A Bright Winter in Berlin for Emerging Filmmakers
The Berlinale Talent Campus 2011 is off to a great start - we zoom in on one of the participants to learn his story.
The Talents are here - 350 personal stories yet to be told
It may sound old-fashioned, but even in the Facebook era, meeting new people personally still makes a difference. For one thing, you realise how common some experiences are for the Talents arriving from every corner of the world. Egyptian filmmaker Hisham Saqr, who’s in Berlin to make connections for his directorial feature debut, mentions some problems that are familiar to all Talents, addressing them with the graceful optimism that unites the enthusiasts gathered here.
As is the case with many young directors, Saqr hopes to tell personal stories that cover larger ground than his movie’s plot summary does. His short film HYMEN (BEKARA, Egypt) is about the sexual relationship between a brother and his sister, but it deals with its sensitive subject matter as a way of exploring society’s approach to morality rather than a small-scale love story. He has a clear vision of his own style, which mixes reality with fiction. Further common points emerge as Saqr talks about the arrival of a young generation of filmmakers in Egypt; about how they work collaboratively, stand on the same political side and struggle to make alternative films in a highly commercialised industry. His words might ring a bell for Romanian, Argentinian and Thai Campus participants, among many others, as filmmakers’ efforts to find funding for their films and co-exist alongside the more popular works continue around the globe.
Despite all these problems (and probably because of them), the Campus has a unique harmony and an almost concrete sense of excitement. Saqr considers the Campus an ideal platform for networking and exchanging thoughts, enhancing one’s understanding and appreciation of the medium. This hunger to learn also serves as a basic component for the development of new styles. According to Saqr, the new generation is after an “alternative” cinema rather than an independent one, a mode of filmmaking that relies on personal films made without a budget but with a strong will. It’s not easy to decide what makes a film independent because the lack of studio support does not guarantee creative freedom. What is more essential is one’s passion to express himself in a distinctive way. Saqr also mentions that the optimism caused by the recent developments in Egypt can only strengthen his passion. Living without income for months or shooting under difficult circumstances might be in store, but sometimes great movies arise from those very restrictions.
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