Mockumentaries are easily defined: you take a manual on how to shoot the perfect documentary and apply it to non-existent or paradoxical topics.
The results may entertain (Peter Jackson’s Forgotten Silver), cannibalise the classic documentary and make us laugh in the
MOCKUMENTARY
process (Woody Allen’s Zelig) or contain an extra dose of malice: the efficacy of some mocks can also be measured on the number of spectators of listeners they manage to fool. Something halfway between humour and fake news: Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds as the distant
relative of the mixture of trolling and conscious disinformation that led Donald Trump to the White House. Anyway, Lago Film Fest is pleased to host an evening of screenings dedicated to the many nuances of this art for the irresponsible.
Talk and Screening
July 22nd
09.00 p.m. – Vicolo Arco
Documentari impossibili
The radical mockumentary. Francesco Croce‘s is, in substance, a visual hack of the classic docs from History Channel, Discovery Science, National Geographic. After a careful selection, he extracts the audio from one documentary and the video from another: the only editing consist of the juxtaposition of these two tracks. The result is a series of documentaries from the Elsewhen, somewhere between flawed
divulgation and conspiracy theories, where ants are privy to the concept of time and UFOs might be able to reveal something about Lady Diana’s death. Gathering them on a Youtube channel, Documentari Impossibili, was unavoidable: there, another dystopia is raging, one with armour-clad commentators (of the “I’ve seen the light” and “how-dare-you” variety) fighting over a video that, all in all, isn’t really there.
Grazie al Klaus
The parody kind. The relation between Lago Film Fest and the ZERO team harks back a long time, and indeed culminated in a mockumentary: Lago Film Fest – A Documentary by Zero threw the 2015 edition in the midst of an intrigue worthy of a hallucinated Michael Moore (so, basically, of Michael Moore). Just one year later, Zero aimed for the heart of the institutions: Grazie al Klaus was produced by
Aurelio and Luigi de Laurentiis’ Filmauro, and accompanied the launch of Volfango de Biasi’s Christmas in London – God Save the Queen (also produced by Filmauro). It reveals that the secret behind its success is actor coach Klaus Montessori, a master among the stars, who lent his talents to guide Lillo and Greg, Nino Frassica and Paolo Ruffini. How to destroy your Christmas film, reads the tagline. Honesty is the best policy.
On Vous Ment!
The consecration. ON VOUS MENT! is a newly founded Parisian festival and the first one in Europe that specifically aims to honour the fake documentary genre. A front-row seat on the impact of images and their manipulation, where deconstructive spirit, punk taste and gullibility converge. OVM’s staff has curated a selection for Lago Film Fest, choosing some of the best mockumentaries from their most recent edition: it’s the first seed of what we hope will become a permanent section of our festival.
APOLLO 11 ½
Olaf Held / Germany / 2017 / 5’50’’
LA GITA – REPERTO NUMERO 3
Pablo Zaffaina, Alberto Guariento / Italy / 2016 / 13′
BOB
Marc Roessler /Germany / 2015 / 4’40’’
AFTER ERIC: PART OF THAT WORLD
Marcus J. Richardson / Great Britain / 2015 / 14′
PRKTRNIC
Julien Patry / France / 2013 / 4’44’’
LES RESCAPÉS DE L’IMPOSSIBLE EP. 1 – LE CONVOI DE LA PEUR
Mathieu Berthon / France / 2017 / 16′