EU-based cinematographer Nanu Segal has shot more than 30 shorts and features since 2001. She’s also DP’d commercial spots for UNICEF, Playstation and a host of other clients. Her latest project is An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn starring Aubrey Plaza and Emile Hirsch. The film marks a return to Sundance for director Jim Hosking, who premiered his debut film The Greasy Strangler at the festival in 2016. Below, Segal discusses lighting the film’s key locations and the influence of Ali: Fear Eats the Soul on the film. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 27, 2018As you made your film during the increasingly chaotic backdrop of the last year, how did you as a filmmaker control, ignore, give in to or, conversely, perhaps creatively exploit the wild and unpredictable? What roles did chaos and order play in your work? As far as last year being an increasingly chaotic backdrop, that didn’t directly affect me or the making of my film. My film is not especially attuned to the zeitgeist. But as far as chaos is concerned – and chaos might be too strong a word for it – I think it informs my work on […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2018Writer/director Jim Hosking premiered his short Renegades at Sundance in 2010 and returned to the festival in 2016 with his debut feature The Greasy Strangler. His second feature, An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn, premieres in the NEXT program at Sundance 2018. Luff Lin unites Hosking with a cast of comedy luminaries: Aubrey Plaza, Jemaine Clement and Craig Robinson, among others. The film was edited by Mark Burnett, who also edited Greasy Strangler, and Nick Emerson (Lady Macbeth, Starred Up). Filmmaker spoke with the film’s editing team about the film’s tricky tone, which teeters between absurdist and romantic comedy, ahead of Luff Linn‘s premiere […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 20, 2018To fuel their tentpole machines, studios have gotten into the habit of poaching successful independent filmmakers to direct (or at least assume the role of the director in a ceremonial way on) their most valuable franchises. Some would argue that the practice exists to cut down on costs and allow executives to easily manipulate a filmmaker with less leverage or experience. Indeed, when this happens, the result is often disastrous. Nevertheless, young storytellers continue to be tempted by studio-based jobs-for-hire that wind up costing them their creative freedom. By comparison, the independent model allows filmmakers an enviable amount of experimentation, […]
by Carlos Aguilar on Aug 12, 2016With streaming powerhouses like Netflix or Amazon now stepping into theatrical distribution of feature-length content, while also creating spaces for storytellers to work on episodic content, filmmakers’ options to reach a wider audience have expanded — even if that means sacrificing a more traditional release. Now, filmmakers’ dilemmas revolve around determining the length, visual language, and viewing situations most suitable for their stories. Undoubtedly, each medium presents distinct artistic tools, benefits, and its own set of restrictions. However, television, and episodic content in general, has in recent years been heralded as a space where filmmakers can deviate from the norm […]
by Carlos Aguilar on Aug 11, 2016Boasting an eclectic program of features, shorts, musical performances, conversations and informational panels, Sundance NEXT Fest 2016 will bring a piece of the Park City action to Downtown Los Angeles from August 12-14 at the Theatre at Ace Hotel. Six features that had their world premieres back in January at Sundance will screen alongside bonus events ranging from stand-up comedy to Q&As and live acts. The films, all of which have secured theatrical distribution post Sundance, encompass explorations of gender and race from a strong female perspective, a twist on the immigrant story and assimilation, a paranormal Iranian tale set […]
by Carlos Aguilar on Aug 10, 2016Independent of the intent of hardworking programmers and staff, a film festival can occur at an unexpectedly opportune time. That I attended the 20th edition of the Montreal-based Fantasia International Film Festival as many New York colleagues spent their evenings watching the genre-defying, quasi-patriotic spectacle known as the Republican National Convention only made my politically-removed self more grateful. Creating and celebrating horror within the confines of narrative and nonfiction cinema proved to be a more peaceful environment than gawking at the horrific notions of those in power. At the festival’s midway point, the Frontières International Co-Production Market — a four-day event where […]
by Erik Luers on Aug 1, 2016In every film, there is the story that you knew you were telling, the story the audience perceives. But there is always some other story, a secret story. It might be the result of your hidden motivations for making the film, or, instead, the result of themes that only became clear to you after you made the movie. It might be something very personal, or it might be a story you didn’t even know you were telling. What is your film’s secret story? After I had spent a long time labouring over a couple of other scripts, I decided to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 22, 2016