IAC logo

The world of non-commercial film and A-V

Events Diary Search
The Film and Video Institute find us on facebook Join us on Facebook

Bookmark and Share

Nouvelles | Zeitungsartikel | Announcements | Front page


Tunisian flag. Image of Hammamet, Tunisia. Image of Hammamet, Tunisia. Image of Tunisia.

UNICA 2008 in Hammamet Tunisia
To all potential UNICA Congress participants

Dear film friends

Another round of discussions with the organising committee took place in Tunisia from 27th to 31st October. Here are the results in short. The preparations are already running full mode and communication between the organizing committee, the hotel consortium, the administrative authorities of Hammamet and the Tunisian Ministry of Culture is permanent and all possible efforts are made to for this event to be a great success.

Here is some information:

The registration forms and information sheet will be dispatched to all the participants of the previous years and UNICA will take care of the mailing in November/December 2007. The documents can also be ordered from the following address:

UNICA
Kuerbergstrasse 30
CH 8049 Zurich

tel. & fax +41.44.342.10.66
e-mail: unica2008@rcm.ch
website: www.unica2008.rcm.ch

You will find in the document all the information that is available at that stage. To ensure smooth processing of registrations, it is quite important that all payments be made via the UNICA account (just as we did for UNICA 2006 Korea).

I would like to make a request to all people concerned : please register as soon as you receive the documents with the registration form. Room assignment will be done on a "first come first served" basis. We also recommend to book the flight to Tunisia as soon as possible with your airline company.

All the other information available at that stage is provided in the document.

Faithfully yours

The UNICA Committee

Image of Hammamet, Tunisia. Image of Hammamet, Tunisia. Image of Hammamet, Tunisia. Image of Hammamet, Tunisia.

Link to top of page.


REPORT ON THE FRIENDS OF UNICA 2006/07

Officers

Ursula & Fred Graber
CHE-1276 Gingins
<video@triskel.ch>

Ultimo 2006 the state of membership is as follows

We have a total of 110 Members: 80 members, of which 30 couples - including 23 members for life. Since the ending of 2005 the number of members has increased with 8 persons. Our dedicated and amiable UNICA Friend-for-many-years, Joseph Queralto, regrettably deceased this spring.

Annual meeting

The traditional assembly of the Friends took place during UNICA 2006 on September 2nd In Kyongju (KOR). About 80 people met in a cheerful atmosphere in a high-quality hall of the Concorde Hotel. Despite my proposal to the contrary the assembly again was scheduled on Saturday, which meant many friends could not participate. Our appreciation goes to the ladies Kräuchi, Braunegger and Graber for their decisive help at the reception.

New members

A considerable number of people have asked for admission to the Friends of UNICA:

  • Dieter & Rita Böger (CHE)
  • Roland & Edith Brügger (CHE)
  • Chan Joo Chang (KOR)
  • Godlinde Herbst (AUT)
  • Helmut Hoschek (AUT)
  • Jaak Järvine (EST)
  • Bauke Jasper (NDL)
  • Dr.Günther Koepke (DEU)
  • Jaqueline Le Goff (FRA)
  • Helmut Ludwig (DEU)
  • Viktor & Anna Meier (CHE)
  • Stanislaw & Jadwiga Puls (POL )
  • Sonja Steger (AUT )
  • Reinhardt & Rosemarie Steininger (AUT)
  • Hanspeter Ullmann (CHE)
  • Rosemarie Van Krieken (NDL )
  • David & Jan Watterson (GBR)

Portrait of Fred Graber.There are some new faces but also some well-known UNICA participants and we are glad to welcome the new Friends cordially.

Financial Statement 2006

The past financial period concludes positively (ref: Financial Statement from the treasurer Thomas Kräuchi).

Get-together Friends of UNICA

President Max Hänsli encouraged the non-participating members in the Korea Congress to a get-together in 2007. Because of the self-sacrificing co-operation of Roland & Edith Brügger it was possible for this to take place from April 12th -15th in Thun (CHE). It was joint meeting with the UNICA Committee. In brilliant weather and with excellent atmosphere we spent the days in the mountains around Thun. We visited the historical town of Thun, sailed along the Thunersee to the Beatus canyon, climbed the Niederhorn and we explored the Beatus Grotto.

- Fred Graber (CHE), July, 31st 2007

Link to top of page.


Photo of the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin.Dear Friends of UNICA ...
FESTIVAL "EULENSPIEGELEIEN" - 1. - 3. Febr. 2008

The festival of humour and satire "Eulenspiegeleien" that takes place in Berlin will be organized by FIVIA, the Amateurs of Film and Video in Berlin. This festival will be held for the 34th time in 2008.

Guests will lodge in a beautiful hotel near to the "Müggelsee" lake at Berlin-Köpenick. You will enjoy all events in the same building. On Friday evening an especially humorous guest will make the audience laugh. On Saturday at 10 am the show of films will start in the big cinema hall of the hotel. On Saturday evening a fancy-dress ball "Cinema-carnival" will give opportunity to dance and enjoy several surprises. Even guests not wearing a humorous fancy dress will be accepted and allowed to enter. On Sunday morning the participants will go sightseeing to a place of historical or cultural value before getting a farewell drink at noon.

Link to top of page.


UNICA COMMITTEE MEETING & FRIENDS OF UNICA, THUN (CHE)

Portrait of Jeanne Glass.April 12th 2007

The best way for me to get to Switzerland from the south of France was by car, so I gaily took off, with GPS and Mappy as companions..You will understand later why this detail is important… After passing Grenoble and the border where one must exchange Euros for Swiss francs, I drove through the French-speaking cities to the accompaniment of great programs on Radio Swiss Romande. The gentle landscape and straight freeways didn't resemble what one thinks of as Switzerland.

In Bern, most people speak German. The scenery is gorgeous and soon I approached the lovely town of Thun with its fortified castle and canals flowing through the town. Our hotel was on the lake. My room faced an Alpine range beautiful to contemplate, but, I had to get down to work, as the committee meeting had 27 points on its agenda for the next day!

Fred Graber had told us all to come to the hotel gardens at the end of the day for refreshments and a friendly get-together. Friends of Unica were to share this sojourn, during which, work was indeed planned, as well as the historical, cultural and touristic discovery of this pleasant spot. There was the pleasure of seeing people again but also relaxation after a long trip in the car. The weather was warm and beautiful.

With friends from Unica, there were easy-going conversations, as if we had just seen each other the day before. Since the committee meeting in Warsaw in November and especially since Unica-Korea in August 2006, we certainly had a lot to tell - shared memories of places we visited, thoughts in common, laughing out loud.

This is natural when you have gone through fascinating times together, seen fine films, discovered new sites …

I felt that for the first time I went to a Unica film gathering in 1995 in France. I observed all those people saying hello, happy to see each other again, from all those countries, finding ways to express themselves in spite of linguistic difficulties. I found it fascinating then and now it is I who is sharing all these memories with filmmakers from all over the world.

But back to the subject at hand, our meeting in Thun. For dinner we took the city bus to get to the Rudolf Steiner school. There was a friendly atmosphere and we had a pleasant evening. The meal was prepared by the members of the Thun video club, family-style, who were devoted to organizing our well-being.

Some 40 of us sat down to table in the dining hall of the school where the organizers had installed a video projector - obviously we were going to see films, obviously these films were about Unica in Korea - it was an infallible means for us to relive the harmony felt in Unica 2006. Each film was centered on a point of view, so much so that the whole relected our stay in Korea. And those persons who had not been there in Korea could discover the country.

After a veritable feast of desserts, there we were on the bus again, back to the hotel where we would sleep, watched over by those impressive peaks, by moonlight, reflected in the dark waters of the lake.

April 13th 2007

Portrait of Max Hansli.The next day, the group of Friends of Unica, luckier than we, visited the old town and had lunch together. We on the Committee stayed in the large meeting room of the technichal high school which welcomed us. Max Hänsli had prepared a well-filled agenda.

Our meeting was long and exhausting, but productive I think. It is true that there are many subjects to discuss and decide upon. Future member-countries of Unica, possible countries for the holding of future Unica film festivals, and even closer to us, Unica 2007 to be held in Slovakia. Suzana Skoludova was there to fill us in - what a lot of work has been accomplished! Then plans for Unica 2008 in Tunisia, and Poland's propositions for 2009 …

Georges Fondeur of Luxemburg presented the proposals for modifying the Statutes, an unappealing job of harmonising the texts, yet, though it is meticulous work, it is necessary.

Since in past few years, the Unica juries have lacked time for discussion, certain improvements will be made in Slovakia.

And we all agreed on the point that we must encourage more young filmmakers to participate.

Our next meeting will be in Slovakia, then this winter in Poland, and in the spring, in Portugal.

In the evening our friends from the Thun Film club again welcomed us at the Steiner school for dinner. This time our evening was held in the company of musicians from the region, who had us discover their music played on typical instruments. For dinner we had raclette, served as it should be: the cook "scrapes" the cheese in front of a special heater, for the guests who bring up their plates.

We also learned about the philosophy behind the Steiner schools, the pedagogical notions and what becomes of the students from the schools.

April 14th 2007

We were beginning to know all about the city buses in Thun. And so, the next day, we met at the bus-stop for a grand departure by boat on the lake. Our day was fully planned. After a cruise on the lake there was a change in the means of transportation: the ski lift. I had never made such an ascent. I was bowled over. At the top, we could see the Jungfrau, 4158 meters high, in front of us. The enormous range of mountains stretched out on our horizon, it was breathtaking.

We had lunch in a restaurant in a high-perched village which was reached by ski lift and a short and pleasant hike.

We made a steep climb up to the Beatushöhlen, then visited the grotto which was nice and cool: from there we could admire enchanting views.

At the hotel, a good meal was waiting for us, and after such a full day we were hungry…the evening was spent listening to the adventures of previous Unicas told by the early participants themselves, particularly, the story of the "heroic" Unica held in Russia, with many amusing anecdotes…

Another festival of desserts..watch out, you can taste them all, but in moderation …

April 15th 2007

Sunday morning we said good-bye, thanking the organisers. We had felt the warmth in their welcome and hospitality, and had marvelled at nature.

Some were taking the train, others, the plane. I returned to my car for the trip to France when, alas, before a tunnel, on the way to Bern, a flat tire …

What to do on a Sunday, in Switzerland, far from any garage, on the freeway, with cars roaring past at 100 kms an hour? Disgusted, I read the instruction manual, jacked up the car and changed the tire. Rather proud of myself, exhausted before the trip home, I risked driving through France without a spare tire … but I got home safely.

- Jeanne Glass (FRA), UNICA Vice-president

Link to top of page.


REPORT ON THE ACTIVITIES OF IFTC (UNESCO)

Portrait of Serge Michel.Dear Delegates, dear friends,

The relationsup with the International Council for Film, Television and Audio-visual Communication (IFTC) at UNESCO have been marked by several events or celebrations.

October 20, 2006

On the occasion of the 22nd International Meeting "Images and Science" and the award ceremony held at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the 2006 "A l'Affiche du Monde" Grand Prix meant to reward a UNICA film dealing with the theme set for 2006 - emergence - went to the Iranian film Outaghr jigh (Cry Room) by the Iranian female film maker Shaida Zarinfam. This film is thus number 7 on the list of films kept in what the patrons of this award now call The Film Library of Humankind together with the six UNICA works that have already been registered under the "A l'Affiche du Monde" motto since the beginning of our cooperative action in 999.

I would like to remind you of all seven films on this list (no "Image and Science" meeting in 2005):

  • 1999 (theme "Trades and crafts")
  • 2000 (theme "Living together in friendliness")
  • 2001 (theme "Doubt")
  • 2002 (theme "Language")
  • 2003 (theme "Celebrating")
  • 2004 (theme "Changes, metamorphoses")
  • 2006 (theme "Emergence")
to the Iranian film Kelou (The Hat)
to the Italian film Pianissimo
to the Spanish film Dancing
to the German film Die Stille ist mir laut genug (Silence is Loud Enough for Me)
to the French film Why Dragons Are Extinct
to the British film Elegia
to the Iranian film Outaghr jigh (Cry Room)

October 21, 2006

I attended a meeting of the IFTC Executive Committee at UNESCO. The main items on the agenda was the report on the 2006 activities submitted by the Secretary-General and the preparation of the 2007 General Meeting. We would like to draw attention to the project for the creation of a UNESCO satellite platform "UNESCO" whose objective is to facilitate and develop the circulation, exchange and dissemination of works and audio-visual programs meeting the cultural, educational and scientific values fostered by UNESCO. Another interesting initiative is the idea of creating a Mediterranean Multipurpose Media Library at Specchia, in southern Italy.

November 2, 2006

Following an invitation from Cinémathèque de Bretagne (Brittany Film Library), I took part in a round table meeting in Brest, France on "the exchanges between film libraries and associations of non professional film makers." This forum was part of the program of the 15th Meeting of "Association Européenne des Inédits" (inédits = works not meant for professional viewing) whose head office is in Brussels. The theme of the 2006 Meeting was "non-professional filmmakers". On that occasion, I had been requested to make a presentation on UNICA and its actions as a cooperative member of IFTC at UNESCO. Philippe Sevestre, the president of FFCV (French Federation) and Ben Teeninga, the film librarian of NOVA (the Dutch Federation) - a well-known figure at UNICA - also attended this meeting.

January 12, 2007

The IFTC General Meeting was held at UNESCO. This assembly had to elect a new president. The outgoing president, Mr. Isanori Isomura from Japan was not running for re-election; His successor is a representative of the African continent : Mr. Inoussa OUSSEINI, ambassador, standing delegate of Niger at UNESCO. Four vice-presidents were also voted in: Jean-Michel ARNOLD, Daniel VAN ESPEN, Pierpaolo SAPORITO and your humble servant Serge MICHEL. The Secretary-general Giulio C. GIORDANO was re-elected and maintained in his former office whereas Mr. Olivier CATHERIN was appointed as the new treasurer. 18 new members were admitted as IFTC members, from all avenues of media activities.

The new team has started working actively and focuses its action on three areas : cinema, heritage and new technologies. Special attention will be devoted to the development and promotion of cooperative actions carried out by several IFTC members.

As far as we are concerned, the bonds that have been created with the International meeting "Image and Science" through the Grand Prix "A l'Affiche du Monde" for a UNICA film is an illustration of this type of co-operation. For the next meetings - in 2008, as the meeting has became biennial - the theme selected is Memory and I suggest that a candidate for the prize be selected from among the films shown at the 2007 UNICA Competition, considering that the dates of the 2008 UNICA Congress and the Image and Science Meeting will overlap.

The close cooperation existing between IFTC - and therefore UNESCO - and UNICA goes on developing in a very positive way and I hope that this is also beneficial for individual UNICA member federations and I suggest that they get in touch with the national UNESCO representatives to present their activities and those of UNICA.

- Serge Michel (FRA), Representative of UNICA at CICT, Vice - president of CICT

Link to top of page.


REPORT OF THE FILM LIBRARIAN

Portrait of Hans Schober.As a result of the DVD from UNICA Korea 2006, that was sent to all affiliated Federations, the orders for videos decreased strongly. Consequently the introduction of this DVD is a success. With this DVD every affiliated Federation has a wider selection of films at its disposal. Up to this moment only three affiliated Federations ordered Films of Korea after all.

Please don't forget with your orders to indicate the year of issue next to the title of the film. I'll proceed to send your orders as quickly as possible.

- Hans Schober
UNICA Filmarchivar
Rosenbergstr. 56
CH-9000 St. Gallen / Saint Gall
Switzerland


Share your passions.

Audience silhouette.

Share your stories.

Page updated on 10 October 2011
Contact Webmaster
Data Privacy
find us on facebook Join us on Facebook
Bookmark and Share
UNICA information UNICA member
Company Limited by Guarantee No. 00269085. Registered Charity No. 260467. Authors' views are not necessarily those of the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers. Website hosted by Merula. JavaScripts by JavaScript Source. Menu by Live Web Institute. Art work by Tony Kendle.