Mira Shaib’s Arze has been chosen as Lebanon’s entry for the Academy Award for Best International Film. The story of a single mother keeping her family above water with a home pastry business. Ambition can be a bad counselor. After buying a scooter for business expansion, Arze finds herself on a quest through Beirut trying to recover the stolen minibike.
Screened at the 2024Tribeca Film Festival, Arze delves into a dysfunctional world where tribalism rules. Mira tackles the subject with an underdone urgency.
Fame is a cheap commodity in the social media world. The lust for for followers has corroded the lines of behavior. Chasing likes is a pluto treasure hunt in the digital world.
Director, actor and producer Hugo Becker shows the self-destructive side of bargain basement celebrity with his Oscar qualifying short film MUKBANGER.
A Black and Paper interview with Hugo Becker.
Why do you think people are obsessed and willing to be mocked and to risk life and death for Social Media celebrity or fame?
I do not believe this starts like that, from one day to the other. It is a long and sad process. What I try to demonstrate in the movie is that it usually starts in a very genuine and naive approach. People who end up making these type of videos had no clue they would end up doing this when they were starting doing videos as teenagers. That is why it is much more dangerous than we think. It is not only for other people, some very balanced individuals sometimes fall into this downward spiral. It is the same type of addiction and vicious circle you find in drugs or porn. And I am not only talking about the creators, but also the viewers.
Is Mukbanger a class or socio-economic issue commentary?
Money is part of the issue, for sure, for some people. But not the main reason. Love and attention are. Otherwise they would do something else I think, because there are many bad ways to make easy money. The real reasons of people getting involved in MUKBANG are I believe the quest of recognition at all costs, the loneliness, the lack of love and existential issues.
And of course the social networks and some algorithms, because let’s face it, they provoke and accelerate this downward spiral. Because they push you more and more in the same environment, leaving you in a kind of mental cage. In which the definition of success is to be viewed, to be followed. To exist. As much as possible. No matter the cost. When success actually should be about achieving something that makes sense, about helping people around you, about fighting for your ideas, trying to improve the world around you.
France is a country and culture renowned for cuisine, you are a Frenchman, in the movie those images are poles apart. Please explain?
Well, there is art cuisine and Food porn. These are two very different things. I did a series called Chefs as an actor, and we were lucky enough to be taught by great French Chefs like David Toutain, and Thierry Marx. Thanks to them, I learned that art cuisine is about creating something beautiful, supposed to make you feel good, to enlighten your day, to make you travel in your head, while learning a whole new taste universe that you might not know.
The other, Mukbang, is not about food really, it is about putting your physical health in danger with random and bad products, in a huge and absurd quantity, it is about damaging yourself, your body and in the long run your mental health. And that is what probably fascinates and/or reassures people watching. Not about the food they eat in reality. The first time I learned about Mukbang, and watched a documentary about it, I did not eat for two days. Not only because of the food, but because I could not believe it was a real phenomenon watched by millions of people. And when I realized it was actually real, and not science-fiction, I was terrified that we already got to that point… As if the tv show in the movie Requiem for a dream was actually really broadcasted on Fox.
There is a slippery slope of good guy/bad guy in the film, explain.
My intention was clearly not to point out one person responsible for the whole thing. But on the opposite, I strongly believe that all of them share a responsibility at their level. Like we all do on many subjects. Of course, everyone in its own way, and at a different level of responsibility. But is Mika naive and innocent? No. Is his manager protecting him like he should? No. Is the broadcaster supposed to let them do this? Probably not. Are people supposed to watch things like that and encourage the creation of such videos ? Clearly not. Can the family have a good and or bad influence over it? Yes, but sometimes we unfortunately do not even realize how our reactions, and choices can affect and have consequences for other people around us. So, question is, once we know, what do we do about it? What is the limit?
What was the cinematography influence?
So many geniuses. So many people I admire. Complicated to say. Of course, I am an unconditional fan of Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson, Milos Forman, Agnès Varda, Darren Aronofsky, Joachim Trier… I have always been impressed of the way they manage to put you in the shoes of the character so that you feel like him and you understand his weirdest behavior without explanations.
For that film, Mukbanger, I wanted the audience to feel trapped inside, like him. Looking for a way out, trying to escape. That is why I used this format 4:3, and I made these frame choices of Mika literally eating the frame. In the meantime, it had to be moving and interacting all the time so you never get a chance to stop and think, like him, you just go on, because you want see further, you want to know how it ends, you are addicted.
I also somehow wanted the audience at the end of the film to understand that they actually are in the position of the viewers, the “voyeurs”, and to understand how addictive this can be for anyone. And thus why we have to be extremely careful, especially for the younger generation. Because this addiction is part of us… you want more ? Well, this is human nature, most of us if not all of us do unfortunately. All right then, but therefore it is urgent that we help people focus on the interesting, on the beautiful, on the things that are greater than us. Talk about ideas, about how to improve things, and not waste time watching people wasting their own life Mukbanging.
To me, this phenomenon is like an alarm, it is really the metaphor of human nature over-consuming and choosing the wrong path. This movie is a small attempt to stop it.
Every father and son relationship is different. The “Ward Cleaver” image from 50’s American TV was a work of the Perfect Eisenhower era fiction. Father’s can show their love, sometimes in imperfect ways. TWO FOR THE RODE from Lochlainn McKenna is an award-winning short film about a parent and childhood bound manifesting itself in some irregular child rearing scenarios.
A Black and Paper interview with filmmaker Lochlainn McKenna.
The opening scene/shot sets the tone for the film and relationship, why did you choose this for the opening scene?
I used to spend the weekends driving all over Ireland with my Dad! I was in every county before I was 10. Ireland’s not a very big country but sometimes those drives might be 4 or 5 hours. He would pick me up on a Friday evening and then drive late into the night and stop somewhere secluded for us to sleep before morning. For me it made sense for the film to start on Saturday morning. I wanted the audience to wonder where this child was? Why is he asleep in a car? Who’s he with? It adds a sense of jeopardy to the story before we establish the narrative of the story.
A Weekend
Steve Wall and Ewin Morris as a father and son on a weekend road trip.
What was the writing process like? Do you have any personal ties to the story line?
I wrote the original story ‘Guinness & Coke’ during the pandemic and that laid the foundations for the screenplay. It’s all based on my own childhood. There was certainly a lot of thought that went into the characters and the scenes and actions. I try to be as detail specific as possible in my filmmaking and I tried not to skimp on any details. The biggest difference between the short story and the film script is that, in the story, a lot of the dialogue is internal in Oscar’s head where as in the film there’s a lot more external dialogue. It was a case of using that external dialogue to better accentuate the narrative. That dialogue is necessary to push the story along.
Chaos, adventure, risking, experiencing life, I’m curious to know if this is how you would describe a weekend with your father?
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head. But there was also a lot of consistency, care, curiosity and companionship. Our weekends were always very physical. We were always doing. Whether that was exploring the countryside looking for old Celtic ruins or chasing thunderstorms… sometimes we’d traverse the coast looking for spider crabs. Other weekends we might be breaking rocks open looking for fossils. Some weekends we would play pool and go to the pub… sometimes motorbike rallies or airplane shows or go to the fair. It was very varied. There was a lot of camping.
Love does not come in a Perfect Box
Steve Wall as Hugh
There is the dynamic of the relationship switching to the son being the adult, looking after his father. Do you think the viewer has less sympathy for the father? My first thought was “Get that kid away from him”.
It’s always been my intention to make sure the father character isn’t vilified. I want the viewer to come out of the film feeling kinda conflicted. We should feel sympathy for the boy but also understand that the father is trying his best, despite wrestling with his own demons. There’s a lot of love between them, despite the obvious complexities. Naturally though, I think depending on people’s personal circumstances and their own relationships with their own parents or children, you’re going to have a strong reaction to it, right? And I think it’s great that you felt that strong a reaction. I don’t think anyone is watching the film and thinking, “ah, that’s fine, good for them”. But I think it’s a sliding scale as to how bad it all is really and I think that grey area is what makes the film intriguing.
How did you work with Eoin on the shooting style?
Eoin McLoughlin did such an outstanding job on this film, honestly. It just makes me so happy every time I watch it back, it’s exactly what I had hoped it would be. I always wanted the film to look and feel like a 90s memory. So the decision to shoot on 16mm was pretty much set from the outset. A big reference for me was Lynn Ramsey’s short film Gasman. There are these scenes in the pub where they use long lenses to pick off really natural moments of action which I just really loved and wanted to emulate. In general the thinking behind our approach was that whenever Oscar is feeling free and having fun we’re on long lenses. The camera is hand held, moving, roaming. When things get serious or dangerous for him, the camera is locked off, very static, very sharp and generally very wide.
Are you planning on making a feature film on the same subject?
I am! I’m currently writing a book which will be based on a number of other weekends with my Dad across a number of years. I’m hoping this anthology of stories will be the basis for the feature film script in due course.
TWO FOR THE ROAD has qualified for the 2023 Academy Awards Best Live Action Short.
For this episode of Chat Cinema we talk to film maker Ahmad Alyaseer about acceptance even in death. His acclaimed, winning 102 prizes so far, short film OUR MALES AND FEMALES has qualified for the 2024 Academy Award.
The Hollywood Strikes are over. Awards Season has started. New episodes of Chat Cinema Podcast are in the pipeline with global filmmakers who may make the final cut for the Oscars this year.
Actor Colman Domingo is riding a hot streak now. The Emmy winner could soon add an Academy Award on top his mantel. Rustin, the story of LGBTQ civil rights activists Bayard Rustin has garnered stellar reviews. Also look for the Philadelphia born performer in The Color Purple musical remake of the 1985 drama.
Colman Domingo, Ava DuVernay, David Oyelowo at the Berlinale.
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.
This Award Season reflects life, uncertainty. Trying to decipher a front runner in the race has confounded critics and filmgoers.
Tar and Everything Everywhere All at Once seem sure bets as does Braden Fraser and Ke Huy Quan are nods bets.
Cate Blanchette, Michelle Yeoh and Danielle Deadwyler for the little seen Till are front runners for actress.
Will Tom Cruise get the gold this year? Top Gun was the feel good flick of the year. The veteran blockbuster draw deserves a trophy for his $1 billion achievement.
The Best Picture field is wide open. Tar, The Fabelmans, Banshees of Inisherin and Babylon top the list. Wakanda and Babylon could sneak in the pack. Avatar:The Way of Water, the $350 million production will certainly get a number of technical nominations leading to a spot on the Best Picture list.
Todd Field for Best Director, Tar has the momentum, but I would not rule out James Cameron.
Award Season runs until March 12th 2023, the final ceremony is the Academy Awards in Hollywood.
For this episode of Chat Cinema, a conversation with Film Director Martin Strange-Hansen about his short film ON MY MIND. A personal story drawn from real life experience. The Danish work received a nomination in the Best Short Film category for the 94th Academy Awards.
One question asked, “how did he come with the one sheet tag line?” If you want to know the answer, click below.
The Academy Awards winners are announced on March 27th.
