THE NETHERLANDS: DOCUMENTARY MAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD GATHER IN AMSTERDAM FOR THE ANNUAL DOCUMENTARY AND FILM FESTIVAL

Record ID: 389657

  • Title: THE NETHERLANDS: DOCUMENTARY MAKERS FROM AROUND THE WORLD GATHER IN AMSTERDAM FOR THE ANNUAL DOCUMENTARY AND FILM FESTIVAL
  • Date: 23rd November 2004
  • Summary: AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS (NOVEMBER 18, 2004) (REUTERS - ACCESS ALL) DUTCH FILM MAKER LEONARD RETEL HELMRICH WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (English) LEONARD RETEL HELMRICH, MAKER OF DOCUMENTARY 'THE SHAPE OF THE MOON', SAYING: "My documentary is about the life of ordinary people in a changing society in Indonesia, after the happenings of September 11. So, how the life of people i
  • Embargoed: 8th December 2004 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: AMSTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS / VARIOUS FILM LOCATIONS
  • Country: Netherlands
  • Reuters ID: LVA3G5GJUKSCL8PFKK34VSO5XQ1N
  • Story Text: The 17th International Documentary Film Festival (better known as IDFA) opened last week in Amsterdam. With more than 250 documentary screenings, the ten-day long festival is the biggest of its kind in the world.
    Including four different competition sections, the festival features films from both experienced and young and new film makers.
    Festival director Ally Derks said that although this year's festival does not have a clear theme, it features many stories about countries in transition.
    "This year we do not really have one theme, but there are different red threads throughout the programme I would say. For example, countries in transition, countries like China that is going through a capitalist system, the former East European countries that are part of Europe now are also changing, formal Soviet states, countries in Africa.
    So, that. is really an overall theme."
    The festival kicked off with the screening of Shape of the Moon, from Dutch film maker Leonard Retel Helmrich. In Shape of the Moon, Helmrich tries to portray Indonesia from the view point of just a few individuals.
    "My documentary is about life of ordinary people in a changing society in Indonesia, after the happenings of September 11. So, how the life of people in Indonesia has been affected by that event. The event itself is not in the film, but there are some demonstrations, so you feel the background in their lives reflected," said Helmrich.
    Shape of the Moon is a sequel of Shape of the Sun, made by Helmrich in 2002 and also about Indonesia.
    In Shape of the Moon Helmrich follows the Sjamsuddin family that lives in a suburb of Jakarta. The 62-year-old widow Rumidjah clashes with her son Bakti on religious issues: he converted to Islam before getting married, whereas she refuses to part with her crucifix. These quarrels take place against the background of anti-US demonstrations and an Islamic neighbourhood watch.
    In the documentary are no interviews or voice-over. The director silently follows the people, not from a distance, but close to the subjects. Sometimes the camera glides among the people, dives to the ground, scans faces and bodies or flies high into the air when following a pedestrian crossing a staggeringly high railway bridge.
    "It is based on one line of Andre Bassin, a film critic from France in the fifties, he said the essence of film is the movement of the camera. So I am really trying to focus on that. And because nowadays these cameras are small and you can move it around quite easily. So, that is what I use. I try to get rid of the feeling of me being there and try to become invisible for the people whom I am filming,"
    said Helmrich.
    Shape of the moon was selected from nearly two thousand international contenders to compete with 19 other documentaries for the so-called Joris Ivens award, which rewards the winner with 12.500 Euro cash.
    In the festival's First Appearance young and new filmmakers compete with their debut films for the First Appearance award of 2500 Euros.
    Chinese film maker Huang Wenhai with his film Floating Dust is one of the competitors for this award. Floating Dust is about the live of people in the small Chinese town of Yaoyang, where the people have jobs with little future and everything revolves around money. With games like Mahjong, they hope to get quick cash.
    "In this documentary I wanted to show the live of ordinary people in a small Chinese village, their love lives, family, their children etc," said Huang Wenhai, who recorded more than hundred hours of video to make the movie.
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