Tuesday, October 14, 2008

MEXICO CITY 23.9.-27.9.2008 - DocsDF Mexico City International Documentary Film Festival and Cine Nordico


DocsDF Mexico City International Film Festival's website


OFFICE WORK IN MEXICO

Usually, when embarking on a trip, I work during the night before: organising things, doing endless chores, delegating work to others and at the same time gathering up the most important work to take with me on the trip. The stress builds up at night and the oxygen sometimes nearly runs out, so to speak. I always end up putting myself down: why am I unable to schedule things better? Well at least I try to take this situation, one that has become almost unavoidable, in as relaxed a manner as possible… drangilo amigo.

This time, the flight to Mexico City to the DocsDF and Cine Nordico festivals is at 6 o’clock in the morning. I work at the office until nearly 3:30 AM. I am kept company by Kevin Frazier, who is working on summarising and elaborating on our book, Shadow of the Holy Book, in the room next door. Then into the cab and to pack at home and into the cab again and to the airport. On a plane to Mexico City via Amsterdam. The time difference is 8 hours (behind).

Although I always gather work to take with me on trips and even plan to do it, the festival schedules and daily rhythm are, almost without exception, so tight that doing extra work remains a fantasy. This time the situation is slightly different. I have some important work with me, the deadline of which is extremely pressing. The festival schedule therefore has to be accommodated around these responsibilities. I proofread our upcoming book, Shadow of the Holy Book, and go through travelling schedules and e-mails while working on a film script. I do practically a full day’s work on the trip every day with these so-called office duties. Then come the demands of the festival: screenings, press conferences and evening parties. Compared to Germany, however, the parties are rather lame – luckily. In the morning I always manage to get straight back to work. I don’t have time to see a single film (apart from our own one), which is a bit embarrassing, being at a festival.

This is DocsDF's third year. The festival is ambitious, and its organisers Pau Montagud, Inti Cordera & crew are energetic and creative. They do important work, after all. It is important to get successful documentary events into Latin America, which increase and deepen people’s awareness of the significance of documentary films and the possibilities they offer. After just two years, DocsDF is one of the continent's pioneers in this process. Creative documentary film, constrained in the midst of reality TV and dull soap operas, is not a genre to immediately attract big audiences, particularly in South America.

Opening ceremony atmosphere at the DocsDF festival. The festival's artistic director Pau Montagud and Arto Halonen

I visited the festival in its first year with our film Conquistadors of Cuba. Already back then, one could sense the energy which has driven things forward to this point, and clearly something has been learned from the difficulties encountered along the way. The festival has also been developed and expanded in many directions: they have founded (of course, according to the tradition) a financial forum, workshops, a Master Class and in addition to the normal cinema screenings, some refreshing tent screenings in the centre of Mexico City.

A screening of Shadow of the Holy Book is about to begin in a tent in the centre of Mexico City

Festival visits and getting to know different cities can be very different, so that when visiting the same place, one can somehow form a completely opposite image from the previous occasions. On this trip, I sit mostly in the hotel restaurant (due to the internet connection not functioning in my own room), typing on the computer and going from one event to another by car. Surprisingly it rains here, too, and its even quite chilly. The view is almost constantly grey. I stay in the Condesa area, which is modern and interesting, but aside from all the hurrying there is only time for observing the nearby park area.

Luckily my Mexico experience from two years back was completely different and in many ways an exceptional festival experience. Usually at festivals the city and its sights don't become very familiar, but previously Docpoint's then-artistic director Kristina Schulgin (who was choosing Mexican films for Docpoint) encouraged me to experience city culture: we visited the pyramids, anthropological museum, absurd bullfighting and show-wrestling events and the scruffy bars and corners of the city. I was fighting with back cramps at the time, but in the end tenaciously even went to see a couple of films. It was warm then, and the sun was shining.


Shadow of the Holy Book is the festival's opening film this year, which is a great honour. The opening ceremony is at an old historical church building, in which a cultural center operates nowadays. The programme includes as many as 150 films, some of which are great, prize-winning works. Unfortunately important films often get lost in the mass, which the audience can't find, the media doesn't manage to notice etc. It is the unfortunate side of even the best festivals. Thanks to the opening film status, we are lucky this time. All the main newspapers are writing stories about the film, and the word gets around, so that even Mexican MP's are in the end asking for DVD copies to watch in The Finnish Embassy.



DocsDF opening ceremony audience in an old church

The Finnish Embassy in Mexico takes an active part in organising the Cine Nordico event, held at the same time. It is also a sympathetic event, and is held at the Cineteca, the heart of Mexico City's cinema centre. I shuffle between the screenings of two festivals. The discussions with the audience are interesting. Anu Apo leads the helpful embassy crew, organising translation and transport help.




The energetic representatives of The Finnish Embassy in Mexico City. On the left translator Arja Perälä and on the right Anu Apo

My Finnish-Spanish colleague, Alvaro Pardo, is filming a fun-looking short documentary in the midst of the festival. The American documentary director Barbara Trent is in the festival's Jury, and she has brought with her the Oscar statue she won from her film Panama Deception. When receiving the prize she felt strongly that it belongs to all the people she has filmed and represented in her films. Therefore when Barbara travels the Oscar always comes along. Now Alvaro is following their movements, which include comical and peculiar moments when people meet the Oscar and Barbara.

Alvaro Pardo and the Oscar

In the end I manage to stick to my schedule - also in terms of the "office duties". I even manage to get myself a juicy hangover for the last morning. To balance it out I have the time to pay a Mexican gym a visit too.

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