Sundance Film Festival
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“Walls are Used to Separate the ‘Normal’ From the ‘Different'”: Radu Ciorniciuc | Acasa, My Home
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Integral to my film are the concrete walls around the Bucharest Delta, the place where most of the action of Acasa, My Home is happening. The story of the walls around the Bucharest Delta starts with the plan of Nicolae Ceausescu, the former Romanian communist dictator, to build the largest artificial […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020 -
“Centering and Amplifying Trans Voices With Elegance and Dignity”: Sam Feder | Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Using a technology that has historically dehumanized trans people, we focused on centering and amplifying trans voices with elegance and dignity. Using an anamorphic lens was integral for this. Historically, films favored an anamorphic format when shooting epic stories or explorations of new frontiers—that’s how we envision transgender liberation. Our aesthetic […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020 -
“The Semicircle of Empty Chairs Being Set Up and Attended To”: James D. Stern | Giving Voice
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? I think the shot of the semicircle of empty chairs being set up and attended to before the finals of the competition at the August Wilson Theater on Broadway in New York is the prop or set design that truly stays with me. The image speaks to the anticipation of the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020 -
“A Handwritten Sign That Says: ‘Fearless, Revolutionary, Optimism'”: Fernando Villena | Giving Voice
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? The object that stands out the most for me is a sign that one of our students featured in the documentary, Freedom Martin, had taped up on his wall. It’s a handwritten sign that says: “Fearless, Revolutionary, Optimism.” Freedom goes on to explain that it’s a quote from Stephen McKinley Henderson’s […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020 -
“The Tape, and His Action of Tying Himself Up, Is Emblematic to Me of Something at the Heart of the Story”: Romola Garai | Amulet
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? A roll of black duct tape. The lead character in my film, Tomaz, is a man beset with recurrent nightmares. These are so bad that he is forced to strap his hands together to prevent him from injuring himself in the night. The tape, and his action of tying himself up, […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020 -
“I Wanted to Subtly Evoke Biosphere 2 in My Interview Shots”: Matt Wolf | Spaceship Earth
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? Our film Spaceship Earth is comprised almost entirely of archival footage, but we did a number of interviews in studios across the country. The most important object for this film is a modular erector set of geodesic rods that appears out of focus behind all of our interview subjects. Production designer […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020 -
“An Emotional Language Emerged Within the Textured Universe of Glitches”: Matt Yoka | Whirlybird
Whether capturing or creating a world, the objects onscreen tell as much of a story as the people within it. Whether sourced or accidental, insert shot or background detail, what prop or piece of set decoration do you find particularly integral to your film? What story does it tell? The Glitch. The analog video glitches throughout Whirlybird are more than stylized decorations, they are ghostly characters. While sifting through thousands of hours of the Los Angeles News Service archive (3/4″ and beta tape from the 80s and 90s), video glitches were abound. As much as I wanted the audience to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2020 -
“We Took a Minimalist, Naturalistic Approach”: DP Charlie Sarroff on Relic
The devastation of dementia is translated into a haunted house horror film in Natalie Erika James’ Relic. It follows Edna (Robyn Nevin) after she mysteriously disappears from her home, causing her daughter and granddaughter great worry. She eventually returns without an idea of where she was, and it appears that something sinister follower her back. DP Charlie Sarroff talks about the inspirations for the visual style of Relic and the equipment that made it happen. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020 -
“It Was Important to Draw Out Tension and Let the Awkwardness Breathe”: Editor Sean Lahiff on Relic
Natalia Erika Jame adapts the real-world terror of degenerative disease into a supernatural horror film in Relic. Edna, an aging woman, is feared for by her daughter and granddaughter after she abruptly disappears, leaving in her wake the signs of someone struggling with dementia. One day, she inexplicably returns, and a dangerous entity may have come back with her. Editor Sean Lahiff talks about why he so enjoys editing the “darker side of genre films.” 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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020 -
“Feels as if Time Is Unspooling in Front of Our Eyes”: Editor Gabriel Rhodes on Time
Fox and Rob Rich are married, but they’ve been apart for 21 years—Rob is currently serving a 60-year sentence for a crime that they both committed. Fox has been diligently fighting for the release of her husband, while also filming home footage to share with Rob so he can watch his six children grow and observe the home life he cannot be a part of. Garrett Bradley’s documentary feature debut Time explores the violent oppression of African American people entrenched in America’s prison system and editor Gabriel Rhodes elaborates on the process of weaving archival, home and interview footage together […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2020
