04/08/2024
One, two. One, two. Breathe in, breathe out. The road to the Lunar cinema may seem endless at first, especially when you are looking at the castle of Prizren from below. Chances are that the road may seem even longer than endless, precisely at the moment in which you find yourself halfway up. During the ascent, you might question your mental health, pay attention to your heartbeat, feel the pain from your ankles to your heavy shoulders, or perhaps wallow in self-pity altogether. You might even feel more self-conscious when you notice people descending the castle in the opposite direction, without cold sweat running down their backs. One, two. Breathe in, breathe out.
Fortunately, once you pass the most challenging part of the climb, after swearing repeatedly that you will stop eating sujuk, will stop smoking after every meal, and will definitely start some physical activity to accompany you throughout the day, the castle lights begin to shine brighter, and the path somehow straightens along the distance. When you think things can't get any better than this, that Prizren can't look more beautiful under the night sky among half stars and plenty of house lights—right then, you might notice the cosy puffs of Lunar cinema, whose colours can be seen from the entrance, despite the lack of a stable light source.
"Ode to Celluloid: Films about Films" is one of DokuFest’s special programs, which baptizes the opening of the Lunar Cinema on Saturday evening. "In accordance with our long exploration of what cinema is, its history, and representation, we are pleased to bring to the festival three special feature documentaries that in some way share the same fixation as we do," says DokuFest in the announcement that unveils the program, and that's enough to spark interest. While the world's film heritage is celebrating a century of existence in its variety of formats—like the 16mm format last year and the 9.5mm format a few years ago—many questions have arisen in archival work environments and cultural heritage circles. These questions revolve around preservation policies, restoration, and distribution of analogue film materials, which may or may not be in critical condition due to the ageing of the reels in question. By turning attention to the material part of the film, which in itself is a pure chemical process, new understandings have emerged about what the film is and what it has become. DokuFest proposes a curated program around three feature films, thus bringing closer to Prizren and Kosovo the same situations that trouble the global cinematic landscape.
The first film opening the Lunar cinema program, which coincides with the opening of the Ode to Celluloid program, is Alpe-Adria Underground. Jurij Meden and Matevž Jerman bring to the big screen a never-before-explored collection of short experimental films digitized from the Slovenian cinematheque, a project started in 2013 and completed in 2023. Ten years of work have materialized into a single body of film, gathered together under a net of reflections on the cinematic landscape of the former Yugoslav alternative scene, specifically in the Alpe-Adria region. Beyond the forgotten images from history books, the issue of celluloid turns into a journey of the state of experimental cinema in Tito's Slovenia, amidst one of the greatest political upheavals of the past century. Although the beauty and importance of the film lie in projecting on-screen the overlooked names of Slovenian cinema and the attention given to the fantastic treatment of contemporary themes, the images surprise with their charm. Split screens, interventions from the past in the form of film fragments, dizzying multicoloured images complement today's interviews in funky environments, taking us to the heart of Slovenia's craziest minds of the time.
Film is Dead. Long Live the Film is an interesting case of a somehow visual history book. Peter Flynn takes us on a journey from when the film was considered an antidote to human mortality by the power of eternalizing people and place, to a time in which film is dealing with its own mortality. Through interviews and object-digging, the film traces the steps of several cinephiles in the middle of fantastic personal collections composed of anything you might imagine all at once: travelogues, television shows, edition films, home movies. Paying attention to materials and the intimate contact of touching and smelling, Flynn pushes one’s reflections on the matter of celluloid, taking us to the collecting experiences of analogue-fascinated people and the multitude of considerations that they have with the stocked film materials. While the multiple cinephiles take a comfortable place in front of the camera cleaning, digitizing and eventually commenting on the totality of the personal film tape collection, Flynn’s film invites us to ask questions about the current state of archives. Amidst the physical and financial hardships that come with taking care of film, there are also a handful of insecurities posed by the digital landscape. More than just talk about the past, present and future of cinema, Film is Dead also tackles one important aspect of cinema for those who might have slightly forgotten it faced by the current multiple viewing film opportunities: cinema is about films as much as it is about sharing time and space with like-minded individuals.
It is needless to say Lunar Cinema is not for the faint-hearted. While Ode to Celluloid offers new insights into film as an embodiment of sensory experiences on a broad emotional spectrum, the enjoyment of films offered by the program does not begin and end in front of the cinema screen. Along with the white and yellow city lights, sparkling in the background, appearing as a beautiful film backdrop in itself, amidst the cicadas' song, the vibrancy of the surrounding residential houses, and the voices of people enjoying their evening stroll, Lunar Cinema offers a rainbow of impressions like no other cinema in town.
In case of doubt, DokuKino will be opening its doors to welcome you to the third film of the Ode to Celluloid program, Celluloid Underground, screening this Sunday at 19:30.
By: Enxhi Noni
Photo: Agon Dana
