Sundance Responses
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“We Endeavored to Give Each of Our Locations a Tone, Rhythm and Color Palette”: Richard Poplak and Diana Neille | Influence
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Influence is ultimately about the protection of the reputations and, by extension, the wealth and power of the global elite. That power and influence vests in our cities: the immense blocks of steel, glass and concrete that have been built on mounds of money for centuries. Our characters and the powerful […]
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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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“The Objects of a Time Passed”: Michael Dweck and Gregory Kershaw | The Truffle Hunters
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Our film is about a group of mirthful old truffle hunters who live in the forests of Northern Italy. The time spent in their world felt like moving through a fairytale storybook where every object had a past and every cobblestone street and wooded path holds a secret waiting to be […]
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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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“Walls are Used to Separate the ‘Normal’ From the ‘Different'”: Radu Ciorniciuc | Acasa, My Home
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Integral to my film are the concrete walls around the Bucharest Delta, the place where most of the action of Acasa, My Home is happening. The story of the walls around the Bucharest Delta starts with the plan of Nicolae Ceausescu, the former Romanian communist dictator, to build the largest artificial […]
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“Centering and Amplifying Trans Voices With Elegance and Dignity”: Sam Feder | Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Using a technology that has historically dehumanized trans people, we focused on centering and amplifying trans voices with elegance and dignity. Using an anamorphic lens was integral for this. Historically, films favored an anamorphic format when shooting epic stories or explorations of new frontiers—that’s how we envision transgender liberation. Our aesthetic […]
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“The Semicircle of Empty Chairs Being Set Up and Attended To”: James D. Stern | Giving Voice
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? I think the shot of the semicircle of empty chairs being set up and attended to before the finals of the competition at the August Wilson Theater on Broadway in New York is the prop or set design that truly stays with me. The image speaks to the anticipation of the […]
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“A Handwritten Sign That Says: ‘Fearless, Revolutionary, Optimism'”: Fernando Villena | Giving Voice
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? The object that stands out the most for me is a sign that one of our students featured in the documentary, Freedom Martin, had taped up on his wall. It’s a handwritten sign that says: “Fearless, Revolutionary, Optimism.” Freedom goes on to explain that it’s a quote from Stephen McKinley Henderson’s […]
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“The Tape, and His Action of Tying Himself Up, Is Emblematic to Me of Something at the Heart of the Story”: Romola Garai | Amulet
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? A roll of black duct tape. The lead character in my film, Tomaz, is a man beset with recurrent nightmares. These are so bad that he is forced to strap his hands together to prevent him from injuring himself in the night. The tape, and his action of tying himself up, […]
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“I Wanted to Subtly Evoke Biosphere 2 in My Interview Shots”: Matt Wolf | Spaceship Earth
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Our film Spaceship Earth is comprised almost entirely of archival footage, but we did a number of interviews in studios across the country. The most important object for this film is a modular erector set of geodesic rods that appears out of focus behind all of our interview subjects. Production designer […]
