Interviews
Interviews
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“Think Judd Apatow Meets The Holy Mountain“: DP Minka Farthing-Kohl on The Nowhere Inn
Bill Benz’ directorial debut The Nowhere Inn explores the absurdity of fame and persona, centering around the real dichotomy between musician Annie Clark and her stage presence as St. Vincent. Carrie Brownstein plays a director making a documentary about Clark’s life, but eventually finds St. Vincent overtaking the narrative and decimating the conventions of reality. Starting out by scraping by in Philly and eventually tackling an ambitious metacritical film, DP Minka Farthing-Kohl speaks to Filmmaker about her experience on the set of The Nowhere Inn. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What […]
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“It’s Always Fascinating to Realize the Divergence of Feelings and Meanings”: Editor Yorgos Mavropsaridis on Olla
Olla, an Eastern European woman, finds herself in a sketchy situation after she answers a dating ad and moves to the French suburbs to live with Pierre and his aging mother. Editor Yorgos Mavrosaridis talks about collaborating with director Ariane Labed and his natural penchant for the process. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Mavropsaridis: It was Ariane’s choice. I happily accepted after reading the script. Filmmaker: In terms of advancing your film from its earliest assembly to […]
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“You Might Think it’s a Fun Work About Pizza, But It’s Really a Meditation on Mortality and Gentrification”: Director David Shapiro on his Sundance Premiering Doc Series, Untitled Pizza Movie
Before there was the no-budget Best Buy scam (scoring equipment by cycling through 30-day return policies) there was the Crazy Eddy scam — same deal, except that instead of the corporate anonymity of Best Buy’s Death Star big box there was a scrappy local circuit embodied by a screaming man feigning mental illness on late-night television. (“These prices are insane!!!!”) And before there was Eater, Grub Street and Anthony Bourdain’s Parts Unknown there was Eat to Win, a kind of punk foodie travelogue in which friends David Shapiro and Leeds Atkinson tooled around New York City with their Crazy Eddie […]
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“We Took a Minimalist, Naturalistic Approach”: DP Charlie Sarroff on Relic
The devastation of dementia is translated into a haunted house horror film in Natalie Erika James’ Relic. It follows Edna (Robyn Nevin) after she mysteriously disappears from her home, causing her daughter and granddaughter great worry. She eventually returns without an idea of where she was, and it appears that something sinister follower her back. DP Charlie Sarroff talks about the inspirations for the visual style of Relic and the equipment that made it happen. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being […]
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“It Was Important to Draw Out Tension and Let the Awkwardness Breathe”: Editor Sean Lahiff on Relic
Natalia Erika Jame adapts the real-world terror of degenerative disease into a supernatural horror film in Relic. Edna, an aging woman, is feared for by her daughter and granddaughter after she abruptly disappears, leaving in her wake the signs of someone struggling with dementia. One day, she inexplicably returns, and a dangerous entity may have come back with her. Editor Sean Lahiff talks about why he so enjoys editing the “darker side of genre films.” Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being […]
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“Feels as if Time Is Unspooling in Front of Our Eyes”: Editor Gabriel Rhodes on Time
Fox and Rob Rich are married, but they’ve been apart for 21 years—Rob is currently serving a 60-year sentence for a crime that they both committed. Fox has been diligently fighting for the release of her husband, while also filming home footage to share with Rob so he can watch his six children grow and observe the home life he cannot be a part of. Garrett Bradley’s documentary feature debut Time explores the violent oppression of African American people entrenched in America’s prison system and editor Gabriel Rhodes elaborates on the process of weaving archival, home and interview footage together […]
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Impact Partners Executive Director Jenny Raskin on Financing, Fellowships, and Following the Filmmakers’ Lead
From 2018’s feature doc Oscar winner Icarus, to 2019’s Independent Spirit Award for Best Documentary recipient Won’t You Be My Neighbor?, to the Sundance Grand Jury Prize nabbing Of Fathers and Sons and Dina (in 2018 and 2017, respectively), Impact Partners has been behind some of the most critically acclaimed nonfiction work of recent years. The company’s winning streak, however, actually goes back a decade, all the way to 2010’s Academy Award for Documentary Feature recipient The Cove. And Impact Partners itself goes back even further. Founded in 2007 by Dan Cogan and Geralyn Dreyfous with a mission to bring […]
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“I’m a Massive Expert on Horses”: Editor Jamie Pearson on Dream Horse
Welsh director Euros Lyn adapts a true story about one woman’s determination to prove people wrong in Dream Horse, starring Toni Collette as Jan, a waitress who suddenly takes up the challenge of breeding a racehorse, with both skeptics and supporters by her side. Sure enough, Dream Alliance, the horse and the syndicate, become horse racing champions. Editor Jamie Pearson explains how he came up in the industry, how the narrative for Dream Horse was shaped and also divulges a few spoilers. “ Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the […]
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“Time Is Always the Biggest Challenge”: DP Zach Kuperstein on The Climb
In Michael Covino’s The Climb, best friends Kyle (Kyle Marvin) and Mike (Michael Covino) embark on a bike ride in the south of France to celebrate Kyle’s impending marriage to a French woman. In the process, Mike admits to having slept with Kyle’s fiancée, causing an understandable riff in their friendship. Presented as one long take, DP Zach Kuperstein divulges the intricacies of the unorthodox process of filming The Climb. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job? Kuperstein: […]
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“The More Real We Could Make the Film, the More Unsettling It Would Feel”: Editor Benjamin Moses Smith on Spree
In Eugene Kotlyrenko’s Spree, a rideshare driver, Kurt (Joe Keery), dreams of social media fame—but he’ll settle for notoriety. He decks his car out with eight cameras and livestreams something called #TheLesson, which quickly results in carnage. Editor Benjamin Moses Smith talks about the editing of a “live stream” movie, the sensitive material integral to the film and his impending title as “the best “8 cameras mounted inside of a car editor in the world.” Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being […]
