{"id":442346,"date":"2016-07-28T12:13:57","date_gmt":"2016-07-28T12:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/?p=442346"},"modified":"2016-07-28T12:19:38","modified_gmt":"2016-07-28T12:19:38","slug":"dumitru-marian-we-are-cinematographers-without-cinematography-interview","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.moldova.org\/en\/dumitru-marian-we-are-cinematographers-without-cinematography-interview\/","title":{"rendered":"Dumitru Marian: We are cinematographers without cinematography \/INTERVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 4<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>

Soon Moldova will celebrate 25 years from the declaration of independence. Accordingly, Moldova.ORG launched a new category named “Moldova at 25”. We discuss with experts from different domains and try to learn how or if the latter develop during these years of independence. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The first to be interviewed was the filmmaker and ALTfilm director Dumitru Marian, who told us about what happened to the Moldovan cinematography in the period of independence.<\/p>\n

The Moldovan cinematography is now, after 25 years, somehow dead. <\/strong>
\nWe will never be able to build what we once had, surely we won’t resurect the cinema industry at those levels, but we can build something completely different. We are in the 90ies yet, the money are still lacking, there is still enthusiasm, only the generations and the technical possibilities changed. Once we had the technological revolution, the film as an art became pretty affordable, I’d say.
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\nThe only way to survive as a cinematographer<\/strong>
\nThere was a period, when Moldova-Film was the only studio that made movies in this country. Then, the financing decreased severely, although due to the desire to make films, people chose the cheapest ways. The documentary is basically the cheapest genre of films. I believe it is good that the cinematographers managed to rethink themselves, to maintain the professionalism somehow and to stay in their jobs. This was the only solution to survive as cinematographer.<\/p>\n

There are no people that make a living from film.<\/strong>
\nThe problem is a bit larger, as the mass-production emerges when there is a notion of industry. Thus, when there is a well-made mechanism in a country- somebody makes a film, takes it to festivals, shows it in cinemas and then sells it to TV channels. In these conditions, the filmmaker can program his professional cycle. We don’t have this. In Moldova, people make a movie because they wanted it badly and they found a camera and some free friends, they made it, but it can’t last for a long time. The people are immersing in the adventure of making a movie, the movie of their lives, once and forever. This is the problem, this is why there is no perpetual cinematography. There are no people who can live from film making.<\/p>\n

People want to come to movies<\/strong>
\nWe see on TV the Oscar, the Golden Globe Awards, we know who is Brad Pitt, who is Angelina Jolie, we know who is Aki Kaurism\u00e4ki, Akira Kurosawa, we had projected at some point the cartoons of Hayao Miyazaki and realized that an entire cinema hall knew his art, there were people who wanted to watch it in the cinema. We, Moldovans, are film consumers. As we have access to illegally downloaded movies, we managed to maintain the passion towards the cinematography and the desire to watch movies. There is proof that people come to watch Moldovan films too, for example, Viorica Me\u0219in\u0103’s “Colors”, a social film that lots of people came to see. There is “What a wonderful world” of Durbal\u0103 and Cumatrenco, Moldovan film, made pretty well, that attracted a big part of the Moldovan public. People want to come to the cinema, people surely would want to watch movies, if they are offered qualitative products and good conditions for watching.<\/p>\n

People capable of film-making are starting to appear.<\/strong>
\nThe National Center for Cinematography was basically created. Our vision was that after 5-10 years of the Center, we would be able talk about cinematography. There are some other factors that changed the normal way of things. We know about the political situation, the financial one and others that have an influence. Thus, the things might not happen as easily as expected. Nevertheless, they are starting to move. Actually, it is already possible, people can find partners abroad. We have proof, Igor Cob\u00e2leanski’s “La limita de jos a cerului” and then “Afacerea Est”. There is Mircea Bob\u00e2n\u0103 who made a movie with Germans, Ana Felicia Scutelnicu who does the post-production with a German production studio. There are plenty of this kind of examples, which are proof that the cinematography develops and there are people who are able to make movies. The problem is that we have to build this system as quickly as possible and we need to grow in people the feeling of belonging to the Moldovan cinema. This is what we have to do, because we are all cinematographers without cinematography.<\/p>\n

Movies for students.<\/strong>
\nRecently, ALTfilm did a little research for a project in which we tried to see how many historical movies coincide with the school programme at History and Romanian. Only in the high school level, we found 20 Romanian and foreign movies, that, I guess, students would like to watch with good sound and images. It would be great if a historian came to tell them about \u0218tefan cel Mare from the movie and that from the reality, or about Morome\u021bii, who was shown differently from the book.<\/p>\n

The only advantage of AMTAP (Academy of Music, Theatre and Plastic Arts)<\/strong>
\nThere is the so-called “academic center of Moldovan culture”. Whenever you want to do a project regarding developing the cinematography and you need people to test on or to involve in, you will always think about the Academy of Music, Theatre and Plastic Arts. This would the first and sadly only advantage of AMTAP. Say, the Film Faculty produces more professionals than the market needs.<\/p>\n

What I wish you at 25…<\/strong>
\nI believe Moldova needs patience, I think Moldova should reset the values system, and I think that now, Moldova needs the most young people to make this reset. I wish Moldova to return its young people, the brains that left this country. I wish Moldova a mass-return of Moldovans. That’s what I wish to Moldova…<\/p>\n