There are some documentaries that introduce us to a new place, a new culture, and at times, interesting individuals. The Peddler (El Ambulante, en español) is one of the latter kind. In this film, we meet Daniel Burmeister, a man that travels in his old, beat-up car from small town to small town in Argentina with the sole purpose of making films. As he states in this film, he doesn’t make a lot of money; he makes a bit from ticket sales but donates part of them to a local charity. For the bare necessities, he survives from the generosity of the people in the towns he visits, who along with the municipality, organise for him to have a place to stay and enough to eat. The film takes us through Burmeister’s process of making the film from beginning stages to its premiere with all the locals, many involved in the film, selling out the venue. I do not want to give much away because I believe you need to see the film for yourself to get the full experience.
I had the chance to ask one of the directors, who was also a producer, Adriana Yurcovich a bit about the film and about Burmeister as well. She told me, she along with the other directors Eduardo de la Serna and Lucas Marcheggiano first heard about Burmeister three years ago, at a small film festival in Buenos Aires. They were intrigued and contacted him while he was filming in a town called Córdoba. From there, they decided to start filming him in the middle of 2008. Filming itself didn’t take very long. The directors and crew filmed a few days in August 2008, which is when Burmeister first approached the town officials to begin making his film. By the end of that month, the crew came back to film and Burmeister was filming the last part of his film and had begun some editing. In total, the crew only used two cameras to follow Burmeister (who asYurcovich said, was a bit difficult to keep up with as he moves very fast) and recorded about seventy hours of material. Putting together the final product, took longer but they are happy with the result and all the positive feedback they’ve been receiving.
The film premiered in Novemeber 2009. Its tour began in the Netherlands, Spain, Argentina, now here at Hot Docs and going to various other festivals. You can follow its tour by reading the film’s blog. At the Q&A last night, someone asked Yurcovich how the small town reacted to the idea of the three directors making a film about a man making a film in their town. She said “everyone was just really friendly.” They seemed interested in the project but for the most part, they were all helpful and quite friendly. She also mentioned that the town has not seen this documentary but they are hoping to bring it to them. Burmeister has seen the film and attended the screening in Buenos Aires. The crowd really liked him; Yurvovich said, it seemed “they liked him more than us.” She also shared with us how many who saw the film in the Netherlands wanted to buy Burmeister’s films. What is interesting, Yurcovich said, is that they’re not sure Burmeister realises how well-known he is now because of the film. To him, what matters is making films. That’s his life and he is happy doing so.
From the various reviews I’ve read, the film has received nothing but praise. You have another chance to see this film Wednesday, May 5th at 1:15pm Cumberland Theatre.
