ICMF-FF7: Programmer's Thread

[St. Gloede]

With an extra programmer involved I wanted to float an idea to everyone. The last two years we have used a 3*3 system for the main slate which has worked reasonably well. Going by that system this year we already have 5 qualifiers but I feel that having another programmer we are going to skyrocket the number of qualifiers to a too large number to send to the jury. Therefore I was wondering do we want to trial a 4*3 system for now and keep it updated like we did throughout the year last year and if we find that isn't working properly than readjust it closer to the end of our initial period?

This would be the look of the qualifiers at the moment under this system (this is without Matt's scores in yet mind you)


Potential Jury Qualifiers
1. Earwig (2021)

Good point, zzzorf. I think we can keep it in mind at the very least and see how many reaches 4 x 3.

[Onderhond]

Watched On the Count of Three, a pleasant surprise. Giving it solid support (2).

A fun and genuine indie comedy. It's the kind of film that doesn't pack too many surprises, ten minutes in and you should have a pretty good idea of how things are going to pan out. But the comedy is witty, the performances are good and the drama never feels forced or disruptive. The pointed execution is what makes the difference here. While sporting a rather grim theme, the film does well keeping a lighter tone. It's not as if this is an outright comedy, but the conversations between the two are pretty fun and there's a solid connection between the leads. The presentation is decent though not very spectacular, but the finale hits all the right notes, meaning the film clearly did something right.

[matthewscott8]

I quite like that Malmkrog has only 3s and 0s. Like Ne Croyez, a polarizer. Certainly noone will accuse this movie of needing to be spat out as lukewarm.

The spreadsheet is currently being edited, I will do things to it later, I know it can be edited in tandem, but feels unsafe to play with columns when someone is playing with rows

[St. Gloede]

I quite like that Malmkrog has only 3s and 0s. Like Ne Croyez, a polarizer. Certainly noone will accuse this movie of needing to be spat out as lukewarm.

Last year it was the only film Sol started but wouldn't finish, it would have gotten a 0 from him if he did. The polarization is pretty incredible, would have at least thought some may have appreciated the form but found it a bit too long or static.

The more I think about Malmkriog the more I think it may be one of the key works of this century and one of the films that should gain lasting power/canonization.

I know you are working on a review, that I can't wait to read. Here's mine:

Malmkrog / Manor House (2020, Cristi Puiu)



Daunting, dark and verbose - Manor House may just be scaring away audiences with its 201-minute runtime and promise/threat of non-stop philosophy and theology on screen. Sparse in setting and exposition, the action takes place entirely within and outside a large estate, the titular Manor House, as the residing couple and their guests - all members of the ruling class - enjoy an elaborate Christmas dinner. Throughout the evening engage in in-depth discussions of Christianity, war, politics, morals, enlightenment, good and evil.

One thing that is slowly intriguing is the quiet craft of Cristi Puiu (best known for The Death of Mr. Lazarescu). He varies the style each scene is shot with a great degree of restraint and deliberation. The changes are subtle but vary from few cuts and a moving camera of full figures to scenes composed entirely of intimate close-ups, to restrained scenes from afar, with characters suddenly removed from their previous importance. Divided into 6 sections, each bearing a character's name, and often taking place in a singular room, such as the library, lounge or dining room, this nuanced filmmaking adds an additional sense of cinematic power, urgency and dynamism - ripe, in itself, with possible interpretations and implications.




It is tempting to draw a slightly misleading, but still accurate comparison to My Dinner with Andre, as both are films that build suspense and intrigue through dialogue, stories and discussion - but the tone and purpose of these films could hardly be further apart. However, where the more light-hearted 80s offering intends to make us lose ourselves in the stories and discussion of the two main characters, Manor House wishes the opposite. It actively wants us to observe from a distance, consider what they are saying, consider why and even consider the context we are placed in, and who it is making the arguments.

There are beautiful subtle touches just in the use of language. The action takes place in Russia (note, the film is Romanian and shot in Romania) but the common language of our 5 ruling class characters is French. When they speak to their servants, the language is often German. When they quote literature, it may indeed be English. These are not everyday Russians, but the ruling class - and their morals, values and arguments are often an example of their own privileged worldview and to advance their own interests, or simply their own ego or sense of self. Few scenes speak to this clearer than their discussion of Europe, and whether or not they are European. There is a clear disdain for the majority of the population from most of the participants and in general, the discussions are purely theoretical and consists of pretentious posturing quite removed from reality.

There are a few cold wake-up calls throughout the film, and a key shift already happens in act two, which is the only act with the name of a servant, rather than one of the 5 lead characters. Here, we see them continue their discussion, but obscured, the focus now on the servants around them - performing their menial tasks. There are even moments of humour here, as we see what happens behind the scenes, and the splendour of our leads become cemented in their appropriate context. There is also another event, which I will not spoil, which changes much of what we see afterwards.





There may also be interesting contrasts between the intention of the book itself, written by 19th-century philosopher Vladimir Solovyov and released posthumously as "War, Progress, and the End of History: Three Conversations, Including a Short Story of the Anti-Christ" aka "War and Christianity". While Solovyov's work (which I have not read) has been deemed prophetic, this adaptation feels ghostly - like spectres of the old world. Talks of the future can be looked at not just in their then reality, but in what we know of the wars that would break out and the events that have happened in the 120+ years since the book was first written.

Regardless of intention, and this is indeed left very open to interpretation - the face of the old world, coupled with tense lighting, excellent and subdued performances and striking dialogue make Manor House an increasingly engrossing, if not chillingly unnerving experience. It is a dense film, possibly a difficult film, but also a thoroughly immersive experience if you are of the right mindset. Despite our protagonists often being seated or standing still, Manor House can only be described as an active film - and no, this is not a contradiction. It asks you to actively engage in what you see - to make judgments and assessments - and try to reach your own conclusions and interpretations. If this sounds like your type of film, I can not recommend it enough. If not, it may be better to let it rest.

[beavis]

I would like to take part this year. Beavis has already nominated quite a lot of my eligible favourites, particularly Malmkrog, which is one of the greatest films ever made, in my opinion.

this is so cool!! really glad to have you come onboard!

I added the titles you mentioned to the Excel, and transferred over my Malmkrog nomination to your name. Hope you like that, and you're welcome to take over more, like I said before. But we (at least I) are not playing a game of who has the most succesful nominations amongst us, and also you already have a good minimum amount of nominations now presented... so just relax, see what you've got the time for and the interest in. It is your ratings / your opinions on the movies and decissions that we're going to make as a team where it really counts most.

Movies like Corsage and Ali & Ava which I really like a lot, but get snowed under when making my own nominations, are a great contribution to our potential program!!

[beavis]

With an extra programmer involved I wanted to float an idea to everyone. The last two years we have used a 3*3 system for the main slate which has worked reasonably well. Going by that system this year we already have 5 qualifiers but I feel that having another programmer we are going to skyrocket the number of qualifiers to a too large number to send to the jury. Therefore I was wondering do we want to trial a 4*3 system for now and keep it updated like we did throughout the year last year and if we find that isn't working properly than readjust it closer to the end of our initial period?

This would be the look of the qualifiers at the moment under this system (this is without Matt's scores in yet mind you)


Potential Jury Qualifiers
1. Earwig (2021)

Good point, zzzorf. I think we can keep it in mind at the very least and see how many reaches 4 x 3.

yeah, we used to look at what would qualify mostly only in the last month or so anyway. Like I said in the final stages of programming last time, maybe it is also good to look beyond numbers... but that maybe gets too fuzzy... We could look into using one of the other qualifiers we have (average score, support ratio) next to 3x3 instead of going to just 4x3 as the minimum. At this stage it is hard to tell and not important yet, if you ask me

[matthewscott8]

I quite like that Malmkrog has only 3s and 0s. Like Ne Croyez, a polarizer. Certainly no-one will accuse this movie of needing to be spat out as lukewarm.

The more I think about Malmkriog the more I think it may be one of the key works of this century and one of the films that should gain lasting power/canonization.

I know you are working on a review, that I can't wait to read. Here's mine:

this nuanced filmmaking adds an additional sense of cinematic power, urgency and dynamism - ripe, in itself, with possible interpretations and implications.

I have to tell you that I was literally shaking with ecstasy thinking about and writing about Malmkrog last night, that has never happened to me with a film before. It is this ripeness of interpretation and implication as you put it that I find so immensely moving. I think that I also found another text to juxtapose with Malmkrog that acts like a bit of a Rosetta Stone, when I realized, I trembled.

Also, a crazy point, did anyone else notice that Putin's propagandist-in-chief is also called... Vladimir Solovyov. No relation I believe, as earlier VS was recorded as dying childless, but maybe the naming was not unintentional... and yes, both Christian militarists. Will the real Antichrist please stand up.

My review will still take a while because I have to wait for the book to be delivered, so that I can check what Puiu has altered, or more to the point... addded. My understanding is that the text remains basically the exact same, but, well there is a huge amount of transmutation that can be done whilst delivering the text verbatim, and I strongly suspect there has been.

Completely agree that this is "canon fodder"

[beavis]

It is intriguing to wonder why Puiu chose to make a movie of this work, which is very much the product of a version of Europe of a different age. Where does he want to comment on? And even: how does it comment? The Eastern European lens seems often extremely conservative to my eyes, which makes it both attractive to wonder about this and scary to dive deeper and maybe find sentiments that would disturb me But this very fact is what makes it so strong. Luckily when viewed seperate from politics it is just a very intriguing philosophic text on its own, and so rare to see anyone tackle material like that these days, in film!

[matthewscott8]

It is intriguing to wonder why Puiu chose to make a movie of this work, which is very much the product of a version of Europe of a different age. Where does he want to comment on? And even: how does it comment? The Eastern European lens seems often extremely conservative to my eyes, which makes it both attractive to wonder about this and scary to dive deeper and maybe find sentiments that would disturb me But this very fact is what makes it so strong. Luckily when viewed seperate from politics it is just a very intriguing philosophic text on its own, and so rare to see anyone tackle material like that these days, in film!

Because I think all the issues are still the same. I think with Olga particularly, whilst she is devout, there is something really of the humanist about her. If the Gospels contradict what she feels inside of herself, she will go with her inner feelings. That can be couched in religious terms in some way. Like whilst the Gospels are essentially a radio broadcast from God, via disciples, God is available on the phone any time you want. The difference is how you want to conceptualize this, when Olga is feeling out what is the right thing to do, is she searching her feelings or communing with the Holy Spirit. I do not know the answer to that question. You can look at this how you want. You probably get a different answer from the film and the book.

Whilst the originating text is ultra-conservative, I do not believe that the film is, despite not deviating in its use of words, and this is pretty remarkable.

[beavis]

Whilst the originating text is ultra-conservative, I do not believe that the film is, despite not deviating in its use of words, and this is pretty remarkable.

this exactly!
but I feel I am not read up and smart enough to put my finger on it in a meaningful way, which makes it difficult to write about the movie myself, but I love reading about other experiences and thoughts

[matthewscott8]

It is intriguing to wonder why Puiu chose to make a movie of this work, which is very much the product of a version of Europe of a different age. Where does he want to comment on? And even: how does it comment? The Eastern European lens seems often extremely conservative to my eyes, which makes it both attractive to wonder about this and scary to dive deeper and maybe find sentiments that would disturb me But this very fact is what makes it so strong. Luckily when viewed seperate from politics it is just a very intriguing philosophic text on its own, and so rare to see anyone tackle material like that these days, in film!

I will make a few more comments, what is remarkable about the text is its repetition in time. Solovyov talks about the end of history, a century later Francis Fukuyama does the same. Both of them were wrong, both proved wrong by criminal wars, criminal wars in the sense that the movie distinguishes between sacred and criminal wars.

We still have the question of where Russia's soul belongs, is it European, people are literally killing each other over this question as I write. Certain Tsars and a Tsarina would have liked it to be for sure.

You may be aware that when a car bomb goes off in Syria, people are not as upset as when a school shooting happens in Oklahoma. The European superiority thing is hardwired into heads still, 1 life does not equal 1 life because we don't care about people that think differently. As the politician in the movie explains, white Americans are spiritual Europeans.

[zzzorf]

With an extra programmer involved I wanted to float an idea to everyone. The last two years we have used a 3*3 system for the main slate which has worked reasonably well. Going by that system this year we already have 5 qualifiers but I feel that having another programmer we are going to skyrocket the number of qualifiers to a too large number to send to the jury. Therefore I was wondering do we want to trial a 4*3 system for now and keep it updated like we did throughout the year last year and if we find that isn't working properly than readjust it closer to the end of our initial period?

This would be the look of the qualifiers at the moment under this system (this is without Matt's scores in yet mind you)


Potential Jury Qualifiers
1. Earwig (2021)

Good point, zzzorf. I think we can keep it in mind at the very least and see how many reaches 4 x 3.

yeah, we used to look at what would qualify mostly only in the last month or so anyway. Like I said in the final stages of programming last time, maybe it is also good to look beyond numbers... but that maybe gets too fuzzy... We could look into using one of the other qualifiers we have (average score, support ratio) next to 3x3 instead of going to just 4x3 as the minimum. At this stage it is hard to tell and not important yet, if you ask me

I'm more looking at the 4*3 as automatic qualifiers and then sort out once we see how many come up and decide on whatever criteria we need to use for the rest. I don't think we would have enough with 4*3 just it gives us a starting point.

[St. Gloede]

Whilst the originating text is ultra-conservative, I do not believe that the film is, despite not deviating in its use of words, and this is pretty remarkable.

this exactly!
but I feel I am not read up and smart enough to put my finger on it in a meaningful way, which makes it difficult to write about the movie myself, but I love reading about other experiences and thoughts

I have not read the source material, and like you I'm certainly missing context as well, though I would say that the reason the film may have different interpretations than the book

Spoiler

(and I'm interested in whether the revolution/revolt is included in the book)

is that the context has been changed entirely by the time in which the work is now produced and presented.

We have more information than the characters, we know the progress of history, we know the revolution that will come in Russia and indeed the relationship between Russia and Europe. We are seeing this work from a completely different social, political and ideological context. A modern audience, just by the nature of being a modern audience - and the film being a modern film, will be read differently.

Beyond this (I don't recall if I mentioned this in my review) the characters very much feel like ghosts of the old world in the most eerie sense - in particular after the event in the spoiler - and when you add the fact (or at least my interpretation) that we are very much to analyse why the characters are making the arguments they are, rather than just the arguments themselves and are put as observers to debates rather than getting a simple answer of who/if any are "right" changes it further (again, I'm not sure if this is part of the intent of the book, or if it has a more clear chosen character/point of view).

(The act in which we focus on the servants also has a distinct anti-conservative flare, and I wonder if this too was part of the book or Puiu using it as a way of contextualising the ruling class and their worldview)

As Matthew points out, this story is also very much still in dialogue with the present and the connections are certainly something we can dive into further.

[St. Gloede]

8,5 - 1600 - Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde (2021)

My support for the ones I have seen

I think you'd like Fabian the most from those you haven't seen

And very right you were!

Fabian oder Der Gang vor die Hunde / Fabian or Going to the Dogs (2021, Dominik Graf)

Fabian or Going to the Dogs is a purposefully choppy film, one that almost instantly made me think of Breathless, though replacing jump cuts with different screen quality, shifts in time, cut-aways to archive footage and surroundings, and experimental techniques where we break into differently sized split screens. The pace is rushed and compressed for this exact reason, and may be the energy burst felt needed to kickstart this 3-hour epic of the time and place before the Nazis came to power. At the same time, it does run the risk of feeling a little vacant, putting style first and possibly hiding slimmer material - as in some ways little is that remarkable in the love story that starts to emerge, and the first hour, hour and a half is spent building characters and well as some context for the time itself, while keeping us engaged with techniques, fast-paced sequences and semi-melancholic whimsy. When the edges around the "decay", or as one character that reveals he is leaning towards the Nazis, "the country going to the dogs". It shows a time of poverty, degrees of powerlessness, and brutality on the sidelines from the occasional glimpses of nazis, and after the somewhat more slim openings does end up giving food for thought in perhaps why many indeed would wish to escape the culture/society of the Weimar republic. Fabian himself is broadly removed from this, as is his love interest, but the world around them is not. Interestingly, the form even calms down a little as the film progresses and it may decide that it has the audience's attention.

I also quite enjoyed the visual idea of starting the film in present day, showing people in the underground, and them seamlessly transitioning into the early 30s as we exit.

While I am always vary of longer nominees, I would give this film 3/3 support.

[matthewscott8]

Whilst the originating text is ultra-conservative, I do not believe that the film is, despite not deviating in its use of words, and this is pretty remarkable.

this exactly!
but I feel I am not read up and smart enough to put my finger on it in a meaningful way, which makes it difficult to write about the movie myself, but I love reading about other experiences and thoughts

I have not read the source material, and like you I'm certainly missing context as well, though I would say that the reason the film may have different interpretations than the book

Spoiler

(and I'm interested in whether the revolution/revolt is included in the book)

is that the context has been changed entirely by the time in which the work is now produced and presented.

We have more information than the characters, we know the progress of history, we know the revolution that will come in Russia and indeed the relationship between Russia and Europe. We are seeing this work from a completely different social, political and ideological context. A modern audience, just by the nature of being a modern audience - and the film being a modern film, will be read differently.

Beyond this (I don't recall if I mentioned this in my review) the characters very much feel like ghosts of the old world in the most eerie sense - in particular after the event in the spoiler - and when you add the fact (or at least my interpretation) that we are very much to analyse why the characters are making the arguments they are, rather than just the arguments themselves and are put as observers to debates rather than getting a simple answer of who/if any are "right" changes it further (again, I'm not sure if this is part of the intent of the book, or if it has a more clear chosen character/point of view).

(The act in which we focus on the servants also has a distinct anti-conservative flare, and I wonder if this too was part of the book or Puiu using it as a way of contextualising the ruling class and their worldview)

As Matthew points out, this story is also very much still in dialogue with the present and the connections are certainly something we can dive into further.

hehehe, yes this is all true, it's all about the servants and the food and the passage of time and what it's revealed about Solovyov's predictions (he is a literary Ozymandias), how we haven't learned, and the decorations in the house, and, well a lot. I think you will be excited by the text I have found to compare it to hehehe. Has the hype started? Bane: the fire rises.

[matthewscott8]

I would like to take part this year.

Nice to have some fresh blood here! Are you a big documentary watcher, Matthew? I nominated a heap of documentaries last year but had trouble triggering the interest of my co-programmers to check them out. I have been thinking about nominating these two, and I will re-nom them if they look like something you may be interested in checking out:

Class Action Park link - documentary about an incredibly dangerous amusement park from the 1980s with animated re-enactments used to depict just how dangerous the rides were

Made You Look link - Canadian documentary about fake art and one of the greatest scandals of the past few years with fake art sold at auction and those denying knowing it was fake

Well, I'm not a big documentary watcher, but on the other hand I am going to try and watch a lot of the programmers' films for this festival. I am probably about to get a subscription to Doc Alliance / DAfilms. In general I prefer a documentary to be artistic, not just someone pointing a camera at people in hotel rooms who do a lot of chatting, and putting dumbass signalling all over it. If I can find the films I will watch them, and I'm going to watch more than 8 films for this role for sure.

[sol]

I would like to take part this year.

Nice to have some fresh blood here! Are you a big documentary watcher, Matthew? I nominated a heap of documentaries last year but had trouble triggering the interest of my co-programmers to check them out. I have been thinking about nominating these two, and I will re-nom them if they look like something you may be interested in checking out:

Class Action Park link - documentary about an incredibly dangerous amusement park from the 1980s with animated re-enactments used to depict just how dangerous the rides were

Made You Look link - Canadian documentary about fake art and one of the greatest scandals of the past few years with fake art sold at auction and those denying knowing it was fake

Well, I'm not a big documentary watcher, but on the other hand I am going to try and watch a lot of the programmers' films for this festival. I am probably about to get a subscription to Doc Alliance / DAfilms. In general I prefer a documentary to be artistic, not just someone pointing a camera at people in hotel rooms who do a lot of chatting, and putting dumbass signalling all over it. If I can find the films I will watch them, and I'm going to watch more than 8 films for this role for sure.

Thanks, Matthew. Great to hear that you're open to exploring some of my documentary nominations. I'll re-nom Class Action Park then alongside my next new nom because it's the better of the two, the use of animation to reconstruct what happened is sooo much more more innovative that standard re-enactment footage, and it already has some basic support from Onder. With documentaries, I generally prefer the strange-but-true variety. I'm not a big fan of talking heads, but I don't mind a bit if the story being conveyed is strong enough. And the best documentaries for me adopt a gradual-reveal/thriller structure - which is something that I could say about Mister Organ and Feels Good Man, my two new documentary nominations this year. And my documentary re-nom this year (Stalking Chernobyl) is a must if you like Stalker and/or nuclear fallout films in general.

[sol]

Okay; two more nominations. The first one I was tossing up about whether or not to nominate it since I have already nominated one Dupieux film (the better of the two for my money) but this one is pretty great as well and it won't be eligible next year, so let's give it a shot:


13. Manibles Mandibules (2020, Quentin Dupieux; France)

https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/mandibules/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt10375106/reference/
https://letterboxd.com/film/mandibles/

Preferred slate: Europe --- Alternative slate: Just Before Dawn



Discovering a giant fly in the trunk of the car they stole, two slackers decide to domesticate and train the insect to rob banks "like a drone" in this kooky comedy that is every bit as crazy as it sounds. Coming from the mind of Quentin Dupieux, the sheer weirdness of it all is only ever a plus. While the characters spell out their plans, their journey is unpredictable in the best possible way, especially as one slacker is mistaken for a long-lost friend, and then pretends he is for free bed and board. The fly does not act like a real fly in the way it sleeps and eats (despite convincing special effects). Perhaps that is meant to be the point though as, like first-time pet owners, the duo discover that taking care of an animal is never as easy as it looks. Gotta love the ending too.

Recommend to: Wayne, I guess, maybe Chris or Matthew, since Tom, Niels and Peter have already seen it. Not sure if it's really to Ferg's taste, but the film isn't really violent. I have listed it as a Just Before Dawn candidate for the fantasy and quirky comedy elements. It's not a horror film.


14. Class Action Park (2020, Seth Porges & Chris Charles Scott, United States)

https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/class+action+park/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11015214/reference/
https://letterboxd.com/film/class-action-park/

Preferred slate: Documentary --- Alternative slate: English Language Indi



Strange but true, this documentary depicts the rise and fall of an 80s amusement park that successfully operated for years despite mounting injuries due to poorly designed rides. As someone unfamiliar with the park, this was fascinating to watch; things seem to only get crazier and crazier as former employees recount how the rides were unethically tested, how the park had fake insurance and how kids actually enjoyed showing off scars and wounds received. At times, the film almost feels like a mockumentary since it is baffling to think that this went on for years and years. Things do turn quite grim and serious in the final third though as we get interviews with family members of those who died at the park. This is riveting until the end with some grueling animated reenactments (see above).

Recommend to: Matthew, as mentioned above, but really anyone who is intrigued by the idea of a strange-but-true documentary with animated re-enactments. This already has basic support from Onder and with the film no longer being festival eligible next year, hopefully somebody else will give it a go before it is no longer eligible.

[filmbantha]

I would like to take part this year. Beavis has already nominated quite a lot of my eligible favourites, particularly Malmkrog, which is one of the greatest films ever made, in my opinion.

These are what I am thinking so far, I will try and put these down formally tomorrow when I have a moment:

Circumstantial Pleasures (2020 - Lewis Klahr)
Corsage (2022 - Marie Kreutzer)
In the Earth (2021 - Ben Wheatley)
Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre / Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2020 - Lili Horvát)
Ali & Ava (2021 - Clio Barnard)

Welcome Matthew, great to have you in the programming team this year!

I am a fan of Wheatley's work and the doom-laden atmospherics of In The Earth made for a memorable viewing experience, one that I will happily support with a 2 in the spreadsheet.

I have Ali & Ava lined up to watch at some point and will certainly delve into more of your nominations over the coming months.

If you have the chance to add ratings to any of the films you have seen from the lower half of the programming spreadsheet that would prove useful. These are previous year's nominations and they sometimes get renominated if any of us want to give them another shot at making the festival.

[matthewscott8]

I would like to take part this year. Beavis has already nominated quite a lot of my eligible favourites, particularly Malmkrog, which is one of the greatest films ever made, in my opinion.

These are what I am thinking so far, I will try and put these down formally tomorrow when I have a moment:

Circumstantial Pleasures (2020 - Lewis Klahr)
Corsage (2022 - Marie Kreutzer)
In the Earth (2021 - Ben Wheatley)
Felkészülés meghatározatlan ideig tartó együttlétre / Preparations to Be Together for an Unknown Period of Time (2020 - Lili Horvát)
Ali & Ava (2021 - Clio Barnard)

Welcome Matthew, great to have you in the programming team this year!

I am a fan of Wheatley's work and the doom-laden atmospherics of In The Earth made for a memorable viewing experience, one that I will happily support with a 2 in the spreadsheet.

I have Ali & Ava lined up to watch at some point and will certainly delve into more of your nominations over the coming months.

If you have the chance to add ratings to any of the films you have seen from the lower half of the programming spreadsheet that would prove useful. These are previous year's nominations and they sometimes get renominated if any of us want to give them another shot at making the festival.

ah I was wondering what that part at the bottom was. edit: these films at the bottom are mostly unknown to me, I'll try and watch some of them.

[matthewscott8]

Is there a length requirement, I found a documentary that was 54 minutes long that I was considering.

[Fergenaprido]

Is there a length requirement, I found a documentary that was 54 minutes long that I was considering.

generally feature-length, so 54 would be fine. Elementa last year was in the 45-minute range I think.

[matthewscott8]

Already seen two and have quite a few lined up to watch, even bought the H4Z4RD bluray last year after it was suddenly dropped from the Dutch cinema schedule... so expect a lot of views from me (probably will take a while, but I AM looking forward to these! )

I can't find a website that sells this. Amazon and ebay just don't want to know, and Belgian FNAC has decided I'm trying to DDOS it

[Onderhond]

Watched Night Raiders. One of those indie/arthouse-like features that takes on the guise o a genre film, but does little to nothing with its genre elements. I'm not a big fan of those types of films, so no support from me I'm afraid (0)

Genre cinema without too many genre elements. Night Raiders is a slow and lo-fi indie production that sets up a sci-fi premise, then does relatively little with it. The focus lies on the drama and the characters, but the somewhat silly narrative gets in the way and those hoping to get a good sci-fi thriller will find very little here. There is nothing that screams 2043 here, except some drones and a different societal model. The future is clearly shaped in such a way that no effort had to go into the sci-fi part of the film. Performances are decent but nothing special, the same goes for the presentation. Night Raiders offers an unfortunate balance of indie/arthouse and genre elements, that left me pretty disappointed.

[beavis]

Already seen two and have quite a few lined up to watch, even bought the H4Z4RD bluray last year after it was suddenly dropped from the Dutch cinema schedule... so expect a lot of views from me (probably will take a while, but I AM looking forward to these! )

I can't find a website that sells this. Amazon and ebay just don't want to know, and Belgian FNAC has decided I'm trying to DDOS it

I bought it here: https://www.bol.com/nl/nl/p/hazard/9300 ... ontent=txl

without English subs though, as I suspect you'd need...

[sol]

So, I watched 107 Mothers. Pretty interesting to have a Slovakian take on a Ukrainian prison filmed in Russian, but unfortunately not really a film for me. Left me with a lot of unanswered questions and things that I was unsure about - though for others that might be a plus, so don't mind me!

[zzzorf]

Nomination #10

The Balcony Movie (Film balkonowy) (2021)



Preferred Slate: Documentary

Alternate Slate: Euro

Director: Pawel Lozinski

Links:





IMDb Plot Summary: Composed from the conversations that the director holds with people passing by in the street under his Warsaw apartment, each story in 'The Balcony Movie' is unique and deals with the way we try to cope with life as individuals. All together, they create a self-portrait of contemporary human life, and the passers-by present a composite picture of today's world.

Wikipedia Information: The Balcony Movie (Polish: Film balkonowy) is a 2021 Polish documentary film written, directed and filmed by Pawel Lozinski. The film is composed from the conversations that the director has with the people who pass by on the street below his apartment in Warsaw, each story is unique and deals with the way we try to face life as individuals.

Powel Łoziński spent more than two years (starting before the pandemic, in 2018) filming the many men and women of all ages in Warsaw, Poland. Almost 2,000 people passed under the balcony during filming that lasted 165 days in 2 years.

My Two Cents: An interesting concept which sees the director filming the passers by on the sidewalk from his balcony, chatting to them about things like life and its meaning.

[matthewscott8]

7. The Summit of the Gods (2021 - Patrick Imbert)



OK so I think I found a film that is pretty much impossible to dislike (Onderhond, I throw down the gauntlet to you as the most deeply idiosyncratic viewer). I look a lot at the voting Manhattans for IMDb films, and the use of the low ratings is almost negligible. Why is that, well I think the animation is pretty nigh on impossible to fault, and the film speaks to universalities, the desire to experience the sublime / nature awe, the desire to find out what our bodies are capable of, and in the end, people respect total commitment. It's a film about Japanese mountain climbers aiming to outdo one another in feats of daring, and is an adaptation of a manga. Broadly speaking the two main characters are the climber Habu, and the photojournalist Fukamachi. Habu climbs because he has to, Fukamachi wants to understand and to document. So there's two strivers here, but as the credits role I saw many more strivers, animations and technicians who put everything into the movie, why did they do this, what drives them forward to create art? They perhaps also do it because they have to.

As well as looking good, the film sounds very nice, it got a couple of nominations for use of music prizes, which is no surprise to me, I couldn't find much information about who they used, but the tracks were very cool and nostalgic. As the film is set in 1994 it made me very nostalgic for weird things, like stationery, old versions of windows, and clunky laptops.

Availability - Netflix

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7014378/
https://letterboxd.com/film/the-summit-of-the-gods/
https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/le+ ... des+dieux/

[Fergenaprido]

This is my next nomination: I'll polish it up this week, along with the others:

The Summit of the Gods (2021 - Patrick Imbert)



Availability - Netflix

Nice. I've got that one lined up for this month as I was also considering it for a nomination when I noticed it was added to Netflix recently.

[matthewscott8]

This is my next nomination: I'll polish it up this week, along with the others:

The Summit of the Gods (2021 - Patrick Imbert)



Availability - Netflix

Nice. I've got that one lined up for this month as I was also considering it for a nomination when I noticed it was added to Netflix recently.

iz good think you will enjoy, tbh its merits are not very difficult to recognize. I kind of liked watching a mountain picture where it was done with cartoons, so it never felt like any actors or stuntfolk were in danger. It's just a really neat movie.

[sol]

Between zzzorf nominating a talk-heavy documentary and Matthew nominating a Netflix doco, you guys have inspired me to have a go at re-nominating:

15. Made You Look (2020, Barry Avrich, Canada)

https://www.icheckmovies.com/movies/mad ... +fake+art/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11994750/reference/
https://letterboxd.com/film/made-you-lo ... -fake-art/

Currently streaming on Netflix and CBC Gem CA

Preferred slate: Documentary --- Alternative slate: English Language Indi



The absurdities of the art world come to light in this documentary about art forgery and a gallery director who spent a decade buying forged paintings and reselling them, apparently unaware of the con. As various interviewees talk about being unable to tell the paintings apart and how "beautiful" the forgeries looked, the film poses the interesting question of how much authenticity matters if something indeed looks beautiful. The majority of the film though is spent on the conflicting testimonies of the former gallery director and others involved, with her constant claims of innocence cleverly cut against other interviewees stating how she could not have possibly been unaware. The film has a great throbbing music score too that adds oodles of tension, making this anything but a conventional 'talking heads' affair. This is a really compelling look at cons, deception and the denial often involved when one is conned.

But don't just take my word for it.

The types of people in this documentary were unlike any I've come across in real life and it was interesting to see this whole new world and the kind of characters that inhabit it. In hindsight any scam seems insanely obvious and it's hard to believe the people involved could be so gullible and convinced and it's insane how long this scam went on and just how much money was involved. Entertaining story about something I'd probably never have heard about otherwise. - Lauren in her Letterboxd review

Recommended to: Fergenaprido, because he appreciates a good Canadian movie. Also, Matthew and zzzorf since their nominations inspired me to give promoting this film another go.

[zzzorf]

I have added Matt's recent nomination to the spreadsheet and have updated all the lists

[sol]

Just watched Preparations for Shortening a Movie Title and gave it mild support on the spreadsheet. Loved the concept of a brain surgeon no longer trusting her own brain - and trying to work out whether she merely imagined an affair or whether her lover is lying - even if the film didn't totally work for me. Posted a bit more about the movie on Letterboxd and in the Central European Challenge thread.

[matthewscott8]

Just watched Preparations for Shortening a Movie Title and gave it mild support on the spreadsheet. Loved the concept of a brain surgeon no longer trusting her own brain - and trying to work out whether she merely imagined an affair or whether her lover is lying - even if the film didn't totally work for me. Posted a bit more about the movie on Letterboxd and in the Central European Challenge thread.

Spoiler

To me the whole thing is a metaphor for the process of falling in love. The actors in some sense become their own thoughts, denials and paradoxes. The mystery of love becomes a literal mystery. I can't really think of any movie that did something like this before. The act of trying to fit within someone else's world literally becomes a physical migration to a different country. The film's title is literally a reference to the bizareness of dating / relationships, it's different from choosing to go on holiday with a friend for a couple of weeks, you don't know how the other person is or how long you'll know them, it's anarchic, in such contrast to everything else we do.

[sol]

Spoiler

The film's title is literally a reference to the bizareness of dating / relationships, it's different from choosing to go on holiday with a friend for a couple of weeks, you don't know how the other person is or how long you'll know them, it's anarchic, in such contrast to everything else we do.

Yeah, sorry, I wasn't trying to make fun of the film's title. I have this habit of being "creative" when discussing movies with long titles.

In other news, just finished The Timekeepers of Eternity and wow. Definitely top 5 for me of the 45 nominees that I have seen so far. I think it helps though that I had seen The Langoliers so I could see where it had been improved while keeping the original eerie tale intact. An easy 3 for the spreadsheet.

[matthewscott8]

Spoiler

The film's title is literally a reference to the bizareness of dating / relationships, it's different from choosing to go on holiday with a friend for a couple of weeks, you don't know how the other person is or how long you'll know them, it's anarchic, in such contrast to everything else we do.

Yeah, sorry, I wasn't trying to make fun of the film's title. I have this habit of being "creative" when discussing movies with long titles.

In other news, just finished The Timekeepers of Eternity and wow. Definitely top 5 for me of the 45 nominees that I have seen so far. I think it helps though that I had seen The Langoliers so I could see where it had been improved while keeping the original eerie tale intact. An easy 3 for the spreadsheet.

This was one of Perception's wow watches of 2022, it's on my watch list, very intrigued by the visuals. I wasn't making any reference to you shortening the title fwiw.

[Onderhond]

Watched Incredible But True, not surprised I ended up loving it, big Dupieux fan. Full support from me (3).

Dupieux seems unstoppable these days. He cranks out films at an impressive pace, and while they're all absurd comedies in some way or another, they never feel derivative or repetitive. Incredible But True forces two oddball storylines together, has a bit of fun testing the audience's patience, delivers a couple of perfect punchlines, and strides through the finale at a breakneck speed. A quirky soundtrack and some great performances seal the deal. Not one of his best films, but tons of fun regardless, and an easy recommendation for fans of Dupieux's other work.

[matthewscott8]

Watched Incredible But True, not surprised I ended up loving it, big Dupieux fan. Full support from me (3).

Dupieux seems unstoppable these days. He cranks out films at an impressive pace, and while they're all absurd comedies in some way or another, they never feel derivative or repetitive. Incredible But True forces two oddball storylines together, has a bit of fun testing the audience's patience, delivers a couple of perfect punchlines, and strides through the finale at a breakneck speed. A quirky soundtrack and some great performances seal the deal. Not one of his best films, but tons of fun regardless, and an easy recommendation for fans of Dupieux's other work.

I watched Rubber for the low rated poll and thought it was one of the worst movies I ever saw. I will however watch the ones people are nominating here in hope. It just feels a bit like he wakes up and goes with whatever, like, "what if someone woke up and the streets were liquorice not tarmac", "what if a lesion on my knee started talking to me and became my best friend", "what if when it rained, it rained fruit not water".

[Onderhond]

That might very well be the case. I'm sure there are people who find subtext, symbolism, hidden meaning and whatever in his films, but it's mostly just absurd comedy. And since there isn't much of that around (and he does it exceedingly well), I don't mind really.

[sol]

If you ask me, Mandibles is a pretty great taken on pet ownership and the unforeseen difficulties it can entail, while Incredible But True is a satire of the quest to stay young/youthful and the incredible things that some folks are prepared to do in pursuit of that quest. But I found both films very funny too - and I know that comedy can be subjective.

In the meantime, I saw In the Earth. Gave it solid (2) support in the spreadsheet. Really liked the middle third of the movie where things become ambiguous (are they crazy; is there something out there?) and the girl from I, Daniel Blake has all the crazy machinery hooked up to the trees.