myopic vision koldo almandoz
The 52nd International San Sebastian Film Festival. The colourful passes hanging round your neck like they were Olympic medals. “Miss Leche Gurelesa” smiling away as she works as a hostess. Dozens of hangers-on who come from abroad and businesses to gorge themselves on free food and to doze off in the cinemas. The students and people with grants who live their first festival experience with the excitement of children. The all-nighters. Good films, half-arsed ones and down right rotten ones. Make-up to cover up the drooping eyes and cracks in the skin. The 52nd International San Sebastian Film Festival.
Film Festivals shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Film Festivals should basically get on and do what they’re meant to do; offer a temporary escape from reality. Like drugs. Like love. Just like life that robs that instant from the hands of death (right, I know I just may have gone a wee bit over the top with that last comparison).
That slim chance to escape from everyday reality is all I ask of the International San Sebastian Film Festival. One of the Official Sections has really surprised me this year. The Heterodox Directors’ Section. The section offered to the black sheep of the film-making community. There are many ways to understand the word heterodox, but this time around it refers to those directors who have, in one way or another, really shaken upbourgeois society. Their films will be on show. And there are quite a lot. Too many to start naming here. That’s not to mention just how difficult it would be to define the word “heterodox”. Who is the more heterodox: Almodovar or Eastwood? Michael Moore or Kaurismaki? For instance...
In cinema today, as in many other fields, primacy has been taken up by the industrial side of things. Films have become companies that demand fast results in the short-term, and they last about a week in shop windows, just like books and records. Producers prefer inexperienced directors that are easy to manage. This really shouldn’t surprise us at all.
The punk attitude of “Do it Yourself” is really difficult to pull off in the world of cinema. Contrary to what many people think, a film isn’t just about grabbing a digital camera and filming something; there are many more factors involved in getting your film distributed so your actual punter can see the film. Filmmakers, however, do have certain responsibilities. And that responsibility lies in how they see things. It lies in their capability to use their myopic vision to transform reality. Myopic filmmakers’ work requires us to squint our eyes a little in order to try and focus on where they’re coming from. They offer us the chance to actively take part in their work. The myopic director has his viewers in mind while they make their films. We should demand work of them that causes emotion, pain, disgust or marvel. On the other hand, it’s easy to ask these qualities of heterodox directors, too easy if you realise just how hard it is to achieve all of this in the world of filmmaking. That’s why, because of the respect these directors have for their audience, they should be heartily thanked for their work. Filmmakers who pass on glasses, contact lenses and eye operations, and hold fast to their myopic vision on the world are becoming more and more scarce. This film festival, financed by public funds and sponsorship, should be thanked for organising this section, because even though they could have chosen people with less sight impairments, they have decided to back those with myopia.
Film Festivals shouldn’t be taken too seriously. Film Festivals should basically get on and do what they’re meant to do; offer a temporary escape from reality. Like drugs. Like love. Just like life that robs that instant from the hands of death (right, I know I just may have gone a wee bit over the top with that last comparison).
That slim chance to escape from everyday reality is all I ask of the International San Sebastian Film Festival. One of the Official Sections has really surprised me this year. The Heterodox Directors’ Section. The section offered to the black sheep of the film-making community. There are many ways to understand the word heterodox, but this time around it refers to those directors who have, in one way or another, really shaken upbourgeois society. Their films will be on show. And there are quite a lot. Too many to start naming here. That’s not to mention just how difficult it would be to define the word “heterodox”. Who is the more heterodox: Almodovar or Eastwood? Michael Moore or Kaurismaki? For instance...
In cinema today, as in many other fields, primacy has been taken up by the industrial side of things. Films have become companies that demand fast results in the short-term, and they last about a week in shop windows, just like books and records. Producers prefer inexperienced directors that are easy to manage. This really shouldn’t surprise us at all.
The punk attitude of “Do it Yourself” is really difficult to pull off in the world of cinema. Contrary to what many people think, a film isn’t just about grabbing a digital camera and filming something; there are many more factors involved in getting your film distributed so your actual punter can see the film. Filmmakers, however, do have certain responsibilities. And that responsibility lies in how they see things. It lies in their capability to use their myopic vision to transform reality. Myopic filmmakers’ work requires us to squint our eyes a little in order to try and focus on where they’re coming from. They offer us the chance to actively take part in their work. The myopic director has his viewers in mind while they make their films. We should demand work of them that causes emotion, pain, disgust or marvel. On the other hand, it’s easy to ask these qualities of heterodox directors, too easy if you realise just how hard it is to achieve all of this in the world of filmmaking. That’s why, because of the respect these directors have for their audience, they should be heartily thanked for their work. Filmmakers who pass on glasses, contact lenses and eye operations, and hold fast to their myopic vision on the world are becoming more and more scarce. This film festival, financed by public funds and sponsorship, should be thanked for organising this section, because even though they could have chosen people with less sight impairments, they have decided to back those with myopia.
