I won’t have time to write a substantial post for another day or two – and no, for those of you who are wondering, I haven’t forgotten about the photos of Houses from Within – so meanwhile I’m bringing you the trailer for a hilarious Israeli documentary film called The Worst Company in the World. It was screened at DocAviv, but to my regret I couldn’t make the time slots work. I think I’ll have to hit up the publicist for a DVD, though: if the trailer made me laugh as hard as I did (in public), then the film must be worth seeing. Director Regev Contes won the mayor’s award for a young and promising new director at DocAviv.
Synopsis from the DocAviv site:Three divorced middle aged men with glasses work together in a small, failing insurance agency, located in the rented apartment of the owner. Although they are highly intelligent, have a sense of humor, and well educated, they have absolutely no idea about running a business. Their company is losing a good deal of money and is continually on the verge of bankruptcy. The film documents the attempts of the manager’s son, the film’s director, to join this motley crew at the onset of the recession, and save his father’s collapsing firm.
My explanatory addition to the official synopsis:
The film is a humorous, affectionate documentary about a failing insurance company run by the director’s father, Carol Contes, in partnership with his two brothers. The opening titles in Hebrew announce that the film begins December 31, the last day of the year – and the most stressful day of the year for an insurance company. Contes, narrates the director, means “clerk” in Czech. His father is descended from a 200-year dynasty of clerks.The father has a volatile temper, especially when one of his brothers makes his “daily mistake,” but he is also demonstrably affectionate toward his siblings.
If you like the film and/or would like to obtain a copy to screen in your community, you can email director Regev Contes: theworstcompany@gmail.com
Sorry for the delay in posting my photos from last week’s Houses from Within. I’ve actually been busy writing an article about it for a magazine (more details once it’s been published). Since I was busy taking notes I didn’t have time to take many photos. But despair not – it’s all good: I was accompanied by a super-talented photojournalist who took far more shots than the magazine can use. He’s going to send me some of his leftover shots later today; and I’ll post them with commentary later on today or tomorrow.
Meanwhile, yesterday was the final day of DocAviv, the annual week-long documentary film festival. After morning yoga class, I spent the day watching films for free (press pass!). In between screenings, I sat at an outdoor cafe and drank cappuccino while reading the weekend newspapers, enjoying the Saturday peace and the perfect late spring weather. Short version: a perfect Saturday, and the ideal antidote to a very difficult week.
As usual, DocAviv was a fabulous event and very well-attended event, with Israeli and international films competing for several prizes. Also as usual, I did not have time to attend all the screenings I wanted. Of those I did see, three made a very strong impression, for different reasons.
Kimjongilia is a documentary that features interviews with North Koreans who escaped their native country, usually via China, and are now living in South Korea. If anything, the synopsis from the film’s website soft-pedals the horrific tales recounted by the soft-spoken survivors interviewed for this film – stories about 9 year-old children taken to a concentration camp, where they were starved, beaten and worked nearly to death, for example. It is estimated that about 3.5 million North Koreans have died of starvation or in the gulag since the mid-1990s. The film was disturbing, but very well done. It really drives home the point that the world is paying little attention to this horrific human rights catastrophe.
The synopsis:
“KIMJONGILIA, The Flower of Kim Jong Il, is the first film to fully expose the disaster through a tapestry of defectors’stories, North Korean propaganda, and original performance. This feature documentary shows why the defectors fled, describes their hair-raising escapes, and recounts the dangers they face in China, hunted by Chinese as well as North Korean police. These refugees are from every walk of life, from child concentration camp inmates to an elite concert pianist. But their stories all speak of body-and-soul killing repression and paint a picture of a country so far off the rails it defies belief. Ultimately, these humble heroes are inspiring, for despite their suffering, they hold out hope for a better future.”
Kimjongilia trailer:
Defamation, by Israeli documentary director Yoav Shamir. Shamir made his reputation with Checkpoints, a prize-winning and critically-acclaimed documentary about the IDF checkpoints in the West Bank. This time he investigates anti-Semitism in a provocative film that asks whether anti-Semitism is really a serious problem today, and whether we are perhaps too focused on the past. Shamir answered questions after the screening, which was packed. He said that he intended to provoke a debate rather than offer answers. In answer to questions about two of the controversial figures in the film – Abe Foxman and Norman Finkelstein – he said that he disagreed with some of what they said and agreed with some, that he wasn’t trying to discredit anyone.
Here’s the trailer for Defamation:
After all that serious stuff, I really, really enjoyedLe Cirque: a table in heaven – about the famed New York restaurant (where I once enjoyed a memorable meal; it’s nice to have rich, generous friends). Here’s an excerpt from the synopsis, which you can read in full here:
“LE CIRQUE: A TABLE IN HEAVEN is an intimate family portrait of Le Cirque founder Sirio Maccioni, Egidiana, his wife and confidant of 40 years, and their three sons, to whom he will one day leave his formidable cultural and culinary legacy. While other restaurants have big money and corporations behind them, Sirio says Le Cirque ‘is a family affair and completely independent.’ Oldest son Mario runs Le Cirque, Las Vegas, while Marco, the middle son, and Mauro, the youngest, work in New York. Meanwhile, Egidiana prepares rustic meals in the tiny kitchen of their Manhattan apartment.”
