#encounters2012

Filmmaker Focus

Flytopia Interview with co- directors Saul and Karni.

My first step into the international work on display here was certainly a fruitful one. Films from all over Europe and even as far as Japan were on display. The quality of the screening was overall very high with the one exception being ‘Jo Ha Kyu’ which sadly threw off the mood of the whole screening.

Lets start off with my personal highlight. ‘As Ondas (The Waves)’ directed by Miguel Fonseca which was truly a piece of Portuguese art. The film is gentle in every aspect. A total feeling of serenity and calm came over me whilst watching, not to say the film was without disruption. Trying to not excavate the film in detail the story centres around two female twins whose relationship is left very open to interpretation. The only way to describe the pace of this film is to liken it to a painter brushing long slow strokes over a canvas. Time moves slowly and dialogue is sparse but the time to reflect between the plot progression points really allows the viewer to understand the film on a level deeper than they could have without this meditative space to contemplate.

‘Jo Ha Kyu’ was an unusual addition to an otherwise streamlined viewing. I can’t help but feel this film might have fared better in another screening due to the very high standard presented by the other films. Whilst I understood the concept behind the twelve-minute film I didn’t understand the necessity. I suppose really this work could be best described as a quirky montage, a scrapbook of footage, which was filmed without clear purpose. When looking upon the scenes of inner city Tokyo, the underground, children walking around a park and some self reflexive footage of the camera operator filming herself in a mirror you question what the overarching theme is which anchors them together. The sound design suggests a possible solution, the visual stimuli is merely a time keeping exercise for the soundtrack. In my opinion these sounds are the dominant media in this film and it simply doesn’t work. Perhaps if the film had a better sense of purpose or if I discovered some divine message on a second watch I could be persuaded this ‘Jo Ha Kyu’ was worthy to sit alongside ‘As Ondas’ and my other highlight ‘Remember Me my Ghost’.

Directed by Ross McDonnell ‘Remember Me My Ghost’ is classed as a documentary however I would like to step away from such a clear-cut division. Although the narrative was led by a recorded account of true events by a woman of withheld identity the visuals were a reconstruction style sequence of film which at times felt realist and others more abstract. The monochrome palette of the film produced a sharper image than any other film I had seen in the screening. There are still obvious signs of grading so the stylistic choice didn’t feel like a cop out. I should also mention the moving performances by all of the actors within the film giving a special commendation to the two young girls playing the woman’s daughters. I wish that the filmmakers had been a tad braver and moved slightly further towards the abstract side of the film and made this a more dominant aspect, the moments that will stay with me are the mother overlaid on a series of near identical hallways and the children playing their instruments during a slow pan shot. Aaron Martin is a name I will be sure to remember from ‘Remember Me My Ghost’ as the composer of the film’s many music tracks and general score he did a incredible job of interweaving emotion into an already hard-hitting narrative. I am sure we will be hearing more of his work on a much larger platform in the not too distant future.    

10.00, Wednesday 19th Cinema 3

Unfortunately for Inside Encounters (but most fortunate for Encounters as a festival) the first screening category "Loose Ends" for the Brief Encounters competition strand was a complete sell out this morning. A wonderful start to show a promising and popular week ahead! Eagerly anticipated and equally satisfying – Loose Ends showed an array of great Brits.

Are you carrying too much excess baggage? Are your relationships frayed at their ends? Or do you wish to cut all ties? Then the Loose Ends competition category at Encounters is for you.

Cutting Loose (Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall, 2011)

13 years on from his BAFTA winning first feature, Adrian Mcdowall’s Cutting Loose proves the number is only unlucky for some. What can you do to reform a bunch of murderers, heroin addicts and misbehaving mobs? According to the Scottish Prison Service, the answer is an annual hairdressing competition. Place a pair of scissors or a razor into an inmate’s hand and trust him with your life? Anyone would be hesitant. But there should be no hesitation in going to see this beautiful and civilly obedient piece. Perhaps they are prisoners cooped in a cage, perhaps they made a mistake in the past but don’t we all? As Cutting Loose clips together the perfect amount of sympathy to accommodate a momentary lapse in judgement, it helps blow-dry away prejudice and and straightens out the fact they too are humans with aspirations and fears. A world with fresh air, outside of impenetrable walls ensnarled by barbed wire is the biggest fear for most. Without hairdressing the reigning champion, soon to be released Francis, would be “pure lost” but it’s not his third-time winner award he’s looking forward to...first prize would be walking out of those front gates. Interspliced with comic mug shots of clients’ new hairdos and a subtly crafted soundtrack that slices, snips and clips this observational peek behind the bars of a volatile environment is more than absorbing. But the cyclical narrative is troublesome. Will Francis stay out? Or like many of his fellow convicts, is he sentenced to repeat his mistakes?

Callum (Michael Van Der Put, 2011)

Sometimes less is more. In Callum this is so much the case that the emotionally devoid, stoic presence of the protagonist and the perfection through silence makes one wonder why there’s a need for conversation or scores to build tension. Through a series of intermittent memories playing on repeat we embark on a journey that takes homage from the five stages of grief. Stuck between seething guilt and a hard fisted bully Callum is haunted by the ghost train that struck his ex-girlfriend. This fictional work is a sentimental portrayal of facing up to your demons in order to do what is right. Michael Van Der Put’s first short and graduation film is nothing short of visually arresting so if you’re arriving at Encounters for inspiration make sure this is your first stop when you get off the platform.

Care (Amanda Boyle, 2012)

Can you care too much about someone? When should you intervene and when should you step back? These questions are explored in Care, the new drama from award winner and lead director of our home grown-Bristol based Skins Amanda Boyle. For Natalie (Gina McKee), a district nurse, caring is a routine that slowly deteriorates into a burden and allows her to let her own life decay. Disconnected from her partner of whom she speaks to only over the phone and more concerned about a little old dying dear than her dying marriage Natalie crosses the lives of two women that make her own existence worthwhile. Similar to In the Loop’s fly on the wall style, but without the putrid tongue that Mckee displayed there, the camera works to make an unpredictable climax unnerving. Alongside the haunting score by David Julyan, (Memento, The Prestige) with a rawness that chills, this film is definitely not one to neglect.

Natalie Smyth