Interviews
Ira Sachs (Keep the Lights On) | Interview
Monday, May 21st, 2012It is 1997 and New York City is in a state of intense flux when documentary filmmaker Erik Rothman (Thure Lindhardt) first meets Paul Lucy (Zachary Booth), a handsome but closeted lawyer in the publishing field. What begins as a highly charged first encounter soon becomes something much more, and a relationship quickly develops. As the two men start building a home and life together, each continues to privately battle their own compulsions and addictions. A film about sex, friendship, intimacy and most of all, love, Keep the Lights On takes an honest look at the nature of relationships in our times. Writer-director Ira Sachs’ Keep the Lights On won the Teddy for Best Feature Film at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival. Our European contributor Anna Bielak chatted with Sachs at Berlinale. Anna Bielak: During the Q&A after the Keep The Lights On screening at the Berlinale you said that there are about three thousand people you would like to thank. What kind of problems did you face during shooting the film? Ira Sachs: To be honest I need to admit that shooting Keep The Lights On didn’t take lots of time. I finished the script in January 2011 and had lots of freedom on the set. I was using money as it came in slowly, but from many different sources. I got enormous support from various homosexual societies in New York, which were interested in my project because of its subject.
Joachim Trier (Oslo, August 31st) | Interview
Sunday, May 20th, 2012Norwegian writer-director Joachim Trier’s second feature — Oslo, August 31st — follows Anders (Anders Danielsen Lie) as he nears successfully completing treatment at a drug rehab in the Norwegian countryside. Anders is permitted to travel to Oslo for a job interview, but he uses the opportunity to attempt to reconnect with friends and family. Anders is as smart and handsome as ever, but he is deeply haunted by all of the past opportunities he has wasted and all of the people he has disappointed. He may feel like his life is already over but he tries to maintain a fleeting glimmer of hope. An official selection at Cannes Film Festival 2011 (Un Certain Regard), AFI Fest 2011, Toronto International Film Festival 2011, Sundance Film Festival 2012 and New Directors/New Films Festival 2012, Oslo, August 31st is a harrowing character study that is certain to leave no viewer unscathed. We chatted with Trier on the eve of Strand Releasing’s theatrical release of Oslo, August 31st in the United States. Don Simpson: What is the significance of the date August 31st? Joachim Trier: We have very clearly defined seasons in Norway. There is something about the last day of summer in Norway — there is a sense of melancholy that I think suits the story perfectly, as the beauty of summer begins to wither. Being a film buff, to name a film after a specific time and place, using the fundamental elements of cinema — space and time. The film is also a farewell letter, and you sign a letter with a place and date. All of that made us arrive at that title.
Rick Alverson & Tim Heidecker (The Comedy) | Video Interview
Wednesday, April 25th, 2012The Comedy is the case study of Swanson (Tim Heidecker); a privileged thirty-something slacker hipster from the affluent Williamsburg neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. With his father withering away in hospice care, Swanson faces the inevitable inheritance of the family’s estate. Due to his complete lack of responsibilities as well as unlimited free time, Swanson has a desensitized perception of the world around him. He pushes social buttons and boundaries with the same abrasive curiosity of a child poking a dead animal with a stick, and plods through life with a drag on those around him.
For me, The Comedy was the most emotionally dynamic film at SXSW 2012 due to director Rick Alverson’s astonishing job of allowing the natural wit of his comedic stars to thrive while keeping it within the bounds of the ironic title.
We had the opportunity to met up with director Rick Alverson and star Tim Heidecker at SXSW 2012 and have a conversation about The Comedy, which had it’s world premiere at Sundance in January. Enjoy!
Rob Thomas (Party Down) | Interview
Tuesday, April 17th, 2012Admittedly, I caught onto the Party Down craze after the show had already been cancelled; but the benefit of being late to the ball was that I could plow through the two seasons via Netflix Instant (back when Starz productions were available on Netflix Instant). Party Down was addictive as crack — not that I [...]
Jonny Mars (America’s Parking Lot) | Interview
Saturday, April 14th, 2012Jonny Mars’ directorial debut, America’s Parking Lot (which premiered at SXSW 2012), is a multi-faceted documentary about the renowned Dallas Cowboys’ Gate 6 tailgaters. In terms of its narrative arc and development of conflict, America’s Parking Lot is damn near perfect. Mars’ astute understanding of the documentary form astounds me. If I didn’t know any [...]
David Zellner, Nathan Zellner & Sydney Aguirre (Kid-Thing) | Video Interview
Tuesday, March 27th, 2012Shot from the perspective of a young girl named Annie (Sydney Aguirre), Kid-Thing seamlessly blends fairy tale-like surrealism with gritty realism. Annie’s mother is long gone and her father (Nathan Zellner) is unfit to be raising goats let alone a prepubescent girl. More often than not, Annie’s father appears to be drunk (or maybe that [...]
Matt Ruskin, Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul (Booster) | Interview
Monday, March 26th, 2012With his debut narrative feature film Booster, Matt Ruskin has made a gem of a movie that on its surface is a Boston crime drama but underneath that skin lies the heart of a 70′s American cinematic character study that is more about family and the ties that bind than it is about crime and [...]
Nate Meyer (See Girl Run) | Interview
Saturday, March 24th, 2012You probably think that you have already seen the plot of writer-director Nate Meyer’s See Girl Run played out countless times before; but Meyer respectfully approaches this quirky indie rom-com as a serious romantic drama. Most importantly, Meyer removes all of those annoying clichés that have somehow become inseparable from the rom-com genre. See Girl [...]
Bill Ross IV and Turner Ross (Tchoupitoulas) | Interview
Friday, March 23rd, 2012Bill and Turner Ross’ Tchoupitoulas does a tremendous job of defying classification. It functions as both a surreal documentary that borrows from narrative storytelling techniques and a narrative film that paints a realistic portrait of its protagonists by utilizing documentary devices. The narrative unfolds like an improvised jazz album with various tangents that flow seamlessly [...]
Jonathan Lisecki, Jenn Harris and Matthew Wilkas (Gayby) | Interview
Friday, March 23rd, 2012How do best friends go about making a baby? No, they are not married…or even dating, for that matter. Jenn (Jenn Harris) and Matt (Matthew Wilkas) are best friends from college. They are now in their thirties and currently single. Jenn has just never met the guy for her; neither has Matt, who is still [...]
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