Continuing our lead up to NewFest 2007: The 19th NY LGBT Film Festival - May 31-June 10 - following are a number of interviews with feature and shorts filmmakers from this year's festival. Visit newfest.org for more information, including full program, schedule, and ticketing details.
FILM TITLE: Girl Inside
DIRECTOR: Maya Gallus
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Maya Gallus, I am a documentary filmmaker in Toronto.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I have always loved films, and expected to be making dramatic narrative features, but fell into documentary by chance. Instead, I have tried to infuse the documentary form with dramatic narrative elements, including a classic dramatic, three act structure, and sometimes including actors.
I have been making films since 1991. I have made two feature documentaries (including Erotica: A Journey Into Female Sexuality, which played at several queer festivals in 1998) and several hour long documentaries, as well as one half hour drama. With my partner, Justine Pimlott, I co-directed and co-produced a series on amateur women's boxing, and wrote and produced Fag Hags: Women Who Love Gay Men (which Justine directed and co-produced). I've also directed a lot of episodic documentary and reality television.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I went to journalism school actually. But in Toronto I was lucky enough to also attend the Canadian Film Centre, which was started by director Norman Jewison, to give filmmakers with some experience an opportunity to work in drama. I made a short dramatic film while at the Centre, called The Very Dead of Winter.
Please describe Girl Inside.
Girl Inside follows Madison, a 26-year-old in the process of transitioning from male to female, with the help of her 80 year old grandmother, who is teaching her about femininity. She lives in Toronto, but returns to her hometown to come out to her family, who are struggling to be supportive. And midway through her transition, she falls in love with her best male friend, who sees her as female now.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Seeing Madison come through her transition so beautifully, and then premiering the film to two sold out audiences at Hot Docs, a documentary festival in Toronto, and getting a standing ovation.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I am working on a new film about a Canadian Victorian female novelist who was extremely famous and prolific in the 1930s-1960s, yet people knew very little about her private life, which is as she intended. As it turned out, she lived with her lifelong female companion, who served as caretaker, secretary and muse, sort of an Alice B Toklas to her Gertrude Stein. People are now discussing her life and work, and debating her sexuality.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Mary Poppins
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
The Naked Civil Servant, with John Hurt as Quentin Crisp. It blew me away. Then, about ten years later, I saw Quentin Crisp saunter by me in the East Village. He looked so "gay" (I mean that in the
"old-fashioned" way) and it just made me feel so happy to see him.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
A Woman Under The Influence, Funny Face, All About Eve
FILM TITLE: A Bear, Where?
DIRECTOR: Jeremy Stewart
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Ciao, I’m Jeremy Stewart. I work in motion graphics/animation/graphic design/art direction, and I’m currently based in Sydney, Australia.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Having worked in visual communication for years doing graphic design, the transition to time-based story telling has been a logical step, along with a healthy fixation of bears cross pollinated with newly acquired technical skills in animation/compositing, along with the music of a singer/songwriter friend and hey presto...'A Bear, Where?' This is my first film.
Please describe A Bear, Where?
A hybrid of travel notes, video gaming news bulletin & beary day-dreams. Travel alongside this little bear as he attempts to catch the eye of a furry cutie.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I am storyboarding a new film with a working title Disillusioned Bear. It looks at manufactured newsmedia, draconian immigration laws and how furry little bears survive the everyday
My top three all-time favorite films are:
La Haine, A Dirty Shame, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
The Science of Sleep
FILM TITLE: Small Talk... At the Gym & Bro and Dude's Cool Afternoon
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DIRECTOR: Michael Trull & Rick Ziegler
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SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Michael Trull, animator in Los Angeles
Rick Ziegler, advertising copywriter in Los Angeles
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I think in our case, the great thing about animation filmmaking is that it's a strong vehicle for parody and social commentary. We can react very quickly to current events and translate them into satire in a very short period of time. We do all of our own voiceover and animation so we have a lot of freedom to do whatever we feel is funny. We have made four films together.
Please describe your films.
Bro & Dude is about a couple of stoners dudes who take a bong hit and go on an adventure in Lance Bass' ass.
Small Talk... At the Gym features two guys and their satirical running commentary inside a gay gym.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
For Bro & Dud we wanted to use the straight male buddy genre like Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and do a gay satire version of it. Small Talk is a way for us to skewer gay stereotypes and mix them up with current events.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Benji or Bedknobs and Broomsticks
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Parting Glances
FILM TITLE: Elvis the Pelvis
DIRECTOR: Tom de Pekin
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Tom de Pekin, artist, graphist, director, in Paris, France.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Making propaganda. I have made 18 shorts films.
Please describe your film.
An iconic-queer video installation that combines a taste for pop in an Elvis Presley representation, with a transsexual FTM (female to male) rereading. A punk bomb in skeletal style beyond any genre.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Maoist propaganda, Savoyard folklore, realistic dildos, flags and pennants of the entire world meet Mexican wrestlers, Sumo wrestlers and Elvis Presley, among others, who are put to the test with these iconic-queer translations.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Teorema, Querelle, The Last of England
The last DVD I watched was:
To Be or Not To Be by Ernest Lubitch
FILM TITLE: Filled With Water
DIRECTOR: Elka Kerkhofs
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Elka Kerkhofs, I am a writer, director, animator, artist and I’m based in Darwin/Melbourne Australia.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Dance and movement of the body attracted me to filmmaking, I have made 11 short films so far of which 3 are animations, 4 experimental dance films, 1 doco and 3 narrative live action films.
Please describe your film.
Finding your heart can first mean losing it.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
My next film will be animation called Golden Woman and is about a woman who is self-conscious about her voluptuous body. Her world gets turned around when see visits an art gallery and sees a golden statue of a well-built women! Check out the website.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
The first film I saw on the big screen was ET... I remember it so because I cried so much and my eyes where red when I walked out of the cinema with my mum and dad.
The last DVD I watched was:
The Australian academy award winning animation Happy Feet.
FILM TITLE: Glass Syringe
DIRECTOR: The Fat Controller
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I am the Fat Controller, Overseer of sin sin collective. sin sin is an international pan media group of artists based in Amsterdam, producing films, theatre, music, pan media performances, gallery installations, web art, animations and illustrations, poetry, lyrics, short stories and comics.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
Film/animation is powerful because it can encompass many media; music, writing, acting, graphics and can include lots more besides. As to what inspires us to make films, the answer is simple. Inspiration is everywhere. Art is our religion. It’s hard to say [how many films we’ve made] because we often combine film with live performance and music. Last year 8 of our short stand-alone films were screened at 18 festivals worldwide.
Please describe your film.
Glass Syringe is a digital animation with music. It describes the ultimate boy-meets-girl scenario:
She showed me her world in a glass syringe
She said that no one understands
The beauty of a woman
In the body of a man…
Where did the idea for your film come from?
The song came first. This was about a co-worker, Andrew, who was a transsexual. One day he came to work and told us he had undergone the final stages of his sex change operation. He said “From now on, call me Andrea…”
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Busby Berkeley’s 42nd Street
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Bride of Frankenstein
FILM TITLE: Hard Hat Required
DIRECTOR: Samara Halperin
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Hi, I'm Samara Halperin. I'm a filmmaker and film/video professor from NYC currently living in Oakland CA, where the palm trees are beautiful, the bagels are reprehensible and the o'possums are as big as New York subway rats.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I fell in love with filmmaking when I was 15, at summer camp. I made a video called "cows" where I got people to crawl around eating grass and mooing – even the camp director! I was addicted. I've made 15 movies since 1989.
Please describe your film.
Hard Hat Required is a stop motion animated video that gives new meaning to the phrase, "Under Construction."
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
The biggest challenge was fabricating a 1/3" tall poppers bottle for my action figures - the market in miniature amyl is sadly lacking.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Fantasia - I will never forget the terror I felt watching all of those marching brooms.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Polyester was the first LGBT film I remember seeing and it changed my life. My Mom took me to see it when I was 11, at the now defunct New Yorker Theater. The first LGBT film I saw of my own volition was Liquid Sky three years later.
FILM TITLE: In Moments of Solitude
DIRECTOR: Michael Hopstock
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I am Michael Hopstock. I live in Oslo, Norway. My occupation besides film making is as a high school teacher, in media, just outside town. I also teach history. It is nice to work with young people and I have often used students as actors. When not in Oslo, I stay at my farm in the woods of southern Norway. I like to work where it is quiet and peaceful. Aside from that I sit in the city council for the conservative party. It is a fairly odd combination with film working, but inspiring - definitely.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
What initially attracted me, I don’t know. I did it for the first time when I was 14 years old, and for many years it was mostly a hobby. But then it got more serious. The last 8 years have been the most productive. I have directed 6 shorts that have been shown in festivals etc.
Please describe your film.
Espen has a history test about the polar expeditions and national myths. He is in deep shit and finds a very personal solution to the problem.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Most satisfying was making the different elements fit. We have been working with progressively simpler and simpler productions, and thought we hit the final point in the last one. But this is even simpler. Just stills. Just one person and one place. and some home made drawings. It was also satisfying that the kid in the photos and the voice of the polar bear are students of mine. It is nice to work in a professional production with the kids. They now both study film - animation and theory respectively.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
This is difficult. Just three! Sweet Movie, by Dusan Makavejev must be there. It is my favourite. As for the two others, it is more or less impossible to chose between: Stalker by Andrey Tarkovsky, Come and See by Elem Klimov, Mifune by Søren Kragh-Jacobsen, and Fargo by the Coen brothers.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Elephant by Gus van Sant. I guess because I work in a high school and the characters are so real. I know them all. Besides, a friend of mine could have done the same. He did not have a gun, just a knife. But he used it.
FILM TITLE: Playing With Dolls
DIRECTOR: Dan Clark
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Dan Clark. I live and work in LA. I'm a writer, producer, director, and kids TV series creator. I formed my company with my producing partner Don Asher, and artist-pal Dave Pressler as a fun idea incubator.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Film School was a super 8 camera, a home-made puppet, and a tube of Vampire Blood. I'm a high school drop out. I was a weird & wild kid.
Please describe your film.
Two boyfriends trying to make a life together... oh, and they're puppets.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I'm shooting a feature this summer about the weird, funny, and sometimes desperate world of children's TV. Yes... it's autobiographical. ; ) And I have a number of kids' media projects going.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Haha... maybe Chitty Chitty Bang Bang? No, for real, it was most likely John Flynn's The Sergeant and William Friedkin's The Boys In The Band... two well-made bummer-films about morbid low self esteem. Gay film has come a long way, eh?
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Inland Empire. If David Lynch didn't exist, someone like David Lynch would need to make him up.
FILM TITLE: Relationships
DIRECTOR: Gordeeff
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I'm Gordeeff, a Brazilian girl animator/designer, and I graduated in design.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I’ve loved animation since I was a child. I began working in animation in 2000.
Since that time I have made 10 productions, and worked on 5 more.
Please describe your film.
Relationships is an animation that represents many kinds of relationships (personal, sexual, social...) as little geometric shapes try to join.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
My environment, Monty Python, Jung, Fritz Lang...
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Tom & Jerry
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
300
FILM TITLE: Softly
DIRECTOR: Bryan Jackson
SCREENING: Saturday, June 2 (in shorts program On the Move)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Bryan Jackson, and I am a director and a lecturer at UC Irvine. I live in Los Angeles.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I was attracted to filmmaking out of the desire to make something as moving as the films-that-move-me, and as a means to talk about queer life with an international audience. I have made 5 short films that have screened at film festivals, and prior to that, another 5 experimental video works.
Please describe your film.
For Softly, I employed dolls as actors and staged them on miniature, handcrafted sets. The film blurs the line between dollhouse and reality - creating a world as fragile and ephemeral as the romance story that takes place within the frame. The narrative is set to music created by my chief collaborator, the Tokyo-based composer Eiji Yoshizawa, and performed by the Japanese Electronic-Pop band Scudelia Electro.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
The most satisfying aspect was achieving nuanced performances from Bratz Boyz dolls.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang on TV.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Edward the II by Derek Jarman.
