Sundance Film Festival
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“Let the Story Tell Itself”: DP Sean McElwee on The Incredible Jessica James
Cinematographer Sean McElwee arrived at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival with two films in the Premieres lineup: Fun Mom Dinner and The Incredible Jessica James. The latter, from writer/director Jim Strouse, represents the first leading turn from Daily Show correspondent Jessica Williams. The film chronicles the romantic woes (and comic mishaps) of an aspiring playwright in New York City. Below, McElwee discusses how to shoot a comedy with romantic notes and have it not scream “romantic comedy.” The Incredible Jessica James screened three times during this year’s Sundance. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 27, 2017 -
“The Moment I Knew We Had Something Special”: Director Joe Piscatella | Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower
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? There are two distinct moments a director faces on every documentary production. One is when you sincerely believe that there is no possible way for this story to come together. The other is when you realize that you have something special. My moment of “how-the-hell-will-this-ever-work” on Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower hit during my first interview with Joshua Wong, the teenage hero of the film. I asked Joshua […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“A Historical Document for Hopefully Decades to Come”: Director Peter Bratt | Dolores
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? During the research phase of making the film, it became apparent that Dolores’ contributions as an activist and organizer were being deliberately left out of the historical record. So beyond wanting to communicate and tell a good story, we also wanted to help set the record straight about who she is and why her story matters. We decided that the use of archival material would be more […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“My Heart Continues to Break”: Editor Aaron I. Butler on Cries from Syria
Documentary director Evgeny Afineevsky earned an Oscar nomination for his 2015 film Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom. He returns two years later with Cries from Syria, which premiered this week at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. The film’s editor, Aaron I. Butler, spoke with Filmmaker before the festival about how he and Afineevsky sought to tell this difficult story. Among many issues, Butler discusses the fine line between crafting an honest portrayal of Syria and showing images too brutal for audiences to handle. Butler’s previous editing credits include The Sixties, I Am Michael and In Dubious Battle. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
Race, Robbery and Going Viral: Eight Short Films from Sundance 2017
As the 2017 Sundance Film Festival wraps up another edition of high-profile features with notable stars, secret screenings and exorbitant sales, attention must be paid to the less-covered but no less worthy shorts that premiered in Park City last week. Brought together in eight blocks (Animation, Documentary, Midnight, and Shorts Programs 1-5), these films represent an equal mix of prolonged, thought-out narratives and fleeting moments of inspiration discovered on the fly. For better or worse, shorts are often seen as a director’s calling card for upcoming feature work. While that’s all well and good (and I hope further success comes their way!), […]
by Erik Luers on Jan 26, 2017 -
Sundance Dispatch 5: Beach Rats, Menashe
Eliza Hittman’s Beach Rats is a logical companion piece to It Felt Like Love. The latter focused on a teen girl whose hellbent determination on losing her virginity ASAP placed her at peril amid a world of the worst possible dudes; here, we have a teen guy coming to terms with his probable queerness in an antagonistically heteronormative milieu. The story’s simple enough: already staggering under the weight of his extremely ill father, dying slowly in the living room, Frankie (Harris Dickinson) cruises webcam sites at night, surreptitiously seeking out hook-ups. “I don’t know what I like,” he tells those who ask […]
by Vadim Rizov on Jan 26, 2017 -
“Cutting Has Been a Constant Learning Experience”: Editor Jack Hutchings on Berlin Syndrome
Over the last 14 years, Jack Hutchings has edited four short films that have screened in competition at the Cannes Film Festival: Yardbird (2012), Jerrycan (2008), Nature’s Way (2006) and Cracker Bag (2003). His latest feature, Berlin Syndrome, is a German-set thriller that premiered at this year’s Sundance. The film concerns an Australian tourist in Berlin who has an erotic fling with a schoolteacher that turns into a tale of captor and prisoner. The film marks the return of director Cate Shortland, whose last film Lore screened at festivals across the world. Below, Hutchings discusses his working dynamic with Shortland, the importance of test screenings and shaping the […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2017 -
“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
