As we reach the end of One World Bratislava, talk in the Nisimazine office is turning to summarising the highlights of the week and the range of important issues tackled. From Burmese repression to the Arab Spring, from climate change to the fight for net neutrality – the programme has certainly offered a broad snapshot of current affairs.
Meanwhile, outside of the workshop bubble, it’s been hard not to notice a number of rapidly paced and mostly alarming developments going on in the world (…)
♦ Introduction
This blog is a place for all contributors of Nisimazine to continue to write, photograph, make video and discuss cinema together after the workshops. An extension of the magazine, this is a free space to keep sharing new insights and experiences through reviews, essays, quotes, interviews and festival reports. You can join any conversation by posting comments. So…, let’s go !
Wednesday 7 December 2011Editorial Nisimazine Jeden Svet #6
By Jude Lister (UK), 7 December 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Saturday 3 December 2011The Wolf Has Howled
By Getter Trumsi (Estonia), 3 December 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Christmas comes early for movie-enthusiasts who find exciting presents under the tree during the Black Nights Film Festival (PÖFF). Similar to kids, the film-fanatics want different things, for instance new experiences and everything from documentaries to feature films, from North-America to Asia. Thus, PÖFF is organized perfectly just to benefit everybody with a variety of choices and opportunities to satisfy their cinematic-needs.
In 2011 PÖFF and the wolf (the symbol of the festival) (…)
In 2011 PÖFF and the wolf (the symbol of the festival) (…)
Editorial Nisimazine Jeden Svet #3
By Lydia Castellano (France), 3 December 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en] [fr]
Here we are in beautiful but freezing Bratislava, with high expectations for the week becoming real facts day by day. The Jeden Svet Festival is full of films to watch, people to meet and places to visit, things to write, to say, and to dream about… and we want to do it all at the same time.
Is it possible? Well, of course not. But as adept multi-taskers in a hyperconnected era, we will try our best, in sickness and in health. The rhythm is getting quicker and quicker as days go by, and (…)
Is it possible? Well, of course not. But as adept multi-taskers in a hyperconnected era, we will try our best, in sickness and in health. The rhythm is getting quicker and quicker as days go by, and (…)
Editorial Nisimazine Jeden Svet #5
By Johannes Bennke (Germany), 3 December 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [de] [en]
Violated human rights, catastrophes, dictatorships, ecology and revolution - after four days of the festival a panorama of topics has unfolded, which the One World Festival rallies around and which is kept under the label of activist cinema. It’s a label that sets the relation between the filmmaker and the engagement in a special light.
If one tries carefully to give an overview of the films, it seems that the least surprising request is to show injustice and put the persons responsible in (…)
If one tries carefully to give an overview of the films, it seems that the least surprising request is to show injustice and put the persons responsible in (…)
Friday 2 December 2011Editorial Nisimazine Jeden Svet #4
By Martin Kudláč (Slovakia), 2 December 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
You’ve gotta fight… for your right… na informácie. Takto presne to neznie v známej pesničke z osemdesiatych rokov, ale zámena slova ,,párty” za ,,informácie” bola úmyselná. V demokratických krajinách by ste nemali bojovať za svoje práva. Mať práva by malo byť prirodzené, no nie vždy to tak je. Globálne médiá sa prehlásili za moderné orákulum. Boli všade, sú všade, vedia všetko. Ako je možné, že my nevieme všetko? Aj keď strávime denne dve hodiny sledovaním správ, v ktorých je kvantum informácií, stále nám chýba (…)
Editorial
By Albina Griniūtė (Lithuania), 2 December 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
You know how it is: the film finishes, there is the director or somebody from the crew present – time for a short Q&A session. From this point on, different scenarios can develop: a) the audience sits quietly and lets the presenter do the talking; b) half of the audience stands up and leaves, the other half manages to come up with a few polite questions to break the uncomfortable silence; c) the audience bursts into applause and keeps the filmmaker talking for the next half hour until the (…)
Wednesday 30 November 2011Editorial Nisimazine Jeden Svet #2
By Jens Geiger (Germany), 30 November 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [de] [en]
One of the crucial problems encountered while shooting political documentaries is a very practical one: political processes don’t tend to obey production schedules. The only thing a director can do sometimes is react – or not shoot at all. Occasionally this simple truth can be applied also to documentary film festivals. We could experience it yesterday during the opening ceremony of the One World Festival in Bratislava: the Slovakian Prime Minister Iveta Radičova was supposed to speak, but (…)
The Festival Idiot
By Getter Trumsi (Estonia), 30 November 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
As I wake up for my third day at the PÖFF I feel tired but excited at the same time. There is nothing better than to start the day off with talking about movies, then thinking about movies, and at the end of the day watching some movies.
Since I have seen many movies by now I am almost dreaming about the red seats in one of the cinemas in Tallinn, Solaris. So I was pretty thrilled to go there to see The Idiot (2011), an Estonian film which is based on Dostoyevsky’s novel by the same name. (…)
Since I have seen many movies by now I am almost dreaming about the red seats in one of the cinemas in Tallinn, Solaris. So I was pretty thrilled to go there to see The Idiot (2011), an Estonian film which is based on Dostoyevsky’s novel by the same name. (…)
Tuesday 29 November 2011Editorial Nisimazine Jeden Svet #1
By Michaela Pňačeková (Slovakia), 29 November 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
The One World Festival connects two great passions of mine: cinema and activism. So it is amazing that Nisimazine is going to reflect on activist cinema at this festival for the first time. Human rights films have something extraordinary to them – the specific aim to change the world and fight injustice via cinematic means. Such cinema has to be intrinsically political and challenging. Thus at festivals such as this one, there is no glitter and very little ’business’; however, there is much (…)
Monday 28 November 2011Editorial
By Helka Heinonen (Finland), 28 November 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
The word PÖFF is cool. It reminds of “pöh”, the Finnish expression used for mild mocking, which is transformed by the double “f” in the end into something witty, rather a surprising, playful dispatch with a positive accent. Something you could say to try to be a bit negative and actually ending up just being glad and daft in a cosy way. Like a lopsided smile in the darkness. _ _
We’re staying in the cellar of a house from the 15th century, basically inside the rocky hill of the old town. Some of (…)
We’re staying in the cellar of a house from the 15th century, basically inside the rocky hill of the old town. Some of (…)
Editorial
By Jorė Janavičiūtė (Lithuania), 28 November 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
When you first come to the festival you cannot dispose the feeling that you are lost. Complete chaos is everywhere. You do not know what to do, from where to start etc. This feeling can be described nearly as Paul`s from Scorsese`s After Hours when he cannot escape the district of Soho which has gone mad. This is especially true when you are experiencing the festival called the Black Nights in Tallinn, Estonia. This happened to me when I came to Nisimazine film criticism workshop during (…)
Friday 21 October 2011Editorial
By Celluloid Liberation Front, 21 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
“Deserts possess a particular magic, since they have exhausted their own futures, and are thus free of time. Anything erected there, a city, a pyramid, a motel, stands outside time. It’s no coincidence that religious leaders emerge from the desert. Modern shopping malls have much the same function. A future Rimbaud, Van Gogh or Adolf Hitler will emerge from their timeless wastes.” ― J.G. Ballard, The Atrocity Exhibition
There definitely is something deeply cinematic about Abu Dhabi; all is (…)
There definitely is something deeply cinematic about Abu Dhabi; all is (…)
Thursday 20 October 2011Editorial
By Fuad Hindieh (Palestine), 20 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [ar] [en]
Everybody is rushing to reach the screenings on time, they need to arrive at least half an hour early to guarantee their seats. If you don’t hold a ticket, you may be subjected to standing in a queue as if you were queuing for food stamps. If you are lucky, you may be able to get through and continue your film experience. The volunteers checked my ticket and wished me a pleasant viewing, insisting on saying it in English.
The enthusiastic audience floods into the hall, scanning the area (…)
The enthusiastic audience floods into the hall, scanning the area (…)
Wednesday 19 October 2011Editorial
By Celluloid Liberation Front, 19 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [ar] [en]
Twelve people killed in Yemen, protesters clash with police in Rome. The citizens of Tokyo, Paris, Athens, Washington, London, Madrid, Berlin, Hong Kong, and New York air their views on financial terrorism; some are arrested… The construction workers outside our windows are always the same, they don’t seem to need rest.
We watch films about the Egyptian revolution, we petition against the imprisonment of Iranian artists, but we don’t seem to connect the dots. In our opinion there are (…)
We watch films about the Egyptian revolution, we petition against the imprisonment of Iranian artists, but we don’t seem to connect the dots. In our opinion there are (…)
Tuesday 18 October 2011Editorial
By Ali Shujaa Al Afeefi (United Arab Emirates), 18 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [ar] [en]
Only five days left of the 5th edition of Abu Dhabi Film Festival. If you don’t know enough what’s coming next, don’t worry! Nisimazine journalists are here to give you the latest updates on today’s events, and will still be present the next few days with new issues to guide you.
Today many events take place at the festival. We would suggest you not to miss this afternoon’s master class at 2:30 p.m. about ‘Naguib Mahfouz: Man of Cinema’, a panel discussion which highlights the writer’s (…)
Today many events take place at the festival. We would suggest you not to miss this afternoon’s master class at 2:30 p.m. about ‘Naguib Mahfouz: Man of Cinema’, a panel discussion which highlights the writer’s (…)
Editorial
By Mohamed Beshir (Egypt), 18 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [ar] [en]
Is it possible to conduct a conversation about Egypt nowadays without tackling the revolution? According to secluded Egyptian screenplay writer Mustafa Zikri “The politician is being home-delivered now.”
The surge of artwork and films that peaked right after the revolution, as an immediate reaction to it, was somehow expected from such a youth-driven struggle. Yet the overriding stance from critics and art curators in Egypt was not as excited, unsurprisingly because of the expected (…)
The surge of artwork and films that peaked right after the revolution, as an immediate reaction to it, was somehow expected from such a youth-driven struggle. Yet the overriding stance from critics and art curators in Egypt was not as excited, unsurprisingly because of the expected (…)
Monday 17 October 2011Editorial
By Ziad Abdul Samad (UAE), 17 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [ar] [en]
A film festival changed my life. The 2007 International Film Festival of India was supposed to be an excuse to skip college to get high on a beach in Goa. Instead I almost ended up living at the movie theater; sustained on a diet of visual enlightenment and caramel-cheese popcorn (another revelation), and sleeping during the Chinese period movies.
It was like seeing a painting for the first time. Until then, serious cinema did not exist for me. Movies had meant Hollywood or Bollywood. (…)
It was like seeing a painting for the first time. Until then, serious cinema did not exist for me. Movies had meant Hollywood or Bollywood. (…)
Editorial
By Fuad Hindieh (Palestine), 17 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [ar] [en]
Under the special program section, the festival celebrates the 100th anniversary of the birth of Naguib Mahfouz, the only Arab writer who won the Nobel Prize of Literature in 1988. It also celebrates the 150th anniversary of the birth of Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore who became ‘the first non-European Nobel’ by earning the Prize in 1913.
Mahfouz and Tagore are representatives of their countries, which they contributed to put on the cultural map. They tell stories about their nations and (…)
Mahfouz and Tagore are representatives of their countries, which they contributed to put on the cultural map. They tell stories about their nations and (…)
Friday 14 October 2011Editorial
By Janka Barkóczi (Hungary), 14 October 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [ar] [en]
One year passed and we are here again. We hope you are well and had a great time since we lastly met, just as great as we definitely had. This is already the 6th year in the history of Nisimazine workshops and the second together with Abu Dhabi Film Festival. We are a group of cinephile journalists working in an international network; we remain young, as we hope, forever. If you associate with our team for the festival, we will invite you to travel around the whole world since we ourselves (…)
Thursday 15 September 2011Editorial Nisimazine Special Orizzonti
By Matthieu Darras (France), 15 September 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
For five years the name ‘Nisimazine’ has been signifying a renewed opportunity of international trainings for young film critics, and the publication of daily magazines at various film festivals all over the world (Cannes, IDFA, Abu Dhabi, Rio de Janeiro… just to name a few). As we like to keep in contact with our previous participants and as NISI MASA at large aims to establish a long-term network for young film talents to develop themselves, we thought of proposing something ‘special’ to (…)
Thursday 19 May 2011Editorial Nisimazine Cannes 2011 #7
By Maria Ulfsak (Estonia), 19 May 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
With all the journalists around in Cannes, it has made me wonder about the profession of a film critic. Who is a professional film critic? Stereotypically it used to be a grumpy elderly man or woman (more often a man), with dirty glasses and a pack of cigarettes, writing for a daily newspaper. These days film journalism and film criticism has changed a lot. Because of the recession there is less space in the newspapers for the culture, and film journalists and critics have been amongst the (…)
Wednesday 18 May 2011Editorial Nisimazine Cannes 2011 #6
By Levente Czehelszki (Hungary), 18 May 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
I’m standing in front of the cloakroom before an early screening of Gus Van Sant’s Restless, a movie I was really looking forward to watch. The line is so huge that my partner was left behind, and it’s highly unlikely for her to get in, as the theater was already filled with the crème of the penguin imitators.
I’m going into the cinema, where people are desperately fighting for the last seats. The bodyguard kindly sends me to the upper level, but I cannot enter the stairs, as another security (…)
I’m going into the cinema, where people are desperately fighting for the last seats. The bodyguard kindly sends me to the upper level, but I cannot enter the stairs, as another security (…)
Tuesday 17 May 2011Editorial Nisimazine Cannes 2011 #5
By Lukas Traber (Austria), 17 May 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
When I was about to attend my first screening here at the Cannes Film Festival, I was understandably quite excited. I got there half an hour early - or at least what I thought was early, because then it turned out that I got the time wrong and the film actually started one hour later. That wasn’t a bad thing though, because I hadn’t yet had a moment to realize that I had finally arrived in Cannes - a place I had wanted to go since my father explained to me what this festival was about and (…)
Monday 16 May 2011Editorial Nisimazine Cannes 2011 #4
By Anne-Sophie Meusburger (Austria), 16 May 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Today we reached halfway of the festival. Time to pause and reflect upon whether Cannes has so far lived up to our expectations. For those people who have attended the festival since the beginning, the overwhelming frenzy has already given way to an adjusted and well organized rhythm. Wake up early, sort out the program, rush to the screening and find a seat. You are probably by now used to plunge yourself into crowded areas to get a ticket for Tree of Life, to take a picture with Tilda (…)
Sunday 15 May 2011Editorial Nisimazine Cannes 2011 #3
By Lubos Bisto (Slovakia), 15 May 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Let’s imagine that the Cannes Film Festival is a film. It is not a film featuring the stars, nor a documentary about what happens in Cannes. It is a multi-genre piece that can only be seen once in a lifetime. No reruns are possible. Everyone involved with the festival is a star in this movie. The old star system has to make way to the new rising stars of Cannes. We all have our parts and we all have to stage something during the course of the festival. Sooner or later, we all explore what (…)
Saturday 14 May 2011Editorial Nisimazine Cannes 2011 #2
By Patrícia Veszprémi (Hungary), 14 May 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Films either deliberately or unconsciously convey the national identity of their makers. By watching films with an insightful eye, one can capture a picture of their origin. There are few places as multinational as Cannes in May: the town is like a great melting pot of people, countries and film cultures. If you stand for fifteen minutes on any walkway of the festival, the whole world passes by. The global village of world cinema meets in Cannes. So, be prepared for a journey through (…)
Friday 13 May 2011Editorial Nisimazine Cannes 2011 #1
By Eva Kincsei (Hungary), 13 May 2011 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Prestigious film industry faces teem streets, tourists distracted by as whether to wear a Gucci or a D&G for the night. After the evening explosions, small arms are heard immediately, revenge for the dead son makes them flee to Europe. Cosy cafés and bars are all eager to embrace the razzmatazz for the next twelve days. Troops stationing on rooftops, mass arrests for those who would change the regime. Some Chanels are sauntering the Little Cross Drive and a red carpet is rolled out. (…)
Monday 29 November 2010Editorial Nisimazine IDFA 2010 #7
By Viviane Saglier (France), 29 November 2010 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
So here I am, crying my heart out in this editorial which will be my last article of the IDFA. Here I am, writing an epitaph on this cinematic celebration. How can I make a report on the festival, when all of the previous editorials have already done so and I have nothing left to say?
This may be the biggest illness of our times, an intense, post-modern feeling that words can say nothing new, that images are not powerful anymore, and that every feeling has already been experienced.
Is (…)
This may be the biggest illness of our times, an intense, post-modern feeling that words can say nothing new, that images are not powerful anymore, and that every feeling has already been experienced.
Is (…)
Editorial Nisimazine IDFA 2010 #6
By Nino Klingler (Germany), 29 November 2010 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Let’s try to look at a film festival as a kind of practical exercise in philosophical thinking. There are days at a festival where one spends more time in the cinema than out of it, or, including the sleeping time, in darkness than in light. More time dreaming than being awake. During those days, one might get utterly confused as to which world is the one that can be called “real”.
Being at a documentary film festival this confusion becomes massive, as documentaries tend to define themselves (…)
Being at a documentary film festival this confusion becomes massive, as documentaries tend to define themselves (…)
Wednesday 24 November 2010Editorial Nisimazine IDFA 2010 #5
By Ruben Jacobs (The Netherlands), 24 November 2010 | Editorials |Translations: [en]
Winter Wonderland
Cities exist by the grace of antipoles. They are big melting pots in which different cultural expressions exist side by side. In some circumstances they touch each other, just for tiny moment. But most of the time, they reside in closed cocoons. In those places the contrast can’t be bigger, and this produces the most funny and surreal experiences.
The IDFA box office in Rembrandt Square is such a place. Located in an imitation Austrian ski lodge, it has claimed for (…)
Cities exist by the grace of antipoles. They are big melting pots in which different cultural expressions exist side by side. In some circumstances they touch each other, just for tiny moment. But most of the time, they reside in closed cocoons. In those places the contrast can’t be bigger, and this produces the most funny and surreal experiences.
The IDFA box office in Rembrandt Square is such a place. Located in an imitation Austrian ski lodge, it has claimed for (…)
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