What is “native”, each of us young
and old, cinephiles or not has a unique definition of something that
might refer to this meaning, and the films falling into the
respective category will be exactly as diverse and versatile as the
concept itself. The definition opted for by the Berlinale new film
program is based on the definition of the term claimed by UNESCO
convention.
The series NATIVe – a Journey into
Indigenous Cinema that starts at the 63 Berlinale sets itself the aim
to redefine the notion of native and add an indigenous flavour to it.
Not the native seen and cinematographically recorded by non-natives,
but the native made and represented by the natives themselves, as the
program coordinator and the initiator of the whole project, Marianne
Redpath puts it is the main difference that makes the films so
interesting for the spectators.
The films are supposed to offer us the
unusual, the strange and other cinematographic traditions different
from european heritage. Since it is this years's NATIVe focus on the
works from Australia, Oceania, New Zealand and other regions of the
pacific. The theme of the other as one of the major topics of the
program. It is particularly interesting that each film will be
preceded by an introductory short film which makes the program all
the more attractive for the experimental film lovers as well as art
galleries and cultural institutions that specialise on the topic.
The films selected for the program
documentaries and fiction films range from 1960-is to 2002 and even
more recent works by indigenous producers. Most of these have been
internationally acclaimed and although they do not fall into the
category of commercial cinema have been a success with indigenous
public. The NATIVe project deserves particular attention not only due
to its diversity experienced through the collective cinematographic
experience of the spectator but also due to the fact that the
selected films carry on the cultural memory expressed via the
individual mechanisms of remembrance and reproduction.
The critical potential of NATIVe lies
in its attempt to revive the local cinematographic tradition, the so
called other cinema thus counterpointing the all-pervasive tendencies
of forgetting and assimilation within the globalised communities. The
element of criticism against the cultural industry is supposed to
encourage experimental strategies in filmmaking, alternative ways of
representation and narrative techniques of local film industries
versus global entertainment industries.
Well before the programs begins and the
spectator gets into the cinema halls all ready for the idiosyncratic
and the extraordinary we are all full of expectations and high hopes
for the NATIVe and its curator Maryanne Redpath and the team. A good
example for other Festivals to follow. As for the Georgian cinema,
with it's brilliant heritage of indigenous thematics in film, the
chances for the future seem to be promising.
Keine Kommentare:
Kommentar veröffentlichen