Author Archive

  An interview with Mikael Marignac, director of Kajaani  Why did you decide to use the name of the region in the film as its title? Kajaani is a small town located in the middle of Finland. It’s the town where my mother was born and raised. Part of my family is still there. So that’s the place where I made my first film. […]

  An interview with Sylvia Le Fanu, director of Abu Adnan  Are Adnan and his son based on people you’ve met? Were you inspired by real-life stories? In fact, the story is originally based on my own experience with foreign parents in Denmark. I know what it is like to feel ashamed that my parents were not like the other parents, and I can […]

  An interview with Carlos Conceiçao, director of Coelho Mau (Bad Bunny)  Who is the “bad bunny” in this story? He is about to understand defeat, loss, loneliness – which makes him angry. He is also in the process of becoming invisible: to his mother because she escapes into a sort of wayward bubble where he won’t have a role; and to his sister […]

  An interview with Salvatore Lista, director of Le visage (Exposure)  What made you want to focus on the world of video games? I have always loved the images in video games. Without necessarily being a gamer or having spent hours on gaming networks, I love seeing the images, worlds, drawings, characters and stories that come from this imagination, and have since the games […]

  An interview with Niki Lindroth von Bahr, director of Min Börda (The Burden)  What was the idea behind the use of animals? I’ve used animal characters in all of my films, I like to see them as modern fables in a way. The animal look also creates a kind of cuteness filter between the audience and the actual story, that might add some […]

  An interview with Francesca Scalisi, co-director of Ligne noire  What exactly does the “ligne noire” refers to? What does it symbolise? The title Ligne noire refers to the trail of oil that, in the aftermath of the Sundarbans oil spill accident, left its indelible black mark on the coastal areas of Bangladesh for hundreds of kilometers. Symbolically, this black line embodies the idea […]

  An interview with Jerry Carlsson, director of Skuggdjur (Shadow Animals)  Could you explain the choice of title? What are these mysterious shadow animals? I believe that humans are shadow animals, social creatures trying to imitate others to fit in. In our subconscious, we carry all the aspects of ourselves that our egos don’t want to acknowledge or show, because it’s not accepted in […]

  An interview with Lawrence Valin, director of Little Jaffna  Is there an autobiographical element to the film? To the character Seelan? Why did you decide to talk about Little Jaffna? A little. My parents are political refugees. They fled the war and I grew up with some background on the conflict, which received very little media coverage. I grew up without a father […]

  An interview with Zara Dwinger, director of Sirene  What did you seek to explore through the character of Kay? I wanted to explore the feelings of confusion a teenager can experience when their identity is not as clear as they thought it was. Nowadays, gender and identity are more connected than ever. I didn’t encounter the specific doubts about gender that Kay experiences, […]

  An interview with Agathe Riedinger, director of J’attends Jupiter (I’m Waiting for Jupiter) The film is very bright and full of pastel colors. Can you tell us a little bit about that esthetic choice? Can you tell us something about the location where the story takes place? Even though it seems unreal, the film is about escape, a passage towards the light. Or […]