Interviews Articles - The Documentary Network https://documentary.net/magazine_category/interviews/ Explore the world beyond headlines with amazing videos. Fri, 19 Jun 2015 15:26:47 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.3.5 https://documentary.net/wp-content/themes/documentary/img/documentary-logo.png Documentary Network - Watch free documentaries and films https://documentary.net/magazine_category/interviews/ 337 17 Explore the world beyond headlines with amazing videos. CAPITAL C – A Documentary on Crowdfunding seeks Funding (plus Filmmaker Interview) UPDATE: FUNDED! https://documentary.net/magazine/capital-c-a-documentary-on-crowdfunding-plus-filmmaker-interview/ https://documentary.net/magazine/capital-c-a-documentary-on-crowdfunding-plus-filmmaker-interview/#respond Tue, 01 May 2012 09:28:39 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=5881

What is it really about this phenomenon crowdfunding everybody is talking about recently? Who can really benefit from it and how to run a successful campaign? The best way to find out would be to dig deep into the topic and start at the beginning. Filmmaker Timon Birkhofer is doing this exact thing by making a documentary about crowdfunding with the help of crowdfunding. Not only he plans to interview really notable and experienced people but this film also profits from its own funding experience. Update: 3 days before the end of the campaign, they reached the goal of USD 80.000! Congrats! Confirmed interviewees so far: • Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia • Scott Thomas, Design Director of the Obama Campaign • Brian Fargo, creator of Wasteland 2 • Tim Renner, former CEO Universal Music Europe • Prof. David Alan Grier, President Elect IEEE Computer Society • Prof. Eric von Hippel, MIT • Zach Crain, founder and CEO of Freaker USA • and several inspiring project initiators from North America to Europe We asked filmmaker Timon some questions and will regularly update this post to see how the funding campaign and the production of the movie works out. Plus: Don't forget to support the production of the movie at Kickstarter.
You decided to ask for $80,000. This amount seems rather high for a documentary campaign; is there some strategy behind it? No doubt, $80,000 is a hell of a lot of money to ask for. But all six members of our team will put their full-time jobs as DOPs, graphic designers, producers, editors, or directors aside to fully concentrate on making CAPITAL C a reality. This means several months of research, preparation, traveling in North America and Europe for shooting, editing, postproduction, sound design, mixing, and working on rewards and fulfillment. We have been working together for years and we are fully aware of the fact that all of our living expenses will have to come out of our own pockets during the production of CAPITAL C. At the same time, we do not want any external investor or financer to gain control over the content of the film, the selection of interviewees or the kind of stories and statements that make it into the final cut. CAPITAL C will be the very first documentary about the crowd funding movement that emerged from the independent culture scene. Making this movie any other way than independently would feel inappropriate to us. What are the top 3 questions you are trying to answer with the film? This project started quite differently from all the projects we did before: In 2009, we first discovered that cool little idea of making creative projects become reality with the support of the crowd. The only question was: Would crowd funding work on a bigger scale as well? In 2012, this question has already been answered by thousands of projects, small and huge, created with the helping hand of the crowd. So we've talked with several project starters to find out whether crowd funding could possibly work for us too. And when we realized that, yes, it could indeed work for us as well as for countless other projects out there, it began to dawn on us: This was not just a cool little idea anymore. It had grown into a game changer for filmmakers like us: Imagine yourself trying to sell the idea of a documentary film about the life of independent game developers in North America. You would have a very hard time doing this. Still, James Swirsky did it and asked the crowd instead of producers to support his film. He found his crowd, made his film, and won Sundance 2012 with “Indie Game: The Movie.” Would “Indie Game” ever have been produced without crowd funding? Well, most likely not. We will talk with many independents, just like James, to learn more about their adventure of working together with the crowd. We want to understand the dynamic and motivation of the crowd, its full potential, and its limits. And, of course, we hope that CAPITAL C will help others to reach out for their crowd – as it has helped us already. But there is at least one more question that we want to explore with CAPITAL C: What's next? I mean, every business that comes into contact with crowd funding is changing fundamentally. Take a look at the game developers Tim Schafer and Brian Fargo: They had little more to offer than the idea to create a new game. And each of them raised about $3,000,000 with the help of their crowd. Imagine the creative freedom they have with a budget like this and without publishers breathing down their neck. And now imagine what that means for the future of their former publishers… For that reason, we will also talk with crowd experts like Prof. Eric von Hippel, MIT, and Prof. David Alan Grier, president-elect of the IEEE Computer Society. And we’ll interview people who've already experienced the ultimate power of the crowd, like Scott Thomas, design director of the first presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and Jimmy Wales, founder of the biggest crowd sourcing project of all time, Wikipedia. Sorry for answering that extensively, but I hope I have mentioned at least three questions that we will try to cast light on with CAPITAL C. Who should watch this film? Literally everybody. Honestly. Crowd funding is such a powerful tool for innovators and consumers that it will shape the future for all of us - for established entrepreneurs and artists who already have their own crowd backing them as well as for up-and-coming talents, who introduce their very first creations to the market. It just doesn't matter anymore where we are located or where we are coming from. The only things that count are the idea behind the project and the desire to really make this idea happen. How much time did (or do) you invest in promoting the campaign? That's a good point! Most filmmakers are working on their projects on the Q.T. We are no exception. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t promote our work before everything is in place. Now with crowd funding, we are forced to show what we have in the middle of the process. Is that a bad thing? Not at all, since it makes things better: During our crowd funding campaign, many people approached us and offered their help. Brian Fargo and Scott Thomas, both interviewees of CAPITAL C, even backed our project. Other backers told us we should give them a call whenever we are in the area and they offered us to stay at their homes during the production. What more can you ask for? In this way, the promotion becomes part of the production process. It’s difficult to say how much time is used for what - but be sure: It’s a lot. Outcomes so far? Check it out on Kickstarter. We regularly post updates there and everyone's welcome to be part of the project! ]]>

What is it really about this phenomenon crowdfunding everybody is talking about recently? Who can really benefit from it and how to run a successful campaign? The best way to find out would be to dig deep into the topic and start at the beginning. Filmmaker Timon Birkhofer is doing this exact thing by making a documentary about crowdfunding with the help of crowdfunding. Not only he plans to interview really notable and experienced people but this film also profits from its own funding experience. Update: 3 days before the end of the campaign, they reached the goal of USD 80.000! Congrats! Confirmed interviewees so far: • Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia • Scott Thomas, Design Director of the Obama Campaign • Brian Fargo, creator of Wasteland 2 • Tim Renner, former CEO Universal Music Europe • Prof. David Alan Grier, President Elect IEEE Computer Society • Prof. Eric von Hippel, MIT • Zach Crain, founder and CEO of Freaker USA • and several inspiring project initiators from North America to Europe We asked filmmaker Timon some questions and will regularly update this post to see how the funding campaign and the production of the movie works out. Plus: Don't forget to support the production of the movie at Kickstarter.
You decided to ask for $80,000. This amount seems rather high for a documentary campaign; is there some strategy behind it? No doubt, $80,000 is a hell of a lot of money to ask for. But all six members of our team will put their full-time jobs as DOPs, graphic designers, producers, editors, or directors aside to fully concentrate on making CAPITAL C a reality. This means several months of research, preparation, traveling in North America and Europe for shooting, editing, postproduction, sound design, mixing, and working on rewards and fulfillment. We have been working together for years and we are fully aware of the fact that all of our living expenses will have to come out of our own pockets during the production of CAPITAL C. At the same time, we do not want any external investor or financer to gain control over the content of the film, the selection of interviewees or the kind of stories and statements that make it into the final cut. CAPITAL C will be the very first documentary about the crowd funding movement that emerged from the independent culture scene. Making this movie any other way than independently would feel inappropriate to us. What are the top 3 questions you are trying to answer with the film? This project started quite differently from all the projects we did before: In 2009, we first discovered that cool little idea of making creative projects become reality with the support of the crowd. The only question was: Would crowd funding work on a bigger scale as well? In 2012, this question has already been answered by thousands of projects, small and huge, created with the helping hand of the crowd. So we've talked with several project starters to find out whether crowd funding could possibly work for us too. And when we realized that, yes, it could indeed work for us as well as for countless other projects out there, it began to dawn on us: This was not just a cool little idea anymore. It had grown into a game changer for filmmakers like us: Imagine yourself trying to sell the idea of a documentary film about the life of independent game developers in North America. You would have a very hard time doing this. Still, James Swirsky did it and asked the crowd instead of producers to support his film. He found his crowd, made his film, and won Sundance 2012 with “Indie Game: The Movie.” Would “Indie Game” ever have been produced without crowd funding? Well, most likely not. We will talk with many independents, just like James, to learn more about their adventure of working together with the crowd. We want to understand the dynamic and motivation of the crowd, its full potential, and its limits. And, of course, we hope that CAPITAL C will help others to reach out for their crowd – as it has helped us already. But there is at least one more question that we want to explore with CAPITAL C: What's next? I mean, every business that comes into contact with crowd funding is changing fundamentally. Take a look at the game developers Tim Schafer and Brian Fargo: They had little more to offer than the idea to create a new game. And each of them raised about $3,000,000 with the help of their crowd. Imagine the creative freedom they have with a budget like this and without publishers breathing down their neck. And now imagine what that means for the future of their former publishers… For that reason, we will also talk with crowd experts like Prof. Eric von Hippel, MIT, and Prof. David Alan Grier, president-elect of the IEEE Computer Society. And we’ll interview people who've already experienced the ultimate power of the crowd, like Scott Thomas, design director of the first presidential campaign of Barack Obama, and Jimmy Wales, founder of the biggest crowd sourcing project of all time, Wikipedia. Sorry for answering that extensively, but I hope I have mentioned at least three questions that we will try to cast light on with CAPITAL C. Who should watch this film? Literally everybody. Honestly. Crowd funding is such a powerful tool for innovators and consumers that it will shape the future for all of us - for established entrepreneurs and artists who already have their own crowd backing them as well as for up-and-coming talents, who introduce their very first creations to the market. It just doesn't matter anymore where we are located or where we are coming from. The only things that count are the idea behind the project and the desire to really make this idea happen. How much time did (or do) you invest in promoting the campaign? That's a good point! Most filmmakers are working on their projects on the Q.T. We are no exception. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t promote our work before everything is in place. Now with crowd funding, we are forced to show what we have in the middle of the process. Is that a bad thing? Not at all, since it makes things better: During our crowd funding campaign, many people approached us and offered their help. Brian Fargo and Scott Thomas, both interviewees of CAPITAL C, even backed our project. Other backers told us we should give them a call whenever we are in the area and they offered us to stay at their homes during the production. What more can you ask for? In this way, the promotion becomes part of the production process. It’s difficult to say how much time is used for what - but be sure: It’s a lot. Outcomes so far? Check it out on Kickstarter. We regularly post updates there and everyone's welcome to be part of the project! ]]> https://documentary.net/magazine/capital-c-a-documentary-on-crowdfunding-plus-filmmaker-interview/feed/ 0 Documentary Filmmaking Talks – Werner Herzog https://documentary.net/magazine/documentary-filmmaking-talks-werner-herzog/ https://documentary.net/magazine/documentary-filmmaking-talks-werner-herzog/#respond Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:25:13 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=2899

One of the most distinctive filmmakers of our time, Werner Herzog has been called the "romantic visionary" of the New German Cinema movement. His edgy, larger-than-life films fuse the epic with the intimate, redefining the scale and scope of filmmaking to include more than 60 works shot on every continent. He appears in conversation with acclaimed author and essayist, Pico Iyer at UC Santa Barbara.
Latest project: Into the Abyss Werner Herzog at Wikipedia]]>

One of the most distinctive filmmakers of our time, Werner Herzog has been called the "romantic visionary" of the New German Cinema movement. His edgy, larger-than-life films fuse the epic with the intimate, redefining the scale and scope of filmmaking to include more than 60 works shot on every continent. He appears in conversation with acclaimed author and essayist, Pico Iyer at UC Santa Barbara.
Latest project: Into the Abyss Werner Herzog at Wikipedia]]> https://documentary.net/magazine/documentary-filmmaking-talks-werner-herzog/feed/ 0 Documentary Filmmaking Talks – Michael Glawogger https://documentary.net/magazine/documentary-filmmaking-talks-michael-glawogger/ https://documentary.net/magazine/documentary-filmmaking-talks-michael-glawogger/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 10:53:15 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=2880

Born in Graz, Austria, in 1959, Michael Glawogger is a traveling filmmaker. Not only does he literally journey around the world for his documentaries, he also moves back and forth between forms and genres, between photography and writing, between gentler and more forceful tones. He graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute and the Vienna Film Academy and has since worked as a director, writer, and cinematographer in Vienna, Bangkok, and Znojmo. His latest work "Whores's Glory" was shot in Thailand, Mexico, and Bangladesh. He has so far remained a maverick figure in the international documentary film scene of the last decade and generally shoots on film, a fact that has probably less to do with his effortless back-and-forth between documentary and fiction than with his unique, free-spirited sensibility.
Documentaries: Workingman's Death Megacities War in Vienna Whores' Glory]]>

Born in Graz, Austria, in 1959, Michael Glawogger is a traveling filmmaker. Not only does he literally journey around the world for his documentaries, he also moves back and forth between forms and genres, between photography and writing, between gentler and more forceful tones. He graduated from the San Francisco Art Institute and the Vienna Film Academy and has since worked as a director, writer, and cinematographer in Vienna, Bangkok, and Znojmo. His latest work "Whores's Glory" was shot in Thailand, Mexico, and Bangladesh. He has so far remained a maverick figure in the international documentary film scene of the last decade and generally shoots on film, a fact that has probably less to do with his effortless back-and-forth between documentary and fiction than with his unique, free-spirited sensibility.
Documentaries: Workingman's Death Megacities War in Vienna Whores' Glory]]> https://documentary.net/magazine/documentary-filmmaking-talks-michael-glawogger/feed/ 1 Are Interactive Documentaries the Future? https://documentary.net/magazine/are-interactive-documentaries-the-future/ https://documentary.net/magazine/are-interactive-documentaries-the-future/#comments Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:46:41 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=1790

Interactive elements in web-documentaries have become more popular recently. Joel Ronez from arte.tv talkes about their plans on interactive docs. The channel is investing in its own future by customizing content for the web to target new audiences. "Prison Valley" is an interactive road movie about the prison system in Colorado. The documentary portrays the valley around Canon City and its numerous high security prisons as a new Alcatraz.
It is not only a question of who is the photographer, director and journalist. It is also a question of design and programming
Credits and more information: Storytell.in - For Arte.tv, making interactive documentaries is 'a question of surviving']]>

Interactive elements in web-documentaries have become more popular recently. Joel Ronez from arte.tv talkes about their plans on interactive docs. The channel is investing in its own future by customizing content for the web to target new audiences. "Prison Valley" is an interactive road movie about the prison system in Colorado. The documentary portrays the valley around Canon City and its numerous high security prisons as a new Alcatraz.
It is not only a question of who is the photographer, director and journalist. It is also a question of design and programming
Credits and more information: Storytell.in - For Arte.tv, making interactive documentaries is 'a question of surviving']]> https://documentary.net/magazine/are-interactive-documentaries-the-future/feed/ 1 Talk with the Filmmakers: Stefan Bohun https://documentary.net/magazine/talk-with-the-filmmakers-stefan-bohun/ https://documentary.net/magazine/talk-with-the-filmmakers-stefan-bohun/#respond Fri, 13 May 2011 20:08:44 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=1513

In our new section "Talk with the Filmmakers" we present interviews that deliver insight in the working methods of documentarists all over the world. Young Austrian Director Stefan Bohun realized several documentaries that are as moving as they are informative. “Amo Beethoven” (2007), shot in Venezuela, portrays a school for deaf children who learn to play instruments and sing in sign language; “Nohelia” is about a strong woman in Colombia that tries to run a school while being endangered by guerrilla fighters. Bohun not only works as a filmmaker but also as a successful stage director. Watching his works is a rewarding experience; Bohun manages to depict difficult social topics in a way as entertaining as they are artistic. In the interview, Stefan Bohun talks about the difficulties for young filmmakers to realize their projects, digital formats, the differences between working on a film and for the stage and how to build up trust to one’s protagonists. [caption id="attachment_33" align="alignright" width="300" caption=""Amo Beethoven""]Amo Beethoven[/caption] documentary.net: You are Austrian but your projects often are realized abroad. Why is that? Stefan Bohun: It doesn’t matter where you shoot the films. Human beings are almost the same everywhere in my opinion. The things that move us, that shape us deeply inside don’t differ just because you come from another country. When I am interested in a topic set in South America I look for the similarities to the place where I come from. I think what we need to understand is that we live in a global world where everything is connected and people share the same things. Intercultural learning is very important to me. In the case of Amo Beethoven I searched for the human need for music. Even if you’re deaf, music can be something very important in your life. The fact that Amo Beethoven was shot in Venezuela is secondary to me. How did you join the projects “Amo Beethoven” and “Nohelia”? What interested you the most about the topics? Amo Beethoven came out of the idea of making a documentary about the importance of music to young people in Venezuela. We offered a commissioning editor of a well-known Austrian TV program to do a 30-minute documentary about a music school for handicapped kids. I was very enthusiastic about the idea that a deaf 17-year-old girl wants to become a musician in the future. In the case of Nohelia it all began with my passion for Colombia and the political problems the country has experienced for the last 50 years. I was living in Bogotá for a year and got to know Nohelia a few years later. I wanted to film a portrayal of this remarkable woman who despite of all the financial and political problems dedicates her life to the education of children living in a small fishing village. In order to prevent young people of joining guerrilla or paramilitary groups she enforces the kids to go to school and do something with their lives. She is a local hero, an iconic example for the kids to follow in a region that historically has been plagued by criminality and violence. How was filming in Venezuela and Columbia? Did you face many problems? [caption id="attachment_35" align="alignright" width="300" caption=""Nohelia""][/caption] In general we were very lucky to be welcomed and assisted by the local people we worked with. The help we experienced was outstanding. It went very well. In Colombia we were filming in Nohelia’s village when some guerrilleros came to the town. We had to leave the town for some days. In Caracas our filming equipment got stolen before the last shooting day. It was quite sad but thanks to the producer Hannes Kreuzer all the equipment was insured so we didn’t suffer any financial loss. How much intuition or psychological insight does a documentarist need? Were the people you portrayed eager from the start or did they hesitate to talk about themselves? It fully depends on the people you talk to. If you find a way to be accepted by them, interviewing them gets natural. You need to build up trust. I think as a documentarist it’s important to realize, that you shoot a film “with” the people as opposed to shoot a film “about” the people you want to portray. In politically unstable regions people don’t normally like to talk about politics. You need to find different ways to obtain the information you want to have in your film. In the case of Nohelia the relationship was based on a lot of trust. She’s a fearless strong woman, and she loves to express her opinion without taboos. Did you show your protagonists the films afterwards? And how did they react? Both films have been seen by at least some of the protagonists. The feedback we got was very positive. They were very surprised by the positive energy deriving from the films we made. It’s important for me that art looks at life as something beautiful, even if our problems sometimes seem insoluble. How is Nohelia now? I haven’t heard from her in more than a year, but I’m in contact with some of her closest friends who are confirming to me that she’s good. But the situation in the region (Choco) has become worse in the last years. Guerrilla activities and violence is on the rise. Do you view your films, which often deal with poverty and violence as social education or as artistic explorations? I agree with director Peter Sellars who said that every artist has a social responsibility. We must reflect the social conditions we live in inside of our work. It doesn’t matter if it’s a documentary about drugs and violence in Colombia or a theatre play about the lives of young artists in Istanbul – which I recently directed. We’re privileged to make films, so we should use this privilege well. How hard is it for a young filmmaker to realize projects? It’s hard if you don’t do everything in your power to make it happen, and it’s easy if you fully dedicate yourself to it. To be honest even if you dedicate yourself it’s difficult. It’s getting increasingly hard to put up with the necessary budget for a production. First you must convince yourself and then convince the rest of the world that your film has to be made no matter what. How were your films financed? Nohelia and Amo Beethoven had all kinds of sponsors like the ADA (Austrian Development Agency), the Vienna Filmacademy or the cultural departments of different Austrian Regions. How much time does a project take to realize, from the first idea to the film’s release? I would generalize it takes from two to three years. How much technical knowledge does a documentary filmmaker need? He needs a lot of patience and a deep interest in the life of others. You have to be very empathetic concerning the world that surrounds you. Necessary technical knowledge can be learned really quickly in my opinion.   Your documentaries were made for TV – what differences do you reckon there are between working for TV and working for cinema? For me there is no difference. I believe that TV must be treated with the same artistic demands like cinema. Once I got this e-mail from a director who shoots big BBC documentaries and who congratulated me for the cinematic visual style of Amo Beethoven. He wrote that he loved to see a documentary on TV which uses pedantically thought out wide shot framing that normally is applied when shooting for the big screen. This interview will be published on documentary.net – do you think the internet is good or bad for filmmakers? There are amazing documentaries being produced and I believe that they have to be seen by as many people as possible. I think that nowadays we’re overwhelmed with youtube videoclips, so it’s important to increase quality. At the same time we have to achieve cultural and artistic education. People have to see real emotions, real stories. Briefly put, people should see the real world and not a bad copy of it. What are the pros and cons of shooting digitally? As we all know, if you shoot digitally you don’t have to be stingy with the hours of tapes or hard discs you fill up. It allows the filmmaker to observe an action for a longer period of time and record it. Image quality has improved a lot in digital media and makes it possible to achieve an analogue look on your digital material. You also directed the successful stage-play “Cihangir Insomnia”. What’s the difference between the stage director and the film director Bohun? There is no difference as Stefan Bohun is always Stefan Bohun. But I am truly interested in the artistic benefit of mixing forms of expression. In theatre I like that poetry can be created through symbols whereas in documentary the poetry lies in the moment itself that has to be captured in real time. In my latest theatre play, “Cihangir Insomnia”, I intended to find a way to mix different genres and artistic approaches bringing film, documentary and theatre to one entity. It was very difficult because in the theatre you cannot edit like you edit a film. So everything has to be “edited” by the actors in real time, which requires a lot of precision and professionalism. Fortunately I had the joy to work with an international cast of very talented actors and musicians. Watch "Nohelia" Watch "Mata Tigre" Watch "Amo Beethoven" Cihangir Insomnia - selected scenes from Garaj Istanbul Sept. 2010 Cihangir Insomnia Official Website Stefan Bohun IMDB]]>

In our new section "Talk with the Filmmakers" we present interviews that deliver insight in the working methods of documentarists all over the world. Young Austrian Director Stefan Bohun realized several documentaries that are as moving as they are informative. “Amo Beethoven” (2007), shot in Venezuela, portrays a school for deaf children who learn to play instruments and sing in sign language; “Nohelia” is about a strong woman in Colombia that tries to run a school while being endangered by guerrilla fighters. Bohun not only works as a filmmaker but also as a successful stage director. Watching his works is a rewarding experience; Bohun manages to depict difficult social topics in a way as entertaining as they are artistic. In the interview, Stefan Bohun talks about the difficulties for young filmmakers to realize their projects, digital formats, the differences between working on a film and for the stage and how to build up trust to one’s protagonists. [caption id="attachment_33" align="alignright" width="300" caption=""Amo Beethoven""]Amo Beethoven[/caption] documentary.net: You are Austrian but your projects often are realized abroad. Why is that? Stefan Bohun: It doesn’t matter where you shoot the films. Human beings are almost the same everywhere in my opinion. The things that move us, that shape us deeply inside don’t differ just because you come from another country. When I am interested in a topic set in South America I look for the similarities to the place where I come from. I think what we need to understand is that we live in a global world where everything is connected and people share the same things. Intercultural learning is very important to me. In the case of Amo Beethoven I searched for the human need for music. Even if you’re deaf, music can be something very important in your life. The fact that Amo Beethoven was shot in Venezuela is secondary to me. How did you join the projects “Amo Beethoven” and “Nohelia”? What interested you the most about the topics? Amo Beethoven came out of the idea of making a documentary about the importance of music to young people in Venezuela. We offered a commissioning editor of a well-known Austrian TV program to do a 30-minute documentary about a music school for handicapped kids. I was very enthusiastic about the idea that a deaf 17-year-old girl wants to become a musician in the future. In the case of Nohelia it all began with my passion for Colombia and the political problems the country has experienced for the last 50 years. I was living in Bogotá for a year and got to know Nohelia a few years later. I wanted to film a portrayal of this remarkable woman who despite of all the financial and political problems dedicates her life to the education of children living in a small fishing village. In order to prevent young people of joining guerrilla or paramilitary groups she enforces the kids to go to school and do something with their lives. She is a local hero, an iconic example for the kids to follow in a region that historically has been plagued by criminality and violence. How was filming in Venezuela and Columbia? Did you face many problems? [caption id="attachment_35" align="alignright" width="300" caption=""Nohelia""][/caption] In general we were very lucky to be welcomed and assisted by the local people we worked with. The help we experienced was outstanding. It went very well. In Colombia we were filming in Nohelia’s village when some guerrilleros came to the town. We had to leave the town for some days. In Caracas our filming equipment got stolen before the last shooting day. It was quite sad but thanks to the producer Hannes Kreuzer all the equipment was insured so we didn’t suffer any financial loss. How much intuition or psychological insight does a documentarist need? Were the people you portrayed eager from the start or did they hesitate to talk about themselves? It fully depends on the people you talk to. If you find a way to be accepted by them, interviewing them gets natural. You need to build up trust. I think as a documentarist it’s important to realize, that you shoot a film “with” the people as opposed to shoot a film “about” the people you want to portray. In politically unstable regions people don’t normally like to talk about politics. You need to find different ways to obtain the information you want to have in your film. In the case of Nohelia the relationship was based on a lot of trust. She’s a fearless strong woman, and she loves to express her opinion without taboos. Did you show your protagonists the films afterwards? And how did they react? Both films have been seen by at least some of the protagonists. The feedback we got was very positive. They were very surprised by the positive energy deriving from the films we made. It’s important for me that art looks at life as something beautiful, even if our problems sometimes seem insoluble. How is Nohelia now? I haven’t heard from her in more than a year, but I’m in contact with some of her closest friends who are confirming to me that she’s good. But the situation in the region (Choco) has become worse in the last years. Guerrilla activities and violence is on the rise. Do you view your films, which often deal with poverty and violence as social education or as artistic explorations? I agree with director Peter Sellars who said that every artist has a social responsibility. We must reflect the social conditions we live in inside of our work. It doesn’t matter if it’s a documentary about drugs and violence in Colombia or a theatre play about the lives of young artists in Istanbul – which I recently directed. We’re privileged to make films, so we should use this privilege well. How hard is it for a young filmmaker to realize projects? It’s hard if you don’t do everything in your power to make it happen, and it’s easy if you fully dedicate yourself to it. To be honest even if you dedicate yourself it’s difficult. It’s getting increasingly hard to put up with the necessary budget for a production. First you must convince yourself and then convince the rest of the world that your film has to be made no matter what. How were your films financed? Nohelia and Amo Beethoven had all kinds of sponsors like the ADA (Austrian Development Agency), the Vienna Filmacademy or the cultural departments of different Austrian Regions. How much time does a project take to realize, from the first idea to the film’s release? I would generalize it takes from two to three years. How much technical knowledge does a documentary filmmaker need? He needs a lot of patience and a deep interest in the life of others. You have to be very empathetic concerning the world that surrounds you. Necessary technical knowledge can be learned really quickly in my opinion.   Your documentaries were made for TV – what differences do you reckon there are between working for TV and working for cinema? For me there is no difference. I believe that TV must be treated with the same artistic demands like cinema. Once I got this e-mail from a director who shoots big BBC documentaries and who congratulated me for the cinematic visual style of Amo Beethoven. He wrote that he loved to see a documentary on TV which uses pedantically thought out wide shot framing that normally is applied when shooting for the big screen. This interview will be published on documentary.net – do you think the internet is good or bad for filmmakers? There are amazing documentaries being produced and I believe that they have to be seen by as many people as possible. I think that nowadays we’re overwhelmed with youtube videoclips, so it’s important to increase quality. At the same time we have to achieve cultural and artistic education. People have to see real emotions, real stories. Briefly put, people should see the real world and not a bad copy of it. What are the pros and cons of shooting digitally? As we all know, if you shoot digitally you don’t have to be stingy with the hours of tapes or hard discs you fill up. It allows the filmmaker to observe an action for a longer period of time and record it. Image quality has improved a lot in digital media and makes it possible to achieve an analogue look on your digital material. You also directed the successful stage-play “Cihangir Insomnia”. What’s the difference between the stage director and the film director Bohun? There is no difference as Stefan Bohun is always Stefan Bohun. But I am truly interested in the artistic benefit of mixing forms of expression. In theatre I like that poetry can be created through symbols whereas in documentary the poetry lies in the moment itself that has to be captured in real time. In my latest theatre play, “Cihangir Insomnia”, I intended to find a way to mix different genres and artistic approaches bringing film, documentary and theatre to one entity. It was very difficult because in the theatre you cannot edit like you edit a film. So everything has to be “edited” by the actors in real time, which requires a lot of precision and professionalism. Fortunately I had the joy to work with an international cast of very talented actors and musicians. Watch "Nohelia" Watch "Mata Tigre" Watch "Amo Beethoven" Cihangir Insomnia - selected scenes from Garaj Istanbul Sept. 2010 Cihangir Insomnia Official Website Stefan Bohun IMDB]]> https://documentary.net/magazine/talk-with-the-filmmakers-stefan-bohun/feed/ 0 Assange: Facebook, Google, Yahoo spying tools for US intelligence https://documentary.net/magazine/assange-facebook-google-yahoo-spying-tools-for-us-intelligence/ https://documentary.net/magazine/assange-facebook-google-yahoo-spying-tools-for-us-intelligence/#respond Mon, 09 May 2011 09:20:38 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=1360

The man behind WikiLeaks says his website's revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. In an interview, Julian Assange said it is only a matter of time before more damaging information becomes known. "It's not a matter of serving a subpoena, they have an interface they have developed for US Intelligence to use. Now, is the case that Facebook is run by US Intelligence? No, it's not like that. It's simply that US Intelligence is able to bring to bear legal and political pressure to them." ]]>

The man behind WikiLeaks says his website's revelations are just the tip of the iceberg. In an interview, Julian Assange said it is only a matter of time before more damaging information becomes known. "It's not a matter of serving a subpoena, they have an interface they have developed for US Intelligence to use. Now, is the case that Facebook is run by US Intelligence? No, it's not like that. It's simply that US Intelligence is able to bring to bear legal and political pressure to them." ]]> https://documentary.net/magazine/assange-facebook-google-yahoo-spying-tools-for-us-intelligence/feed/ 0 Unhinged: Surviving Johannesburg https://documentary.net/magazine/unhinged-surviving-johannesburg/ https://documentary.net/magazine/unhinged-surviving-johannesburg/#respond Fri, 15 Apr 2011 07:07:12 +0000 http://documentary.net/?p=1021

An honest, quirky and sometimes frenzied documentary about Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city and the world’s gateway to Southern Africa. With rapid narrative, dry humour, trivial factoids, insightful observations and a highly enjoyable soundtrack, the film tells a slice-of-city-life story. Joburg is hardly compareable to other big cities, and so is this film!
http://www.unhingedsurvivingjoburg.com/]]>

An honest, quirky and sometimes frenzied documentary about Johannesburg, South Africa’s biggest city and the world’s gateway to Southern Africa. With rapid narrative, dry humour, trivial factoids, insightful observations and a highly enjoyable soundtrack, the film tells a slice-of-city-life story. Joburg is hardly compareable to other big cities, and so is this film!
http://www.unhingedsurvivingjoburg.com/]]> https://documentary.net/magazine/unhinged-surviving-johannesburg/feed/ 0