Back in Jacmel

I'm back in my home in the sleepy dusty town of Jacmel on the Caribbean coast to the South. I had a bad start when I discovered that 700 USdollars had been stolen from me on my trip from Cap to Jacmel. That led to a terrible outburst of anger - Haiti a country full of thiefs and so on. Finally after the analysis of every minute of the day before I came to the conclusion that the money was picked by one of the policemen who controlled bags in Cap-Haitien airport. Trivial lesson: Always keep money on your body.... Saw Chantal Regnault for dinner in my house. It's a long time since last time we met. She is my best friend in Haiti, and we always talk politics and local gossip. She is quite pessimistic about Haiti's future. The cruelty of some of the latest kidnappings is not a good sign of what to expect. Can Préval stop this new wave. With a police force of which 50% is corrupt, according to a highplaced inside source. Madame Annette is the best cook in town, she made ceviche (raw fish Peruvian style) and sauteed filet de boeuf with sauce creole. Packing today, going to Miami tomorrow to meet a good friend from Denmark. We will stay at Shore Club on Colllins Avenue on the South Beach.

Cormier Plage

Arrived to Cormier Plage, on the North coast of Haiti, yesterday to spend Christmas here. Good food, simple routines. This is my favorite place for writing, it was here I wrote The Imperfect Human and lots of poems. My family has been here too, my youngest son Tomas took a scubadiver license with the famous diving school run by the hotel's owner Jean-Claude Dicquemare (who has been member of the Cousteau crew - he was the man in the underwater cage attacked by sharks. As an actor he was playing a supporting part in my film Traberg, 1991. It is a place that calmes me down totally, It is almost hypnotic, the sound of the sea, the simple pleasures.

About Jørgen Leth

Filmdirector & producer, writer, TV-commentator. Born 14 June 1937 in Aarhus, Denmark. Studied literature and anthropology in Aarhus and Copenhagen, Denmark. Journalist, critic (jazz, theater, film) for leading Danish newspapers (1959-68). Travelled in Africa (1961), South America (1966), India and Southeast Asia (1970-71). Creative consultant for the Danish Film Institute (1971-73, 1975-77). Chairman of the Board of The Danish Film Institute (1977-82).

Honorary Consul of Denmark in Haiti 1999-2005.

Has made forty-two films, many distributed worldwide. First book published in 1962; first film in 1963. One of the founding members of the avant garde film-group Abcinema in the sixties.

Ten volumes of poetry and six nonfiction books; represented in English, French and Italian anthologies of modern Danish poetry. Latest books: The Picture Is Showing (poems ,2000), Stories from Haiti (2000), Collected Poems (2002), The Imperfect Human, Scenes from My Life( memoir ,2005), It Doesn’t Matter (poems ,2006).

Most recent films: I’m Alive (a portrait of Danish poet Søren Ulrik Thomsen ,1999), Dreamers, (about Haitian naivist painters ,2001), New Scenes From America (2002), The Five Obstructions (2003), Aarhus, (about his childhood town, 2005).

Commentator for Danish television since 1989.

Professor at the National Film School in Copenhagen, Denmark. Lectured at UCLA, Berkeley, Harvard and other American universities.

Among awards: the Oberhausen Hauptpreis 1971; the Thomas Mann Award 1972; the Danish Academy’s Special Prize 1983; the Paul Hammerich Award 1992; the Drachmann Award for his literary oeuvre 1995; Prix de France 1997 for cultural reporting from France; the State Art Foundation’s Special Award 1999; the Danish Film Academy’s Robert Award 1996 and 2000. Grand Prix for Best Feature Film at the Odense International Film Festival 2004.

Recipient of a life-long grant from the Danish State for his achievements in film-making.

Retrospective presentations at National Film Theatre, London 1989; in Rouen, France, 1990; at the American Film Institute, Washington, 1992; in Mumbai, India, 1996; in New York City,2002; in Sao Paolo, 2003; in Toronto, 2004; in Firenze, 2005; in Rome, 2006; in San Sebastian, 2007.

Films shown in the United States on PBS, the Discovery Channel, the Bravo channel, the Sundance Channel, and in theatres in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, London, Rome, Paris, Copenhagen, Oslo, Stockholm, and on many European television channels.

Two biographies about Leth have been published in Denmark, and two documentary film portraits have been produced: Tomas Gislason’s award-winning Heart and Soul (1995), and .Jørgen Flindt Pedersen’s The Price of Sensuality (2007)..

Has a daughter and three sons. Divorced. Residence in Haiti since 1991.

Audio: Poetry

Poetry by Jørgen Leth: Rundstrækning, Sportsdigte, Gyldendal 1967:






Poetry by Jørgen Leth: Min Store Match, Sportsdigte, Gyldendal 1967:





Han Er Nu Malet Blå is an album from 2004 featuring Jørgen's poetry, music by Jonas Engberg and Abdullah S. Listen to album in iTunes here!

Video

Jørgen Leth, Abdulla S & Engberg, Roskilde Festival 2007:


Jørgen Leth & Lars von Trier: The Five Obstructions 2003:


Jørgen Leth & Andy Warhol: 66 Scenes From America 1982:


Jørgen Leth in 'De Uaktuelle Nyheder' 2007:

Christel Wiinblad's poem about Jørgen Leth:

A rough cut of selected scenes from Truls Lie's upcoming portrait of Jørgen Leth:

Sunset Productions

With a keen and specific focus on producing or co-producing films with high artistic integrity, Sunset Productions have had a number of international successes through many years.

Sunset Productions have had the honor of screening films at most major film festival. These include Venice, Toronto, Sundance, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Berlin and Telluride.

Among the films Sunset Productions have been involved in recently are The Five Obstrutions by Lars von Trier and Jorgen Leth, and Ghosts of Cite Soleil by Asger Leth.

Sunset Productions is a small film production company with a long list of credits. The company is headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, United States.

Sunset Productions has several documentaries and feature films in development, pre-production and production.

Jorgen Leth makes most of his films with Sunset Productions in his corner.

Filmography

Stopforbud, 1963, 14 mins;

Look Forward to a Bright Future, 1965, 6 mins;


The Perfect Human, 1967, 13 mins;

Near Heaven, Near Earth, 1968, 26 mins;


Ophelia’s Flowers , 1969, 7 mins;


Motion Picture, 1970, 24 mins;

The Search, 1970, 35 mins;


The Deergarden, the Romantic Forest, 1970, 42 mins;

Chinese Table-tennis, 1970, 12 mins;

The Theatre in the Green Mountains (1970)


Life in Denmark, 1971, 37 mins;


Stars and Watercarriers, 1973, 91 mins;

Klaus Rifbjerg, 1974, 35 mins;



Good and Evil, 1974, 81 mins;


A Sunday in Hell,1976, 111 mins;


Peter Martins - A Dancer, 1978, 54 mins;


Kalule, 1979, 45 mins;


Dancing Bournonville, 1979, 52 mins;


66 Scenes from America, 1981, 42 mins;

Step on Silence, 1981, 58 min;


Pelota, 1983, 47 mins;


Haiti Express (Udenrigskorrespondenten), 1983, 93 min;


Moments of Play, 1986, 82 min;


Notebook from China, 1986, 79 mins;


Notes on Love, 1989, 90 mins;


Danish Literature, 1989, 51 mins;


Traberg, 1992, 93 mins;


Michael Laudrup - A Football Player, 1993, 58 mins;


Haiti, Untitled 1996, 85 mins;

I am Alive - Soren Ulrik Thomsen, Poet, 1999, 40 mins;

Dreamers, 2002, 58 mins.


New Scenes from America, 2002, 35 mins.


The Five Obstructions (with Lars von Trier), 2003, 80 mins;

Aarhus (2005), 35 mins.


Works in progress:

The Erotic Human, in production, release 2009.

The Expatriate, in development.

The Tropic of Capricorn, documentary