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WOSH – Berlinale Talent Campus

Friday, February 10th, 2012

“The first talent Campus was amazing, when everybody, the Campus team, the founding partners and the colleagues from our festival realised that the concept worked.“ A talk with Christine Tröstrum, project manager of the Berlinale Talent Campus. The Campus is 10 years old! Surprises are bound to be revealed. Read on!

The Talent Campus is celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2012. What was the initial present their idea behind starting the Campus?

Berlinale festival director Dieter Kosslick had an idea to build an international network for co-production and cooperation between young filmmakers from all over the world and to integrate them into a renowned international film festival. He wanted to foster cultural exchange between young filmmakers and established film professionals and engage them with public debates about politics, society and film. We give our thanks to many cooperative partners worldwide, the support of regional and federal funding institutions, the European Union, embassies, the Goethe-Institutes, and the Federal Foreign Office, who’ve all helped to create this platform.

Can you recall the first Talent Campus? What was it like? What has changed since?

The first Talent Campus was amazing, when everybody, the Campus team, the founding partners and the colleagues from our festival realised that the concept worked. I think it was a relief for the upcoming generation of filmmakers to get easy access to a festival like the Berlinale and to meet people from around the globe who had the same experience when they were trying to enter the film business. The basics of the Campus structure are still in our programme: the five Ps – PHILOSOPHY, PRE-PRODUCTION, PRODUCTION, POST-PRODUCTION and PROMOTION, designed by the first Campus manager Christine von Fragstein. After 10 years, the Campus is more focused on the individual coaching of our participants, more hands-on, and the reflection on the process of filmmaking is more holistic and considers teamwork. The Campus also became more of a market place where the next generation could present their projects and work.

The Campus was born out of the idea of helping emerging young filmmakers. Can you tell us what kind of blanks the Campus aims to fill?

The Campus idea was a missing piece in the puzzle: to get practical advice on how to work internationally, to encourage emerging filmmakers, to create new impact and to spread ideas. We know from many participants that the Campus has been a turning point in their careers. The filmmakers learn a lot about why it is so important to create a network and to see that everybody in the world has to struggle with production workflows, financing their projects etc. And the Campus closed the gap between the upcoming filmmakers and the established film industry. The industry knows that we present the next generation of filmmakers every year and they can discover rising talents very easily through the Campus events or our online community of around 4000 filmmakers.

How will you celebrate the anniversary – are you planning any special programmes or events?

We will celebrate it with long-time companions, friends and partners, like the Media Programme of the European Union, the Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, the Robert Bosch Stiftung and many more. FOCUS FORWARD, the new Cinelan documentary initiative from New York, supports the tenth anniversary of the Campus and will host the Closing party alongside other events. And the Campus alumni will get a birthday present: together with my colleague Matthijs Wouter Knol we designed a new Berlinale programme, the Berlinale Residency. It will be open not only to Campus alumni, yet our motivation was to continue to support the alumni by offering a four-month scholarship in Berlin to sharpen their scripts and to help them find the right markets and sales – from script to the public.

This year’s topic is Changing Perspectives – what basic perspectives are changing nowadays?

One reason why we had the idea of “Changing Perspectives” was the high demands that are placed on everybody nowadays, to have to be flexible in many levels of our society, especially in this day and age when many different spheres of life are subject to such tremendous digital changes. The challenge, not only for filmmakers – is to react to these changes in a positive way, to be open to new ideas while keeping and preserving what has been acquired. We said in this context, “Changing perspectives means a process that requires active participation: sharing ideas and experiences, approaching filmmaking in an interdisciplinary way, getting inspired by visionary pioneers and being open to the unexpected along the way…”

In your opinion, what is the best way to bring out the most of the Talent Campus?

A good team spirit, nice participants, perfect locations, a good balance between one-on-one meetings, workshops, master classes, parties, food and drinks. Nice encounters between rising talents and masters of cinema, and partners who are eager to invest in the next generation.

The Talent Campus is one of the most desirable places for aspiring filmmakers. This year there were more than 4000 applicants from more than 130 countries. What is so special about the Talent Campus – what is the secret ingredient?

One of the secrets is the atmosphere created when people come together from over 100 countries and share their passion for film over the course of six days. The second thing is that we invite all fields of work: directors, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers, editors, production designers, score composers, sound designers, distributors and film critics, and encourage exchange between them.

How can you determine that the Talent Campus has been successful? How can you measure it? In prizes, in connections between filmmakers?

The realisation rate of projects we’ve selected in a development stage either for the Talent Project Market, or the Doc and Script Station is very high. Most of these finished films are screened worldwide at major international film festivals. Around 30-40 filmmakers who’ve participated in former editions are selected to the Berlinale every year in the official programme.

Many alumni have won international prizes, the short films of the Berlin Today Award series have won many prizes as well, among them the German short film prize for Best Documentary etc.

We opened the Editing Studio two years ago and realised that many of the projects we chose were very successful internationally. We began worldwide collaboration with other festivals in Guadalajara, Buenos Aires, Durban, Sarajevo and Tokyo and adapted the Talent Campus model to their regions successfully. And last but not least, the concept was copied many times by other institutions and festivals.

I know that Dine & Shine is one of your favourite programmes – can you tell us some scoops or stories about this special event?

Our guests have liked the idea since the beginning because it is different to ordinary evening events, as we do a kind of “musical chairs” over dinner. It has become a secret hot spot as a Berlinale evening event, where festival guests can meet the Talents over a three course dinner. Many people who are now collaborating first met at the Dine&Shine dinner.

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WOSH – Berlinale Shorts: Developing a personal style

Thursday, February 9th, 2012

“Say Goodbye to the Story” is this year’s tagline of the Berlinale Shorts. If storytelling, as we know it, has come to a halt, what do we have to welcome? What are we looking for now? What is the next step in the short film-making? We spoke to the curator of the Berlinale Shorts, Maike Mia Höhne to find out more.

Your tagline for this year is: “Say Goodbye to the Story” – if storytelling is over, what do we have to welcome? What’s new? What is the next step in short film-making?

SAY GOODBYE TO THE STORY is the LEITMOTIF of this year’s selection – to say good-bye to what is known as the 3-act-structure of a story is only one fact. The other fact is that the variations of HOW TO TELL STORIES is a wonderful, unlimited field of exploration.

Many filmmakers, especially from Asia, understand the tools of making films, to shape their view onto the world – and this view is never the same. The tools of making films, like working with video, already help to keep a certain distance to a thoroughly declining story outline.

The wish to talk about the circumstances and the situation of low budget productions support a different way of storytelling and support the wish to be free in articulation. In South America, storytelling in its known way is much more appreciated, but still – the filmmakers determine the topics and later the way they pay attention to detail, perhaps tiny little events – as they take them much longer into the focus – changes everything. It is their way of interpreting and personalising films – and making a film more than just telling a story. That’s what the Leitmotif of this year’s selection is about.

About going beyond. It is interesting that half of the filmmakers are women – and women do tell stories again in another way- so the possibility of getting inspiration and courage to really follow your own path in filmmaking is very high this year.

What is the process of selecting short films? What do you have in mind when selecting films for the competition? Or is it the other way round: after seeing all these short films, do you know what you want to see at the Berlinale?

The process of selection is a long process of watching films and getting very deep into the vast variety of films that have been sent to Berlin or have been collected throughout the whole year by me and the delegates of the festival – I am looking for the pearls – of the spearheads. Spearheads that show, encourage, try out – where film can also go to, belong to. These are the films I want to see at the Berlinale and want to present them to a big, wonderful audience. An audience that follows the artists to their different fields of exploration.

How many films have you seen this year? How many applicants were there, from how many countries? How can you watch all these films without falling asleep in front of a DVD player?

It is not so much about the quantity of films – at least not for me. It is more about the quality of films and about the discussion we have about all the films that find their way onto the waiting list – discussions about films, trends, movements, feelings – discussions that we can imagine to happen in the cinema later, during the festival as well. These are the moments when film becomes real.

You have seen a huge number of shorts: can you recognise trends in filmmaking? Is there a hype around a country, a theme, a motif, a form, a genre? Besides leaving the story out of the context, of course.

One topic is for sure that reality got very close – to everyone of us. So many of the selected films throw back the questions raised to the viewers and make them to think about one’s own attitude in such situations – without a raised index finger, but a right to involve everyone in certain ethical questions.

If you want to say goodbye to the story you have to tell a story. So: storytelling in whatever way is important for many filmmakers. Animation is very powerful this year and Asia is very powerful in all its different aspects of seeing the world.

The Berlinale is the first major short film festival in the year, so your selection shapes the taste and trends in short film making. Do you agree with this statement? Do you see your, or the Berlinale’s taste in trends?

Yes, I absolutely agree with this assumption – because we select the latest films of the previous and the first films of the new year, we have – and this goes for all sections – the finger on the pulse of the time. Short films are often faster in production so we are even closer than feature length films – but still: it is the beginning of a new year and the audience wants to see what the movements for the new year, interests etc. are. The Berlinale Shorts selection allows a certain spirit of freedom in style, form and approach – to give such a sign in the beginning of the year evokes power and freedom in other artists.

What do you have in mind when creating screening sections from the selected short films? Do short films have to be related or similar somehow, or on the contrary – do they have to be totally different to create a powerful section?

To curate a programme every year, different aspects lead me to the programmes – basically, it is about me, feeling the films and trying to build bridges & gaps, possibilities to jump and to relax, to deepen a feeling or follow another aspect of a certain subject. Like every year, the films are very different to each other – so every year the way of combining, the art of curating them is different. The curated programmes are possibilities to get involved – with or without talking – that’s what I want.

This year you have an actress, a Palestinian artist, and one of the Berlinale’s favourite filmmakers, David O’Reilly in the jury panel. How do you select the jury members for the short film competition?

David and Sandra are both very much related to the Berlinale – they both have bears in their houses. Emily Jacir is one of the most interesting artists – not only of her region, but far beyond that.

The art world has known her for a long period of time – and as she is working with video and film a lot I thought that it could be very interesting to combine her point of view with that of the two others – everyone coming from a very special corner in filmmaking! I like it when jury members of the International Short Film Jury in Berlin have a certain link, connection, feeling, movement, interest in the short form – that makes it much easier, but it is not necessary. An artist is an artist and will always be able to receive films in the way they want to be understood.

You have a special screening focus on Hungary’s omnibus film. Why did you decide to make an exception with this movie? You even have a discussion about that with the Hungarian mastermind Béla Tarr.

It is necessary to put into focus what is happening in Hungary at the very moment. The very right-wing situation and the actual laws show tendencies that are dangerous. Dangerous for everyone, except for the rich. It is far beyond feeling pity for a country. Hungary is a country known for its cinematographic art – now, with the right-wing government, restrictions are getting more and more intense – in money and, I suppose in not such a far future, censorship. And Hungary is not the only country in the area… Is it a tendency, a trend? How can artists resist and follow their path? What about changes? We want to focus on the political and social situation in Hungary with Béla Tarr. The film itself is an outcry for the injustice happening – so please come along and join the discussion!

You will have a discussion after the regular screenings as well. What will it be like? Will you have Q&A sessions? Will there be any other events related to the Berlinale Shorts?

After every screening in the afternoons, we will have an intensive Q&A at the Cinemaxx5 with the filmmakers present. We have time – there is no hurry. So we can speak about more than just the idea from where the oeuvre comes. Through-out the last years this extra hour or two with the filmmakers widened the horizon for every single film, artist and audience. Lovely moments of concentration- knowing about the hustle and hustle and bustle outside the cinema!

We will have another wonderful event at the Canadian Embassy – presenting Trevor Anderson’s (selected to Berlinale Shorts 2009 with THE ISLAND) latest film: The Man That Got Away: a musical documentary that tells the true life story of Trevor’s great-uncle Jimmy in six original songs.

We will also head over to the Talent Campus, together with Forum Expanded. We’ll present a selection of Beirut’s contemporary video artists – all selected for this years Berlinale. Marcel Schwierin, an expert in the whole area, will screen their works and relate to the special and leading role that Lebanon has had in Video Art since the inauguration of Askhal Alwan in the middle of the 1990s. This artists’ talk will also be followed by drinks – all shortfilm lovers are welcome to join us!

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“You can churn out passion projects that will never make a penny if you are independently wealthy”

Thursday, August 18th, 2011

Interview with Ross Mckenzie by Éva Kincsei

The toughest moments came when the crew lost its area manager. But a sales agent is already showing interest in Rite and it will be submitted to as many festivals as it is possible to fulfil is calling card function before putting it online. Ross Mckenzie, the young, emerging producer of BAFTA-nominated Rite, which scored first prize at the Long Form section of Rushes Soho Short Festival in London at the end of July, talked not only abut Rite, but passion projects and that he rarely reads a book which has already been made into a movie.

What made you produce Rite?

First of all, I wanted to work with Paul Welsh (the co-producer of Rite and founding producer of DigiCult, the independent film production company behind the film, who are based in Glasgow – the editor). We’ve known each other for a number of years, when I was working for the producer Margaret Matheson, who was acting as Executive Producer on one of Paul’s feature film projects. Since then we wanted to work together but never had the chance. Then one day while I was working for the UK Film Council we met in reception and he told me about this project he developed and had recently received funding for. He was looking for a London-based producer to come on board and guide it through the physical production stage since Paul was based in Glasgow and the film was set in London. And I couldn’t say no. I have also seen Michael’s (Michael Pearce – director of Rite – the editor) graduation films he made at the National Film & Television School (NFTS) and I was impressed. I did not want to pass up an opportunity working with such a talented director.



What is the main strength of the film?

It is difficult to say as I have seen it so many times, but I think it is the combination of all the elements, both artistic and technical. Without the performances, it definitely would not be the same film. The actors we cast were perfect for the roles. So yes, we were really lucky in terms of casting. And we really had a great crew: for example the cinematography is excellent. We had such a short time to shoot the complex pub scene that we had to abandon some of the planned cinematography and shoot a lot on the steadicam device. But in the end it really worked and benefited the film.

What were the major difficulties you faced during shooting?

Trying to pin down a Location Manager. It was such an ambitious film in terms of location, we were probably shooting in 5 different areas of London and it was just so complicated to move the equipment and crew. It takes a lot of time and to work out everything properly and you really need a talented location manager but if you don’t have the funds to pay people much then they leave when they are offered an adequately paid job. So the production team was forced to take on the additional task of managing locations, which was necessary but far too much work considering we were already stretched in terms of production staff.

How big was your budget? It seems that Rite is definitely not a low-budget short film.

Our budget was twelve thousand pounds but I don’t know whether it is a small or a big budget for a short movie. We had to be cautious with the money we were spending as we had numerous locations all across London. And in general, filming in London is quite expensive.

How will it be distributed? And is there any chance to get the money back through distributing?

There is always a chance. Right now our primary focus is to get it into as many festivals as we can and get as many prizes as possible as festival awards do help your chances of finding distribution. The BAFTA nomination this year helped a lot. But actually there were still quiet periods between the BAFTA and other festivals as it takes time to gain momentum. Only now people are really starting to take notice of the film, so we are really still at the beginning of the process. You should certainly try to get in to as many festivals as it is possible before putting it online. I have also got an email from a sales agent who does have interest in it and would like to take on putting it towards festivals and try to sell it to various territories.

It is of utmost importance because through these festivals the film gains a lot of exposure across the industry. The more film festivals you screen it at, the more filmmakers see it and perhaps want to work with you. So it is great for your CV and a short film is always a calling card. I think that is primarily why most people do it. It’s also great practise for moving into features.

So again, producing short movies is rather about entering into the empire of feature film production than making money.

Yes, that is the key thing. I definitely want to produce feature films and I have an interest in writing too.

Do you want to direct them too?

Well I never say never, but my skills have so far been invested in becoming a producer. So writing and producing are the two things I am really focused on at the moment and ultimately I will go along the route of a producer. But of course, almost everyone in the industry has a dream to direct in the back of their minds. But right now I am not looking to do that.

What are your feature projects?

One of the feature projects I have been developing for three years with the writer and future director of the movie. Its working title is Last Chance. Originally, he wanted to make three short films that were based on the same theme of the internet but I really did not want to produce three short films (he laughs). Not least because they are quite unlikely to ever make their money back. So I persuaded him to develop one of the ideas into feature film. It went through a number of redrafts, but we are not rushing. This is his first feature film and we will not want to send it out to financiers until we have reached the stage we both feel absolute confident about, and feel that it has the potential. If you send it to a financier and if it is wrong or just doesn’t fit in with the market, then you go back and you rewrite it, when it lands back on their desk again they are going to be less inclined to read it or less enthusiastic about it because they have already read it. So it must be as close to perfect as it can.

The other feature project I am developing is a proposal for a horror film based on the novel of a British author. It is a really strong story I have been in love with for years and I’ve read it at least 10 times. But I am not giving out the book’s title. (He laughs)



What are your main guiding principles when you decide to produce a film?

With Rite it was rather a series of nice coincidences which made me come on board as one of the producers. Right now, what I am looking for is new material for a good story. I am always reading a book and I refuse to read a book that has already been made into a movie unless it is a must-read, or a classic. A book is such a good source of material for feature films. But I also read scripts that are already being developed since this way you can learn who the good writers are. That is why it is so great to work in an environment where you have access to all these materials on a daily basis. You have to know who the talents are, especially if you are a producer, and keep an eye open for your next project.

Are you an idealist who wants to make the movies close to his heart or rather a shrewd businessman whose priority is to generate profit?

Both. I have to feel passion about a project but at the same time if I am working on it for years I want to be able to sell it too. You can churn out passion projects that will never make a penny if you are independently wealthy, but unfortunately I am not. My plan is to make commercial projects that further down the line will make enough money to allow the odd passion project every once in a while. It is hard. You have to keep going. I am glad about the road that I have taken given my means. I had to work really hard: so far I have worked in sales, development, production and acquisitions. Having a broad view of the industry allows you to see where the value lies in a film. And after seeing how this whole industry functions it is just another business like any other business where you have to make money. But I will always have passion projects I want to make.

Ross Mckenzie is currently working for Film London – one of the nine regional screen agencies in the United Kingdom – as a production finance market coordinator. He previously worked in acquisitions at Paramount Pictures and at the Weinstein Company but also gained experience as a PA at the UK Film council – which has been taken over by the BFI this spring – and worked for several production companies as well. He graduated at the The Surrey Institute of Art and Design and did his M.A at the Media Business School in Ronda, Spain. Rite is the fourth short movie he has been involved with as a producer. To see his filmography click on the link: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2276881/

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“Hectic, fun, inspiring. Happy-go-lucky!”

Thursday, July 28th, 2011

Interview with Asja Makarevic project manager of the Sarajevo Talent Campus

The theme for this year is “Our Time – My Point of View”. What inspired this theme? How is it connected to previous Campus editions or the Sarajevo Film Festival?

Interest for auteur film, creative choices and authors’ responses to the times we live in have inspired this year`s theme. The programme will address the difficulty but necessity of decisions that need to be taken throughout the creative process of filmmaking. With last year`s theme „Storytelling – From Your Backyard to the World” we set to examine how the local, specific and authentic achieve the level of universal recognition. From placing a focus on local stories in 2010, this year we have a natural shift towards auteur cinema, creative choices and positioning one’s point of view. The Sarajevo Film Festival with its Competition Programme-feature and documentary greatly focuses on auteur cinema so there is an expected bond with the Campus` theme.

How is the selection process going on? There are probably participants who have already attended the Berlinale Talent Campus. Is that an advantage or disadvantage?

The selection has been successfully completed. Among participants there are also Berlinale Talent Campus alumni. The main criterion for selection is that participants have strong applications, with regards to their motivation letters, samples of work and filmography. Consequently, they are candidates with convincing and original “voices” and performances. The experience has shown that many of those have attended BTC as well.

The Sarajevo Talent Campus is addressed to directors, scriptwriters, actors and producers. What was the reason for omitting cinematographers?

The Sarajevo Talent Campus, commenced in collaboration with the Berlinale Talent Campus and the Berlin International Film Festival, is a project which develops year by year. Last year we introduced the project segment “Pack&Pitch” and enlarged the existing programme structure. This year we are launching its second edition. In the future we hope to introduce other disciplines, and open the programme not only for cinematographers, but also for editors, film critics and others.

What are the programme highlights of this year’s Sarajevo Talent Campus?

Having in mind auteur film, creative choices and authors’ responses to the times we live in, director Wim Wenders will talk about the challenges of 3D technology he faced while “capturing” the space between the dancers in his film PINA. From a perspective of past-present consideration, Béla Tarr will talk about his latest feature THE TURIN HORSE. In this feature, the Hungarian director uses fiction to reconstruct historical fragments. Having considered split roles of the past and the present, as well as the written sources the film is based upon, the adaptation process from literature to film has become a focus of our interest. On that occasion, screenwriter Olivia Hetreed and script consultant Kate Leys will talk about adapting a literary work into a film script. Among others, they will answer the questions: How to adapt a literary work and who is a target group of an adapted script. Writer and screenwriter Abdulah Sidran will share his experience from working in both media, starting from one autobiographical novel to making two film scripts: DO YOU REMEMBER DOLLY BELL? and WHEN FATHER WAS AWAY ON BUSINESS. Katriel Schory will discuss the process of adaptation in the context of film development, but from the perspective of a creative producer.

Among many others, the 5th Sarajevo Talent Campus will include such experts and lecturers as Philippe Bober, Gabriele Brunnenmeyer, Licia Eminenti, Cary Joji Fukunaga, Lucile Hadžihalilović, Alby James, Leon Lučev, Pierre-Alain Meier, Zeynep Özbatur, Vladimir Perišić, Erwin M. Schmidt and Frank Stehling.

As in previous years, we will continue the successful practice of intensive “speed matching” and “one-on-one” meetings that are traditionally implemented with our partner, the Robert Bosch Foundation. Through a line of lectures, presentations and screenings, we will continue to cooperate with “Minimarket” and answer questions such as: what is a short film today?, what are good examples of successful, contemporary regional and European short films?,  what does the short film industry stand for?. This year we are also starting a collaboration with “Rough Cut Boutique”, a newly created project of the Documentary Competition Program of the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Balkan Documentary Center, which aims to upgrade the development, distribution and promotion of regional documentary films.

The Pack&Pitch workshops train directors to sell their stories to producers. What should a director expect when pitching their project in front of producers at the CineLink Co-Production Market? What makes a pitch the winning pitch?

Within the framework of “Pack and Pitch”, producers and directors are offered specific packaging and pitching training and one-to-one consultations. This training focuses on how to prepare projects for an effective presentation in front of the audience, composed of distributors, producers, financiers, sales agents, festival programmers (Sarajevo Film Festival guests, CineLink Co-Production Market participants). “Pack and Pitch” was designed to bring the Campus participants closer to a true film business environment, which is ahead of them. The winning pitch will be the one that wins the audience with its conciseness, credibility and passion.

How are the audience and the general mood at the Campus?

Hectic, fun, inspiring. Happy-go-lucky!

The Sarajevo City of Film project is a kind of a follow-up to the Talent Campus. How do these sections work together?

Sarajevo Talent Campus alumni apply their previously gained knowledge by teaming up and developing scripts for short films.The best four projects receive script development guidance before being turned into micro-budget short films. During the consecutive SFF’s edition, films are being screened and filmmakers share their experience with a new generation of STC participants.

What do you think about the relationship between short films and the Internet? When should a filmmaker put his film online?

It is a great opportunity to keep and make short films accessible to a wider audience. Short film online platforms are an exquisite promotional and research tool in regards to country specifics, genre diversity, festival preferences etc. Filmmakers should put their films online once their festival run is over.

As the program manager of the Sarajevo Talent Campus, when would you say the Campus edition that you organized has been a successful one?

A Campus edition has been a successful one when a space for interaction between experts and participants, as well as among participants has been created. Also, when participants team up with fellow talents they have just met, and get eager to work on new film projects.

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Cinema helps me to extend the borders of ‘reality’ around me

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

Interview with Cenk Erturk director of Posthumous

Synopsis:
Mirsad’s father’s village is evacuated due to dam construction. The village will soon be under water. Mirsad arrives from the city intending to move his father’s remains from the old village cemetery to a grave in the new village’s graveyard.

We’d like to know who you are. Where are you from, how old are you,  what film school (if any) did you graduate from?

I’m from Turkey. I’m 26 years old. I studied Film at the University of California, Los Angeles. I am currently living in Los Angeles and working at a production company.

Also, we’d like to know why you make films, what makes your filmmaker heart beat faster, what describes you as a filmmaker.

I believe the reality is larger than what we see. Cinema helps me to extend the borders of ‘reality’ around me.

In a film, when I experience a feeling / emotion which I’ve never experienced through my life, it makes me excited. Seeing a character in the middle of a situation I’ve never lived and observing his reactions / feelings  to the facts of that specific situation make my heart beat faster.

There are a lot of things around to be curious about. Filmmaking is a good way to satisfy this curiosity inside me. I’d love to be described as a curious student who learns by filmmaking.

Posthumous – On the Set

What is your film about? Could you summerize the synopsis and tell us about the story’s background? Why did you choose this topic, how did you find your actors – tell us a little “behind the scenes” info!

Posthumous is about Mirsad who visits his dead father’s village for the first time after many years. Mirsad’s father’s village is evacuated due to dam construction. The village will soon be under water. Mirsad arrives from the city intending to move his father’s remains from the old village cemetery to a grave in the new village’s graveyard.

This is my 8th short film. Five of the previous seven were about different aspects of the concept of death.  Posthumous is the sixth one on death. I like working on ‘death’ which I will never personally experience while living. I had a unique image of Sarajevo in my mind from the last time I was there for the Talent Campus. That image always reminded me of death with its wounded buildings and scattered graveyards around the city. I had a sentence from my father in mind: ‘Death is an inevitable but beautiful teacher.’ This sentence, Sarajevo and my father are combined all together and turned into this story.

Senad Alihodzic(Mirsad) was my friend from  the Talent Campus. We met there. After the Talent Campus, I saw Loving Glances, a feature film he was lead-acting. I loved how he made it. I sent him the script of Posthumous and he accepted to work in the film. When I went to Sarajevo before the shooting started, I with Adnan (Imam) who was also a former participant of the Talent Campus. We became very good friends and he got into the production.

There was a highly committed and serious group of people behind the film. Everybody was working silently together as friends. I became very good friends with each of them.

Posthumous – On the Set

Looking back, why do you think your script was selected for production at the City of Film? What is its strength?

It might be that this story is trying to have a natural, organic  and silent connection with Sarajevo and its history. I’d recommend everyone look up the definition of the title ‘Posthumous’ to have an idea about what I mean. Posthumno, the film’s Bosnian title, has a slightly different meaning than the word “posthumous” but that meaning also fits the story perfectly. Again, please look up ‘Posthumno’ in a dictionary.

What was it like to work on this project, being part of the Sarajevo City of Film? Was it any different than the way you normally shoot? (Was it well organized? Did you have a big or small team at your disposal? Did you have good equipment?)

I was working with a crew who was really aware of the story and what we were trying to do. It is what a director needs most in order to realize his dream. The smiles on their friendly faces and their professionalism are what I will always remember from our set. Regarding the production, we had some restrictions but the producers were trying to do their best to provide everything we needed. We had some problems before or during production but what I liked most was how we solved the problems as a team. I always felt the generous support of the SCF with me: their producers and coordinators were frequently visiting us and asking if we were happy with everything.


Posthumous – On the Set

Tell us a funny/interesting story that happened while on the set.

For the driving scene with Imam’s green truck we had a very long way to drive from the beginning to the end of a road. There was no room in the back of the truck for me so I was waiting at the end of the road. Senad and Adnan were repeating the scene because the road was long enough to take the scene 6 times. They had a dialogue in that scene.  After we had taken the scene, I watched the takes. I saw the first take and felt that something was wrong. But what? At first, I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then I realized that I understood what they were saying to each other! I wasn’t supposed to, because I don’t speak Bosnian. We were shooting the film in Bosnian but Senad and Adnan wanted to make a joke to me and had the first take of that scene in English. I turned back smiling to Senad and Adnan and they, with the whole crew, were all watching me behind on the edge of a big laugh. We had five other perfect takes in Bosnian. We deserved to smile.

What plans do you have with this film?

I hope it can succeed transferring what I feel to its audience. I hope it can be seen by as wide an audience as possible.

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Making a movie brings a special state of mind to me

Sunday, July 24th, 2011

Interview with Nora Lakos director of Edina

Synopsis:
Edina, is a playful story on a one nigh stand of a writer and his own creature. Due to their  adventures the writer losses his superpower being able to change the character and the story and can’t get away from his perfect women character any more.

We’d like to know who you are. Where are you from, how old are you, what film school (if any) did you graduate from?

I graduated from the University of Theatre and Film in Budapest last year. I made several short films during the university years that were selected for competitions of Hungarian and international film festivals. In the last year I was mainly working on my graduation project in a Hungarian-German co-production. This humorous documentary of 60 minutes is based on the story of a European Moustache Championship. I also shot a short film in Sarajevo last year within the framework of the Sarajevo City of Film.

Also, we’d like to know why you make films. What makes your filmmaker heart beat faster? What describes you as a filmmaker?

Making a movie brings a special state of mind to me, starting with writing the screenplay. I enjoy the experience of seeing how the fictional world of the film gets confused with reality. It is nice to live in such a time out of joint. Besides, the fact that I visualize an image in my head, and a couple of months later, as a result of the work of a bunch of people another image, just like the original is shown on the screen is a wonderful feeling. I find it astonishing, especially because most of the crew don’t even know the screenplay, since they are in charge of technical tasks.

What makes my filmmaker heart beat faster?

Well, maybe times like when we get to a scene at the shooting that is challenging because of technical reasons or because of difficulties in the tasks of the actors. But I also enjoy just listening to the audience when the film is ready. As a director I strive to try new things, to be open-minded and not to stick to schemes of any kind. This is why my films are relatively diverse. But of course you can not become a different person all of a sudden, so despite all my efforts, certain characteristics or styles can be recognized in all of my films.

What is your film about? Could you summarize the synopsis and tell us about the story’s background?

This film is a creative adaptation of the short story Identification of a Woman from András Cserna-Szabó’s collection of short stories called Half Past Three. In fact this text only provides the beginning and the ending to the story, the rest of it I wrote myself. The simple plot is about a writer who is trying to shape a female character called Edina. Her hair colour, her voice, style, nationality, taste and studies are continuously changing and all these changes influence her personality. The writer is slowly falling in love with his own creature and has a love affair with her. But finally, after a last change he drops the story, keeping the character for a hopefully more worthy future screenplay. My film basically deals with the relationship between the creator and the creature in a very playful manner. There is a great emphasis on the scenery and the costumes in this film, since Edina  appears in 10-12 different costumes throughout the story. We used built scenes and also digital and traditional film effects.

Looking back, why do you think your script was selected for production at the City of Film? What is its strength?

This question is hard to answer. I was told that its strength was that it was very visual. Actually, I only found out about this open call in the last minute. And fortunately it was about the same time that I came upon this book that I hadn’t seen for years. The funny thing is that I picked the same book at the entrance examinations of the university when I was asked to choose a book that I would make an adaptation of. But then I forgot about it for some time. And it seems like it turned up in just the right moment because it was chosen for the City of Film. As I didn’t have much time before the closing date, I handed in a proposal in an initial state, which went through a lot of changes until it was later finalized. Now it is hard to tell why the initial proposal was chosen. I assume that their preference was to choose a true short film, instead of a short version of a full length feature, and a film that could be shot in 3 days. I guess this was also important besides their subjective opinion of the concept.

What was it like to work on this project, as being part of the Sarajevo City of Film? Was it any different than the way you normally shoot? (Was it well organized? Did you have a big or small team at your disposal? Did you have good equipment?)

The main concept of the Sarajevo City of Film is to bring together young film professionals from a variety of South-Eastern European countries, including Romania, Hungary, Greece, Turkey and all the former Yugoslavian countries to work together on projects. Every year 4 directors and 4 producers are chosen to participate and are supported to realize their film proposals. This means that the Sarajevo City of Film finances the production and provides a crew of local professionals in Sarajevo. The realized projects are presented at the Sarajevo Film Festival and are sent to several other festivals. The director is supported to invite two members of the crew from his/her home country and an actor or a screenplay writer from the members of the Talent Campus. Just like many others, I invited a cinematographer, Dani Bálint and an editor, Béla Barsi from my home country. The main character, Eszter Tompa was a participant of the Campus, and all the other members of the crew were provided by the programme from Sarajevo. So, finally, a multilingual crew was brought together and its members more or less worked together for the first time. In addition to this, we had quite a short time to shoot the film. It also made things harder that we had to face serious shortcomings in both the technical equipment and in the production section. Still, all in all this was a very exciting and challenging experience for me, and I met a lot of people with whom it was great to work.

When would you consider that a short film is successful?

As a filmmaker I would say a short film is successful if most of the original ideas survived through to the end product. As a member of the audience, I would say a film is a success if it has had an influence on me.

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The Kick-off of a Career in Film

Friday, July 22nd, 2011

Talking behind the scanes with Ivana Pakusic manager of the Sarajevo City of Film, one of the most ambitious short film projects from the Balkans.

What is the main goal of the Sarajevo City of Film Project?

To encourage and motivate young film authors from the region of South-Eastern Europe to collaborate and to enable the shooting of films that would be a quality reference for their further work.

This year you have chosen 4 projects for realization. What were the selection criteria?

A good story and the possibility to shoot that story within 3 shooting days, with a micro budget at disposal.

Was there any connection between the various projects or did every team work on its own?

The main connection, of course,  is the city of Sarajevo where all the films were produced at the same time. Every team had a maximum of 3 days for the shooting, worked with the same production team and same equipment, and had the same budget on disposal.

Do you have a favourite project of this year’s entries?

Every film is different and has its merit, but being included in the production process  as well as in the process of organising the project itself (from the call for entries to the distribution of the films) doesn’t leave me too much room for an objective perspective of the films. I don’t have a favourite project but I honestly believe that each of those 4 films will find its audience.

The SCF brings together talents from South-Eastern Europe. Did any of the previous co-operations have a follow-up?

There are some co-operations that started during the Talent Campus or the Sarajevo City of Film and continued afterwards. For example, Nives Zemba from Croatia and Dženan Medanović from Bosnia and Herzegovina are currently developing a feature documentary that is supposed to start shooting in September. Nives and Dženan met during the Sarajevo City of Film 2010 where Nives participated in the project as a producer and Dženan was one of the scriptwriters of the film Frigidance (Frigidance, 2010, dir: Kelmend Karuni).

The Sarajevo City of Film Project is somewhere in between film school training and the “real” film industry. Do you plan to serve as a first step for young talents?

Yes and No. Yes – for those who aren’t experienced in working in professional conditions and aren’t used to have a complete production team at their disposal.

No – for those who have already had that experience. These authors recognise the challenge of making a quality film by accepting all requirements this project has (working with an international crew, with a limited budget and having a maximum of 3 shooting days).

Whether or not authors have already experienced professional filmmaking, the Sarajevo City of Film serves them as a training and networking platform.

The SCF is a follow-up to the Sarajevo Talent Campus. Is there a similar relationship between the SCF and the Competition programme? Have you already had SCF alumni presenting their films at the festival?

We have had SCF alumni in different festival sections and programs. Sonja Tarokić who directed “Smart Girls” (Pametnice, 2010, co-dir.: Hana Jušić) is a director of the film Red (Crveno, 2010) which was selected for the Short Competition Programme of the 16th Sarajevo Film Festival. The same year, another participant of the SCF project, Dane Komljen – who directed the film Bodily Function (Tjelesna funkcija, 2011) – had his film “I Already Am Everything I Want To Have” (Ja vec jesam sve ono što želim da imam, 2010) at the same competition programme.

We also have some participants who started to develop their first scripts for feature films and got into selection for the Cinelink programme (Sarajevo Film Festival co-production market): Karoly Ujj-Meszaros who directed “Alena’s Journey” (Alenino putovanje, 2008) as a part of SCF 2008 and Nikola Ljuca who directed the film “Scenes with Women” (Scene sa ženama, 2011) as a part of this year’s edition of the SCF.

Tell us a success story of the SCF Project!

64 Talent Campus Alumni, 18 shorts produced in 4 years, over 100 world festivals (including the International Film Festival Rotterdam where “Liberation in 26 Pictures”  (Oslobođenje u 26 slika, 2009, dir.: Marko Škobalj and Ivan Ramljak) was screened) and 10 awards.

In the industry, short films are a bit on the side, mainly because of financial reasons. Do you think it is possible to make money with short films?

Since there is no theatrical distribution for short films developed yet, for now, I don’t think it is possible to make money with short films.

But I believe in securing money for subsequent feature films by making good and quality short films. If there is a successful short which helps the author to present him- or herself as a good and creative director, then it will be easier for him/her to get the funding for a feature film, and then, with the feature film, there is a possibility of making some money.

What do you think about the relationship between short films and the Internet?

I think this connection is natural considering the fact that beside film festivals there is rarely any other time or place where you can see short films. With short films on the Internet you have the access to a huge archive of great films, which is very valuable both for film professionals and short film fans.

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Martin Bargiel: “From the first idea it was designed as a short film different to all other short films”

Tuesday, June 28th, 2011

Interview with Martin Bargiel, winner of a Special Mention at the Impossible Film Contest for Blink of an Eye

Synopsis:
In the middle of the night a fight between Schenker’s neighbors won’t let him rest. Half asleep his mind is playing tricks on him: constantly he awakes in different places.  He tries to put himself back to sleep by smoking one cigarette after another. But soon he runs out of matches and takes a walk to the 24/7 market next door. Accompanied by heavy rain and rumbling thunder he awakes again. But this time not in his bedroom, not in his bathroom nor in the 24/7 market. This time he finds himself in an interrogation room, and he has to face questioning by an inspector about a dead woman. Now his real nightmare begins.

How would you describe your short film?

From the first idea Blink of an eye was designed as a short film different to all other short films that came out of my hometown Hannover in Germany. During film school all our short films looked alike. So this time I wanted to make it look different, make it look more international. That’s why we made up and designed our own Cigarette brands or have an international cast for example. I wanted to make it look bigger and more expensive. Blink of an eye should be my last short film. It is supposed to leave a good impression on what I can do on a small budget in this genre. And now that I’m working on my first feature, I hope that people can see what they can expect on a larger scale. This short is my business card, a flagship for what my come…hopefully…;-)

You also have the scriptwriter’s, DOP’s, producer’s and the editor’s credit on your short film. How did these artistic approaches work together? How could you perform all the roles?

Writing a script is a total pre-production phase, so that this doesn’t interfere with the shooting at all. Similar to being the producer, or the editor. Editing is entirely post-production. So the only thing that might have been a little difficult is giving direction and doing the cinematography. But even that didn’t restrict me. I had an awesome crew, so we usually did the technical stuff first while rehearsing. While I was operating the camera and staging and blocking with the actors, the gaffers/ best boys and sound crew were preparing themselves (actually that’s the way it should always be, get a good crew and you can experience this way of work). Also the actors were awesome and their timing was always right on the spot. I don’t know if I would do this all over again in the same picture, but after seeing that it works and having so much fun being active in all of these departments I will never say never. But the secret to this is having a great crew that knows what it’s doing. Also of course a good pre-production, storyboards an organized schedule and mood boards help to show how you want things to play out.

In the end it helps writing the script in a shooting script format, since as the DOP you know how you want it to look like. And as the DOP you know exactly how much material you need for the cut, since you’ll edit it the next day. So being the director for such type of work flow is kind of natural since you are already making most of the key decisions. As long as you can stay objective to the work you do and stand back from time to time to reflect and look at it with “clean” eyes, it should turn out good. And having a lot of people who are not involved in your project have a look at different stages of the edit is of tremendous help also.

Tell us a little bit about the production of the film. What kind of difficulties did you have to face while shooting?

The production was a huge undertaking. I had a passionate crew, but my intentions for the film were even bigger. For most of the visual sequences we needed the locations to be built with moving walls while shooting. Planning was one of the key elements before building the locations or even shooting in them. So all the local home depot stores were my best friends for at least a month. Another obstacle was the really big pauses there were between some shooting days. The biggest break was a couple of months. In total Blink of an eye was shot over a period of 2 years, even though the total days of shooting was only 10. Another time consuming factor were the visual effects: the entire post production took about another year. All of this had different reasons: budget, crew and actors weren’t available due to other projects and also me building my own film production company „into foCus“ at the same time.

Participating in the Impossible Film Contest I guess you have an open attitude towards making short films available on the Internet. What is your opinion about online distribution?

Times have changed and we as indie filmmakers can be happy about this new distribution way compared to the once only way of distribution: „offline distribution“. So having another way is always a good thing. But I would say that it should be an additional way to the distribution channels that already exist. Depending on how passionate you are about filmmaking I would always use all the possibilities that there are. But of course going the digital way is going globally. That’s a good thing since people all over the world can see your film, where as a couple of years ago only the people in your hometown could see the 5 print copies you had for the movie theater or a regional DVD release. But as with everything digital, there is always the danger of copying without permission, and making all of the hard work you and your team did worthless. Sure there are security mechanism to prevent this, but one day a new security system comes up, the next day you have to think of a new one.

Are you planning your first feature film or do you want to keep on doing shorts?

As much as it is a lot more comfortable to keep making short films, you have to make the step to the next big thing if you want to be recognized as a serious film maker. If you are passionate about filmmaking and want to make a living with it, then short films will get you the attention you need. But when the time is right move on. Not only to finally and hopefully make some money and be a feature film director (sounds cool doesn’t it ;-) but also to emerge and evolve in your own filmmaking experience. So the short answer is yes, I’m working on two feature film ideas right now.

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Interview with Son Tae-gyum, directors of YA-GAN-BI-HANG (Fly by Night) presented at the Cinéfondation

Saturday, May 21st, 2011

Behind the Scenes at the Cannes Film Festival

Synopsis:
A boy whose only family is his elder brother has sex with a man for money. Caught short of cash, the man suggests they meet again the following day and asks for his number. But the boy’s cell phone has been confiscated by his brother who won’t give it back.

How would you describe your film?

I want my films to be seen as a poetry for those who have to fight for their happiness, and an attempt to closely depict the hidden part of life that people don’t usually like to talk about.

What kind of approach to the story was important for you as a director?

I am interested in human nature in its deepest aspects. Naturally, it is important for me to observe and describe the lives of people in detailed reality. Their actions, especially the ones that are tabooed by society are what mostly make up my films. Besides, those who make such actions usually end up facing ironical situations that vividly unveil the problems in our current society. It is the only way for me to appeal to the audience and convey certain emotions.

What kind of difficulties did you have to face while shooting?

The main problem is finance. In addition, there’s always the matter of the gaps between what I pictured in my head and the images I got in the end. I am not very familiar with technical stuff either, and it’s also hard for me to control the film crew because sometimes I can’t be angry even when I should be.

What do you expect from the Cannes Film Festival?

I am very excited about being actually invited to the Cannes Film Festival, which I only used to read about in magazines and stuff. Besides, being able to be at the same place with such filmmakers as Pedro Almodóvar and Gus Van
Sant is an honor for me. I am also expecting to see all the various works of filmmakers from around the world at Cannes..

Are you planning your first feature film or do you want to keep on doing short films?

Once I’m more settled as a filmmaker, I would like to make both feature and short films. Of course, making a feature film that can be screened in major theaters has been my dream, but short films do have their unique attractions. Considering the realities, I assume I will make a couple of more short films before I’m able to make a feature film, if given a chance.

Find more interviews and articles about the World of Shorts in our Cannes 2011 Special Edition!

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Interview with Mariano Luque, directors of Salsipuedes presented at the Cinéfondation

Friday, May 20th, 2011

Behind the Scenes at the Cannes Film Festival

Synopsis:
Salsipuedes is a particular approach to different shades of violence against women in a family environment. With this film, I attempt to explore how this violence is maintained and naturalised verbally. I also try to create a contrast between the harmony and peace of nature and the tension and ambiguity of our human world.

What kind of approach to the story was important for you as a director?

I am interested in talking about this kind of violence, very present in my social environment in this particular way, to the women. Also, when I travel by bus in Cordoba (Argentina), where I live, I often hear others talking with a high dose of violence hidden in humorous comments. I think this resource – overhearing ordinary people’s chats – is very rich. I believe this is an idiosyncrasy of Cordoba.

What kind of difficulties did you have to face while shooting?

The film was made with a low budget but this turned out not to be an impediment. On the contrary, it strengthened the creativity and commitment to work. We shot the film in 6 days in 3 locations, relatively close to each other. The main difficulty was the rain, the classic enemy of the shooting. It rained a lot those days, fortunately we were able to rearrange the schedule and we managed to adapt. We worked with a very willing crew, we all got along great. They have even created new job opportunities together since.

What do you expect from the Cannes Film Festival?

My main idea is to see how the most important agent of legitimization in the world of film works. I’m intrigued to find out how this mechanism works. I would like to meet people and see lots of movies. In the official competition this year, there are several directors whom I admire and it’s all very exciting. I’m going to Cannes with the purpose of networking so that Salsipuedes could continue to be selected at other festivals and could be released in other countries, also in Argentina.

Are you planning your first feature film or do you want to keep on doing shorts?

I am planning to continue the Salsipuedes project with a film of 65 or 70 minutes. Now, I am travelling to Cannes with a new project that is in the process of script development, looking for funds to be able to finish it. The title is “Amorosas” and it deals with human relations within the family and in the workplace. Its background is a recent historical event of Argentina, a political conflict between the state and the agricultural production sector, that has a high purchasing power. As a resolution, the state tried to tax soy exports. There were many protests of the financial upper class on the streets. I’m interested in researching how the middle class supported this wealthier class and how the lower classes, with their real needs, were left out.

Find more interviews and articles about the World of Shorts in our Cannes 2011 Special Edition!

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