Lights, Camera, Singer: Introducing Offenburg’s Mike Singer

The business of professional video production is Vichy Ratey’s business! The man has already produced young artists like Ryan Hellenbrand, Besart Morina and Ali Delic from the Rap-Hip-Hop milieu. His latest focus is on a 13-year-old Offenburg boy called Mike Singer.

When you watch any of the 15 videos currently on YouTube, you’ll immediately see the expert editing and camera work that marks these small visual masterpieces. Mike may be the singing center of these experiments, but Vichy’s photographic creativity looms through the productions!

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Siemiany (2009)

A co-production of Poland and Belgium, the short film Siemiany tells the story of the growing up experience of two adolescent boys – in particular their sexual awaking. The frequent usage of hand-held cameras and the addition of seemingly isolated scenes (in which various characters directly address the viewer), give the film an almost documentary feel.

The dialogue between Andrzej and Micha, the two young protagonists in the film, may shock some of the more conservative audience.

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Gabriel (1999)

Renaat Coppens’s short film Gabriel impresses with its beautiful cinematography. It appears as if the film was shot using a sepia filter, but in reality the colors are delicate nuances on black and white that gives a surreal, unearthly feel to the movie. The film tells the story of a young boy growing up among nuns at an isolated monastery. His name is Gabriel and he doesn’t think of himself as a boy, but as a fallen angel impatiently awaiting the time when his wings will grow.

One gets to know Gabriel and his surroundings as he narrates the story himself. It soon becomes clear that he doesn’t like living in the monastery and doesn’t think highly of the nuns with one exception: Silvia – the only one who believes in him. Although there are no conversations between the characters of the film, the pictures and sound create a wholesome story aided by a voiceover narrative by the adolescent protagonist. The musical score appropriately features treble voices, keyed fiddles and flutes that mix together to provide a spellbinding musical accompaniment fit for a heavenly story.

**Kai Walgraven Plays the Title Role in Gabriel**

The Coming-of-Age motif of the film can be found in the thoughts of the young Gabriel, who seeks to explore and understand the world that surrounds him. His innocence shines through – emphasized by the appearance and the expressions of the young Kai Walgraven as Gabriel. Quite frequently, beautifully shot films tend to disappoint with their stories. But that is not the case with this one. On the contrary, I was amazed by the sad, poignant and unexpected finale.

You can see the film at the site of its director Renaat Coppens .

IMDB listing

CHARLIE 13

Today I stumbled upon FutureStates – an intriguing independent TV series that features various filmmakers’ visions of what American society will look like in the future. From the digital shorts they have made available on their website, I chose Charlie 13 for two reasons: it’s a Coming-of-Age narrative and it focuses on privacy and individualism.

In Charlie 13‘s version of the future, families are tracked by the government with microchips in their fingertips, so that the government knows where its citizens are at all times. Charlie is a boy of twelve, going on thirteen, and is required to submit to a government-mandated tracking implant- for his own good, for “his safety”. He still can make a choice …if they let him….

CHARLIE 13 By Michael McMillian

These days most people have a camera in their pocket, governments utilize spy satellites and many carry a tracking device with them all the time – their cell phone. Some people would argue that if you are not doing anything wrong then why worry about privacy rights. But, hey, you don’t do anything wrong in the bathroom too (I assume) but you still wouldn’t want to do it in the middle of Times Square.

In the movie, Charlie’s mother urges him to get the implant with the words “The whole world is watching you now. You have to step in line like everyone else”. Another argument for the usage of implants mentioned by one of the characters in the film was that they “make you part of something bigger”. Hearing this made me recall a similar argument used by people who try to convince you that there is no harm in opening a personal Facebook account.

Charlie 13 makes us think about our right to have our own life and privacy. The media is only too happy to spread paranoia these days – making people believe that children (and even adults) are less safe than they were ten or twenty years ago. Are we willing to give up our individuality for reasons of conformity and safety?

Director/Producer/Writer Michael McMillian states that his film features a universal story about a “13-year-old kid who is a getting a good look at the world of adulthood and doesn’t like what he sees”. I totally identify with that statement and congratulate Mr. McMillian for having the courage to address the now controversial issues of personal freedom. The short film is shot extremely well and the acting was better than average. But the best feature of the film is its message.

Watch Charlie 13 – A Future Friday Premiere on PBS. See more from FutureStates.

Ways to Live Forever (2010)

I knew this film was going to be strong and memorable. It is not the first Coming-of-Age drama about the sensitive issue of a child death I have seen. The Last Snows of Spring, Matching Jack, Oscar et la Dame Rose and Planta 4a live in my memory with their emotional content. The 2010 coproduction of the United Kingdom and Spain, Ways to Live Forever touches one mainly because its protagonist – the twelve-year-old Sam (Robbie Kay) who has been diagnosed with leukemia — narrates his own story.

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Tribute to Madonna – the VOGUE BOY

Childhood memories. I stumbled upon a great video on Vimeo that was shot in the 90s and puts to shame the viral clips of today. In the video, Robert Jeffrey shares a recording of a dancing performance he did at nine-years-old to the music of his favorite singer — Madonna.

I have rarely seen someone dancing with such enthusiasm (exceptions of course are the performances of Marcel Pietruch and George Sampson). This video got picked by various media such as The Huffington Post and Jezabel and I could not resist doing a blurb about it for this site.

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Bezhin Meadow (1937)

If you open any textbook on cinema and cinematic language it almost certainly will contain references to one of the pioneers of the cinema: Sergei M. Eisenstein. Although the scene of the Odessa stairs massacre in Battleship Potemkin (1925) is usually the one chosen for analysis, I picked another one of his films: Bezhin Meadow, which was released in 1937.

Unfortunately, due to the political tensions of the time, no copies of the film have survived to this day. But, in the 1960s, the script, negatives, story board, and notes on the film were utilized to reconstruct it. The result is a 31 minute silent short film, which is the one I viewed and on which this review is based.

The story in Bezhin Meadow represents a symbolic struggle between a boy of the new Russia and his evil father of the old one. At first I had doubts that a film such as this, which seemed somewhat similar to viewing an image slideshow set to music, would have any emotional impact on me. I was up for a surprise. After all, movies are a sequence of still frames that, when screened at specific speeds, create an illusion of movement.

Although the Bezhin Meadow frame rate was only about 2 frames per second, my mind kept reconstructing the situations and events it showed. It was as if half of the film was seen and half imagined. As it’s a silent film, I obviously couldn’t judge acting performances from the way the cast delivered dialogue, but the actors’ expressive emotions were well conveyed on their faces. The masterful photography had as remarkable an effect on me, favorably comparable to anything I have felt after watching a poignant Coming-of-Age film produced in recent years.

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The soundtrack, based on works by the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev, felt heavy and intense and truly enhanced the mood of the film. This is the second film I have seen which features music from Prokofiev, the 1989 French drama Je suis le seigneur du château (I’m the King of the Castle) being the first — and I am truly amazed at how his music heightens the dramatic impact of a scene.

While I imagine that seeing Bezhin Meadow will benefit mostly students of cinema and young directors, I don’t hesitate to recommend it to anyone for the film’s artistic values that have made it a real classic of Coming-of-Age cinema.

Bezhin Meadow (1937)

The Jump (1999)

The German short film Der Sprung/The Jump (1999) relates the story of the friendship between two German boys, put to the test when they become victims of local bullies. Will they stand up for each other? Can they get it back…or will the desire of the day to be on the side of the strong prevail? This is a tale about friendship and the courage to conquer one’s own fears…

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Bulgarian Coming of Age Movies

Each nation has them: classic Coming-of-Age films popular with audiences within the country, but with limited or no awareness about them on the international level. Throughout the years, I’ve been able to discover intriguing movies from places like Russia, Poland and the Czech republic – largely thanks to discussions at online communities and forums that focus on world cinema.

Those discussions have inspired me to introduce seven films from Bulgaria. Most of these films were never released with English subtitles, which limit their audience primarily to countries that utilize the Cyrillic alphabet. Most of the Coming-of-Age and children`s films in Bulgaria

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Fifth Annual Coming-of-Age Movie Awards

Keeping the tradition alive – TheSkyKid.Com launches the Coming-of-Age Movie Awards for a fifth consecutive year.

The Coming-of-Age Movie Awards recognize excellence in eight categories, for films and TV programming in that genre, which were released during 2012. The categories are: Best Actor, Best Newcomer, Best Performance in a TV Film, Best Cinematography, Coming-of-Age Value, Special Soundtrack, Best Short Film and Best International Film.

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Jitters (2010)

There aren’t many good films that focus on the life of teenagers now-a-days. Coming-of-Age narratives are typically set in the 60s or 80s, I assume targeting an audience mainly of people who are the same age as the protagonists of the movies. There are two notable exceptions – the 1995 Larry Clark film Kids and Catherine Hardwicke’s 2003 film Thirteen. Both films address controversial issues that are part of a teen’s life now-a-days, especially those living in an urban environment. More recently, Gavin Wiesen attempted to focus on the teenage life in The Art of Getting By, but the clichés in it were in such abundance that one could not help being disappointed by the predictable plot development.

The void is partly filled with the 2010 Icelandic drama Jitters. It tells the story of several teenagers – their feelings, hopes, successes and failures –while providing a genuine depiction of modern youth. While the main protagonist is 16-year-old Gabriel – a teen confused about his sexual identity — the film features several sub-plots linked to problems his friends face: a jealous girlfriend, an overprotective grandmother, prejudice…etc. I have seen films that fail when so many sub-plots are tied into the main story but, in this case, director Baldvin Zophoníasson manages to present the story in such a way that one ends up caring about every single character. Acting performances are on par with the plot. The lead actor, Atli Oskar Fjalarsson, may be familiar to some from his role in Smáfuglar (Two Birds), a somewhat similarly themed short film from Iceland (available on YouTube).

Like Kids, this film gets a bit depressing at times and I felt that it could have been a shorter film, as one does gets bored after a while, even while watching the endless parade of parties and crushes. Gabriel’s coming-out experiences (with all his uncertainty and confusion) is positively the most intriguing story to follow. Admittedly, while intriguing for a drama, the film is not all that moving.

I have seen better, but would still say that Jitters is a good film- not a masterpiece, but not a time-waster either. Some scenes would be unsuitable for kids under the age of 12, but should be fine for older audiences, especially those used to Scandinavian cinema.

Jitters – Teaser

Film title: Órói
Also known as: Jitters
Release year: 2010
Director: Baldvin Zophoníasson
Cast: Atli Oskar Fjalarsson, Ylva Holm, Birna Rún Eiríksdóttir, Lilja Guðrún Þorvaldsdóttir, Elías Helgi Kofoed-Hansen and others
IMDb Page

A Fine Dark Line by Joe R. Lansdale

I discovered A Fine Dark Line by Joe R. Lansdale in a list by Corey Smith at Amazon.com that featured Coming-of-Age Horror/Suspense novels. It’s a story told in the first person by its 13-year-old protagonist, Stanley Mitchell. This book grabbed me from the very first pages – not with scary deeds or happenings — but with a genuine and poignant description of Stanley’s boyhood experiences.

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TheSkyKid.com

TheSKyKid.com

Lights, Camera, Singer: Introducing Offenburg’s Mike Singer

Siemiany (2009)

Gabriel (1999)

CHARLIE 13

Ways to Live Forever (2010)

Tribute to Madonna – the VOGUE BOY

Bezhin Meadow (1937)

Bezhin Meadow (1937)

The Jump (1999)

Bulgarian Coming of Age Movies

Fifth Annual Coming-of-Age Movie Awards

Jitters (2010)

A Fine Dark Line by Joe R. Lansdale