Rotterdam Film Festival – Monday in Review

In August 2009 I had the privilege of being the principal videographer/photographer on the recently finished film ‘Rwanda: Take Two’. The film, funded by the Rotterdam Film Festival as part of it’s ‘Where is Africa?’ series, is premiering this Tuesday in Rotterdam. Throughout the week I’ll post some thoughts on the inner workings of a large international film festival, some embarrassing attempts at film reviews as well as some personal anecdotes about my first film festival.

Ok, so I made it to only three of the four movies I planned to attend. Sorry Eyes Wide Open, Ruhr just took it out of me.

The first presentation I saw was a series of short films by New Yorker Jim Jennings. Of the seven or so films he showed, the first title Wall Street was perhaps most poignant. Shot sideways from a moving car, the shadows of figures walking down the street appeared to moving up to down, rather than left to right (or vice versa). This verticality was an interesting reminder of the importance of a filmic experience, one that reminded me of the playful ventures of early avant-garde filmmakers. There were moments where, because of the mid-day afternoon sun, certain shadows of men in suits slowed the speed of the film down from the constant blur of bodies and sidewalks. And though shot in the 1980′s, those moments were elegant reminders of the anonymous yet all important impact that Wall Street has on our financial system.

Though I enjoyed the rest of Jennings films, I was most pleasantly surprised by the music that accompanied them. Machinefabriek (musician Rutger Zuydervelt) produced a number of sound pieces mixed from various field recordings taken around Rotterdam. As a big fan of The Quiet American (Aaron Ximm), I was absolutely blown away by some of the most unusual, and at times, truly frightening recordings by Machinefabriek. He’s absolutely worth taking some time to check out.

The second film I watched was Ruhr by James Benning. It took Benning six shots and 90 minutes to describe the hometown of his parents.  I wasn’t completely unprepared for this minimal approach, as about half the crowd seemed to be, and at times the experience was a unique pleasure. Looking at a static/moving image for upwards of an hour allows for a greater consideration of the subject. There were some real moments of pleasure including a leaf’s heart pounding race from annihilation and a suspicious man’s coincidental appearance with a woman in red. But it’s important to note that the film was not always a pleasurable experience, nor should it have been. The challenge of watching something nearly static for long durations is an affront to the style of editing that is so pervasive today.

Lastly, there was Win/Win, a film shot just up the road in Amsterdam. Coming from Ruhr, I won’t deny that there was a bit of relief on my part in being able to sink into a narrative film. It was a pleasantly well shot film, and the main character was a joy to believe in. However, and perhaps it was fatigue on my part, I left with the distinct impression that I would not remember much about the film. It was a nice pallet cleanser though.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 4:53 am and is filed under Blog the Muse. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.