The 21st session of the Residence opened on 1st October. For four and a half months, it will host six young filmmakers from around the world in Paris and provide them with the most supportive conditions for writing their first or second feature film. This morning, we rang the doorbell of a large Haussmann-style apartment building in the 9th arrondissement where they are staying, in order to find out more about their backgrounds.
Shahrabanoo Sadat
Ronin Hsu
Oscar Ruiz Navia
We met Chika Anadu (from Nigeria), Fernando Guzzoni (Chili), Ronin Hsu (China), Oscar Ruiz Navia (Colombia), Ruben Mendoza (Colombia) and Shahrabanoo Sadat (Afghanistan). They found out about the Residency in various ways: on the Internet (Chika), by noticing the Cinéfondation logo in the credits of films like La Niña Santa by Lucrecia Martel (Oscar), because they had already worked with the Cinéfondation – Ruben presented The Fence in the Film School Selection in 2005 and took part in the Atelier in 2008 – or because they had been noticed by Georges Goldenstern in other Festivals (Ronin).
This first month has given them a chance to get their bearings and share their experiences. They have watched many films, sometimes as many as four a day, and some have already spent time at the Moulin d’Andé. Oscar is particularly pleased, as he thinks he may have found the subject of his feature film there and is ready to start writing. As for Ruben, he is still trying to define the character of his film. Ronin and Shahrabanoo are writing copiously, especially at night. When asked the question, “What effect does theinternational dimension of this programme have on your work?”, they are unanimous in acknowledging how enriching it is to be exposed to the critical perspective of someone from another culture and to appreciate these differences that enable them to compare their own personal histories and that of their countries. As proof, they invented “Critics’ Night at the Residence”: for one week, they take turns in organising an evening during which they present their films to the other Residents and guests, along with typical dishes from their homelands.
Chika Anadu
Ruben Mendoza
Fernando Guzzoni
QUESTIONS ON HOW A FILM IS BORN
How does the idea for a film come about and how does it become a script?
Ruben: I always try to write a story as if it’s a piece of literature. I like words and I especially love playing with them. I write a lot; it’s almost become a sort of “straitjacket” for me!
Oscar: I came here with a first draft and now I’m concentrating on the structure of the film. I’m playing with the scenes, moving them about and adding new characters…but I already know that I will need to return to Colombia to finish the script…
Chika:For me, an idea for a film and its script always starts with images that seem to flash into my mind. I am always very inspired by visuals. I see a picture or a scene in my head, and I try to fill it in with people and questions like “Who lives here?”, “Who owns this phone”?
Shahrabanoo: When I arrived here, I didn’t have a complete script but rather an idea about how I was going to approach the project. I had the general concept: it was going to be a mix between a documentary and a fiction. I decided to shoot the documentary there and write the fiction here, so that I could mix them together at the end. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a very good experience in Afghanistan: my character was a doctor who was killed. So I couldn’t continue filming my documentary. Now, my subject is the same but I have to change everything.
Ronin: The idea for the script came to me a long time ago; I wrote it for one of my friends who is an actor.
Fernando: I arrived with an almost complete first draft of the script and now I’m trying to re-write some parts that I’m not happy with. This is my third version of the script and I am striving to finish it.
How do you feel when you pass from the writing stage to the production stage?
Oscar: I don’t believe in having a very polished script for my cinema, with excellent dialogues, etc. As I work with non-professional actors, I tend to write the dialogues with the actors when I’m filming them. So it all depends on the atmosphere of the scene. The most important thing is to keep a sense of spontaneity.
Chika: I’ve only made two short films so far. I try to work with people I know and trust, whose work I like. I know what I want and I tell them. When I think about producing this feature film, it scares me a little because my first short only featured two actors and there was no dialogue. In my second short, I was the only actress and I knew exactly what I wanted… But in this one, there are more characters…
Ruben: I’m always very excited before shooting, I love it! You can’t imagine just how mad and beautiful it is to shoot in my country. I work with non-professional actors and hold the camera myself. For me, the script is a comforting tool for the team.
Shahrabanoo: This is my first experience making a long feature film. I have an idea in my head and I really know what I want to show, what I want to say in the film. I don’t like to write everything down because I know that when I go back to Afghanistan to shoot the film, I will most probably have to change the story an awful lot.
Fernando: I really enjoy writing the script but when I’m shooting, the film takes on a life of its own, there’s so much spontaneity during filming. I am always really focused during the writing process, but then I gladly let myself be influenced by what’s happening around me or by the career of an actor, for instance.
Ronin: I suffer when I write, but I like the suffering! I enjoy seeing the script beginning to take shape. And when I start shooting, I get really excited. For me, everything depends on the story. Sometimes, I need a real script, and sometimes I only need one or two pages and everything comes to life during shooting.
Which filmmakers or films have inspired you? What made you want to work in cinema?
Chika: I didn’t know I wanted to be a filmmaker until four years ago. I was studying law and wanted to save the world and work for the UN … I always loved films. And then one day, I saw Cinema Paradiso and it was like a revelation. It is not my favourite film – not even in my top 20 – but it conveys a real love of cinema! It was just so beautiful. A light went on in my head: I was supposed to become a filmmaker.
Fernando:I don’t know exactly when I had the “revelation”, but there are a few filmmakers who inspire me and they are all different, ranging from Robert Bresson to Glauber Rocha. In fact, it all depends on what I’m working on. When I’m working on a film, I collect images that are related to my subject and use them as inspiration.
Oscar: I think I always wanted to become a filmmaker, or at least ever since I was at secondary school. My first references were Stanley Kubrick and Woody Allen, both of whom are masters of the art, of course. But the world of cinema is so vast! It was one of my teachers who made me realise that I still had so much to learn about cinema. Then I discovered Tarkovski’s work. Before, I didn’t believe in God but now I definitely believe in sacrifice!
Ruben: There are some directors who are very important to me, as important as my grandmother or father, for example. Because I think that cinema is in everything. You can write with a camera. And then I experienced some revelations, like discovering Buñuel. You can also make poetry out of cinema.
Shahrabanoo: I don’t remember exactly which directors or films inspired me at the beginning. I like a lot of directors, but for me, it’s a little different. I live in a very special country and, above all, cinema provides a very powerful way of expressing the problems there and changing the way people see Afghanistan, as something more than just a country racked by terrorism and war. It is my country’s special political situation that made me want to make films.
Ronin: Charlie Chaplin. He’s the reason I wanted to become a filmmaker. A long time ago, when I first watched his films, I didn’t realise right away how important he would be for me. But I also love a lot of other very different directors: Kusturica, Jim Jarmush, etc. The directors I like don’t inspire me, they influence me.
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