Co/Ma

This 90 minute film produced and photographed by Mike Figgis could be seen as a blue print for a new type of cinema – a cinema that does not have a pre-produced script, a cinema in which artificial lights are not used, a cinema shot on HD video and edited with Final Cut Pro, and having a conception to distribution cycle of 1 week.

Co/Ma is the result of a European Film Academy master class run by Mike Figgis with 19 filmmakers and actors at the Ljubljana studio, Slovenia.

The film begins with an argument about ownership and rights between Figgis and the 25 participants. Has the film with a argument or is this a documentary footage of the master class, or a mockmentary moment. In the next 90 minutes we are never sure what genre or type of film we are watching. But what does happen is that all elements of how to make a film are explored. There is a 3 minute movie inside the movie and its shows you what all movies need drama that is the result of conflict. And Co/Ma is conflict from start to finish – but is it real or acted.

The DVD has a commentary track by Figgis is well worth listening to after your first viewing of the DVD.

to make a feature length film in a week and show it to the public is a highly original idea. and to do so in a collective, democratic work structure where everyone involved in the making is a filmmaker and has equal rights in the decision making process is a new perspective in film-making, if it works or not is something else. the mike figgis audio comments alone make this DVD worth watching, everything he has to say about film-making is worth listening to if one is interested in films. all the participants are interesting to observe while doing their thing, some are more outgoing others do their thing in a quite way. there are some parts here that seem to long but seeing it as what it was, a masterclass for young filmmakers and as an experiment, a lecture and a documentary of work in process, Co/Ma is definitely cool. In some original sources all participants share all credits, so this is not a Mike FIggis Film, its a film with and by co/ma (cooperative marxists).

This has barely anything to do with Mike Figgis, only one sequence shows any of his influence. The rest is complete rubbish, bad actors mucking around with nothing at all to say. The fact that 19 up-and-coming (and hopefully now-going-down) actors and filmmakers got the chance to meet and work with Figgis and made this pile of... is extremely depressing for those of us who would have killed to have had their opportunity. Having met a modern master of cinema (Hotel, Timecode), they then decided to make a pastiche of a soap opera. No wonder some of them even break down in tears at their colleagues' waste of this chance.

And one more thing, those 11 votes of ten (as of May '06) for this film? Hmmm... the filmmakers themselves me thinks.