From the Mouths of Filmmakers: Lukas Kendall

Lukas Kendall

FROM THE MOUTHS OF FILMMAKERS:

LUKAS KENDALL
By Lukas Kendall and Joshua Handler 

Recently I've been disturbed by the amount of people who don't seek out independent films, non-English-language films, and classics.  So, I asked some of the most distinctive voices in independent and world cinema to submit responses to a few questions about why/if they think indies/non-English-language films/classics are important to view, and how those films have been influential on their careers.

The responses below are from Lukas Kendall, co-writer/executive producer of Lucky Bastard, one of 2014's most underrated films and one of the best found-footage films in recent years.  That film shows that the genre has some life left in it.  I interviewed Lukas and his co-writer, co-executive producer, and the director of Lucky Bastard back in February.  That interview can be found here.

Lukas decided to answer the questions all at once. Here are the questions and below them are Lukas' responses:

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view independent and world cinema and why?

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view films of the past and why?

How has viewing indies and films from around the world helped you as a filmmaker?

What's one American film and one film not in English that you would recommend that film-lovers or young/aspiring filmmakers see?

I would prefer to answer all four of these questions at once. It is essential for a filmmaker to immerse him or herself in movies from different eras and countries for the simple reason that movies are not just pictures and sound. They are art, which is to say, they are about the meaning of life and all the subtleties and ambiguities of existence. If you are inspired by only one kind of movie—let’s say, modern-day genre films—you are being locked into only one set of cultural assumptions about life. For an artist to say something about life, he or she has to ask questions—and I don't see how anybody can ask questions without being aware of the possibilities of different ideas about aesthetics and cultural mores of everything under the sun, from gender to political to social issues and more. (It goes back to the heralded David Foster Wallace commencement address about fish swimming in water—read it!) 

Watching movies from other eras and cultures is not the entire answer, but it gives you insight into the vast amount of cultural baggage that we all carry, and you can begin to do more than simply replicate what you see in current films. (It will also let you trace the origins of trends and innovations that might otherwise strike you as having been cut from whole cloth—in almost all cases, they’re not.) There is something to be said for originality that is spontaneous, but also originality that is inspired by efforts from the past and other cultures. It would be hard to recommend only one film or era, but I would single out the French New Wave as critical to explore, from the avant-garde Godard masterpieces to the more romantic films by Truffaut.

From the Mouths of Filmmakers continues on Wednesday. 

From the Mouths of Filmmakers: Hany Abu-Assad

Hany Abu-Assad
Photo by Kevin Winter - © 2014 Getty Images - Image courtesy gettyimages.com

FROM THE MOUTHS OF FILMMAKERS:

HANY ABU-ASSAD
By Hany Abu-Assad and Joshua Handler 

Recently I've been disturbed by the amount of people who don't seek out independent films, non-English-language films, and classics.  So, I asked some of the most distinctive voices in independent and world cinema to submit responses to a few questions about why/if they think indies/non-English-language films/classics are important to view, and how those films have been influential on their careers.

The responses below are from two-time Oscar-nominee, Hany Abu-Assad, writer/director of Paradise Now and Omar. 

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view independent and world cinema and why?

Absolutely important. I feel the most powerful thing cinema can do is let human beings from different cultures or classes live in stories and with characters that are far from their reality. Cinema allows you to live the story of a lawyer, a hero, a criminal, a religious man, etc. Cinema moves you emotionally and pushes you to think about greater issues than yourself. This kind of experience (to be emotionally moved and pushed to think) enriches you as a human being. The more diversity of stories and language you see in cinema, the better enrichment you get.

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view films of the past and why?

Again, absolutely important. One of the major reasons why humans beings develop is because we save our history. Not always, but sometimes, we learn from this history. I believe that people who develop themselves are people who are able to learn from their history. Films from the past are a part of our cinema history, and we should always evaluate them.

How has viewing indies and films from around the world helped you as a filmmaker?

A good example of a movie that inspired me as a filmmaker is Close-Up directed by Abbas Kiarostami. Close-Up moved me but let me also question things that I thought I knew as well as the language of cinema and the perception of the language. Above that, the movie allowed me to look inside the judicial system in Iran. This movie doesn't just help me explore the fine line between fiction and nonfiction, but it allows me to better understand the relationship between right and wrong. There are a lot of movies that have done this to me, and I believe, without them, I wouldn't have become who I am. 

Did viewing indies/films from around the world/classics influence you when creating PARADISE NOW, OMAR, or any of your other films?

Without watching movies - the Classical movies of Hollywood, the dramas of Egypt, the melodramas of Turkey, the musicals of India, the minimalist movies of Asia, the militant movies of Latin America, the beautiful African films, and the experimental films of Europe, I truly don't know if I'd have been able to do Paradise Now and Omar. 

What's one American film and one film not in English that you would recommend that film-lovers or young/aspiring filmmakers see?

I would love to recommend The Vanishing from Holland and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest from USA.

From the Mouths of Filmmakers continues on Monday.

An Interview with Jacki Weaver

Left to right: Hamish Linklater as Brice and Jacki Weaver as Grace

Photo by Jack English © 2014 Gravier Productions, Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

AN INTERVIEW WITH JACKI WEAVER

By Joshua Handler

Actress Jacki Weaver has had one of the most interesting careers of anyone working today.  For the first few decades of her career, Weaver was only known in her native Australia.  However, in 2010, she starred in David Michôd's Animal Kingdom and earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.  Two years later, Weaver earned a second Oscar nomination for her supporting role in David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook.  Now Weaver is in Woody Allen's Magic by the Moonlight as a woman who believes that Emma Stone's character can speak to her dead husband.  I sat down with Weaver a few weeks ago to discuss her role and working with Woody Allen.

I asked Jacki how she first got involved in the film.  She said that she got a call from her agent and, "I said, 'Will he want me to read?' and they said, 'He never has people read,' so I went to the office and met him [Woody Allen].  He said, 'How do you do?  I would like you to be in my next film,' and he said, 'But I want to make sure you like it first, so could you just have a look at these couple of scenes in this room?  Go in there by yourself and let me know what you think and you have to be honest.'  He said, 'If you hate it, just say so, and I'll find another project we can do together.'  So I went and read it.  I thought it was hilarious.  I came out and said, 'I really love this, I'd like to play all these women,' and he said, 'Well you can't.  You have to play Grace, you can only play Grace,' and I said, 'Well I'd love to,' and he said, 'Okay, I'll see you next July in France,' and that was it!  And I walked out onto Park Avenue and my feet didn't touch the pavement I was so excited, and I rang everybody I could think of.  I had to lean against a building when I spoke to my manager I was so overwhelmed. [Woody Allen]'s one of the greatest living filmmakers, well one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Theres such a variety in his work..."

As should be very evident by now, Weaver is a huge Woody Allen fan.  I asked her what her favorite Woody Allen film is and she said, "I'll always have a soft spot for Zelig, and you know when I was a kid, we used to be able to replicate his standup routines from his vinyl.  We used to do all of it, including...the accent.  But then I also love Interiors, for instance, and I love A Midsummer Night's Sex Comedy, and I love Hannah and Her Sisters and Crimes and Misdemeanors and Annie Hall and Husbands and Wives and Broadway Danny Rose and The Purple Rose of Cairo, and there's so many good ones.  And most recently, I think Match Point is a wonderful film."

Later in our chat, Weaver was discussing being on the Magic in the Moonlight set: "I just love him [Allen] so much, and then to be on his film, sitting on that set every day surrounded by all those wonderful actors in that idyllic setting in the south of France wearing those extraordinary, genuine, authentic costumes from the 1920s.  At one point, I was wearing $3 million of jewelry.  But just looking across, and there he [Woody Allen] was sitting in his director's chair looking at his monitor and [I was] thinking to myself, 'This is something that I never expected to happen to me.'  I was perfectly content with my career in Australia, and suddenly, I've just been so lucky."

I asked Jacki whether the shooting location affects the way that she acts in a film, and she replied, "Well it doesn't affect the performance...but it's broadened my mind enormously because in the past three years I've shot films in not only several states in America, but also in Budapest and in Berlin and Puerto Rico, and all American films, and I've always loved film crews, but they're the same the world over.  It's been an eye-opener for me to see not the differences but the similarities between the way people make pictures.  You have to have a passion, you have to be prep to do a 17-hour day, and in so many cases, it's work of love - it's people making art that they really care about."

We also discussed whether the other actors influenced her performance.  On this she said, "I think part of being a good actor is being a very thorough listener and [the other actors] were all so good.  It was not a chore at all to listen to them so the interaction was terrific.  I really felt like Hamish [Linklater] was my son, and I was delighted Erica [Leerhsen] was my daughter. When you're surrounded by good actors, it kind of lifts your own game and it's chemistry again, things work out."

Weaver had some fascinating insights into her character and the film as a whole: "Part of [Grace's] neediness is she's in mourning for her husband, and I know what that's like, and she wants comfort and this is a way to get it. And I think that's also one of the themes of the film: is it wrong to give people hope and comfort?  You shouldn't exploit them.  Why tell her it's all a lie if it's made her happy?  I think the film has other themes about love vs. logic and how the chemistry of love is something that can't be explained away by science.

"As a viewer myself, as a spectator, I never have magic tricks explained to me.  I want to believe in the magic, and I think that there's two types of people in this world: those that need it all explained and those who want to just be taken in by the charm of the trickery."

Magic in the Moonlight is currently playing in theaters.

From the Mouths of Filmmakers: Damon Lindelof

Damon Lindelof
Image courtesy WireImage.com

FROM THE MOUTHS OF FILMMAKERS:

DAMON LINDELOF
By Damon Lindelof and Joshua Handler 

Recently I've been disturbed by the amount of people who don't seek out independent films, non-English-language films, and classics.  So, I asked some of the most distinctive voices in independent and world cinema to submit responses to a few questions about why/if they think indies/non-English-language films/classics are important to view, and how those films have been influential on their careers.

The responses below are from Damon Lindelof, co-creator and showrunner of Lost, co-creator of The Leftovers, co-producer of Star Trek, co-writer/co-producer of Star Trek Into Darkness, co-writer of World War Z, and co-writer/co-executive producer of Prometheus.  Damon also co-wrote/co-produced Brad Bird's upcoming film, Tomorrowland. 

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view independent and world cinema and why?

It is absolutely important.  Limiting oneself to just "Hollywood" movies is borderline shameful for anyone who wants to tell stories for a living... Indies and foreign films are nothing short of mind-expanding!   

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view films of the past and why?

When I was nine years old, my dad starting taking me into New York City to see Orson Welles and Preston Sturges (his two favorites) film retrospectives.  I remember this vividly... not just seeing a film from the "past", but seeing it in a THEATER... nothing could have been more magical.  We study history under the auspices of not being "doomed to repeat it," but we study film history for the exact opposite reasons.  

How has viewing indies and films from around the world helped you as a filmmaker?

Certainly, my movie work would easily be viewed as more "mainstream," but I love foreign cinema (my favorite is Michael Haneke) and am incredibly influenced by ambiguous storytelling which seems much more accepted and embraced in indie and foreign formats, particularly in my television work.

What's one American film and one film not in English that you would recommend that film-lovers or young/aspiring filmmakers see?

Everyone MUST see both Locke and Under the Skin.  Two astonishing movies unlike anything I've ever seen before.

From the Mouths of Filmmakers continues on Friday.

THE DOG Review

John Wojtowicz in THE DOG
Courtesy of Drafthouse Films

THE DOG

2014, 100 minutes

Not Rated

Review by Joshua Handler

"I'm like Babe Ruth, but I'm the gay Babe Ruth. I hit a home run, right?  I hit a home run.  Know why I hit a home run?  'Cause I beat the fuckin' system," brags John Wojtowicz in Allison Berg and Frank Keraudren's The Dog.  The Dog is yet another doc that proves that the truth is always stranger than fiction.  The film tells the story of John Wojtowicz, a man who robbed a bank in 1972 to pay for his lover's sex change operation.  His story was immortalized in the 1975 classic, Dog Day Afternoon.  Dog Day Afternoon's story is crazy, but it is nothing compared to the real story of John Wojtowicz (portrayed by Al Pacino in Dog Day Afternoon).

John Wojtowicz is the best kind of documentary subject because he's egotistical to the extreme, disgusting, obsessive, yet magnetic.  Wojtowicz' ego is so big it's frightening.  He makes it clear that he thinks that robbing the bank was the right thing to do.  He also makes it clear that he wants to be in charge of everything and that if he isn't, he will take charge.  And he is in charge of this film.  This is his story and very few other perspectives get in.  However, when they do, it's fascinating and reveals Wojtowicz to be a classic unreliable narrator.

The Dog isn't a showy film.  It's production values are very modest, but that's part of this movie's charm and genius.  This is a movie that lets its crazed subject do the talking.  Berg and Keraudren don't need to dress this movie up because their subject and his story is the best production value they could ever get.  Even if half of what Wojtowicz says in this film is a flat-out lie, it's so riveting to hear him tell stories that it does not matter.

In addition to everything else, The Dog is a comment on celebrity culture in America.  Wojtowicz became a celebrity of sorts because of Dog Day Afternoon.  This is disturbing, as Wojtowicz is not what you would call a good role model or someone that should be celebrated.  His becoming a celebrity says a lot about the people we celebrate.  In this case, the man that was celebrated was a criminal.  Much has been said about the twisted nature of our celebrity culture, and this film really gives it a first-hand look.

Overall, The Dog is an excellent doc that will satisfy just about everyone.  If you love Dog Day Afternoon, this movie will be especially impactful, but if you haven't seen Dog Day, you'll walk out of The Dog with two great things: an awesome movie that you need to see immediately and a great experience at the movie theater.

4/4

RICH HILL Review

RICH HILL 

2014, 91 minutes

Not Rated

Review by Joshua Handler

Winner of the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, Tracy Droz Tragos and Andrew Droz Palermo's Rich Hill is a moving portrait of three teens in the ironically-named Rich Hill, MO, an economically depressed town.  Tragos and Palermo follow the aforementioned teens around Rich Hill as they go about their daily lives.  The three that Tragos and Palermo document are phenomenal doc subjects, as they're incredibly open about themselves and their lives, sometimes startlingly so.

Because the teens' families are poor and some of their homes are broken, they are troubled, some more so than others.  It's painful to hear them recount stories of their childhoods.  Credit must be given to Tragos and Palermo for interviewing the teens' parents/guardians as well.  The sequences where the parents/guardians talk helps to create a much more complex portrait of their families and allow us to sympathize with them as well.

I've heard some call this movie "poverty porn," but I would argue against using that term, since the poverty portrayed here is never glamorized.  Yes, the film is beautifully shot and shows that there is some dignity in poverty, but this doesn't mean that poverty is glamorized.  There is no sugar-coating, which is one of the film's greatest strengths.  Tragos and Palermo stare the sadness of the these teens' situations in the face.  However, if they had reveled in the despair and rubbed our faces in it, Rich Hill would have been unwatchable.

While Rich Hill is an overall compelling film, I wish that there had been more exploration of the town of Rich Hill and how it became as depressed as it is.  The film is called Rich Hill, yet we really know very little about the town.  This information could have been included in a few short slides at the beginning of the film.

Overall, Rich Hill is a sad, eye-opening portrayal of poverty in modern-day America.  This is not the America that many of us know, yet it is the only America that millions live in every day.  Through Tragos and Palermo's camera, we are given a window into this other world.  I was moved by this film and think that many others will be as well.

3.5/4

From the Mouths of Filmmakers: Ziad Doueiri

Still of Ziad Doueiri in THE ATTACK (2012)

FROM THE MOUTHS OF FILMMAKERS:

ZIAD DOUEIRI
By Ziad Doueiri and Joshua Handler 

Recently I've been disturbed by the amount of people who don't seek out independent films, non-English-language films, and classics.  So, I asked some of the most distinctive voices in independent and world cinema to submit responses to a few questions about why/if they think indies/non-English-language films/classics are important to view, and how those films have been influential on their careers.

The responses below are from Ziad Doueiri, director/co-writer of 2013's The Attack (a film I consider a masterpiece and one of the most impressive films made on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict) and the director/writer of the 1998 Cannes and Toronto award-winner West Beirut.  Before beginning his directing career, Ziad was first assistant camera on all of Quentin Tarantino's films from Reservoir Dogs to Jackie Brown.

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view independent and world cinema and why?

I grew up in Beirut, Lebanon. Every film that was released in Beirut during my childhood and adolescence was imported: from Europe, New Wave, independent, US studio pictures, US independent, Italian neo-realism, erotic, pornographic (yes, Lebanon had porn theaters before in the 70's), martial arts from Asia, Indian, and Egyptian [films]. Today, I live in Paris, and it's very similar because there's a real international cinema scene here. Foreign films are not considered "Art House Movies". They are just films and they get distributed just like any other film. I get inspired from any good film. I still have a penchant for American films. The US has been coming out with some very interesting films, both...independent and...studio. BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD was a remarkable film. I still think about it.

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view films of the past and why?

I think it's important to view films from any period. Whatever you like. I have to admit, musicals were never my thing. I tried but couldn't get into it. However, I find myself relating more to films that came out in the '60's and '70's (if you want to consider the '60's and '70's as films from the past) simply because I was more exposed to them when I was growing up in Beirut. Sidney Lumet left an everlasting impact.

How has viewing indies and films from around the world helped you as a filmmaker?

I was a student in a French high school in Beirut. Part of the curriculum was to watch French films twice a week. That's when I was exposed to Resnais, Truffaut, Godard, etc. (I didn't understand a thing from Godard, but it felt hip to brag about it). Truffaut was wonderful, but so was Bruce Lee. One of my most influential films of all time, and I probably saw it more than 50 times, is RUMBLE FISH. That's indie at best.

Did viewing indies/films from around the world/classics influence you when creating THE ATTACK, WEST BEIRUT, or any of your other films?

I don't think the films I make are the result one particular category. It's the sum of everything I was exposed to.  I lived in three countries consistently, Lebanon, US and France. Juggling three different cultures certainly has something to do with my storytelling. In term of films' influence, I could say for example that Ron Fricke (KOYAANISQUATSI, CHRONOS, BARAKA, SAMSARA) was a great influence on me. Music plays a big part too.

What's one American film and one film not in English that you would recommend that film-lovers or young/aspiring filmmakers see?

I recommend THE VERDICT by Sidney Lumet. 

I recommend MEMORIES OF MURDER by Korean filmmaker Joon-Ho Bong. 

From the Mouths of Filmmakers continues on Wednesday.

CALVARY Review

Kelly Reilly as “Fiona” and Brendan Gleeson as “Father James Lavelle in CALVARY.
Photo courtesy of Fox Searchlight

CALVARY

2014, 104 minutes

Rated R for sexual references, language, brief strong violence and some drug use

Review by Joshua Handler

John Michael McDonagh is best-known for his 2011 film The Guard, a black comedy with Brendan Gleeson and Don Cheadle.  While I enjoyed the film, I didn't love it, so I was immediately wary of Calvary.  Calvary is a much more mature film that features a well-written screenplay and rich performances.  The film tells the story of Father James, a good priest who is told in confession that he will be killed in a week by a man who was sexually abused by a priest as a child.  Calvary follows Father James throughout that week as he tries not to succumb to the malice around him.

Brendan Gleeson is one of the best actors working today.  Every single performance of his is masterful, and this one is no exception.  With his usual wit and deep introspection, Gleeson owns this role and creates a morally divided man beautifully.  Father James is a good man, but also a judgmental one.  With each person he meets, he learns how to judge less and to forgive more.

Kelly Reilly is the other standout as Father James' daughter, Fiona.  In the midst of all of the darkness, she is the light, so to speak.  Fiona is the love of Father James' life and one of the people who keeps him from falling into despair.  Reilly's calm presence makes her a joy to watch.  Her greatest moments are in the final scene of the film.

McDonagh's screenplay is masterful.  At first, I wasn't sure where he was going with Calvary, however, once I figured out how McDonagh was operating, I fell in love with the film.  This is a movie of many layers and the themes that McDonagh explores are provocative to say the least.  McDonagh's main themes are sexual abuse in the Catholic Church and the testing of faith.  Father James' goodness is tested at many points, as everyone around him is troubled.  The exploration of sexual abuse is heartbreaking, but McDonagh lightens the mood with a little of his signature black humor.

Overall, Calvary is a provocative, dark, pained film filled with great beauty.  Gleeson and Reilly are excellent and the final two scenes moved me more than most I've seen this year.  This movie will be too much for many, but for those interested in a film about redemption that's also a hard look at the effects of the Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal on the people of Ireland, this is a must-see.

3.5/4

THE TRIP TO ITALY Review: Rooftop Films Summer Series

Rob Brydon (left) and Steve Coogan (right) in THE TRIP TO ITALY
Photo courtesy of IFC Films

THE TRIP TO ITALY

2014, 107 minutes

Not Rated

Review by Joshua Handler

This film was shown through the Rooftop Films Summer Series.  For $13 (occasionally a little more) you can see an advance screening of a film hot off the festival circuit, usually with a Q&A, and with live music and an after party on a rooftop in one of NYC's five boroughs.  No one asked me to write this - I simply think that these events are stellar.  

Discussion topics in Michael Winterbottom's The Trip to Italy range from The Diving Bell and the Butterfly to the pronunciation of Alanis Morissette's name, and Rob Brydon and Steve Coogan's impressions range from Marlon Brando to a person covered in ash at Pompeii (and of course an updated The Dark Knight Rises version of Michael Caine).  For 107 minutes, we are treated to listening to Brydon and Coogan's improvised dinner and road conversations.  While this may sound like a slog, it is far from it, as Brydon and Coogan's conversation topics are so consistently relatable and flat-out bizarre that they easily carry the movie.

Watching The Trip to Italy is like joining a few (ridiculously funny) friends for a road trip.  Brydon, Coogan, and Winterbottom have worked together on a number of films, so as a result, this movie moves with remarkable ease.  Brydon and Coogan naturally have amazing chemistry, which makes their conversations very engaging.

The highlight of this movie is, of course, the Michael Caine impressions.  While I haven't seen the first film in its entirety, I've of course seen the now-famous Michael Caine impressions.  I won't say too much about this film's impressions, but they're pee-your-pants funny.

What's most admirable about this Trip, though, is the pathos.  While this film is through-and-through a comedy, there is a dose of pathos that's impossible to ignore, as it adds another unexpected layer to the film.  Coogan and Brydon explore marital infidelity and the cost of aging...but not without a healthy dose of humor.  The ending of the film is unexpected and poignant, giving the film a bittersweet touch that works quite well.

Overall, The Trip to Italy is a piece of entertainment that mixes laughs, food porn, and pathos to great effect.  While it is a bit too long, the length rarely detracts, since the laughs begin again as soon as a slow spot is reached.  If you love Coogan and Brydon, this is a must-see.  If you love Richard Linklater's Before Trilogy, this is a must-see.  I enjoyed myself immensely.

3.5/4

From the Mouths of Filmmakers: Andrew Renzi

ANDREW RENZI Photographer: Harry Fellows

FROM THE MOUTHS OF FILMMAKERS:

ANDREW RENZI
By Andrew Renzi and Joshua Handler 

Recently I've been disturbed by the amount of people who don't seek out independent films, non-English-language films, and classics.  So, I asked some of the most distinctive voices in independent and world cinema to submit responses to a few questions about why/if they think indies/non-English-language films/classics are important to view, and how those films have been influential on their careers.

The responses below are from Andrew Renzi, director of Fishtail and the upcoming drama, Franny, starring Richard Gere and Dakota Fanning.  Andrew also executive produced Antonio Campos' highly acclaimed debut, Afterschool (Cannes 2008), and Alistair Banks Griffin's Two Gates of Sleep (Cannes 2010), among many other films.

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view independent and world cinema and why?

If you aspire to make films, you probably get some amount of pleasure out of watching films, so you shouldn't deprive yourself, and you should seek out wider and more unexpected outlets to experience that pleasure.  And if nothing else, you should see them so you don't make the same movie by accident.

Do you feel that it is important for aspiring filmmakers and filmgoers to view classics and why?

I think this goes for anything... if you want to do something well, you should at least have an understanding of what came before you.  You don't have to be a film historian, but if you aspire to be a filmmaker and you don't enjoy discovering the work of people who have done it before you, what's the point of carrying on the tradition?  You should just invent a new form of storytelling rather than expanding upon a medium you don't even enjoy.  It would be pretty exciting to have someone make a movie who has never seen a movie before, but that's more of a case study really.  Also, there's nothing worse than when someone asks you if you've seen a movie, and you haven't.  It's important to see movies so you don't have to be a liar when someone puts you on the spot.

How has viewing indies and films from around the world helped you as a filmmaker?

Watching a movie for the first time is always an experience, good or bad it evokes very specific feelings.  Knowing how certain movies have made me feel, and why, is helpful when I'm making something of my own. When I'm working on my own stuff, it's like being on the ground floor of those feelings you get when you watch a film for the first time.  

Did viewing indies/films from around the world/classics influence you when creating FISHTAIL, FRANNY, or any of your other films?

Of course.  But I think that when it comes down to execution, and communicating those influences with the people I work with, I'll probably reference something like a piece of furniture more often than I'll actually reference a movie. Because for me, it's easier to be specific. But I may have seen that piece of furniture in a movie!  

What's one American indie and one film not in English that you would recommend that film-lovers or young/aspiring filmmakers see? 

For the American film, I remember watching Ramin Bahrani's Goodbye Solo and feeling something similar to the first time I saw The Bicycle Thief.  I was happy to have a contemporary American director do that for me.

And for a non-English-language film, I remember seeing Pietro Germi's "Divorce Italian Style" and feeling both very proud and very ashamed to be Sicilian. 

From the Mouths of Filmmakers continues on Monday.