Filmofil.ba sa ponosom predstavlja kritike mladih autora nastale u okviru ovogodišnjeg programa Talents Sarajevo na 22. Sarajevo Film Festivalu

Piše: Andreea Pătru Prevod sa engleskog: Bojana Pušara

Kirsten Johnson u svom filmu Cameraperson nudi intimni prikaz različitih zbivanja širom svijeta pomoću mnoštva kadrova koje je autorica snimila tokom svoje bogate filmske karijere, sa fokusom na dokumentarce. Iako filmu nedostaje pripovjedački element, a kadrovi se čine nasumično izabranim i nisu onoliko šokantni koliko se očekuje, vrijednost filma je u nevidljivim narativnim vezama koje čine ove kadrove cjelinom i stanju razotkrivene intimnosti koje se odnosi na kamermana. Cameraperson mudro kombinuje vizuelna sredstva sa različitom svrhom. Prikazani su kadrovi namijenjeni za dokumentarce, oni koji nisu uvršteni u finalne verzije, kao i fotografije iz privatne arhive. Scene su razvrstane imenima lokacija, kao i šturim informacijama o događajima na koje se odnose, čime se postižu kontekst i legitimnost. Cameraperson kombinuje aktuelne ratne zone sa scenama iz Liberije, Ugande, Jemena, Ruande, Darfura i Tahrira, uz zdravorazumsku dozu prikazanog nasilja. Ipak, svjedočenja silovanih žena, djece kao svjedoka smrti i mučenja članova porodice i ljudi koji gube domove, više su od onoga što pojedinac može podnijeti i posttraumatski stres predstavlja sastavni i osnovni dio posla kamermana.

U jednom trenutku, filmska ekipa Kirsten Johnson međusobno razgovara o tome kako imaju košmare samo od slušanja o zvjerstvima koja dokumentuju, dok žrtve koje su to doživjele svjedoče sa izvjesne distance. U znak poštovanja prema svim žrtvama, Kirsten je prikazala svoje emocije tokom intervjua sa dječakom iz Afganistana koji je izgubio oko. Iako on razumije engleski, može na pitanja da odgovara i na svom jeziku. Kirstenine suze jasno poručuju gledaocu koliko je  pogođena ovim svjedočenjem. Sa dječakom počinje igrica gdje on prekriva i otkriva svoje oči jedno po jedno i upravo taj kontrast vidljivog i nevidljivog predstavlja srž ovog dokumentarca.

Snimanje ljudi kada su najranjiviji je izuzetno delikatan posao i snagu snimljenog materijala prati i rečenica da nije isto nešto vidjeti i o tome slušati, što je i izgovoreno tokom trajanja samog filma. Cameraperson daje značaj i nekim etičkim pitanjima vezanim za nivo aktivnosti samog dokumentariste. Slično ovome, devedesetih godina prošlog vijeka vodila se oštra polemika o posljedicama i moralnosti u fotografskom novinarstvu nakon pojave fotografije sudanske djevojčice.

Kirsten Johnson pristupa odgovorno snimanju dokumentarnog materijala sa vlastitom emocionalnom investicijom, što neki drugi projekti u kojima je učestvovala ne obrađuju u tolikoj mjeri. Ona izbjegava voajerski pristup smrti (sirijski dječak na obali mora) i donosi nam ljudsko dostojanstvo i osjećajnost, koje publika uvijek cijeni. Dirljive scene sa majkom koja se bori sa Alchajmerovom bolešću i gubitkom vlastite osobnosti još više nam približavaju prirodu samog režiserskog posla, a to je element koji obično ne čini klasične dokumentarce. Prikazivanjem same sebe, ali nikada duže od nekoliko sekundi, Kirsten Johnson odaje iskreno priznanje procesu snimanja sa obje strane kamere. Uz nivo posvećenosti koji je prikazan, kamerman je neko ko vidi apsolutno sve i to kasnije propušta kroz vlastite filtere. Tu perspektivu ne može da vidi neki naredni posmatrač. Filozof Jacques Derrida rekao je u jednoj od scena koje je Kirsten zabilježila: "Ona vidi sve, a mi smo slijepi."

Prateći zavještanje Chrisa Markera o snimanju filmova, i poštujući estetiku filmskog eseja, film sadrži izuzetno uspješno snimljene scene, kao što je potpuno neprerađen prikaz babice koja se bori da spasi novorođenče uz minimalna sredstva kojima raspolaže. Film sadrži i scene o zvjerstvima počinjenim tokom etničkog čišćenja u Bosni, što je izazvalo izuzetan interes publike na Sarajevo Film Festivalu, i to mladih ljudi koji su još uvijek vezani za ovu temu preko bliskih članova porodice ili vlastitim iskustvom. Sa stavom vrijednim poštovanja prema kritičnim trenucima kojima publika svjedoči ili ih svjedoci živopisno prepričavaju, Kirsten Johnson uspijeva da postigne ravnotežu između zemalja u očajnoj situaciju zbog određenih problema sa kojima se bore i zapadnih zemalja koje rješavaju univerzalna pitanja koja se odnose i na njih. Kultura u kojoj živimo je u pretjerano javnom i potpuno pasivnom stanju, pa samim tim okrutnost, diskriminacija, pojava imigranata, terorizam ili mobing ne spadaju u geopolitičke probleme. Pod utiskom svjedočenja kojima je prisustvovala, ali i u želji da te traume prevaziđe, pred publikom je izuzetan prikaz tereta koji u svom poslu nosi svaki kamerman. Suštinki, Cameraperson je osjećajan osvrt na kinematografe koji ne uključuje nikakvu ideologiju i bira ljudskost pre svega.

Fillmofil.ba proudly represents the works of young critics done in program Talents Sarajevo of 22nd Sarajevo Film Festival

Cameraperson: Invisible narrative threads

Written by: Andreea Pătru Translation: Bojana Pušara

Kirsten Johnson’s Cameraperson (2016) offers an intimate insight on contemporary issues from around the world by putting together the scenes that marked the author through her wide cinematography career shooting mostly documentaries. Although the film lacks a narrative vertebrae, and the scenes seem random and not as necessarily shocking as one might expect, it is the personal approach and the invisible narrative threads that link those images in a deeply intimate statement of the role of the behind-the-lenses person. Cameraperson cleverly combines visuals that had a different purpose, such as scenes that were destined for the documentaries Kirsten Johnson worked for, or even left-out ones with some original footage and some personal images that she shot for herself. The scenes are identified by simple location names and a few details of the violent events that took place, only to add context and legitimacy to the images. Regarding content, Cameraperson is a curated combination of all hot-spot, war-related zones, with scenes from Liberia, Uganda, Yemen, Rwanda, Tahrir Square, or Darfur,  although harsh imagery is elegantly avoided. Even so, the testimonies of women going through rape, children witnessing the death and torture of their beloved ones, people losing their homes, are more than one can bear and this post-traumatic stress is at the core of the unseen job of the cinematographer.

At one point, the crew of a film Kirsten Johnson worked on share that they have nightmares only by hearing about the atrocities they are documenting, while the real victims confess with some detachment. In this respect, she shows real emotion when interviewing a boy from Afghanistan who lost one of his eyes, and asks him to answer her questions in his own language although he does understand English. Even so, she cannot help herself being moved to tears by his testimony. She asks him to cover and uncover his eyes one by one in this little game of the seen and unseen, which is the heart of the matter in this documentary. The job of shooting individuals in their most vulnerable state is a delicate one, and the power of images is brought into question by the statement that “hearing about it and looking at it is different,” as it is stated in one of the scenes.

The ethical questions that Cameraperson raise regarding the active / passive role of the documentarist are similar to the debate that Kevin Carter’s notorious picture of the Sudanese little girl and the vulture opened about consequences and morality in photojournalism in 1990s. Kirsten Johnson approaches the responsibility of documenting with an emotional investment that maybe some of the projects she worked for as a cinematographer did not explore as much. She avoids the death voyeurism of the deceased Syrian child on the beach and brings a welcomed human dignity and sensitivity to light. The moving scenes with her mother having to deal with Alzheimer’s and the loss of one’s personality enhance even more the involved nature of the filmmaker's job, an attribute that is as hidden as it can be in a conventional documentary. By exposing herself, without actually making an appearance for more than a few seconds, Kirsten Johnson obtains an honest confession of the nature of filming and being filmed. Through the level of commitment that she shows, the cameraperson is someone who sees everything though his/her personal filter, a perspective that the distant observer tends to block. “She sees everything,” as philosopher Jacques Derrida states in one of the scenes that she shot; “we are blind.”

Following the legacy of Chris Marker’s filmmaking and committing to film essay aesthetics, the film includes remarkably well shot scenes, such as a continuous unedited breathtaking shot of a midwife who struggles to save a newborn’s life with minimal resources. A risky programming choice, the scenes that included stories about the atrocities committed during the ethnic cleansing in Bosnia received an increased interest from the Sarajevo Film Festival audience, a young bunch that is still attached to the subject through close family bonds and even personal experience.

With a respectful attitude towards the critical moments that are witnessed or vividly recalled, Kirsten Johnson manages to balance the images from countries that are in desperate situations with particular issues from Western countries in a clever gaze upon universal problems. In the overexposed passive image culture that we live in, topics like cruelty, discrimination, immigration problems, terrorism, or institutional abuse, do not submit to geopolitics. Affected by the stories she had to witness, but also in an attempt to let go, the cinematographer-director shows tremendous awareness of the burden of her work. Fundamentally, Cameraperson is the the sensitive gaze sensitive gaze lacking ideology of a cinematographer who chose humanity. above everything.