Sundance Responses
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“I Like To Edit Ideas, Not Sequences”: Editor Geraldine Mangenot on Other People’s Children
In Other People’s Children, the latest from director Rebecca Zlowtowski, a woman in her 40s named Rachel (Virginie Efira) grapples with the idea of being a mother—as well as the idea of going down a child-free path. Editor Geraldine Mangenot, who’s worked with Zlowtowski since her 2019 film An Easy Girl, discusses how being a mother herself influenced the film’s 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 to your being hired for this job? Mangenot: […]
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“We Would Light a Candle and Some Impepho at the Start of the Work Day”: Editor Hankyeol Lee on Milisuthando
Milisuthando, the five-part personal essay film from first-time director Milisuthando Bongela, utilizes a trove of unseen archival images of South Africa during apartheid, particularly the all-Black Transkei community that Bongela grew up in. As such, editor Hankyeol Lee had a lot of material to sift through while remaining attentive to the intimate and oft-sensitive details of Bongela’s—and an entire nation’s—traumatic reckoning. Lee tells Filmmaker about how they went about editing the film, including a ritual she and the director would practice in the cutting room. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you […]
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“Find Beauty and Magic in Everyday Life”: DP Carolina Costa on Fancy Dance
Since the disappearance of her sister, Jax (Lily Gladstone) has been taking care of her niece Roki (Isabel Deroy-Olson), both of them desperately hoping for her return. When she’s been officially declared “missing” for two weeks, CPS shows up at Jax’s door, leading to a dogged fight for her to keep caring for Rokii. The feature debut from writer-director Erica Tremblay, Fancy Dance explores womanhood and Indigenous identity through one family’s fractured ties. Cinematographer Carolina Costa talks about shooting the film, including a singular motto the team adopted during the shoot. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. […]
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“In Hybrid Documentaries, the Classic Rules of the Game Do Not Always Work”: DP Andrii Kotliar on Iron Butterflies
In Iron Butterflies, the hybrid doc from director Roman Liubyi, the political ramifications of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17—which was shot down by Russian forces as it was passing over eastern Ukraine—are unraveled and contextualized within broader global events. DP Andrii Kotliar talks about his experience shooting the film, including one particularly scorching day on the job. 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 being hired for this job? Kotliar: It’s not quite a classic […]
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“It’s All Love and Rage”: DP Ashley Connor on Polite Society
When Ria (Priya Kansara) finds out that her art school dropout sister Lena (Ritu Arya) is giving up her creative dreams to marry a wealthy man, she sense that an evil force is afoot. Using her amateur martial arts moves, Ria concocts a plan with some schoolmates to kidnap Lena from her own wedding. The feature debut from writer-director Nida Manzoor, Polite Society charts the physical and social struggles of being a teenage girl who no one will take seriously. Cinematographer Ashley Connor tells Filmmaker about how she came to work on the film and her immediate connection to the […]
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“The Sea Has Always Been Sensual and Angry”: DP Ashok Meena on Against the Tide
Two best friends struggle to make a living as fishermen in Bombay’s Indigenous Koli community in Against the Tide, director Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary that explores the impact of pollution, invasive species and other environmental factors contributing to a region’s dwindling fish population. DP Ashok Meena discusses her experience working on the project, including the influence that Iranian cinema has had on her work. 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 being hired for this […]
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“Our Material Spans 150 Years of Camera Technology”: DPs Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aretryck on Fantastic Machine
Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck are co-directors, producers, cinematographers and editors of Fantastic Machine, their documentary that serves as a “meticulous dissection of image-making and a mapping of its movement through society.” Below, the duo discuss how they approached their duties as DPs on the film, including how they view that role as distinctly hunter-like. 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 being hired for this job? Danielson & Van Aretryck: As directors, […]
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“I Would Cry Every Take We Shot”: DP Carolina Costa on Heroic
The sophomore feature from writer-director Carolina Costa, Heroic examines the brutality of the Mexican military through the experiences of 18-year-old recruit Luis (Santiago Sandoval Carbajal), a cadet at the Heroic Military College located in the rolling mountainside. DP Carolina Costa talks about her experience shooting the film, which proved to be incredibly emotional. 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 being hired for this job? Costa: This is the second film I shot for […]
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“I Usually Prefer To Embrace the Rushes as a Whole”: Editor Hoping Chen on Drift
Drift, the latest feature from Singaporean director Anthony Chen, follows Jacqueline (Cynthia Erivo), who finds herself struggling to scrape by on a Greek island after fleeing Liberia during the war. The daughter of a wealthy government loyalist, this new rough and tumble lifestyle is far from the luxurious life she used to live. When she meets Callie (Alia Shawkat), an American tourist traveling solo, she is charmed and takes a risk by forming a connection with her. Chen’s longtime editor Hoping Chen discusses the process of working on this film, revealing many of his established cutting habits. See all responses […]
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“The Tonal Balance Was a Bit of a Tightrope”: Editor Jacob Craycroft on Cat Person
Cat Person, the viral short story that originally appeared in The New Yorker is now a feature film from director Susanna Fogel. Editor Jacob Craycroft tells Filmmaker about bringing the re-imagined feminist cautionary tale to life in the cutting room. 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 to your being hired for this job? Craycroft: As with most of my jobs that aren’t with repeat filmmakers, this came through my agent. I had read the short […]
