Interviews
Interviews
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“The Power of Sounds, Spells, and the Sublime Unknown”: Editor Brett W. Bachman on Rabbit Trap
Set in 1976, writer-director Bryn Chainey’s Rabbit Trap follows a couple (Dev Patel and Rosy McEwen) who decide to move to a house in the Welsh countryside. Musicians by trade, they unwittingly unleash an eldritch horror through the songs that they make, culminating in an eerie, unnamed child showing up at their doorstep. Below, Bachman speaks about the two dominant ideas kept in mind while cutting Rabbit Trap, the intense sound design process and the importance of trusting one’s audience. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor […]
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“Knowing How to Take Feedback Is an Art”: Editor Lev Lewis on Dead Lover
When a young grave digger (Grace Glowicki) finds love—despite her crude demeanor and disheveled appearance—she vows that it will be eternal. When her betrothed dies at sea, she decides to revive her dream man out of the corpses that she buries every day. Glowicki serves as the writer, director and star in this horror-comedy take on Mary Shelley’s iconic sci-fi novel. Editor Lev Lewis tells Filmmaker about the extensive test screening process, his preference for cutting on Premiere and why he’s “thrilled” to be part of the team that made Dead Lover. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor […]
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“The Camera Team Was Also the SFX Team”: DP Rhayne Vermette on Dead Lover
Writer-director Grace Glowicki looks to Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein for inspiration with Dead Lover, her follow-up to her 2019 feature debut Tito. As with her previous film, Glowicki plays the lead character, this time embodying an awkward and crude grave digger who manages to woo a handsome local. When he tragically dies at sea, she goes to great lengths to rekindle their spark and bring him back from the dead. DP Rhayne Vermette discusses being a self-taught cinematographer, handling SFX work alongside shooting and the singular filmmaker who Glowicki sought to reference. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. […]
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“14 Inches From a Very Personal Form of Murder”: Steven Soderbergh on Camera as Character and His Sundance Horror Film, Presence
The following interview of Steven Soderbergh about Presence was originally published last year when the film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. It is being reposted today as the film is released in theaters from NEON. — Editor A heady, elegantly-constructed ghost story, Steven Soderbergh’s Presence has a bunch of half-buried threads, a couple of perfectly-timed scares, and a horrific close-up of an act of violence that mesmerizes the camera—just as horror films mesmerize their audience. The camera is the star here, and not merely because its sustained, floating movements, its sudden turns and retreats, its anxious hovering display […]
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“Interrotrons Can Be a Real Drain on Production”: DP David Jacobson on Pee-wee as Himself
Filmed before his death in 2023, Pee-wee as Himself, an episodic project from documentary filmmaker Matt Wolf, chronicles the life and legacy of performer Paul Reubens via intimate interviews and a wealth of archival material. Cinematographer David Jacobson discusses his involvement on the project, including meeting Wolf at their alma mater, the influence of technicolor on the shoot and incorporating Errol Morris’s Interrotron technology for the interviews. 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 the factors and attributes that led to your […]
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“I Had to Relearn How to Look at and Respond to the World”: DP Jon Shenk on Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore
Marlee Matlin: Not Alone Anymore trains its camera on Marlee Matlin, who became the first Deaf performer to win an Oscar when she took home Best Actress for the 1987 film Children of a Lesser God. The film is directed by Deaf director Shoshannah Stern in her directorial debut. Jon Shenk, whose previous credits include Athlete A and Ruth: Justice Ginsburg in Her Own Words, served as director of photography. Below, he explains how cinematographic techniques taken for granted when shooting with hearing actors and spoken dialogue cannot be implemented when shooting Deaf conversations and how he and Stern adjusted their filmic language. See all […]
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“Amanda’s Approach is About Eclecticism”: Editor Benjamin Shearn on By Design
By Design is the latest feature film by Amanda Kramer, best known for Please Baby Please and Ladyworld. The film will premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival as part of the NEXT section. Benjamin Shearn, who has edited all of Kramer’s feature films, joined her once again in the cutting room for By Design. Below, he explains how his close friendship with Kramer helps him retain the magic in the edit. 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 […]
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“We Kept the Space Very Intimate for Our Subjects”: DP Laura Goncalves on Sly Lives
Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson’s follow-up to the Oscar-winning Summer of Soul will premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festiva’s Premieres section. The film combines archival footage with new interviews to examine the legacy and music of Sly and the Family Stone. Laura Goncalves, who served as director of photography, explains her personal connection to the project and how she used the Interrotron to help create private, intimate spaces for interviewees. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? Goncalves: I believe I was born to shoot this […]
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“It Was the Movie I’d Been Waiting For”: DP Paul Meyers on Omaha
Sundance 2025 U.S. Dramatic Competition entry Omaha follows a father and his two young children on a cross-country journey that follows an unexpected family tragedy. The film is the feature debut of Cole Webley after a series of shorts and commercials. Making the leap to features alongside Webley is his frequent partner Paul Meyers, who served as DP on Omaha. Below, Meyers elaborates on the challenges of shooting a film with child actors and how it necessitated an ingenious solution to a day-for-night sequence. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up […]
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“Budget a Worst-Case Scenario and Then Do Better”: Producers Ivan Unkovski and Ivana Shekutkoska on DJ Ahmet
A fifteen-year-old boy navigates first love, familial pressure and his newfound love of music in DJ Ahmet, premiering in the 2025 Sundance Film Festival’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition. The film is the feature debut by Sundance Short Film Program alum Georgi M. Unkovski. Below, first-time producers Ivan Unkovski and Ivana Shekutkoska discuss the challenges and surprises they had navigating European film financing to ensure DJ Ahmet could be made. They also reflect on the state of the industry and all the untapped talent in their region of the world. See all responses to our annual Sundance first-time producer interviews here. Filmmaker: […]
