Dinner with Bon voyage
Interview with Marc Raymond Wilkins, director of Bon voyage
The story is told like a thriller (music, suspense, camera shots). What impression were you hoping to leave the audience with?
The topic of refugees escaping war and terror, confronted with a wealthy but paranoid society, is not new to cinema. But what has been happening in the Mediterranean Sea during the last few years is the most dramatic migrant crisis, at least since I’ve known how to read a newspaper. As a passionate sailor myself, the transformation of the “Mediterranean” holiday destination from a sailor’s paradise into a mass grave was terrifying. As I understand my own feelings of fear, anger or sadness as a constructive creative power, I decided to write Bon voyage. I wanted to make a film which is confronting the audience with the situation offshore without taking sides. I was trying to avoid pointing fingers or educating. I strongly believe in social political cinema, but I also wish to break out of the echo chambers and find a new audience. I wanted to create a captivating a sailing drama. A maritime thriller. A film an audience will want to watch, not out of social responsibility, but for the sake of cinema. I hope that questions and provocations of Bon voyage will continue to find a broad, international audience, as it is not a classic social drama, but a fast-paced thriller.
How did the international cast and crew get together?
This was quite a challenge. It was important to work with actors who have sailing experience, as we were shooting offshore, in the Mediterranean Sea. Our wonderful Swiss casting director Susan Müller introduced me to Annelore Sarbach and Stefan Gubser. It has to be said that Stefan Gubser came on board only 10 days before the shoot, as the actor who we originally cast could not participate anymore for personal reasons. It was quite an adventure to work with a lead actor whom I could not properly cast. But Stefan quickly became a fantastic partner to me and the whole crew. For the refugees, it was important for me to work with real Syrians. Not just “Arabic-speaking actors”. Beside authenticity, “collaboration” was important for me. I wanted to make a film by Syrian refugees not just about them. It is not easy to cast actors from a country which is in the middle of a horrifying war. But thanks to my Turkish crew, I was super lucky to discover Amal Omran, who blew me away during her first audition. It was her who introduced me to Jay Abdo, who escaped Damascus to LA, who became a wonderful partner to create the character of Karem, the spokesperson of the surviving refugees in the film. I came across Hala, the actress who played a little refugee girl, during my research. She belongs to a family who fled the bombing of the Yarmuk camp in Syria. For the smaller roles I was lucky to discover amazing amateurs, from Istanbul and also from Kas, the costal town where the filming took place.
Can you tell us about the funding process?
I totally underestimated the budget it needs to shoot, especially for safely, at sea. I started with a crowdfunding campaign first. Over 250 people from all over the world participated in putting together the start budget via Kickstarter. But luckily my unstoppable producer Joel Jent brought very supportive partners from Switzerland on board like The Swiss Film Funds, Zurich Film Foundation and Swiss Television. Without them, the production would have been impossible.
Are you looking to branch out into features? What projects do you have in the pipeline?
Oh yes. I adore the short film genre, but I am aiming at full-length feature films. At the moment we are in the final development stage of two feature films: The Electric Girl is an Ukrainian-Canadian coming-of-age-thriller with a political undertone, taking place in Kiev. The Saint of the Impossible is based on a novel by Arnon Grünberg, dealing with the downfall of the American dream in a bittersweet way.
Any cinematic coups de cœur in the past year you’d like to tell us about?
I was blown away by I, Daniel Blake. I am deeply impressed by Ken Loach’s storytelling power when bringing a highly political and very urgent, dramatic, but yet entertaining, film to a broad audience. It is inspiring to see how a director who has already created so many milestones is, despite his age, still growing. Can The Lobster be considered 2016? What a tough, dark, beautiful, witty and shocking story. I am still an optimistic idealist, but the darkness Yorgos Lanthimos wrapped us in was astounding and unforgettable.
If you’ve already been to Clermont-Ferrand, could you share with us an anecdote or story from the festival? If not, what are your expectations for this year?
I had the honor to show my last short film, Hotel Pennsylvania, at Clermont-Ferrand. It is the most exciting festival for short films in Europe, because it is treating shorts just as serious as Cannes or Berlin treat feature films. For a few days everyone forgets that films can be long. Cinema seems to be, in a good way, short only. And the enthusiasm of the French audience towards the “court métrage” is just incredible. Please let me ring the bells of pathos for a moment: the Jean Cocteau screen with 1400 seats is the best screen for a short film in the world!
Are any other releases scheduled?
Ouat Media is handling the world sales of Bon voyage. Some exciting release options are in the pipeline, but it is just a tad too early to talk about it. I got acquainted with Ouat Media in Clermont-Ferrand, by the way, when they discovered and signed my last short film Hotel Pennsylvania. I am planning to come to Clermont-Ferrand to present my film and will attend as many events as possible.
Bon voyage is being shown in International Competition I6.
