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Filminute @ Filmmaker: Christian Fischer’s Indian Mystery
Throughout the month of September, Filmmaker is partnering with the online short film competition Filminute, hosting five of its nominated titles and running interviews with the director’s of these one-minute movies.
Tell us who you are (where you’re from, background, previous credits as a filmmaker)
I have basically been making films all my life, starting with my parents’ VHS camera (unfortunately, I was a generation too late for Super 8). I studied German Literature, Media Studies and Psychology in Marburg and Bonn and also had the opportunity to study film at NYU for a year. Since my graduation, I have been making short films, which fortunately were screened at many festivals around the world. My latest short (apart from the one-minute) is called The Spectator. I currently live in Cologne.
Describe your film in 100 words or less (plot, style, influences)
Something indescribably awful has happened to a young, beautiful woman on her trip to India… What started as being influenced by Chris Marker’s film essays became much more close in tone and feel to a found footage horror film. It was shot on film and edited digitally.
What were the biggest challenges of making a one-minute film?
A good one-minute film can almost feel like a memory. It seems to have just the right length for a memory-unit, so to say. Most mementos are attached to a strong feeling, however. And that’s hard to evoke in just 60 seconds. So for me, the biggest challenge was to create something that’s like a visual poem: dense, ambiguous and atmospheric. And which, considering the length, hopefully can be watched many times – like a troubling, fractured memory that you replay in your head over and over as you try to make some sense of it.
To rate and vote for Indian Mystery, visit the Filminute site.
