Author Archive

  Interview with Victor Boyer, director of La place du mort [The Dead Man’s Place] What did you want to explore in the relation between the two brothers? Initially, I was more interested in Samuel’s trauma rather than the relation between the two brothers: the death of one twin and the survivor’s arbitrary choice of identity. That past history made him a character with […]

  Interview with Quinn Else, director of Fort Irwin How did you come across Fort Irwin? What motivated you to make it the focus of a short film? Three years ago I met an American professor who told me he made money in the mid-2000s by pretending to be an Iraqi villager for United States military training. I was surprised by his bizarre story […]

  Interview with Jamille van Wijngaarden, director of Tienminutengesprek [School’s Out] What did you want to express or explore through this teacher’s rant? I wanted to show how this woman who’s been battered over years, enduring all sorts of scrutiny from her students’ parents, finally reaches her boiling point and unleashes all her fury. And I wanted to do this in a way that we […]

  Interview with Alexsander Baghdasaryan, director of Nor Tarva Goji [Christmas Roast] Firstly, could you explain the reference to a Christmas roast? We’ve made the translation more comprehensible for English speaking countries and this is how we had the Christmas Roast. In Armenian reality it is a suckling pig, which is served on a large dish without cutting. But it is also one of […]

  Interview with Ross McClean, director of Hydebank How did you come across Ryan and what made you want to tell his story? My first experience inside Hydebank was Christmas a few years ago to play a football match (we were defeated 22 – 3 by the prisoners). My interest was piqued by a small flock of sheep grazing alongside the pitch; all framed […]

  Interview with Noël Fuzellier, director of Mars Colony Where did you get the inspiration for Logan’s character? During a training course that I gave a few years ago, I met a very distracted, very noisy teenager, who was sometimes funny and often aggressive. He wouldn’t listen to anyone and seemed only to be there to disrupt the class. He had an incredible violence […]

  Interview with Marion Lacourt, director of Moutons, loup et tasse de thé [Sheep, Wolf and a Cup of Tea] The film is dedicated to your grandmother. Can you tell us more about the connection? The origin of the project is the image of my grandmother with bags of camomille tea on her eyes. That was one of the first pre-bedtime rituals I witnessed […]

  Interview with Cris Lyra, director of Quebramar Could you tell us a bit more about the title? A “quebramar” or breakwater is a wall of rock built to resist the strength of waves or currents that seek to wash over a piece of land. In our conversations about being a lesbian body in the patriarchy and about not performing standard femininity, we identify […]

  Interview with Claire van Beek, director of Daniel What did you seek to explore through Joan’s experience? I explore the power of desire; the importance of touch, and the complexity of female sexuality. I wanted to get inside the psyche of a young woman confronted with the force of sexual desire. Joan suddenly finds that her solace and routine is ripped apart and replaced with […]

  Interview with Randa Maroufi, director of Bab Sebta The film is dedicated to your father. Could you tell us a bit more about what he did? My father was a customs inspector until the end of the 90s. He worked mainly in the Laâyoune, Casablanca and Marrakech airports. Many members on my mother’s side of the family are from the north and work […]