The annual documentary film conference will take place in Tel Aviv from November 14 – 15, 2013, featuring filmmaker Leonard Retel Helmrich. An initiative of the New Fund for Cinema and TV (NFCT) in collaboration with The Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum and the Second Authority for Television and Radio, the conference will take place at ZOA House.
Helmrich is known for his unique approach to cinematography, as represented in his award winning documentary trilogy filmed in Indonesia: Eye of the Day (2001), Shape of the Moon (2004) and Position Among the Stars (2010). Visiting Israel for the first time as a guest of the NCFT, Helmrich will present a master class in Single Shot Cinema, a technique he has honed and perfected in the making of his films. The conference will also include a special screening of Helmrich’s Indonesian trilogy.
Shot over a period of 13 years, Helmrich’s trilogy documents three generations of the Sjamsuddin family, as they live through the changes of their time and culture. Helmrich’s Single Shot Cinema technique enables one to shoot a scene in a single take with just one camera. On seeing the final film of the trilogy, Position Among the Stars, I felt that this approach brings the viewer inside the story, experiencing the action and emotions as if one were there with the people, in their homes, on the streets, or in the examination hall with Tari, who aspires to study at the University, being quizzed in a non-too-friendly manner on her religious knowledge.
Position Among the Stars won awards at IDFA and Sundance, and was screened at the MOMA in 2011. Helmrich’s latest film, Raw Herring (2013), co-driected with his sister Hetty Naaijkens-Retel Helmrich (co-writer on Shape of the Moon and Eye of the Day), was shown at the recent Tribeca Film Festival in April 2013.
Conference admission is 100 NIS and includes participation in Helmrich’s master class. To reserve your place call 03-6966299, or Yifat at the Israeli Documentary Filmmakers Forum: yifat.forum@gmail.com.
