Film festivals

I adore film festivals because of the variety of the showings and having the directors, actors and other principles there to answer questions. A buzz of people swarm through the streets and halls.

One annual festival is in Argelès and features mid-Eastern movies. It is lovely to be 75 steps away from the theatre that shows the films.

The second is in Nyon, Switzerland, more like a half hour away. Vision du Réel is an international festival of documentaries.

For the last couple of years, I have missed it. This year because of other commitments, I could only see two films. My friend, with whom I usually share the festival had a conflict, but for the first time my husband, was able to attend.

Little Dieter Wants to Fly was by Werner Herzog, described by François Truffaut as one of the most important directors alive. Herzog was not at this showing, but he appeared later and gave a class in film making, which I would have loved to attend.

Dieter was born in a little village in Germany. His desire to fly started almost as soon as he could think. His village was destroyed in WWII. He made his way to the US, where he joined the service and after a long time peeling potatoes, he did finally fulfill he dream and became a pilot. He was shot down in Vietnam. Most of the film showed his attempts to escape and his trek through miles of jungle barefoot, until a U.S. plane picked him up. His rescuer tells his part of the story.

The end of the film is Dieter's military funeral at Arlington cemetery. Besides the horse drawn carriage with the flag-draped coffin and the flag-folding ceremony, I could not stop crying. Rick held me. I cried for the man who lived through so much. I cried for all the soldiers that have died and yet, and yet, part of me says, they never should have been there. They fought and died for nothing.

A Taste of Hope featured a tea-producing worker's co-op. Lever owned the plant before and pulled out to set up in Poland. It is a "fascinating story of a workers’ cooperative on their bumpy and conflicting road to real utopia. Where idealism clashes with harsh reality, the documentary observes the factory workers as they face inevitable challenges. For two years, the filmmaker accompanied the workers in their daily struggles. Between general assemblies, cash-flow problems and tea tastings with potential clients, deception, and conflict emerge. Ultimately, the documentary poses the question: How do we need to work today so we might live in a better world tomorrow?" 

Laura Coppens, the director, is a visual anthropologist and academic. Unlike Herzog who has written, directed and produced 60+ films, she is relatively new. On stage to answer questions she went back and forth in English and French, admitting nervousness. In a true co-operative spirit, she had her team with her.

I chose the first film because I know how interested my husband is in anything to do with flying. He chose the second. I am a firm believer that coops are the way to a more just society.

Looking at the program, there were at least 10 other films I would have loved to see. However, between a dog that can't be left alone too long and travel plans the next day, I am content with what we did see.

There's always next year.