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Rainbow Case Study Summary
The Rainbow case studies available on this website are meant to illustrate best practice in the field of cinema as a vehicle for the promotion of intercultural dialogue. They have been conceived as short "true stories," narratives to both inform and inspire others to take action.
Over time, we shall continue to add to this body of exemplary stories, chosen from the very best European cinema and its industry has to offer and exemplifying the most committed approaches to a dialogue between cultures.
"Do not walk ahead of me, for I shall not follow. Do not walk behind me, for I shall not lead. Walk by my side and be my friend." Albert Camus
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Emotion Pictures
For Maria Papaliou, the founder and director of the annual Emotion Pictures documentary film festival in Athens, it has meant a life-long commitment to putting cameras in the hands of those who have been challenged with disability or the crushing mental and emotional wounds of war. She should know. Before using her European connections to launch Emotion Pictures in 2006, Maria had shown an enduring commitment to giving a voice to the disenfranchised through the medium of film. This unflinching engagement got her into trouble with Greek authorities during the transition from military dictatorship. Unsurprisingly, Maria is fond of saying that "diversity is the thing that unites us all".
Emotion Pictures receives support from the Greek Cinema Centre.
Link to Emotion Pictures case study
Caramel
For French producer, Anne Marie Toussaint, faith in the importance of intercultural dialogue meant spending a year of her life to help first-time Lebanese director Nadine Labaki convert her creative vision into an award-winning film. Caramel, a comedy drama with an all-female ensemble cast, finished production only days before war tore Lebanon apart once again. After its triumphant screening in Cannes, the world's largest film festival, the film became a beacon of positive cultural affirmation, an antidote to Lebanon's grim relapse into the nightmare of internecine conflict and all out war.
Caramel received support from the French Centre National de la Cinématographie and the Fonds Sud.
186 Kilometres
Irreverent punk Estonian TV comics Rain Tolk and Andres Maimik received financial support from the Estonian Film Foundation to direct and produce the comedy/road movie, 186 Kilometres. Against all expectations, the film went on to become the biggest Estonian success in the country's cinemas in 2007, out-grossing US blockbuster Spider Man III.
There are cases, and Estonia is definitely one of them, when developing a national cinema has to be the overriding priority for nurturing cultural diversity and fostering intercultural dialogue. Estonia, a country of 1.5 million inhabitants sandwiched between large neighbours and submitted to a Hollywood onslaught, manages to do just that. The Estonian Film Foundation has the capacity to support just four to six local films each year, but the talent of people like Rain and Andres ensures that, Estonian people may enjoy their own culture reflected back at themselves in the cinemas, helping bolster Estonian audiences own identity. Looking at the place of cinema in the Intercultural dialogue, we have found that sometimes, cultural diversity has to start at home.
Link to 186 Kilometres case study
The Rainbow Producer
Dieter Kosslick, Director of the Berlinale, remembers with lingering sorrow mixed with admiration, the dedication to multi-cultural cinema of the late French film producer, Humbert Balsam, who died tragically on the eve of Berlinale 2006.
Humbert's friendship with Dieter was cemented by the passion of both men for bringing to the attention of the European cinemagoer films that reflect the plight and aspirations of the whole of humanity.
Had Balsam turned his considerable talent and energy to a different trade over the past 20 years, far fewer films would have been made that bear witness to cultural change in the Arab world and the struggles of a generation of young Europeans of Arab descent to find their own identity.
Many of the films produced through Humbert Balsam's company received support from the German Filmföderung Anstalt, German regional film funds, the French Fonds Sud and from the European Film Agencies (EFAD).
Link to Rainbow Producer case study
dvoted.net
For Pontus Hummelman, a 27-year-old Swede, intercultural dialogue starts with youth talking to youth across national borders and motivating each other to break into film. Pontus is the manager of dvoted, a pan-Scandinavian website dedicated to helping the young make their first short films, present them to their peers and exchange tips about all aspects of producing and directing.
dvoted is a lot more than a website. It is a web community which helps young people from across the Nordic region to network, grow professional skills and showcase their work.
dvoted is the brainchild of the Nordic Council of Ministers and is supervised and co-ordinated by the Film Institutes of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.
Link to dvoted case study
Celluloid Dreams
Cinema that promotes a dialogue between cultures can be good business and many of the films which promote cultural openness and dialogue are the result of cooperation between national film agencies and private sector film companies with vision and a dedication to quality.
The enduring success of the Paris-based Celluloid Dreams, a production and sales company with a commitment to quality auteur cinema from throughout the world attests, to this.
Launched in 1992 by Iranian-born Engameh Panahi, the company has evolved into an independent powerhouse, getting behind films which almost invariably treat cinema-goers to an alternative perspective on the world.
One of Celluloid Dreams' most recent achievements has been the animated feature, Persepolis, by French female cartoonist Marjane Satrapi. Born in Iran, but educated partly in France where she now lives and works, Satrapi offers a tender, satirical perspective on her country of origin's political and religious turmoil and the contradictions with which women of her generation grapple as immigrants into Europe's secular, consumerist culture.
Link to Celluloid Dreams case study
