Tea time with The Dockworker’s Dream

Interview with Bill Morrison, director of The Dockworker’s Dream

 How did you choose the excerpts? How many videos did you watch overall?
The origins of “The Dockworker’s Dream” goes back to the Clermont Ferrand festival of 2014. I was on the Labo jury with Kurt Wagner of Lambchop. Mario Micaelo asked us if we would want to collaborate on a project which would premiere as a live event at the 2015 edition of Curtas Vila do Conde. As the film would be produced by the Portuguese, we decided that we would ask Cinemateca Portuguesa to provide seldom seen clips from their collection, as a way of establishing a parameter for the project. That summer I went to Lisbon, where Mario and I visited the Cinemateca Portuguesa outside of town. We were able to select titles to screen from their website, based on descriptions of the films. We pulled both film prints and videos for previewing. I’m not sure how many different films we looked at. Maybe 30? I began by taking themes that I found compelling, and gradually a storyline emerged, and I began also choosing scenes that rhymed with what I had already selected.

 Why did you want to work in black and white and how did you work on the reel’s scratches?
Old films are often black and white, and often have scratches. I did nothing to alter either of these pre-existing conditions. If you are asking why do I choose to work with old film, I find it fascinating how cinema has the capacity to store time.

 Why were you interested in the ship and the sale? Did you see it more like workers daily routine or a hommage to the legacy of trading?
Both. Portugal of course has a rich nautical history, with the accompanying activities of trade and colonialism. The workers are seen as the those who synthesize the imported goods, the sailors, longshoremen, weavers, and spinners that transport and process raw material. I saw a kinship with my own practice as a filmmaker, and “doc”-worker.

 Why were you interested in the animals running?
You can see the hunt as an attempt to capture the fleeting, the ineffable, and the wild and rare. I though it was a good metaphor for both the content and the making of the film.

 What films have inspired you this year?
Films released in 2016? I liked I Called Him Morgan, Cameraperson, Hell or High Water, Arrival, Elle, O Ornitólogo, O Futbol, La mort de Louis XIV, Kaisa’s Enchanted Forest…Probably a few more I’m forgetting.

 If you’ve already been to the Clermont-Ferrand, could you share with us an anecdote or story from the festival? If not, what are your expectations for this edition?
Well unfortunately I won’t be attending this year as I have a feature-length doc out now that I am supporting – “Dawson City: Frozen Time” – which will be playing at another festival during Clermont-Ferrand. But I have attended the festival twice before. As I mentioned, in 2014 Kurt Wagner, Sergio Oksman, and I were the Lab jury. As there were not that many films to judge, we had a lot of free time on our hands, and consequently we made a lot of friends at the bars and restaurants in town. I can remember Kurt reading the menu and asking what a “côtelette d’agneau” was. Good times.

 Are any other releases scheduled?
It’s playing the festival circuit, but Merge Records and City Slang Records also released it as a video to promote Lambchop’s record FLOTUS. The 18 minute track “The Hustle” off that record is the entire score of the film. NPR in the US featured item film on their site when the record was released last fall.

 Are you taking part in other events during the Clermont Ferrand Film Festival? (Espressos, Conferences, other?)
Again, I regrettably will not be attending the year, but if I were, I would be taking in a lot more than espresso.

The Dockworker’s Dream is being shown in Lab Competition L4.