Sundance Film Festival
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“I Felt a Huge Responsibility to Get it Right”: DP Kate McCullough on It’s Not Yet Dark
Kate McCullough won top honors for her cinematography in the world documentary lineup at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival for the film His & Hers. She returned to the festival this year with It’s Not Yet Dark, the debut film from director Frankie Fenton. It’s Not Yet Dark tells the story of Simon Fitzmaurice, an Irish film director who in 2008 was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (ALS). The film chronicles his efforts to make a feature film despite total physical incapacitation, using only his eyes to direct. Below, McCullough speaks with Filmmaker about the unique challenges of photographing this emotional story. Filmmaker: How and why did […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“Not Just Talking Heads”: Editor Davis Coombe on Chasing Coral
The creators of Chasing Coral had a key goal: to make an environmental documentary with a personal, non-political approach. As editor Davis Coombe tells Filmmaker below, he and director Jeff Orlowski “had no interest in making a political film.” Their film, instead, focuses on the personal narratives of a group of people seeking to capture the phenomenon of “coral bleaching” on film. Ahead of the film’s six screenings at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival, Coombe discusses the task of simplifying a scientific story without dumbing it down. He also lays out how he and Orlowski sought to strip the film of expository passages to create […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“An Uplifting and Life-Affirming Experience”: Director Frankie Fenton | It’s Not Yet Dark
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? This question is, to say the least, spookily resonant with It’s Not Yet Dark. Our documentary is about a man who has lost the ability to speak. Much like every other part of his body except for his eyes, Simon Fitzmaurice, an Irish director, is unable to move. He suffers from Motor Neuron Disease or A.L.S. as it’s called in the US and communicates using a computer […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“Accessing Their Intimacy with Respect”: Editor Sofia Subercaseaux on Dina
Four years ago, Sofia Subercaseaux was using YouTube tutorials to teach herself how to edit a feature film. She has since gone on to edit Nasty Baby, Christine and now Dina, the new documentary from Mala Mala directors Dan Sickles and Antonio Santini. Dina documents the lives of Dina and Scott, a couple very much in love but with profound complications when it comes to physical intimacy. Before the film’s debut at Sundance 2017, Subercaseaux spoke with Filmmaker about how she broke into editing, working with two directors and the task of shaping hours of documentary footage into a final narrative. Filmmaker: How and […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
Editor Azin Samari on Sundance Surfing Documentary Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton
Editor Azin Samari has cut everything from reality TV shows like The Bachelorette and The Hills to award-winning documentaries such as The September Issue. For her latest feature, Samari edited Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton, a documentary on the celebrity surfer from director Rory Kennedy (Last Days in Vietnam). We spoke with Samari before the film’s premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Below, Samari speaks about her previous work with Kennedy, her love of Thelma Schoonmaker and cracking the veneer of a media-savvy figure like Hamilton. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the editor of your […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“A Love Letter to Moms Everywhere”: DP Sean McElwee on Fun Mom Dinner
An innocuous night out among four women turns silly, dark and ultimately touching in Fun Mom Dinner. With a cast that includes Molly Shannon, Toni Collette and Adam Scott, the film marks the feature debut of director Alethea Jones. Jones hired Sean McElwee – who shot last year’s Morris From America, another Sundance premiere – to DP the film. McElwee spoke with Filmmaker ahead of the film’s premiere about the earnest-yet-edgy approach he and Jones took to this story. Fun Mom Dinner makes it world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“Our Intent Was Never to Make Viewers Laugh”: Directors Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion | Bushwick
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? One challenge of communication we originally faced was when we started pitching the idea over seven years ago. We presented the idea of Texas seceding from the U.S. and starting a civil war. At the time it sounded like a ridiculous satire and some people thought we wanted to make a comedy. Our intent was never to make viewers laugh though. The seeds of political animosity have […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2017 -
“As Crazy and Unpredictable as Real Life”: Director Matt Spicer | Ingrid Goes West
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? I think the biggest challenge of communicating nowadays is figuring out how to make your voice heard amidst all the noise. There is so much out there vying for people’s attention, and it’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. This applies to indie filmmakers as well. We don’t have massive marketing budgets to buy ad space or air time, and oftentimes we’re lucky to even find […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2017 -
“I Became Like Furniture”: Director/DP Jonathan Olshefski on Quest
Jonathan Olshefski spent a decade filming the Rainey family. He’d visit the family’s home often without a camera, simply to spend time with Quest, his wife and their children. As he notes in his interview with Filmmaker, this longterm commitment allowed him to “fade into the background and record natural scenes where the camera was not intrusive.” His documentary feature debut, Quest offers an intimate, vérité-like portrait of a black family in Philadelphia. Below, Olshefski speaks about the genesis of the project, his documentary influences and serving as his own DP. Quest made its world premiere at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker: How and why did you […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2017 -
“Directing in Stereo”: Directors Alicia Scherson and Cristian Jimenez | Family Life
During its development, production or eventual distribution, what specific challenge of communication did, or will your film, face? How did you deal with it, or how are you planning to deal with it? Since we were two directors on set, which is unusual, we had to deal with the challenge of communicating with the crew and actors as one single voice. We created a method. There were days when one of us had the director’s cap and the second director had to refrain from talking to the cast or crew directly and had to go through the first director. A bit like […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 25, 2017
