Tag: film

New York Jewish Film Festival, 2022

From January 12-25, 2022, The Jewish Museum and Film at Lincoln Center are delighted to continue their partnership to bring you the 31st annual New York Jewish Film Festival, presenting films from around the world that explore the Jewish experience.

Thanks to the magic of the internet, I got to attend this festival online for the first time. Thanks to work schedules and whatnot, I only watched 3 films. Despite my love of film festivals, yet limited film viewing, I was quite impressed with how many films, and even TV shows, there were to experience.

One thing I neglected to do was watch and pay attention to all of the Q&As. Usually Q&As follow film screenings, when they’re held in person, so all you have to do is remain in your seat. This time, I was just happy I was able to make time to watch the films.

Anyway, here are the 3 films I watched, in the order I watched them, plus some additional thoughts and details about the films.

With No Land (2021)

In May 1991, 15,000 Ethiopian Jews were airlifted to Israel in less than 24 hours’ time. Known as Operation Solomon, this covert mission coordinated by the Israeli military saw the birth of eight babies en route and set the world record for the most passengers on a single aircraft. History regards the endeavor as an unqualified triumph, but 30 years later, the full story is being told. Aalam-Warqe and Kobi Davidian delve into the details that have been suppressed for all this time, and explore the desperate but motivated measures taken by Jewish Ethiopian activists in Israel, North America, and their country of origin. Archival footage and firsthand accounts of participants lend nuance to a story heretofore viewed as black and white, supplemented by accounts of recent efforts to finally relocate to Israel those whom Operation Solomon left behind.

I’m not sure I knew much about the history of these events prior to watching the film. Although the summary of the film is about the 1991 airlift, much of the film goes into events that happened prior to that — about the Ethiopian Jews who had been allowed into Israel earlier than 1991, how families were split up, how some were reunited — and how Israel refused to accept Ethiopians despite their religion.

There was also a historical account of the political and military situation within Ethiopia, and how other countries and NGOs explicitly or secretly cooperated with the plans to relocate Jewish Ethiopians. Some had fled to Sudan while others remaining in Ethiopia were stuck between two fighting contingents — which seem to have renewed their conflict recently, again, if it ever went away.

But a very interesting film and I’m glad I learned more about it. There is definitely more information about Operation Solomon to be found online.

Here’s a 5-minute video from the BBC:

Operation Solomon: Airlifting 14,000 Jews out of Ethiopia via BBC “Witness” https://www.bbc.com/news/av/magazine-36357423

Click through to watch the first-hand account from someone who, at age 11, was airlifted out of Ethiopia as part of Operation Solomon. The witness describes his experience, and also talks about issues of assimilation between his and his parents’ generation.

Cinema Sabaya (2021)

Nine women of divergent backgrounds enroll in a video production seminar that promises to teach the fundamentals of filmmaking. These residents of Hadera, Israel are Jewish and Arab, observant and secular, ensconced in all manner of domestic arrangements, with life spread out before some of them and regarded by others in hindsight. Strangers to one another (one of the Jewish attendees has never interacted with Arabs until now), the students share the common goal of self-expression through their cameras, with Tel Aviv–based filmmaker Rona (Dana Ivgy, acclaimed star of Or and Zero Motivation) supplying instruction. Orit Fouks Rotem casts her debut feature with a mix of seasoned and nonprofessional actors, all shooting their own footage and viewing their colleagues’ work for the first time on screen. Sparked by former workshop leader Rotem’s personal experiences, Cinema Sabaya presents a deft and never didactic portrait of art’s capacity to unite disparate communities.

Cinema Sabaya, clip (2:21)
Other Israeli Film Festival
(The official trailer is Unlisted on YouTube.)

The description seems provocative, like maybe this will be a story about Arabs and Israelis. Instead, the story was much more about the lives of the women, how free they felt at expressing themselves, and the support they gave each other while revealing sensitive aspects of their lives.

For instance, one of the Israeli women seems at first grating and displays, maybe, this “toxic positivity” I’ve been reading about. She seems overly positive, very smiling…until she reveals that she hasn’t really interacted with an Arab person. She said, during the suicide bombings in Israel (before the wall), she crossed the street whenever she saw an Arab person. Later, during the course of sharing her filming assignments, it turns out her home life is not as positive as she appears to be. Her husband is withdrawn, likely suffering from PTSD. Her daughter doesn’t want to engage with her, and so forth.

Another woman tells the group she has had to move herself and her children back in with her mother after leaving her husband. Her dream is to buy an apartment. During one of her video assignments, it’s revealed that she and her kids are living in a single bedroom with all the stuff she was able to grab when she quickly left her husband. It’s a very crowded and cramped room, and clearly not a place where she or her children can thrive.

In another instance, a Muslim Arab woman, with 6 children, shares her dream of getting a driver’s license so that she doesn’t have to rely on her husband so much. Later in the film, the group role plays and acts out scenes where they pretend they’re confronting someone in their life about whatever dream they have. This woman plays herself and another woman plays her husband, and seems to accurately portray his dominant role in their marriage and her life. The Muslim Arab woman essentially gives up the argument when her partner declares, role-playing her husband, that he has decided she doesn’t need a license and he’s made up “his” mind. The rest of the group tries to encourage her to continue and just pretend, and to say what she feels even if she wouldn’t say it in real life. In a cathartic moment, she reveals that she regrets ever meeting her husband or marrying him at all. She reveals that she hates that he touches her, hinting at sexual aggression within the marriage. It’s clear she holds in her feelings of contempt for her husband. When the other woman tries to push her a little bit, to “give her courage”, the Muslim Arab loses her composure and attacks the woman by pushing her down, and then runs out of their community center. She disappears for the next few sessions, only to reappear on the day when they receive their completion certificates.

I felt it was a very interesting story about the motivations and, not spectacular, but plain dreams of women, and how their wants are withheld or thwarted often by the men in their lives or by expectations for women to support or be the center of the family.

Shtetlers (2020)

An invaluable record of tight-knit communities that endured genocide and shifting political regimes, Shtetlers offers a glimpse at the small Jewish towns (“shtetls”) dotting the former Soviet Union—towns where for many years Yiddish continued to be spoken and ancient rituals dutifully observed. Located on the fringes of the territory, in what are now Ukraine and Moldova, these villages that withstood the Holocaust managed to abide by supplying non-Jewish neighboring towns with goods and services. Director Katya Ustinova examines nine former shtetl inhabitants, now spread out across the world, and solicits their memories of a resilient but ultimately vanishing way of life. Ustinova’s documentary serves as an elegy for these once numerous strongholds of tradition and culture, but also, by archiving the recollections of those who experienced them firsthand, preserves them.

Shtetlers trailer

For this film, I did watch the Q&A, because I started writing this before the film expired for my account. And I got to hear a little more about the background of the film. Sadly, I learned everyone in the film has passed away, except for one person. (Most of the people were elderly and I believe it some of the footage goes back to 2015.)

On a positive note, the director revealed that there was Instagram account for the film, with additional animations and video not used in the film, so there’s more film to explore.

View this profile on Instagram

Shtetlers (@shtetlers) • Instagram photos and videos

Ending Thoughts

As I mentioned above, it was my first time participating in this film festival. I think Film at Lincoln Center tends to host many types of film festivals, so I’ll try to pay more attention from now on.

There seemed to be something like 30 films, both online and in-person. The festival must have been fairly popular because many of the online films sold out or expired before I could watch them.

The line-up of online films seemed like a really nice mix. For instance, they had at least one option of short films (“Shorts”), which I often enjoy, but I didn’t watch any this time.

Anyway, definitely recommend watching any of the three films above, if the chance arises. In the meantime, I’ll take note for next year’s festival and onward to the next!

FIAF: Animation First, 2021 – Part 3 Favorites

For the fourth time, I attended the annual animation event at the French Institute-Alliance Français, FIAF. As I mentioned in my last two posts, it was totally digital and I watched at home instead of attending in person.

In my last two posts, I shared the feature length and short films that I watched. In this post, I’m focusing in on my two favorite films, one short and one feature length. My two favorites were the full-length feature, Josep, and the short film, Homeless Home.

Wes Anderson’s film Isle of Dogs was really good. I might have picked it, except that it was a surprise addition and I’m choosing from the original line-up.

Favorite Feature: Josep

  • Dir. Aurel (Aurélien Froment)
  • 2020
  • 80 min
  • In French, Spanish, Catalan, and English with English subtitles
  • Mature Audiences

A dying gendarme [armed policeman] remembers his encounter with Catalan artist Josep Bartolí in a French concentration camp after the Spanish Civil War.

My favorite feature length film was Josep, a tribute, from one artist to another. The subject was the artist Josep Bartoli, an illustrator. It mainly focused on the period of his life in France, as a refugee from the Spanish Civil War.

“Josep”, 2020. Image from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10534996/mediaindex/?ref_=tt_mv_close

I didn’t know much about the subject, so after the film I did some research. After years of fighting, in February 1939, the Nationalists under Franco were recognized by France and other countries. Basically, they had won the Spanish civil war. Those who had been Republicans (or I suppose just didn’t support Franco) fled the country within only a few days. About 500,000 Spanish citizens left Spain for France in what’s called “La Retirada” or the retreat. When they arrived in France, the French authorities were unprepared and overwhelmed, and many of the refugees were sent to hastily built internment camps.

A few months before in France, precisely on November the 12th 1938, the government of Édouard Daladier approved a Decree-Law allowing the internment of “undesirable foreigners” under permanent surveillance. This law became the legal framework in which the French government later on imprisoned some 350,000 exiled Spanish Republicans….

So, I guess some people left in late 1938, but the resources I found described a massive migration in February 1939. Argelès-sur-Mer, is a region in the Southeast of France, just north of the Spanish border, and the location for one of the camps.

Argelès-sur-Mer

The concentration camps were known to be extremely poor and unhygienic; like intolerably unfit, with no access to clean water, poor sanitation, lack of food, and were built so poorly they barely did anything to protect the people from the winter weather. Of course, disease was rampant.

In the movie, there’s a scene where Josep actually sleeps in a hole in ground, covered by a blanket, until eventually he is apparently moved to an actual building with walls and a roof. Unfortunately, this really happened. Some of the interned people did sleep on the ground, and if they died, by exposure or by the mistreatment/torture from the guards, that’s where they were buried.

Of course, we know that 1939 was a pivotal year around the world. Those camps eventually became concentration camps for people running away from the Nazi regime, and conditions did not improve to say the least. Sadly, some of the people were sent back.

Here are some photos from Argelès-sur-Mer:

Argelès-sur-Mer

More information on the Argeles-sur-Mer camp can be found at: https://europeanmemories.net/memorial-heritage/argeles-sur-mer/

During the movie, Josep searches for his fiancee, but he has no luck. At one point, has a vision or dream sequence about Frida Kahlo. Coincidentally, I later learned, they were only born 3 years apart.

Frida Kahlo dream sequence.
“Josep”, 2020. Image from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10534996/?ref_=ttmi_tt

The narrator, then a young man (a gendarme or armed guard) working in the camps, provides Josep with drawing materials and they become what friends they can become under the circumstances. Eventually Josep escapes and he makes his way to Mexico, where he becomes one of Frida Kahlo’s lovers while she was married to Diego Riviera. At some point in his life, he leaves Mexico and ends up in New York.

In real life, both Bartoli and Kahlo seem to have had a strong influence on each other, including becoming romantically connected. But the majority of the movie is about his life and experiences in the concentration camps. Here’s an interesting video I found that’s not quite the finished film. More of an animation of the storyboard (in French).

It was difficult to find examples of his artwork, but here’s an interview with his nephew with a few images.

The interview reveals a bit more about how Frida Kahlo influenced him, in his life and art:

Q: Once in New York, did he get involved with the Spanish exile community?

A: Not really. Although he always knew he was linked to the history of the war, at a certain point—thanks in large part to Frida Kahlo—he decided to switch from black-and-white to color. In both art and life. Frida told him: “You’ll never win the civil war. Memory is one thing and life is another. You must accept the memory, but you can’t let it consume your life. You’ve got to move on to something else.” And that’s what he did. Although he never lost sight of who he was and where he came from.

“If Spain Became a Republic Once Again, We’d Have Lost the War a Little Less.” Georges Bartolí Remembers His Uncle Josep

As for the director, who is himself an illustrator, obviously the movie itself is an example of his work. I found some information about his background:

Aurélien Froment’s practice involves the use and making of films, exhibitions and books through a diverse array of collaborations with artists, institutions, friends and numerous image manipulators. https://imma.ie/artists/aurelien-froment/

More information about the Spanish Civil War and memorial websites for La Retirada and the camps are below:

On his relationship with Frida Kahlo:

“My Bartoli…I don’t know how to write love letters.  But I wanted to tell you that my whole being opened for you. Since I fell in love with you everything is transformed and is full of beauty…. love is like an aroma, like a current, like rain.  You know, my sky, you rain on me and I, like the earth, receive you. Mara” — Frida Kahlo, October 1946

Passion Penned: At Auction, Frida Kahlo’s Intimate Love Letters of an Illicit Affair
https://observer.com/2015/04/passion-penned-frida-kahlos-intimate-love-letters-of-an-illicit-affair-up-for-sale/#ixzz3YG4hFCq7

And just before writing this, I learned that Josep won the 2021 César Award for Best Animated Film.

Favorite Short Film: Homeless Home

  • 2020
  • Dir. Alberto Vázquez
  • In Spanish, with English subtitles
  • 15 min
Trailer for Homeless Home
No one can escape their roots, however rotten they may be.

I absolutely loved this film. I probably watched it at least 6-7 times while I had access to it.

As the director states in the interview below, it takes place in a medieval fantasy land, and features a love triangle between a witch, an ogre, and an orc. However, most of the story features themes and questions that are very modern and human:

  • Is home always the place where you grew up, or is it a new place?
  • What if your home has no opportunities or future — should you feel obligated to stay?
  • What happens for people as they grow old, who will take care of them if everyone is gone?
  • Is it even possible to leave; who will buy a house if everyone is migrating away?
  • And what about the relationships we have with other people?
  • Are these the relationships we have because they’re good for us, or because they’re comfortable?
  • What will we put up with because we’re lonely?
Interview with Homeless Home director, Alberto Vasquez (3:12) – In English

The film opens with a short speech by the Necromancer, some type of lord/master character, at the top of a castle. He gives a universal speech about how he accomplished everything in his life based on his own hard work, probably too much work. The myth of self-sufficiency.

And he gestures to point out the lands of what used to be the home of his vast army. Now, he says, the young people are all drunks and drug addicts as the scene changes to show a beach, with many young people falling over, clearly intoxicated. Millennials have ruined everything!

He’s later described derisively by one of the other characters, the Ogre, — who is, depicted as lazy, without goals, and who drinks too much — as a selfish and frail old man.

Necromancer nostalgically surveys his lands.
“Homeless Home” 2020, Image from https://en.unifrance.org/movie/50131/homeless-home

The soundtrack featured a single cello and had a melancholy quality. I find cello can be played at a higher pitch, but generally sounds best at lower registers, which is how it was played. It was the perfect choice. There was also chanting/singing chorus, featuring women’s voices. It sounded kind of Celtic, or I suppose exotic, and meant to evoke a conjuring; a supernaturalness. It was effective where it was used.

The entire movie was in black and white, with some grey, and splashes of red depicting blood.

In one scene, the simple colors and the soundtrack came together so well. The Orc character reminisces about his army exploits to his Witch friend (girlfriend?), about his life of conquering and the appeal of leaving his small town. In a flashback, he beheads a soldier on a giant pile of bodies, then he literally baths in a river of blood as the female chanting grows in crescendo. The flashback ends and the scene returns to the quiet of the forest, as he sits next to the Witch. Neither of them seem particularly excited by the possibilities remaining in their hometown.

The Orc reminisces with the Witch about his life of conquering in the Necromancer army.
“Homeless Home” 2020, Image from https://en.unifrance.org/movie/50131/homeless-home

In the early part of the film, there are short interviews from other characters, including the Ogre who plays a bigger role later. He talks about the importance of hobbies, “to help have an inner life”, as he later falls back against his house drinking. The Ogre is very ogre-like: blunt, brutish, not too smart. He doesn’t offer much emotional support for his Witch girlfriend, who is caring for her aging mother, and treats her like his own object, not recognizing her own agency.

The Ogre tries to romance his Witch girlfriend.
“Homeless Home”, 2020. Image from https://en.unifrance.org/movie/50131/homeless-home
In this scene, the Ogre drinks while sitting with the Witch under a tree. The Witch is unhappy.

Cover for “Homeless Home”, 2020. Image from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12185772/mediaviewer/rm2581050113/

In other scenes, I loved the subtle references to everyday activities, but with a morbid twist. For instance, the witch suggests she and the ogre visit “Oblivion Falls” where the waters make you forget who you are. And at a beach cookout, the Orc is one offered one of two choices from the grill: pork or carne de humano.

Some of the scenes that stuck out for me involved a fat beast, an animal with a sort of elephant-like body but a human face. He spits when he talks, which the other characters rightly find disgusting. He has a master, who rides him and whips him, and many of the other characters call him a “dumb animal” and treat him cruelly. He internalizes their claims that as a dumb animal, he has no feelings and doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

Yet, towards the end of the film, he clearly does as he remarks on his complex inner thoughts. He says “Master, I don’t know if you can understand me, but sometimes I feel apathetic, empty like I’m a little dead.” His master responds, “Ah yes. That’s because here in this place, we’re all dead.”

Of course, all the dialog is in (European) Spanish. As an English speaker, that somehow adds to the other worldliness for me.

“No one can escape their roots, however rotten they may be.”
Spanish language poster for Homeless Home, 2020. Image from https://en.unifrance.org/movie/50131/homeless-home

Although this film was only 15 minutes, I found the themes really resonant. As a short film, it cut away all the extraneous character development and plot to cut to the core themes the film makers wanted to convey. For example, the generational divides, the limited opportunities in small towns, etc.

I think many people who move away from home to bigger cities or seek opportunity away from old friends and family, face these questions and mixed feelings of nostalgia and regret, even if they don’t recognize their emotions for what they are.

There are some, like the Ogre, who end up jealous, bitter, and angry. Others, like the Orc, try to reconnect with old friends and family but fail because they’ve ultimately moved on and can’t readjust to their old life. There are those like the Witch who want a better life, but their obligations to their home are too strong and they can’t bring themselves to leave. And there are the friends who seem to admit that there aren’t many benefits to staying, yet continue celebrating the basic comforts of their lives despite the obvious mediocrity.

Even living in a big city now, I sometimes feel like the Witch, the Ogre, and the Orc at times. Jealous, bitter, disconnected, and yet obligated. Maybe we all feel like this sometimes, regardless of our home. Or maybe I feel like this because I’ve moved so much.

Clearly I’m not the only one who liked it!

https://twitter.com/autourdeminuit/status/1351598085454094338?s=20

FIAF: Animation First, 2021 – Part 2 Short Films

For the fourth time, I attended the annual animation event at the French Institute-Alliance Français, FIAF. As I mentioned in my last post, it was totally digital and I watched at home instead of attending in person.

My last post was on feature films. This one will be on shorts.

Shorts!

I love watching shorts. Like animated, narrative short stories. Sometimes just art. These are the shorts I’ve seen, so far.

Shoom’s Odyssey, 2019

L’Odyssée de Choum
  • Dir. Julien Bisaro, with Clair Paoletti
  • France, Belgium
  • 26 min
  • In French with English subtitles

My quick take: Great film for kids, calming to look at. Great effects and sound effects.

This heartwarming tale is set in a seaside town inspired by a lush Louisiana bayou. Born in the midst of a storm, baby owl Shooom must fend for herself and her unhatched sibling before she even leaves her nest. Against all odds, she is determined to find her mother, be it an alligator or a squirrel.

This is a film that was originally intended for very young audiences, so there isn’t much dialog. It’s really beautiful and pastel colored. One thing that stood out for me were the very interesting animal sound effects, which unfortunately they didn’t get to in the making of discussion below.

Making of Shooom’s Odyssey with Claire Paoletti and Julien Bisaro

FYI: The interview had a translator, which many FIAF events often have, though honestly the film makers seemed to understand English very well.

A Doonesbury Special, 1977

  • Dir. Garry Trudeau, USA
  • 26 min.
  • In English
  • Mature Audiences

This film was selected by special guest, Wes Anderson.

I found a copy on the Internet Archive (for now).

Along with filmmakers Faith and John Hubley, Trudeau pondered an important question of the day: Do you sell out your idealism and your thirst for political and social change as you grow older? Or more specifically, do you stop building a commune to build a condo? As Mike Doonesbury searches for meaning, he muses on gender and racial relations, Simone de Beauvoir, Margaret Mead, football, and pot smoking, bringing an unexpected profundity to the holiday primetime special. Trudeau’s efforts were recognized. A Doonesbury Special won a Special Jury Award at Cannes and was nominated for an Oscar in 1978.

Peter and the Wolf, 2006

  • Dir. Suzie Templeton
  • United Kingdom, Poland, Norway and Mexico
  • 29 min.
  • Silent
  • Ages 8 and up

My quick take: What can I say? Peter and the Wolf, depending on who tells the story, is sad. Peter, the puppet, looks a bit maniacal, at times.

Unlike previous animated adaptations of this classic fairy tale, director Suzie Templeton forgoes a narrator and sets Prokofiev’s beloved score in the harsh modern-day Russian countryside. Against this strikingly stark background, Templeton’s vibrant puppets come to life—a playful bird, tottering duck, mischievous cat, the fearsome wolf, as well as the sensitive Peter and his grandfather.

L’Amour a ses réseaux (Fail in Love), 2019

  • Dir. Cécile Rousset & Romain Blanc-Tailleur
  • France
  • In French with English subtitles
  • Mature audiences

These were 5, 4-min episodes using interviews with Tinder/Grindr users on their experiences that didn’t go quite right. I thought it was really funny, and I liked the use of, sometimes fantasy, imagery translations of the spoken words.

Funny, quirky, and at times cruel, this web series illustrates real-life dating mishaps, fantasies, and creepy encounters. Through these personal stories, we see traditional and new means of seduction, as well as the triumphs and pitfalls caused by apps and their algorithms. L’Amour a ses réseaux (which translates literally to “love has its networks”) was adapted from the column “Tinder Surprise” for French news website Rue89 and originally aired on Franco-German television channel Arte.

Videos not available in the US. More information can be found at arte.fr.

The translations are a combination of FIAF and the Arte website, plus my own having watched these shorts.

Bite on the side (Petit Piment)

Newly settled in Berlin, Ernestine uses Tinder to find new friends. When her date invites her to a party, she wonders: is she free to do what she wants? Even flirting with this handsome Swedish guy? 

L'Amour a ses réseaux (3/13). Bite on the side. A cupid holding a red bird.
Bite on the side (Petit Piment)
Mazeltov!

After a romantic failure, Jeanne goes in search of a little affection on Tinder. But, when the moment of the meeting comes, stress quickly pushes her to say everything, and especially anything.

L'Amour a ses réseaux (11/13). Mazeltov. Sketch of a woman with a sheet pulled over her face.
Mazeltov!
Prince and Princesses (Prince et princesses)

Elegant, thoughtful, funny, Catherine thinks she has found her Prince Charming on Tinder. But life is rarely a fairy tale and the gallant’s castle seems full of secrets….

L'Amour a ses réseaux (1/13). Prince and Princess. Sketch of a man dressed in Shakespearean clothing crying next to a fountain.
Prince and Princesses (Prince et princesses)
Homo Habitus

One evening, Max meets a compulsive liar on Grindr. But rather than scare him away, his little number begins to intrigue him. Let the show begin! 

L'Amour a ses réseaux (6/13). Homo Habitus; Sketch of a kaleidoscope of a man with a mustache.
Homo Habitus
Under the moonlight (Sonate au clair de lune)

When an astronomy enthusiast invites her to observe the sky for a first date, Carole accepts her proposal, even if it involves crossing the entire county. But she begins to doubt her lucky star when her date shows himself less and less willing to let her go …

L'Amour a ses réseaux (4/13), Under the moonlight (Sonate au clair de lune). Sketch of a woman in a box.
Under the moonlight (Sonate au clair de lune)

Women Undercover (Les Espionnes racontent), 2020

  • Dir. Aurélie Pollet, 2020
  • France
  • Mature Audiences
  • In French with English subtitles

What if 007 was a woman? This riveting series follows a journalist as she interviews the spies who penetrated top-secret government circles. The three episodes included here expose the undercover experiences of Moscow-based Geneviève, Martha from Panama, and Yola in Tel Aviv.

A series of short videos, animating true interviews with female spies. Very intriguing. The three 6-min episodes I watched are below.

These might be available to play in the US on arte.tv/fr, for now, in French with subtitles. Eventually copyright might kick in and these will become restricted, so I don’t know.

Les Espionnes racontent – Geneviève : La liste russe de la DST

Focus on African Animation

Selections:

  • Black Barbie, Dir. Comfort Arthur, 2016, 4 min, Ghana
  • The Cora Player (Joueur de cora), Dir. Cilia Sawadogo, 1996, 7 min, Canada
  • Afropower (Afreupouvoir), Dir. Manohiray Randriamanantsoa, 2010, 5 min, Madagascar
  • L’Ambouba, Dir. Nadia Rais, 2010, 9 min, Tunisia
  • اغتراب Fade, Dir. Alaeddin Abou Taleb, 2018, 13 min, Tunisia
  • Prince Lesono, Dir. Jean-Michel Kibushi, 2004, 29 min, France and Belgium

I really liked Afropower. This was a short story following a dog that leaves a pile of 💩 , flies and all. This 💩 is sniffed out by a man who rises out of the ground, dressed in colonial attire. He gets the idea to exploit the 💩 by turning it into some kind of drug for the people. The people then revolt and while they’re fighting their king, the man appears again. He cuts through a pipe, that’s feeding the king’s throne. Out pops piles of jewels, which he begins to swallow. When he’s done, he goes away, disappearing again under the ground. Meanwhile the 💩 transforms again. It grows a head, a face, then a full body. The 💩 , which has been shown as green, falls away and reveals a man, and the man takes his new place on the throne. The man has become a fascist dictator, put in place by colonial powers exploiting the literal crap of Africa and creating chaos. It had no words, just a soundtrack, so I liked that it got the message across without explanation.

Prince Lesono was a stop-motion animation. It was about a king who wishes to have a son, but has to follow certain customs and cooperate with his community in order to achieve his goal of having an heir.

My Life in Versailles (La vie de Château), 2019
  • Dir. Clémence Madeleine-Perdrillat and Nathaniel H’Limi, France
  • 29 min.
  • In English
  • Ages 8 and up

A little girl loses her parents and becomes a ward of the state. According to her parents’ will, she is sent to live with her uncle who is a gardener or worker at the Versailles Palace museum. This short is actually a tv show, and this first episode is about how he struggles to adjust to fit a very young girl who misses her family into his life.

Best of Annecy Film Festival

Selected:

  • Awoko 70’s, Dir. Rose Gallerand, Caroline Leibel, Faustine Merle, Claire Pellet, May Taraud, and Chloé Van Becelaere; 2020; 1 min
  • Wade (La Noyade), Dir. Upamanyu Bhattacharyya and Kalp Sanghvi, 2019, 11 min
  • Genius Loci, Dir. Adrien Mérigeau, 2019, 16 min
  • Pile, Dir. Toby Auberg, 2019, 3 min
  • Homeless Home, Dir. Alberto Vazquez Rico, 2020, 15 min
  • Physics of Sorrow (Physique de la tristesse), Dir. Theodore Ushev, 2019, 27 min
  • Kinshasa 2100, Dir. Florian De Chelle, Marine Corbineau, Valentin Giuili, Armand Goxe, Marin Inbona, Alexis Maurice, and Tom Rameaux; 2020, 1 min
Genuis Loci
One night Reine, a young and solitary person, sees in the urban chaos a lively and vibrant movement, a kind of guide.
Wade (La Noyade) Directors’ statement and preview

I really enjoyed this one. As mentioned by the directors, this film is an exploration of the effects of climate change, one of which being flooding. It’s an interesting premise, tigers in urban areas crossing paths with climate refugees.

The film has a mystical quality. After the first tiger attack, a new tiger appears. It has eyes like the blind girl and can walk on water. However, a baby begins to cry, and like in MASH, it’s killed (drowned). This causes the blind tiger to suddenly become pregnant and bear a cub, who briefly shows signs of having human fingers. The attacking tiger tries to take the human-tiger cub, but it’s throat is slight by a knife and it runs away. The mother tiger begins to sink below the water and the other tigers take the tiger baby away.

Here’s a video of the awards ceremony (in French; English CC available).

Award ceremony for Wade
Directors’ statement for Wade (La Noyade)

Family Friendly Selected Shorts:

  • Melting Heartcake (Cœur fondant), Dir. Benoît Chieux, 2019, 11 min — Ages 3+
  • The Atelier (L’atelier), Dir. Bianca Mansani, 2019, 4 min — Ages 3+
  • Nature, Dir. Isis Leterrier, 2019, 3 min — Ages 3+
  • Northern Lights (Au pays de l’aurore boréale), Dir. Caroline Attia, 2019, 15 min — Ages 4+
  • The Last Day of Autumn (Le dernier jour d’automne), Dir. Marjolaine Perreten, 2019, 8 min — Ages 4+
  • Louis’ shoes (Les chaussures de Louis), Dir. Marion Philippe, Kayu Leung, Theo Jamin, Jean Geraud Blanc; 2020; 5 min — Ages 8+
  • The Breakaway (L’échappée), Dir. Benoît Michelet, 2019, 7 min — Ages 8+
  • We’re Taking Bernie to Grandpa (On va ramener Bernie chez Papi), Dir. Arielle Besse, Shiuan-An Lin, Lilamirana Rakotoson, 2020, 5 min — Ages 8+
  • TommeLise et l’Ogre, Dir. Cécile Robineau, 2018, 8 min — Ages 8+
  • Sheep, Wolf and A Cup Of Tea… (Moutons, loup et tasse de thé…), Dir. Marion Lacourt, 2019, 12 min — Ages 9+
  • Un diable dans la poche, Dir. Antoine Bonnet, Mathilde Loubes; 2019; 5 min — Ages 9+
Un diable dans la poche, Dir. Antoine Bonnet, Mathilde Loubes; 2019; 5 min

Most of these were relatively cute films. But the last one was a little sinister, and luckily available outside of the festival.

Documentary Shorts:

  • Esperança, Dir. Cécile Rousset, Jeanne Paturle, Benjamin Serero; 2019; 5 min
  • Mild wildness, Lasting Lunacy (Folie douce, folie dure), Dir. Marine Laclotte, 2020, 18 min
  • And yet we are not super-heroes (On est pas près d’être des supers héros), Dir. Lia Bertels, 2019, 13 min
  • Exuvie, Dir. Antoine François, Ornella Hildevert, Camille Ringuet, Adèle de Girval, Anaïs Crowyn, Ceridwen Bizeul; 2019; 4 min
  • Richie, Dir. Romane Granger, 2019, 8 min
  • 5 Years After the War (5 ans après la guerre), Dir. Samuel Albaric, Martin Wiklund, Ulysse Lefort; 2017; 16 min
Trailer for Folie douce, Folie dure

The film I highlighted was a very interesting concept. It was about a care home for developmentally disabled adults. It’s one thing to have a child who needs extra care. But what about when they’re 50 years old.

Films I didn’t watch…

New French Shorts Part 1 and 2

  • Disoriented (À l’ouest), Dir. Jérémie Cousin, France, 2019, 4 min.
  • To the dusty sea (À la mer poussière), Dir. Héloïse Ferlay, France, 2020, 12 min.
  • When We Leave (Cuando nos vamos), Dir. Mitchelle Tamariz, France, 2019, 4 min. Silent.
  • Trona Pinnacles, Dir. Mathilde Parquet, France, 2020, 13 min.
  • The Song of the Angel-Fish (Le chant des Poissons-Anges), Dir. Louison Wary, France, 2019, 7 min.
  • Purpleboy,Dir. Alexandre Siqueira, Belgium, France and Portugal, 2019, 14 min. In Portuguese with English subtitles.
  • Precious (Précieux), Dir. Paul Mas, France,2020, 14 min.
  • Souvenir Souvenir, Dir. Bastien Dubois, France, 2020, 15 min.
  • Inès, Dir. Elodie Dermange, France and Switzerland, 2019, 4 min.
  • Airhead! (Tête de linotte !), Dir. Gaspar Chabaud, Belgium, 2019, 6 min.
  • Rivages, Dir. Sophie Racine, France, 2020, 8 min. Silent.
  • Tadpole (Tétard), Dir. Jean-Claude Rozec, France, 2019, 13 min.
  • Windshriek (Hurlevent), Dir. Frédéric Doazan, France, 2019, 6 min. Silent.
  • Artifice, Dir. Judicaël Ceva, Adrien Douay, Coline Della Siega, Coraline Hun et Diana Lao, France, 2019, 4 min. Silent.
  • Average Happiness, Dir. Maja Gehrig, Switzerland, 2019, 7 min.
  • Flow, Dir. Adriaan Lokman, France and Netherlands, 2019, 14 min. Silent.
  • Boriya, Dir. Min Sung Ah, France, 2019, 16 min.
  • Traces, Dir. Hugo Frassetto, Sophie Tavert Macian, France and Belgium, 2019, 13 min. Silent.
  • Machini, Dir. Frank Mukunday, Trésor Tshibangu, Democratic Republic of the Congo and Belgium, 2019, 10 min.
  • Sous la canopée, Dir. Bastien Dupriez, France, 2019, 7 min. Silent.
  • Empty Places, Dir. Geoffroy de Crécy, France, 2020, 8 min. Silent.
  • X.Y.U., Dir. Donato Sansone, Italy, 2019, 1 min. Silent.

That’s it. Unfortunately I didn’t get to watch everything. There were several student competitions that I didn’t see although I have seen student shorts before.

The next post will be on my favorites. I also saw a lot of feature length films, so check out that post.

FIAF: Animation First, 2021 – Part 1 Feature Films

Yes, it’s that time of year again. For the fourth time, I attended the annual animation event at the French Institute-Alliance Français, FIAF. This time it was totally digital and I watched at home instead of attending in person. Not only that, but the dates for the festival were extended, so instead of 3 days, now there’s 11 whole days!

I saw some great films and here are some titles I want to share. Since I had time to watch so many, I’m going to write 3 posts. One on feature films, another on shorts, and the final on my favorites. This post is on feature films.

Feature Films

Calamity, a Childhood of Martha Jane Cannary, 2020

Calamity, une enfance de Martha Jane Cannary
  • A film by Rémi Chayé (with his co-writers Sandra Tosello et Fabrice de Costil)
  • France and Denmark
  • 85 min.
  • In French with English subtitles

My quick take: The animation style is really simplistic; at first I thought this was created in MS Paint! But then I thought even if it was created in MS Paint, creating a feature film that way should be commended.

Trailer: Calamity Jane — US Premier at Animation First 2021 from FIAF on Vimeo.

1863, a convoy in the American West, Martha Jane needs to learn how to take care of horses to drive the family wagon. Except she ends up wearing pants and cutting her hair. The scandal that its stark character provokes will force to face all the dangers in a gigantic and wild world where everything is possible.

Despite the film being based on a real person, it seemed very original. And even though the characters are meant to be American, the lead female character Jane had a certain “French woman” quality I feel I’ve recognized in other films, not just animation: a little spunky, a little independent, someone who takes charge of her life. I could be overgeneralizing.

Learn more about this film on the FIAF site, cineuropa.org, or by watching the making of video below.

Making of Calamity Jane with Rémi Chayé

You can also watch an interview with the director, on the FIAF Facebook page.

They talked quite a bit about the actual animation production. I wanted to learn more about the song at end, which was very poetic.

The Plague Dogs, 1982

  • Dir. Martin Rosen, USA
  • 86 min.
  • In English

Quick take: Very dark, but I liked it. A selection from special guest, Wes Anderson.

In this stunning adaptation of Richard Adams’s eponymous novel, two dogs, Snitter and Rowf, break out of a research laboratory where they are repeatedly abused for testing purposes. Once free, they meet Tod, a cunning fox, who helps them survive in the wild. Though the lab director tries to keep the escape quiet, an increasing number of sheep are discovered dead and rumors that the dogs are carrying the bubonic plague start to spread.

This was one of the selections by special guest, none other than director Wes Anderson. As he says in the introduction, it starts off unsettling and basically stays that way throughout the whole film. It’s by the director of Watership Down, Marten Rosen, and like that movie it’s also quite dark for an animated movie. Not really for kids, even though they rated it as age 10+.

Also, the film has some pretty well known names lending their voices, including John Hunt, Christopher Benjamin, Nigel Hawthorne, Patrick Stewart.

Josep

  • Dir. Aurel (Le Monde cartoonist)
  • France, Spain and Belgium
  • 80 min
  • In French, Spanish, Catalan, and English with English subtitles
  • Mature Audiences

A dying gendarme remembers his encounter with Catalan artist Josep Bartolí in a French concentration camp after the Spanish Civil War.

I really don’t know that much about the Spanish Civil War, other than it was neighbor against neighbor. I know Picasso made a famous painting about a bombing. But after I saw this film, I did a little research about the artist and looked up some of the camps. He lived a very interesting life, outside of his experiences in internment camps. The internment camps had people living in extremely poor conditions. Pretty sad. Very good film.

Aya of Yop City (Aya de Yapougon)

  • Dir. Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie, 2013
  • 84 min.
  • In French with English subtitles
  • Ages 10 and up

Aya, a 19 year old girl lives with her parents in Yop City, a neighborhood in Abidjian. She spends time with her best friends Adjoua and Bintou. While Adjoua and Bintou like to spend her evenings dancing, drinking and flirting, Aya would like to become a doctor. Trouble starts when Adjoua realizes she is pregnant by Moussa who is the spoiled son of one of the richest and most feared men in the whole country.

I’m glad I made time to see this. Funny and with a few side stories here and there. It’s based on a comic by the same name, which makes sense because there are some real characters!

Isle of Dogs

  • Dir. Wes Anderson, 2018
  • 1h 45min.
  • In English and Japanese
  • Ages 10 and up

When, by executive decree, all the canine pets of Megasaki City are exiled to a vast garbage-dump called Trash Island, 12-year-old Atari sets off alone in a miniature Junior-Turbo Prop and flies across the river in search of his bodyguard-dog, Spots. There, with the assistance of a pack of newly-found mongrel friends, he begins an epic journey that will decide the fate and future of the entire Prefecture.

Ok, they snuck this one in last minute. I was not expecting to be able to see this at all, because it wasn’t on the list. But it was, of course, very entertaining. One of my favorite scenes is towards the end, where the boy character recites a haiku and everyone’s mind is blown.

That’s it for the full-length films I saw. Next are shorts!

Isolation on Film

When we all started isolating, I immediately thought of a few films that captured different aspects of social isolation. If you find yourself with a desire to reflect on isolation, here are 3 movies and a tv series to watch.

Physical Isolation: The Wall

In German with English subtitles — 2012

In this movie, a woman on a weekend retreat to the country finds herself suddenly and inexplicably trapped by an invisible barrier that separates herself and everyone else. She learns to adapt and cope with her isolation. I saw this movie in the theater, I think at the IFC Center. It’s a movie I think about from time to time, and try to think about the invisible barriers I put up for myself.

Domestic Isolation: Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

In French with English subtitles — 1975

Jeanne Dielman is a single mother who goes through her days completing repetitive and mundane domestic tasks. Although many scenes were choreographed, the director filmed many of these scenes so that they appear real-time, slow, deliberate. Jeanne chooses her daily activities, from shining shoes, to making meatloaf, to turning the lights on and off, but she is essentially trapped in her domestic life of repetition. It’s clear she puts in focused effort as she carries out these tasks, but does she enjoy it? Does it matter?

And there’s something about watching this older movie, which came out in 1975, with no cell phones, no internet — you just feel the pressure of domesticity closing in on Jeanne. There are definitely some surprising plot twists in this movie, though.

I think about this movie often, like when I’m washing the dishes or cleaning the bathtub. I believe I saw this movie on Hulu, back when a Hulu subscription came with access to the Criterion Collection. I hope to watch it again.

Cultural Isolation: Walkabout

In English and an Australian indigenous language (not translated) — 1971

Title card for film Walkabout, 1971
Opens IMBD in a new window

In this movie, a white adolescent girl and her younger brother find themselves abandoned in the Australian outback. Eventually, they meet an Aboriginal adolescent boy, roughly the same age as the girl, out on his ritual Walkabout. The rest of the movie tracks their physical journey together.

This film is a masterpiece. It stars Jenny Agutter, and was the film debut for David Gulpilil.

Despite the sister and brother being thoroughly dependent on the Aborigine for their physical survival, the sister, in particular, remains unable — unwilling, really — to break out of her cultural frame of reference and the trio remain alone together. I suppose the Aboriginal boy also seems to lack the sense to realize that sticking to his cultural traditions alone isn’t enough to connect with this sibling couple.

Rogerebert.com has this to say:

“The movie is not the heartwarming story of how the girl and her brother are lost in the outback and survive because of the knowledge of the resourceful aborigine. It is about how all three are still lost at the end of the film–more lost than before, because now they are lost inside themselves instead of merely adrift in the world.

…there is a wide range of experiment and experience that remains forever invisible to us, because it falls in a spectrum we simply cannot see.”

Despite the pessimism of this film, I really love the soundtrack for this movie, which was made for the film by composer John Barry. The song, Who Killed Cock Robin is set to a minor key and slow tempo, with orchestra and a chorus; a beautiful effect. You can hear it toward the end of the video.

Marital Isolation: Scenes from a Marriage

Swedish with English subtitles — 1973

Scenes from a Marriage is a 6-part, Swedish miniseries. The series follows a husband and wife, starting from what seems like marital bliss and over time their marriage slowly falls apart. It’s been a while since I originally saw it, but I remember wondering if these two were every really connected or if they were still in their own world but together. They do argue, but it still seems somehow measured.

Anyway, this movie was directed by Ingmar Bergman, and stars Liv Ullmann and Erland Josephson; good reasons to watch.

 

Black Hair Tutorials — In the Style of Famous Movie Directors and Their Films

Alfred Hitchcock Presents
The famous statue of Dinard in tribute to Alfred Hitchcock and his movie “The Birds”, erected on the occasion of the “Festival du Film Britannique”. Photo by Thibaut Démare.

Like so many other people, I too watch hair and makeup tutorials on YouTube. I’ve found that the majority of videographers film their hair tutorials from the front. Or from the back, like from the perspective of a hair stylist. Well, I came across some pretty unique hair tutorials sometime in 2019. The videographers/hair stylists filmed their tutorials completely different. They chose to film their tutorials in the style of famous movie directors and their movies.

My series of tiny home posts shows that many YouTubers create high-quality videos. The videos below are no different. The videos below, are extra special: they were filmed on a sound stage, with props and special effects. Both entertaining and educational!

Overview

What you’ll see below, where possible, is a short background on the movie and/or director, a preview of the original film or an excerpt, and then the tutorial. Thankfully, IMBD has some nice overview videos of famous directors. (Thanks, IMDB!)

The directors/movies are:

  • Stanley Kubrick/The Shining
  • Spike Lee/Do The Right Thing
  • Wes Anderson/Moonrise Kingdom
  • Alfred Hitchcock
  • Stan Lee & Brian Cooglar / Black Panther

I am very excited to share this post. I wrote it way back in 2019, and have been saving and adding to it, while sharing other posts. Now it’s finally time to share. So with probably my longest blog post title yet, enjoy!

1. Stanley Kubrick, “The Shining”

The Shining is a movie adaptation of the book of the same name, written by mystery/thriller writer extraordinaire, Stephen King. The book was published in 1977. The movie was directed by Stanley Kubrick and released in 1980.

Stanley Kubrick didn’t just make thrillers, but his movies did have a psychologically subversive twist to them. Kubrick was pretty influential in film making. Here’s a summary of his style, by IMDB.

The Shining

The Shining is about a man who takes his family to live in an isolated mountain retreat as the winter caretakers. He…succumbs to the isolation.

Twist Out Tutorial In The Style Of “The Shining”

2. Spike Lee, “Do the Right Thing”

Do The Right Thing was released in 1989 and directed by Spike Lee. Many of his films, or joints, are set in New York City, and especially the Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights or Bed Stuy. Many of his films’ themes center around race and society. He has some distinctive film making cues that this IMDB video showcases.

Do The Right Thing is about the day to day life for residents in a predominately black Brooklyn neighborhood during a hot summer. The tutorial picks up style and scene elements from this movie, some of which are seen in this trailer.

Wash and Go, in the style of Spike Lee (with Do The Right Thing references)

3. Wes Anderson, “Moonrise Kingdom”

Hair Puff Tutorial, in the style of Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson)

 

4. Alfred Hitchcock

Another dominating name in film making. Unlike Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock specialized in thrillers and psychological thrillers, only. Pretty much all of his movies and Alfred Hitchcock Presents shorts have a very similar style. Check out the guide below and the tutorial following.

5. Stan Lee/Ryan Cooglar, “Black Panther”

Black Panther is based on a comic by Marvel, heavily influenced by legendary comic book artist Stan Lee. The movie, released in 2018, immediately became a cultural phenomenon. This scene below is when the main character, T’chala, goes into the underground science lair to check out some new tools and suit. The director, Ryan Cooglar, has completed other movies, but not really enough to have a distinctive style.

Scene from Black Panther

Bantu knots tutorial, in the style of Black Panther

Greatly mimics the scene above.

 

Learn More

What I liked about these tutorials were was not just the reference to pop culture — they also reflected the booming business of Black hair and the natural hair movement and acceptance within the African American community.

The business of Black hair is a big business and natural hair video tutorials are a popular sub-genre of beauty “vlogs” which are themselves very popular on YouTube. CNBC did a good job of summarizing the business of Black hair, in their video below, if you’re curious to learn more.

 

Image credit: Ceremonie van volwassen worden, Totoya Hokkei, c. 1822, colour woodcut, h 204mm × w 178mm – View original at Rijksmuseum.nl