Sundance Responses
-
“The Set Was Built Inside a Real House”: DP Fran Fernández-Pardo on MAMACRUZ
When family matriarch Cruz (Kiti Mánver) discovers porn during what began as an innocent Internet search, she is awakened to a passionate sensuality that she’s spent her entire life successfully repressing. Unsatisfied by her husband and consumed by newfound curiosity, she joins a women’s sex therapy group in order to better understand her body’s carnal needs. DP Fran Fernández-Pardo tells Filmmaker about shooting MAMACRUZ, the Spain-set film from Venezuelan director Patricia Ortega. 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 […]
-
“The Main Goal Was To Make the Audience Connect With an Unusual Protagonist”: Editor Fàtima de los Santos on MAMACRUZ
A routine Internet search turned pornographic discovery is what prompts Cruz (Kiti Mánver), a devoutly religious grandmother, to experience a latent sexual awakening. Though she’s initially stricken with a classic case of God-fearing shame, Cruz embarks on a path of sensual self-discovery via a local women’s sex therapy group in MAMACRUZ, Patricia Ortega’s latest film. Editor Fàtima de los Santos discusses how she got the audience to connect with an “unusual” protagonist, how she aided in changing the MAMACRUZ‘s narrative structure and the difficulty of working on a film without background music. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor […]
-
“Losing That Location Was a Blessing in Disguise” | Andrew Bowser, Onyx the Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? The finale of our film takes place in a cemetery. Our plan was to shoot on location at a cemetery that was 15 minutes away from our primary mansion location (where the bulk of our film was shot). Days before the finale was to be filmed, we lost the cemetery location. It was run by the city and I think […]
-
“I Became Unexpectedly Pregnant!” | Ella Glendining, Is There Anybody Out There?
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? The most unpredictable event I faced while making my very personal documentary is that I became unexpectedly pregnant! I immediately recognized this as an obstacle to the story I’d originally set out to tell, but equally felt strongly that it was a gift, both to me and the film. I allowed the pregnancy and becoming a parent to become an […]
-
“Pregnancy Became Integrated as a Storyline” | Alison O’Daniel, The Tuba Thieves
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? I truly welcome the unexpected, the miscommunicated, the “obstruction” as a co-author of the film. When I started this project, I decided I would make a film as a listening project that is not tethered to the ears. I am d/Deaf/hard of hearing. I can hear, but constantly experience fallout from mishearing things and I second-guess what I hear, because […]
-
“We Had To Shoot the African Scenes in Greece” | Anthony Chen, Drift
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? For Drift, we had several key scenes in the film that were set in Liberia, Africa. I always imagined shooting those scenes on the African continent, possibly in Nigeria. But as we made the film during the pandemic, it became impossible for the scheduling and logistics to work, especially on our budget. There were too many unknown factors and risks that […]
-
“Getting Out of My Own Way Was the Objective” | Bethann Hardison and Frédéric Tcheng, Invisible Beauty
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? Bethann Hardison: I’m not sure if it was an obstacle…but getting out of my own way was the objective. Wanting to tell the story and being the story required letting go and allowing total exposure when you were maybe not in the mood. For me, being the co-director and subject was a challenge to allow my directing partner to capture […]
-
“Judy’s Books Allowed Us to Travel Back to Our Own Childhoods” | Leah Wolchok and Davina Pardo, Judy Blume Forever
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? We first started talking to Judy Blume about the idea of this documentary in June 2018, but it wasn’t until the end of February 2020 that we received an email from her saying, “Yes, let’s do it.” That “yes” was a dream come true, but we all know what happens next: just a few short weeks later, we were in […]
-
“Offering Participants the Option to Request Changes or Even Remove Themselves Entirely” | Luke Lorentzen, A Still Small Voice
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? I started this project interested in further developing my ability to connect and build trust with the people I film. But it became clear that the depth, connection and intimacy that I felt would be central to this story could only happen if participants (chaplains and patients alike) felt safe and comfortable sharing deeply personal moments in front of the […]
-
“COVID Hit and the Movie Fell Apart” | Laurel Parmet, The Starling Girl
Every production faces unexpected obstructions that require creative solutions and conceptual rethinking. What was an unforeseen obstacle, crisis, or simply unpredictable event you had to respond to, and how did this event impact or cause you to rethink your film? I’m sure I am echoing many filmmakers in saying that COVID was 100% the largest unforeseen obstacle in getting this film made. We were gearing up to shoot in 2020, and then COVID hit and the movie fell apart. Those were some very dark times for me (and for many others), and I didn’t know if I’d ever get to […]
