The star studded 73rd Berlinale came back to life after Covid and hybrid physical events. My interaction with the to Potsdamers Platz fest was limited to invited events. Staying with the times, “Diversity” was front and enter at many professional get to togethers. Giving voice and opportunity to those who were normally excluded from the industry came front at center. Show business needs to do better. As a person of color who has been both in the business as well on the periphery in different rolls, I hope this topic develops into a tangible advancement for the benefit of entire field.
MasterCard Diversity ConferenceSony Camera with Hawks Lens at the Anamorphic Club CafeActress Thelma Buabeng and Director Sheri HagenCinematographinnen-Women Cinematographers
Short listed for the 2023 Oscar, ALMOST HOME is a the present day topical sci-fi short film from Nils Keller explores decisions and relationships in the future on spaceship.
A interview with director Nils Keller.
A very today reference set in the future, how did you develop this storyline?
The idea for ALMOST HOME was inspired by a newspaper article I read in March 2020 about a cruise ship’s odyssey due to the mounting fear of Covid 19. What really shook me was the mention of people who, after being trapped aboard their floating steel prison for weeks and despite the prospect of finally being able to leave it, wondered if it was safer to stay. Absurd at first glance, I immediately wondered what this might say about our lifelong struggle to draw a line between safety and freedom. The idea of using certain aspects of this article and turning it into a more universal short film story that departs from Covid’s reality and takes the form of a character-driven coming-of-age drama set in space evolved over the next few days.
Almost Home, the choices and conflicts in the story, you stayed away from the good guy, bad guy, can you explain this?
In creating the film, which at its core was meant to be a metaphor for our lifelong struggle to determine the right balance between freedom and security, two things were very important to us: we wanted to ask questions, not provide answers – and in order to achieve that, we wanted to create multidimensional characters with very good but very contrary intentions. Let’s face it: life would be so much easier if it consisted mostly of circumstances where there was a clearly good and a clearly bad option. But in fact, that is rarely the case. Most of the things we must decide on are tremendously complex and become even more complicated as more people are involved in the calculation and emotions as well as individual perceptions start playing their parts. The pandemic has given us a very global and painful example of this. And in some ways ALMOST HOME draws from this confusion while intentionally moving away from Covid itself and asking more general questions about growing up, handling social conflict, sharing and taking responsibility and navigating life-changing situations where it’s hard to know what long-term consequences will arise.
Why did you decide on a sci-fi film with CGI as a project, not exactly an easy choice.
As a director, my passion goes towards these grounded yet cinematic genre films that focus on the characters and highlight their drama. I think it’s one of the most magical powers of cinema that narrative distance can pave the way to talk about essential issues in our lives that would otherwise be buried under too many strange or personal circumstances, or too hurtful to address. I also like the entertaining and world-building part of genre narratives, where you’re a little freer to tell your story. In the specific case of ALMOST HOME, the main reason for setting the story in a futuristic and isolated environment was to distance it as much as possible from Covid 19. The spaceship is meant to provide a confined cinematic stage to reflect on what it means to be dependent – on our parents or other people who try to have a saying in our life choices – and how hard it can be to break away from that while not destroying the relationship. It’s that very physical yet metaphorical expression of not being able to run or hide. I wanted to focus on our characters and their dramatic conflict and see the larger implications of life in that.
Of course, we knew from the beginning that it would be very difficult, some even said impossible, to create a no-budget sci-fi film with so many challenging elements. There was an ongoing pandemic, little money, the need to build a full-scale walkable spaceship and tons of visual effects. On the other hand, the fact that we were students offered us a unique chance for support, funding and trying things out. People tend to love these passion projects and there were so many great filmmakers and supporters helping us with almost no payment involved. Among them companies like ARRI giving us their cameras and lights for free, our film school (the University of Television and Film Munich) etc. Since DoP Georg Nikolaus and I had done some commissioned CGI projects before, we were also confident, that this could be a manageable thing. Of course, everything turned out to be much more difficult. But thanks to the great team and the hard work of everyone involved, our dream didn’t crash but started flying. And it’s an amazing honour for all of us involved to receive such great feedback now on such a high level. It really is beyond our wildest dreams.
Obviously you worked closed with a veteran cinematographer, what was the relationship?
I wouldn’t necessarily say that Georg Nikolaus is a veteran cinematographer, even if he has the calm and many impressive skills of one. I think it was very important for this project that he and I know each other since the beginning of film school. We did almost all our short films together and worked on some commissioned productions for commercials and television together. There has always been a shared understanding that story and characters must come first when we think about visual language. In the case of ALMOST HOME, we discussed the possible layout of the spaceship early on to make sure we had the right mix of a narrative stage for our story and enough opportunity to visually approach the characters and their environment in an intimate way. Further down the road, we used the 3D model of the spaceship, created by our incredible production designer Pan Patellis, to work out literally every shot, the blocking and camera movements. The spaceship was so cramped, the shooting time so short and the technical demands so advanced, that we had to exactly know where to put the camera and determine what walls and ceilings had to be disassembled for certain scenes. Yet we also often took a step back from planning and considered how to visually help express Jakob’s emotionality and his longing for Earth as it felt important to convey a human and poetic note in a cold environment like ours. Through highlighting Jakob’s personal items with their used surfaces, the presence of the earth through moving sunlight glimpses through the windows with the blue marble in sight etc. As a result, there was a lot of planning together with the art department as well. We also stayed true to the idea of letting the camera playfully float at the beginning of the film where Jakob feels free and optimistic in zero gravity. Advertently, when gravity sets in, the visual language becomes as stiff as his body. In order to emphasise the relationship between Jakob and his mother and their shifting understanding of each other, we discussed every angle, inch and trick possible inside a confined set like ours. It was of incredible help here, that ARRI Rental supported our work with their amazing equipment like the ALEXA Mini LF, lights and much more. Later in post-production, Georg continued to be an integral part of our naturally understaffed project, having ongoing conversations about the right perspectives for visual effects, dispelling, preparing the colour grading, creating screen inserts, artworks etc.
ALMOST HOME has been shortlisted for the Oscar 2023.
For actress, comedian and model Eugenia Kuzmina Paris is a set. During her time in the City of Lights while performing on stage Eugenia showed off a few couture pieces with famed photographer Vladimir Sichov.
I never know what to expect at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The Dutch fest always provides twists and turns with a program that challenges my views on cinema.
Fast Review-Fernando Guzzoni’s Blanquita hits the a viewer a with punch to the face. After viewing the Chilean Oscar entry on the country’s child sex traffic scandal I needed a moment. The Venice Film Festival winner is now playing in New York City and Los Angeles. 4 maybe 4.5 stars out of 5.
Running Time 98 minutes, An Outsider Pictures release.
Presenting varied International Short films that are Oscar eligible. The standard of these films are original and mostly excellent.
Starting with Tech to the Future by Sandro Monetti, not surprisingly, it is something otherworldly. The only non-fiction film here, the mood is like a news item straight out of Robocop. On-screen narrator Francis Hellyer proclaims that technology will lead us to a brighter future. His defiant sound bite: “Forget all the dystopian doom and gloom.” Subsequently, he visits various innovative tech industries. These range from a flying car development to AI digital replicas – a cloned Bruce Willis anyone?
Nakam from Ukraine is based on a true story in World War Two. It cultivates a good use of period setting, atmosphere and mise-en-scene. Ultimately it seems to question the circumstances and morality of killing, regardless of justified conviction.
The Bangladesh entry Moshari (a Mosquito net) hauntingly builds up suspense and tension well. This is achieved by allowing the psychology and paranoia its own freedom of projection. Most importantly, it pulls back from the border of implausibilities. These mature qualities serve the denouement well.
Meanwhile, The Silent Echo is a bitter-sweet snapshot of aspirations to escape remote life. A young Nepali singer travels by long-distance bus for a music talent contest. However, his performance does not get the response he hoped for. His dedicated efforts in vain, he travels back home, to the beginning again. Silent Echo won London’s Raindance Film Festival Shorts in 2021.
The Tommaso Acquarone-directed I miei occhi (My Eyes) concerns a woman caught up in traffic. Speaking on her mobile phone, she is already containing private tension. Soon, she offers a lift to a street performer she has seen before. The rest of the film promises greater suspense but ultimately reaches a juncture. Therefore, a good idea gets stuck in a dead end.
A wayward teenager in The Wake is frustrated by his live-wire father and passive mother. Accompanied by his deaf younger brother he seeks an outlet for his emotions. Breaking into houses and stealing token items he dubiously achieves this aim. However, an inexorable trajectory occurs after he finds a gun in a local house. The somewhat unexpected ending rounds off an original take on the suspense drama.
Finally, War of Colors is a heartfelt plea for sympathy for those born with the albino condition. A pretty, intelligent, and sensitive young woman finds discrimination even within her own race. Her brave and disheartening struggle for acceptance is both compelling and thought-provoking. Diandra Forrest excels as the central character in this another worthy Oscar short contender.
As a cinema lover and child of the seventies I watched many films from the “Blaxploitation”(a term I never liked) era. Netflix just released IS THAT BLACK ENOUGH FOR YOU from historian and filmmaker Elvis Mitchell.
Emmy Winner Michaela Coel has become an entertainment juggernaut. Starring in the much talked about series “I May Destroy You” to this month’s highly anticipated Black Panther sequel, Wakanda Forever. We had the pleasure of interviewing Coel at the Shooting Stars event at the Berlinale a few years ago. The multi-hyphenate actress is on the brink of becoming a household name.
A mockumentary from a South African filmmaker seemed a bit of a long shot. Attending a film festivals is about viewing cinema outside of one’s comfort zone. Part of the International Film Festival Rotterdam Return of the Tiger Section, Daryn’s Gym was a curious title with an unusual premise. Surprisingly, the work from director Brett Michael Innes made me laugh. Soldiers lead by an ill prepared leader in a David versus Goliath battle.
Black and Paper interview with Producer Paulo Areal from the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Normally, South Africa audiences expect serious, heavy subjects. You avoided this narrative, going for comedy. What was the reason? “During COVID there was just so much heartache and pain. Brett Micheal-Innes, the writer-director producer of the film who is a known creative who deals with Dramatic themes, felt we needed to see a different slice of South Africa, a slice where a bunch of lovable misfits come together to fight for a common cause.”
As the producer, how did you approach this film? “Daryn’s Gym was conceived, written, and produced over a 6 months period during COVID.
As the producers it was our task to run the first “COVID Safe feature set’ in South Africa. These uncharted waters had many firsts in terms of Social distancing, COVID protocols and regulations. However, these challengers brought the crew and cast together and made the journey a pleasant one.”
Clifford Joshua Young as Daryn
Was the audience supposed to feel sorry for Daryn, at times feeling the need to put him out of his misery? “I don’t think so, even though Daryn was out of his depth regularly, his naivety was part of his charm and makes him endeared to the audiences.”
The Perfect Villain
Were you hands on in regards to casting? “Brett and I worked closely in the casting process and the final draft of the script was written once the leads had been locked off giving Brett the luxury of crafting the roles for the specific actors.”
Daryn’s Gym was screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. Running Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Check out the Chat Cinema Podcast on our YouTube Channel.
The New York City Film Festival unspooled its usual cinema fair of polished works by filmmakers from around the world. The mixture of physical and virtual continued this past June for ten days.
God Said Give Em’ Drum Machines is the story of how a sound was created in the Detroit music scene. Check out the Chat Cinema interview with director Kristian Hill.
McEnroe, director Barney Douglas’ story of the legendary “Superbrat” John McEnroe is a compelling documentary on a great tennis star. A humanising portrait of a man coming to grips with his illustrious yet troubled past.
Story of Bones
All Male-The Story of International Male
All Man-International Male Story from Bryan Darling and Jesse Finley Reed is for anyone who remembers the sensual if not soft porn International Male Catalogs of the 80’s and 90’s. From humble beginnings flying by the sit of the pants to global success the documentary charts the raise pages sent to men all over the world.
Britain has always considered itself on the moral side of the Slave Trade having abolished the institution in 1807. The Story of Bones by Joseph Curran and Dominic Aubrey de Vere asks many unsettling questions about the country’s role with the treatment of human cargo. The effects of this are felt today on the isle of St. Helen.
Leave No Trace has generated a large amount of trace. Rightfully. Watching Irene Taylor’s devastating accounts of sexual abuse cover up in the Boy Scouts of America left me raw. For decades the civic organization knew their All American Clean image was a cover for attracting sexual predators. Anger, regret, sadness with a lost of trust combine to make this powerful documentary a raw emotional watch.
Leave No Trace Sophia
Sophia is Timely
Google whistleblower told the world the tech giant has an AI sentient, a shutter went around the world. So happens at this time I screened Sophia. A passionate inventor or mad scientist, Jon Kasbe and Crystal Moselle’s documentary on David Hanson is a character study of a brilliant man on a mission to change the way we interact technology.
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady took a high morale approach to the documentary work Endangered. Produced by Ronan Farrow, the 4th Estate is under global threat. I can’t say I 100% liked this slickly produced myopic morality tale on journalism considering with public distrust of media at an all time high. Grady and Ewing never why? Frankly, YouTube commentators taking a stand against news censorship are more interesting than this victimhood tale.
The Belgium dark comedy Employee of the Month by Veronique Jadin gets a mention. Who does’t want to kill their work colleagues? Ines, played by Jasmina Douieb, answers the question further.
Check out our Chat Cinema Podcast for news, interviews and reviews regarding filmmaking.
