Lunch with Elektrika Diena

An interview with Vladimir Leschiov, director of Elektrika Diena

 Why did you choose a power cut to kick off the series of events?
It is how I feel about the times we are currently living in. There is nervousness, instability, and fragility of relationships between people in the modern world. Light is one of the main conditions for human beings to be safe and comfortable. We often lose control over the situation when a power cut happens, whether it is in our home, office or in hospital. In every moment of life.

 Are the characters based on anyone you know in real life?
No. All of them are just ordinary people. Some of them are the result of my imagination, and some of them recalled by observations in real life. I didn’t know them personally before we met each other during work over the film.

 Why did you choose this particular color scheme?
It’s hard to say. Probably, because I am artist it is not easy to explain my feelings about particular things. For me this brown-black-white palette is sort of visualisation of inner discomfort.

 Can you tell us about your animation style?
I don’t have a distinctive style, as most of my colleagues have. Every theme for me is very special and it tells me what kind of technique, and visual style I need to use. I like to work with my characters a lot, because they are great actors.

 Would you say that the short film format has given you any particular freedom?
I have never thought about it. For me it is much easier to work in short format, because it is always a challenge to say a lot of important things using few words (though I never use dialogue in my films). And it is definitely better than thinking about what else I need to say to make these 90 minutes. May be I am too slow, or just not ready to make a full-length animation yet, because it involves a lot of people. Yes, probably working alone gives me more freedom.

Elektrika Diena was shown in International Competition.