Sundance 2024
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“Me Being There by Myself Led to More Authentic and Intimate Situations”: DP Silje Evensmo Jacobsen on A New Kind of Wilderness
Director Silje Evensmo Jacobsen also served as the primary cinematographer on her documentary A New Kind of Wilderness, premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the World Documentary Competition. The film follows the Payne family, who’ve been happily residing in a remote Norwegian forest until a death in the family forces them to move back into populated society. Below, Evensmo Jacobsen describes her approach to shooting A New Kind of Wilderness, which she did alongside directing in order to foster a more genuine intimacy with the film’s subjects. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“Stay True to Your Gut”: Producer Mari Bakke Riise on A New Kind of Wilderness
When the Payne family experiences a personal tragedy, they must leave the home they love in the remote Norwegian wilderness and enmesh themselves in the society they once felt so strongly opposed to in A New Kind of Wilderness, the latest documentary from filmmaker Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. First-time producer Mari Bakke Riise, who also served as the film’s editor, discusses how her long-time collaboration with Evensmo Jacobsen led to her multi-pronged involvement on this project. See all responses to our questionnaire for first-time Sundance producers here. Filmmaker: Tell us about the professional path that led you to produce this film, your […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“I Still Find Myself Getting Moved by the Film, Despite Having Watched It Hundreds of Times”: Editor Mari Bakke Riise on A New Kind of Wilderness
Premiering in the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, A New Kind of Wilderness is a portrait of the Payne family, who reside in the remote Norwegian wilderness in an attempt to disconnect from the modern world. When a tragic event befalls the family, however, the remaining members are forced to reintegrate into a society they once rejected. Editor Mari Bakke Riise, who previously worked with director Silje Evensmo Jacobsen on an episodic project, explains how she navigated the lack of a specific family member on-screen while cutting the film. See all responses to our annual Sundance […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“A Section of the LA River Which Is Often Overlooked” | Jack Begert, Little Death
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? I have spent the last decade shooting all over Los Angeles, and wanted to use my first film as an opportunity to show different sides of the city—ones that don’t always get the spotlight in movies. In particular, we had a very important […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“There’s a Gritty Reality That is Undeniable”: DP David Timoner on Dig! XX
Dig!, Ondi Timoner’s 2004 documentary on The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, remains an illuminating look at the turn-of-the-century indie rock scene in the United States. The film has been newly edited and restored and will play the 2024 Sundance Film Festival as Dig! XX to celebrate the festival’s 40th anniversary. Below, David Timoner, who shared cinematography duties with his sister Ondi and Vasco Tunes on the original Dig! walks down memory lane as he relates their ingenuity in capturing such intimate footage and how the quality of the cameras improved alongside the bands’ popularity. See all responses to our annual […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“When You’re Telling a Story About the Future, the Conclusion is Itself Inconclusive”: Editor Conor McBride on Love Machina
Love Machina, the latest film by documentarian Peter Sillen (Benjamin Smoke) follows the couple Martine and Bina Rothblatt, who attempt to transfer Bina’s consciousness to a commissioned humanoid artificial intelligence to preserve their love for one another. The film is also the first feature film editor credit for Conor McBride who discusses the timeliness of the film and its subject matter, as well as how he balanced the need for the film to be simultaneously entertaining and touching. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor questionnaire here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“We Shot in Wildly Different Landscapes” | Sam and Andy Zuchero, Love Me
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? Love Me takes place over Earth’s 10 billion year life, from its birth to its death when the sun becomes a red giant and consumes our solar system. From the beginning, we knew that we couldn’t rely on just VFX to show these […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“Love Machina Taps into the Lofty Idealism of the 1960s”: DP Peter Sillen on Love Machina
Martine Rothblatt and Bina Rothblatt are two futurists attempting to preserve their love forever with BINA48, a robotic face with chatbot capabilities to which the couple hopes to upload Bina’s consciousness. Their story is chronicled in director Peter Sillen’s Love Machina, a 2024 Sundance premiere. For this project, Sillen served as his own cinematographer. Below, he explains why he made that choice for the film and explains the film’s relationship to 1960s America. 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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“People Who Have Been Relegated to the Background Finally Stepping Forward” | Kobi Libii, The American Society of Magical Negroes
Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? Ninety percent of this film was shot in Downtown LA, specifically the Arts District. I love that part of town and think it’s singular and vibrant and beautiful. I also don’t think it’s photographed as much as some of the more “iconic” […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“You Live and Die by Your Crew”: DP Doug Emmett on The American Society of Magical Negroes
Riffing on the eponymous stock trope recognizable in so many American films, The American Society of Magical Negroes tells the story of Aren, the latest recruit to a secret society of magical Black people who use their powers to make the lives of white people easier. The Sundance 2024 premiere is the debut film for director Kobi Libii. The film’s cinematographer Doug Emmett has a number of recognizable credits under his belt, including The Edge of Seventeen and Sorry to Bother You. Below, he humorously recounts difficulties mounting a set three floors underground and details the inspirations behind the film’s look. See all responses to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024
