Film is appropriation - it is the skill of stealing views. We cinematographers steal without taking things away. And we leave traces behind at the scene.
Every single shot is a claim of responsibility: we record images and project mental pictures at the same time. We cast glances. The things we perceive we fill with curiosity, questions and meanings. This reciprocity is magical. Ideas and reality merge inside a picture. Is it a privilege to produce films? It was, until a few years ago. But things have changed. A fundamental transition is taking place in production and distribution of film. Now it is possible to shoot a movie with a small, handy camera. “At Second Glance - Social Club Buena Vista“ is one of those films that could not have been produced a few years ago. 180 hours of footage. Edited on a notebook. This was due to the low budget, however, using a small camera was the only possible way to shoot the film: most of the shooting was done without the Cuban authorities’ know ledge. But the main thing was that, by using this minimum technical equipment, we worked together closely with the protagonists, enabling us to establish a dialogue with them and a reality which had seemed quite unapproachable to us.

IN-BETWEEN TWO OPPOSITIONAL PERSPECTIVES

Those of us who work in the low-budget league benefit from the technical development. It has made the democratisation of the media irreversible. It is not a question of whether the film will change in its nature and perception in the future, but rather how this change will come about. The German film critic Michael Althen is one of those voicing their expectations; “Compared to other arts, cinema is about level with cave painting” (2007). And then there are polemic voices like that of Chris Marker: “No, film will not have a second century. That’s all there is to it, you can write it that way” (1991).