Interviews
Interviews
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“The Editing Doesn’t Try to Overly Emphasize Emotions”: Editor Robert Stengaard on The Painter and the Thief
When Czech painter Barbora Kysilkova has two of her naturalist works stolen from an Oslo art gallery, she decides to attend the criminal hearing of one of the men, Karl-Bertil Nordland, who was arrested for stealing them. Instead of questioning him about the whereabouts of her paintings (which vanished without a trace), she asks to paint his portrait. Benjamin Ree’s The Painter and the Thief shifts perspectives between Kysilkova and Nordland, detailing the unexpected relationship that grows between the two. Editor Robert Stengaard explains how the film went beyond sentimental emotions in order to cleverly portray the unique perspectives from […]
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“What If This is the Goal? This is Everything?”: Writer/Director Edson Oda on His Sundance Hit, Nine Days
Ever so often you’ll have a film at Sundance that hits at the right time, place and with the right crowd — so that you feel the theater buzz. The last moment of the film, before it cuts to black, rings out over silence (aside from the sniffling of a handful audience members.) For me this year that film was Nine Days on Monday night at the Eccles theater. A feature debut from director Edson Oda, the expansive piece is equal parts grounded sci-fi, drama and a delicate exploration of emotion and existence. Let’s just say you don’t want to […]
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“It Ended Up Being the Toughest Edit of My Life”: Director/Editor Bill Ross on Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets
Documentary filmmakers Bill and Turner Ross depict a mosaic of fleeting American dreams and the resilience of community in Bloody Nose, Empty Pockets. The film centers on a nearly defunct bar outside of Last Vegas, The Roaring 20s, as its patrons grappling with the uncertainty of a future without their beloved dive bar. The subjects often teeter between dismay and debauchery, offering glances into masculinity, vice and a culture of anxiety. Director and editor Bill Ross explains the nuances of editing a film to make an audience feel present, grappling with one’s own internalized imperfections and why this film was […]
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“I Believe That Stories Need to Try to Communicate Beyond Their Intended Audiences”: Sam Soko on His Sundance Doc Softie
Politics is a dirty business for sure. But too often we in America take for granted what younger democracies would view as unthinkable. That a strongman and his opponent might not broker a shared power arrangement behind closed doors. That police would not blithely shoot people who protest electoral outcomes in the streets. That one uncorrupt citizen determined to make change without paying constituents directly for their votes might be a viable candidate. These are the hopes and dreams embodied by Boniface “Softie” Mwangi, the grassroots activist turned politician star of Nairobi-based director Sam Soko’s intimate, Sundance (World Cinema Documentary […]
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“The Vibrant Color of the Spilled Ketchup on the White Floor With the Broken Bottle was the Best Way to Describe What the Movie was All About”: DP Jean-Philippe Bernier on Dinner in America
Punk rock and suburbia collide when Simon meets Peggy in Adam Carter Rehmeier’s Dinner in America. As the two traverse the Midwest, Peggy unwittingly assists the lead singer of her favorite band in evading the police, all the while uncovering the unforeseen connections between them. DP Jean-Philippe Bernier constructs two distinct cinematic styles that function in tandem with the film’s contrasting central characters. Drawing upon a background in film score composition, as well as an early career rooted in the punk scene, Bernier discusses the process of melding content and medium to create a distinct cinematographic look, drenched in the […]
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“As the Stories the Characters Tell Begin to Come to Life, the Camera and Lighting Begin Working in Tandem to Alter Reality”: DP Brendan H. Banks on Scare Me
When Fred settles into a secluded cabin intent on completing his first novel, a power outage prompts a horror storytelling competition between two strangers. Josh Ruben’s horror-comedy, Scare Me, delves into the artistic tensions between two writers and the insecurities they face on a greater social scale as the stories they tell begin to come to life. DP Brendan H. Banks breaks down the process of balancing two distinct genres while maintaining a sense of reality within the film’s photographic style. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes […]
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“We Knew We Would Never Satisfy Everyone”: Editor Tal Ben-David on Hillary
Hundreds of hours of 2016 campaign footage, archival documents and original interviews are edited together in order to portray a more nuanced portrait of one of America’s most divisive political figures in Nanette Burstein’s Hillary. Just a few days ago, Clinton’s remarks concerning Senator Sanders during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for Hillary already had prospective viewers either elated or outraged—the unflinching look at Clinton’s campaign and how it mirrors her own political history might very well leave viewers with similar sentiments. Editor Tal Ben-David explains her extensive working relationship with Burstein and why she believes a cultural re-evaluation […]
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“The First Thing I Look at Is the Subject’s Face”: DP Bob Chappell on Hillary
It often seems as if there’s no way to have a neutral stance on Hillary Clinton—she is often represented as being hailed as some sort of centrist deity or reviled by many who find her gratingly milquetoast. Nanette Brstein’s documentary Hillary—slated to be available through Hulu—will attempt to dissect the mythology around Clinton and present her as a fallible yet resilient political figure. DP Bob Chappell spoke about his excitement about the project, the difficulties of making talking head interviews reclaim a sort of cinematic appeal and the importance of lighting. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
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“I Like the Widening Circles One Can Consult During an Edit”: Editor David Charap on The Reason I Jump
Based off of the book written by 13-year-old Naoki Higashida, Jerry Rothwell’s The Reason I Jump aims to translate the experiences of non-verbal autistic people in a way that is honest and multifaceted. Choosing not to simply concede to the opinions of parents and specialists, the documentary aims to break the assumption that divergent ways of experiencing the world are not abnormal, and communication can transcend language and actions. Editor David Charap speaks to the unique experience of having a nonverbal group of individuals explain the intricacies of their everyday lives to an audience through imagery and imagination. Filmmaker: How […]
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“A Fun Balancing Act”: DP Ruben Woodin Dechamps on The Reason I Jump
Jerry Rothwell’s The Reason I Jump universalizes the experiences nonverbal autistic youth, who are often denied the opportunity to uniquely express their feelings, emotions and dreams without misunderstanding and translation. Based off the book of the same name written by a 13-year-old named Naoki Higashida, the film follows the lives of several nonverbal autistic youths scattered all over the world, showcasing their distinct personalities while also combating stigma and assumptions about their realities. DP Ruben Woodin Dechamps Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to […]
