好久没去London south Bank BFI Nation Film Theatre了。伦敦电影节这次在家门口，赶在最后终于定到票去看贾樟柯的《24城》。这是我第2次在电影节上看他的片子，两次都在国外。拍的是正在变化的中国人的故事，国内媒体讨论着，而开始只能给我们这些在国外的中国人添些真实的乡愁。

片子有一种形式感，对话，静态图片的肖像照片感。这不是一个惯性常有形式的纪录片，它站在纪录，重组故事，肖像摄影的交集处，呈现的是诉说的力量。 静下心来，听听那些受中国经济变革影响的工人们的故事。 真实与虚构，都是个人对历史的理解。

贾樟柯在纽约电影节上答观众问说这更是一个纪录片，5个真人故事，4个由素材虚构的人物，但是对他来说都是真实的。 但是在嘎纳回答香港记者时，他确说这完全是一个虚构的故事，只是他喜欢用纪实的手法把它表现出来。

矛盾，其实不矛盾。看跟谁说话，看谁想听什么。

纪录片与故事片的界限已经是越来越模糊了。

并没有绝对的真实，只是个人对历史对现在的看法，纪录片和故事片只是两种表现形式。

我们现在很少有时间，有心情去坐下来静静的听别人讲故事了。

这只能在电影院才会有。

贾樟柯做到了让你静下来，听人讲他们的人生经历。那是对活在日常琐碎，活在剧变浪尖的人们，最实在的尊重吧。

伦敦纪录片独立制作公司brook lapping正在做一个纪录片，关于改革开放后的中国。目标定于向英国大众介绍当代中国和推动当代中国发展的重要人物邓小平。

这部片子明年夏天将会在bbc 3 上播出。

Rob是director, Ellen 是 production assistant， 我在里面做researcher.

rob 和 ellen 下周将会去美国做些采访，海外华人和解放后最早到过中国的外国人。

我这两天一直在查找关于万润南的一些资料，最近才知道他是创办中国四通电脑公司的才人，6.4.前去了美国。实在佩服当时那群创业者的才智和勇气。

今天看了一个很有意思的纪录片，是最早向西方观众介绍现代中国的：”Bob Hope-On the Road to China“ （1979年， NBC）.

Bob Hope 是美国当时最著名的喜剧演员，片子开场Bob 就站在长城上边走边唱，”here we all found the road to china, an adventure to China, it's time for the feast to begin...“ 很joyful的把西方观众带到中国。bob 穿着典型的美国服饰，高尔夫鞋，手里还拿者一个高尔夫棒，一副美国游客的样子站在天安门广场给西方观众介绍一个刚经历过一场10年政治风波，准备打开国门看世界的中国。片中介绍了一些当时中国著名的人物，喜剧演员，杂技，戏曲，体育运动员等，通过bob与他们的接触展现一个东西方文化的碰撞。中国穿插了许多当时中国人对bob带来的西方事物一些出奇的反应，有些讽刺。整个片子的格调很放松。是西方人第一次看现代化进行时的中国，也是社会主义中国第一次开眼，并近距离接触资本主义社会的西方人。

今天一来公司ellen 就高兴的告诉我好消息，中国大使馆终于批准允许他们进入中国拍摄了！ 奥运后中国一直对西方媒体看的很严，西方媒体也不像以前那样容易进如中国做报道了，他们也对自己看当代中国的角度也在不断反思. ”no one can really understand china, even chinese yourselves, do you?“ ellen 无奈的跟我说。 不过西方人正在尽力的以公平的眼光看中国了。文化不同带来的一些观念上的冲突是必然的，中国人看西方不也是会有一些stereotype的观念吗？ 重要的是我们如何去理解他们看中国的立场，解构他们为什么会那么想，让他们完全以中国人的思维方式看中国是不可能的。他们面对的是对当代中国并不太了解的西方大众，他们只能站在自己的文化背景下试图去了解一个新的文化，更况且，这是一个正在发生剧烈变化的文化！

do we chinese understand ourselves?

well, anyway, the importance is what your own view is in seeing our culture and society.

documentary as moving image never stands totally objective,

as filmmakers, we should re-position ourselves and present the audience our own personal view.

as audiences, as long as we understand from whose view the film is addressing, we don't need to argue too much if it is authentic or telling the 'truth'.

the truth depends on who sees it.

Documentary Now!!!

a conference on the contemporary contexts and possibilities of the Documentary

Location: Birkbeck Cinema, 43 Gordon Square, London, WC1H 0PD

Date: 10-11 Oct

It brings together scholars, filmmakers, students, and interested members of the public to discus current trends in documentary film, from the return of documentary a theatrical box office phenomenon, to broadcast television, the web, and beyond. It explores question of industry, audiences, aesthetics, political engagement, documentary's relationship to the mainstream media and other many other issues. What's new in documentary? Where is documentary headed?

Screening: Fotografias by Andres di Tella (Argentina, 2007)

a very reflexive essay documentary with the narration of the filmmaker searching his Indian identity, which is undesirable. It's explore his relationship with his mother and his experience in India. [a review to be followed soon]

the film arise issues.i.e :difficulties of recording one's internal life with external camera & sound equipment; filming the invisible, performing one's internal world.

It just remind me to think that there are not many Chinese new documentaries that have a first person narration. to name them, I have to think for a while. Interestingly, both of my documentaries are narrated by myself. I do like diary documentary. Documentary for me is an art of recording the reality from one's own perspective, a subject world, a image beyond verbal reasoning.

---------

'City of Men' 2007

a film by the director 'City of God'(2002) Fernado Meirelles, 106 mins. Barbican is presenting Cinema of Brazil this month.

For those who love 'city of god' can't miss this follow-up one exploring the boys' story facing adulthood. very electrifying performances of non-professional actors. extraordinary cinematography, rich colour, grainy image and lots close-ups with strong visual impact. [a review to be followed soon]

--------

Talk: 'Get Real!: Documentary Impulses in Contemporary Art'

Thursday October 16th, 3-5, Westminster Forum, Wells Street, 5th Floor

"Dr Vivian Rehberg is Chair of Liberal Arts at Parsons Paris School of Art & Design. Formerly Dr Rehberg was a Curator at The Modern Museum of the City of Paris, curator of Nuit Blanche, the annual contemporary arts festival organized by the Paris cultural affairs office, and managing editor of the publication Point d’Ironie. She has published widely on 20th and 21st century art and visual culture, is a regular contributor to Frieze magazine, and has recently edited a themed issue of Journal of Visual Culture on Documenta 12. Dr Rehberg will speak on the politics and aesthetics of contemporary documentary art practices."

my notes:

Contemporary artists have crossed the boundary of cinema of documentary and art.

Documentary has become an increasingly popular format in the contemporary art discourse of realism.

Supported by art galleries and other new funding opportunities, such documentary practice in contemporary art has diversified the traditional cinematic or tele-visual documentary styles.

Undeniably the new exhibition in art galleries have also made the alternative documentary art works more visible. The curating practice itself is a re-interpretation and deconstruction of film narratives, which made such documentary practice more accessible to the audience.

questions:

how to define realism here in documentary art practice?

the ethical issues of such documentary practice in art world. When artists interpret the reality and make a work for one's own expression, which may mislead the audience to understand the truth. how does s/he aware of the ethical issues of representing the image of people?