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.

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'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]

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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?