Final Balance and honors

Beefeater In-Edit closes its ninth edition with great satisfaction after registering its eight year of attendance growth surpassing the figure of 30.000 spectators and also breaking its record of assistance in one single day (more than 4000 spectators in just 12 sessions). 15 sessions of the Festival were sold out this year but the real headline is that the Festival's attendees have been loyal and filled all the sessions of the festival proving each film programmed had its own public. Aside from the main program Beefeater In-Edit 2011 has also grown in parallel activities (and public response) with the highlights being the birth of works in progress, the maintained attendance to the Nocturnal Marathon and the great results of the 2nd Edition of the Music Documentary Market.

The Festival would also like to thank its guests: all the directors and artists that have accompanied us for the duration and with a special thanks to the visionary director Murray Lerner.

The awards of the ninth edition are as follows: 

Best International Music Documentary Film: Last Days Here

Special Mention: O Samba que mora em mim

Best National Music Documentary Film: Next Music Station: Morocco

Beefeater Audience Award: Papagordo. En casa de Raimundo Amador

The Festival continues at Filmin

Until 30 November, the Festival continues in its fourth screen (virtual) through collaboration with Filmin. These are the titles on this edition that you can watch from home (go to Filmin):

Agustí Fernández - Los dedos huéspedes.

Brötzmann.

Color me obsessed, A film about The Replacements. 

Electrodomésticos: El frío misterio.

Filhos de Joâo. O admirável mundo Novo Baiano. 

Interview with Demian Fenton

You love Pentagram and you decide to make a film about Bobby Liebling, his singer, who is frozen in time. You arrive at his home and you realize he has been locked in his parents' basement smoking crack. You think that Bobby is going to die and that you don't have a film there but bit by bit and almost without realizing it an amazing story unfolds before your camera. It isn't about music and destruction but about love and life, everything taken to the extreme. You're Demien Fenton and today you're going to pick up the 2011 Best International Documentary In-edit Award. Congratulations.

Text: Borja Duñó

Photo: Bea Sancho

So, you just arrived in Barcelona today?

Yes, I just got here today

You arrive to discover you've won the award.

Yeah, I can't believe that. It's so flattering. You work so hard on a film, no budget no anything for so long and you feel you haven't any support and it's pretty beautiful that people recognize it and get it, people here seemed to get the film, it's so cool.

Did you imagine that Last Days Here could win?

No, I never would have guessed it, no way.

Why not?

I don't know, you do your best, you try. Although we love music and we love documentaries, we want to make a film that's not really about the music but about life, so in that sense you hope there's a universal story that a lot of people can relate to but you don't think your going to win awards for it.

Do you think it's a different kind of documentary?

In some ways is very traditional, it's a three act structure, if you look at the thirty minute mark you see it's almost like a script you would write. Bobby (Liebling) can be an intense character that's hard for people to check into but we find about the film that it doesn't matter who you are there's a place for you in the film. It's a movie that on the surface is about drugs, rock'n'roll, redemption and chaos but then once the film screens there's a lot of depth to it so I can talk about it with an eighty year old woman and have a great conversation about life.

I imagine that what happened in the movie was very unpredictable.

Yes, it was one of the challenges with a film like that. With Bobby-the main character-his life one day is here and one day is there and it's so extreme and happens so quickly that although we wanted to make an unpredictable film we didn't want it to be confusing so it's less abrupt and harsh in its transitions.

How long did it take you to make the documentary?

We had no budget so we did it in out free time and we were doing a film at the same time but this worked better for this film because Bobby's story took a long time to develop. From start to finish it took about three and a half years. We started in...2006? I'm not sure when we started but it took three and a half years.

How did the idea of making a film about Bobby Liebling come about?

I love old seventies rock'n'roll, I love Pentagram and all that music. We didn't want to make a movie about how great the band was because we knew certain viewers weren't gonna think that and that's fine. The other main character in the film is this guy named "Pellet" (Sean), we were the to drunkest guys at a metal show one night and we got talking about doing this film and three and a half years later it's done.

What happened first was Pellet after working with Bobby before you even spoke about the movie?

Pellet was helping Bobby and organized the true releases of a lot of tapes that were floating around in the underground. While he was doing that he tried to look up as many members of the band he could-the one's that were still alive-that's how he found Bobby who was frozen in time. He was bringing him back into this metal world. I knew he had known Bobby and I knew he was helping him and was writing a book about him.

When we started shooting we didn't even realize that Pellet would be a main character but there are two clear journeys happening, Bobby's journey and Pellet's journey. They have different goals at different times and that creates a tension and chaos which is beautiful.

You worked together.

Yeah, It got to a point where it didn't feel like a film anymore, it felt like a bunch of people in a car on a cross-country road trip and I'm in that car. Bobby's story slowly moved forward, between his parents, Pellet, the film crew and his own actions he managed to get over some hurdles and dealt with some demons.

How easy was it to convince Bobby to do the movie?

It was very easy. The first footage you see in the movie was shot on the first day we went to his house and all doors were open: he was smocking crack on camera... we had no idea what we were walking into. His parents had been living in this situation for so long that when a film crew comes in and wants to talk about these issues in some way t was like therapy and we weren't there to judge or to exploit or to document somebody destroying himself and I think everybody realized that.

Did Bobby's parents impose any limits?

No, they didn't, they were very welcoming. They are such kind, beautiful people and did not put any limits on anything. Actually when you're documenting and editing a story like this you want to balance the character out and be true to that character, so there are crazier moments that didn't go in the movie because they tipped the scales to much.

How shocking was it to meet Bobby?

The first day we met him, which is the first footage you see in the film I remember driving home with co-director Don Argott and saying "there's no movie here, we don't want to document a guy dying while sitting in his basement for another ten years". When he started to pull himself up we saw there was an amazing story there.

When did you realize that Bobby was going to make it through?

With Bobby you never know he's gonna make it, even today, every day is one step at a time. But we really thought he was gonna take a shot at making it. First he set out to make a record but it's when he moved out of his parents house that we knew what a big step it was for him and for his parents and for Pellet in a way, and he found love with was a huge driving force for him.

How is he now?

He's fine; he's done a few tours, but I don't want to reveal anything else because I want people to see the film and be surprised by what happens, but he continues to surprise me, the demons he's battled would have killed anyone else ten times.

Is the seventies footage of the band real?

No, the footage isn't real. We made a choice to do super 8 reenactments because the first half an hour was so bleak because of the state Bobby was in that we needed to inject something else into it. That's why we added the story of Kiss coming to see them practice like a humorous story...when you see the back of Gene Simmons that's me, and my brother and some of my friends.

Are you in touch with Bobby?

Yeah, he lives near Philadelphia which is where I'm from and the best part of making this movie was that Pellet and I have become great friends and we stay in touch all the time.

I was going to ask about Bobby but I don't want to spoil the end for anyone...

Let's not say anything and let people go see the movie because when you're in the theatre you can hear people gasp as the whole crowd is astonished.

It's the last day of the festival but do you think you'll have time to catch any other movies?

I don't think so but I will say I've been here for a day and this festival is awesome, everybody I've met is amazing and it's an honor to be awarded at a festival where music and film collide. Music is equally important to documentary film in my life so to be honored in a festival that celebrates both is great.

You just met Murray Lerner.

Yeah, it's amazing to meet filmmakers from back in the day, I mean now with Final Cut I can make fifteen cuts of a scene in a day and to think of people literally cutting film I have so much respect for that.

Interview with Fermín Muguruza

Today we'll witness a historical meeting because it's uncommon that a representative of Al-Jazeera should visit a film festival in our country for a debate with someone that has as much to say as Fermín Muguruza. Montaser Marai-executive producer of the program department of the Arab TV channel- commissioned the Basque musician and film maker to produce the exciting music documentary series Next Music Station, a total of eleven films that portray the different musical realities of Arab countries. Fermín Muguruza will talk with him this evening in the Blanquerna Auditorium (20h, Valldonzella, 12). Meanwhile, a little preview...

Text: Borja Duñó

Photo: Bea Sancho

Tell us how you came to be commissioned the Next Music Station project by Al-Jazeera channel.

Yes, it's a documentary series created specifically for one of Al-Jazeera's Network's channels the Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel it's a channel that exclusively shows documentaries. They commissioned thirteen documentaries of which we were able to produce eleven because the two that were dedicated to Algeria could not be made as we were denied not only the filming permits but also entry to the country as we were filming for Al-Jazeera. It's a series that strives to draw a sonic map of the Arab countries and it came about through a previous film that I directed, Checkpoint Rock. Songs from Palestine. It's a film that was screened in several festivals and shown in theatres and when it was projected in the Cines del Sur festival in Granada some people from Al-Jazeera saw it and loved it. It was at a time when they were open to commissioning projects to non Arab people, starting with Steve Chandra the guitarist of Asian Dub Foundation. In my case they wanted me to portray the Arab countries' cultural and musical heritage.

These documentaries are going to be screened at In-edit and there'll also be an interesting talk with Montaser Marai from Al-Jazeera, could you comment on that?

The project consists of documentaries on Morocco, Tunisia, two about Egypt, two about Lebannon, one about Siria a shared documentary of Kuwait and Bahrein, another on Yemen and the other on Sudan. Of these eleven documentaries nine are being projected at In-Edit- something completely unprecedented-and also today we'll have a talk with Montaser Marai, the person that commissioned me the series and that who, at the time, was the director of the Al-Jazeera Documentary Channel. The talk will be very interesting and it's causing a lot of expectation as several people have requested if it can take place again in other locations. I think it's wonderful and I'm really pleased.

And while you were in the middle of this project the Arab Spring erupted, is that right?

The fact is that it all took place in a historical moment, at a time in which we locked on to the pulse of what was going on in each country. We never would have imagined, not even they themselves imagined, that dictators could be ousted like happened in Tunisia and Egypt. We shot everything in 2010, we came back from Sudan in December last year and January saw the start of the Tunisian revolution. The truth is that it was very exciting, also very unsettling because we mustn't forget that they have been very bloody revolts with over 400 deaths in Tunisia and over 1000 in Egypt and we were very conscious about it as the musicians we were interviewing were very active in the protests.

At the time you were filming could you feel the pulse of the revolution about to erupt?

Yes, in Morocco it was commented frequently, sometimes metaphorically and other times more directly but what was clear to us it the Arab countries aren't a uniformity. They do have certain things in common but each country has its own personality and its own story and that's the first stereotype that is broken down. The movement in Morocco on the 20th of February is very different to that which occurred in Tunisia or Egypt for example because there is no mention of the king having to step down which is the principal demands in Tunisia. Each country has told us its wishes, desires, hopes and dreams, they sing them and at the same time we see the context in which they create their music because I always say that reality is defined by what we live through, sometimes that reality is determined by the area in which you live in, if it's mountainous, if it's in contact with Mediterranean countries, if it's a desert, if it's the outskirts of a big city or a small village. All this will influence what the musicians will share and it's a way of getting to know them and their music but also the country to which they belong.

Do you think that with totalitarian regimes that have no freedom of expression music can channel all the feelings that run beneath?

Yes, because in these documentaries we see the bands playing live with their public and also how devoted the public is to them, how they identify with the musician and sing with him. Where there are no live shows such as in Kuwait, Bahrain or Yemen, we feel that absence and see how the musicians express themselves differently. Music is one of the strongest instruments to bring people together and to transmit many things and perhaps among all art forms it is the one that can express the most feelings: in this sense it is priceless. It is a discipline that has many possibilities: to start with it isn't limited by language and our urge to discover our neighbors' music causes us to want to be in constant contact with other musicians. That creates a new kind of communication and relation between people that can also be extrapolated to society. It's no coincidence that in my opinion musicians have always been in the vanguard of many things that have happened, such as seeing musicians of different races and nations together on a stage.

What roll do you think Al-Jazeera has in this new political context?

Well I think that's a very complex question and that needs a long answer especially considering that there has been a huge turnaround especially where Libya is concerned that can be understood by first taking into account how it was expelled from Tunisia having being accused of causing the rebellion when in fact all that was happening was a projection of what was going on. The same happened in Egypt and they even cut off their communications and they were quickly invited into an apartment where they were able to retransmit everything that happened in the Tahrir square live. What happened in Libya is that at the start of the protests Gaddafi's soldiers killed one of the station's most-loved journalists. But what was really important is that Al-Jazeera has provided self esteem for all the other Arab countries because they have felt that a TV station was telling the news from their very own point of view, as opposed to how it had transpired until now as it was always accounted from the Westerner's point of view. Al-Jazeera voices all those that have no voice and shows what no other TV stations show in each country.

Why did you have so many difficulties to shoot the documentaries?

Yes, when we arrived in Morocco all our equipment was confiscated for three days because we were working with Al-Jazeera then they were expelled from Al-Ayun as they covered the great Saharan camp, in Tunisia we had the police on our backs all day because the station had been prohibited in the country, we couldn't enter Algeria, in Egypt we had to send the Ministry of Information our shooting day plan every day, in Bahrain we were denied to shoot and did so without permission, in Yemen we had the police beside us at all times as they thought we were going to make a report on Al-Qaeda and in Sudan we obtained the permit on the last day after having a malaria shot and six visits to the Sudan embassy in Madrid...so it was very grueling and difficult to shoot but now we see it as a historical project because at the beginning of this year in many of these countries it would have been literally impossible to shoot and in others the musical map has changed completely.

Moving on to another topic, I wanted to ask your opinion on the ETA terrorist association cease, what's your opinion?

The truth is I hadn't been to Catalonia in a long time and I missed it, and I think that it's a great time to visit and celebrate that there has been an important political earthquake caused by ETA's cease of violence and it's something we should all celebrate and that has created a de-normalization for us because until now what was normal was that there was the existence of an armed conflict. Now, as in Lebanon (that once the war was over declared that they were in a state of political "anomaly") we can say that we have also been thrown into a state of shock. The fact is that it's a very special time and that has been long awaited and although it may seem that it has arrived late we can at last say the time for dialogue has arrived. I think it's an incredible time and that perhaps we aren't fully aware of the historical importance it but I think that from now on a lot of interesting things will take place and in that case all I can say is that from a cultural, musical and audiovisual standpoint what we must defend above all is this demand by the Basque Country that has finally been met of our right to be able to decide and then the dialogue between the other countries of the world. I think that's the most necessary at this time. sario que nunca.