1st Day
Julia, Greg, Les and Gunny at 1st day Lunch
What did I see today:
Shame A works in progress on Mukhtaran Mai, the Pakistani woman who was ganag raped on the orders of the Tribal Council for an alleged infringement by her brother. An inspiring and eye opening account of her strength and resolve in getting justice and to help build a more secure future for Paksitani women like her. *****
Freeheld An emotionally charged film about a police officer's last days as she copes with lung cancer and her fight to get her pension paid to her same sex partner. *****
Manda Bala The Sundance Winner - a very sexy MTV'esque styled documentary about corruption in Brazil. The film cannot be played in Brazil. An expose of a corrupt and powerful politician who still has not been brought to justice - and the dangers that come with this. ***** 
Recycled Life A short documentary about the people who live among the rubbish tips of Guatemala, recycling rubbish for a living. It was a finalist in the Academy Awards for Best Short Documentary. Cinematic with a message. **** 
Calcutta Calling A German student film exploring the outsourcing of call centres to India. Shown at IDFA.
The Great Happiness Space Male hosts ply their charms to seduce their female customers of their money in Osaka Host Bars and in the process, both sides find they have more in common with each other than one would think. 
Best Friends As kids, we all had best friends that we treated as our rock and peprsonal property. In this film about two teenage girls who have lost their parents, the two best friends, laugh, love and fight with each other as all best friends do until they end up competing in their school's talent competition.
The Blood of Yingzhou District As the 1st person in DOCNZ to invite and preview the film early 2006 as part of the DOCNZ selection process, I could not control my excitement for the film and announced to my colleagues that I thought it was Academy Award worthy. I am very pleased that this film has gone onto both winning the Best Short Documentary Award as well as garnering huge praise, it was nice to see it play in Chicago to a receptive audience. An audience member asked me what opportunities that would be to watch the film in general release to which I replied and encouraged her to get as many of her friends to view it while it continues on the festival circuit. It continues to be one of my favourite films for its cinematic look, its access, its bravery in tackling a subject which few have talked about and the incredible sensitivity in its narrative.That was it for me for the 1st day of the CIDF, finishing at 12.30 am Sunday am.
Breaking News
A friend, Rey, who works with CBS helped to score a segment of CBS Chicago 2 news tomorrow morning. I have to try to find Joanna Topor, so that I can help set it up. CIDF has not been on CBS yet so this is great publicity for CIDF. It has been hard to get a hold of her as there is terrible weather in Chicago today and she's not getting cell phone reception out at the Wilmette Theatre. But we finally manage to talk to each other. We have to be at CBS at 6am tomorrow morning...a bit early but it's worth it.
Day's Thought
As with all festivals, there are too many great films programmed and an inability to see all of them. It is also very clear that the organizers have taken great care to programme this festival and in selecting the venues for the films taking into account the various communities and the geographical location of each venue. Spread over 8 locations, the organizers are working hard to keep the machine well-oiled and running while at the same time, offering the visitors hospitality. Thanks for this. Documentaries can often deal with topics that considered to be too sensitive for some people. Its hard for many people to make a conscious decision to view a film on cancer, aids, dying, corruption etc yet, in each of these films there is a narrative and a story arc that will make compelling viewing. Many people will go to see a fefature dramatic film that deals with these topics but yet, shy away from similar documentaries. It becomes very important for documentary film-makers and festivals to strategise carefully on their marketing and image. A sypnosis must be compelling and scare people away. Its time to bring sexy back to documentaries because documnetaries are so vital in tellinig our stories and provding a living treasure and archive of who we are, why we are who w eare and where we are going. As has been said: A country without documentaries is like a family without photo albums
Comments