4 minute read

Benvida / Welcome

Bette Gordon

Encántame mirar. Sempre me fascinaron o cinema e ese secreto pracer de voyeur que me causa mirar imaxes na pantalla. Cando

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se atenúan as luces e eu fico sentada na escuridade, durante eses momentos que transcorren xusto antes de se despregar maxicamente o mundo cinematográfico na pantalla, quedo suspendida no espazo e no tempo, nun estado de desexo. Non hai mellor xeito de sentir tal pracer unha e outra vez que nun festival de cine situado nunha das cidades máis bonitas da comunidade española de Galicia e á beira do río Miño, fronte a Portugal, onde se pode pasar dun país a outro simplemente con cruzar a ponte. O Play-Doc é Cinema e constitúe unha celebración da inventiva e do poder visual do aparello cinematográfico. Este festival convida o público a explorar como as películas nos chaman, nos retan, nos inspiran e nos fan volver por máis. O Play-Doc é un testemuño da pura emoción que sente un cando descobre cineastas que crean o tipo de cinema que custa atopar no baleiro das innumerables plataformas de emisión; o Play-Doc ofrécelle ao público a ocasión de descubrir o que este non ía atopar en ningunha outra parte. Na Viennale de 2019, tras coñecer a Sara García Villanueva, codirectora do Play-Doc xunto con Ángel Sánchez, quedei entusiasmada ao recibir o convite de vir a Tui para proxectar unha retrospectiva das miñas primeiras curtas experimentais, así como a miña película máis coñecida, VARIETY. Púxenme a planificar a viaxe de inmediato, pero uns meses despois a covid arrasou a nosa vida e por todo o mundo quedamos todos confinados; ninguén sabía como iamos combater ese virus. Ao cabo, despois de case dous anos de agarda, en 2021 por fin puiden acudir a este festival de cine tan pequeno, íntimo, senlleiro e persoal, que trae un programa meditado, provocador e seleccionado con moito coidado que abrangue cintas, realizadores e convidados procedentes de todas as partes. Levo desde a década de 1980 asistindo a festivais internacionais, pero nunca namorei de ningún como do Play-Doc, deses directores e organizadores tan cálidos e apaixonados, do público e da xente de Tui e da cidade mesma. Mentres paseaba unha tardiña con Sara e Ángel por unha ruela serpeante que ascendía por unha costa bastante empinada, deixoume cativada unha

catedral gótica do século xiii que se conserva desde a Idade Media. Ao contemplala, conmovida, comprendín que estaba a vivir un momento perfecto. Facer cinema é unha elección vital; require moitísima dedicación, require moitísimos azos e un ten que crer de verdade nesa idea. Cando se lle mostra un filme a un público, como aos do Play-Doc, todas as inseguridades e preocupacións desaparecen e, no canto diso, un sente a calidez, a curiosidade e o gozo de compartir a experiencia cinematográfica, unha experiencia como ningunha outra.

Bette Gordon

I Love to Watch. I have always been fascinated by the cinema and the secretive, voyeuristic pleasure I get from looking at images

on the screen. When the lights dim, and I sit in darkness, for those moments right before the cinematic world on the screen magically unfolds, I am suspended in space and time, in a state of desire. There is no better way to experience such pleasure over and over again than at a film festival set in one of the most beautiful towns in the Galicia region of Spain, and on the bank of the Minho River, across the water from Portugal, where you can simply walk across the bridge from one country to the next. Play-Doc is about Cinema and celebrates the inventiveness and visual power of the cinematic apparatus. The festival invites the audience to explore the way in which films engage us, challenge us, inspire us and keep us coming back for more. Play-Doc is a testament to the pure excitement you feel when you discover filmmakers who create the kind of cinema that is hard to find in the void of endless streaming platforms. PlayDoc offers the audience an opportunity to discover what they would not find anywhere else. At the Viennale in 2019, after meeting Sara García Villanueva, co-director of Play-Doc with Ángel Sánchez, I was excited to receive an invitation to come to Tui, to screen a retrospective of my early experimental short films as well as my most well-known film, VARIETY. I started planning my trip immediately, but Covid overwhelmed our lives a few months later, and across the world, we all went into lockdown; nobody knew how we would battle this virus. Finally, after almost two years of waiting, in 2021, I was eventually able to attend this small, intimate, unique and personal film festival, with a thoughtful, provocative and carefully selected program of films, filmmakers and guests from everywhere. I have been attending international festivals since the 1980s, but I have never fallen in love as I have with PlayDoc, with its warm and passionate festival directors and organizers, with the audiences and people of Tui, and with the town itself. Walking with Sara and Ángel one evening, on a small street winding up a pretty steep hill, I was mesmerized by a 13th-century gothic cathedral preserved from the Middle Ages. As I gazed in awe, I understood that I was experiencing a perfect moment. Making films is a life choice; it takes enormous dedication, heart and belief in your idea. When you show your film to an audience, like the audiences at Play-Doc, all the self-doubt and anxiety disappears, and instead you can feel the warmth, curiosity and enjoyment of sharing the cinematic experience, an experience like no other.

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