'Documentary, tool to understand people'

Ally Derks, chairwoman of the jury for the EBS International Documentary Festival, talks about the festival during an interview at the Koreana Hotel, Seoul, Tuesday. / Yonhap

By Baek Byung-yeul

The documentary film festival “EBS International Documentary Festival” (EIDF) launched by the state-run Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) in 2004 is recognized for its unique character in allowing attendees to enjoy high-quality documentaries.

Ally Derks, chairwoman of the jury for this year’s EIDF running through Aug. 30, said she tried to select films that have both “form and content” during the judging process.

“I think it is very important to find a balance between form and content. So film that is only experimental and has no content is not something we will show at the festival,” Derks said in an interview with The Korea Times at the Koreana Hotel in central Seoul, Tuesday.

The Dutch chairwoman is acclaimed for turning the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) into one of the world’s most influential film festivals while serving as its director for 26 years. She has also been on the juries of renowned festivals such as Sundance and has won several awards for her contribution to documentary filmmaking including the Doc Mogul Award, an honor given to those who have made an essential contribution in the documentary film industry.

Derks said there has been a great deal of improvement in EIDF compared to a decade ago when she took part as a jury member. “I am honored to be here as a head jury member. I can tell the festival has grown enormously in 10 years. I love the selection of the films,” she said.

When explaining the role of documentaries, Derks said they can be great tools to understand people we don’t really know.

“I think a documentary is a very important tool to start dialogue between different cultures, different religions and different people. As we all come from different backgrounds, we all have different stories to tell,” she said.

Derks also praised Asian documentaries for showing great improvement in terms of content and quality.

“My perspective on Asian documentaries is that they are likely to be more creative, which means a film has a personal point of view coming from the director’s reality. So it’s not objective because a director has his or her own point of view. And the quality has improved so much compared to 10 or 15 years ago. We show more and more films from Asian countries at the IDFA,” she said.

She also urged more people to join the festival as they can talk directly with the directors. “The directors are there so that they can have a discussion with the audience. I really think that helps to understand each other better,” she said.

With the slogan of “Connecting the World,” the 12th EIDF consists of five sections ― “Festival Choice,” a competitive section that chooses the best among nine films, “Korean Doc Panorama,” “Now in Asia,” “World Showcase” and “EIDF Focus.” While 805 films from 81 countries were submitted to the EDIF, only 52 films from 32 countries that passed the screening process will be featured at the festival.

Participants can enjoy the films at venues throughout Seoul. For more information, visit www.edif.co.kr.