08/02/2010

A man sitting in a small store in the Barcelona metro whiles away the time distractedly observing people coming in and out of the city’s underground. A doctor in Cameroon stubbornly practices traditional medicine in a village asserting the importance of cures that incorporate ancient knowledge and a rituality lost in today’s world. A video camera follows the myriad musical paths of Barcelona, in a frenetic course of jazz, classical and pop melodies, among the young and old, grueling rehearsals and explosive concerts.

Three seemingly different stories in three documentaries that appear to have little in common. Yet they are linked to six other films presented in a broad retrospective at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in Signals, one of the most interesting sidebars of this year. Victor Garcia’s El Ex-Boxeador, Ricardo Iscar’s Dansa als Esperits and Eva Villa’s B-Side are the latest three productions to have ben made in the Màster en Documental de Creació (Master of Creative Documentaries) at the Pompeu Fabra University of Barcelona, founded and run by Jordi Ballo.

The programme, which began in 1998 and has brought expert documentary filmmakers such as José Luis Guerin and the late Joaquín Jordà – who in recent years have become returning guests to important festivals, along with Mercedes Álvarez and Isaki Lacuesta – to young debut filmmakers, to teach them not only theory but the also the collective practice of a film genre that is constantly rewriting its own rules.

"The masters programme,” explains Ballo, “is well-structured and it’s only goal is not to make a film. The ‘how’ comes before all else. For two years, 30 students take classes by different directors who come to teach, including master filmmakers such as Frederick Wiseman. Our intent is to give solid professional training and to place young people in constant relation not only with teachers but amongst themselves as well, leading them to a continuous exchange of information and knowledge.

“In the programme’s second part, they begin working on a personal project, and learn how to develop an idea. In the third phrase, three projects are chosen, this year four, that can still be created and made by directors who were not part of the programme. In any case, even the creation of the documentary is an important part of the training because some of the students work in the film’s crew".

"Thus, the documentary is not a test in and of itself,” added Ballo, “but an actual film that aims to be produced and distributed theatrically and on TV. The university invests no money in it nor does it participate directly in its production. It carries out the important role of mediator between the project and the various producers involved, without imposing any conditions, respectful of the progamme’s authority".