Sundance Film Festival
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“I Had to Put My Own Interests Aside”: Editor Hogir Hirori on Sabaya
Hogir Hirori’s Sabaya tells the untold story of young survivors of Daesh sex trafficking. The documentary follows the actions of the Yazidi Home Center as they infiltrate the Al-Hol camp where several women and children were held against their will as slaves. As the editor of his own film (as well as the cinematographer), Hirori shares how he preserved the exigence of the Sabaya girls’ story while protecting their identities along the way. 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 hired for this […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 30, 2021 -
“The Memory of Shooting Left a Scar”: DP Alex Camilleri on Luzzu
Alex Camilleri’s Luzzu touts itself as one of the first 100% Maltese films. Starring fisherman Camilleri met during his time in Malta, the movie features non-actors in what could be mistaken for a documentary on Malta’s fishing industry and the ecological concerns therein. Acting as the film’s editor, Camilleri walks us through his path to his first feature and the solitary experience of editing your own film. 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 hired for this job? Camilleri: I’m the writer and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 30, 2021 -
“My Collaborators Are Geniuses”: Editor Christopher Makoto Yogi on I Was a Simple Man
Set in the countryside of O’Ahu, Hawai’i, Director Christopher Makoto Yogi’s second feature film I Was a Simple Man is a surreal portrait of an elderly man’s final days. Told in chapters, the film follows Masao (Steve Iwamoto) as he’s visited by ghosts of his past, including his wife Grace (Constance Wu). Acting as the editor for his film, Yogi discusses staying true to his initial emotion in writing the film, as well as the value of brutal honesty in your team. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your film? What were the factors and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 30, 2021 -
Sundance Critic’s Notebook 2021 1 (Vadim Rizov): The Most Beautiful Boy in the World, Flee
“We’re sad to miss you on the Park City mountain this year and look forward to the day we can once again gather under one roof,” read HBO Docs’s email leading up to this year’s Sundance. “Until then, we encourage spending lots of time in front of your screen watching documentaries.” This is admirably direct and succinct, if bleak, and thus a fitting welcome to Sundance 2021; those who’ve physically attended in recent years can stroll down Virtual Main Street and experience brand overexposure all over again. You can “Bring [Chase] Sapphire on Main Home” or pop into the area […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jan 29, 2021 -
“It Was Supposed to be Confusing and Nonsensical”: Editor Lance Edmands on Cryptozoo
Dash Shaw’s adult animated feature Cryptozoo is a surreal romp into the world of cryptids, mythic creatures whose existence are debated. After stumbling on the titular Cryptozoo, an eclectic team of individuals set out to capture a dream-eating creature called a Baku. Editor Lance Edmands tells us of the unique struggle of balancing dream logic and streamlined editing that went into the development of Cryptozoo. 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 hired for this job? Edmands: I became friends with Dash Shaw […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2021 -
“I Wanted to Romanticize a Bit and Be Nostalgic”: DP Eunsoo Cho on I Was a Simple Man
Set in the countryside of O’Ahu, Hawai’i, Director Christopher Makoto Yogi’s second feature film I Was a Simple Man is a surreal portrait of an elderly man’s final days. Told in chapters, the film follows Masao (Steve Iwamoto) as he’s visited by ghosts of his past, including his wife Grace (Constance Wu). DP Eunsoo Cho clues us in on how to capture the majesty of Hawai’i’s landscape, as well as how to portray a movie that eschews time and space. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2021 -
“Strange to Accomplish Your Dreams in Such Times”: Director Pascual Sisto | John and the Hole
How did events of 2020—any of them—change your film, either in the way you approached it, produced it, post-produced it, or are now thinking about it? The events of 2020 clearly had a major impact on all of us, from the pandemic to the racial unrest protests and all the way to one of the most divided US elections I have ever seen. If I have to filter it within the context of my film, it’s been quite an emotional rollercoaster with a very contrasting set of emotions. On one hand it was one of the darkest years in recent […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2021 -
“The Natural World and Our Interconnectedness”: Director Sally Aitken | Playing With Sharks
How did events of 2020—any of them—change your film, either in the way you approached it, produced it, post-produced it, or are now thinking about it? Playing With Sharks is the story of a one-of-a-kind, passionate woman, Valerie Taylor, and her remarkable life’s relationship with the ocean’s most notorious predators, sharks. As both a contemporary and archival film, with gob-smacking real scenes of this fearless and glamorous, maverick conservationist, the events of 2020 had the potential to completely derail our production—but—fortunately, probably, ended up defining the movie, certainly, defining the way I feel now in thinking about the natural world […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2021 -
“People Will Watch Films Differently Today Than They Did a Year Ago”: Director Ronny Trocker | Human Factors
How did events of 2020—any of them—change your film, either in the way you approached it, produced it, post-produced it, or are now thinking about it? Even though many other things happened in 2020, the pandemic was without doubt the most significant event. However, at the moment it is difficult for me to say if it has changed my view on the film in some way. Like most films coming out now, it was written and shot before the pandemic. The post-production was affected by the restrictions, causing some notable delays, but I don’t think it changed the result of […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2021 -
“Art Is Never Finished, Only Abandoned”: Director Mariem Pérez Riera | Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided Go For It
How did events of 2020—any of them—change your film, either in the way you approached it, produced it, post-produced it, or are now thinking about it? I finished the final cut of the documentary on Friday, March 13th, 2020. That was the deadline to lock the film in order to move on to color correction and sound mix. That night, I had watched the film one last time before leaving the editing room and as I was driving home, an enormous sadness seized me. At first I couldn’t explain what it was, but then I realized I wasn’t satisfied with […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 29, 2021
