redigering dag #3

hann bara med dryga fyra timmar i studion idag, men jag spikade den första minuten av den andra scenen. good stuff.

redigering dag #2

ikväll hittade jag filmens sista bild. klassisk, effektiv och suggestiv. jag hade planerat att avsluta filmen på ett annat sätt, men det är dumt att säga nej när man hittar ett bättre alternativ.

imorgon hoppas jag nå en första grovklippning av filmen.

redigering dag #1

regnet ploppar stämningsfullt på takfönstret i redigeringsstudion och skapar en fin fond att arbeta i. första redigeringsdagen av fyra planerade har inletts, och det är grovjobbet som avklaras nu: loggning och omdöpning av filer; materialet måste renderas i sin helhet eftersom vi spelade in med RED ROCK 35mm-adaptern och bilden spelades in upp och ner; en generell överblick avklaras innan de verkliga närstudierna inleds imorgon.

det var längesedan som jag satt och redigerade för mig själv - det är en nästintill meditativ upplevelse. några av mina allra största insikter om mig själv och min omvärld har inletts i klipprum. samtidigt är termen "klipprum" någonting mer för mig än en fysisk plats - det behöver inte ens nödvändigtvis vara en sådan. istället är det ett tillstånd som jag beger mig in i, där mina tankar blir mer organiserade och analytiska än under själva inspelningsfasen; här blir det vaga konkret och min avsikt gentemot publikens upplevelse en utstuderad övning i ren process och metodik, där jag väldigt handfast kan bygga upp eller fördjupa en stämning och bygga en tydlig berättelse.

eran av en-tagningsfilmer kan mycket väl vara över nu.

intervju i vujer filmtidning

idag publiceras det en intervju med mig på FILMTIDNINGEN VUJER.COM.

87 vid lilla filmfestivalen

idag släpps programmet till LILLA FILMFESTIVALEN I BÅSTAD. med i programmet finns "87". filmen kommer att visas lördagen den 2 augusti, kl. 09.30, under programrubriken "GAMLA BEKANTER, NYA FILMER".

(an English version can be found here.)

nystart/omstart

avresedag. sista förmiddagen i idyllen. servitriserna gör i ordning terassen på APOTHEKERGÅRDEN för festivalens avskedsfrukost. bestick klirrar till och matoset smyger sig fram genom GRIMSTAD´s gränder. flanörerna kan skymtas promenera förbi bakom de upphöjda vita staketplankorna och rörelserna blir till ett stroboskopliknande mönster. himlen är blå och molnen är det inte. det skuggtäckta området jag sökt min tillflykt till, fungerar bra som moteld mot det förrädiskt trevliga sommarvädret som anlände i samklang med gryningen tidigare imorse då hotellets brandalarm utlöstes. famlande och med en skrämmande lång reaktionstid, halvvägs till lobbyn, halv fem imorse, upptäcktes det dock att falskalarmet var ett faktum.

när jag nu gör ett försök till sammanfattning av de senaste dagarnas fullständigt rofyllda vistelse här i GRIMSTAD, så blir det inte utan en kompakt tacksamhet för min tid här. mer än en vanlig festivalvistelse; något annat än ännu en ursäkt för verklighetsflykt; en upplevelse full och hel i sin förmåga att få mig att minnas allt det andra i mitt liv som jag sedan länge valt bort. saker och personer jag vant mig ifrån. tankar och förhoppningar som inte omedelbart har med CSABA BENE PERLENBERG, regissören, att göra. utan endast "C.", personen. människan bakom filmen; livet bortom skapandet; anledningen bakom drivkraften. allt för länge har denna bild av mig själv tagit allt för mycket plats. vem personen bakom egentligen är, och vad det är han vill, och hur han vill göra det, är i mångt och mycket okänt. om han överhuvudtaget finns kvar därinne någonstans. men det ska bli oerhört spännande, om än en aning smärtsamt, att ta reda på det.

jag kommer verkligen behöva all hjälp jag kan få.

purchases

what is a film festival stay without some reckless spending on film paraphanalia? thus my bag home to SWEDEN will be weighed down by the newly released (the launching press-conference was actually held a couple of days ago here in GRIMSTAD) DVD "NORSK KORTFILM 2008" ("NORWEGIAN SHORT FILM 2008"), a collection of a bunch of, well, Norwegian short films. looks promising. also in the bag will be the tin-casing editions of "THE HITCHCOCK COLLECTION" and "THE CHAPLIN COLLECTION".

interesting selection

wow. sometimes you just don´t see ´em comin´. of all of the films that I´ve seen in the international short film category here at the festival, the two winners that were announced a couple of minutes ago (of which my film wasn´t one of - which is TOTALLY COOL, since I really didn´t expect to win tonight, honestly), were two films that I really didn´t expect to win. it´s a nice reminder to ones own fields of reference when a jury selects films that you yourself didn´t connect with at all. perhaps that says more about me than the jury. interesting.

IK4 - blackheart gang, luis cook and the process

the fourth short film block in the international section here in GRIMSTAD was mostly defined by the excellence of the animated pieces. SOUTH AFRICAN-based arts group THE BLACKHEART GANG impressed with their little "THE TALE OF HOW". with an almost far-Eastern adopted style, their strangely compelling world of otherwordly creations and childlike worlds managed to put a smile on this face.



equally joyous was LUIS COOK and AARDMAN ANIMATIONs "THE PEARCE SISTERS": a quirky tale of relationships on, so to speak, on the waters edge. offering more than just gorgeous animation, COOK delivers a tale that is often missing in short-fiction animation: a good story.



also screening in this block was one of my all-time favourite Swedish short films, "THE PROCESS" by rebel-filmmaker JONAS SELBERG AUGUSTSEN. I first had the chance to see the film at last years LILLA FILMFESTIVALEN I BÅSTAD, when SELBERG AUGUSTSEEN was awarded the prestigious BO WIDERBERG SCHOLARSHIP. to my great pleasure, the film was an even better experience this time around. a small bite of it can be seen here:

artistic norse gods

the last day of the festival seems to go out on a broody, artistic note: again, rain sweeps over our idyllic little film town. it it very much appreciated. style points for the Norwegian weather gods.

IK3 - ryba, reto caffi and roeland wiesnekker

ALEXANDER KOTT´s "RYBA" ("THE FISH") opens with some truly great cinematography, and continues down an iconographic path as it tells a story which takes place in a snowy tundra-world on the Russian plains where time is no longer visiting. KOTT manages to be both poetic and hands-on at the same time. a guaranteed talkie amongst the jury members. my own film "87" screened in this section, and my own sentiments about the films qualities aside, the actual screening was probably the best screening yet in terms of colour and projection. CATILINA is a great screening temple.

another tale of childhood, this time Latvian, can be seen in "UGUNS" ("FIRE") by LAILA PAKALNINA. cinematography seems to be at the center of the neo-Russian short film wave, with an excellent sense of visual stylistics and image-based storytelling.

probably my favourite mid-length short film in a long time (what we in Sweden call "novellfilm", but which the rest of the world seems blissfully unaware off) is RETO CAFFI's "AUF DER STRECKE" ("ON THE LINE"). its main actor ROELAND WIESNEKKER does a very human and credible performance as a man whose conscience weighs him down.

half of IK2 - rahban and barbara musil

making the poor choice of leaving halfway through due to some severe sleeping needs, I still managed to catch the highly sad, captivating, serene and authentic documentary drama "RAHBAN" ("RAILWAYMAN" by NASER NASERPOUR. showing us a lone railroad worker in the middle of nowhere, tending to his hand-working duties on his assigned stretch of railroad, is an instant human classic. when asked what the 40-something man would have done if he had gotten a chance to do something else than working with what he does, he replies: "Riding trains. I have never done that". gut-wrenching, indeed.

in terms of graphic brilliance and social conscience, BARBARA MUSIL's "MARKET SENTIMENTS" shows us a world where landlines and ownership is questioned when shown from above, making us realise that the only lines that are drawn in nature are the ones drawn by man. thoughtful.

worth listening to

VIVA LA VIDA OR DEATH AND ALL HIS FRIENDS by COLDPLAY is definitely my official festival soundtrack.

goodie

the screening went good today, although I don´t think we´re going to win. the range of films here is quite remarkable, and it´s refreshing to see a festival where it is evident that the selection committee hasn´t limited itself in terms of thematics or visual aesthetics. my money is on the Russian film "THE FISH" by ALEXANDER KOTT.

in treatment

this festival stay has awarded me with a new addiction: watching the very rich new drama "IN TREATMENT" between festival screening programs on CANAL+ in my hotel room. the series stars one of my favourite actors, all categories; GABRIEL BYRNE. its form is pleasantly traditional: half an hour of good old talking drama between a psychiatrist and his patients. please, make yourself an appointment with it as soon as possible.

scared shitless

four minutes left before my screening starts - and I'm scared shitless. I'm not quite sure why, but I think it's a good sign.

volkswagen tiguan

since this was first spotted on the tellie in the hotel lobby during my festival stay, I find it eligable enough to include it into my festival reporting: check out this amazingly cool and well-produced commercial for VOLKSWAGEN TIGUAN (evidently, it´s a new automobile, and, uhm, no, I´m not getting paid for writing this entry, although I want to let the European branch of the VOLKSWAGEN MARKETING DEPARTMENT know that I really don´t have any scruples about such sorts of things).

h20 please

a film festival without rain is like a film festival without any films. severely unecessary. thus, the skies above GRIMSTAD decided to sprinkle us with some much needed water (even more so due to the raging bushfires that has plagued the forrests close to here for almost a week now). after these last couple of pseudo-sunny days, it was most welcome.

tonight

tonight encapsules the following activities here in GRIMSTADVILLE: watching SWEDENs national soccer team getting a-fucked by SPAIN, a boat trip with the other international directors and a secret outdoors screening at midnight.

IK1 - hezurbeltzak & song´s d´une femme de menage

beyond the shadow of a doubt, the quality of the "IK1" block of short films just screened was very high. starting out with "1977" by PEQUE VARELA fired off a series of animated works, showing that some of the most vibrant film work lingers in that genre - quite evident by the sheer amount of animated films in this festival´s program. continued with "DON`T ASK" by current NYC-residing TOVA BECK-FRIEDMAN, has a level of attitude that surprised, and elated, me. the films use of archival footage from 1940´s NEW YORK CITY, cross-cut with new interview material about female JEWISH identity, creates a piece of film which in its short time frame (3minutes) takes you on a voyage of time, constantly re-adressing the issue of where we are headed for the future.

"HEZURBELTZAK, A COMMON GRAVE" by Basque-filmmaker IZIBENE ONEDERRA is one of my personal favouries so far. also an animated piece, it is highly evocative as it illustrates a degenerate world where its content is quite jarring. reminiscent of H.R. GEIGER´s dark, twisted sub-world where the dark is the normative and the fetischism is key, it illustrates animation and its possibilies in all its gore and glory. but beyond content and form, its essence manages to reach into, and under, one´s own thoughts and fears. see it here:



another one of my (stylistic) favourites so far, is the 3 minute short "LE DERNIER CRI" ("THE LATEST FASHION"). it´s director ERWIN OLAF is nothing short of a complete re-working of human self-illusions and the importance of style and fashion in its most perverted form. if only it had been longer!

next, "SONGS D´UNE FEMME DE MENAGE" ("CLEANING LADY´s DREAMS"), with its great use of colour and mood, offers a stylish cinematography. the human and lonely story of the the Turkish woman GÜL and her everyday-work of cleaning, has an almost ROY ANDERSSON-esque tone it its striving to bring to attention the little details of life. even though it is evident that much attention and hard work has gone into the production, the director BANU AKSEKI manages to do that which I appreciate more than anything else: doing a film where the motto "less is more" seems to have been a mantra. a quite intriguing and moving piece of film, where the human essence is at center.

"HARVEST TIME" by Finnish SAMI KORJUS is a humorous, and dark, tale of a day at a farm in the middle of FINLAND, reaching absurd levels of inter-action between human beings. the film "THREE LOVE STORIES" manages to combine archival footage with the director SVETLANA FILIPPOVA's own animated drawings, bridging the gap between reality and fiction. while doing she, she manages to almost make the animated sections seem to be more alive than the historical footage, since the style of the black and white drawings contains an urgency to it which is a stark contrast to the low-vibe feel of what seems to be a distant and strange world in the authentic archival material.

finally, the hilarious (and the most mainstream film I´ve seen here so far) "I AM BOB", with the actual SIR BOB GELDOF totally pissing on himself and his image of an international rock star slash anti-poverty icon, is a nice breather to the more heavier pieces of films in the block. rounding the block of with huge laughs and applauds, DONALD RICE´s film is a nice piece of entertainment fiction.

signs and portents

this past night didn´t offer very much sleep. I probably rolled back and forth in the bed for four hours, and met the dawn and its first shimmers of light with a grave desire for sleep. as I am in the first stages of writing the fourth draft of my feature film screenplay, this is a good sign. it tells me that finally, after several months of a severe writers block, the bits and pieces that have been collected and seized and locked away deep back in my mind, are finally starting to demand my attention.

this I have the 31st Norwegian Short Film Festival to thank for. the calmness that GRIMSTAD has provided for my mind is not to be neglected.

generalen & natten

några minuter efter midnatt. laptopen hummar lätt och det öppna fönstret bringar syre till tankarna. medan jag skriver på det nya utkastet till långfilmsmanuset strötittar jag på SIMON WEST´s täta militärdrama "THE GENERAL´S DAUGHTER". den psykologiska sparringen mellan JOHN TRAVOLTA och JAMES WOODS är makalöst välspelade scener, och cinematografin är oförskämt läcker. den här filmen är en class act all together.

IK5 - madame tutli-pupli and john lennon from the grave and beyond

freshly out from the "IK5" screening, which is the fifth block of the international short films here in GRIMSTAD, I am truly happy that the amazing and wonderful "MADAME TUTLI-PUPLI" by CHRIS LAVIS and MACIEK SZCERBOWSKI is not a part of the UIP PRIX competition here at the festival (a competition which me and my film "87" are in, though). because if it had been, me and my film would have been truly gut-fucked. the distinguished and meticulous care that has gone into this pure gem of a film is truly breathaking, and I´m really moved that the filmmakers has managed to make a puppet film seem this much alive (more so, actually, than some of the other films in the same block...). and, behold the wonders of YOUTUBE-NATION, I am able to direct each and every one of you to these following windows of cinematic genius:

the first part of the film can be seen here:



while the continuation of it can be found here:



another film which caught my eye and heart is the curiosly documentary feeling of the animated "I MET THE WALRUS", by JOSH RASKIN. based on a real life recording by then 14-year old JERRY LEVITAN in 1969, this energetic and lovely film can be seen here:



come to think of it, it is a little interesting that of the eight films shown in this block, the two that I chose to write about in this blog entry are both animated or non-live-action films (plus, the fact is that both films are CANADIAN). with it comes a moment to pause, and think. cue: reality check.

filmform a priori part 1

this morning, I sat in the PAN theatre, participating in the first lecture part of GUNNEL PETTERSON:s "FILMFORM A PRIORI 2008" series. this special section showcases experimental and non-narrative audiovisual works, stemming from FILMFORM, the Swedish archival-society, which also produces and distributes films in it catalogue. the section is thus a historical showcasing, exhibiting not only the archive´s huge collection, but also highlighting the energizing qualities of such films. in this first part, six short films were shown. on a personal level, two films stood out with their visionary elements: JAN W. MORTHENSONs "SUPERSONICS" from 1968 and "MY NAME IS OONA" by Swedish GUNVOR NELSON. the last mentioned film is a representative of the "poetic cinema" movement, but is also a highly viable example of a post-political film with propagandic tendencies. the repetetive audio-fauna is highly intoxicating and very brainwashing-esque. also "SUPERSONIC" exhibited repetitive functions, but in a more graphic form. in many ways, seeing a 1968 short film whose images are ripe with science-fiction elements, made the film seem more visionary than many of its modern successors. JAN W. MORTHENSON:s film thus has severy groovy tendencies. that, we like.

the blessings of secluded screening environments

having only spent a few hours in the small, Norwegian southern coastal town of GRIMSTAD, I´m struck by the pure brilliance of placing a major film festival in a rural area. as is the case with my personal favourite film festival, LILLA FILMFESTIVALEN i BÅSTAD (THE LITTLE FILM FESTIVAL IN BÅSTAD), the secluded milieu brings with it more than just a slower pulse: it brings a focus and an honesty to the arrangement. I suspect that the legendary film festival in TELLURIDE, COLORADO serves as a template. though I have never had the chance to go there, I think I can imagine the attraction.

as with a truly great film watching experience, the intimacy of the moment is a huge factor in the relationship between the screened and the voyeur. by making a big city´s giant offerings a non-issue, and thus employing an artistic force majeure, the experience encircles all of your doings and brings you closer to the experience, as well as slowing you down, to allow you take it all in. in short; what´s there is what´s there. i´ve been to film festivals in major cities where the machinery of running from screening to screening in opposite sides of the city becomes more important than the film watching experience in itself. the sheer magnitude of the thousand and thousand films screened comes to a point where you stop watching the films and start having meetings and making advanced excuses for not doing what you went there to do - to be engulfed into the beauty of filmmaking.

the following five days will be good to me in more ways than simply allowing me to immerse in cinematic wonders. it will bring peace and mind and a slower tempo to a mind that has been in creative overdrive for quite some time. this, I will relish.

ny bakom kulisserna featurette

nu finns äntligen filmaren JENNIFER OLDBY´s bakom-kulisserna featurette från inspelningen av min film "87" online för allmän beskådan. filmen är regisserad och klippt av JENNIFER OLDBY, och samproducerad av HEPP FILM och ANTON BENE FILM.

set pics från malmö

1st A.D. ASGER LINDGÅRD, skådespelarna MATTIAS MALMGREN och IDA GYLLENSTEN, on set.



skådespelaren MAGNUS GÖRANSSON i förgrunden; MATTIAS MALMGREN och IDA GYLLENSTEN i bakgrunden.



Director of Photography JARNO LEE VINSENCIUS.



skådespelerskan IDA GYLLENSTEN, i karaktär.



MATTIAS MALMGREN tar en paus i det ljuva vädret.



MAGNUS GÖRANSSON.



Regissören CSABA BENE PERLENBERG kollar på den föregående tagningen tillsammans med ASGER LINDGÅRD.

tankar om dagens inspelning

åter hemma efter en alldeles ljuvlig inspelningsdag i MALMÖ av min nya kortfilm. den panik och ångest jag kände kvällen innan över att hitta rätt ton och känsla försvann så fort jag anlände till setet. att vara omgiven av människor man beundrar och inspireras av, har en underbar förmåga att lösa upp inre knutar på ett förmånligt vis. att bli upplyft av andra gör att man får en brinnande längtan efter att försöka göra detsamma i gengäld.

den här filmen kommer ha den tekniskt sett högsta kvaliteten som jag någonsin gjort, och det är en skön känsla att känna att man höjer ribban. dessutom så skingrades mina inre tvivel på att jag fastnat i ett givet formspråk vad gäller entagningskonceptet - det finns lite mer därinne inom mig, trots allt, vad gäller bildbeskärning och visuellt tänkande, trots allt, verkar det som.

och imorgon, när jag fått lite sömn och arbetat undan livets nödvändiga ting, så kommer det dessutom att dyka upp ett par bilder från inspelningen.

ögonblicksskildring, on set

en kort inspelningspaus medan JARNO LEE VINSENCIUS gör ett linsbyte och en mindre kamerajustering. nästa shot är en extrem närbild på IDA GYLLENSTEN. MATTIAS MALMGREN och MAGNUS GÖRANSSON ströpratar i vardagsrummet. ASGER LINDGÅRD har koll på praktikanterna/produktionsassistenterna PETER LINDQVIST och JAKOB WADELIUS. och jag har fortfarande en inre bild av den femte och sista tagningen på mellan-närbilden och over-the-shoulder bilden som vi just tog på IDA och MATTIAS, som var den snyggaste bild jag någonsin haft i en film. JARNO är ett geni.

kvällen före inspelning

tankarna virvlar runt och förbi varandra och hittar inte riktigt någon fast ankarpunkt. oron sprider sig över de olika möjligheterna till gestaltning, och jag ifrågasätter starkt om jag vet vad det är jag vill och vad jag sysslar med. om att jag kanske kommer svika människor som jag litar på och vars hjälp jag har bett om. om det jag vill berätta egentligen är så intressant. om jag berättar alldeles för mycket. om jag vet någonting överhuvudtaget om det som jag tror är viktigt. och som vanligt känner jag mig hopplöst oförberedd. ju mer jag tänker på det, desto mindre känner jag mig. desto mer specifik jag försöker vara, desto mer fragmentarisk blir jag.

en stor del av min oro grundar sig i det som har gjort att jag uppmärksammats för det senaste året: det som kommit att bli något av mitt signum, med en-tagningsfilmer. i det stora hela har jag bara gjort två sådana filmer, i en samling av ca. 20 produktioner - men icke desto mindre är det de som givit mig mest framgång. detta, i kombination med att jag inte regisserat en "traditionell" dramaproduktion med konventionellt bildberättande och med faktiska klipp på över ett år, gör att jag känner mig lite ringrostig. det finns så mycket som kan gå riktigt, riktigt fel.

imorgon får vi reda på var jag står i förhållande till min självbild.

"87" in competition in Norway

next week, I´m finally off to one if this summers major adventures: my film "87" has been selected for OFFICIAL COMPETITION in the "NEW INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILMS" section at the NORWEGIAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL 2008. and, I´ll be there as well (with some generous help by the SWEDISH FILM FESTIVAL), all through the festival between June 12-17th. there are a bunch of other films in competition as well, and it´s going to be quite nice to delve into the reality paranthesis that a film festival is surrounded by.

sometime, it´s just good to be surrounded by folks who do the same as you do, thinks about the same things, and knows how to talk about it.

daily reports will be delivered.