By Tom Ue. Marc Lahore grew up between a mountain of VHS and a heap of comics. He became a voluntary projectionist, then a TV editor, pursuing at the same time a university course in English language and culture. He directed a series of quite different, often strange, short films (the […]
Where Nobody Looks Into the Camera: A Conversation with Frederick Wiseman
By John Duncan Talbird. Frederick Wiseman is one of the most important and influential American documentary filmmakers, living or dead. In a career that spans nearly a half-century, he has directed forty documentaries, exploring all manner of human institutions from the mental institution to the welfare office, from a high […]
On Leaning into Emotions: An Interview with Catherine Hardwicke
By Anna Weinstein. Twilight director Catherine Hardwicke has directed six features since her award-winning debut Thirteen in 2003. Her most recent film, Miss You Already, is now in theaters, starring Toni Collette and Drew Barrymore and written by British screenwriter and actress Morwenna Banks. It’s unlikely anyone can escape this film without […]
The Impossibility of Anti-Montage: Sebastian Schipper on Victoria (2015)
November 7, 2015
By Amir Ganjavie. Various contemporary filmmakers like Aleksandr Sokurov and Shahram Mokri have tried to make features through single continuous takes, introducing creative ways to establish the relationship between digital technology, time, and cinema. Sebastian Schipper is among the latest generation of young directors who has entered the field with Victoria […]
Lensing 20th-Century Britain: An Interview with Sir Sydney Samuelson CBE
November 5, 2015
By David A. Ellis. Sydney Wylie Samuelson CBE was born on 7th December 1925 and is the son of film pioneer, producer and writer George Berthold Samuelson (1889-1947), who created Worton Hall and Southall Studios. Worton Hall in Isleworth housed one of the earliest film production companies in the UK. Sydney […]
Diva Directors Around the Globe: Spotlight on Anne Fontaine
October 25, 2015
By Anna Weinstein. French filmmaker Anne Fontaine has written and directed fourteen films since her debut in 1993. Her films, Dry Cleaning (1997), How I Killed My Father (2001), and Coco Before Chanel (2009) brought her international attention as a writer-director, and her film Nathalie (2003) was adapted into Atom […]
When a Room is No Longer Just a Room: An Interview with Eric Khoo
October 21, 2015
By Amir Ganjavie. Eric Khoo’s latest film, In The Room, is a tapestry of stories that all take place over several decades in Room 27 of the Singapura Hotel. Sex is the common thread of the tales and through the individual guests of the hotel we can observe all the facets […]
Between Order and Chaos: An Interview with Jerzy Skolimowski on 11 Minutes
October 8, 2015
By Amir Ganjavie. An out-of-control jealous husband, his sexy performer wife, an immoral Hollywood director, a careless drug messenger, a perplexed young woman, an ex-con hot dog seller, a struggling student on a obscure mission, an elderly sketch artist, a hectic paramedic team, a high-rise window cleaner on an illicit […]
From Weeping to “Balls-Out”: An Interview with Horror Icon Barbara Crampton
October 3, 2015
By Paul Risker. Looking back to You’re Next (2012) Barbara Crampton explains how: “It was with that movie that this spark for the love of acting was reignited in me.” If You’re Next marked her return to the screen after a hiatus, then appearing in four films (Sun Choke (2015), […]
Society’s Ailment(s): Sanna Lenken on My Skinny Sister
October 3, 2015
By Amir Ganjavie. Filmmaker Sanna Lenken’s debut feature, My Skinny Sister, concentrates on the societal problem of the eating disorder anorexia by investigating the love-hate relationship between two sisters. The winner of the Crystal Bear at Berlinale as well as an audience award at the Goteborg Film Festival, My Skinny […]