Docu-fest touches universal issues

By Han Sang-hee

The 7th EBS International Documentary Festival (EIDF) is kicking off this month amid high expectations for a bigger and better event than previous years.

A total of 536 works from 83 countries will compete for the grand prize of 10 million won and also be screened for local audiences at various venues and channels including on television.

Launched in 2004, the EIDF started with 115 works and gradually grew to become one of Asia’s favorite docu-fests. Along with top documentary events, including Canadian international documentary festival Hot Docs and Sunnyside of the Doc held in France, the festival is aiming to present more interesting and creative works and also invite and learn from top documentary experts through master classes.

Under the theme ``Flying Over,’’ the festival will have docu-fans tuning their channels to EBS and checking the schedules for screenings at EBS Space, Arthouse Momo and the Korea Foundation Culture Center this month.

The films

The Festival Choice, the official competitive section, will have 12 works from around the world vying for various prizes, such as the Grand Prize (10 million won), Documentary Spirit Award (7 million won) and Judges’ Choice Award (5 million won).

Korean director Yi Seung-jun’s ``Planet of Snail’’ will open the week-long festival. The 70-minute film was made with the help of the EIDF Documentary Funding program and features the love and life of Jo Young-chan who suffers from a sight and hearing disability.

Meanwhile, Swedish film ``Beauty Refugee’’ (2009) by Claudia Lisboa is a humorous 58-minute work that deals with plastic surgery.

``It shows the optimistic mindset of the director who was born in Brazil. It’s fun and pleasant and really makes you think about why the director decided not to go under the knife despite all her family members who did,’’ said Song Ji-hyun, programmer for the festival.

Fellow film ``Disco and Atomic War’’ (2009) is a witty and provocative film that shows how Estonians watched American television during the Cold War by fabricating television antennas. The film further depicts how Western popular culture played a role in shaping the perspectives of Soviet children through the eyes of a young boy. The film won the Best Documentary prize at the Warsaw Film Festival in 2009 and also the New Vision Award 2010 at the Rome Independent Film Festival in 2010.

The Award-winning International Documentaries section will offer four famous works _ ``The Cove’’ (2009), ``Into Great Silence’’ (2005), ``Man on Wire’’ (2008) and ``Sicko’’ (2007) _ that have already received numerous awards from various documentary festivals and offer viewers more upscale works by renowned masters.

Viewers can also tune into documentaries that focus on Asia through the Asian Documentaries section. A total of six films by Asian directors will meet fans this time and according to programmer Song, all of them hold an important meaning in capturing the unique Asian sentiment.

``Building 173’’ (2009) takes viewers to building 173 in Shanghai where the director Charlotte Mikkelborg presents Chinese history through the lives of the tenants and the owner. Life, death and also survival are revived through various photos and animation.

At the All about Life section, viewers will get to experience the power and meaning of ordinary people and learn to appreciate their own lives through the modest and mundane tales of our neighbors. Learn about the world’s largest garbage village in Cairo through ``Garbage Dreams’’ (2009) or look back into your relationship with loved ones through ``The Kids Grow Up.’’ (2009)

The environment has become an important topic for documentaries over the years and the EIDF is offering a section dedicated to the nature around us. The Eco 360 section will feature the relationship between humans and the environment through five interesting works such as ``Addicted to Plastic’’ (2008), ``A Place Without People’’ (2009) and ``Saving Luna’’ (2007).

``Challenges’’ is a documentary project series by the European Broadcasting Union that deals with children facing and overcoming various challenges in their lives. The EIDF arranged this section to introduce more works about children and further encourage directors to express creative ideas, as shown in some works such as ``Dancing Life’’ (2008), ``Finding Harmony’’ (2009) and ``Merle’’ (2008).

``The concentration and seriousness these children show for their first challenges is the answer to human kind’s existence,’’ festival organizers explained through a press release. Short, easy and beautiful would be the best way to describe the Beautiful Shorts section, as it brings mini documentaries dealing with dreams, appearances, artists and Hemingway.

For those who missed the EIDF last year, not to worry as the inspiring works of 2009 are returning to the small screen. Journey along the hills of Tibet in search of the next spiritual leader with ``Unmistaken Child’’ (2008) or look into the world of ``producing’’ babies through ``Google Baby’’ (2009), which will be aired with three other works.

Special events

For those who wish to delve deeper into the world of documentaries, attend one of the Master Classes or Director Classes. Academy Award-winning documentary director Pepe Danquart, who is also head judge of the EIDF will give a lecture titled ``Crossing between lectures’’ on Aug. 24 at 7:30 at EBS Space, while Monique Simard, Director General of the French Program at the National Film Board of Canada, will also hold a special lecture about the basics of documentary-making called ``From pitching to funding’’ the following day at the same time and venue.

Directors who have submitted their works to the EIDF are scheduled to also meet fans and aspiring directors for special classes.

Claudia Lisboa who made ``Beauty Refugee’’ will join ``Portrait of a Man’’ director ``Visa Koiso-Kanttila for a class on documentaries focusing on characters while Jody Hasset Sanchez (``SOLD: Fighting the New Global Slave Trade,’’ 2009), Fan Lixin (``Last Train Home,’’ 2009) and Jaak Kilmi (``Disco and Atomic War,’’ 2009) will also give lectures to aspiring directors. Separate Q&A sessions by directors will also be available for some films at EBS Space and Arthouse Momo.

The annual EIDF will be held from Aug. 23 to 29 at various venues including EBS Space and Arthouse Momo. Most of the films will also be aired on EBS during the festival period, enabling anyone to turn on the television and enjoy the creativity and intensity of documentaries without having to leave home. For more information on the venues and screening schedules, visit www.eidf.org.