Filmmaker interviews from this year's spectacular shorts filmmakers!

Figure It Out:  Animation 2008

 

FILM TITLE: Illuminate by Nataly Lebouleux

 

Please introduce yourself:

 

I work part time as a massage therapist for a hospice, and also for a hospital specialized in the treatment of Cancer. Through my work I meet extraordinary people every day!  I am French but relocated from Paris to Manchester, England, 10 years ago. Manchester is a very cosmopolitan and diverse city with a large queer community...It feels like home!

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

Originally, my background is in Fine Arts- my mother was a painter, so I grew up in a very creative and visually stimulating environment.  After years of working with figurative sculpture and painting and getting nowhere satisfying, I felt an urge to develop the characters that kept coming up in my work and see them evolve and tell their own stories.  I needed to do that in a way that was affordable and allowed me to control as much of the production process as I could. Digital filmmaking made that possible. I was able to test and put my ideas into practice without a lot of initial professional training. Because at the time I was feeling depressed about the lack of representation the queer community had in films and in the media, I decided that rather than moan about the situation, I should do something about it and get down to telling those stories myself.

I started by making 2 short dramas. It was a great way of learning the craft without having to go through film school - something I couldn't afford. Those films are very amateur but they taught me a huge amount in a very short time.  I made the transition from working with real actors to doing stop-motion animation 3 years ago. It's turned out to be the perfect way of bringing together what brought me to Fine Arts in the first place (wanting to create a unique world, giving shape to a vision) and the urge i have to tell stories visually over a fluid time/space continuum. I made one 1.30 mins puppetry/ animated short to try out the potentials of the medium and then made Illuminate.

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

Illuminate is a mischievous attempt to make queer narratives the stuff of fairy tales...

 

What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?

The fact that I had underestimated just how long the whole process was going to take... I made the film mainly single handedly- apart from some of the editing.  The workload was enormous!

 

The first LGBT film I ever saw was:

The Hunger with Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie.

 

FILM TITLE: Spineless by Nina Rota

 

Please introduce yourself:

 

I'm a filmmaker and sportswriter based in Los Angeles.

 

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

 

Filmmaking is a very flexible way to tell a story. I've made three documentaries and three animations.

 

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

 

This six-minute animation answers the question: How many chiropractors, acupuncturists, Rolfers and psychics does it take to heal an aching back?

 

Where did the idea for your film come from?

 

It's autobiographical.

 

What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?

 

Figuring out how many chiropractors to leave out of the story.

 

The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:

 

Jailhouse Rock with Elvis Presley

 

The first LGBT film I ever saw was:

 

A Doris Day and Rock Hudson film.

 

My top three all-time favorite films are:

 

Last Tango in Paris, Funny Bones, Cousin Cousine

 

The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:

Kiss of the Spiderwoman

 

FILM TITLE: 1977 by Peque Varela

Please introduce yourself: Your name, occupation if not a full-time

filmmaker, and where you are based.

 

I’m Peque Varela, from Galicia, Spain and I’m based in London.

 

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

 

The power of registering moments in time, when filming my family and making shorts with friends. 1977 is my first animated Shortfilm.

 

Did you go to film school? If so, where?

 

Yes, National Film and Television School

 

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

 

A small town, a growing knot and a girl searching for her identity.

 

Where did the idea for your film come from?

 

The wish to express and explore the feelings of rejection I had when growing up as a tomboy, breaking stereotypes in a conservative small town.

 

What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?

 

The biggest challenge was to shape a list of random memories into one coherent story.

 

What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?

 

The great outcome and the rewarding feeling of sharing your experiences with audiences around the globe.

 

The first LGBT film I ever saw was:

 

Go Fish

 

The most recent film I saw in a theatre was:

 

XXY

 

The last DVD I watched was:

 

Stalker

 

FILM TITLE: Operated by Invisible Hands by Nicole Brending

Please introduce yourself:

My name is Nicole Brending and I'm  a writer/director living between Minneapolis and New York.  

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

Movies initially attracted me filmmaking.  So far, I've made about 10 of them.

Did you go to film school? If so, where?

Yes, Columbia University  (M.F.A.)

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

Operated by Invisible Hands is a film about two dolls who have a night of hot passion and must confront their secret feelings for each other the next day.   Winner of the Student Emmy from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for “Best Composition."

What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?

The biggest challenge I faced making the film was working with the actors.   The second biggest challenge I faced was cutting around their performances.  

What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?

At first, as people watch, they laugh openly - really feeling the comedy of the dolls and their dilemma.  But towards about the middle of the film, the light in people's eyes change, their laughter becomes less frequent - the dolls are coming to life for them, they are identifying with the characters in the story, becoming emotionally involved - these silly little dolls have moved them!   That's the most satisfying aspect.   The second most satisfying aspect - the look on my parents' faces during the sex scene.

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 just finished a film called Rebel - about a developmentally disabled man who has his first sexual experience while out with his meth-addicted stepbrother - which was awarded a Jerome Foundation production grant in 2007.   I'm currently in pre-production on a film about an experience I had while working in the sex industry.

Fooling Around

FILM TITLE: Fag with Dog by Vicente Villanueva

Please introduce yourself:

My name is Vicente Villanueva. I am part-time filmmaker. I live in Madrid (Spain)

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

So far I have made five short films. I see cinema as a wonderful tool for living my view of things.

Did you go to film school? If so, where?

I studied directing at Madrid’s School of Cinema

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

Fag with Dog is – amongst other things– about the delusion of success. It tells the story of a gay man in conflict; he is torn between what he does, what he says and what he feels.

Where did the idea for your film come from?

I got the idea from what I often see in my neighborhood in Madrid, where trendy gay men show off their rare breed little dogs. It seemed to me that many of them must have more stable and meaningful relationships with their dogs than they do with other human beings. A dog’s love is unconditional and in return you can forgive it anything. The dog will never let you down, while your partner might.

The first LGBT film I ever saw was:

I’m not sure, but I think it was a Spanish film, El diputado, by Eloy de la Iglesia.

My top three all-time favorite films are:

Notorious by Alfred Hitchcock, The Apartment by Billy Wilder and Two for the Road by Stanley Donen.

FILM TITLE: Woman in Burka by Jonathan Lisecki

 

Please introduce yourself:

 

I'm a director and actor. I’ve done a lot of downtown theatre and I’ve also appeared in a few films. I work at the production company Washington Square Films.

 

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

 

I’ve been directing theater for quite a while, and I have a very collaborative way of working with actors. I wanted to see if I could translate that process to film.  Woman in Burka is my first movie, though I’ve previously worked on the production end for various films.

 

Did you go to film school? If so, where?

 

I have a degree in theater directing, but no film-school experience. I actually started working on Woman in Burka as a submission for a graduate film program. I missed the deadline but continued working on the project.

 

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

 

Woman in Burka is a darkly comic look at an actress auditioning for Middle Eastern roles in a post-9/11 culture. Sarita is up for the coveted role of an Iraqi rape victim’s ghost in a new film, but no one knows if it’s a serious drama or a cheap horror movie.

 

Where did the idea for your film come from?

 

The movie is partially based on the recent experiences of my lead actress, Sarita Choudhury, who has been offered numerous Iraq-war and terrorist-themed projects of varying quality.  It’s also inspired by my own experiences as a non-closeted gay actor auditioning for the kinds of gay roles available in mainstream entertainment.

 

Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?

 

Two of my favorite filmmakers are Pedro Almodovar and David Lynch. But I’m more influenced by the many fringe theater artists in New York, who for years have inspired me with their originality and fearlessness.

 

The one LGBT film that has had the biggest impact on me is:

 

My Own Private Idaho was mind-blowing when I first saw it.

FILM TITLE: Hirsute by A.J. Bond

Please introduce yourself:

 

My name is A.J. Bond, I'm a filmmaker and editor based in Vancouver, BC Canada

 

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

 

I started my career in film at a young age as a child actor, appearing in various Canadian films and television shows. I began studying filmmaking at the University of BC and eventually gave up acting to pursue filmmaking. I produced and edited several short films before completing my directorial debut, Hirsute.

 

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

 

A young time traveler is confronted by an arrogant and hairless future version of himself.

 

Where did the idea for your film come from?

 

I've always been obsessed by time travel films, and when I realized I was gay I couldn't help but wonder what my younger, more clueless self would have made of this revelation.

 

What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?

 

I had the misguided notion that it would be easier to direct the film if I cast myself as the lead. In fact it was the worst of both worlds, I was too distracted to focus on acting and too worried about my performance to concentrate on directing!

 

What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?

 

Watching the film with an audience is by far the most satisfying experience of the process. Whether the reaction is good or bad, whether they laugh or scratch their heads, the audience always has an interesting response to the film.

 

The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:

 

Frankenstein by James Whale

 

The last DVD I watched was:

Modern Times by Charlie Chaplin

FILM TITLE: Candy Boy by Pascal-Alex Vincent

Please introduce yourself:

I'm Pascal-Alex Vincent, and I live in Paris, France.
 
What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

I've never been to summer camp when I was a child, so I thought directing a film would be like going there. But actually, it's nothing but hard work. The director is the only one who doesn't have fun. I've made 6 short films, though, and I finished directing my first long feature.

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

Candy Boy is an animated short-film that I did as an homage to the girls’ favorite 80’s TV anime Candy Candy.

Where did the idea for your film come from?

I liked that Japanese anime series so much that I decide to make my own version that would be from a boys’ perspective.

What was the biggest challenge you faced in making your film?

I knew nothing about animation. I still don't.
 
What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?
 
Finishing it.

Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?

For this particular film, Japanese animation from the 70's. But in general, everything that comes from Japan in the 50's and 60's, and from the US in the 70's.  My favorite directors being, among others, Peter Fonda, Monte Hellman, Hal Ashby, John Waters and Russ Meyer.
 
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'm just through directing my first long feature, which is influenced by great American road-movies from the 70's, but also contains 2D animated scenes. Can you imagine that? 

FILM TITLE: Twirling Earl by John Goodwin


Please introduce yourself:

I'm based in New York where I teach 2-D animation at F.I.T. I've been doing animations for corporations for about 15 years now. So it's nice to do some Gay Ani's too. Corporate work is pretty sterile!

What initially attracted you to filmmaking? How many films have you made?

I've made seven Gay animated shorts, and have been very lucky to have them playing all over the world. In June we have "Twirling Earl" playing at Newfest in New York, "City Sights" & "Twirling Earl"  in Breckenridge Colorado, "Fabulousity" in Ibitha Spain and fairy Tales: Next Gen" in Queens CinemaRosa.

Please describe your film in 1-2 short sentences.

It's about a fictional guy who leads the Gay pride Parade while twirling a baton (he has hand-eye coordination issues), madness ensues.

Where did the idea for your film come from?

We were experimenting with Limericks using gay characters.

What was the most satisfying aspect in making your film?

Seeing the finished product, which worked even better than I had imagined it.

Who or what are some of the creative influences that have had the biggest impact on you?

Broadway shows, live theater.

Are you working on a new film yet? If so, give us a brief description.

A man goes to a fortune-teller to get his fortune told and he gets sucked into a deck of cards.
 
The first film I have memories of watching as a child was:

Oklahoma! I was born there...I escaped.