Cinema Under Siege – UC Berkeley, 10/7/16

SEEfest Staff Writer | October 20, 2016, 2:11 PM

SEEfest’s friend Fareed Ben-Youssef, Chancellor Fellow in PhD Program in Film & Media at UC Berkeley, coordinated a lovely event earlier this month: “Cinema Under Siege: The Sarajevo Film Festival and the Question of Curatorial Responsibility.” It was held on UC Berkeley’s campus on October 7th, 2016, and attracted a very successful turn-out.

The event included a discussion with Elma Tataragic, a successful programmer who worked on the Sarajevo Film Festival during wartime in the 1990’s and all subsequent 21 iterations. This was followed by a screening of The Diplomat, a reflective documentary about the life of former US Ambassador Richard Holbrooke, directed by his son, David Holbrooke, who was present for a Q&A following the film.

Thought provoking and all too rare are these discussion of cinema and curation as art forms which carry with them a unique type of accountability. This event touched upon just that and much more in what was surely a thoughtful evening of audience participation and artistic reflection.

Here, in Fareed’s own words, is a review:

We began the evening with Elma’s discussing everyday life during the Siege as well as the urge to preserve a sense of normalcy. Then, she detailed the history of the film festival’s first iteration and considered the question of her curatorial responsibility to the city and its history. The audience asked her to further elaborate on her feelings leaving the city during festival preparation (which sparked an account of how she longed to return to Sarajevo) as well as her thoughts on cinema as a mode of grieving and healing.

 

David Holbrooke opened The Diplomat with a passage from Ambassador Richard Holbrooke’s biography wherein he described his less-than-ideal time at UC Berkeley in the sixties – I think Holbrooke the Younger had a much more positive experience!

 

The Q+A with David touched on the question of cinema as a tool of diplomacy as well as his experiences in Sarajevo during the festival. The audience asked for further elaboration on how he visualized the grind of negotiation and another student interested in the diplomacy posed a question on the problem of ambition.

 

Following the event, audience members spoke very highly of the proceedings, especially citing the valuable contextual work that Elma brought to the film. In short, it was a fascinating evening! See the attached photos. Please feel free to share any and all.

Fareed Ben-Youssef is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Film and Media at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his BA in English Literature with a Film Concentration from Princeton University and his master’s degree in the Film Studies Program in the department of Rhetoric at Berkeley. His dissertation, Visions of Power: Violence, the Law, and the Post-9/11 Genre Film, is concerned with specific moments where genre films (the Western, Film noir, and the Superhero film) disrupt a public discourse shaped by Manichean divisions. His conclusion examines international genre films to show how these texts articulate regional concerns and reflect on the ways in which their respective governments have responded to America’s global War on Terror. Aware of the cross-sections, slippages, and conflicts that exist within the ongoing dialogue between Hollywood entertainment and political discourse in the creation of competing visions of power, his study frames genre as a contested critical site—one of equal interest to politicians and to resistant filmmakers. Vacillating between wielders of state power and its victims, he ultimately shows how genre can serve as an invaluable mode of human rights critique. 

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Transformation in the Asylum

Catharine Christof | October 11, 2016, 10:57 AM

Il Dolce Theater Company at Highways Performance Space presents: “The Colonel and The Birds.” Written by Hristo Boytchev. Directed by Neno Pervan.

For me – and I think for many of us – the theatre has to prove its worth by being something genuinely extraordinary. Something that means that if I do choose to leave the comfort of my home (sofa) that I’ll have a real opportunity to engage with something so vital and alive visceral that my opinions and beliefs are at risk of being changed. Last night, I wasn’t disappointed. Il Dolce’s production of The Colonel and the Birds – currently playing at Highways Performance Space in Santa Monica was a piece of total theatre. It’s apparently one of the better-known plays of Bulgarian playwright, Hristo Boychev (I’d never heard of him – but I have every reason to believe the director, Neno Pervan).

I was present at something that was utterly engrossing not just because of the insanity of the story (and the story about insane people), but because of the completely immersive world the ensemble created. Their bodies were involved, their minds, the whole of their vulnerable beings were there – in front of me. The result was an experience that not only made me question my biases about madness (cultural? personal?), but also made me feel deep compassion for those that are the “left behind.” We’re all painfully aware of the horrors that war wreaks on civilians. But what about those who can’t take care of themselves? What happens to them? And what about those whose infirmities – for whatever reason – are in their minds?

Il Dolce Theatre Company’s production is not a dance piece – but it demands such total physicality from its actors that it became like a choreographed piece of insane reality. Getting the most out of the evening actually came down to a choice that I had to make. Because, at first I really didn’t want to engage with these insane creatures, stranded in the Balkans and stranded in their own minds. But the physicality of the actors, to a man and to a woman (and also to a man-woman), and the sheer virtuosity of their total commitment forced me to care about them. As the differences between the characters fell away scene by scene, so too did my own barriers to caring about them. And they – the most unlikely team of the war-damaged, war deranged and forgotten creatures –touched me.

The performances are worth mentioning for the virtuosity and the total immersion of the actors. It was truly an ensemble piece – led by the deeply charismatic Ian Salazar as the Colonel, encouraging transformation for the inmates with applied military precision. In no particular order, other performances worth mentioning include: Cameron Kauffman as Titch. Kaufman is utterly engaging, trapped in her own childlike and apparently innocent madness, but willing to play along with everyone else’s story. Lauren Elyse Buckley’s sexy nymph Meral required – and delivered – a sense of whole body engagement. Katie Robbins’ Mata Hari wields a potently aggressive sexy power – as if she’d been running the show for ages – that is, until the Colonel wakes up. Annalisa Cochrane’s Nina is trapped in her own Chekhovian nightmare. Cochrane does a wonderfully sensitive take on the ethereal loop-tape of an actress condemned to always deliver the same story and the same lines. Irish Giron’s Teresa is an extraordinary, clear and compassionate vision of transgender insanity. In Giron’s work, Teresa’s centre of gravity has shifted so high in his body that we get a visceral sense of the history that he/she might have been running from, and additional nuances further suggest why he/she would choose to “become” a nun. Alexa Vellanoweth’s Doctor, might be the sane one, but she too is trapped in her mind and in her own version of hellish reality. The Doctor’s honesty from early on in the play does make us wonder who she really was before the war. Vellanoweth’s honesty as a performer gives this an even richer framing, and her clear and direct addresses to the audience help frame the changing picture of reality.

When the Colonel’s vision for activity sets off a transformation in the asylum, ultimately the characters find more in common with each other than that which had previously separated them. That shared vision creates a bond – and a space that allows for us to share in some of that transformative journey too.

The Colonel and The Birds – Highways Performance Space, Santa Monica.
October 7th to October 30th. Friday and Saturday at 8pm & Sunday matinees at 3pm. For tickets & directions, go to highwaysperformance.org.

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New Grant from the California Arts Council

SEEfest Staff Writer | July 7, 2016, 12:176 PM

On July 7, 2016 California Arts Council announced their grant awards to 712 non profit organizations, and SEEfest is proud to again be one of the recipients. Congratulations to all our colleagues statewide. We share this recognition with our supporters and many individual donors and volunteers. We look forward to a great 12th edition of the festival in 2017. Kudos to California Arts Council and the state legislators for supporting the arts! THANK YOU.

The California Arts Council’s competitive grant programs are administered through an open call for applications with all submissions adjudicated by peer review panels made up of experts from the arts field.

A Fiscal Year 2015-16 permanent state budget increase allowed the California Arts Council to award the largest number of grants provided by the state agency in 14 years.

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SEEfest Launches Project Accelerator in April-May 2016

Vera Mijojlic | March 13, 2016, 9:27 PM

Filmmakers To Present Projects to Hollywood Insiders

SEEfest’s 11^th edition, April 28 – May 5, will see the launch of an exciting opportunity. International and independent filmmakers with projects in advanced stages of development will have a unique chance to present their projects in front of a panel of judges of Hollywood industry professionals. This jury will subsequently choose a winner for the inaugural “Impact Award.” Accelerator platform was created with a goal to help connect internationally viable projects with Hollywood professionals and to provide guidance for the next stages of development.”

This program connects South East European and independent filmmakers with Hollywood industry people: screenwriters, producers, film financing executives, entertainment attorneys and other successful industry professionals. Vera Mijojlic, founder and director of SEEFest, and Hans-Martin-Liebing who co-founded with her the international project accelerator have launched this initiative to address the lack of opportunity for many filmmakers to pitch their projects to Hollywood insiders and to receive valuable advice on the best ways to make their films commercially viable, accessible to a wider audience and attractive to buyers.

This truly aligns with SEEfest’s mission to bring stories from South East Europe to an international audience. “In order to bring to light the stories that are not usually heard in the media, it is imperative to connect independent and foreign filmmakers with experienced Hollywood professionals who can help steer the projects in the right direction,” says Vera Mijojlic. “Ultimately, the purpose of the accelerator goes hand in hand with our long-term goal to bridge the gap between countries on opposite sides of the world through filmmaking.”

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SEEfest 2015 Awards

Vera Mijojlic | May 8, 2015, 9:08 PM

SEEfest 2015 Awards

After eight days and 47 films shown to diverse audiences in Los Angeles, the 10th anniversary South East European Film Festival, SEEfest 2015 concluded Thursday night with an awards gala presentation at The Mark.

Director Tudor Jurgiu from Romania won Bridging the Borders award for Best Feature Film of the festival for his debut film, The Japanese Dog. Special Jury Mention went to Croatian filmmaker Tomislav Mršić for his debut film, Cowboys, and Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast was awarded to Albanian feature Bota, co-directed by Iris Elezi and Thomas Logoreci.

Down the River by Asif Rustamov from Azerbaijan won the Best First Feature award. Two narrative documentaries shared the Best Documentary Award, The Undertaker by Dragan Nikolić from Serbia, and Romania’s Flowers in the Shadows by Belgian director Olivier Magis.   Awards for Best Cinematography went to Bulgarian Rat Poison director of photography Krasimir Andonov (feature film), and Dragan Vildović (documentary film) for his work in In the Dark from Serbia.

In the shorts category Strahinja Savić from Serbia won Best Short Fiction award for Nine Days, Alexandr Baev’s Once Upon Another Time from Georgia won for Best Documentary short, and Anton Octavian from Romania won Best Animation Short award for Elmando.

Winners of 2015 Audience Award were Albanian Bota (feature film), and Serbian In the Dark (narrative documentary).

The 2015 Juries included AFI faculty member and industry veteran Barry Sabath, filmmaker Mimi Freedman, Sundance associate programmer for international feature films Heidi Zwicker, actresses-turned-directors Christina Beck and Christiane Georgi, director of the cinematheque and the Frida cinema Logan Crow, filmmakers Guido Santi, Tina Mascara, John Fitzgerald Keitel, Jay Miracle, filmmaker and director of the Echo Park Film Center Paolo Davanzo, director of the Villa Aurora artist residence Margit Kleinman, Oscar-winning filmmaker and designer Arnold Schwartzman, filmmaker and cinematographer Roger Staub, and visual artist, designer and educator Jerry W. McDaniel.

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Volunteer Spotlight: Nick Bergen

SEEfest Staff Writer | April 5, 2015, 10:47 AM

Nick Bergen is a musician and composer for visual and interactive media. A recent graduate of Berklee College of Music, he has extensive experience in arranging and producing music and has written and produced music for mobile games, advertisements, and television.

Mayor of Los Angeles Commends SEEfest

SEEfest Staff Writer | March 28, 2015, 11:37 AM

Dear friends and supporters, we are so proud to share with you the latest recognition given to the festival which we have built together with all of you. It comes from the Mayor of Los Angeles, Eric Garcetti, in recognition of all those many years of hard work, great films, discoveries of new talent and scores of volunteers and supporters across diverse demographics of Los Angeles. Thank you Los Angeles, and thanks to all of you who helped us build SEEfest and carve out a place for the cinema of South East Europe in the cultural landscape of Los Angeles.

Support international cinema in Los Angeles and new film talent from South East Europe. Donate here!

Greg Irwin: Narrative Documentary Programmer

SEEfest Staff Writer | March 23, 2015, 8:35 AM

Gregory Irwin is a screenwriter and documentarian currently working with USC Shoah Foundation, an academic institute founded by Steven Spieberg, to assemble and distribute an archive of over 53,000 audiovisual testimonies of survivors and witnesses of the Holocaust and other genocides.

Support international cinema in Los Angeles and new film talent from South East Europe. Donate here!