Short film is for true lovers of cinema: Brossard
Third French Short Film Festival held in Kuwait
Institut Francais du Koweit organised its third French Short Film Festival in association with the Festival du Court MÈtrage du Clermont-Ferrand and Laila Cinescape from May 10-12.
The three day screenings showcased winners of the Festival du Court MÈtrage du Clermont-Ferrand in 2014 in two parts along with a young audience programme on the final day.
“I think short film is for true lovers of cinema. It is a place for creativity, imagination and surprises as well as a way for people around the world to show their work and get some visibility,” stated Francois Brossard, Director of Institut Francais.
He shared that the ClermontFerrand festival is the biggest of its kind in France and has received participation from famous filmmakers. “We are participating in this festival to help young Kuwaiti directors gain access to the art of cinema making. In the previous years, we sent 10 young Kuwaiti artists to the festival. This year, we are welcoming Director Hakim Zouhani who was awarded a special prize of the festival last year.”
Zouhani who will conduct a workshop of aspiring filmmakers in Kuwait shared, “Clermont-Ferrand is not only the most famous short film festival in France but it is also the most famous short film festival in the world. There are three competitions in the festival - the national competition, international competition and the Labo Competition that looks at experimental movies. It is a very difficult competition because they receive thousands of entries.”
Workshop
Zouhani shares the reasons behind his preference for the short film format, “In the case of feature films, it is very business oriented and there is a lot of pressure with the distributors, casting etc. But with the short film, you have full liberty of creation.” However the short film production is considerably scaled down and the major constraint appears in the form of working with tighter budgets.
The opening night featured Vos Violences, a film by Antoine Raimbault where a father and daughter are the victims of a brutal assault. Lawyer by profession, the father finds himself for the first time in his life at the heart of judicial proceedings as the victim and is confronted with a moral dilemma.
Next up, Lois Patino’s experimen- tal film, Montana en Sombra which won the Special Jury Prize at the Labo Competition, is a beautiful symphony of man and landscape, contemplated from afar, through the flurry of skiers on a snowy peak. The wide expanse of the terrain and contrasting shadows and gentle breaks of light create an altogether unearthly space and a palpable experience for the viewer.
Hu Wei’s Butter lamp which won Best Film in the National Competition was also screened. The film follows a young itinerant photographer and his assistant who photograph Tibetan nomads in front of various backgrounds.
Molii, a film by Carine May, Mourad Boudaoud, Yassine Qnia and Hakim Zouhani, that won the special jury prize was also screened. Steve is in his late twenties. Tonight, he’s replacing his father, who works as watchman at the community pool. Everything appears to go smoothly at first, until the young man starts hearing strange noises. Director Zouhani shared that the idea for the film came out of a desire to portray the lead actor in a different light. “The main character in the film is played by Steve Tientcheu he is a professional actor who always plays tough roles like a cop or a gangster. He is even seen doing so in the first movie screened tonight. He wanted to portray him as a victim.”
SÈbastien Betbeder’s Inupiluk winner of the Audience Prize, is a heartwarming tale of exchange between people who don’t speak the same language. The audience follows Thomas and Thomas as they entertain visitors from Greenland. Other films screened were Scars of Cambodia, Lettre de Femmes, La Fugue and My Friend Nietzsche.