March 30, 2007
The Myth Revisited
Reiner Holzemer
Magnum in Motion, a traveling festival with films by and about Magnum photographers as well as several essays by the agency's multimedia division, is moving on from Guadalajara to Thessaloníki, Istanbul, New York and Melbourne. It began its worldwide tour at the Berlinale Film Festival in February where it opened with the documentary "Magnum Photos: The Changing of a Myth." The film maker, Reiner Holzemer, shares his experience of revisiting his 10-year-old documentary in the company of Magnum photographers.
Robert Capa shooting film during the Spanish Civil War in October 1938. Gerda Taro.
I arrived in Berlin Friday afternoon. In the evening, my film “Magnum Photos: The Changing of a Myth“ was going to be shown at the Berlin Film Festival 2007. I expected no big event, no big movie theatre and no crowds because the film is almost 10 years old. The only advantages that I saw in this late screening were an invitation to Berlin, a nice hotel room and a festival pass, which would give me access to free tickets.
I was not nervous at all when I entered the Berlinale International Film Festival office. Caroline Walke, the assistant for the special screenings series, said “Hello, good to see you! I have great news. The screening tonight is sold out and all the Magnum photographers, who are in town, will come to see the show. Elliott Erwitt is here, Dennis Stock, Martine Franck, Thomas Höpker, Raymond Depardon (the Oscar winner!) and Donovan Wylie. Your film will be the opening of the Magnum in Motion series.“ Now I became nervous, when I left the office.
I remembered the pressure that I felt when I was shooting the film in 1998 and the sickness that came along with the long editing process.
At that time, I was a nobody in the international world of documentary film making. I had only made a few more or less successful documentaries for German and French TV. One was about the photographer Thomas Höpker, who is a member of Magnum in New York. He told me that Magnum was going to celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1997 and that it would be important to make a film about the renowned agency which was founded by famous photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Bob Capa and two others.
Now I sat in Berlin, opening “Magnum in Motion” with my documentary film. The theatre was packed and Thomas Höpker gave a nice and short introduction before the screening started, saying that the Magnum photographers trusted and liked me and therefore they allowed me to take a closer look at the agency and its well known photographers. I smiled and the light went out.
During the screening, I realized all the mistakes I had made. I don’t want to go into details. It would embarrass me. It is a horror trip when you watch a film which you made 10 years before. There is such a huge gap between then and now in the quality of your work. I felt ashamed.
After I had finished the film in 1998, I had sent a copy to most of the Magnum photographers. The reaction was as controversial as the agency is. Some liked it, because they felt that the basic idea of the agency was communicated in the film. Others did not like it, because it was too long or just because they were not in it. It is hard to satisfy 50 different people with one film. I tried my best to show Magnum as it appeared to me in the late 90s, as an outstanding group of artists with the need to adapt to a changing market. All these thoughts and memories came back to me while I was watching my film.
After the light went on in Berlin I felt a bit like René Burri, when he became a member of Magnum. His first assignment was to photograph the shooting of an Ingrid Bergman movie in Paris. When he entered the studio, she kissed him. Magnum had delivered this experience to René. I wasn’t kissed by anybody in Berlin, but I thought, thank you Magnum for these wonderful experiences!
Magnum in Motion dates:
Thessaloníki International Film Festival: April 19 - April 25
Istanbul Modern: May 4 - May 13
Film Society Lincoln Society Walter Reade, New York: May 30 - June 7
Melbourne International Film Festival: July 25 - August 12
Published on the Magnum Blog on March 30, 2007
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