Filmmaking
Filmmaking
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SEAN DUNNE ANNOUNCES DEBUT FEATURE “OXYANA”
For some years now, I have been a big fan of the work of Sean Dunne, whose shortform documentaries are not only intelligent and compassionate but also visually accomplished and highly cinematic. Anyone looking to get a sense of Dunne’s talent should check out The Archive, his 2008 debut, or American Juggalo, which he put out last year. (To see all of his work, go to Dunne’s Vimeo page.) Given my admiration for his shorts, I was very excited yesterday to receive an email from Dunne about the new project he’s working on: Oxyana, his debut feature. He wrote, “I […]
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POLANSKI / PRADA
As Jeff Wells noted, this stuff “pays the bills,” but if you’re Roman Polanski there have to be worse ways to spend your time than making little movies with the likes of Ben Kingsley, Helena Bonham Carter, Ronald Harwood, Alexandre Desplat, Dean Tavoularis and Eduardo Serra…
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Werner Herzog and the Making of Heart of Glass
In 1976 Werner Herzog hypnotized his cast of actors and directed one of the strangest narrative films in the history of cinema, Heart of Glass. Alan Greenberg, then a young writer, aspiring filmmaker, and Herzog disciple, was on the set, and thirty-odd years later he, and Herzog, would like to tell you all about it. Hence, Every Night the Trees Disappear: Werner Herzog and the Making of “Heart of Glass” (Chicago Review Press). Greenberg had fallen under Herzog’s spell the year before, when he was sent by a film journal to interview the director. Neither cared for that process, but […]
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Oslo, August 31st — A Hammer to Nail Review
(Oslo, August 31st is being distributed by Strand Releasing. It opens Friday in NYC at the IFC Center.) Joachim Trier’s follow-up to his much-loved 2006 debut, Reprise, begins with an audio montage of voices sharing their memories of the titular city: “I remember taking the first dip in the Oslo fjord on the first of May.” “I don’t remember Oslo as such, its people I remember.” “We moved to the city. We felt extremely mature.’” On the screen, stationary shots of empty city streets are followed by home movies—children at play, friends enjoying each other’s company—then back to the streets […]
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WIN “MOONRISE KINGDOM” SWAG!
We’re all caught up in the spirit of Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom (read this, if you don’t believe me!), so we’re excited to be able to give away a bunch of rather cool (and also very useful) swag related to the movie, which opens in selected cities this Friday through Focus Features. The two Filmmaker readers who are quickest on the (email) draw can get their hands on: a T-Shirt, a set of two patches, a cooler, a canteen and a Moonrise Kingdom soundtrack. All you have to do is email nick@filmmakermagazine.com and tell me which Hollywood movie star appeared […]
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KICKSTARTING “DAYS OF GRAY” IN ICELAND
We are Ani & Cailin, founders of the barely one-year-old Bicephaly Pictures, and we’ve embarked on a wild journey to make our first feature film: Days of Gray. It’s a modern-day fantastical silent film, scored by the amazing Iceland band Hjaltalín. The story follows an 11-year-old boy who lives in a timeless, barren land. His entire community must wear face masks outside to protect themselves from an epidemic that caused the people in the village next to theirs to develop strange animal mutations. The men on the boy’s side first erected a wall to keep them out and then ultimately […]
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HEADS UP: SUNDANCE SHORTSLABS
Strangely, the details of the 2012 Sundance ShortsLabs passed us by when they were announced a couple of weeks ago. (Particularly strange as both Scott and I are involved in panels at the NYC event in June!) So, I’m playing catch up now by posting the info on the workshops, including the first to be held in Seattle, which is currently undergoing an indie filmmaking renaissance. So, from the press release, here’s the skinny on this year’s excellent events: ShortsLabs offer filmmakers first-hand insight and access into the world of short filmmaking through panels and sessions with industry representatives, as […]
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THE CITY AS CHARACTER: “OSLO, AUGUST 31ST”
In March, Joachim Trier introduced his second film, Oslo, August 31st, to an enthusiastic audience at the 2012 Film Society of Lincoln Center’s New Directors/New Films series. The film focuses on Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie), a recovering drug addict who aimlessly roams the streets of Oslo trying to reunite with friends and family. Oslo, August 31st is a tremendous work featuring an intense yet understated performance by Danielsen Lie and exquisite cinematography by Jakob Ihre. During the post-screening Q&A, Trier explained that with his latest film, he wished to portray Oslo as a character – a city in constant change […]
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The Blue Velvet Project, #117
Second #5499, 91:39 This look—this sharp, suspicious, and accusatory look—is passed between Detective Williams and Jeffrey just moments after Jeffrey describes Frank as “a sick and dangerous man.” In the temporal flow of the film, the moment of this gaze passes very quickly, as the narrative draws our attention to what Jeffrey (who has brought along his black and white surveillance photographs) tells Detective Williams about Frank and his dark goings-on. And yet, when the film is frozen and this frame from second #5499 is de-linked from linear chronology, the Detective’s look takes on a new shade of meaning, one […]
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AT CANNES: THE SUN SHINES AT THE WETTEST FESTIVAL
Is there anything worse than some other guy going on about the weather? When Angelenos extoll their perpetually sunny climes, it always feels a bit like a reproach to those who live anywhere else. Pacific Northwesterners discuss their persistent rain quietly, as if wearing some old war medal. But journalists in Cannes? What do readers feel when reading reports of how cold and soggy it is in the south of France? Sympathy? Schadenfreude? Or perhaps just disinterest? Despite my suspicion that it is the latter, I still have to go there because, yes, the rain has been the most notable […]
