KVT – Screening of 4 Documentary Films at Goethe

This is a sort of stream of consciousness bit about an evening of very interesting viewing….definitely not a crit.

A great crowd caught the Doclab screening at Goethe on a chilly Sunday night. Judging by the overall youth of the viewers, it’s an art medium that’s striking a chord with a new demographic and that’s a good sign.
Four experimental documentaries by four young Vietnamese film makers were screened. These were part of the original, one night stand, Long Bien Picture Show which I wish could be repeated somewhere so that we could get a good and relaxed look at the photographs as well as the documentaries, as an entity. Judging by the interest on Sunday, a long term exhibition would be welcome. I guess a few official hoops may have to be jumped through and finding a large enough venue would be a problem. I’ve accessed a lot of the photographic images on the net but they only give a tempting taste and the documentaries were delicious tapas plates.

I’m one of those viewers who appreciate a promenade approach to short video/film so that I can see them, in their discrete viewing space as they loop on and on, and where I can return at leisure. I’m a ruminant viewer and like to recapture the good bits and chew the cud until I’m satisfied.

My response to the four documentaries is intensely personal and site specific because I’ve been a passive, non camera toting, Long Bien wanderer and casual observer for years ….usually viewing scenes and spaces from a slow moving bicycle- wishing that I could be anonymous- while I fabricate stories about the people I see. For me, the documentaries were like being in the middle of my own mind film and having gaps filled in and room left for conjecture. The fact that they were intelligent observations, well shot and well edited films was a huge bonus.

Talking with other viewers, it was fascinating to hear about the different pieces that appealed and the varied impacts they carried away with them.

Not a criticism but a reflection! I sometimes ruminate on the ethical dilemmas that film makers and photographers who attempt to document reality for public viewing always have to, and always will, face Things like subject permission, empathy, personal bias, subjectivity…..to mention a few. It’s one of those philosophic issues that are the meat of good hypothetical debate.

Which one did I like most? Probably the one by Tran Thi Anh Phuong, ‘The Mouth Gets Wet’. I guess because it’s the one I could imagine writing a short story about…or even a series of intertwined stories….or screen play. All four films contained a seed that could germinate and sprout into a good story….but then my note books are crowded with little gems that are plots for unwritten tales that I wish I had the artistic ability and ingenuity to translate into visual filmic format.

Apparently all of the documentaries have been entered and accepted into international short film and documentary festivals.

Great stuff Doclab! See this link for more info about a very interesting group: http://www.hanoidoclab.org/