Oscar ehdokkaat. Iikka Vehkalahti 26.01.09
Myös dokumenttielokuvien Oscar-ehdokkaat on nimetty. Mukana on monien festivaalien yleisösuosikki Man On The Wire ja ensimmäistä kertaa myös Werner Herzogin dokumentti. New Orleansin trauma on nostanut Trouble Water- dokumentin viiden ehdokkaan joukkoon.
Oscar-ehdokkuus ei sinänsä merkitse, että kyseessä olisivat viime vuoden parhaat dokumenttielokuvat. Katselin juuri 10 ehdokkuutta keränneen Slum Dog Millionaire- leffan ja seuraavana päivänä pakistanilaisen.Mehreen Jabbarin elokuvan Ramchand Pakistani.
Slummimiljonääri on teknisesti erinomaisesti toteutettu, intialaista todellisuutta, mutta henkilöhahmoiltaan klisheinen ja yksiulotteinen seka perusluonteeltaan ei kovin syvälle ulottuva, viihdyttävyyteen tähtäävä tuote.
Pakistanilaisen ensiohjaajan elokuva on elokuvataidetta, ehkä siksi sillä ei ole yhtään ehdokkuutta Oscar-kilpailussa.Mutta ihmiset ovat elokuvassa oikeita, ristiriitaisia tuneita nostattavia ja samalla ymmartamista lisaavia.
Mutta joka tapauksessa. Oscar-ehdokkaat dokumenteissa ovat:
THE BETRAYAL (NERAKHOON)
Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath
FILM SYNOPSIS
The life of Laotian immigrant Thavisouk Phrasavath serves as a metaphor for the far-reaching repercussions that are still felt from America's involvement in the Vietnam War. When his family suffered persecution following the U.S. withdrawal from Southeast Asia as a result of his father's work for the CIA, Phrasavath's mother fled with eight of her ten children to a life of poverty in Brooklyn.
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF THE WORLD
Werner Herzog and Henry Kaiser
FILM SYNOPSIS
In the extreme conditions that define existence in Antarctica, filmmaker Werner Herzog explores the range of personalities who have been drawn to spend their working lives in one of the world's harshest environments. From research scientists to blue collar workers, Herzog's subjects demonstrate a self-reliance and intrepid sense of adventure that both equip them for their frigid surroundings and place them outside the mainstream of society.
THE GARDEN
Scott Hamilton Kennedy
FILM SYNOPSIS
In the wake of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, a fourteen-acre expanse of city-owned land in a South Central neighborhood was developed by local residents into one of the country's largest community gardens. In 2003, the tract was sold back to its original owner, whose plans to develop it prompted area residents to organize in an attempt to stop efforts to oust them from the land
MAN ON WIRE
James Marsh and Simon Chinn
FILM SYNOPSIS
In 1974, French performance artist Philippe Petit hid with several friends after hours in the World Trade Center, strung a high wire between its Twin Towers...and walked between them for the better part of an hour, to the amazement of New Yorkers on the streets below. How Petit planned and executed his spectacle is detailed in extensive interviews with Petit and those who helped him achieve his dream
TROUBLE THE WATER
Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
FILM SYNOPSIS
As the drama of Hurricane Katrina unfolded, New Orleans resident Kimberly Roberts recorded the chaos and devastation of her own experience on videotape. Her footage forms the heart of this portrait of Roberts's long journey with her husband, from the early days of the storm to their subsequent evacuation, resettlement in Memphis, and eventual return to the decimated city.
Dokumenttiprojekti on jo kauan keskustellut Man On The Wire dokumentin ostamisesta, mutta levittajillä on taipumus etsia nykyisin kokonaispakettia
eli ostajaa Scandinavian elokuviteattereille, televisiolle ja dvd-myynnille samalla kertaa. Toivotaan, etta Man on the Wirea ei tarvitse odottaa niin kauan kuin Grizzly Mania.
