FILM NEWS

A trip to doccy heaven

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:34

Simon Wood with IDFA facilitator

Cape Town-based director SIMON WOOD was invited to take his first film, the award-winning Forerunners, to the recent International Documentary Festival Amsterdam (IDFA). This is his account of the IDFA experience.

Making a documentary is similar to fishing; it involves a great deal of daydreaming while hoping for something (anything) to happen. When I was making Forerunners, I’d sometimes dare to imagine showing the film at IDFA – the world’s largest documentary film festival. But such dreams were quickly kept in check by the constant fear of making a crap film.

So when I received the news that Forerunners, a film about South Africa’s black middle class, had been accepted into what has been described as ‘Disneyland for documentary filmmakers’, I was elated.

IDFA truly is a massive festival, with over 300 directors, thousands of producers, 450 volunteers, 12 films showing every 90 minutes for 10 days, and a nightly broadcast talk show. But, best of all are the packed cinemas. Where else could a 10am Tuesday morning screening of a film about the Russian version of the ANC Youth League sell out a 400-seater cinema?

The Dutch have an incredible appetite for documentaries. Unbelievably, while all of this is going on, Docs for Sale and The Forum harmoniously run in the background, attracting producers and commissioning editors from across the globe.

What’s unique about the festival is the accessibility of so many great filmmakers. In less than a few hours I was introduced to Nick Broomfield (Kurt and Courtney), Fred Wiseman (State Legislature) and Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me), enough to cause a sharp intake of breath from any filmmaker. Incidentally, Wiseman told me that editing “was allowing a dialogue with the ideas on the outside of your mind”. I’ve been thinking about that one ever since.

Orgy of docs

The main highlight of IDFA is obviously the documentaries – hundreds of them. IDFA’s founder, Alley Derks, said over 3 600 film entries had been received this year. Said Derks: “The festival’s selection process focused on creative documentaries, meaning the director’s personal point of view of the reality. Secondly we look for a balance between cinematographic skills and content.”

When I was making Forerunners I was obsessed with the aesthetic of the film, the image was as important as the content – it had to be able to exist by itself. My goal was to create a film without interviews, allowing the space around the protagonists to breathe light into their journey.

The scope of the artistic vision of many documentaries at IDFA, however, is a pretty humbling experience. Films like Seung-Jun Yi’s Planet of Snail, Lisa Birk Pedersen’s Putin’s Kiss and Maite Alberdi’s Lifeguard completely blur creative lines between factual and feature films, with an enormous emphasis on the aesthetic. I absolutely loved them.

But, the only downside of watching so many amazing films was the growing terror that I had to show mine – would anyone come? If they did come, would they stay?

Luckily my producer Paul Egan and I had a plan to build up an audience; we would attend as many parties as IDFA could throw at us. Equipped with a glass of wine and hundreds of Forerunners postcards we set about introducing ourselves and the film to the thousands of delegates attending the festival. It was impossible to have a conversation with either of us without having a postcard with dates and times shoved in your hand.

SA contingent

Revelling in the dark art of networking were the South African delegates. Producer Pascal Schmidt was attending IDFA to drum up support for any one of his 17 projects. Scouting for films for the Durban International Film Festival (DIFF) 2012 were Monica and Peter Rorkvik.

Director Mayenzeke Mziwamandla Baza and producer Byrony Roughton, winners of the 2011 Durban FilmMart grant award to attend IDFA, were creating strong interest with Ndiiyindoda (I am a Man). Also from the Durban FilmMart, the recipient of the Most Promising Documentary award, Nicole Schaffer, was doing a great job of creating a buzz for her film The Mission.

South Africa’s National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF) was represented by Neiloe Kunyeli. Tim Wege (who had even more postcards than I did) was in the First Appearance category with his feature King Naki. Documentary heavyweights Francois Verster and Rehad Desai paid fleeting visits to increase anticipation for their films due to be completed in 2012.

The screening

Fortunately, Forerunners premiered to a packed cinema on 22 November. I was wracked with nerves as there were far too many directors in the crowd. Why did I convince so many to come? As the film started I began my usual ritual of pacing nervously up and down the corridor for 52 minutes, sipping a coke, praying the audience wouldn’t leave in disgust. Luckily no-one did and a vibrant Q&A followed the screening. The reaction to the film was exciting and thought provoking.

After the screening and safely ensconced in the cinema bar, an Australian director told me it had taken him 17 years to get a film to IDFA. Describing the event as ‘the Everest of documentary festivals’, he said how incredibly lucky I was to be here with my first film. How right he was.

My Top 3 films at IDFA

Planet of Snail (South Korea): This is a masterpiece – beg your local film festival to screen this in 2012!

Lifeguard (Chile): Perfect ‘reality fiction’.

Township to Stage: A brilliant and obviously funny film about South African comedian Trevor Noah made by film students in the US.

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