Documentaries versus Mockumentaries

»Just the facts, Ma'am.« - Sergeant Joe Friday.
»Salzburg, Mannheim, Montreal - lying's going on everywhere.« - Hü Schenkel

The purpose of the documentary film, it is said, is to depict reality. And most achieve this without leaving any doubt whatsoever. On the other hand, there are also a number of slippery customers out there exploiting this phenomenon to the hilt and making films which are nothing but a whopping great tissue of porkies from start to finish - threadbarely disguised as our trusty friend, the documentary film. It all boils down to nobody having any idea who or what can be trusted anymore.

That, I put it to you, is the dilemma the world faces today.With a breathtaking lack of scruples, the media is now hard at it selling us monstrous family-packs of lies as - cross my heart and hope to increase circulation - the truth. Newspaper photos are doctored, entire television reports (including their interviews with dealers, street kids and experts) are staged for the cameras and "resting" actors are paid to appear on daytime talk shows and reveal lurid details of private lives which never existed. Now, more than ever before, you need to stay wide awake and keep your wits about you.

This programme, a double-whammy of genuine and fake documentaries, should give us an opportunity to sharpen our senses and practice the art of separating the real wheat from the chuffing chaff. To make things a little more interesting, we have taken the most plausible fakes and the furthest-fetched genuine articles and thrown them together - and we are not letting on which is which.

The end result is a rare treat featuring the educational, the informative and the genuinely curious. Attentive members of the audience may well think they spotted members of the Gauck Authority trying to reconstruct the largest Stasi-Files puzzle in the world, or a Zen Buddhist dentist guiding us around his flat, or perhaps witnessed the ancient tradition of cucumber-sticking being kept alive, or indeed found out more about a Dutch drugs project where heroin addicts fill in colouring-books which are then sent off to nursery schools or even... ach, you'll believe it when you see it.
Or perhaps not.

FACTS AND FAKES 1

Sunday, 3th June 2001, 10.30 p.m. Lichtmeß
Mittwoch, 6th Jne 2001, 8 p.m. Zeise 1

1. Schgaguler
Martin Kirchberger, Deutschland 1988, 11'40 Min., 16 mm, b/w, dt. OF, documentary

2. My Father's Lunch
Tony Mendoza, USA 1995, 7'30 Min., color, engl. OF, documentary

3. Cornelius
Nicole Kassell, USA 2000, 8 Min., 16 mm, b/w, engl. OF, documentary

4. Jimmy Jenseits
Romeo Grünfelder, Deutschland 1993, 7 Min., 16 mm, color, dt. OF, documentary

5. Travellinckx
Bouli Lanners, Belgien 1999, 16'20 Min., 35 mm, b/w, franz. OF, documentary

6. Zwischen vier und sechs
Corinna Schnitt, Deutschland 1998, 6’00 Min., 16 mm, color, dt. OF, fiction documentary

7. 30 Minuten - Aflevering 5: Geboren in een verkeerd Licham
Arjan Ederveen/Pieter Kramer, Niederlande 1995, 30 Min., Betacam SP, color, OF m. engl. UT, documentary

FACTS AND FAKES 2

Montag, 4th June 2001, 5.30 p.m. Zeise 2
Freitag, 8th June 2001, 8 p.m. Lichtmeß


1. Ein Wunder
Stanislaw Mucha, Deutschland 2000, 7 Min., Betacam SP, dt./poln. OF m. engl. UT, documentary

2. Jan T zen oder die Kunst als Zahnarzt pleite zu gehen
Stefan Landorf, Deutschland 1998, 11'52 Min., 35 mm, color, dt. OF, documentary

3. Blur Up - Wahre Bilder vom wirklichen Schatz des Priamos
Dr. Martin Emele, Deutschland 1998, 15 Min., Betacam SP, color, dt. OF, scientific documentary

4. Lehrfilm über die Rekonstruktion von Stasiakten
Anke Limprecht, Deutschland 2000, 11'30 Min.,16 mm, b/w, no Dialogue, documentary

5. Buchholz bleibt!
Martin Kirchberger, Deutschland 1990, 14'20 min., 16 mm, b/w, dt. OF, documentary

6. 30 Minuten Aflevering 1: Vrije Verstrekking