Presenting the 7th part of our continuing series of short interviews with feature and short filmmakers from the upcoming NewFest 2007: The 19th NY LGBT Film Festival - May 31-June 10. Visit newfest.org for more information, including full program, schedule, and ticketing details.
FILM TITLE: Dogme 41: Lonely Child
DIRECTOR: Pascal Robitaille
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Pascal Robitaille, Montreal (Canada).
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I was attracted by the possibility of telling my own stories in moving images. I made countless short films. "Dogme 41: Lonely Child" is my first film to be picked up by a distributor (Videographe).
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I attended the Institut National de l'Image et du Son (INIS) in Montreal.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
NewFest website editors had already pretty well summed it up: "William focuses his ever-present digital camera on his gorgeous younger boyfriend, Médéric. Sensing the younger man has begun to lose interest, William arranges a trip to visit an old friend to spend some more time together before their likely parting."
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Making a Dogma film is highly liberating. Technically everything is lighter on a Dogma set. It allows you and the actors to move more quickly and freely, and to react spontaneously to things as they come.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description. If not, is there a genre or subject you are interested in exploring in your next project?
I am currently working on a new film. All I can say right now is that its title will be "Je me souviens" (I remember), the official motto of the Province of Quebec.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
An old Laurel and Hardy film. I can't remember its title. They were both working in a caramel factory, if my memory is accurate. I was five or six years old. My first grade teacher, Mrs. Chabot, projected it in our classroom using an old Eiki 16mm projector.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Gregg Araki's Mysterious Skin.
The last DVD I watched was:
Gus Van Sant's "Mala Noche".
FILM TITLE: Outlaw
DIRECTOR: Leonor Areal
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Leonor Areal, filmmaker of documentaries, investigator on Portuguese cinema, and teacher, living in Lisbon, Portugal.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I first experienced making animation when I was a child, at school, then at age of 14 I've edited the rests of my parents 8mm footage. Only later did I feel the attraction to really engage in film, when I used to travel everyday by train. That particular vision of the world moving has awakened my desire to film. Since then I've made around 15 films.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
In 1988, I took an intensive course of video (in Lisbon), and in 1995 I did the basic course of the New York Film Academy.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
The sad adventures of two lesbians who got themselves in trouble, after they came out on Portuguese TV claiming the right to get married.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
The proximity and truthfulness of the characters. The ability to show a homo-family as any other normal family, with no makeup.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
French directors as Alain Resnais, Agnès Varda, François Truffaut, and also many documentarists from Wiseman to Heddy Honigman.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Alfred Hitchcock's Spellbound
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Sofia e a Educação Sexual (1974)
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
Rio Turvo (2007), by Edgar Pera
FILM TITLE: Sonja
DIRECTOR: Kirsi Marie Liimatainen
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
I am Finnish born freelance director, based in Germany and in Finland. I have first studied acting in Finland and then worked as an actress in Finland until 1999. From 1999-2006 I studied film directing in Germany.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I come from a poor background and I lived my childhood in a suburbia in Finland. I felt myself always as a creative person and that's how I ended in to the acting school. After several years working as an actress, I started to think, that I want and need to tell stories to people, they normally don't see. I wanted to tell people stories, which I've seen or heard. I have made three films: a documentary (MODLICHA) about Polish punks living on the streets in Berlin, a fiction (FRÜHLINGSHYMNE) about a nine year old girl in the suburbia in the seventies, and a fiction of 16 year old girl Sonja (SONJA) a coming out story...
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Yes, in Germany. HFF "Konrad Wolf" Potsdam-Babelsberg
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
A fragile story from puberty – a time when everything is vulnerable and unique. 16-year old girl, Sonja, discovers her new, confusing feelings for her best friend Julia. Sonja realises that the life she used to lead will no longer be possible. She has to face up her true love…
Where did the idea for your film come from?
From my own life.... I was desperately in love with my best girlfriend when I was 16. I didn't understand first that I was in love with her and when I understood it, it was even worse... I didn't have any idea, that a girl could love a girl... And I didn't find any place or any person, that I could have spoken about my confused feelings. Finally I told to my friend, that I love her. She got shocked and said, that she can't do it, because it's wrong... It took me couple of years to understand, that there's nothing wrong with me. I found new friends, new places, where I met other people, with I could finally talk about me and be myself.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description. If not, is there a genre or subject you are interested in exploring in your next project?
My new project is about an 18-year-old boy, who gets out from a prison and falls in love with his social worker, a 40 year old woman.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Tarzan
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
Querelle
The last DVD I watched was:
Shortbus
FILM TITLE: It's Me, It's Me (Ndim Ndim)
DIRECTOR: Martha Qumba
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 (preceding Outlaw)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
My name is Martha Qumba. I’m a journalist.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
The beauty of the visuals. It’s my first one.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I didn’t go to any but I did short courses on filmmaking.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
My film is about African lesbians and their daily life experiences. Some people perceive that homosexuals are not God created.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
It came from the general misunderstanding that homosexuality is anti- African.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
My friends and my curiosity.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Dynasty.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
I forgot the title but it’s about the gay who becomes a boxer.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
The boxer one.
FILM TITLE: Le Weekend
DIRECTOR: Timothy Smith
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 (preceding Lonely Child and in shorts program Best Mates) & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program Best Mates)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Timothy Smith, Freelance Director/Cameraman/FCP Editor based in London, UK.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I made a natural progression from painting & graphic design, to still photography, to filmmaking. I have made seven short films (including student films) four of which have toured the international film festival circuit.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I studied film production and animation at University in Melbourne, Australia. Then, after relocating to London I did a Masters degree in digital video and documentary.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
A young, cynical French film student comes to London to make a project for his course. We share his thoughts and feelings through his Super 8 film footage and voiceover narration.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
I was in Montreal last November for the Image+Nation film festival with my previous film 'Attack'. I was in French mode most of the time, and the idea came to me. I really wanted to shoot on Super 8 after working with video for a long time.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Gus Van Sant's films have always inspired me. Other filmmakers I admire are Jean-Luc Godard, Ang Lee, Wong Kar Wai, Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Star Wars.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Barbarella, Lost in Translation, Blade Runner.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
My Own Private Idaho.
FILM TITLE: Airplanes
DIRECTOR: Jen Heck
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 (preceding Sonja), Monday, June 4 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program I Kissed a Girl)
Please introduce yourself:
My name is Jen Heck. The long version of that is “Jenifer Heck.” In his nervousness, my father spelled it wrong in the delivery room, and now I only have one “n.” It’s been a metaphor for my life, although I’m not really sure what it means. Something deep. I’m a director and editor in NYC. I’m also a student in Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I was initially attracted to filmmaking because I heard it was a great way to get rich really quickly and easily! (On a serious note) I began making movies because I’m a very visual person and this was the natural way for me to express myself. I really loved Prince and old school hip-hop as a kid, and that turned me on to the power of music as well. Painting has no soundtrack, so there really was no competition expression-wise. As either a director, producer, and/or writer, I’ve made about 5 narrative films. I’ve done a lot of TV and short documentary work as well. I have a number of projects going on at any one time, so it adds up.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I went to NYU Film for my BFA, and I’m currently attending Columbia Film for my MFA.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
Airplanes is the story of two teenage girls who secretly hook up one day at a traveling carnival. Although their encounter is brief, like an airplane it’s bound by gravity, and doomed to return to earth.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
I have a thing about airplanes, and about how crazy it is that something so huge can defy the rules of nature so gracefully—and so dangerously. Such intensity can only be sustained for short periods of time, and of course, flying is a death-defying risk—-that’s the trade-off. It reminded me of certain kinds of relationships, and the movie was born. (I’m definitely the kind of person who will risk it all to see the sky, if you know what I mean, ha ha.)
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
Music has had a huge influence on me, on my sense of visual style and rhythm. Prince, hip-hop, and (surprisingly) all the stuff my mother listened to in the car while I was a hostage in the backseat: it all comes back in the form of style and technique. The funniest things get stuck in my head sometimes, and I pass the savings on to you, the audience. Visually, comics and graffiti have been an influence. I love lines. Chris Ware is great.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
Home movies of my baptism. Is that weird?
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Depends on the day. But my favorite gum is Big Red, and I love horseback riding, long walks on the beach, and Italian food!
The last DVD I watched was:
Heroes Chapter 20. Technically, it was iTunes.
FILM TITLE: 41 Seconds
DIRECTOR: Tobias Martin & Rodney Sewell
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program Best Mates)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Rodney Sewell is my name, I'm an Australian who moved to Munich 23 years ago. I came here because of the men but I'm still here because it's a brilliant place to live and work. I work primarily as a documentary film editor but now and then direct television non-fiction and documentary programmes. I write scripts and hide them in my desk drawer.
Tobias Martin isn't here for the interview. He's off making music videos or something. Tobias and my work split on "41 Sekunden" was that he directed the actors and I looked after everything else. It sort of worked out but I wouldn't do it again that way.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I was in love with the idea of being a "Director" when I was 20. But working in Sydney as an low level assistant on TV drama production with real directors and real actors convinced me that I had nothing of great value to say to the world and certainly couldn't tell a 60 year old man how to act like a 60 year old man. I concentrated on learning the craft of filmmaking and experiencing life before I began directing TV stuff at 30 and writing fiction scripts at 42. In the fiction area I've edited about 10 short, made-for-TV and feature films, I've been a story liner for a German soap opera and I wrote, produced and co-directed the fictional film "41 Sekunden".
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
I learnt the craft as a trainee radio & TV operator at Australia's public broadcaster ABC in Sydney. I learnt about the stories that are worth telling from people I worked for. And I learnt about storytelling as an editor.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences:
"41 Sekunden" asks the eternal straight boy question, what do you do when your girlfriend tells you your best friend kisses better than you. It is a humorous attempt to reduce the sum of the world's violence by suggesting that boys should try ways others than fisticuffs to settle their differences.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
My ex-boyfriend and current flat mate Axel who introduced me to opera and taught me everything I know about classical music. An American draft dodger called John Allgood who taught art at my suburban Sydney boys' school in the 70s and changed my life.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description. If not, is there a genre or subject you are interested in exploring in your next project?
I have two projects peeking out of the above mentioned desk drawer. One is a feel-good bisexual-kid coming-out story that was inspired by a Pet Shop Boys' song. No angst, no pain, just joy. A complete fairy tale. The second is a darker story about a contemporary US American Fulbright scholar researching for a paper on post-war Germany. He discovers a secretive old man and sets out to publish the old man's story, even though the old man is against it. It's a clash between gay generations, a clash between a European and an American view of homosexuality and society and the clash between a young out gay man who's always had it good and an old man who as a teenager did everything he had to survive. But first, I want to make a gay surfer short set on the Australian coast. No story yet but I'm very much looking forward to casting my lead actors!
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
If you don't count Pillow Talk then it was Death in Venice. I was a teenage boy in Sydney and smuggled a 12" black and white television set into my bedroom and watched the whole film in the dark, frightened that Mum would come in and ask why I wasn't watching the film in the lounge.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
I currently doing my own private R W Fassbinder retrospective, so anything by him.
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Priscilla Queen of the Desert?
FILM TITLE: Best Mates
DIRECTOR: Maninderpal Sahota
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program Best Mates)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Maninderpal Sahota. I work as television documentary producer for leading US and UK broadcasters. I am based in London, UK and Best Mates is the first drama short I have written and directing.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I am fascinated by people, and how they respond in different situations. In addition, I am also attracted to film as it allows the director to tell stories in a visually stimulating medium.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
No, I went to Law school!
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
Two old university friends, Raj and Tom, escape their failing relationships on a boy's night out. As the evening evolves, insecurities and old rivalries emerge. When the friends finally reveal their painful realities, the boundaries between emotional and sexual intimacy become blurred.
Where did the idea for your film come from?
An experience a friend of mine shared about several straight male friends having gay experiences with each other over a debauched bachelor party weekend.
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
Seeing an idea of mine written on my kitchen table been shown on a big screen.
The first LGBT film I ever saw was:
My Beautiful Launderette.
My top three all-time favorite films are:
Monsoon Wedding, City of God, and Y Tu Maman Tambien.
The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:
The Painted Veil
FILM TITLE: Best Men
DIRECTOR: Tony Wei
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program Best Mates)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Tony Wei: I was born in Taiwan and spent half my childhood playing in the street markets of Taipei and the other half roaming the strip malls of New Jersey. I currently live in NYC and am getting my MFA in Film at Columbia University.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
As a kid, I wanted to be a doctor. I studied Neuroscience in college but realized the dogged pursuit of childhood dreams was a foolish endeavor. How can anyone know at the age of six what they should be as an adult? So I became a filmmaker – my fallback plan.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Besides studying Neuroscience at Brown University, I also majored in Art-Semiotics, which is half film theory and half film production. Now I'm getting my MFA in Film at Columbia University.
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
Moments before the wedding, the best man gets one last chance to recapture mutual feelings between him and the groom. As they say, "All the best men are gay…" but some just need a good reminder.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
An eight-hour shoot on a ten-degree winter's evening. All taking place on a windy NYC rooftop of a twenty-story building.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description. If not, is there a genre or subject you are interested in exploring in your next project?
As Director: 1) The Wayward Winds, envisioned as a 50s melodrama, is about transgenders in a time when homosexuality was a crime, 2) Three Wheels, Inc. is about the unlikely partnership that forms between a Chinese rickshaw driver and an American tourist. As Screenwriter: Made in Taiwan, a feature about a Taiwanese boy who dreams of becoming a ballroom dancer.
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:
A Nightmare on Elm Street
The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:
Brokeback Mountain, because I'm still irritated and baffled as to why it didn't win best motion pic of the year at the Oscars.
The last DVD I watched was:
American Psycho
FILM TITLE: Kali Ma
DIRECTOR: Soman Chainani
SCREENING: Sunday, June 3 & Saturday, June 9 (in shorts program Best Mates)
Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time filmmaker, and where you are based.
Soman Chainani, writer-director, based in New York City. Run a production company called No Pressure Productions, and our website is www.nopressureproductions.com.
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?
I never really saw myself doing anything but making movies - as a child, my mother used to drop me at the theater at least a few times a week, and I was writing (bad) screenplays as early as ten years old. I've made four short films, and will direct a feature for a studio next spring.
Did you go to film school? If so, where?
Columbia University Graduate Film School
Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.
A kick-ass thriller about a fat Indian mother who takes on her son's bully.
What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?
Between a superstar actress from India, extremely emotional scenes involving violent bullying, complex fight choreography and underwater action in freezing temperatures, I had my hands full. I lost about 30pounds making it and am still drinking milkshakes trying to gain it back.
Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?
I always admire people who find a balance between wild energy and extreme precision. My tendency is to control the frame, so I look to Almodovar, Stanley Kubrick, Alfonso Cuaron as probably the three greatest filmmakers in my eyes.
Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.
I'll be directing a big studio romantic comedy next spring called Love Marriage about an Indian family torn apart by dueling weddings. It's the movie I've always dreamed about directing - dancing boys, glittery clubs scenes, huge weddings, and a gay love story at its center.
