CURRENT TRENDS

»THE LEFT HAND-HELD CAMERA«

On the basis of films screened at this year’s Venice Film Festival, Dragan Rubeša asserts that there is a growing trend among contemporary authors to follow the guidelines set out by Dogma 95. With its commitment to purity, Dogma 95 has begun to function as a global media attraction. Therefore, it is not surprising that its »subversive« vows have fascinated representatives of America’s independent production community regardless of whether their poetics are governed exclusively by its principal rules, or by strict adherence to all ten commandments.

Rubeša observes that one of the fundamental rules of Dogma (which has, in turn, become its trademark), hand-held filming, is being followed by an ever increasing number of film makers, as well as by some television shows that want to create a false documentary effect. However, since Rubeša cites that many of the procedures stated in Dogma 95 were used much earlier in film art, there remains the question of whether Dogma 95 is a completely new way of approaching the moving image or if it is merely a new twist on the forgotten practices of the avant-garde.

Dragan Rubeša