Sundance Responses
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“You Can Ride Poison to its Possibilities”: Josephine Decker | Shirley
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? Mushrooms! In our film, mushrooms—deadly or benign—become this symbol of sexual freedom and creative liberation. You can eat your death. You can ride poison to its possibilities. Or you can just share a tasty treat with your witch. The relationship in our film between main characters Shirley and Rose also rides […]
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“The Walking Stick Is the Object That Ties Their Fates Together”: Cedric Cheung-Lau | The Mountains Are a Dream That Call to Me
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? In a film shot in so many wide landscapes, where our characters are sometimes just dots in the space, I think it’s a culmination of tiny details, some which may not even be seen, that gives the film its character and emotion. More overtly and specifically however, the walking stick Tukten […]
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“A Celebration of the Pure-Hearted Passion of Amateurs”: Euros Lyn | Dream Horse
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? These are highly prized plates, awarded to the fastest bird in a pigeon race. Jan Vokes, the heroine of Dream Horse, bred several winning racing pigeons, a skill she transferred to breed a champion racehorse in her backyard. “Pigeon fancying,” as it’s known colloquially, is open to all and is a […]
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“We Took an Airboat to the Middle of That Truly Unique Geographic Expanse of Subtropical Wilderness”: Kim A. Snyder | Us Kids
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? There is a scene towards the end of the film we shot in the Everglades, a place that Emma Gonzalez explained to me which represents a nostalgic and calming sense of security for her from childhood (the Everglades are the “backyard” of Parkland, Florida). David Hogg, after having received death threats, […]
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“I’m a Massive Expert on Horses”: Editor Jamie Pearson on Dream Horse
Welsh director Euros Lyn adapts a true story about one woman’s determination to prove people wrong in Dream Horse, starring Toni Collette as Jan, a waitress who suddenly takes up the challenge of breeding a racehorse, with both skeptics and supporters by her side. Sure enough, Dream Alliance, the horse and the syndicate, become horse racing champions. Editor Jamie Pearson explains how he came up in the industry, how the narrative for Dream Horse was shaped and also divulges a few spoilers. “ Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the […]
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“Time Is Always the Biggest Challenge”: DP Zach Kuperstein on The Climb
In Michael Covino’s The Climb, best friends Kyle (Kyle Marvin) and Mike (Michael Covino) embark on a bike ride in the south of France to celebrate Kyle’s impending marriage to a French woman. In the process, Mike admits to having slept with Kyle’s fiancée, causing an understandable riff in their friendship. Presented as one long take, DP Zach Kuperstein divulges the intricacies of the unorthodox process of filming The Climb. 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? Kuperstein: […]
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“The More Real We Could Make the Film, the More Unsettling It Would Feel”: Editor Benjamin Moses Smith on Spree
In Eugene Kotlyrenko’s Spree, a rideshare driver, Kurt (Joe Keery), dreams of social media fame—but he’ll settle for notoriety. He decks his car out with eight cameras and livestreams something called #TheLesson, which quickly results in carnage. Editor Benjamin Moses Smith talks about the editing of a “live stream” movie, the sensitive material integral to the film and his impending title as “the best “8 cameras mounted inside of a car editor in the world.” 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 […]
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“The Art Department Came Up to Me and Said ‘We’re Running Low on Ice Cream, Your Grandfather Is Eating It Too Fast'”: Michael Covino | The Climb
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? We decided to begin a scene with a shot of two old men sitting on a bench eating ice cream cones. One of them was my 90 year old grandfather, who took one screenwriting course in the 1940s, which he felt entitled him to give me lots of notes, sometimes in […]
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“I Wanted to Fight for the Pictures”: DP Jake Swantko on The Dissident
The global controversy—and subsequent cover-up—surrounding the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi is the subject of Bryan Fogel’s documentary The Dissident. After the news broke about Khashoggi’s murder, Fogel reached out to DP Jake Swantko, and the two immediately began collaborating on the documentary, traveling to interview Khashoggi’s fianceé, close friend and insurgent Omar Abdulaziz and others. Swantko shares his experience with the often dangerous aspects of making a documentary about a highly politicized figure. 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 […]
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“Omission Is a Powerful Storytelling Tool”: Editor Sara Shaw on The Climb
Two best friends embark on an extensive bike ride in the south of France—one of the friends, Kyle (Kyle Marvin) is getting married to a French woman, and his best friend Mike (Michael Covino) is working up the guts to tell his friend he’s slept with the bride-to-be. Presented as one continual long shot, The Climb (also directed by Michael Covino) examines this codependent friendship in what appears to be real-time. Editor Sara Shaw takes Filmmaker through the challenges of editing continuous shots, figuring out the trajectory of a narrative and the power of what isn’t shown. Filmmaker: How and why […]
