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»Lauter Geschenke« – Radu Gabrea’s First Medias Central European Film Festival (MECEFF)
By Dorothea Holloway | November 22, 2011
In the early 60’s during my first visit to Warsaw, I saw a wonderful performance that I will never ever forget in the Jewish Theatre under the direction of Ida Kaminska. It was the melancholic comedy with music Goldfaden’s Traum. And now the hour-long documentary Goldfaden’s Legacy (2004) by festival director Radu Gabrea was showing in the programme of the first edition of MECEFF in Romania (5-11 September, 2011).
On the basis of precious photos and newly discovered film excerpts, we hear moving Jewish songs and Zalmen Mlotek tells us about the history of Jewish theatre, how it began in Romania and came to Broadway where it was innovative in influencing American popular culture – the musical (!).
Zalmen Mlotek is the artistic director of the »The Folksbiene Yiddish Theater« in New York, which was founded in 1915. The profound documentary simplicity, the charismatic narrator at the piano and some of today’s artists make the Goldfaden’s Legacy an unforgettable gift.
A symposium was held each morning from 6-10 September by experts, academics and film historians. The subjects included Romanian and Central Europe’s Culture, The History of »Yiddish Cinema«. Sharon Pucker Rivo, Executive Director of the National Center for Jewish Film at Brandeis University (NCJF) in USA, showed film excerpts she had brought from »Brandeis«. We got to see some real treasures, and it was particularly moving for me because Ron had often talked about the precious films he had seen in Brandeis.
Helmuth Knall, a teacher at the German School in Medias also came to the conference and gave me a gift: the German-Romanian bilingual edition of Schiller – Ehrung zum 200. Todestag. Studien und Aufsätze, introduced and edited by Maria Sass for Editura Universitatii »Lucian Blaga« din Sibiu. A second gift is Erinnerungen – Ich habe drei Leben gelebt by Brigitte Niedermaier. And a third gift was The Last Pottsville Warrior. America, The Sea-Change Years. A Chronicle of an Era Novel by David Blum.
Radu Gabrea and his excellent team – with important support from mayor Teodor Neamtu – had the great idea of staging open-air screenings on the town hall square. »The whole kaboodle« came. Percy and Felix Adlon’s Mahler On The Couch (see KINO 98) was shown on the opening evening …
A glittering presentation for the 100th anniversary of the composer’s death. The film was shown a second time on the big screen and won the Audience Award, yet another gift.
Talking about the awards: All of the films were distinguished by accomplished cinematographic achievements. Only those films which have already been awarded prizes were invited to the Competition.
The Best Film Award went to Jan Kidawa-Blonski’s Little Rose (Poland). The still quite unstable atmosphere in Poland of the 1960’s is surprisingly perceptible without any kind of cliche. The ensemble of actors is first-rate.
The Best Director Award was presented to Florin Serban’s If I Want to Whistle I Whistle (Romania). An outstanding masterpiece, already awarded such prizes as the Silver Bear and the Alfred Bauer Prize at the 2010 Berlinale (KINO 97).
Best Cinematography was awarded by KODAK to Andras Nagy for Szabolcs Haydu’s Bibliotheque Pascal (Hungary). This was not the first time that Nagy’s camerawork has been awarded.
The Best Acting Award went to actress Ursula Strauss in Elisabeth Scharang’s Viel-
leicht in einem anderem Leben (Austria). In my opinion, the film would have earned a second trophy because I was convinced by the adaptation of a screenplay by Peter Turrini.
Well, good films are gifts, and another two were Vladimir Balko’s Soul at Peace (Slovakia), and Arnon Goldfinger’s highly entertaining, reflective and informative documentary The Komediant (Israel). The concept of MECEFF is 7 + 1. Films are invited from seven countries in Central Europe and an alternate guest country – Israel this year. The highlight for me was Valley of Strength (Gei Oni) by Dan Wolman which was awarded the Gerhard Klein Prize at the Jewish Film Festival Berlin & Potsdam in May 2011. In Medias Dan Wolman got a Special Prize for Gei Oni. More to come in KINO 102 about him as well as about Jiri Menzel who at MECEFF was honored with a Portrait of the Director. Ron was intrigued by the Czech master’s irresistable virtuosity.
This post has been recently published in German-language version here at www.kino-germanfilm.de. The English-language version is taken from the current print issue of KINO – German Film & International Reports No. 101 from November 2011.
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