Sundance
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“Seeing the Seams Is a Part of the Art”: Editor Taryn Gould on Narcissister Organ Player
Narcissister is a Brooklyn-based performance artist who appeared on America’s Got Talent to, as her bio puts it, “trouble the popular entertainment and experimental art divide.” Her feature film debut, Narcissister Organ Player, is a hybrid of performance art film and personal documentary on her relationship with her family. Narcissister tapped filmmaker Taryn Gould to edit the film. Below, Gould discusses the importance of in-progress screenings, how editing the film has impacted how she thinks about her mother and the question of whether or not to show Narcissister’s face in the film. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the […]
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“It Was a Bit of a Scramble Chasing Them All Around the Convention Center”: DP Peter Alton on Science Fair
Documentary DP Peter Alton has shot non-fiction pieces on El Chapo, Tupac Shakur and the history of violence along the U.S.-Mexico border. Alton was hired by directors Cristina Costantini and Darren Foster to shoot Science Fair, which premieres at the Sundance Film Festival. The film follows nine students as they arrive at the 2017 International Science and Engineering Fair in Los Angeles. Alton spoke with Filmmaker about his intimate, unobtrusive approach to filming documentary interviews and action. 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 […]
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“It Came to Symbolize a Whole Era”: Editor Andrea Lewis on Studio 54
Andrea Lewis served as a co-editor on Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, a 2016 documentary on urban activist Jane Jacobs. The film earned strong reviews for director Matt Tyrnauer, who would hire Lewis to edit his next documentary: Studio 54. The film tells the story of the rise and fall of the iconic ’70s nightclub through the lens of its founders: Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell. Lewis spoke with Filmmaker before the film’s premiere at Sundance about the task of giving shape to this archival-heavy project. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What […]
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“We Cut Countless Versions of this Scene”: Editors Bing Liu and Joshua Altman on Minding the Gap
Joshua Altman cut his first Sundance-bound documentary in 2009 with We Live in Public. The film – Altman’s first as an editor of documentary features – went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for documentary at the festival. Since then, Altman has cut five more docs to premiere at Sundance: The Tillman Story (2010), Bones Brigade: an Autobiography (2012), We Are The Giant (2014) and, in 2018 alone, both Kailash and Minding The Gap. The latter film he cut with film’s director, Bing Liu. Liu himself appears in the film among a trio of friends who bond over skateboarding in their Rust Belt town. Below, […]
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“I Had to Face My Phobia of Using Lights”: DP Hatuey Viveros Lavielle on Night Comes On
For her first directorial feature following three shorts, Night Comes On, actor Jordana Spiro reteamed with DP Hatuey Viveros Lavielle. The feature follows a young woman just released from juvenile prison (Dominique Fishback of The Deuce), whose plans are derailed when she’s unexpectedly reunited with her 10-year-old sister (newcomer Tatum Marilyn Hall), who’s been placed in foster care. Prior to the fest, Lavielle described her collaboration with Spiro and affinity for natural light as forces shaping Night Comes On. 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 […]
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“This Film Started Because I Needed to Capture Moments”: Director and DP Rudy Valdez on The Sentence
NYC-based filmmaker Rudy Valdez began filming The Sentence more than 10 years ago. In those early years, he wasn’t making a documentary: He was filming moments to share with his sister Cindy, who was serving a draconian 15-year sentence in prison. The footage soon took shape into a feature doc on his family’s quest to fight for Cindy’s release during the final years of the Obama administration. Below, Valdez discusses mass incarceration, filming his own family and why looking at old documentary photographs reminds him “to be patient and capture moments.” Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
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“I Try to Achieve an ‘Augmented Reality’ in My Lighting”: DP Anton Floquet on Imagine Dragons Doc Believer
Director and DP Don Argott is one of three co-founders of 9.14 Pictures, the production company behind such recent documentaries as Rock School, The Art of the Steal and Last Days Here. Their latest film, Believer, is a profile of Imagine Dragons’ vocalist Dan Reynolds. The film concerns Reynolds’ faith as he wrestles with homophobia within the Mormon church. Argott hired DP Anton Floquet to shoot the film, which covers a tumultuous year in Reynolds’ life. Floquet spoke with Filmmaker ahead of the film’s premiere at Sundance about how he got the job, the importance of a small field crew and the film’s […]
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“Film is About Making Magic with These Kind of Challenges”: DP Diego García on Wildlife
For his directorial debut, Paul Dano adapted Richard Ford’s 1990 novel, telling the story of a marriage that falls apart between Jerry (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Jeanette Brinson (Carey Milligan), as seen through the eyes of their 14-year-old son Joe Brinson (Ed Oxenbould). Serving as Dano’s DP, Diego García’s prominent recent credits include Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Cemetery of Splendour and Gabriel Mascaro’s Neon Bull. Below, García discusses their mutual influences (including Kore-eda Hirokazu and The Master) and use of Panavision spherical primo lenses. 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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“A Performance is Really About Digging Into the Footage”: Editor Andrew Hafitz on Beirut
Returning to Sundance long after his first appearances there with Next Stop, Wonderland and Happy Accidents, among others, Brad Anderson’s Beirut is a thriller made from a quarter-century-old script by Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton, Duplicity). Jon Hamm stars as a former diplomat, Mason Skiles, who returns to Lebanon a decade after his former posting there, getting involved in a complex hostage situation involving a standoff with his former friend-turned-terrorist Karim (Idir Chender). Editor Andrew Hafitz (The Last Days of Disco, Bully, Keane) explains how his verite background helps inform his approach to cutting and which two directors taught him the most. Filmmaker: How and why did you […]
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“The Chaos of the Race Track Was a Constant Challenge”: DP Gregory Kershaw on The Last Race
The documentary debut from fine art photographer Michael Dweck, The Last Race screens five times in competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. The film tells the story of Riverhead Raceway, a decades-old race track on Long Island. At one time Long Island hosted roughly 40 such tracks; today, Riverhead is the only one that remains. Filmmaker Gregory Kershaw served as both cinematographer and co-producer on the film. Below, he spoke with Filmmaker about the physical toll of filming at a loud and fume-filled race track, the influence of Errol Morris’ early films and the logistical madness of having “10 cameras mounted on […]
