A Man and a Camera in the Depth of Field Competition

A Man and A Camera joins the competition in Tel Aviv, taking part in the Depth of Field category. In this documentary, director Guido Hendrikx roams through a village in the Netherlands with a camera, filming its locals. Like some sort of entity, he points his camera at his surroundings and captures people's reactions. As the villagers meet him, they question his intentions. By not responding, he creates awkward silences, which leads to some hilarious and wholesome moments, but also fierce beatdowns. Produced by Boondocs, the documentary saw its world premiere at CPH:DOX.

And more Dutch docs at Docaviv

Furthermore, DocAviv got 4 more Dutch documentaries on their schedule. In the Master's program, Pieter-Rim de Kroon's Silence of the Tides gets a screening. This film also screens in the Panorama section of the festival. Produced by Windmill Film and shown at DOK.fest and CPH:DOX, the film is a tribute to the Wadden Sea, the world's largest and most varied, uninterrupted intertidal area. Representing the rough relationship between men and nature, it hypnotises the viewer with its cycles and contrasts: life and death, storm and silence, the masses and the individual. With all the different energies flowing through this area, the documentary presents the Wadden Sea as a living organism.

White Cube screens in the Arts and Culture program. Following up his film Enjoy Poverty (2008), Renzo Martens finds himself back in Congo with the same goal: trying to generate fair income for the local plantation workers. He coaches local artists, as they create statues and present them at an exhibition in New York. With these earnings, the workers successfully buy back pieces of their lands, which was exploited by Unilever for decades. Produced by PVH Film, White Cube documents an attempt to use the advantages of the art world to force a change in the economical structures between Congo and the Western world.

Lastly, both Sheltered and Skies above Hebron are selected for DocAviv's Panorama program. Both films are produced by Doxy. Saskia Gubbels' Sheltered shows the hardships within an animal shelter, where a strong and tense relationship between humans and animals develops. Even though these animals are life companions, they are also seen as status symbols, creating a higher demand for quality pets. In this shelter, the passionate employees and dedicated volunteers help rehabilitating abandoned dogs, cats and rabbits and match them with new owners. However, this journey is not easy and some do not make it. Skies above Hebron is directed by Esther Hertog & Paul King and premiered at Idfa. In the film brothers Amer & Anas simply love pigeons and spend days catching them on their roof in the Palestinian old city of Hebron. The birds fly freely, but the brothers are continuously watched by Israeli settlers and soldiers from the rooftop posts.

For more information, visit DocAviv.