Interview with Charlie Cockey: Cinequest's European film curator

Ever watched a black comedy from Serbia or Hungary at Cinequest? How about a Norwegian or Swedish documentary about experimental yodeling? Chances are somewhere in the back of the theater Charlie Cockey was standing with a wry smile.

Every year for "more than he has fingers to count" Charlie is the guy scouting out amazing, challenging and frustration inducing films from Europe and Asia for Cinequest. He was kind enough to give us some insight into the madness to his methods.

Subject: Re: Request Short Interview for Cinequesting blog

OK, Here we go..........

• How far back do you and Cinequest go? When did you start selecting films for them?

How far back? Good question. Problem is, I only have ten fingers, and I only know it's more than that. I started sometime back in the early 90s, doing that most beloved and necessary of jobs, Print Traffic Coordinator. If a guest can't make it to a festival, you have no guest. If in advance you can't get a film programmed to the festival for one reason or another, you find something else. But if, during the festival, an expected print doesn't arrive, or goes to the wrong place, you have no projection, a dark screen; and if you have dark screens, you have no festival. These people have an enormous task with enormous responsibility, and are by and large not considered when the running and maintenance of a festival is discussed. It's a hugely stressful job, one filled with "nightmare stories", so let's raise a glass (and wottheheck, shed a tear) for these heroes buried in the background.

While I was doing Film Traffic I started going to Europe. One year - 1998 - I got invited to the Munich Film Festival, and Mike Rabehl (the ancient, the wise, the very tall) told me if I saw something there, one maybe two really outstanding films that I thought would be great for Cinequest, to go ahead and invite it/them. They say you always remember your first; well, boy, in this case they were absolutely right. I will never forget my excitement and joy when I saw "Surrender, Dorothy", a wonderfully insane American indie by Kevin DiNovis. Kevin was there, we spoke, I invited, and Cinequest showed it. Not too long after that I started spending more and more time in Europe, and Halfdan invited me to be Cinequest's European Film Programmer (which no, does *not* restrict me to European films only; it means more that I'm their Alec Guinness in Europe). The rest is hyster... er, history........

• Does the role of 'curator' ever get in the way of you enjoying a film? Are you constantly scouting throughout the year?

Nothing EVER gets in the way of my enjoying a film (except perhaps occasional exhaustion), simply because I see films first and foremost as a lover of both film and cinema (Irrelevant insert: for some reason a moment from an old Harvard Lampoon LP pops into my head: a strange-voiced rock "expert" talking of Neil Young's passing (and we all know Neil is still very much with us and better all the time) says: "His death was a great loss to both rock *and* roll <Insert-Insert: My nomination for best concert film of all time is Jonathan Demme's "Neil Young: Heart of Gold" - your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to see this film, or, if you've already seen it, to watch it again.)

I watch all films first and foremost from a purely selfish motivation: I love watching films. And I would never invite a film to Cinequest for which I myself wasn't completely enthusiastic. I love that moment when you're sitting in a crowded theater -- the lights go down -- and *anything* is possible. From that point of potential perfection I try to judge all films by how *I* respond to them and by how well they achieve their intentions. If their intentions are low, then of course they can be accepted (and often dismissed) from this laziness - I would rather watch a brave film fail at something daring or challenging than a "safe" film slide by successfully on its nothingness of low expectations. It is for this reason that I get so excited when I find a film like this year's Cinequest film "Night Train" that attempts something incredibly difficult and pulls it off with such amazing skill and consummate artistry. Films like this I can watch over and over and get more from them each time. "Night Train" I have thus far seen Ithink either 4 or 5 times, most recently here at Cinequest: after introducing it I stayed to make sure the picture and sound was okay, and ended up watching the whole thing once more - and saw things even this time I'd not noticed before.

For me, my role as programmer is that of a friend recommending films - these are all films that for one reason or another I found fascinating, or moving; involving or thrilling; challenging or simply great fun. These are all films I've said "You have got to see this one!" (In fact, that's quite literally part of the selection process - "Mike, I've just seen an amazing film - you have GOT to see this one, and we have GOT to get it for Cinequest!"

Do I scout all year long? Absolutely. I attend festivals year-round, almost monthly. My first festivals of the calendar year are the Hungarian Film Week in Budapest in late January, followed immediately by the Berlinale in early February. My last festival of the year varies, but is often in November or early December.

• This years crop of films seems to lean heavily on France and Russia. Does that happen by coincidence or do you think countries occasionally have "good years" for film?

This year that's a mixture of intention and coincidence. I haven't noticed that we have many French films, but with the Russian films, we originally thought of doing a Russian sidebar, then later abandoned the idea, then suddenly towards the end Mike received a slew of great Russian films and ..... behold. Other years they've been completely intentional, as with the year we highlighted Norwegian cinema; other years simply because for whatever reason there were an inordinate number of films of such quality that to *not* invite several of them would have been unthinkable, such as last year's plethora of central- and east-European films.

• Do you watch many American films or have American directors that you follow religiously?

Actually, no, I don't watch that many new American films. I'm working on getting the length of a day increased to at least 28 hours, in which case I'll definitely watch more, but as it stands I just find myself more drawn to international fare. That is not to say that American films are of any lesser qualilty - in truth most films made anywhere are less than exciting. I think it's simply that I can endure a realtively uninteresting Balkan film than I can a somewhat boring American Indie. For that matter, I can "enjoy" a second rate Japanese film more than a Chinese misfire. It's all a matter of taste. But when I see something like "Wendy and Lucy" or "Frozen River", both Indies I found quietly magnificent, I am thrilled.

• Cinequest audiences are pretty accepting of films that challenge and sit outside the typical structures of Hollywood. Have you ever programmed a film that went too far and had people gnashing their teeth and demanding explanations?

I certainly hope so - I certainly try to include films that will challenge the audience. Once in a while I've even suggested - and occasionally programmed - films almost as an agent provocateur: "Let's see what you make of THIS one" - but always always always these are films I love myself, so my hope is that people *will* respond to them, to the challenge of them. I think "Historias Extraordinarias" this year challenges its audience, if only their stamina, by its inventive way of telling stories; and "Night Train", with its pacing (by the way, a film not at Cinequest that fits this bill and is opening soon, "Stellet Licht" (Silent Light) by Carlos Reygadas, I consider an out-and-out masterpiece and recommend wholeheartedly as one of the most profound and moving and quite simply beautiful films I've seen in ages). But a film that went too far? I'm not sure what that is. For me, a film should strike a balance between the emotions and the intellect, and I'm not really sure what "too far" would mean; if it has these two elements, then all others follow........ On the other hand, I don't think we NEED to understand all films thoroughly; some of them operate on an intuitive level.

Hope this is what you wanted; not too lengthy............

Off to today's screenings
charlie

Thanks for taking the time to do this Charlie and thanks for all your dedication to Cinequest!