Sundance Film Festival 2014
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Interview with Private Violence Director Cynthia Hill
Filmmaker: Why this movie? Why did you decide to do it? Hill: This is probably not a film I would have initiated on my own. It’s a subject matter that touches me personally, but one I’ve left behind. But six years ago, Kit Gruelle, an advocate for battered women, asked me to work on a project about the history of the battered women’s movement. It was intended to honor the women – and male allies – who have dedicated their lives to ending violence against women. So I started following Kit to work in shelters, court rooms, training sessions, wherever she would […]
by Danielle Lurie on Jan 19, 2014 -
The Foxy Merkins | Director Madeleine Olnek
Attention, our audience’s and our own — it’s a valued commodity these days. We struggle to command our audience’s attention, for them to discover our work and then, once they’ve discovered it, to actually focus on it. Meanwhile, we struggle to focus our own attention, to fight our society’s weapons of mass distraction so we can not just see our work to completion but fully discover the meanings within it. What role does attention play in your work? Can you discuss an instance where you thought about some aspect of attention when it came to your film? As I playwright […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2014 -
Five Questions with A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night Director Ana Lily Amirpour
Another vampire flick? For her debut film, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, Ana Lily Amirpour shrugged off suggestions that the genre’s been tapped one too many times in crafting a Lynch and Leone mash-up that gets to the root of our fascination with the timeless character. Shot in black and white and set to a distinctive soundtrack, A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night unfolds in the depraved (and fictional) Bad City, where a vampiric young woman and loner forge an unlikely love story. Filmmaker spoke with Amirpour about the stylistic influences and flourishes in the film, as well as its […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Jan 19, 2014 -
The Disobedient | Director Mina Djukic
Attention, our audience’s and our own — it’s a valued commodity these days. We struggle to command our audience’s attention, for them to discover our work and then, once they’ve discovered it, to actually focus on it. Meanwhile, we struggle to focus our own attention, to fight our society’s weapons of mass distraction so we can not just see our work to completion but fully discover the meanings within it. What role does attention play in your work? Can you discuss an instance where you thought about some aspect of attention when it came to your film? As a kid, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2014 -
The Sleepwalker | Director Mona Fastvold
Attention, our audience’s and our own — it’s a valued commodity these days. We struggle to command our audience’s attention, for them to discover our work and then, once they’ve discovered it, to actually focus on it. Meanwhile, we struggle to focus our own attention, to fight our society’s weapons of mass distraction so we can not just see our work to completion but fully discover the meanings within it. What role does attention play in your work? Can you discuss an instance where you thought about some aspect of attention when it came to your film? My film is […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2014 -
Sundance Day One: Premiere Your Film
This is my fourth year attending the Sundance Film Festival, but my first as a producer with a film playing. In the last few years I have come as a spectator, volunteer, fan, and writer, but yesterday I premiered a film as a co-producer. Our film, Memphis, premiered Friday morning in the NEXT section to a sold-out audience. Last year I chronicled my experience at the festival through a barrage of photos of films I went to, meetings I took, and parties I enjoyed as I tried hard to hustle and find traction with some projects — one of which […]
by Alexandra Byer on Jan 18, 2014 -
Land Ho! | Directors Aaron Katz and Martha Stephens
Attention, our audience’s and our own — it’s a valued commodity these days. We struggle to command our audience’s attention, for them to discover our work and then, once they’ve discovered it, to actually focus on it. Meanwhile, we struggle to focus our own attention, to fight our society’s weapons of mass distraction so we can not just see our work to completion but fully discover the meanings within it. What role does attention play in your work? Can you discuss an instance where you thought about some aspect of attention when it came to your film? Making a movie […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 18, 2014 -
Interview with 52 Tuesdays Director Sophie Hyde
Filmmaker: Why this movie? Why did you decide to do it? Hyde: Many reasons. We had the opportunity to make something that was a genuine investigation of narrative – how it was made (shooting one day a week every week for one year and scripting as we went) as well as how it is viewed (every Tuesday is seen in the film). These rules or parameters helped us explore how we make films and how we construct our lives, so we were always working toward the finished film but we were also deep inside an experience ourselves. I wanted to […]
by Danielle Lurie on Jan 18, 2014 -
Interview with E-TEAM Director Katy Chevigny
Filmmaker: Why this movie? Why did you decide to do it? Chevigny: My co-director, Ross Kauffman, and I were intrigued by the fact that no one had ever been granted access to make an independent film about Human Rights Watch researchers in the field. We knew their work was fascinating and thought it was an interesting opportunity. And once we actually met the member of the E-Team in person, we knew there were some great characters there. Filmmaker: How much of your crew was female? Was hiring women a consideration for you? Chevigny: My co-director, Ross Kauffman, is a man. Our […]
by Danielle Lurie on Jan 18, 2014 -
Five Questions with Appropriate Behavior Director Desiree Akhavan
Fans of Desiree Akhavan and Ingrid Jungermann’s comedic web series The Slope could not have guessed at the impressive range that Akhavan displays in her debut feature, Appropriate Behavior. As emotionally devastating as it is uproarious, Behavior stars Akhavan as Shirin, a woman dealing the aftermath of a breakup with a serious girlfriend (Rebecca Henderson), as well as her prolonged struggles to come out as bisexual to her Persian-American family. The film rings deeply personal and true, and Akhavan manages to establish herself as a real star-to-watch and the rare triple threat – a witty writer, a nimble director, and […]
by Jane Schoenbrun on Jan 18, 2014
