Interviews
Interviews
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“Horror Films Have a Unique Ability to Tap into Deep Emotions”: DP Andreas Johannessen on Rabbit Trap
In Rabbit Trap, a musician and her husband find their outsider status in a remote Wales town amplified when their music brings to the door an unnamed child who will stop at nothing to weasel into their lives. Shot on 35mm, debut English-language feature by director Bryn Chainey will play as part of the Midnights section at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Andreas Johannessen, who served as camera operator on The Worst Person in the World and has acted as cinematographer on music videos by Jenny Hval, among others, also makes his feature debut as DP. Below, he goes into detail about […]
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“A New Way of Looking at the American West”: DP Austin Shelton on East of Wall
In East of Wall, writer-director Kate Beecroft trains her camera on Tabatha Zimiga, who runs a ranch for wayward teenagers while trying to cope with her own precarity. Beecroft found her subject by chance, as the film’s cinematographer, Austin Shelton, explains below. He also talks about how they approached filming Tabatha and her family in a way that was both true to her lives, even when it meant finding unorthodox solutions to make a scene work. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were […]
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“Having a Crew Was Not an Option: DP Gianluca Matarrese on GEN_
Patients seeking gender-affirming care and in vitro treatments in Italy flock to Niguarda public hospital, where Dr. Maurizio Bini is considered one of the preeminent experts in the field. This is the subject of director and cinematographer Gianluca Matarrese’s film GEN_, premiering in the World Cinema: Documentary Competition at Sundance this year. Amid an increasingly hostile conservative climate, Dr. Bini and his patients navigate social stigma alongside much-needed medical intervention. Below, Matarrese discusses the decision to film most scenes from behind a book shelf, being inspired by Frederick Wiseman and relying on natural lighting. See all responses to our annual […]
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“He Wanted To Share with People How To Embrace Death”: Editor Parker Laramie on André is an Idiot
In Tony Benna’s directorial debut, André is an Idiot, André Ricciardi, armed with his sense of humor, documents his own eventual death from cancer. The film will premiere in the U.S. Documentary Competition of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Parker Laramie (Unfriended, Sing Sing) served as the film’s editor. Below, he talks about what it was like to join a delicate project while it was in motion and how they cut their subject’s journey down to just 88 minutes. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of […]
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“This Was Our One Shot To Capture Something Lasting”: DP Ethan Indorf on André is an Idiot
When André Ricciardi received the cancer diagnosis that would eventually kill him, he decided he wanted to make a movie documenting how he faced death with humor. The result, André is an Idiot, will screen as part of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. The film is the directorial debut of Tony Benna and was shot by Ethan Indorf, both friends with Ricciardi. Below, Indorf discusses what it was like to be tasked with documenting the death of his friend. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of […]
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“Being Able to Do Even Crude Ideas Yourself as an Editor Is Really Valuable”: Editors Austin Reedy and Mark Becker on The Librarians
In The Librarians, director Kim A. Snyder’s documentary chronicles the efforts of these educators in states like Texas and Florida in the face of sweeping book bans, which largely censor stories that center on LGBTQ and racial identities. Editors Austin Reedy and Mark Becker tell Filmmaker about working with archive, creating through lines in the edit and how this film “helps us build a more empathetic conversation about such an important institution.” See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and […]
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“We Could Really Be Quite Merciless in the Edit”: Editor Jennifer Vecchiarello on East of Wall
Premiering in the festival’s NEXT section, this hybrid film from filmmaker Kate Beecroft follows Tabitha Zimiga, a horse trainer who houses wayward women in her remote Badlands ranch. As she provides shelter and guidance for her oft-teenage house guests, Tabitha also grapples with the recent death of her husband and mounting financial peril. Editor Jennifer Vecchiarello answers our questions about her collaboration on East of Wall below. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your […]
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“A Continuous Swing Between Memories and the Present.”: DP Clarissa Cappellani on Brides
In Brides, UK teenagers Doe and Muna (Ebada Hassan and Safiyya Ingar) take an ill-advised trip to Syria to escape the constant feeling of being othered that follows them at home. The film, the debut feature by Young Vic Theatre artistic director Nadia Fall, examines teenage girlhood through a distinct sociopolitical lens. The film was shot in three different locations, meaning the production had new crews every two weeks. Director of photography Clarissa Cappellani (Misericordia, Salvatore: Shoemaker of Dreams) discusses working through those challenges and the films and photographs that she and Fall used as references. See all responses to our […]
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“It Came Down to Me Not Wanting to Miss Out on the Trip”: Producer Asma Chiboub on Where the Wind Comes From
A competition in southern Tunisia becomes a road trip destination for young friends Alyssa(Eya Bellagha) and Mehdi (Slim Baccar) in Where the Wind Comes From, the feature debut from writer-director Amel Guellaty. First-time feature producer Asma Chiboub talks about her experience on Where the Wind Comes From, and the current state of the industry, below. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: How did you connect with this filmmaker and wind up producing the film? Chiboub: I met Amel Guellaty in 2014 around her first short film, Black Mamba, which I produced and which premiered in […]
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“For Me, Less is More”: DP Anna Smoronova on Bubble & Squeak
Bubble & Squeak, about a married couple accused of smuggling cabbages in a country where cabbage is illegal, marks the feature film debut of Evan Twohy. The film will premiere in the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. Anna Smoronova (The Killing of a Journalist), served as the film’s director of photography. Below, she explains how the film’s similarity to some of her favorite filmmakers hooked on her first read of the script and elaborates on the visual aesthetic, including the influence of Henri Rousseau. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and […]
