Directors Notes

Tom Shoval’s debut feature Youth shows the desperate lengths two brothers from a newly poor Israeli middle class family go to in an effort to help their parents maintain the family’s way of life. Tom joins us to discuss translating strong fraternal love to the cinema screen and how he used shoplifting as a commitment test for his first time actor brothers.

Definitely the only film screening at this year’s London Film Festival which promises that the whole family can enjoy cutting themselves to it; Drew Tobia’s debut feature See You Next Tuesday features a messed up girl going out of her way to abuse and alienate those around her, yet somehow still managing to make you laugh and steal a cosy spot deep in your heart. In between sips of tea and bites of cake, we chatted to Drew about coming up with dual meaning film titles and the effect a single abusive term can have on a film’s festival selection prospects.

Already an art house hit in France and his native Singapore, Anthony Chen’s debut feature Ilo Ilo pulls inspiration from his younger experiences of family life augmented by a live in Filipino maid, set against the backdrop of the 1997 Asian Financial crisis. We sat down with Anthony to discuss the performance centric return to filmmaking basics that enabled him to create an honest and sincere portrayal of Singaporean family life.

Danish director Michael Noer’s newest feature Northwest depicts just how fast petty disputes can spiral out of control for a pair of brothers caught up in Copenhagen’s criminal underworld. Michael joins us to explain how he mixes loose improvisation with tight script takes and how off-screen action can be used to initiate the ‘inner cinema’ of the audience.

There used to be a time when there was no buffer between the stages of child and adult and although we take it for granted today, adolescents had to fight hard against parents and authorities for their place in the world. In his living collage documentary Teenage, Matt Wolf plays out a filmic mix tape which charts the development of the role of the teenager within society.

Inspired by Chelsea Wolfe track Pale on Pale, Ralf Demesmaeker’s haunting short The Gift explores the complex relationship formed by a boy with the power over life and the woman he keeps from death’s door. Ralf joins us to discuss finding his way as an artist and directing actors well before he calls action.

The brief description which reads, two former baseball players trying to survive a zombie apocalypse may be serviceable as a short synopsis for Jeremy Gardner’s debut feature The Battery, but it in no way conveys the inventive originality or measured directing assurance which imbues every frame of the film. Thankfully Jeremy is on hand to do that in our interview this week.

Developing from its humble beginnings as a directing/acting exercise into a fully blown film over several drafts, Shuchi Talati’s well observed short Mae and Ash is an insightful tale about how we lie in love, to each other and ourselves. Shuchi joins us to discuss the inspiration and terror to be found at film school and the temperamental nature of cockroach actors.

Employing inventive uses of practical effects, Jamie Stone’s Sci-Fi short Orbit Ever After tells the story of two star crossed lovers attempting to bridge the gap between them. Jamie joins us on DN to discuss shooting convincing wire-free zero gravity and the benefits of stealing ideas from your early scripts.

Although weaved throughout with fantastical elements, at its core Andrew Cumming’s short Radiance is the story of a codependence fuelled by sisterly love and the difficulties of facing up to the realisation that sometimes it’s better for all concerned to let go. Andrew joins us to discuss recrafting scenes on the fly and how to pull off a convincing telekinetic joy explosion.

Michael Tyburski’s short film Palimpsest explores the subtle forces at play in relationships, and the tangible remnants of memory in the spaces around us. He joins us to discuss inventing an onscreen profession that real world audiences want to employ and the benefits of organising a shoot cut off from the distracts away from set.

A reverential tribute to all those earnest YouTube performers who give it their all regardless of filmic or musical talent, Daniel Moshel takes August Schram's rendition of Carmen to unexpected, delightful places in their film MeTube. We chat to Daniel about juggling performance, green screen, motion control and CG to defy viewer expectations, as well as why you may want to double check your film's sharing settings when posting online.

Recently crowded as one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film for 2013, director Lauren Wolkstein’s creative body of work, whilst broad in range and style, could be viewed as united narratively by collisions of strangers which often spark moments of self-illumination for the characters who inhabit the off-kilter worlds she builds. We talk to Lauren about this and how the practical differences of shooting in France vs Stateside informed the stylistic choices of her latest short Social Butterfly.

Could you survive a week of Guantanamo Bay like psychological torture? Canadian director A.J. Bond returns to DN with new feature Stress Position; a mind boggling mix of documentary and fiction in which he and actor David Amito test their fortitude, friendship and sanity.

Péter Vácz’s short Rabbit and Deer masterfully mixes simple hand-drawn animation with rich stop motion filmmaking to tell the story of a friendship put at risk by an obsession. We chat to Péter about the creative joy of problem solving when working with new techniques on a live project and battling the ever present nemesis that is time.