09/08/2023
Sharing one's individual journey and making everyone part of an organic conversation can be challenging, but not for Valérie Massadian. The outstanding Armenian-French filmmaker and photographer held a masterclass on Tuesday afternoon at the KinoKlubi space, accompanied by Pamela Cohn. The word masterclass is a very dry way to describe those two hours in which the hall was packed where you couldn't even hear a pin drop.
Her fantastic journey, from her early childhood in a village in France as an immigrant child to her first attempts in the cinematography industry, which if I associate it with Valérie it would be a shame to call it an industry.
The conversation was accompanied by the screening of two of her films, namely "Mamoushka" and "Nana" as a way to get to know the artist better and to get an opportunity to ask her curious questions.
Valérie confessed how finding herself in filmmaking was never intentional and continues to be a process that comes naturally to her. According to her, more important than a good script in filmmaking is the will and the human aspect that a filmmaker must have.
"When I finished the post-production of the film "Nana" I was in Paris. It was 4 in the morning and I immediately went out into the street and talked to myself, happy because I had not harmed the character."
The protagonist in "Nana" is a little girl who lives in a village, her completely carefree actions in front of the camera are exactly what Valérie cared about the most. According to her, human rights and being a human being and a filmmaker is the most important aspect and should undoubtedly be one of the primary goals.
This Tuesday's masterclass was undoubtedly an added value to the program of activities of this edition of DokuFest. A reflection and a catharsis at the same time. Too bad for those that didn’t attend… Maybe there will be another time.
By: Ana Haxhimali
Photo: Kushtrim Haxha
