The Copenhagen festival CPH: DOX, run by Tine Fischer and Tine Mosegaard, has won enthusiastic reviews. I count myself among its admirers after serving on the fest’s 2007 jury. For such a small country, Denmark has made a big impact on the world documentary scene, most recently with BURMA VJ (pictured) which racked up awards at IDFA and Sundance after its November debut at CPH: DOX.
I asked the two Tines for their take on the Danish scene…
DESCRIBE THE TRADITION OF DOCUMENTARY MAKING IN DENMARK.
Tine Fischer & Tine Mosegaard: Thanks to a fantastic and exclusively Scandinavian history of public artistic support schemes, Denmark has an old and large tradition of documentary film making that has been – and is – in constant development. Supernovas in this ongoing development have been – and still are – filmmakers Jørgen Leth and Anne Wivel with the new generation coming from the Danish Film School. Pernille Rose Gørnkjær (THE MONASTERY); Phie Ambo (FAMILY and MECHANICAL LOVE); Eva Mulvad (ENEMIES OF HAPPINESS); Asger Leth (GHOSTS OF CITE SOLEIL); Max Kestner (THE WORLD IN DENMARK); and Mikael Noer (VESTERBRO). are all names within this generation.
If there is one filmmaker and one film we would like to point out though, it would have to be Lars von Trier and THE IDIOTS. A filmmaker working with cinema, not genres, a filmmaker who thinks through his films – and a film that radically pushes and breaks with boundaries between fiction and documentary.
Every day for the next week, STFdocs will survey the globe with reports on nonfiction film making from seven countries. I started collecting these reports last summer as I was preparing for the Toronto International Film Festival. In recent years, the TIFF programming team has seen bursts of documentary activity from countries where it rarely occurred before. For example, last year TIFF showed UNWANTED WITNESS from Colombia, CITIZEN JULING from Thailand, and BLIND LOVES from Slovakia. In most cases, these films never find U.S. distribution outside of festivals. Even within festivals, they have a hard time competing against better-publicized American and European work.
To deepen my own understanding, I asked associates around the world to answer four broad questions about doc production in their countries. My intention was to publish dozens of these surveys on TIFF’s Doc Blog last summer. However, my ambitious scope overwhelmed my limited time. Now I know why this kind of information hasn’t been readily accessible before. It’s taken me this long to edit and publish them. My correspondents wrote these on a volunteer basis, following my directive to give personal opinions, rather than institutional viewpoints. They should be read in that spirit. If you want to add to the discussion, please do so in the Comments section. If you’d like to report on another country, please write to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Our first survey on Australia comes from Julia Overton, who serves as the Development and Investment Manager for Screen Australia. She’s assisted in the production of over 150 films of all genres. I first met her three years ago at IDFA in Amsterdam. Since then, I’ve met her annually at Hot Docs to get debriefed on upcoming Aussie docs. My TIFF colleague Jane Schoettle also makes an annual trip to Australia to monitor its rich output. Last year, Jane programmed Megan Doneman’s doc YES, MADAM, SIR about the crusading Indian policewoman Kiran Bedi.
First time documentary makers living in the United States still have one week left to apply for the Garrett Scott Documentary Development grant. The initiative pays for directors to attend the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival in April to watch films, meet industry members and participate in master classes. Go to the Full Frame website for further information.
How to describe my past 10 days being a juror at the Sundance Film Festival? The 27 documentaries I saw at the festival offer their own metaphors. WE LIVE IN PUBLIC examines a group of artists living in an enclosed environment programmed by a Big Brother figure. AFGHAN STAR (pictured on left) follows a group of creative risk-takers putting everything on the line to compete for a long-shot chance at fame. BIG RIVER MAN chronicles a man promoting an ecological message by undergoing an endurance test that threatens to drive him insane. Sundance can resemble all those experiences.
Documentaries at the festival are divided into three categories. There are 16 films in the U.S. Documentary Competition; another 16 in the World Documentary Competition and, by my count, 9 docs playing out of competition. That total matches the 41 docs at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, where I serve as a programmer. I don’t know of anyone who manages to see them all. So each person’s account should be taken as a piece of a larger tapestry. An occasion like Sundance underscores the need I raised in my November essay WANTED: DOCUMENTARY CRITICS calling for more in-depth writing about the field.
The good news is that you can find thoughtful writing about Sundance docs if you know where to look. For starters, I would recommend Karina Longworth on THE SEPTEMBER ISSUE, Scott Foundas on CRUDE, and James Rocchi on WE LIVE IN PUBLIC. It’s noteworthy that all three of those films are by veteran American directors – R.J. Cutler, Joe Berlinger and Ondi Timoner, respectively. It’s harder to find discussion of newcomers and especially international directors.
R to L: Director Ben Kempas with D-Word friends Cameron Hickey and Lauren Feeney
Last night, STF had the pleasure of welcoming director Ben Kempas all the way from Germany, with his recent documentary UPSTREAM BATTLE . The film deals with the disintegration of the Native Americans’ religion and familial culture caused by the depletion of the salmon population in Northern California’s Klamath River – a byproduct of four hydroelectric dams.
When Kempas was asked how he navigated such a closed society and competing interests, he replied, “just listen.” His tactic proved successful as he won considerable face-time with multiple sides, including the power company that operates the dams.
Kempas obviously feels sympathetic to the anti-dam campaigners, but he avoids easy moralizing by examining the complexities of the public’s demand for more electricity. Ultimately, the film shows non-traditional alliances formed between commercial fisherman, farmers and the Native-Americans. Kempas said, “I didn’t want to do a black and white documentary, telling people what to think”.
The Copenhagen festival CPH: DOX, run by Tine Fischer and Tine Mosegaard, has won enthusiastic reviews. I count myself among its admirers after serving on the fest’s 2007 jury. For such a small country, Denmark has made a big impact on the world documentary scene, most recently with BURMA VJ (pictured) which racked up awards at IDFA and Sundance after its November debut at CPH: DOX.
Every day for the next week, STFdocs will survey the globe with reports on nonfiction film making from seven countries. I started collecting these reports last summer as I was preparing for the Toronto International Film Festival. In recent years, the TIFF programming team has seen bursts of documentary activity from countries where it rarely occurred before. For example, last year TIFF showed 
How to describe my past 10 days being a juror at the Sundance Film Festival? The 27 documentaries I saw at the festival offer their own metaphors. 
R to L: Director Ben Kempas with D-Word friends Cameron Hickey and Lauren Feeney