Electric Pictures, as shown on RTE 1 on 2 May 2011

This is difficult for me to write about as I feature in it but since I am probably one of the few people in the network so far to have seen it I feel it my duty.

The film starts with Lena’s victory in Oslo and then reverts to the contest’s origins in the Cold War and a divided Europe.  Step by step we move through the various political milestones of five decades and more and the dramas that ensued on and off the stage. For ERN members there is nothing particularly new revealed in the documentary (well many of us contributed to it and we are supposed to be experts after all). But there is some rare footage of interest, particularly from Intervision and its predecessor, as well as some revealing interviews particularly from the former ‘East’. What we see in fact is a macro and micro-political and popular cultural history of Europe from the 1950s onwards. So while some look longingly at their favourite songs, others (and probably most of us) will focus on the commentaries that contextualise those songs. Of particular interest is the backdrop of the N. Ireland ‘Troubles’ to Dana’s win and Germany’s two wins, the first by means of 12 points from Israel, and the second win after German reunification. What this film does is take Eurovision seriously and in more ways than one endorses everything the ERN stands for. Karen and Milija’s upcoming book will complement this film well.

But while it is a serious piece of film-making, fans will also find enjoyment from some of the laugh-out-loud commentary. Each broadcaster has the opportunity of having an indigenous presenter narrate the story so the RTE version had long-time Eurovision commentator, Marty Whelan do the honours. Listening to him narrate a script not of his own was fascinating. Marty always provides a light-hearted view of the contest, like Wogan without the cynicism. Here though, the script had him refocusing the viewers away from the glam and glitter and onto the serious issues. This was so not the real Marty, and thus it was like listening to a convert; the naughty kid at Mass had turned into a Priest! I expect lots of academic papers on this.

I’m going to keep you guessing as to which of us feature in it but since Paul Jordan and I feature in the trailers in the UK and Ireland we’ve already been outed. Paul’s contribution is on the politics of the former Soviet states and this is a running theme throughout the whole film. There is some wonderful footage of the Prime Minister of Estonia reflecting on how his small country beat Russia to the prize of being the first ‘Eastern’ country to win and host the ESC. Ruslana adds considerable political clout too. She danced wildly in the political arena after her triumph.  So while Paul is very serious in mauve, I am edited to focus almost exclusively on matters gay and queer. There was one scary moment for me when watching it: I was edited to have a spat with Dana (the original) but thankfully I was pulled back from the brink, with Dana relieving the tension in a light-hearted reference to which of the Danas had the better legs.

All in all, the two main stories are a) the East-West political, ideological and musical tensions, and b) the outing of Eurovision. Towards the end of the film these two main narrative strands come together.

Lest I sound too dry about it (an over-compensation for being featured in it), it is an action-packed  film with a dazzlingly array of  clips, interviews, insights.

I am the Writer / Director of a major documentary film project provisionally entitled The Secret History of the Eurovision Song Contest, which has been commissioned by several international broadcasters.

We are aiming to make the definitive film history of this remarkable event and chart the amazing story of how The Eurovision Song Contest has been responsible for spreading democracy in Europe since its inception while becoming one of the most popular television shows in the world.

We will be filming in Oslo and are very interested in talking to anyone who researches or is passionate and knowledgeable about the ESC, and in particular how it has influenced wider European history.

We will be at the symposium organised by the Eurovision Research Network and look forward to meeting you there, and perhaps interviewing one or two of you on camera.

Many thanks,

Stephen Oliver

Writer / Director, The Secret History of the Eurovision Song Contest