From his outstanding directorial works like Krisana (2005) and Sarajevo Songs of Woe (2016) to the ingenious cinematography in Bela Tarr’s The Man from London (2007) and The Turin Horse (2011), Fred Kelemen is a man of many talents. It’s no wonder then that he is the first one-man jury in Golden Apricot history, invited to determine the winners of this year’s Apricot Stone shorts program. The emerging directors of all ten Armenian films in this section will meet the world-renowned master for a unique opportunity to receive feedback. For the Daily, Fred Kelemen shared five wisdoms on cinematic education.
1. Unlock the internal doors to your abilities
You cannot teach intuition, but you can sensitize people, and you can do that by practical example instead of theoretical explanations. This way, you can truly open certain doors, doors inside oneself. The biggest issue is that many internal doors are closed - those that lead to abilities we have, but we may not know they exist.
2. Identify the sources of your desires
We need to understand our own intentions; are they truly ours or were they imposed from the outside? Many people pursue intentions that aren't their own, leading to unhappiness as they try to practice for example certain arts while struggling with them in an unfruitful way instead of experiencing creative joy. It’s essential to grasp this notion — to identify the sources of our desires. Because true desire serves as a mirror, reflecting something we have deep inside us. We have to drop the fears and confusion that the outside world imposes and liberate the source of the true desire and bring it into reality. It is like the reflection of light caused by a hidden flame.
3․ Don’t obssess over technology
We are living in a time that is absolutely obsessed with technology promising to be the solution for everything, and that’s a problem. We forget about the human element. Technology will never be able to do something for us; that’s something we have to do by ourselves. A camera is a non-creative instrument. It always depends in whose hand it is. who’s looking through the viewfinder. You can make a good film with very simple equipment; it just depends on whether you have something to say, if you have an idea, a vision and if you find ways to bring that idea into a convincing form. A painter with a very poor brush may not be able to paint well with it, but perhaps this poor brush inspires a new style. The problem with film is that it costs quite some money which could be missing. It’s a question of how creative we can be within any circumstance.
4․ Watching too many films is a double-edged sword
It's important to know film history, as it’s good to know what has been done before, and beneficial to understanding film languages and styles. Watch films to grasp which threads have already been created by others before you weave your own. However, thinking that watching a lot of films teaches you how to make films is a mistake. This mindset can easily trap you into copying, filling your brain with notions from film history and theories, while losing touch with the original source of your artistic creation.
5․ Teaching is about liberating minds
After many decades of working with students from very different countries, I found ways to communicate with them. It’s not so much about teaching as it is about liberating their mindsets, helping them to break down some barriers and obstacles — assisting them, so to speak, to jump over the wall. The question is not that someone has to give you freedom to do this or that: no one can give you freedom. We are all born free. The problem is that freedom is taken away from us as we grow up through education, rules, fears, belief systems, all kinds of oppression and so forth. The most important thing is creating an atmosphere in workshops, seminars, or wherever, that allows students to understand they don’t have to be afraid and can use the freedom that they inherently possess to jump over the wall.
Artur Vardikyan
Photo by Mane Hovhannisyan
1. Unlock the internal doors to your abilities
You cannot teach intuition, but you can sensitize people, and you can do that by practical example instead of theoretical explanations. This way, you can truly open certain doors, doors inside oneself. The biggest issue is that many internal doors are closed - those that lead to abilities we have, but we may not know they exist.
2. Identify the sources of your desires
We need to understand our own intentions; are they truly ours or were they imposed from the outside? Many people pursue intentions that aren't their own, leading to unhappiness as they try to practice for example certain arts while struggling with them in an unfruitful way instead of experiencing creative joy. It’s essential to grasp this notion — to identify the sources of our desires. Because true desire serves as a mirror, reflecting something we have deep inside us. We have to drop the fears and confusion that the outside world imposes and liberate the source of the true desire and bring it into reality. It is like the reflection of light caused by a hidden flame.
3․ Don’t obssess over technology
We are living in a time that is absolutely obsessed with technology promising to be the solution for everything, and that’s a problem. We forget about the human element. Technology will never be able to do something for us; that’s something we have to do by ourselves. A camera is a non-creative instrument. It always depends in whose hand it is. who’s looking through the viewfinder. You can make a good film with very simple equipment; it just depends on whether you have something to say, if you have an idea, a vision and if you find ways to bring that idea into a convincing form. A painter with a very poor brush may not be able to paint well with it, but perhaps this poor brush inspires a new style. The problem with film is that it costs quite some money which could be missing. It’s a question of how creative we can be within any circumstance.
4․ Watching too many films is a double-edged sword
It's important to know film history, as it’s good to know what has been done before, and beneficial to understanding film languages and styles. Watch films to grasp which threads have already been created by others before you weave your own. However, thinking that watching a lot of films teaches you how to make films is a mistake. This mindset can easily trap you into copying, filling your brain with notions from film history and theories, while losing touch with the original source of your artistic creation.
5․ Teaching is about liberating minds
After many decades of working with students from very different countries, I found ways to communicate with them. It’s not so much about teaching as it is about liberating their mindsets, helping them to break down some barriers and obstacles — assisting them, so to speak, to jump over the wall. The question is not that someone has to give you freedom to do this or that: no one can give you freedom. We are all born free. The problem is that freedom is taken away from us as we grow up through education, rules, fears, belief systems, all kinds of oppression and so forth. The most important thing is creating an atmosphere in workshops, seminars, or wherever, that allows students to understand they don’t have to be afraid and can use the freedom that they inherently possess to jump over the wall.
Artur Vardikyan
Photo by Mane Hovhannisyan