Yves Jeanneau: Story & Style, Good Documentary must Has \"Two Legs\"

As the Jury Chairman of Documentary of 19th STVF, Yves Jeanneau, who is famous for his documantary films globally, thinks that a good documentary film must stand on two "legs",one is story-telling and the other one is the way one story is told."A real documentary needs time and it can\'t be made quickly,it is not fast food." Yves Jeanneau said that Chinese documentary industry in the last four years had been incredibly roaring up, and bet on their future.

Daily News: Could you talk about your feelings after seeing those films?

Yves Jeanneau:It\'s always interesting to screen 15 films altogether because it gives a large scope of what is done, documentary films from all around the world. I would say, from that selection, it was clear that all the juries agree that all of that selection was really good, interesting and awardable. And it is interesting to see why these films are better than the others, why they are up. I think it because of their story-telling quality. These films are telling their stories in a better way, in a more universal, in a more clever, warm and subtle way than the others, which are more traditionally, if I can say so, which means more flat or straight, straight to the point, from the beginning to the end, but not surprising.  

Daily News: So does it mean that your basic judgments are based on the story-telling skills, or how the story is told in the documentary films?

Yves Jeanneau:Well! We stand on two "legs" and one is that story is very important, and I think that we, the juries, gave the award to important stories, not only for Chinese, but also for universal. But then, the second leg is as important as the first one. And the second leg is about style, about the way one story is told. A good story by itself can be read by how is told. And that\'s why I think it\'s not one more than the other, they need to work together.

Daily News: What do you think about the international trend of documentary films? How is evolution of documentary films, international wise?

Yves Jeanneau: Yes, there is a strong evolution these years. Because of the competition, because nowadays, the global world is competing, which was not the case 5 years ago. 5 years ago, a few Asian films were in the international competition, few from Africa, few from these new continents. Nowadays, the level is not the same, so there is a bigger competition. On the other hand, documentary asks us to compete globally as well, against TV format, against easy TV, against new cheap forms of TV programs. And documentary is more difficult, it takes more time. A real documentary needs time and it can\'t be made quickly. It must be done slowly, it is not fast food. That\'s why it is so important to us for such a festival. To show and tell people that this is the quality, this is the dedication. People who are doing these films are dedicated and passionate.  

Daily News: How should film makers balance between filming techniques and the story itself?  How do you balance those two "legs"?

Yves Jeanneau:  I would say the documentary film makers today must extend his own skills and techniques to any type of film and he must know the drama techniques. Maybe, he needs some knowledge of the animation as well. He must be careful about the way he uses all these techniques or technical means, because, nowadays, we have new cameras which can shoot at night with no light and cameras that can shoot very fast movements. And you have to know how to use these tools. So being a documentary film maker today needs a lot of technical skills. But the story telling ability is really important, because more and more, you can see documentary films which are made as movies. It\'s not only journalistic techniques, it\'s more than that. It\'s cinematographic ability. 

Daily News: How do you think about the integration of 3D techniques into documentary films?

Yves Jeanneau:  well! We are still in the 2D era. It\'s still something people have to explore. 3D is very visual; it\'s really new and gives possibilities. But it\'s too young. We do not have many, some but not many experience of real film makers or good directors using the techniques, because when they use the techniques, they learn how to use it. Wim Wenders did one thing on the 3D about Pina Bausch, the dancer, which is really interesting because he succeeded to use that technique in a very creative way. But we have to wait to talk about it.
 
Daily News: How do you understand Chinese documentaries?

Yves Jeanneau: Chinese documentary industry in the last four years has been incredibly roaring up, developing itself, competing on the international market. It\'s incredible because four years is very short time. And I feel that Chinese documentary community is growing up, developing itself. I bet on their future. 

Daily News: Are there any Chinese documentary productions that really impressed you?

Yves Jeanneau:  In recent years, Last Train Home to China Heavyweight, or The Fallen City, which are films that Chinese film makers make very successful in the international festivals, gave Chinese documentaries very high level. But in the domestic programs, there are a lot of interesting documentaries, more than one or two year ago. That\'s really extending.

Daily News:  Chen Qiaoqing is a jury member for the documentary category. Have you ever watched any TV programs, such as A Bite of China, that were directed by him?

Yves Jeanneau: Yes, I know about that. It\'s very popular and interesting and it\'s well done. He is now doing his second series. It\'s perfect. It\'s part of the development I was talking about.
 
Daily News:  Would you please talk about how are Chinese documentaries different from other international productions?

Yves Jeanneau: There are differences. But it changes nowadays. The difference is about TV productions. Chinese productions are usually long series, slow written. But this is changing, because more and more Chinese producers are doing 2-hours or even 90-minute international version. It was true for the Forbidden City series, for example. They have the 10-part series and 2-hour version for international audience, and 2-hour version actually works very good.

Daily News:  How do you balance between commercial aspect and the artistic pursuit of documentaries?

Yves Jeanneau: That\'s the two "legs" that we stand on. We have to take care of financing the films and we have to do the films artistically well. And maybe, you do it very well artistically, you can have better money for it. Sometimes it works together.