Blurring boundaries

Mezipatra, the name of the Czech Republic's international queer film festival, literally means "the space between floors". It's a meeting point not only for gays, lesbians, trans- and bisexuals, but for anyone interested in queer culture and being liberated from traditional sexual and gender identities based on fixed categories like male/female and gay/straight.

The main theme this year is the third world war of genders, which means a full-scale attack on traditional sexual identities and roles, heterosexual norms, male gender superiority, and forced perceptions of the "normal" and "natural” in our society. It's also the main theme of this year's opening film, XXY, which tells the story of an intersex teenager who refuses to decide on a gender at all.

Now in its 10th year, the festival will include screenings of award-winning feature films from previous years on the Czech TV website. (Each week, a new film will be added, with all films staying online until the end of November.) Among festival director Aleš Rumpel’s picks are Reding brothers’ production Oi! Warning, which was best film in 2003, and Whole New Thing, the 2006 winner.

As part of the accompanying programme, don't miss The Other Kind of Blue exhibition at Prague’s Václav Špála Gallery, including a retrospective of the work of Derek Jarman, honoured by the festival some 15 years after his death. Other experimental works come from talented young Czech and Slovak artists such as Darina Alster, Radim Labuda and Tamara Moyzes.

More than 100 screenings will take place at Mezipatra this year. Rumpel also singles out Fig Trees, an experimental film opera about AIDS and the growing complacency around the illness. More mainstream offerings include the Norwegian film Man Who Loved Yngve. Fans of documentary should head to Against a Trans Narrative, a collage of ideas about gender transformation.

Mezipatra also boasts many workshops and lectures, including a highly recommended talk by feminist icon Jack Judith Halberstam. Oher workshops cover bisexuality, asexuality, transgender and gay-speak.

Founded in 2000, the festival began in Brno as a staging of films with lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual content under the title Duha nad Brnem or Rainbow above Brno. In 2002, it became Mezipatra, taking place in Prague and Brno, with offshoots in other Czech and Slovak towns organised by the non-profit organisation STUD.

The festival is mainly financed through state subsidies and ticket sales that barely cover its annual costs of some CZK 2 million. State funding has varied in the past, sinking as low as a few thousand Czech crowns in Brno. This year, the festival might have gone short of any subsidies in the Moravian town, had it not been for Green party representatives at the town hall who granted organisers the CZK 50,000 sum originally planned.

Rumpel says that like every other festival, Mezipatra must pay distributors for most of its films, excluding those in the main competition. Rumpel, his colleague Tereza Hendlová, who looks after media services, and all the other organisers put the festival together every year for no financial reward. There is also a chance for individuals and groups to adopt a film, an option welcomed by various audiences in previous years.

Clearly, there’s a huge need for festivals like Mezipatra. We are still a long way from an open society: The exhibition Tělo (The Body), forming part of the festival, had to be moved from the café Spolek in Brno to a new venue, Starý pivovar, due to protests from visitors.

The festival runs from 23 - 31 October in Brno and 2 - 8 November in Prague. Visit www.mezipatra.cz for the complete programme.

Marko Škop: Films Need State Funding

Marko Škop is one of the emerging
talents of Slovak documentary
cinema. With his directorial debut Iné Svety
(Other Worlds), he won over audiences at
the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
in 2006. Last year the documentary Slepé
lásky (Blind Loves), which he helped
produce, returned from Cannes with
the Art Cinema Award, and his newest
production, Osadné, about a village in
eastern Slovakia, won the Crystal Globe
in its category at Vary this year.
You’ve said that Osadné is a “directed
documentary”, meaning that you
steered the story a bit. Can you
explain how you influenced it? How
important is it to you to maintain the
purity of the documentary form?
The most fascinating and beautiful thing
about documentary is the creativity and
freedom it gives you to use different
styles. When it came to Osadné, I hope
I stayed true to all ethical standards and
factual authenticity.
The project was actually conceived
one day when I was watching the news
and happened to catch a European MP
answering questions. I discovered that any
of these guys can invite up to 100 guests
to see the European Parliament.
At that time, Jarka Sabolová, who
writes for a Ruthenian [ethnic minority]
magazine told me about this village –
Osadné, in the very east of Slovakia – that
has a very good and active Orthodox
priest, a decent mayor and a tourist trail
funded by the EU.
I already knew Fedor Vico; we’d worked
together on Iné Svety. He, in turn, knows
the politician Milan Gaľa, and so we asked
Milan to visit Osadné. He accepted and
came, which I appreciated tremendously.
And then, he invited everyone to Brussels.
So, actually the only thing I set up was
inviting Milan Gal’a. After that, we just
filmed what happened.
I shot this documentary differently
from Iné Svety, in which I, myself, spoke
on camera. With Osadné, I wanted to
try something new; we combined shots
in a more classic documentary style, for
example. Also, the characters don’t talk
directly on camera. Instead I just gave
them the topics I wanted them to cover.
They went with it from there, and we
captured that.
You’ve participated in several projects
to support film distribution such as
Doc Alliance and Docu Talents from
the East. What do you think about
these systems? Are they helpful for
documentary makers, especially
young people in the industry?
I really appreciate what Czech institutions
are doing to support documentaries,
and especially what the Institute of
Documentary Film and the Jihlava
International Documentary Film Festival
have done to help educate young
filmmakers.
It’s generally much harder to finance
a documentary than a feature film.
What has your personal experience
been with this, and what would you
recommend?
As in any endeavour, starting out is always
tough. But I think the most important
thing is that the project get support from
the state, or from some state institution.
It’s also possible to finance films through
international co-productions, but that’s
very hard to do. I admire anyone who can
finance their film like that. Also, I’d like to
thank Hypermarket Film for helping us;
their support was essential.
You’ve described yourself as a “local
documentary filmmaker”. Do you have
any plans to make films abroad?
Yes, I can totally imagine filming abroad.
I’ve already shot in Kosovo after the war.
But it’s true that eastern Slovakia is a
subject that interests me a lot, and there’s
still plenty of inspiration for me there.
Your documentaries Iné Svety and
Osadné, as well as Slepé lásky, which
you co-produced, have been honoured
with prizes. Which filmmakers have
inspired you most?
In terms of Czech film, I’d have to say
Karel Vachek for his gifts as a philosopher
and an instructor and Helena Třeštíková
for her humanity and hard work. Looking
at the filmmakers of my generation, I’d
single out Miroslav Janek for his integrity
and creative abilities. And then there’s
Vít Klusák, Jan Gogola, Pavel Abrahám,
Lucie Králová, Filip Remunda and Martin
Mareček. I hope I didn’t forget anyone. •

Movies for the Masses

Young people hold plastic cups of
beer in one hand and paper plates
with sausages in the other while they
chat about the films they just saw or
last night’s parties. This exterior shot of
the Hotel Thermal, built during the peak
of communist-era panel construction,
represents the first scene for visitors
at the Karlovy Vary International Film
Festival (KVIFF). Walk further into the
hotel, past the main hall and up the stairs,
and you find those who came with other
motives. Up-and-coming filmmakers
present new work to their cashhandling
counterparts in the industry,
who are there to scout new genius.
Directors, producers and distributors
talk shop, always surrounded by a herd
of journalists straining ears to catch the
latest on who’s doing what, where and
when.
Jarosław Szoda, an award-winning
Polish cinematographer, said that what
makes Karlovy Vary so special is that it
exists for the fans who are here to see
the films, unlike Cannes or Berlin, which
are festivals that mainly draw visitors
interested in the cinema market. KVIFF
manages to combine the best of both
worlds: It’s a festival for the people, as
well as a meeting point for filmmakers.
Backpackers and celebrities rub
shoulders as they pass each other in the
halls, only to meet later for a chat at one
of the afternoon discussions organised
as part of the festival.
At a master class on 10 July, visitors
had a chance to talk to one of the many
big stars to have visited the spa town over
the years, John Malkovich, who received
the Crystal Globe for Outstanding
Contribution to World Cinema. Around
town, they were also able to catch
glimpses of Antonio Banderas, who gave
out smiles and autographs all around and
was an indisputable favourite among the
many female film fans. He received the
Award of the Festival President. Other
notable guests included two young
talents of American independent cinema.
Scott Sanders made the audience laugh
so hard with Black Dynamite, his satirical
take on 1970s blaxploitation films, that
it seemed as though the creaky old
Thermal might actually collapse. Cary
Joji Fukunaga’s Sin Nombre was another
highly praised work.
Longer lines
More and more, crowds come here
to fill the halls and wait in line each
morning for their daily dose of movies.
To stand a chance of getting tickets for
the most popular films screened at the
festival this year, fans had to wake up
at the crack of dawn and wait for hours
in front of the halls. Soliman Fanzi, a
journalist from Cairo who has been
coming to the festival for more than
40 years, told me that in the early days,
the only hall where films were screened
was at the luxurious Grandhotel Pupp,
up the water from the Thermal. Today
there are 14 halls, ranging from the posh
atmosphere of the Municipal Theatre to
Espace Dorleans, an inflated tent.
This year, a new multipurpose hall,
the KV Arena, saw its premiere screening
with the war drama Tobruk shown in
4K, the latest advance in digital film
presentation. The hall, which has a
capacity of 1,000, will become one of
the regular venues next year. As this
new screening venue opened, rumours
spread about the fate of Hotel Thermal,
a state-owned establishment that is
reportedly severely cash-strapped and
being considered for privatisation. “As
long as the hotel is run by the state,
the festival’s location will remain the
same,” KVIFF president Jiří Bartoška told
journalists. “We don’t know whether a
private investor wouldn’t want to use it
for some other purpose.”
Festival buzz
Usually, the youth from Karlovy Vary
welcome the buzz the festival brings
as well as the various club scenes that
are built especially for the occasion. At
the Captain Morgan tent, which stands
right next to the Hotel Thermal, visitors
dance to the latest radio hits until the
early morning hours. Aeroport, a stage
in the former Česká spořitelna building,
is another popular venue. On the
final night of the festival, I struck up
a conversation with one of the young
people on the dance floor. Jirka said
he wasn’t very interested in films, but
he enjoys the clubs. He regretted that
it would all be packed up and closed
down the next day. I asked what would
be happening in the building for the
rest of the year. “Here?” he asked,looking around sadly. “There’s nothing
here.”
Not everyone is pleased with the
annual crush of visitors the festival brings.
A local pensioner, for example, grumbled
that the festival is mainly for Praguers,
who bring everything they need, hire
companies to build all the stages and
then take everything back once the show
is over. The locals, he said, don’t benefit
from the festival at all.
Still, the thousands of visitors have to
sleep and eat somewhere and they also
party it up in the numerous clubs around
town. “It’s like with the Russians,” said
Jaroslav Šafránek, a school inspector
who lives near the spa town. “Everybody
says how bad it is that they come here,
but actually they bring a lot of money to
the town.”
The festival has come a long way
since its foundation in 1946, surviving
a history that includes the turbulent
years of pro-regime screenings and
normalisation that lasted until 1989.
Some years, the festival didn’t even take
place. In 1990, the festival introduced a
series of Czechoslovak films that were
banned during the communist era. Since
Jiří Bartoška and Eva Zaoralová took over
management in 1994, the festival has
blossomed, attracting more and more
people every year until 2008, when
it sold a record 140,000 tickets. By
comparison, this year saw 131,293 single
screenings purchased, but accreditation
sales were up, at 10,277 versus 9,054
for last year. The festival has hosted such
film stars as Robert De Niro, Leonardo
DiCaprio, Sharon Stone, Roman Polanski,
Morgan Freeman, Whoopi Goldberg,
Sean Connery, Michael Douglas, Robert
Redford, Miloš Forman and Andy
García. Last year it began screening
festival trailers featuring stars awarded
the Crystal Globe for Outstanding
Contribution to World Cinema.
When the jury picked Amélie for
the Crystal Globe in 2001, for example,
and that film subsequently won over
millions of people worldwide, no doubt
remained that Karlovy Vary had taken its
rightful place among the better-known
European events such as Cannes, Berlin
and Venice. •
i n f o c us
22 prague monitor magazine | 05 2009 | 24 July - 13 August

KVIFF results are in

As John Malkovich watched clips selected from all his films and received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema, everyone including myself, held their breath in anticipation of this year's winner of the festival's Official Selection in Competition.

When Marek Eben announced the name of the winner being the Belgian-Canadian co-production Un ange à la mer (Angel at Sea), my tip for the winner, I was especially pleased. The film is a real artistic masterpiece and will leave you moved for several hours after you leave the cinema. Olivier Gourmet also won the Best Actor award for the role of the manic-depressive father and shared the award with Paul Giamatti for his role in Cold Souls.

The Iranian film Bist (Twenty), a story about employees of an eatery in Iran, who have twenty days to sort out their lives, before its closure was awarded a special mention by the jury, a decision I respect the jury for.

Marko Škop's Osadné, which tells the story of a small village in east Slovakia and the struggles of an Orthodox priest, the village's long-serving mayor and a Ruthenian activist and their journey to Brussels, won the best documentary over 30 minutes award.

The winner of the special section characteristic for the Karlovy Vary festival East of the West was Poltory komnaty ili sentimentalnoje putěšestvije na rodinu (Room and a Half).

Paprika Steen was awarded a the best actress award for her intense performance as an actress trying to overcome an alcohol addiction in Applause, a film by the Danish director Martin Pieter Zandvliet.

The audience award went, as expected, to the lightly humorous Sipur Gadol (A Matter of Size), which Eva Zaoralová, the fest's artistic director, said is a movie that perhaps interests the audience as they themselves solve similar problems in their everyday lives.

What a festival it has been and there's much more to come in our special report in the next issue of the Prague Monitor Magazine.

Day nine: Banderas and a goodbye

The biggest star to walk the red carpet on Friday arrived in Karlovy Vary in good humour and gave smiles all around to the crowds that were waiting for him for more than two hours in the rain, all just to catch a glimpse of the famous actor: Antonio Banderas.

Earlier that day, replying to a question about one of the roles that brought him his current fame, Zoro, he smiled and said, "I knew it would be a pretty big thing when Stephen Spielberg asked me whether I know the character during an Oscar night back in 1994. I said yes. Than he asked me if I wanted to play the part. I said yes. It was as simple as that," he said smiling.

Starting as a theatre actor, he acted in many Pedro Almodóvar's films. He says the director is a genius, but hard to work with.

He also recalled his stay in Prague in 1992 where he was shooting here for seven months. He remembered the Prague Castle, the Charles Bridge, Malá Strana asked everyone "Jak se máš?", wished "Dobré odpoledne" and said "díky".

Banderas introduced his film El camino de los ingleses (Summer Rain), which is a coming-of-age story inspired by a Antonio Soler's novel and his own reflections on growing up in Malaga. When asked about the not-so-good reviews it received, Banderas said he just wanted to shoot the story his way and did not think about the critics or how well it did in the box office.

On Friday, as John Malkovich asked how many people saw his The Dancer Upstairs, following a question how many saw the Transformers, making the packed Grand Hall burst out in laughter. Jan Švankmajer received the Crystal Globe for Outstanding Artistic Contribution to World Cinema in the stunning atmosphere of the Municipal Theatre from the hands of the festival's president, Jiří Bartoška.

As the festival ends, all that will be left of the fame and glory and the glitter of the stars that walked the red carpet this year will be packed, dismantled, stuffed into boxes and vans, hauled back to Prague and stored for next year.

Nearly 123,000 tickets were sold, tonnes of beer drunk at the Hotel Thermal terrace and the accompanying concerts. Crowds burst out in an uncontrollable laughter during a screening of Black Dynamite and screamed with fear and disgust during Antikrist.

Yet again, it rained, but the weather did not discourage the patient independent film lovers, who used their Festival Daily to shield themselves from the elements.

This might be the last entry of our blog, but look out for our special festival report coming up in the Prague Monitor Magazine.

Day eight: More Malkovich

John Malkovich was the biggest star of the festival yesterday, and here are some reflections of what he had to say.

Since he has acted in more than 70 films, I asked him at yesterday's press conference what role he felt suited him the most. Despite initial hesitation, he eventually answered it was a role he played in the movie Colour Me Kubrick: "In that movie I impersonated a character that walked around pretending he was Stanley Kubrick. And throughout my life, I walk around pretending to be John Malkovich." The journalists chuckled.

It might be easier to understand what he meant if you've already heard him speak before. The brilliant actor has his own typical style of responding. "I always think before I speak," says Malkovich. And he clearly means what he says.

Apart from being on tour with his new play Infernal Comedy, which has just finished playing in Vienna and will continue in Spain, he is also scheduled to meet with former Czech president Václav Havel, who, he says, is a very bright man. Malkovich has read Havel's latest play Odcházení (Leaving), as well as his Letters to Olga, which Havel wrote while in prison.

When asked whether he prefers working in film or in theatre, Malkovich answered without hesitation: "They are like two distinct cousins, you cannot compare... It's like when some musicians play more than one instrument."

And has he covered all the themes he wanted in his movies? "No," he said. "And not because there weren't enough chances." Malkovich has several projects going on at the moment, most of them to be shot in the United States; however, at least two of them should be filmed in central Europe.

Besides Malkovich, another big star to come to the festival is Antonio Banderas, one of the most popular actors today. He arrived at the spa town yesterday night.

Finally a tip: The long-awaited concert of Jaromír Nohavica will take place tonight, starting at 10pm at Poštovní dvůr. If you haven't already got your tickets, make sure to get them soon because the performance of this renowned Czech lyricist and musician is not to be missed.

Day seven: Malkovich mania

The arrival of one of the greatest personalities in the film world to Prague on Tuesday was just as classy as the actor, director, and producer himself. His smiling face as he got off the Pendolino train was printed in all of yesterday's papers and appeared on numerous websites. His arrival at the festival also generated a great deal of excitement in Karlovy Vary.

I'm talking about one of the most anticipated guest to the festival this year John Malkovich, of course. Today, you can catch the actor at numerous places and I'll some them up for you here:

Apart from the usual press conference, John Malkovich will also hold a Master Class available to everyone, which will be held today at 7pm at the Zender Hall, Lazne 1. Be on time as the doors close at 7pm sharp and the seats are limited.

On Friday, John Malkovich will be present at the screening of his directorial debut from 2002, The Dancer Upstairs, starring the Academy Award winner Javier Bardem, at 5 pm at the Grand Hall. A feature-length documentary co-produced by John Malkovich's production company Mr. Mudd portraying three children on their journey in Latin America Which Way Home to be released this autumn directed by the award-winning Rebecca Cammisa will also be screened on Friday and Saturday.

Apart from that, arrival of Antonio Banderas is also expected today, who will greet the crowds on the red carpet and introduce his El camino de los ingleses (Summer Rain) screening at the Grand Hall of Hotel Thermal on Friday, 9:30pm.

As the premieres of the main competition go on, the anticipated premiere of Nem vagyok a barátod (I Am Not Your Friend) of the controversial director György Pálfi was screened yesterday. The director introduced the film to the packed hall as a "no budget" film and encouraged everyone just to grab a camera after the screening and shoot their own film. "You all can be standing here instead of us next year", Pálfi said. "All acting and camera was fully improvised and nearly all scenes shot on only one take, so if the actor decided to take the story from the apartment to the street, the camera had to follow", he told the reporters earlier.

Shot only in twenty days, I was surprised how well the film has turned out and how excellent the actors were. Indeed, all is possible with a little bit of guts, invention, and a team of people who can stick it through together till the end and make a project come through.

As the weekend approaches, the crowds are slowly returning for the peak of the festival, so here are some more tips on what's on tomorrow outside of the screening halls.

Since the festival has begun, Poštovní dvůr has held several concerts and tomorrow won't be any exception, so you can drop by for a performance of a Czech band Laura a její tygři or if you feel like "rocking the show", you can spend the evening at the Voskar Rock Fest in Březová near the town.

And, since I know one can't go to bed with empty stomach, I have another option where to dine if you feel like having a bite as late as 11 pm and have already had enough of sausages and halušky. Stop by at the Italian restaurant Pizzeria Re Carlo, Moskevská 910/5 (5 minutes walk from Hotel Thermal). They're open non-stop throughout the festival and will serve you your favourite pizza, pasta, or salad and a nice glass of wine even before midnight.