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by Elke Groen
grade: 8
What immediately impresses in Bojo Beach is the extraordinary calm with which the fishermen carry out their tasks. Their gestures, accompanied by their songs, are reminiscent – especially when they are intent on pulling their nets on the beach – almost of a choreography. And the sound of the water, for its part, conveys even more a sense of extraordinary quiet, of a constant repetition of events.
On the shores of Ghana
Documentary filmmaker Elke Groen has been active in contemporary Austrian cinema for many years now. And although she was supposed to present The most beautiful Place on Earth, her most recent work, at the opening of the Diagonale 2020 (unfortunately cancelled), she has already made a name for herself for some time now with her extraordinary talent for portraying certain places and situations through images. This, for instance, is also the case of Bojo Beach, a short documentary film made in 2017, in which the director travelled to a unique and fascinating lagoon in Ghana in order to document the everyday life and activities of some fishermen.
Shot entirely with a fixed camera, Bojo Beach begins at the moment when a group of fishermen are waiting for the tide to come in order to cast their nets into the sea. A few simple shots capture their movements, their work, their songs. In the background, a constant sound of waves crashing on the beach. The tide has risen: the boat is ready to leave. How will the fishing be this time?
Elke Groen’s directorial approach here becomes as neutral as possible. The camera simply observes what is happening in front of it. And so, what we witness is normal everyday life within a reality that is apparently far away from us. What is immediately striking in Bojo Beach is the extraordinary calm with which the fishermen carry out their tasks. Their gestures, accompanied by their songs, are reminiscent – especially when they are intent on pulling their nets on the beach – almost of a choreography. And the sound of the water, for its part, conveys even more a sense of extraordinary quiet, of a constant repetition of events. No matter how the fishing goes, it will all repeat itself every day, ad infinitum. Everything flows. Just as Parmenides theorised in his time.
And what does Elke Groen do? Simple: from behind the camera, she takes part in that distant world, becoming part of it and giving us a brief but intense and contemplative journey to the other side of the planet. A mise-en-scène, this one, which relies mainly on a skilful minimalist approach, reminiscent of the cinema of his countryman Nikolaus Geyrhalter, and which is more effective than ever in showing this small Ghanaian reality.
After just twenty-five minutes (of screening, that is) the fishermen have finished their work and can return home. Smiling and chatting amongst themselves, they walk away from the beach, getting closer and closer to the camera. The day draws to a close. Darkness. Yet, it does not end here. Just a few more hours and everything starts all over again, for a new day that we will never know how it will end until we have experienced it.
Original title: Bojo Beach
Directed by: Elke Groen
Country/year: Austria / 2017
Running time: 25’
Genre: documentary
Screenplay: Elke Groen, Ina Ivanceanu
Cinematography: Elke Groen
Produced by: Groen.FIlm