November 2nd - 6th, 2004

The Five Obstructions (De fem benspænd)
Denmark 2003, directed by Jørgen Leth and Lars von Trier.
Together with Danish documentary film veteran Jørgen Leth, Trier takes on the task of challenging conventional ways of documentary and film production. Both directors share a fascination of getting into the bone of filmmaking. Down to basic elements, simplicity of image and sound.

In 1967 Jørgen Leth made a 12 min short film called “The Perfect Human”, a document on human behavior containing the familiar Leth themes - a film which Trier admires greatly and claims to have seen more than 20 times. In the year 2000, Lars von Trier challenged Jørgen Leth to make 5 remakes of this film, but each time Trier will put forward obstructions, constraining Leth to re-think the story and the characters of the original film from 1967.

Playing the naive anthropologist, Leth attempts to embrace the cunning challenges set forth by the devious and sneaky Trier. Five times Leth will have to deal with the limitations, commands and prohibitions made by Trier. It is a game full of traps and vicious turns. A fascinating and never seen before film about a filmmaker not only revisiting, but also recreating one of his first films.

“The Five Obstructions” is an investigative journey into the phenomenon of filmmaking.

The Souvenirs of Mr. X (Die Souvenirs des Herrn X)
Austria/Germany 2004, directed by Arash T. Riahi.
A filmmaker finds Super 8 footage of an amateur filmmaker at the flea market. He tries to find him and by that sinks deeper and deeper into the wonderful obsessive world of amateur filmmaking.

“The Souvenirs of Mr. X” is a hommage to amateur filmmakers, their dream of film and their wish to find something special in the unspectacular everyday life.

Days Under (Untertage)
Netherlands 2003, directed by Jiska Rickels.

A day in the life of German miners as seen in a 20-minute pictorial symphony. Shot in a world devoid of colour, the musical accompaniment was supplied by the horrifying cacophony of jackhammers and creaking mining trucks. Due to difficult shooting conditions the film’s young Dutch director was obliged to use an old Bolex 16 mm camera and a Nagra reel-to-reel recorder. Her choice intensified the film’s impact through the disturbingly grainy image and the rawness of sound.