Mafrouza/Coeur R: Emmanuelle Demoris Land: Frankreich/Ägypten 2007 Drehformat: MiniDV Format: DigiBeta, Farbe Länge: 164 Minuten Sprache: Arabisch mehr Informationen

Der Alltag in Mafrouza, einem heruntergekommenen Stadtteil von Alexandria, ist hart. Die Bewohner leben in großer Armut in verfallenen Häusern, ohne fließendes Wasser, Müllabfuhr und Kanalisation. Doch sie reagieren mit unglaublicher Energie und Fantasie auf diese Bedingungen und erfinden erstaunliche Strategien, den Widrigkeiten zu trotzen. Mafrouza/Cœur ist der zweite von fünf geplanten Teilen einer Langzeitstudie, die das Leben einiger Bewohner über zwei Jahre begleitet. [aus dem Forumprogramm]

How would you describe the aesthetics of your film?
I'd rather give a quote by the French filmmaker, Georges Franju : "I'm realistic by the force of things, which are poetic.". Beauty (or poetry) in the film comes more from things or people than from some processes in showing them.
The tonality of the film also comes from the status of the camera, which is present and can be felt as a character in scenes, people looking at it or addressing to it. Which is how the film is not made "about" the people of Mafrouza, but with them, in a reciprocal exchange later offered to the audience.

Why did you choose to shoot on a digital format (was it solely for financial reasons, or did aesthetics play a role)?
It is rather the other way round. I decided to make this movie because the digital format possibilities made it possible to imagine it. At first, I felt the need and the desire to make a film with the people of the Mafrouza neighbourhood in Alexandria but I didn't want to plan the final shape of the film because it depended on what I would discover while filming. So there was no production and no financement by that that time. I went on filming for two years, which I could decide and afford only in digital format. I had a camera and a mike, tapes were cheap and easy to find in Egypt. So I could go on with this experience, which result is to really discover people beyond clichés and to establish an interactive relationship with the camera, which makes the tonality of the film. Later on, I could also make a first rough cut editing, from which we decided the whole Mafrouza project would be 5 episodes (of which Mafrouza/Heart is the second), and that is when we could start with a regular production of the film. Thus, the film is the result of various experimentations that needed time and that wouldn't have been possible in classical film formats.
A main thing is that I had, while filming, a very intimate and close relationship to the people. And to preserve this, I had to be alone, or, maximum, sometimes with a translator. I tried to work with a sound engineer but gave up because it broke the relationship I had with the people I filmed. So the digital format allowed me to register both sound and image with the same machine, which meant keeping this close relationship with people.

Which format exactly did you choose (MiniDV, DVCAM, HDV, HD...), and why?
MiniDV. Because I had a PD 150. It is cheaper than DVcam and I never saw the difference with DVcam format in terms of image or sound.

What was special about shooting digital (e.g. compared to 35mm, was it your first time with dv or are you used to it ..)?
My previous film was shot in super16mm, so it obviously changed the way I worked. First in my relationship to the people I filmed because I could act while filming. I could look at the people and talk with them while filming, which modified both their presence and my involvement in scenes. Second, in my relationship to time. I could "waste" time and tapes to get the very beginning of an event, so I didn't feel anxious about "missing" something.
And it helped people to feel at ease with the filming. In the end, I would say that the new thing I discovered was how to work alone, dealing alone with the scene, with sound and image. On one hand, it is quite tirering, because you spend time and energy to seperate this various functions in your mind. On the other hand, it gives you a freedom that can be compared to the one you can have in writing.

What was your shoot-edit ratio?
1:15

One good word about DV / HDV (or two):
Allows you to stick to your desire when this desire doesn't fit the criteria on the industry.

One bad word about DV / HDV (or two):
Wide shots have a poor definition. So it's sometimes difficult to give the feeling of the world and space around people.
DV doesn't help post-production because you can easily damage the image as soon as you try to apply changes on it (such as calibration or subtitles).