Twists in location, identity, relationships… director Alexandre Lemoine explores the highly contemporary theme of the hyper-reality in his film “City Game”, chosen for this year’s Official Selection ECU 2010.

By Susannah Nash

Q: With the idea of computer games, your film seems to have a very direct link to modern day society and leisure. Why specifically did you choose computer games?

Video games are a modern day phenomenon. This type of media is totally integrated into youth culture and lifestyle and has an effect on young people’s imagination and way of thinking. If the games aren’t shared, the gap between generations and how they understand each other only widens. Where there’s parental conflict, this problem can become worse, with kids who take refuge in a parallel universe- the world they can control. They imagine their reality through a prism made up of video games.

Q: Your characters change their clothes a lot. What is the importance of costume in the film?

Costumes are, of course, important. First of all they symbolise the passing of time. They also represent the child’s desire to reconstruct his own version of his father, creating a new identity for him. They are also, of course, an important aspect of the game that had to be shown in order to visualize the artificial nature of Toni’s world.

Q: Is there any significance in the fact that almost each character is from a different culture/ethnicity?

Diversity in my films is really important to me and there is never any link between actors’ geographical origin and their role in the story. The choice of actors was only based on their talent.

Q: What made you choose the 13th arrondissement as your location in Paris?

The film was filmed entirely in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, near Bibliothèque François Mitterrand. This area is all new with original, ultra modern architecture but yet isn’t futurist. It perfectly suits a setting timeless, almost artificial setting.

Q: Control and identity seem to be important themes in the film. Were these concepts you wanted to concentrate on, and if so why?

Yes, the whole film is based on these themes. The game allows the child to reverse the traditional power relationship and take the upper hand over a father he doesn’t understand. That allows him to control his father’s identity and “reconstruct” him- reinvent him just as he’d like him to be.

Q: The music is almost continuously present. How did you decide what music you wanted to use?

The use of music is a really personal wish, because I think it’s very important. I wanted it to be omnipresent (like in video games, in fact), really to accompany the image and add life to the scenes. Each sequence has its own musical theme, which is the fruit of long and early collaboration with the composer, before the final work based on the film itself.

Q: Are their any directors that have influenced your work or the atmosphere you wished to create?

As far as direct influences on this film, I can list a series of “Alfred Hitchcock presents” (short films, based on suspense plots directed partly by Hitchcock and made for TV), or one of the episodes of The Fourth Dimension. More generally, directors whose work influences me are: Christopher Nolan, Guy Ritchie, or, going further back, Louis Malle and Truffaut.

Q: Have you got any new projects on the horizon?

At the moment I’m continuing my more institutional directing work (adverts, web series, ad-campaigns) whilst I also work on a feature-length film script. I also have a short film project on the go.

Labelled a goldbrick or a loafer in the times before Poland’s democratic transformation in 1989, the eponymous ‘hero’ of Sebastian Czech’s documentary spends his days in carefree and alcohol fuelled bliss, in between dodging various prison sentences for failure to pay his debts.

A brutally honest and candid depiction of one man’s existence….

By Mairi Cunningham

Q: Firstly, tell me what motivated you to tackle the issues you did?

“You have to go and know how to read some signs. Maybe I just lost that ability. I must have encountered a cross wind along my way, you know…”. In my opinion Szczepan Przygoda is a good example of a person who made some mistakes during his life and cannot go back. He’s not an angel of course. You can call him an idler and a drunkard and probably you will be right. But is this enough to send him to jail every time he does something wrong? I’d like other people to think about it for a while. Maybe they will judge Szczepan Przygoda more fairly than authorities.

Q: How did you approach Szczepan and how long a period of time did you spend filming his life? Also, did you encounter any difficulties or restrictions on what you were able to film?

I met Szczepan eleven years ago, when I moved from my parents. He lived in the same block of flats where I started to live. I remember our first meeting: it was late night next to my door. Szczepan and his companions were completely drunk and wanted me to fight against them, because I was the brand new inhabitant of “their” block of flats. Some kind of an “enemy”, you know. Fortunately I was very tired and offered them to get back to the topic tomorrow. I wished all the company “good night” and quietly closed my door. Szczepan visited me next day sober, to apologize. He also said that I had behaved well in a difficult situation… He seemed to me a clever person with a sense of humour who lost himself somehow in his life. The idea to make a documentary about Szczepan Przygoda came from the very beginning of our relationship, but unfortunately he disappeared shortly after our discussion because of one of his numerous sentences, so we were continuing our talks by letter. When Szczepan went to jail another time (last year) I decided to start shooting. It took me three months. I prefer to work alone dealing with a documentary matters. It’s more comfortable especially when you are unable to prepare a strict timetable of shooting days and if you want to build a good relationship with the person you are accompanying with a camera of course.

Restrictions? The only so called restrictions came from the authorities: the community centre, Szczepan’s probation officer and Szczepan’s doctor. They didn’t want to appear on the screen. There were no restrictions from Szczepan’s side because he trusts me. I just asked him to let me follow him with a camera and capture everything I would find interesting to go forward with a story. Finally, when the documentary was cut and ready to show, we sat by the screen together with the other guys who appeared on the film. In the beginning, Szczepan was a little bit ashamed, at some moments he laughed louder than other viewers and finally he was emotionally moved. After the screening he asked: “Can we watch it another time?”

Q: There is always a risk when making a documentary that the subject changes his behaviour when he is aware that he is being filmed and ‘acts up’ to the camera so to speak. Is this an issue you encountered?

Szczepan offered several times to do something “for the camera”. For example, I missed a brawl between him and one of his colleagues. We thought about a replay, but finally both of us found this idea ridiculous. I needed to ask Szczepan just to be himself (because it was enough). I decided to make this documentary in a “direct cinema” way, so I was just following the action.

Q: Describe to me your relationship with Przygoda.  In the scene when he lies to the authorities about his drinking habits for example, it struck me that you must have been placed in a fairly awkward position. Was there a rapport of trust and friendship that developed throughout the filming period or was your relationship purely that of the ‘observer’ and the ‘observed’?

Of course our relationship isn’t purely divided between that of the “observer” and “observed”. It last from a long time and it’s built on friendship and trust (and quarrelling sometimes). Speaking about the scene when Szczepan lies to the authorities: I couldn’t expose him because of two points at least. Firstly – he trust me and I took full responsibility for him. I can compare it to the war correspondent situation when he cannot cross the front line and change his side just like that. Secondly – this scene shows part of his true character.

Q: Are there any documentary makers who you are particularly inspired by?

I’m inspired by some Polish documentary makers. Krzysztof Kieslowski (well known rather because of his feature films), Wojciech Wiszniewski (director), Zbigniew Rybczynski (director and cinematographer, Academy Award winner in 1983) and Bogdan Dziworski (director and cinematographer). Each of them developed his own, unique style. Their works showed me a very simple thing: it’s worth finding your own way and keeping it to be honest to yourself. Dealing with films, not only with documentaries, takes such a long time that I can’t say it’s only a job for me. It’s a way of life.

Q: Finally do you feel that the documentary has a role to play in bringing people’s awareness to the social issues and the plight of individuals such as Przygoda Szczepan.

I probably couldn’t have made this documentary if I didn’t believe in it. For different sorts of authorities individuals like Szczepan Przygoda are completely worthless, probably dangerous and should spend the rest of their lives isolated in prison. My opinion is different in such a case. But I’m not sure if my documentary is able to make Szczepan`s probation officer aware of his client’s hard situation. Actually Szczepan paid his debt to the mobile phone operator, but the probation officer still wants him to go to jail. Just as an example of justice….

How did writer/director Johan Lundh get the one of the best-known comedians in Sweden to star in his short suspense about an officer with an unusually painful welt? And how does the painter Magritte and the author Kafta figure into it all? It’s all about connections…

By Lindsay Mayer

Q: Who wrote the script to “Konvex-T”? Is there a comedic aspect to this film?

I wrote the script. The film is basically a tragedy but where there is pain there is comedy.

Q: The style and setting of this film lend itself to the storyline. Where did you film the movie and what was the inspiration?

We built the apartment, the office and the doctor’s office in an abandoned school that we could use. The factory is an old heating facility where I found all this wonderful machinery. I had a fantastic set designer, Mattias Marklund who was very passionate about the production and he did a great job in helping me visualize the sets. Not suprisingly I’ve re-read “The Process” by Kafta at the time, but this kind of oppressive world is interesting. I am interested in contemporary art and one source of inspiration is the American artist Greogory Crewdson. But also works by Magritte, Escher and Hieronymus Bosch. In hindsight I also seen a connection with my own problems with my Ischias, maybe it’s a kind of exorcism of my own pain.

Q: Tell us about how you casted the actors/actresses including the actor who plays Axel, the main character.

Axel is played by Felix Herngren who is the biggest comedy actor in Sweden. He is a fantastic actor who, as many comedy actors, is very type casted. We where working on a feature script together and we decided to try and work together. The material is very far from what he has been doing before, but it was one of the things that attracted him to the script. I wrote three different short script for him to choose from and he picked “Konvex-T”. My first choice for the part of Agnes was the now very famous Noomi Rapace, but she couldn’t fit it to her schedule when she was casted as Lisbeth Salander in the Millenium trilogy. Then my set designer suggested Tuva-Lisa Rangström and she was perfect!

Q: The special effects (music, sound effects, make-up, animation) in “Konvex-T” are awesome. Did you specifically have these in mind before you began the film or did they evolve by trial and error?

I do have a big advantage in being the owner of a post-production facility in Stockholm. Some of the effects where planned meticulously.The organism was very tricky, and I wasn’t sure if it would work and how explicit it would be. For a while I planned to make everything regarding the organism off-screen, but I realized that it was very important to show it in detail to understand the reactions of the characters. After we started the editing I realized we had to see what Agnes is doing and we went back to a studio to shoot all the fleshy scenes where Agnes is digging in the wound. That was very low-budget straight-forward SFX work but very gory! The soundtrack is very important and very powerful for the cinematic experience. Johan Isaksson who was the sound-designer did a fantastic job in creating this world.

Q: Finally, what is Konvex-T?

A medicure from Kerm Laboratories. Here is the warning text that you’ll find on the tube.

“Ink” is a subversive and unsettling ÉCU Student short directed by Nuno Neves . Who knew ink had such an organic, benign energy– able to create images that are hypnotic and frightening…

By Nick Forrester

Q: This short plays with the visual properties of ink. How did you go about filming the ink; the fast moving black compared to the blending colours?

The short was all filmed on a wood table I set up and lit, in my building´s comunity garage. The ink was poured down a white piece of glass, shaped like a half moon. Because of this shape, the ink kept moving towards the center, slowly. The main concept of the movie is genesis and how it is always started by a conflict between opposing forces. I start with black and white because they are opposites, the absence of colour and all the colours mixed up.The pure white is static and the black contaminates it, starting the evolution.  It is similar to sperm and an egg, which are made of cells that can become any part of the human body (organs, skin, teeth, etc.) when they collapse. In the film the conflict between two forces creates all the other colours and shapes that follow it.

Q: What are the particular properties of ink that make it so appealing to you?

Every since I was a child, I recall having dreams in which a black spot on a white wall begins to grow, spreading in the form of tentacles, creating patterns and spirals, until it corrupted the whole wall. I never really thought much about what they meant, but they always freaked me out. So, when I decided to do an experimental work, I immediately knew I had to include that kind of aesthetics. First I thought about using effects, but then I experimented with ink for glass, which is thick and glows, and I loved it. I really like the way when you mix different colours of ink, they create random shapes which, depending on the person who sees it, can appear to be anything.

Q: At one point the yellow ink blends to look like a foetal scan. Is it dangerous to look for patterns in a changing, concealing substance, or is this the point?

Well, I wouldn´t say it´s dangerous, but I definitely wanted the patterns to be kind of hipnotic, to involve the spectator in the evolution of the substance, as it became more complex and organic. I tried to include shapes that, to me, look like a fetus, fractals and fungus, to enhance the feeling of organic growing. Sometimes people don´t actually see the shapes, but feel there is something organic in the process.

Q: There seems to be a malign, extremely subversive energy which is at the heart of this short film. To what extent is the cutting apart of the squid a satisfactory, even enjoyable ending?

The whole ambient of the short is subversive, as I tried to make the spectator a little uncomfortable, not only by the images but also with the sound. Right before the cutting of the creature we see a hand touching it in a caring way, this makes what comes after more perverse. The destruction of the creature closes the circle of creation, started with the first drop of black ink. More than a feeling of satisfaction, the idea was that the cutting of the creature served as a relief from the tension that builds up along the short film.

Q: Did you use a real squid?

Yes, a dead one. It was bought on the local market and then animated using our hands, in an old small aquarium.

Q: As a filmmaker, what did you want to make the viewer feel?

I wanted the viewer to experience the genesis of a life form, from its basics, to its full shape and to its end. And I wanted it to be a malign, perverse experience.

Q: Tell me about your next project.

I’ve started directing music clips recently, having finished one last week and having two scheduled to be shot by in the next three weeks. Besides that, I’m finishing post-production of a friend’s project, it’s a medium length movie we’ve been working on for the last six months. It’s a story about how an unexplained disappearance [of a woman] affects the lives of the people that knew her.

“The Miraculous Tale of the Children Dubois” is the brainchild of writer/director Cassandra Lee Hamilton from Austin Texas. The film follows Juliette as she is helped to rediscover the magical world of her childhood by her twin brother Nikolia, who mysteriously and unexpectedly re-enters her life.

By Edward Caffrey

The Miraculous Tale of the Children Dubois is about a young girl, Juliette, that has lost the magic of her childhood. When her twin brother, Nikolia, returns from the great beyond, he forces Juliette to make a choice between the practicality of normal life and the whimsy and enchantment of one’s imagination.

Q: In your film you use a variety of different techniques, for example stop-motion, and what looks like digital compositing or CGI. Was it a difficult process?

YES! It was difficult! BUT absolutely worth it! I had an incredible time learning all of the different ways to make magic real. I knew that I wanted most of the special effects to be representational but seem real, so stop motion was my first choice. However, not everything can be made out of paper, yarn and clay, so for the other effects I worked with a very talented special effects team in order to design a tangible magical world, so most of the CGI are composited pictures of real things.

Q: Your film has a very distinctive style. Was this influenced by any other films?

While I was writing the film I was very much influenced by a lot of films from the Czech republic, such as Daisies by Vera Chytilova and Alice by Jan Svankmajer. However, ever since I was a child I have always know that I wanted to make films like Terry Gilliam. Adventures of Baron Munchausen, Time Bandits, and Brazil constantly inspire me to be courageous and adventurous with my imagination and storytelling.


Q: Your characters live in their own magical world. Do you have your own magical world?

(hahah) Yes, it’s called Austin Texas, but seriously, yes, I would have to say my bedroom would be the most magical world I have built. From bright Christmas lights and map covered walls, to forts, musical instruments and Hawaiian printed curtains, I always try to surround myself with creatively stimulating objects/colors/ideas/etc. Inspiration is random but we are all inspired by our surroundings.

Q: Tell us a bit about the casting process. How did you choose/meet your actors and actresses?

Well, I pretty much wrote each leading role with each actor already in my mind, Alana Morshead was a dear friend I met in film school and Morgan Krantz is one of my oldest friends who had a big hand in helping me develop the story. Jeff Fahey was a great supporter of mine through this project and had agreed to be in it, so when writing the script everything just came together perfectly. Usually when casting I try to use people in my life, friends or colleagues, because I have found when there is an established relationship, there is a freer atmosphere on set. It’s very important to me that my set is safe and comfortable, a place where we can throw around ideas and have some fun whilst capturing the genuine nature of the human condition.

Q: Are you working on any new projects?

Currently I have been working on a screenplay, making music videos for local Austin musicians, making stopmotion short films, and what I am most excited about is a children’s story-book that I have been writing that will be turned into a screenplay in the near future.

Fabien Dubois gives us details about his film, recently chosen for the ÉCU 2010 Official Selection. “High/Low” is a short film about two step-brothers living in Tokyo and experiencing the city in different ways: while one works on his decibel map project and thoroughly explores the city, the other abandons himself to a life of confusion and alcohol.

By Maria Gabriella Pezzo

Q: Why did you choose to film in a city? How does the city speak to you?

I fell in love with Tokyo the first time I went to Japan. This city is so fantastic, constantly in movement, day and night. With High/Low, I wanted to give this feeling I had during my first trip to Japan– we lock on to the things we know, while accepting the fact that we’re totally lost.

Q: Why did you choose to approach the topic of grieving in this particular way?

Obviously it’s very personal but these kind of stories move me. I love the treatment of melancholia moreover and I think it’s feeling is very cinematographic.

Q: What were some of the difficulties you encountered while filming?

It’s always a challenge to shoot a film in a big city so shooting a “short” in a big city far from home was really exciting.The shooting lasted a bit less than one week. We had to race against the clock. Most of the film takes place outside, because I always prefer natural-light. Luckily, I knew where I wanted to shoot.We had a big technical problem: the sensor of the camera was broken and some rushes were unusable. Fortunately (once again) some trademarks are very popular in this country, and the reparation took only a few hours and we were back on track.

Q: What role do you think travel plays in one’s personal formation?

I’ve always felt the need to travel, to discover the world. The world is so vast. Today you can learn a lot of things through books, media, TV, internet. But to see things with one’s own eyes is the most rewarding.

Q: What does this film say about family values?

The relationship I chose to establish between the two-step brothers isn’t so uncharacteristic. They’re like two friends, they used to know each other but they’ve got an overriding link, which governs both their lives.

Q: What inspires you?

A variety of things, movies, books, but if I had to choose only one it would be music. Music, it can carry tones of different feelings. We’re surrounded by music that follows us through each important step of our lives.

Q: Did you intend for this film to feel like a travel journal?

Not completely, it’s not about a journey, strictly speaking. It’s a short moment extracted from the lives of the two characters when one of them becomes aware of his own pathetic being.

The younger one sums up their relationship. We follow his point of view, the analogy he makes between his silenced relationship with his brother and his sound-project.

Q: I found the choice of music very distinct. How did you choose it?

Since the beginning, I knew music would be an important part of this story.One of the main themes is of course the sound generated by the city and it’s reverberation on mankind.Contingent on sequences, I needed different types of music, some experimental material, when the younger brother’s on his decibel-quest, and some rock n’ roll to emphasize the impact of some scenes.

What’s unusual about Malagasy Gospel? Directors Carlos Esbert, Virginia Camino, Alvaro Lagos, and Graciela de Pablos give us the details on their inspiring and recent ÉCU 2010 selected documentary feature about a blind, orphaned children’s choir.

By Nick Forrester

Q: It seemed to me that everyone making the film genuinely enjoyed spending time with these unique kids, but what initially inspired you to make the film?

The starting point of the project was in fact an invitation by Bel Avenir NGO, the Malagasy association responsible for the Malagasy Gospel musical project. So the first idea was to make a little documentary about the Malagasy Gospel tour in Spain. Once we met the children of the choir for the first time everything changed very quickly. We discovered a group of wonderful and unique human beings. We met with something magical, something you very rarely have the chance to meet in this life: the orphaned blind children from the Malagasy Gospel.

Q: All of the children were remarkably comfortable in front of the camera. Was it difficult for you and the camera to slip into their everyday lives?

During the shooting in Spain, everything was so new and different from their daily lives that they used to forget the camera very quickly. That was an advantage for us, we got to know each other for the first time during those first weeks of the shooting. In Madagascar everything changed from Spain. We became the strangers for everybody. But not for the Malagasy Gospel children, we were their guests. That complicity was crucial to develop a deeper relationship between us and the children that lead to us experiencing the kind of intimate scenes the film offers.

Q: Most of the narrative is told visually. Did you do this to give the film a more international appeal and were you ever tempted to give a voiceover?

The reason why the film doesn’t include any kind of voiceover is simple and fundamental. The children in this film express everything through their voices and their faces, their way of being with the others and their music shows us how important singing becomes for those children. It shows a way of talking, a way of giving affection, a way of breathing. Nothing else needs to be added. As you mentioned at the beginning of this interview the pleasure of sharing a few months of our lives with these children was the most important feeling our cameras could express to the audience.

Filming in school: Behind the scenes of “Malagasy Gospel”. Directors Graciela de Pablos (left) amd Virginia Camino (right).

Q: In the first performance scene the little girl gives a huge smile as the choir answer’s her solo, and this seemed to me to encapsulate the group strength that singing provides. Do you think that audiences that came to the live performances were left with this impression?

For sure. I’ve never [seen] in my life so many people crying and smiling at the same time while listening and observing the magic of these unique children during the concerts. Everybody used to think before the Malagasy Gospel concerts: “Oh! those poor children, they have little at all in their miserable life…” After the show everybody discovers something very strong. They are not alone, they are not sad. They are poor and they have no money at all, but they have the friendship of each other, they have their music, at every day, at every hour. And, they are able to be happy in their own way.

Q: Though the viewer is made aware of the basic back story we aren’t given individual accounts of the horrors that have occurred. When it comes to heightening awareness for children’s rights do you think it is important to focus on the good that has come such initiatives rather than the bad that went before?

Malagasy Gospel is not a film about poverty, about African children crying and suffering of hunger. This not a film trying to give the audience a bad feeling of how everything is going on so badly in Africa. Malagasy Gospel is a film about happiness and about hope. These children appear to have nothing can carry out a happy lives and they can teach us some values we are may be too quickly forgetting in “modern” countries: the importance of always taking care of each other.

Behind the scenes, directors Carlos Esbert (right) & Alvaro Lagos (left).

Q: Tell us about your next project.

Next summer we’re going back to Madagascar. A big music school has been built this year to take in all orphaned blind children from Tulear, [a] southern city [in] Madagascar where the Malagasy Gospel was created. We are now developing and preparing a production that would permit us to share a whole year in this new music school and see where the children will sleep, eat and pass most of the time doing what it really makes them happy in this life: music.

Mirel Bran is an extremely well-regarded and experienced journalist. During his career, he has acted as Romanian correspondent for French paper Le Monde and French radio station Inter. His submission to ÉCU 2010 is Vanaturol de Securisti (Securitate Hunter), a documentary that follows Marius Oprea who, after growing up under the oppressive communist regime in Romania (1945-1989), is determined to bring those who committed war crimes to justice.

By Edward Caffrey
Translated by Lindsay Mayer, Eliza Gauthier

Q: What is your documentary about ? (Que racontez-vous dans votre documentaire?)

Après la deuxième guerre mondiale le communisme a été installé en Roumanie au moyen des tanks soviétiques. Quelques dizaines de milliers de Roumains ont pris le maquis pour organiser une opposition armée contre le nouveau régime. Cette armée de l’ombre a résisté pendant dix ans retirée dans les Carpates. La Securitate, la police politique du régime, les a traqués et quelque 10 000 partisans ont été exécutés sans procès et jettes dans des fosses communes éparpillées partout en Roumanie. Marius Oprea, surnommé en Roumanie le « chasseur de la Securitate », a créé en 2005 l’Institut d’investigation des crimes du communisme selon le modèle du Centre Simon Wiesenthal de Washington. La chasse des nazis a inspiré la chasse de la Securitate. Marius Oprea et son équipe d’archéologues sillonnent la Roumanie pour exhumer les dépouilles des partisans et pour les restituer à leurs enfant et petits-enfants. Au début du tournage je croyais que j’allais raconter une histoire tragique. Cette histoire est en effet tragique mais ce qui m’a marqué le plus c’est l’apaisement des descendants des victimes qui récupèrent leurs dépouilles pour les enterrer à nouveau avec une messe religieuse. Ce film est l’histoire de la paix retrouvée et d’un deuil qui a lieu soixante ans après le drame.

After WWII, communism was installed in Romania by Soviet tanks. Some tens of thousands of Romanians went underground to organize an armed opposition against the new regime. This shadow army resisted ten years and then withdrew to the Carpates [a mountain range on the eastern side of Romania]. The Securitate, the political police of the regime, tracked them down and some 10,000 supporters were executed without a trial and thrown in mass graves scattered throughout Romania. Marius Oprea, nicknamed in Romania the “Chasseur de la Securitate” (Hunter of the Securitate) created in 2005 The Institute of Investigation of the Investigation of Communist Crimes in Romania after the model of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Washington. The hunt for the Nazis inspired the hunt for the Securitate. Marius Oprea and his team of archeologists criss-crossed Romania to exhume the follower’s belongings and to return them to their children and grandchildren. At the beginning of filming I thought I was telling a tragic story. The story is indeed tragic but what is most notable to me is the coping of the descendants of the victims who recuperated their belongings to bury them with a mass service. This film is the story of re-found peace and a mourning that took place 60 years later.

Q: How did you find out about Marius Oprea? (Comment avez-vous trouvé Marius Oprea?)

Mon travail de journaliste m’a amené à rencontrer cet homme. J’avais raconté son histoire dans les pages du journal Le Monde et dans un livre paru aux éditions du Cygne à Paris mais j’ai toujours eu le sentiment d’une mission inaccomplie. Le potentiel visuel de cette histoire était énorme et j’ai vécu pendant quelques années avec l’idée en tête de tourner un documentaire. C’était devenu un peu une obsession.

My journalistic work brought me to meet this man. I had told his story in the pages of the newspaper Le Monde and in a book published by Cygne (Paris) but I always had the feeling that it was an unaccomplished mission. The visual potential of this history was enormous and I came some years later with the idea in mind to make a documentary. It became a bit of an obsession.

Q: Why did you decide to make a documentary about his work? (Pourquoi avez-vous décidé de faire un documentaire sur son travail?)

J’avais 25 ans lorsque la dictature de Nicolae Ceausescu était tombée. J’ai vécu mon enfance et mon adolescence sous la terreur de la Securitate. Au moment où le régime est tombé j’ai senti un énorme gouffre dans ma vie. J’ai eu du mal à trouver un lien entre ma vie sous la dictature et mon parcours après. Pendant vingt ans j’ai été marqué par ce fossé. Le film sur le « chasseur de la Securitate » devait me permettre de me réconcilier moi-même avec mon passé. J’avais déjà réalisé des films produits par des boîtes de production françaises mais cette fois j’avais envie de tourner sans les contraintes habituelles que les chaînes imposent. J’ai décidé que ma boîte de production finance ce projet pour me donner une liberté totale. Et je ne le regrette pas. Evidemment, on ne peut pas être fous tout le temps mais de temps en temps ça fait du bien.

I was 25 years old when the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu fell. I grew up under the terror of The Securitate. When the regime fell, I felt an enormous void in my life. I had bad luck finding the link between my life under the dictatorship and my life after. For twenty years I had been marked by this void. (I hope) the film about “The Securitate Hunter” allows me to reconcile with the past. I had already made films with French production companies but this time, I wanted to make a film without the usual constraints the television chains impose. I decided that my French production company would finance this project to allow me total liberty. And I don’t regret it. Obviously, you can’t be crazy all the time, but from time to time it feels good.

Q: Who were the Securitate? (Qui étaient les gens de la Securitate?)

Le Securitate est encore présente non seulement dans l’imaginaire des Roumains mais aussi dans l’économie et la politique roumaine. Les anciens tortionnaires se sont convertis aux affaires, d’autres occupent des positions clés dans les partis politiques et l’appareil administratif. La Roumanie n’a jamais eu la volonté politique de s’en débarrasser. La transition désordonnée à la démocratie a divisé le pays entre une minorité de riches, qui ont eu des connexions dans le monde de la police politique, et une masse de pauvres qui doivent aujourd’hui se contenter d’un salaire moyen de 350 euros au sein de l’Union européenne.

The Securitate is still present not only in the imagination of Romanians but also in the economy and Romanian politics. The old torturers converted to business, others to key positions in political parties and the administration. Romania has never had the political will to free itself (from this). The disorderly transition to democracy divided the country between a rich minority who had connections in the world with “la police politique” (political police), and the poor masses who get by today with an average salary of 350 euros in the European Union.

Q: The documentary suggests that members of the Securitate, who perpetrated these crimes, still have significant political power in Romania. Do you believe that in making this documentary you have put pressure on these individuals? (Le documentaire suggère que des membres de la Securitate, qui ont perpétrés ces crimes, ont encore un pouvoir important en Roumanie. Croyez-vous qu’en faisant ce documentaire vous avez mis la pression sur ces individus?)

Ce documentaire va sûrement mettre la pression sur les anciens tortionnaires de la Securitate. Les Roumains croient savoir ce qui s’était passé dans leur passé. Moi-même j’en étais persuadé mais en faisant ce film j’ai découvert que je ne connaissais pas grand-chose. J’ai été épaté par la réaction des jeunes Roumains qui n’ont pas connu le communisme directement et qui ont visionné ce film. Ils souhaitent aujourd’hui que la justice soit faite et ils sont plus radicaux que leurs parents. C’est logique car ils n’ont pas eu de rapport direct avec la dictature et ils ne portent pas en eux ce sentiment de culpabilité collective qui est très présent dans la génération de leurs parents. C’est cette nouvelle génération qui sera capable de mettre la pression sur le système juridique pour régler ce problème. Mais ces jeunes ne feront rien si on ne leur raconte pas la vraie histoire de leur pays. C’est ce que le documentaire « Le chasseur de la Securitate » se propose de faire. On m’a dit souvent qu’il faut tourner la page du passé. Je suis le premier à le faire à condition qu’on sache ce qui est écrit sur cette page.

This documentary will surely put the pressure on the former torturers of The Securitate. The Romanians think they know what happened. Myself, I was persuaded. But in making the film I discovered that I didn’t know as much as I thought. I was amazed by the reaction of young Romanians who had known communism directly and who previewed the film. They wish today that justice be made–they’re more radical than their parents. It’s logical because they don’t have a direct connection with the dictatorship. They do not have the feeling of collective guilt still present in their parents’ generation. It’s the new generation who will be capable of putting pressure on the judicial system to settle the problem. But these youth will not do anything if the true story of their country isn’t told to them. It’s what the documentary “La Chasseur de la Securitate” intends to do. People often tell me that it’s necessary to film the pages of the past. I am the first to do it on the condition that people know what is written on this page.

Q: Do you think that international awareness of these atrocities will put greater pressure on Romanian politicians to prosecute perpetrators of war-crimes in Romania? (Croyez-vous qu’une prise de conscience internationale au sujet de ces atrocités mettra plus de pression sur les hommes politiques roumains pour qu’ils poursuivent les responsables de ces crimes de guerre?)

La pression internationale peut jouer un rôle très important. Regardez les sondages et vous allez constater que la majorité des Roumains font plus confiance à la Commission européenne et autres organisations internationales qu’à leur classe politique. Ils sont persuadés que seule une pression extérieure pourra remettre leur pays sur les rails. Souvenez-vous de ce qui s’est passé avec l’Holocauste. Il aura fallu une génération pour prendre conscience de l’ampleur de ce crime contre l’humanité. Pour les victimes des dictatures communistes ce sera pareil. C’est aujourd’hui, une génération après la chute de ces régimes, qu’on peut enfin commencer à faire la lumière sur le passé. Les tortionnaires s’en sont sortis jusqu’à maintenant parce que les procureurs ont considéré que leurs crimes étaient des crimes ordinaires qui sont prescrits. Il suffit qu’un seul procureur ait le courage de considérer ces atrocités comme des crimes contre l’humanité qui sont imprescriptibles. A ce moment-là on pourra parler d’un Nürenberg du communisme. J’espère qu’on pourra mettre suffisamment de pression pour créer un précédent juridique.

International pressure can play a very important role. Look at the surveys and you notice that the majority of Romanians are more confident in the European Commission and other international organizations than their own political parties. They are persuaded only exterior pressure is capable of putting their country back on track. Remember what happened with the Holocaust: It took a generation to realize the scope of the crime against humanity. For the victims of communist dictatorships it will be the same. It’s today, a generation after the fall of these regimes, that one can finally start shedding light on the past. The former torturers were cleared until now because the prosecutors considered that their crimes were ordinary crimes that were dictated. It only takes a single procurer to have the courage to see these atrocities as unforgivable crimes against humanity. When that happens, you can start talking about a Nurenberg for (Romania). I hope that we will be able to put a sufficient amount of pressure to create judicial precedent.

Mirel Bran

Q: Are you working on a new project? (Travaillez-vous sur un nouveau projet?)

Mon prochain projet de documentaire est lié au « Chasseur de la Securitate ». Je vais continuer à tourner en 2010 le deuxième volet de cette histoire. Au printemps 2010 Marius Oprea et son équipe d’archéologues vont redémarrer l’opération de recherche des partisans. Cette fois il sera accompagné par des bénévoles américains passionnés par l’histoire et l’archéologie. Cela me permet d’avoir un angle différent sur cette histoire. Les 10 000 partisans exécutés par la Securitate avaient pris le maquis avec la conviction que les Américains viendraient pour sortir la Roumanie des griffes soviétiques. Mais les Américains ne sont pas venus. Ironie de l’histoire, ils arrivent soixante ans après pour exhumer leurs dépouilles. Et voilà un autre film.

My next documentary is connected to « Chasseur de la Securitate ». In 2010 I will continue the second part of the story. In the spring, Marius Oprea and his team of archaeologists will resume their work of to find the (bodies of the supporters). This time he will be accompanied by American volunteers impassioned by history and archaeology. This allows me to have a different angle on the story. 10,000 followers executed by the Securitate went underground with the conviction that the Americans would come to relieve Romania of the Soviet clutch. But the Americans did not come. What’s ironic is that they arrive 60 years later to exhume their posessions. And there you go, another film.

Thierry Loa is a producer and director from Canada. AUDITION, X.90907 is a chilling short in which an auditioning actress is forced to remain in the world of the audition by the director, who refuses to let her leave until she completes an unnerving and seemingly never-ending scene.

By Edward Caffrey

Q: What is your short about?

“The Audition, X2.90907″ is a psychoanalytical drama about the audition of a young actress, which is the most literal way to describe it. I would then add that the film explores and plays upon the concept of auditioning, hyper-reality (in the postmodern philosophical context) and psychoanalysis to create an allegorical scenario. Of course, there is certainly not one but many ways of understanding and interpreting the film.

Q: How did you come up with the idea for Audition?
I’ve conducted some audition sessions in the past and the concept of it always fascinated me. I often wondered and tried to imagine: what if the line which separates reality and fiction were to blur, distort and/or shift?… What if every aspect is stretched and starts overlapping? We are therefore presented with ambiguity and unexpectedness, and so I thought that would be an interesting filmic experiment as well as scenario for the viewers to watch and experience.

Q: Was the style of the short influenced by any other films?
Not one in particular, however I do tend to like films (and filmmakers) which are somehow concept-based and explore themes such as the human condition and character psychology, thus capturing a certain truth, thought or feeling, and so my hope was to do just that with this film. In terms of its style, I’m not too sure exactly but perhaps one could regard it as a branch of Cinema-vérité?

Q: Is there any of your own personality reflected in the director’s obsessive character?
That question made me smile because when I was writing the screenplay, I asked myself that very question… But I think it’d be fair to say there’s a bit of me in all of the fictional characters that I write as I try to imagine myself in their shoes and make sure they come across as individual voices, otherwise all the characters might end up sounding and behaving the same. For the director’s character, I imagined someone who’s calm, polite and assertive and who to some degree lacks a certain human quality… there are many people like that out there to take inspiration from.

Q: The short has a very organic feel. Was it all shot in one take?
Indeed it was shot in one long take – no cuts, no edit – to heighten the notion of realism and immersion because I think the viewers today are well aware of cinema techniques. They know for instance how a film or an action can be constructed with editing. Not seeing a cut on screen for a while, when applied effectively, can raise a sense of alertness in the viewer, I think.

Q: Tell me about your next project?
I’ve been working on a cinematic-ethnographic feature film about the postmodern society of the 21st century titled “20-22: Society of the Spectacle.” In broad terms, it’s a documentary, purely visual choreographed with music.

The Director, Thierry Loa

Jamil  Dehlavi is an independent filmmaker of Pakistani and French origin. He studied film directing at Columbia University in New York and in 1975 he wrote, directed, and produced his first movie “Towers of Silence”. Since then Dehlavi films have released eight other movies, the latest being “Godforsaken”. “Godforsaken” is an intense thriller which follows a fallen angel who is forced to live with the consequences of allowing a child under his care to die for the good of the world.

By Edward Caffrey

Q: What inspired the film?

The film was inspired by a novella written by Yolaine Destremau, a friend of mine who is a French writer. As we developed the project, the screenplay evolved and the final result is quite different from the original work.

Q: The production values of the film are of a very high standard. Was it an expensive movie to make?

You should never ask a film producer what his film cost, he will always lie to you. However, I’ll let you into a secret if you promise not to tell. My film was made on a microscopic budget. After all these years of filmmaking, I’ve learned to put whatever little available money there is on the big screen.

Q: There is obviously a strong religious presence in the film. Does it have a message?

The message is that there is a fine line between good and evil.

Q: The angel in your movie is pretty badass. Do you think angels are that tough?

The angel kills a little girl who is destined to cause the deaths of thousands and restores its soul to her mother in the body of another child. He believes that what he is doing is right. Does that exonerate him from guilt?

Q: Was it difficult finding a man beautiful enough to play an angel?

Casting for the part was not easy. I auditioned a number of actors until I met Nick Ashdon who I felt had the right aura to interpret the role.

Q: Are you working on any new projects at the moment?

Yes, I’m starting a new film AN ATOM’S WEIGHT. It’s the story of an Arab sheikh’s daughter who escapes an arranged marriage in Dubai to study medicine in London and the devastating repercussions on her family and friends.

The Director, Jamil  Dehlavi