[lit-ideas] Heidegger documentary
- From: "Andreas Ramos" <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: "Lit-Ideas" <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 21 Jul 2004 23:04:48 -0700
Heidegger documentary awarded French prize amid controversy
Australian documentary film 'The Ister', by Melbourne-based filmakers David
Barison and Daniel Ross, was awarded a cinema distribution prize at France's
foremost documentary film festival on July 7.
The film was awarded 'Le Prix du Groupement National des Cinémas de
Recherche (GNCR)' [The Prize of the National Association of Cinemas of
Research] at the Marseille International Documentary Festival.
The prize-giving ceremony took place at the Théâtre National de Marseille,
La Criée on July 7, 2004. The prize consists of support by the French
national cinema exhibitors body for cinema distribution throughout France.
The festival screenings of 'The Ister' were almost overshadowed by the
controversy at a round table discussion in Marseille on Monday July 5, where
French multimedia artist Gregory Chatonsky
(http://www.incident.net/users/gregory) attacked an editing decision in the
section of the film addressing the relation between Martin Heidegger's
thought and the holocaust. (Heidegger was an avowed Nazi and made
controversial statements about the holocaust after the war).
Around 100 people - around a quarter of the audience - stormed out of the
forum after heated comments exchanged between Chatonsky, philosopher Bernard
Stiegler (who features in 'The Ister') and the audience.
The film was in competition with a wide selection of French and
International documentary films screened from July 2-7 at France's foremost
documentary film festival. These screenings of 'The Ister' marked the film's
French premiere.
Australian critic Adrian Martin has acclaimed 'The Ister' as "the most
intellectually rigorous and searching film ever made in this country."
The review appeared in the Brisbane International Film Festival catalogue.
It is reproduced by kind permission of the festival:
http://www.theister.com/mediakit/biff-review-2004.pdf
'The Ister' screens at Melbourne International Film Festival on Monday
August 2nd and Brisbane International Film Festival on Friday August 6th.
Marseille festival site: www.fidmarseille.org
For more information see www.theister.com and www.theister.com/mediakit
Or call David Barison on 0431 905 411
Background
'The Ister' is based on a 1942 lecture course by the German philosopher
Martin Heidegger.
The 189-minute documentary film essay premiered in January 2004 at the
International Film Festival Rotterdam to sold out sessions. 'Film Comment'
magazine referred to it as "the find of the festival" in its Rotterdam wrap
(March/April edition).
'The Ister' is a journey up the Danube river, from the mouth in Romania to
the Black Forest in Germany. The film travels through the archaeological
remains, engineering feats, war-shattered cities and riverside celebrations
of nine European countries connected by the river.
The film is based on a lecture course by Martin Heidegger delivered in 1942,
focusing on the poetry of Friedrich Hölderlin, in particular on a poem
called 'The Ister,' about the Danube river. The name 'Ister' derives from
the ancient greek name for the Danube river, Istros.
Four of Europe's most provocative thinkers and artists provide the narration
for The Ister: the controversial filmmaker Hans-Jürgen Syberberg, and the
French philosophers Philippe Lacoue-Labarthe, Jean-Luc Nancy and Bernard
Stiegler.
'The Ister' is directed and produced by Melbourne-based filmmakers David
Barison and Daniel Ross. It took five years to complete, was shot on miniDV
and was completely self-financed.
-ends-
The filmmakers would like to acknowledge the support of:
The School of Applied Communication, RMIT University
http://www.rmit.edu.au/adc/appliedcommunication/about
The Council for Australian-Latin American Relations
http://www.dfat.gov.au/coalar/
The Alliance Francaise Melbourne
The Goethe Institut Melbourne
SCREENINGS 2004
International Film Festival Rotterdam, January 2004 (world premiere)
Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema, April 2004
Sydney International Film Festival, June 2004
Filmfest Munich, June/July 2004
Marseille International Documentary Festival, July, 2004 Received Prize:'Le
Prix du Groupement National des Cinémas de Recherche (GNCR)' Awarded to a
film in the form of an incentive to exhibitors for distribution in French
cinemas, production of a document and initiation of programming in cinemas.
Melbourne International Film Festival, July-August 2004
Brisbane International Film Festival, July-August 2004
Anonimul International Independent Film Festival (Romania), August 2004
Vancouver International Film Festival, September 2004
Montreal International Festival New Cinema New Media, October 2004
Institute of Contemporary Art, London, TBA, 2004
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