myDylarama

Q&A with Yony Leyser, dir. of Desire Will Set You Free, at the East End Film Fest

Anne-Sophie Marie — 2016-07-01T09:57:53Z

What drew you to filmmaking?

I got into a lot of trouble as a teenager. A counsellor suggested that my mom find me a creative outlet so I started practising theatre and photography. Then after a couple of years, I combined the two to make films. I made my first documentary when I was 16.

...and what led you to Berlin and its underground scene?

I came to Berlin for a semester when I was at university. It was the opposite of where I was living (NYC). There is common sense in politics. Politically aware people. A vibrant subculture, a rebellious, radical culture, a beautiful queer scene and beautiful architecture. I made the decision that summer-still the best summer of my life-to find a way to come back. I applied for a passport and was granted one because my grandparents where German Jews from Berlin, who fled in the mid- 1930s. In 2011, I screened my film William S. Burroughs: A Man Within at a festival here and just packed up two suitcases and stayed after the screening.

Your film has a few distinctive characters. How did you find them? Tell us more about Tim Fabian Hoffmann and Amber Benson's involvement (couldn't help thinking about Buffy's musical episode when she first appeared)?

Everyone got involved through personal connections. Most people are playing themselves and most of the film is improvised. Tim and Amber are two of the only actors in the film. Tim I met through a mutual friend. At first, we wanted to cast a trans actor, but none of the trans women we auditioned wanted to play a man for 80 percent of the movie. We saw him on camera and knew he would be perfect. I met him through a mutual friend Ralf. Amber saw my last film at Slamdance and told me if I was ever doing anything again she wanted to be involved.

How did you go about picking locations and working with your DoP and production designer?

The DoP is the great Ali Gözkaya, who is Turkish-German. I fell in love with his work on Futuro Beach. Ira Sachs recommended him to me. Our production designer was the controversial Afro-Swedish artist and my old flatmate Iulia Mitzner. Together they did a great-albeit chaotic-job on a tiny budget.

Especially when you alternate between party sequences and more sober scenes? What equipment did you use?

Alexa used Master Prime lenses (think Spring Breakers). Thanks for the sponsorship ARRI Berlin ;).

Is Berlin as colourful as it is in your film?
Only in dreams...

Since this is a docu-fiction, can you tell us a bit more about the writing process? How much did it evolve during filming? How much improvisation was there?

About 80 percent improvised. We asked people to play themselves and we decided to see what happens.

How was your experience of both starring and directing?

It was so much fun but also way too much work. I also wrote and produced. Next time, I'm only directing!

Tell us about the Kickstarter campaign for the post-production?

We launched the kickstarter, then the TV station ZDF saw it and gave us money to do reshoots and post production.

...and your next project?

I am finishing a documentary about Queercore / Homocore, which should be premiering in the winter.

PS: are cupcakes very popular in Berlin?

Cupcakes to me represented the American femininity that is present in the city. 5 years ago Germans had no idea what cupcakes were. I remember there was a shop called Cupcake that opened by my old collective flat. Germans would stare in the window display and ask each other 'what is a cupcake?' That's where that all came from.

Desire Will Set You Free is screened as part of the East End Film Festival, at the Rio on 24 June at 6.30 pm. More info here.

Q&A with Adrian Tanner, dir. of Redistributors, at the East End Film Fest

Anne-Sophie Marie — 2016-06-30T19:33:53Z

What was your background in film prior to Redistributors?

I started out as an editor and got indulgently trained at the BBC in Bristol on wildlife shows with David Attenborough. Then moved to London and cut a lot of TV.

What sparked the idea behind the film? Do you have a background in PR?

I worked for some years filming corporate CEO interviews where people talked utter drivel. I kept wondering ‘What if one day someone told the truth?' - this gave me the idea for the inciting incident of ‘Redistributors'.

Can you tell us a bit more about the development process? Biggest hurdles and luckiest moments in the process? Any "happy accidents" during filming?

I wrote the first draft while the Occupy Movement seemed to be offering a way forward in 2008. I visited the camps and planned to shoot there, but then had to watch them deteriorate into ‘weirdos only' after everyone with a more conventional life outside the camps left. We were all set to do a test shoot when I went past Finsbury Square (the second London camp) and saw that they had been evicted and it had disappeared overnight. This was probably a good thing though as it forced me to evolve my fictional rebels as well, and the idea of the ‘Redistributors' was born; effectively an Occupy Movement that has taken the fight onto the net and has the ability to produce real change through hacktivism. We later found a real squat in Camden where we shot those scenes.

Getting locations without much money is a massive pain. There's no point trying if someone has to go up the chain for permission – it won't happen. We got quoted 6k for a foyer for one night, but then I had the idea of contacting turnstiles companies, and someone who had just fitted some for a huge place in Canary Wharf sorted us out permission for free. Apparently if you're filming a corporate for a money-making company, that's fine, but if you're making a low budget feature from the heart with a load of student volunteers you don't get a look in. Obviously all the public places in the film were done without permits, but I used a hand-held camera smaller than many tourists', so no-one would have had the right to stop us.

In the story, the protagonist doesn't learn her lesson until quite late (would have even been too late if not for a lucky break). What was behind this choice? Do you think many of us are deluded to the extent that we can't tell right from wrong?

I think the layers of delusion needed to be quite deep for my heroine to overcome – but it's not unusual structurally to have that change of heart at the end of the second act, when the hero hits rock bottom. But you always have to see the potential for the change - and I think when we meet her family and realise that she's been rebelling against the rebels, by being so conventional and corporate you can sort of guess where she's going to end up. To make it as dramatic as possible, that choice of corporate bullshit with nice clothes versus honesty and shopping at Oxfam had to be borne out of violence.

Redistributors will be screening a week after the Brexit aftermath. There's been plenty of corporate/political corruption talks around this. Any comments?

I wish the film had predicted Brexit – but it certainly did highlight the fact that the inexorable flow of money to the richest has to be stopped. I do fear that like in 2008, when I hoped for a changing of the guard and some economic justice, volatile times simply make the rich richer. Let's hope somebody like our hero Micheal Manning comes along with the ability to infiltrate the digital fortresses of the rich and share their money around.

You were also DoP on Redistributors. Why did you make that choice? Would you ever consider a collaboration with a DoP?

I have worked with several great DoPs and would have loved to involve them in the film, but there simply wasn't the time or budget. Also DoP's have drunk the koolaid a bit when it comes to technology, and would have wanted more camera kit. The little cameras are so much better now you really don't need the clutter of a Red or an Alexa. I was able to go ahead with a £1700 camera and three lenses in a small bag and that made it a very fast shoot.

What's next for you?

I'm looking for an agent who might be able to get me working in TV - so that I can really learn my chops. No-one seems interested yet! I also have a script which is attracting a lot of attention – ‘The Sandwich Experiment' is a true story of a group of middle aged men in Kent in 1991 who were invited to take part in the first trials of a drug designed to treat angina. The drug turned out to have unexpected side effects, revitalising the men's marriages and self-esteem and 'Viagra' was born. I'm hoping to get a really veteran director on board for it and work as a producer on it as it is designed to be packed with stars!

Redistributors is screened as part of the East End Film Festival at Genesis Cinema, on 2 July at 5.30. The screening will be followed by a Q&A. More info here.

Q&A with Daniel Fitzsimmons, dir. of Native, at the East End Film Fest

Anne-Sophie Marie — 2016-06-30T16:05:36Z

I gather your background is a mix of Liverpool and California? How have both environments influenced you and your work on Native? (And does Liverpool produce better alien beaches than LA?)

In my experience Los Angeles and Liverpool are generally open and welcoming to outside influences and people, but on this movie that is not the sort of environment we needed the characters to inhabit. I wanted to burden Cane and Eva with an insidious social claustrophobia that can either be a help or a hindrance, depending on your perspective. I've travelled around a lot, I went to school in Brussels and spent time in Spain and France growing up. Maybe the idea of a character wanting to understand or be a part of a culture that is as scary as it is seductive is something that influenced Native. Actually, I think that central idea infuses a lot of the stories I want to tell. And Formby beach is as good an alien landscape as anywhere. We didn't set out to make Baywatch.

You mentioned Samuel Beckett. North Korea and London as two sources of inspiration for Native. Could you tell us a bit more about this?

In order to give Cane and Eva a relatable context, we had to create and give rules to their society. What is the hierarchy, the structure, where does the loyalty to authority come from, why does it work in such an ordered way… and through Cane's experience, how and why does it wane? Their lives are structured as part of a hive, serving the common good. ‘For the good of us all' is their mantra. And that is what they are indoctrinated or born to believe. Tales of people who have fled and documented extreme isolationist regimes such as North Korea inspired the journey that Cane goes on. Conversely, it fascinates me how these power structures are able to maintain the loyalty of millions and function. Beckett has influenced everything I've done on some level: Isolation, loneliness, the futility of existence in a godless universe, and all that lovely stuff. It felt particularly relevant to me when I moved to London.

How did you select your cast and crew for it? Can you tell us a bit more about budgeting and funding?

One of our producers, Jennifer Handorf, has a wonderful team of London-based filmmakers that were available and wanted to work on Native with us. Without her resolute determination that we could get such a talented group of people involved, I don't know whether we would have attempted to be so ambitious with such a meagre budget. This commitment was the same with every one of the crew, each of whom went above and beyond for the cause. Rupert is a genuine star, someone I wanted to write for since I've known him. He understood the character from an early version of the script, and his thoughts filtered through the subsequent drafts. I think what Rupert gives us is a very human performance. To say more than that would be saying too much! Once we had cast Cane, I met with Ellie, as I had been a fan since I saw her in Misfits and An Education. What she is able to transmit is an independence and agency that was vital for Eva. She has an amazing ability to communicate so much in a very economical way. As a director, that is currency. It is really when the story telling becomes cinematic. Great actors allow us to do this. And in spite of the age difference, Eva is very much Cane's equal in the film, a dynamic that was absolutely necessary.

You had two DoPs working on Native. How did that come to be and what was the reason behind it?

We worked through prep and did most of the planning with Nick Gillespie. Nick was able to commit to the first part of the shoot on the ship with us. But right up until production, with us being on a modest budget and needing to compromise, we knew that we could lose Nick to High Rise when it went into production in Belfast. It was just unfortunate that the two schedules ended up clashing. However Nick, the producers and I anticipated this and we arranged to change over from Nick to Billy midway through the shoot. Billy Jackson has photographed with Nick before and so the transition was a comfortable one. He turned up on his massive bike with his tattoos and ponytail and I knew we were in safe hands!

Cane and Eva are two names charged with meaning. How intentional was it?

If we accept that these two characters speak a language that we would not even begin to recognise, I wanted to give them names that would be equivalent to their own myths and legend. Transposing our biggest myth, the Bible, over to their society, I took names from the Book of Genesis for all the characters in the hive, and corrupted the original spellings slightly. I think the best myths, legends and fairy tales are nasty, pulse-quickening things that arrive at a cathartic, climactic release, and those first biblical stories of incest, violence and betrayal that many people still chose to live their lives by seem somehow appropriate to our movie.

Music is an essential (and stunning!) element in the story. How did you pick the piece that triggers Cane's physical and emotional journey? How did you work with your composer to score the film?

Baltic Fleet is Paul Fleming. He scored the film and recorded his own version of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, which is on the Golden Record sent on Voyager I. That was the jumping off point in plot terms for this idea of connection across the universe, but it is also a genuinely powerful and recognisable piece of music that we felt Cane could become obsessed by. Baltic Fleet had scored a short film I made, Schrödinger's Waltz, and it was obvious that he would be perfect for Native. Paul is so inspiring to work with, and the way his music encapsulates the tone of the film is just genius.

How did you work with your cast from the first contact to the final day of filming?

We didn't have the luxury of much rehearsal time but Rupert, Ellie and I talked a lot about the script before we started production. I had even less time with Daniel, Pollyanna, Leanne, Joe and Chiara, but they are all great actors so we were able to just get on with it.

Do you think we could be at risk of becoming a hive?

I understand the usefulness of social media, but on some base level I find it troubling. Personally, I don't like how social media has eroded privacy, or how it has changed the way we communicate, allowing us to view and parade our deepest and most private insecurities in front of everyone, and in perpetuity. In this sense, it can be unedifying and I suppose a bit hive-like. Instantaneous sharing creates a barometer of consensus or panic that changes constantly, and hooks us into a pattern of needing to know or broadcasting things that we could, and probably should keep to ourselves. People stare at phones and get swipe fatigue instead of using actual human verbal conversation. There is a danger that people start broadcasting themselves instead of talking to each other. I know I sound like an old codger but I just don't think that telepathy on that scale is something we should aspire to!

Native is screened as part of the East End Film Festival, at Genesis Cinema on 1 July at 9 pm and will be followed by a Q&A. More info here.

The Darkest Universe - East End Film Festival 2016

Anne-Sophie Marie — 2016-06-27T21:07:22Z

Following a BAFTA nomination for their first feature film (Black Pond), Tom Kingsley and Will Sharpe return with an atmospheric story of troubled sibling relationships and mysterious canals.

Though very different from the world created in Flowers (Sharpe's TV series, currently available on Channel 4), the characters here are as eccentric as the relationships are dysfunctional.

When the police give up searching for Zach's sister Alice (played the very watchable Tiani Ghosh, who is also Will Shape's co-writer) her boyfriend Toby (wonderfully portrayed by The Inbetweeners' Joe Thomas) and Zach's narrow boat, the latter embarks on a one-man campaign to raise public awareness through increasingly frantic vlogs at FindAlice.com. Zach's search through the London canals and later throughout England, eventually evolves into a search for himself.

The plot artfully goes back and forth between the present and life before Alice's disappearance, thanks to Will Hanke's ingenious cinematography, creating clear visual contrasts between a more classically beautiful past, and more unusual, unexpected shots of the present, vlogs included. Will Sharpe's transformation as Zach allows us to find our bearings within the chronology of the film.

Tiana Ghosh's Alice, at times charming, other times gormlessly irritating, makes us understand Zach's ambivalence towards her. It also creates great moments of eccentric comedy and drama between the siblings, as it does with Toby. Another very enjoyable moment is a vlog made by Zach and Toby's brother Charlie (Raph Shirley). Unfortunately, we do not get a proper insight into Zach's relationship with his Italian girlfriend Eva (Sophia Di Martino) to understand it fully, and her character seems underdeveloped.

Another difficulty with the film is its universe. Though the story at times nearly delves into Donnie Darko territory, it fails to take us there from the very beginning, leaving the viewer unsure whether it is a realistic look at mental health or whether we are really following Alice down the rabbit hole, into a dark universe of strange white lights and aliens. Because of this, the film's pace is uneven and ends up closer to a heartfelt mood piece than the stuff Charlie Kaufman's earlier scripts are made of.

3/5

The Darkest Universe is screened as part of the East End Film Festival, at the Genesis cinema on 1 July. More info here.

Tales from the Two Puddings - East End Film Festival 2016

Anne-Sophie Marie — 2016-06-23T09:30:00Z

Based on its landlord's memoirs (Tales From The Two Puddings by Eddie Johnson), Rob West's documentary focuses on the iconic East End pub's trend-setting quirks, its links to 1960s legendary characters such as the Kray twins, Harry Redknapp and David Essex, and its influence on the Barry Keefe classic The Long Good Friday.

Between super 8 footage and 60s tunes, the film ignites a common nostalgia 1960s Stratford, that we see deeply transformed within seconds, sad that we won't be able to stop by the iconic venue for a pint and a good cover band onour next night out, and longing for a London many of us have probably never known, full of men in custom-made suits spending boxing clubs, a far cry from today's raw-vegan- everything-free- wheatgrass-chia smoothie fuelled treadmill aficionado.

One of the interviewees, Eddie Johnson's Matt speaks about the birth of his vocation and successful musical career growing up at the Two Puddings, while writer Barry Keefe recalls listening to infamous patrons, likely muses for The Long Good Friday.

While theatre icon Joan Littlewood and painter Francis Bacon are also mentioned, the documentary shares stories of more unfortunate patrons, the pub's name itself linked to the neighbourhood's homeless.

While lacking some of the technical pizzazz other documentaries often offer us now, this reminder of what a neighbourhood can be and of the influence a soulful local business can have on its patrons is worth a thousand glossy aerial shots.

3/5

Tales from the Two Puddings is screened as part of the East End Film Festival at Stratford Picturehouse on 25 June. More info here.

Chasing Robert Barker - East End Film Festival 2016

Anne-Sophie Marie — 2016-06-21T20:26:54Z

This international production directed by Daniel Florenico follows David Pillard, a once talented photographer, now broken down paparazzi, as he himself chases a tabloid story. Before the film ends, David will find something quite different from what he was initially looking for.

Gudmundur Thorvaldsson is grippingly believable as the grieving and ailing photographer, as is Patrick Baladi who plays Olly, a classic London cad and David's partner in tabloid crime.

Chasing Robert Barker - Trailer from i made it films on Vimeo.

Though the tabloid world was an intriguing one to finally observe, the plot itself failed to fully satisfy, especially as the real story didn't really seem to emerge until the very end of the first hour.

This was probably due to a few subplots involving characters which often felt two dimensional (and no compelling female character aside from David's ex-wife who never appears)... Or possibly because the world that inspired the film isn't a rich enough one for a commanding narrative? Finally, after a more engaging third act, the finale felt almost anti-climatic, even if it raised interesting questions.

2/5

Chasing Robert Barker is screened as part of the East End Film Festival, at Rich Mix on 24 June. More info here.

Love Is Thicker Than Water - East End Film Festival 2016

Anne-Sophie Marie — 2016-06-21T19:34:03Z

In this contemporary London romance directed by award-winning director Emily Harris (Three Towers) and cult film veteran Ate de Jong (Drop Dead Fred), Vida, a young Jewish cellist from a wealthy background, falls madly in love with Arthur, a talented visual artist from a working class Welsh family. Will their passion for each other overcome the obstacles they face as they move in together and meet each other's families?

Though the film may not give us a definite answer, the way its wonderful cast (led by Lydia Wilson and Johnny Flynn) invites us into the two families gives us an insight into the different stages of love and romance, from the first kiss to the last.

Henry Goodman (Levi) and Juliet Stevenson (Ethel)'s performances are particularly moving as Vida's parents, leaving us inadvertently frustrated at the swift shift from one critical event to the other in the lives of the Berliner family. A feeling compounded by key moments all happening at once in a last push towards a resolution. Interest in the story and characters unfortunately wanes just
then, especially as Vida's childlike quality becomes more petulant and childish.

Zoran Veljkovic's cinematography, punctuated by animation to section the story into chapters and give us a glimpse of Johnny's work, gives the film a lovely blend of offbeat, urban and romantic, all to the sound of a very fitting indie score. Production design and costumes and makeup are also worth an honourable mention.

A solid 3.5/5

Love Is Thicker Than Water will be screened as part of the East End Film Festival, at Rich Mix on 25 June. More info and tickets here.

Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model - East End Film Festival 2016

Ryan Ormonde — 2016-06-16T13:41:08Z

London-based performance artist Bryony Kimmings first came to public attention with 7 Day Drunk, a show put together under the influence of alcohol. The subject of new documentary Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model is another ‘real world experiment' by Kimmings, who is now under the influence of her nine year-old niece, Taylor.

As an idea for a theatre show, this is brilliant: enough with Miley Cyrus! (That's 2013 twerking Miley Cyrus, not 2015 gender queer activist Miley Cyrus.) Let's come up with a pop star created by a child and reflecting a child's particular interests - like palaeontology, outer space and sweets.

Taylor is along for the intergalactic time-travelling ride, making Kimmings a shoe-in for the title of Best Aunty Ever. In the spirit of Robin Williams as Mrs Doubtfire (sort of), Kimmings gamely dresses up a sexually unthreatening figurehead for ‘tweens' (pre-teenage children). The sensibly named Catherine Bennett - or ‘C.B.' - is awkward, intelligent and, helpfully for Kimmings, not that good at singing.

All of this seems progressive, feminist, necessary and entertaining. The questions that arise are more to do with modes of presentation. Is this film a ‘popumentary' for a fictional singer? A documentation of an art piece? An extended trailer for a theatre show?
At one point in the film we are told that the purpose of the live show at Soho Theatre is to help publicise C.B.'s career. To really affect change, C.B. needs to succeed in the real world. Aunty and niece have even drawn up ‘Fame Aims' including a million YouTube views.

And yet the glimpses we get of the stage show (described on Kimmings' website as ‘not for kids') seem more interesting and complex than the Taylor-narrated story here. A scene in the documentary shows Taylor lying down with eyes closed and headphones on as her aunty tells the live audience things that are not for Taylor's ears. The stage set looks imaginative and mysterious; the costumes include silver armour in adult and child sizes, emulating warrior queen Boadicea.

In keeping with contemporary cultural (and commercial) modes, Credible… is clearly a multi-platform project. You might encounter C.B. on social media or when she visits your primary school. You can watch her YouTube video, download her music or see her do a gig. And there is this film too, at the very least an inspiring document of the project revealing the emotional impact on its creator, as well as a chance to watch C.B.'s hilarious debut music video in full. The East London Festival is presenting the screening with a Q&A, so it will be interesting to hear if there is still steam in the C.B. engine now that Taylor has progressed from tween to teen.

Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model has its world premiere at East London Film Festival on 2 July at the Hackney Picturehouse. See website for details.