An experience that somewhere, somehow a participant has experienced in a form and now it has materialized. The moments of realization are the cathartic experiences.

The gestalt psychologist, Rudolf Arnheim states: “an artwork reflects one’s “lived experience” of his or her life.” Arnheim is widely known for focusing on the experiences and interpretations of works of art, and how they provide insight into peoples’ lives.

Based on these approaches I argue that we go to experience a film in cinemas in order to meet our memory. Also in order to experience a twisted feeling of being questioned in our identity.

A weird hobby for intellectuals, I agree, maybe sick, but that is what it is: constantly looking for memory stimulation. Not only is it very tiring, it can also be deeply confusing.

Every time I am confronted with my reality and questioned in my identity I feel something. I feel something when I am lost and falling to pieces, but I have to build myself up again. To make myself anew – for that I visit the silver screen and for that I shoot my film experiences. 

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From paralysis to opportunity

– it's a new world out there, so adapt, adapt, adapt!

text by Ádám Dobay

The only way to embrace new media is to drop the outdated definition of what a filmmaker is and does.

There’s this guy on Vine called Arthur.

Arthur lives in London, drives a truck, and has an awfully cute baby. His sixsecond videos are sarcastic, tongue-incheek portrayals of his self-stereotyped persona as the Angry White British Working Class Dad. But I’m already overanalyzing. Arthur is not a filmmaker – not in any traditional sense, anyway. He has no formal training in writing, directing, cinematography, comedy or acting. He has no defined agenda, no overarching artistic plan for his video series. He is not a piece of branded content created by an outsourced agency hired by a corporate office, just a funny guy with a camera on his phone, which he uses to point at things, then edit in-phone for comedic effect.

But is he really not a filmmaker? Having been on the receiving end of people’s well-rehearsed introductions in various meet & greet parties for young people in the film industry, I’ve noticed the trend how as much as half of the time people start with one of these self-definition: I’m a writer-director. I’m a filmmaker.

I’m a storyteller. These words become repetitive even if you just talk to people within that sort of event space, but as

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soon as you step out into the landscape of new media production, where over 300 hours of videos are uploaded to YouTube every minute (2014 data, has probably gone up), the question of who is a filmmaker and who is not should more accurately go something like “At this point, aren’t we all?”.

It is easy to dismiss new media content if we decide to draw the line at the walls of established industry and its distribution channels, but seeing the sheer size of audiences many new media content

creators command, there remains very few arguments for brushing them off.

With one million followers on Vine, Arthur’s videos have been looped 370 million times. Compare that with the fact that his total work is 260 videos, which at six seconds each comes up to 26 minutes – coming up to about one sitcom episode.

Which brings us to the next point of applying definitions. We could certainly call Arthur’s escapades a sitcom – it ticks all the boxes of the genre as far as setting, character portrayal, or tone is concerned.

We could similarly call Zoella (10.4 million YouTube subscribers, individual videos between 1 and 17.5 million views each) chronicling her day out to the shopping mall in a 20-minute video akin to reality television. But is there any point in trying to fit new media phenomena with terminology that applies more to an industry of twenty to thirty years ago?

Where do we put Night Vale, a narrative disguised as a radio show disguised as a podcast, with hundreds of thousands of listeners per episode mostly gathered through Tumblr?

Often, the first question after the production of any sort of visual work is “now where to promote it?” One, if the first time this question comes up is after the production has completed, it shows a potential red flag about whether the intended audience has been properly thought of doing development. Two, there is no general rule as whatever I

say here now will be out of date in six to twelve months, if not sooner!

The rate at which new media platforms and content delivery mechanisms appear, grow and fade is inconceivable.

This makes notions about how to approach media campaigns perpetually outdated. In TorinoFilmLab’s 2012 transmedia/cross-media/cross-platform workshop (pick whichever name you prefer) we were discussing Facebook and Twitter as viable ways to build audiences. It’s just four years later and I no longer recommend these platforms to anyone. Facebook has cut its reach for brands and businesses five times (and their pay-to-be-seen model is ridiculously expensive) and Twitter has become a convoluted mess with its indecipherable information streams and its top brass seemingly with little sense as to where to steer their ship.

Another effect of the abundance of media platforms is that there’s infinitely more competition in an vastly more fragmented media landscape. A couple of decades ago the scare used to be that people would dump the movies for the shiny new thing called the television.

In the 2000s, the original content of smaller cable channels started growing on mainstream TV networks. Now people are ditching their sets altogether for dedicated on-demand streaming providers or just plainly switching to YouTube for free viewing. And on the content creator side, it has become

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everyone’s game, with video sharing site Vimeo, online retail giant Amazon and even gaming platform Steam launching their own original series. It’s all in flux and there’s ample opportunity for experimentation.

mobile phone footage is perfectly acceptable, an entry-level DSLR can take you a long way. Not being able to selffund that feature film-level kit and staff does not immediately equal not being able to tell your story.

This continually accelerating fragmentation is actually a good thing as new platforms come with their very specific audiences. Spend enough time on Tumblr, Pinterest or Snapchat and you’ll be able to inherently differentiate the kinds of people that populate them and which subset of users can be reached with cleverly positioned free content that eventually leads people to discover your work. Extended audience design, optimizing content for specific audiences way before production even begins, is becoming the norm.

Coming from a traditional screenwriting background, the most useful method I’ve found to embrace the new formats of the digital age is to learn to unlearn.

From traditional methods of thinking only in big-scale traditional productions, spending an inordinate time developing formats and scripts and then getting into the grant- and fund seeking game, the focus within new media has been shifting to bootstrapping; audience research; finding the right people and building for the platforms they frequent; low-budget testing and iterating. All of this requires a big step out of the film industry’s comfort zones, and letting go of the perfectionism involved in getting it perfect before getting it out there.

The scare of the sprawling and everchanging new media landscape thus becomes a liberation of opportunity, experimentation and innovation. 

At the same time, when developing for the new media landscape, the frequent caveat that you need to stay lowbudget comes parallel with the price of filmmaking technology and audience expectations of technological quality dropping. In a world where shaky vertical

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© Rafael Ried

We can all agree that film festivals are wonderful things. One can watch films, learn new things, meet one’s heroes, get to know like-minded people and network! As there are so many truly great festivals out there, we decided to offer a detailed introduction to a different film festival in every issue of World of Young Cinema. On the following pages, you can read all about Vienna Shorts, or VIS – one of the youngest and freshest Oscar® qualifying short film festivals in Europe.

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FEAR IS NOT AN OPTION For the 13th time VIS Vienna Independent Shorts will bring the whole range of short films, animations and music videos to Austria’s capital.

The biggest short film festival of the country and its only Oscar® qualifying festival is welcoming many international special guests and has a clear political statement.

In springtime Vienna will be much influenced by international films with a length of no more than 30 minutes. More than 300 short films, animations and music videos are going to be screened at the cinemas, when VIS Vienna Independent Shorts declares the festival a fear-free zone: “Fear is not an Option” is the 13th edition’s focus, that couldn’t be more relevant considering the current social and political conditions. Fear acts as a bad adviser in times of enclosure and delineation, loss of trust and refusal of solidarity. Together with two partner festivals from the Netherlands (Go Short) and Canada (Festival du nouveau cinéma), VIS takes this mood as a starting point for an international discussion in the so-called “triangle programme”, which will screen in all three countries.

3,500 – 114 – 4. Those are the numbers from VIS 2016. More than 3,500 films were submitted to this year's festival, while a total of 114 were selected for the four different competition categories. The films highlight the wide variety of the Austrian and international short film landscape.

The Austrian competition features some household names, including former jury prize winners, Sebastian Brameshuber and Christiana Perschon. The international competition for experimental film, digital media and animation – ‘Animation Avantgarde’ – boasts 40 films from 18 countries: an immense bandwidth of artistic expression with a variety of different forms, from painting, to 2D animation, to machinimas.

Equally captivating are the 28 different works in the international competition for documentaries and short films, Fiction and Documentary. The star-studded program includes, among other short films, works by Ben Russell, Ronny Trocker, Sandro Aguilar, and Nina Gantz. And last, but not least one can find outstanding works set to music by Ogris Debris, Schmieds Puls, Flying Lotus or Björk in the Austrian and International Music Video competition.

Spotlights on Anouk De Clercq and Bill Plympton

© Rafael Ried

One of the two Spotlights of the festival is dedicated to the Belgian artist Anouk De Clercq. The award-winning filmmaker’s oeuvre is presented and discussed within a special screening in collaboration with sixpackfilm. De Clercq explores the audiovisual potential of computer language, in order to create new worlds focusing on their architectural characteristics. This year’s festival graphics features a still from her film Building.

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"We don't need any more children's stories," is the apt and bold premise of this exceptional independent animation artist, who must be viewed as the formative precursor to the humor and form of series such as The Simpsons and Family Guy. At the same time, Plympton is the creative role model to other artists like David O'Reilly and Don Hertzfeldt, to whom, together with the Film Museum, VIS devoted detailed programs in recent years. Plympton's films always contain an extra pinch of sex and violence and therefore reach a more mature audience. However, since his collaboration with Kanye West in 2005 for the video Heard 'Em Say, Plympton is also known in younger crowds.

Popular Midnight Movies & Zebra Katz live The young audience is definitely a target group of the Viennese festival. Besides numerous parties VIS will show extraordinary and absurd films in three popular late night programmes. The “Midnight Movies” will present trash, horror and porn movies – and, of course, there'll be one special event that will mesmerize not only the young audience.

Zebra Katz, the artistic alter ego of American rapper Ojay Morgan, has been on the tip of the music world's tongue. With his extravagant appearances, deep voice paired with minimalist electronic beats and succinct bass, Zebra Katz's presence is hard

Liegekino © Pablo Álvarez Mendivil

The second Spotlight opens, in cooperation with the Austrian Film Museum, the stage for another well-known guest: Bill Plympton is one of the most famous animation filmmakers worldwide. Born in Portland, Oregon, the director is celebrating his 70th birthday on April 30th. Plympton began his career as a cartoonist for various American newspapers including the New York Times.

Starting with his first animated short film – Lucas the Ear of Corn in 1977, Plympton focused entirely on hand-drawn animation and grew rapidly in popularity.

to grasp: an amazing artistic expression that challenges conventional viewing and listening perceptions. VIS provides two ways to check out Zebra Katz. First, the impressive music video Nu Renegade, directed by Austrian filmmaker Florian Pochlatko, can be seen at the opening night and in the Austrian Music Video competition. And following this, one of the biggest highlights of this year's festival takes place at the METRO theatre. In an unusual live performance Zebra Katz will share the stage with Warp Records DJ, Leila, and arrange and mix new songs and videos.

Special features at this year's festival furthermore include collaborations with the Kurzfilmtage Oberhausen and Sundance programmer Mike Plante. There will also be guest performances from Colombia and the Czech Republic, an Open-Air programme celebrating the upcoming European Soccer Championships, an inspiring Kids and Youth program, a range of fantastic guests (including the Artists-in-Residence Réka Bucsi, Peter Millard, Una Gunjak and Jan Soldat) and raucous parties.

In only seven days VIS Vienna Independent Shorts bridges the fascinating variations of short films from popular and modern to artistic and historic works and proves that the Austrian Capital at the end of May will be once again one of the hot-spots for international short filmmaking. www.viennashorts.com

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“between

ART and

FILMMAKING” interview by Zsuzsanna Deák

Daniel Ebner founded Vienna Shorts in 2004 with a group of friends.

The festival is now the only Oscar® qualifying event of Austria. World of Young Cinema talked to Daniel about the festival, its audience, and emotions and enthusiasm.

the history of the festival

professional programmes

We started out as a small students’ project in 2004, with all the advantages and disadvantages coming along with the “untamed will”. We didn’t really know what we were doing at that time, but we enjoyed the freedom of trying out various ways of presenting short film. Since then, the festival has grown professionally both in programming and organizational aspects. Over the years we tried to develop a clear structure and a vision, still providing scope for experiments and unconventional projects. As of now, VIS is the biggest short film festival in Austria and the only Oscar® qualifying event of the country – which is quite an emotional fact for someone who also experienced the early beginnings.

In my opinion a festival should always decide what it wants to achieve: either only presenting films to a local audience which wouldn’t have the chance to see those films otherwise (which is extremely important); or additionally trying to assemble filmmakers and festival guests for networking and professional opportunities. If you want to do both you definitely need a proper network (which mostly takes quite a while to establish) and also a certain budget. Though especially the last part is still a difficult topic for us we do care about the network very much – and so providing ambitious professional programmes and industry related events became a key issue which we’ll push even more in the next few years. guests and focus

Daniel’s VIS I’m with the festival since 2003 when a group of friends and I started planning the first edition and brought several smaller initiatives together to establish a new common project. It worked out pretty well so we continued with it although at that time there was no real structure behind it – just many, many ideas. I guess I was the one who kept pushing the boundaries the most so after all I soon felt responsible for the artistic part of the festival and was elected Artistic Director in 2009. As of now, I’m trying to coordinate the general direction of the festival and the programming as well as collaborations with our partner festivals and institutions.

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The special guests for the Spotlight programmes – like Bill Plympton and Anouk De Clercq this year or Don Hertzfeldt last year – are always invited in cooperation with the Austrian Film Museum and sometimes also with the distributor sixpackfilm. These are long-term decisions which need a strong partnership and sometimes also a little bit of patience.

The decision about the festival’s focus is a collective process as well, but within the festival: Marija, the programme coordinator, and I will talk with all the heads of programming and all the curators of the festival about the topics that occupy us or matter to us. In the end I will take the final decision and also invite two festivals to collaborate with us on this topic.

According to a survey from last year our audience is predominantly female (62%) and between 20 and 39 (84%), many of which are students and academics. Regarding the country of origin, the audience is a mixture of both local and international people.

On the one hand you will always need a strong local fan base otherwise a festival doesn’t make that much sense – and I’m glad that we do have our core audience which is loyal and comes back every year.

At the same time we do have more and more international professionals coming to Vienna at the end of May which gives us the impression that it was not the worst decision to go for the week between Cannes and the IKFF in Hamburg. why VIS? VIS is a very informal event with an enthusiastic crowd and often packed screenings (which is rather rare at short film festivals). The director Gunhild Enger from Norway told us last year that she had never seen so many people gathered to see short films before – which partly comes from the fact that we show every film only once in combination with extended Q&As afterwards. At the same time we divided the international competition into three sections – one for narrative shorts, one for animated and experimental work, and one for music videos – and therefore have films compete only with the likes of them. We try to be very supportive regarding our filmmakers, and we put a lot of thought into the programming so that the festival becomes a precious and welcoming place for emerging and established short filmmakers and short film lovers. the significance of short film festivals Short film is a very unique art form that is firmly anchored in the present and that is much closer to how moving images are perceived today than feature films.

Therefore I feel that it’s quite an exciting time for short film festivals as their significance is on a constant rise and they can quite easily move on from just being a good launching pad for young filmmakers. We see short films everywhere these days, whereas feature films have a hard time after their festival run to get recognition in theatres, on TV or on the web. We live in a fastpaced time – and short film festivals should be aware of the growing possibilities to work with the short form effectively, due to technological developments. short film: individual format or experimenting field?

Yes, it’s definitely an individual format with many possibilities to experiment and try out new things. Sometimes these experiments will find their way into feature filmmaking as well, but very often the experiment is about something that only short film can do. So in my opinion the short form is located somewhere between art and filmmaking, but with a very strong individual quality as an art form.

VIS and other festivals We are closely working together with many European festivals like Hamburg and Winterthur, but also Encounters, Go Short, Tampere or IndieLisboa among others.

And we would like to establish closer ties with some festivals from overseas – like the Festival du nouveau cinéma in Montréal – as well as some festivals from nearby cities such as Budapest, Bratislava, and Prague. In my opinion it’s really difficult to be a strong contender on the festival circuit if you don’t have a good festival network at the same time. 

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@U lysse del Drago

the audience

VIS ROAD TO THE OSCARS ® „It is my pleasure to inform you that VIS Vienna Independent Shorts has been approved as an Academy qualifying festival for the Short Film Awards.“ (abstract of the e-mail)

After having received the biggest Austrian art award in the past year, VIS Vienna Independent Shorts is now also the youngest event on the list of 87 Academy Qualifying festivals worldwide. And VIS is in good company: The list comprises prominent festivals such as Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, Locarno, Tribeca, and Venice as well as the big short film festivals from Winterthur, Tampere, Clermont-Ferrand and Bristol. We portray the Road to the Oscars® using short press commentaries about the festival from the past years, starting with the year 2008 when the festival celebrated its opening night at the famous Gartenbaukino for the first time:

„It grows. And it does so shortly, in every sense of the word.“ (Denkfabrikat, 2009)

„To succeed, the festival had to preserve that certain radicalism and therefore had to continuously reinvent itself in a positive way.“ (Movienerd.de, 2010)

„Along with other underground initiatives from Vienna, the festival was created in 2004. Nobody guessed back then that this project would rise to become the biggest short film festival in Austria one day and a role model for several initiatives alike.” (unimag.at, 2012)

„The short film has been put on the back burner in Austria for a long time. This has radically changed in the last 10 years and that is thanks to VIS.“ (Ö1, 2013)

„Vienna Independent Shorts celebrates the vibrant, eccentric and unapologetic noncommercial underbelly of moviemaking.

Begun in 2004 as a student project, the VIS festival has steadily expanded, its repertoire and reputation growing along with it.“ (The Vienna Review, 2008)

„Under the artistic guidance of Daniel Ebner, VIS can today easily keep up with international festivals when it comes to curation and popularity.“ (FM4, 2014)

„(The Festival) manages to dance on the thin line between art and commerce.“ (FAQ, 2015)

© Karl Valent

“Being competently guided by artistic director Daniel Ebner, Vienna’s international short film festival has gained an excellent reputation within just a couple of years.

That seems to involve the strategy of imagining only the biggest for the apparently smallest.” (profil, 2015)

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Artist in Residence, VIS 2016

Réka Bucsi website: http://rekabucsi.tumblr.com/

Hungarian artist Réka Bucsi is one of the most talented animation filmmakers of our time with an organic and intuitive approach to the craft. Her films start from particular details and develop into free-flowing and surreal observations on the irrationality of the world. Having worked freelance for clients at Walt Disney Studios, she is a regular of major festivals, with her work screened at Sundance, Berlin and SXSW. In May, during her month-long residency at Q21 in Vienna, she will be experimenting with new ways of artistic expression through sound and animation, while working on her new short film project.

Together with British animation filmmaker Peter Millard she’ll also conceive a small exhibition at the ASIFAkeil in MuseumsQuartier which will open on May 30th and run throughout June. Réka’s new film LOVE will be screened as part of the international competition Animation Avantgarde and at the opening night of VIS 2016. Last, but not least, she curated an animation program for the young audience at the festival in Vienna.

Selected filmography: LOVE (director, 2015, 15’) – having premiered at the Berlinale in 2016, screened at SXSW, opening film of VIS 2016 Symphony no. 42 (director, 2014, 10’) – was shortlisted for the 87th Academy Awards, while being shown at Sundance, Berlin and Hong Kong, going on to win over 45 awards internationally.

Selected quotes: “For me festivals are really important!

Especially for a short film. I mean festivals still very much define who you see and who you don‘t. Whose film gets attention and whose film doesn‘t. It‘s really a chance game and it‘s a really hard thing, because it‘s a huge risk to take as well. In a way your film can do very well and jump on a wave or it doesn‘t.

I think it’s very important to not leave your film on the shelf after you finish it. You have to really focus on the afterlife of the film.

And it took me almost the same time and energy as producing it.“ (Réka in an interview with Jana Dietze, Filmfestivallife)

“I think animation is a completely different medium, which is built from film, but can be used for many other things. If I am asked if I would make live action, I feel it is like asking a pianist if he would consider being a drummer one day. I think both animation and live action can show the same affairs. I personally find it easier to present my interests through animation, as it offers much more possibilities in abstraction.“ (Réka in an interview with Zippy Frames)

“I think a lot of people get stuck after their first film. I would advise them to go abroad and to work in different countries to see how they function and get an experience out of other people’s work. I was going to workshops for filmmakers after graduation where we were all from different countries.

Everybody had new ideas and it was really inspiring. For me it was easy to start something new in this environment.“ (Réka in an interview with Jana Dietze, Filmfestivallife)

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CHALLENGES

PERSPECTIVES

illustration by Panni Bodonyi

In the next section of World of Young Cinema magazine, you can read about the different challenges emerging filmmakers encounter, and their road to success. An interview with the director of Icelandic festival hit Sparrows, the experiences of three debut feature producers, filmmaking from a women’s point of view, and our useful Festival Panorama await you on the following pages.

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“It’s a marathon to make a feature film, not a sprint” interview by Janka Pozsonyi

Rúnar Rúnarsson is a visionary director based in Iceland and Denmark. After his success with his first feature film Volcano, he made his second film Sparrows last year.

Funded by two countries at the same time, and Oscar®-nominated at a young age for his short film The Last Farm, Rúnar is still making each of his films with a clear mind, always focusing on what’s ahead, and most importantly telling every story with an authentic honesty.

You were nominated for an Oscar® at quite a young age, with one of your first short films. How did this affect your career?

I started making short films with my friends when I was 16, with no budget at all. I made a lot of short films before The Last Farm, but this was the first to receive a little funding from the Icelandic Film Fund. It was great to get some financial support, because when you’re trying to develop something, at a certain point there’s always limits on how much you can do and how much you can evolve without having a sufficient budget to do it. The Last Farm was my ticket into film school in Denmark, and the Oscar®-nomination happened right after I started it.

The Oscar®-nomination is also brings raises expectations for your next film.

This is why it was so great to be in film school around that time, because we were constantly making films. I got selected to other festivals, some of them had won awards too. Film prizes are very practical

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vanities: it’s a tap on the shoulder, getting acknowledged. Some awards are actually good for surviving the daily life, but you’re still only as good as your last and your next film. After your last one gets acknowledged, it’s quite tough to make the next, because you have to live up to your previous success. People are always telling you, that you have a Mount Everest and all the Himalayas in front of you. All you have to do is just keep climbing on one hill at a time, to keep doing what you want, and doing what you have to do, without getting too full of yourself.

How was the experience of shooting your first and second feature films after short films?

I studied in the National Film School of Denmark, where my graduation film was made in medium length, a 37 minute-long film called Anna. Moving on from 15 minute shorts to the medium length films was a huge jump for me. Changing from short to medium was tougher than the switch from medium to feature-length movies.

I’ve been privileged in many ways because I have been working on other people’s films since I was quite young. First I started working in the electrical department, and then I became responsible for continuity – I was always working beside the DOP (Director of Photography) and the director, constantly making notes. It was great to follow these two key figures of the shoot, seeing how they maintain the stamina on set. It’s a marathon to make a feature film, not a sprint. You have to keep a cool head, even when something goes wrong.

Did you receive funding from Iceland or Denmark?

I lived and studied in Denmark for 10 years, so I’m a Danish director as well. I’ve been privileged in a way, as I have been getting backing from both Icelandic and Danish film funds. still photo from Sparrows

How does the funding system work in Denmark?

They have a detailed setup for promoting new talent. It starts with a workshop where you can apply with a project, and you can get equipment and a little money. That’s a phase before you go to film school. After the school, you can do more short films and you can graduate with a feature film, which is supported by the fund. I did a lot of shorts before, during, and after film school. When I finished there, I almost had the management ready for my first feature.

So one year after school I was already able to start the pre-production.

Do you plan to make short or medium length films in the future, after making two features already?

Yes, absolutely. I compare this to a working author: whether it’s writing poetry and short stories, it all starts with writing.

Writing a novel, even though it’s a different format, it shouldn’t stop someone from writing poetry or short stories.

How many autobiographical elements did you use in Sparrows? Were the characters based on real life?

I did spend some time in a town like the one in the film. In a way I tried to work with things that I know first, second or thirdhand, but I don’t like to reveal my sources because that wouldn’t be fair with those who have shared their life with me. But there are also a lot of fictional elements in it as well of course.

If you could give advice to a new filmmaker who is just about to make their first feature, what would it be?

Be honest, because there’s a lack of honesty out there – most of the films are only constructions and not sincere. If there’s a little bit of bad acting in the film, or the cinematography isn’t great, or the sound is poor, people will forgive it because you’re being authentic. That’s the first lesson that should be taught in all the film schools. 

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MD MAŁGORZATA DOMIN First Feature Film: Adventurers’ Club (2015) Adventurers’ Club is an adventure comedy for children and young adults. It is about a thirteenyear-old boy, Kornel, whose whole world is turned upside down when one night a mysterious figure climbs through the window to his room.

MK MICHAEL KABOS First Feature Film: All My Children (2013, documentary) Marian Kuffa is a parish priest and true community worker. For over 20 years he has been supporting people in need helping them to find the remnants of hope and belief in their own capabilities. He has helped the poor, single mothers, drug addicts, prostitutes and the elderly.

A few years ago he started to focus on the issues of the Roma community. He finds time to listen and look into everyone’s story individually. Some of them are tragic.

GO

GÁBOR OSVÁTH First Feature Film: Balaton Method (2015, docu-fiction) This musical road movie explores the landscape surrounding Hungary’s largest lake and its recreational resorts, includes live concert footage of seventeen local bands including well-established names and newcomers. The performances are recorded at various times of day in diverse locations, ranging from harbors and hotel balconies to churches, helping to create a portrait of the distinctive atmosphere at each of the sites.

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WHAT WAS THE FACTOR THAT MADE YOU MORE SUITED TO MAKE YOUR FIRST FEATURE THAN A MORE EXPERIENCED PRODUCER? MD: For many years, there haven’t been any films for kids produced in Poland. It was mainly due to the lack of financing for such projects and also because all the potential partners, sponsors and distributors didn’t believe that such films made in Poland could be successful, as there are too many foreign films to compete with, all those high budget productions made by big studios with worldwide marketing campaigns.

I think that as a young and maybe still a bit naïve producer with limited experience, I was a perfect guinea pig. I wanted to show and to prove that if you really want to and you work hard, then anything is possible.

Currently I receive many calls from people who not only congratulate me for making a successful film, but also for the courage it took to actually make a film in this genre.

MK: I like challenge. You grow up with the projects and I have been in the film industry since my early childhood when I started to steal 35mm dailies from the editing room to make my first found-andstolen-footage experimental films. Then I studied documentary directing at VŠMU in Bratislava. After graduation I studied cinematography at FAMU in Prague.

Therefore, I do most of the projects with young filmmakers.

GO: I was just going with the flow - in this case, sticking to my friends. Director Bálint Szimler and cinematographer Marcell Rév (now my company partners in Boddah) got me into this. It was after Bálint’s first feature script was not accepted for development funds at the Hungarian National Film Fund, and we were all kind of f***ed up about it.

But then came the idea to make Balaton Method as our independent “revenge”, with no money from the government whatsoever. In retrospect, I should have been more careful for many-many reasons, but nevertheless we made it and the baby is healthy.

WHAT IS YOUR ADVANTAGE AS A YOUNG PRODUCER?

WHAT WAS THE FIRST MILESTONE IN MAKING YOUR FIRST FEATURE?

MD: A big advantage of a young producer is that many people are more willing to help him or her. Many agree to work for lower wages or to give big discounts on their prices. Also the actors are willing to work for less, they are more understanding and less demanding. But of course there are many exceptions. It was the only way, with a special kind of support, the Adventurers’ Club could be made. It would never have been completed if it weren’t t for the great help and support of many people.

MD: Our adventure began when the director ¸ Tomasz Szafranski came to me with the idea for a kids film based on a novel by his favorite writer Edmund Niziurski. We got our regional film fund Silesia Film on board and with their financial support we were able to begin the long search for further funding for the film. I am very glad that starting this year, the Polish Film Institute, led by Magdalena Sroka, made a special priority in its program for films for the young audience. Despite all the mixed experience I got from the production of Adventurers’ Club, I feel even more motivated to continue working on projects within this genre. The kids are waiting for those films. I have two kids myself and I would love to be able to show them our own Polish films, with our landscapes, our history and traditions.

MK: You are pushed to be creative and very flexible, because you know you still have a long way to go and sometimes you need to improvise.

GO: Being young is just a state - or a state of mind, I don’t consider it a big advantage or disadvantage. With that said, I feel rather old. I was a film geek first, then a film theory student, then I started to climb the ladder in the film industry with small jobs in big movies - all before I got accepted by the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest, thus making me actually be part of this extended family of Hungarian filmmakers. So I got the chance to see it from the outside for many years and I think I kind of had an idea of what I would do differently. But I also learned a lot from observing more established producers.

MK: In the making of All My Children, it was securing MEDIA and Eurimages for the project.

GO: March 29, 2014. It was the day our crowdfunding campaign ended on Indiegogo for Balaton Method, and it was a success, because we were able to collect our goal, 10,000 euros. That day I knew now I have to make this movie - and so we did. What I did not know at that point is that this first amount ended up being less than 10% of our final budget!

– producers talk about their recently made first features

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“TALENT DOES NOT DRY UP” text by Migdia Chinea

Award-winning film director Migdia Chinea talks to six uber resourceful and talented emerging women filmmakers about the hurdles that exist in the film business and how they remain upbeat to overcome them.

MARIA GIESE When I shot my film When Saturday Comes at Hallam Football Club, in Sheffield, UK, I wanted the whole team to strip naked, drink beer and get in the shower as they would normally do after a big win. But the guys were shy and the cameraman was unhappy to have a woman directing all the raucous, so when he left early everyone else made up for it.

The water, the beer, the singing and the camaraderie resulted in a totally authentic scene. A scene I loved.

So what is the truth about women directors?

Getting directing work in Hollywood is so difficult for women that most women filmmakers have to pursue careers outside the industry. After graduating with an MFA from UCLA's Graduate School of Film & TV and directing the $2-million dollar feature, When Saturday Comes, I could not get any work at all. So I turned to guerilla cinema, shooting my second awarded feature Hunger on no budget.

In frustration, I put my career on hold to launch a campaign for women directors.

Finally, in 2015, I became the woman who instigated the biggest industry-wide Federal investigation in Hollywood history on the hiring practices of women directors.

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Not only has my activism created a seismic shift for women directors in the United States, but I was signed by a Boston literary agent to write Troublemaker – a book which chronicles my four-year battle with exclusion.

That being said, I am excited about upcoming projects. I have a children’s film which I’m scheduled to direct in Holland and another British football film to in England.

If cinema is the voice of our civilization, then once women directors are allowed to work, what will civilization look like? We can only know by doing it.

Maria Giese is the 2016 recipient of the Stanford University "Equity Award." In 2013, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) launched a broad campaign of media awareness and statistical studies.

Giese has been profiled on The New York Times, Forbes and Fortune, among many others, and is the subject of four feature-length documentaries. She lives in Stonington, CT with her husband and two children, William and Bea.

KATHLEEN DAVISON Why do we need to be so consumed with making our actors comfortable?

Seriously. Don’t get me wrong, I want to see authentic connectivity and believable relationships evolve, but sometimes the best stuff is in the awkward journey getting there. That’s life. It’s not always comfortable. One of my favorite scenes in Effloresce (meaning “in bloom”) focuses on a straight woman being seduced by a lesbian. The nervous uncomfortable tension was priceless and would have been lost with too much rehearsal.

I love improvisation.

With Effloresce, the dramatic thrust is a woman’s inner journey into herself, so the challenge was how to get that out and onto a big screen without losing the intimacy. I reached to the environment to do a lot of the work of reflecting and representing what would otherwise be internal and invisible. I lean towards diversity in casting, and would like to wage a passive war on sexism and ageism by creating magnificent work that exemplifies the value of women, people of all cultures and identities – and which proves that talent does not dry up.

2015 marked Davison’s directorial debut year with Effloresce (short), and Primrose Lane including festival nominations for Best Film, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. But her biggest personal accomplishment remains overcoming a brain tumor, major brain surgery and full-time rehab. A 1991-1995 Penn State University B.A. in Theatre and Performance.

DEBORA REIS TOTTON Continuity, for example, is what I care the least about.

Dramatic thrust. I have realized that recording actors straight to video would represent a shadow of the real. The limits of the real and representation are very fleeting, fragile, and it is almost like a symphony. It’s important for me to feel what is going on so as to bring forth the dramatic thrust. Can there be an elephant inside a church? Sometimes. Yes. Yes. Yes. As a film critic, I’ve decided to make films from a critical point of view and I am now firmly investing in a film production career.

So with that at the very core of my heart and soul, I’ve just finished my first feature film called Brazil My Love, which has been exhibited in LA, Singapore, England and Brazil. What haven’t I done, huh? I bring both worlds into the art of film. I love it.

With an MA in Cinema & Media Studies from UCLA, Reis Totton also studied Chinese Film History and Criticism at the Beijing Film Academy. A Brazilian native, with a BS in Geology and Civil Engineering, she represented UCLA at the Meeting of Latin American Cinema Schools in Quito, Ecuador.

DERYA DURMAZ I made my very first film with a four-year-old Armenian girl in the closed TurkishArmenian border. Emy was my central character, along other small children. In one pivotal scene, she had to have her face covered in chocolate. So to make her feel comfortable, I spent the entire day on the set with chocolate on my face. No worries. I have to admit I liked it.

I come from the acting arena. As an actress, I prepare thoroughly for my part.

So in the director’s chair, I am always ready to shoot before I go on set. I know exactly what I want to see happening in each and every scene. Actors are their own people. They have their own internal processes, blockages, their own way of learning and synthesizing things. As a director, you have to know your actors and work with them according to their needs.

I was an actress with a degree in Human Rights. I would like to make films for those who believe in a world without borders.

This is dear to my heart; therefore I will work with passion to realize it.

Durmaz first awarded short film Ziazan has been to more than 40 festivals in 20 countries. Selected to participate in Berlinale Talents 2016, she studied Economy, Human Rights Law and Acting and received “Armenia Turkey Cinema Platform’s Best Project Award” from the Turkish Ministry of Culture.

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KIMBERLY TOWNES I recall the first time I shot a scene with a veteran TV star.

When she arrived on set she asked me what I needed her to do. Immediately I launched into a longwinded breakdown of her character’s psychological state which could have been triggered by a series of childhood traumas. She graciously listened and said “that’s lovely, honey, but where do you want me to sit?”

I couldn’t stop laughing. My job was to help her shape choices, not put her in therapy. I was reminded about how to let professional actors do their job.

Sometimes we discuss the character and sometimes we discuss life in general.

Improvisation often helps the actors loosen up as well. Once they are sure I trust them, they are more likely to trust me, give a dull scene spunk and spontaneity, which strengthens the subtext. I encourage my actors to go as far left as they can get creatively. And I look for nuances.

I’ve often cast actors for little things, like the way they toss the script around the room while reading. This is their spirit and that is who we will see on screen. When problems present themselves I try to see them as God redirecting me to a better path. I also believe in comfortable shoes.

As long as I have eaten properly and my feet don’t hurt I can deal with most things.

Anything.

A UCLA MFA in Film, Kimberly Townes was the 2015 Black Women In Film Award Winner. While a UCLA Grad, she won numerous awards, including the Bill Gates, Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Felicia Henderson and Eddie & Lew Wasserman / UCLA Thesis Grants.

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ANGIE POLKOVICH There are two types of people, a cow and a cat. If somebody asked me, which one would be a better actor I would immediately say a cat.

Well, having worked with both I can say that I was wrong. A cat did not want to act in my film; it froze on set, ran to corners every time I shouted “Action” and scratched the actress, which made continuity a hell of a problem. On the other hand, a cow acted like she was a trained film animal, I couldn’t believe how a ten-year-old actor walked her like a dog. Without knowing her blocking she hit it all her marks on her first try and even mooed on cue. Never underestimate a cow and never trust a cat.

For most of my life I dreamt of becoming an actress. When I moved to America and graduated from acting school, I discovered that I was often stereotyped because of my accent. I am Polish. After fighting with it for a long time I learned that I had to embrace my accent. I wrote, directed and starred in my first short film, which was meant to promote my accent. I never want to do anything else.

I learned that communication is key; I give actors notes that won’t discourage them. I think very carefully about how to construct each sentence so as to not to make them self-conscious. My ambition as a filmmaker is to tell meaningful and personal stories that cross language and cultural barriers and which portray memorable female characters in their journeys of self-discovery. I also believe it’s all about the mindset. I stay positive if something doesn’t work out. So stay positive, it’s attractive as hell!

Polkovich has a BA in education from Warsaw University and taught elementary school in her native Poland. She’s a member of Film Fatales and Women in Film among other industry organizations.

FESTIVAL PANORAMA

Finally, it is time for the most useful list: World of Young Cinema’s traditional Festival Panorama.

Film festivals can change your life, and we are talking out of experience here.

Submit, go, watch, and enjoy!

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Festival Camp

Submission deadline

Date

Entry fee

Academy Awards, EFA, BAFTA qualifying

Encounters Short Film Festival

May 2

September 20–25

¤25

Academy Awards, EFA, BAFTA

Toronto International Film Festival

May 6

September 8–18

$85

Rhode Island International May 15 Film Festival

August 9–14

$50

Academy Awards, BAFTA

Uppsala International Short Film Festival

May 31

October 24–30

no

Academy Awards, EFA, BAFTA

Festival del film Locarno

May 31

August 3–13

30 CHF

Academy Awards, BAFTA

Interfilm International Short Film Festival Berlin

June 24

November 15–20

no

Edinburgh Short Film Festival

June 27

October 26 – November 6

£15

Love and Anarchy Helsinki International Film Festival

June 30

September 17–27

no

Busan International Film Festival

June 30

October 6–15

no

St. Louis International Film Festival

June 30

November 3–13

$35

Academy Awards

Kyiv International Short Film Festival Molodist

July 1

October 22–30

$10

BAFTA

Cork Film Festival

July 2

November 11–20

¤12.50

Academy Awards, EFA, BAFTA

International Short Film Festival Winterthur

July 17

November 8–13

no

Academy Awards, BAFTA

Warsaw Film Festival

July 15

October 7–16

¤5

Academy Awards

Valladolid International Film Festival

July 30

October 24–31

no

EFA

Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival

July 31

October 7–16

¤10

Academy Awards

Film Fest Gent

August 1

October 11–21

¤20

EFA

International Short Film Festival Leuven

August 1

December 2–10

no

Academy Awards

International Festival of Documentary and Short Film of Bilbao

August 1

November 18–15

to be confirmed

Academy Awards, BAFTA

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WORLD OF YOUNG CINEMA (formerly: World of Shorts) Publisher: Dániel Deák danieldeak@daazo.com Editor in chief: Zsuzsanna Deák zsuzsanna.deak@daazo.com Editor: Janka Pozsonyi jankapozsonyi@daazo.com Art director and graphic design: Zoltán Bukovics Daazo graphic design: Krisztina Jávorszky Founding designer of the magazine: Cristina Grosan Contributors: Rita Balogh, Migdia Chinea, Ádám Dobay, Gábor Fabricius, Judit Anna Molnár, Nóra Sándor, Márton Szirmai Thanks: Rosalie Callway, Maia Christie, Judit Fischer, Jess Huber, Gábor Köves, Anita Libor, Jo Peattie, Matthew Wojcik, Julia Ziegler Cover image: Panni Bodonyi Photographs: Ulysse del Drago, Tarek Moukadem, Yasmine Sarout, Masayuki Yoshinaga Illustrations by: Panni Bodonyi | www.invisiblefriend.dk You can also find this magazine online at: http://issuu.com/daazo/docs/cannes2016 World of Young Cinema magazine is published by Daazo Film and Media Ltd. Published in Hungary, May 2016. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part is forbidden save with the written permission of the publishers. www.daazo.com I info@daazo.com

ISSN 2064-2105 (Online) – ISSN 2064-2113 (Print) Daazo.com – the European Shortfilm Centre is supported by the MEDIA programme of the EU. This material does not necessarily represent the views and opinions of the EU. This magazine was printed on recycled paper.

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L.i.t. s.f. l.f.

Life is too short for long films.

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