The 2014 David Lean Lecture: Lone Scherfig

THE 2O14

DAVID LEAN LECTURE

DELIVERED BY

LONE SCHERFIG

15 DECEMBER 2O14

D E L I V E R E D B Y LO N E S C H E R F I G

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CHARACTERFUL, THOUGHTPROVOKING AND NEVER LESS THAN ENTERTAINING: ITÕS WHAT SCHERFIGÕS WORK HAS ALWAYS BEEN...

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OVERVIEW F inding th e l i g h t in darker subjects has long been Lone Scherfig’s forte. Take one of her first features, Italian for Beginners, in 2000.

“That film is about sorrow, but everyone remembers it as a romantic comedy,” she later told Time Out London. Her next film, Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002), found a poignant balance between tragedy and hope – and she brought both humour and heart to the devious world of The Riot Club earlier this year.

Born in Copenhagen in 1959, Scherfig graduated from the Danish Film School in 1984. She began her career in commercials.

Television movies and series followed, along with her feature film debut, Kaj’s fodselsdag (1990), which won her the Grand Jury prize and the Club Espace Award at the Rouen Nordic Film Festival. Scherfig was finding her own distinctive voice – and nothing would demonstrate this more clearly than Italian for Beginners, the self-penned story of a group of troubled Danes looking for love. Shot on video and following the creative principles of the Dogme 95 movement, the film was hailed by critics and audiences alike. The Washington Post called it, “That rarest of things: a heartwarming love story that bears not a trace of cheap feeling or false emotion.”

Scherfig brought the same authenticity to Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself, a Danish-Scottish production and the director’s first English language production. The story of inseparable brothers, it featured sensitive performances from a perfectly-chosen cast: Jamie Sives, Adrian Rawlins and Shirley Henderson lead the way, while a memorable support cast includes Mads Mikkelsen and Julia Davis.

Once again, Scherfig – who co-wrote with Anders Thomas Jensen – was praised for the warmth of her tone. “Here is a movie that appeals to the heart while not insulting the mind or forgetting how delightful its characters

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by Anna Smith are,” wrote Roger Ebert of the Chicago SunTimes. Empire magazine, meanwhile, praised the writers’ ability to translate their comedy between languages: “Comedy often travels badly between countries, but that’s clearly not a problem for director Lone Scherfig.”

Her subsequent Danish film, Just Like Home (2007), would prove she was adept in either language, before something happened that would really make the film world sit up and take notice: An Education.

The 2009 adaptation of Lynn Barber’s memoirs was a triumph: a deftly-judged character-driven piece that balances humour and heart and made a star of lead Carey Mulligan, who won a BAFTA for Leading Actress (the film was nominated for seven further BAFTAs and three Oscars). It also saw Scherfig work with lauded British writer Nick Hornby, paving the way for her next film: One Day (2011). Author David Nicholls adapted his own bestseller for the romantic drama that further established Scherfig as one of the most successful directors of British literary adaptations: no mean feat for a non-national.

Which brings us to The Riot Club (2014), based on Laura Wade’s very British play, Posh.

Perhaps one of Scherfig’s darkest films to date, this was an ominous indictment of upper class entitlement, yet with a characteristic comical streak. “It’s a sharp satirical cartoon of English class warfare and class conspiracy,” declared The Guardian, while Empire called it, “An entertaining glimpse into the dark side of privilege.” Characterful, thought-provoking and never less than entertaining: it’s what Scherfig’s work has always been, and no doubt always will. ­ Anna Smith is a film critic and broadcaster for BBC News, Sight & Sound, Empire and Time Out among others. She is also chair of the Critics’ Circle Film Section

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AS A STUDENT, DAVID LEAN MEANT 40 FRAMES. A SECOND AND A HALF, THE EXACT LENGTH OF A CLOSE-UP REACTION SHOT ACCORDING TO DAVID LEAN.

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IN HER OWN WORDS ON DAVID LEAN David Lean gave me Varykino: grand, lyrical shots of Tonya Zhivago’s frozen remote Russian dacha. Pure cinema, as big as it came at that time. I was eight and overwhelmed. Later, as a student and editing assistant, David Lean meant 40 frames. A second and a half, the exact length of a close-up reaction shot according to David Lean. I would find and select the frames for the editor. A face in awe or shock, in mourning or joy, or simply a deadpan look. The montage itself would magically enable the emotion.

ON FILMM AKING I’ve made five films in Denmark, where there’s more of the European tradition of the auteur. In America, it’s more of an industry.

England is somewhere in between… I’d love to do something more genre oriented. I feel like my craft is now good enough, I should just go for it… I want to stop and see if I can move in a different direction. Of course, I am proud of the films I’ve done, but I should use this chance to try to explore things I haven’t done yet.

When you do a film with a bigger budget, it’s not liberating because you can’t just point the camera in any direction. But you do have more control and the film looks more like you imagined than a Dogme film.

ON DIRECTING SOMEONE ELSEÕS SCRIPT It’s much harder to get to know the script, and you can’t fix things. But [for An Education], I decided to just trust the material and make sure that Nick Hornby’s dialogue and tone wasn’t overpowered. My job was about getting the humour, delivering all the layers, getting the most out of every moment. Just to tell the story but not write the story, it’s a different job.

ON ACTORS Each actor is, in some ways, the lawyer for their character – they see the script from their point of view. My job is to see that, but also to see it from the audience’s point of view.

ON DENM ARKÕS FEM ALE DIRECTORS One out of every 10 features in Denmark are directed by women… A couple of us have worked with Zentropa, and Lars [von Trier] really likes women and they let you bring your children to work, so maybe that is one explanation. Another is that there was a strong group of feminists working in Danish television in the early 80s and they gave us a couple of chances.

ON M AKING FILMS IN THE UK I’m starting to become an Anglophile, but it didn’t start out that way. Your writers, your actors, your locations, but also the work ethic – the level of craft and artistry is extreme. This has to do with the fact that you do some of the biggest films in the world, but you also have a tradition for very small, intimate, low budget dramas. It means that working with people in Britain feels like a great privilege.

ON DOGME 95 FILMM AKING For certain kinds of story and script, Dogme does wonders. You have a freedom that is unbelievable and that is not matched by anything. It’s about artistic liberation.

SOURCES: An Education Production Notes; Samuel Wigley (2O14, September), BFI.org.uk: ÔSpoiling for a fight: Lone Scherfig on The Riot ClubÕ; Lucy Farmer (2O14, March), moreintelligentlife.com: ÔThe Q&A: Lone Scherfig, Film-makerÕ; Wendy Mitchell (2O11, September), Screendaily.com: ÔLone Scherfig says sheÕd like to try Ômore genre-orientedÕ filmsÕ

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INSPIRATION FIVE COLL ABORATORS DISCUSS WORKING WITH LONE SCHERFIG

NICK HORNBY Author Nick Hornby penned the screenplay for An Education. His other screenwriting credits include Fever Pitch and the forthcoming Brooklyn

When we began to work together on An Education, I was immediately grateful that Lone Scherfig was an outsider. She hadn’t grown up in England, and she seemed both delighted and fascinated by things that we take for granted – tiny, unconsciously nuanced ways of expressing class, Battenberg cakes.

Her endless curiosity had the effect of making the whole team work harder on the details that would make our story richer and more resonant.

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But as time went by, and I got to know her better, I understood that this talent was nothing to do with being an outsider, or at least, not in the geographical sense, because she applied the same eye to the dynamics in relationships, the hinges of a narrative, the kinks and dents of personality. Her notable and singular acuity could, of course, result in a kind of analytical chill; but then she just uses it to wriggle her way inside her story and her characters.

It’s some gift. I wish it could be taught.

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J¯RGEN JOHANSSON J¿rgen Johansson was Lone ScherfigÕs cinematographer on two of her films, Italian for Beginners and Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself

I’ve often wondered which of all the lovely characters created by Lone is the one who reminds me the most of her. Is it Jørgen Mortensen from Italian for Beginners? Could it be Alice in Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself ?

Maybe the right answer is, they are all to be found somewhere inside Lone.

When working with her on set, it’s obvious that she has an enormous empathy for even the smallest part in her films. They are all done with love and warmth and are very important; that special humour always being a part of even the most far-out character. The search for the odd and bizarre moments in the

middle of a normal daily life is, to my mind, one of Lone’s great skills.

When watching her on set from the outside, one could get the impression that making movies is not hard work. The atmosphere is easy-going, but make no mistake, she has a razorblade sharp view on all details, props, costumes and colours.

These are important tools for Lone to achieve what she wants. What may seem like a dollhouse in a mess is actually a very controlled stage, filled with love, and everyone who’s walking around that dollhouse is extremely well taken care of.

I TA L I A N F O R B E G I N N E R S ( 2 O O O )

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TESSA ROSS As controller of film and drama at Channel 4, Tessa Ross greenlit two of Lone ScherfigÕs productions, One Day and The Riot Club. Ross is now chief executive of the National Theatre

I admired Lone’s work long before I had the great privilege of working with her, which I did on two occasions – One Day and The Riot Club. I can remember thinking after I’d seen Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself that I must try and work with this fantastic woman. She’s a wonderful director – humane, hard-working, incredibly knowledgeable and she holds on to her kindness alongside great drive and clarity.

Lone’s always curious about new worlds, always seeking out things that she doesn’t know, so that her fresh investigation delivers a personal truth. She works incredibly hard, and cares for actors and her crew in a way that is both admirable and effortless – second nature. She brings a very rare combination of gifts to the table and I’m very lucky to have witnessed them.

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PETER SCHEPELERN Peter Schepelern was Lone ScherfigÕs Film and Media Studies professor at the University of Copenhagen

O N E D AY ( 2 O11)

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Lone started in the late 1970s as a student at the Film and Media Department at the University of Copenhagen, where I remember her as a dedicated person whose behaviour was so much better than that of the young students in her latest film.

From university, Lone went on to become one of the chosen few at the director’s line of the Danish Film School. In the 1990s, she made a couple of fine feature films before she took up the challenge of Lars von Trier’s Dogme concept. The bittersweet Italian for Beginners, one of the most successful Danish films ever, ignited Lone’s international success.

In Denmark, we follow Lone’s career with great expectation. Her psychological and aesthetic sensibilities; her forgiving look at human frailty. It is flattering for Danish cinema that our talent is appreciated, but it is also a problem when the best directors work abroad.

Lone, come home!

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LAURA WADE Laura Wade wrote the film adaptation of her own original play, Posh, retitled for film as The Riot Club and directed by Lone Scherfig

I count myself extremely lucky to have worked with Lone on The Riot Club, though I suspect the experience has spoiled me for ever. It can’t be easy working with an uppity first-time screenwriter, but she was extremely patient as I shambled from draft to draft, steering me to something cleaner and crisper each time, perhaps aware from her own experience how delicate a task it is to extract ideas from a writer’s brain, without each one seizing up as the air hits it.

When we came to making the film, I saw this lightness of touch in everything Lone did – her way of making the actors feel trusted but held, of making the whole crew feel listened to, and her way of bringing playfulness and visual wit to every scene, always putting truth before effect. And all done without fuss, but with grace, compassion and class. Real class.

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LONE SCHERFIG FILMOGRAPHY (SELECT ) F i l m 2014 The Riot Club 2011 One Day 2009 An Education 2007 Just Like Home * 2002 Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself * 2000 Italian for Beginners * 1998 Når mor kommer hjem…* 1990 Kaj’s fødselsdag

Te leVision 2000 Morten Korch – Ved stillebækken * 1994 Flemming og Berit 1993 Den gode lykke 1985 Margrethes elsker * * Also writer

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS BAFTA NOMINATIONS 2010 British Film (An Education) – with Amanda Posey, Finola Dwyer and Nick Hornby 2010 Director (An Education)

BI FA 2009 Best Director nomination (An Education) 2003 Best Screenplay nomination, with Anders Thomas Jensen (Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself )

OTHER

e uropean fi l m awards 2010 Best Film nomination (An Education) 2001 Best Director nomination (Italian for Beginners)

( SELECT )

berlin international film festival 2001 Silver Berlin Bear winner (Italian for Beginners) 2001 Prize of the Ecumenical Jury winner (Italian for Beginners) 2001 FIPRESCI Prize winner (Italian for Beginners) 2001 Reader Jury of the Berliner Morgenpost winner (Italian for Beginners) 2007 Golden Berlin Bear nomination (Italian for Beginners)

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i nde pe nde nt spirit award 2010 Best Foreign Film winner (An Education) sundance fi l m fe stival 2009 Word Cinema – Dramatic Audience Award winner (An Education) 2009 World Cinema – Dramatic Grand Jury Prize nomination (An Education)

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THE DAVID LEAN LECTURE

THANKS

The Academy’s annual David Lean Lecture is generously funded by The David Lean Foundation. The lecture series serves to continue the legacy of the great director David Lean, one of the founders of the British Film Academy (as BAFTA was then known) in 1947 and a continuing inspiration to many through his exceptional body of work.

Lone Scherfig

Previous David Lean Lectures have been given by: 2014 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008

Paul Greengrass Pedro Almodóvar Errol Morris Peter Weir Atom Egoyan Lean Centenary Celebration

2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001

David Lynch Oliver Stone Woody Allen John Boorman Ken Loach Robert Altman Sydney Pollack

Tonight’s lecture will be available on www.bafta.org Follow us on Twitter: @BAFTAGuru #FilmLecture EVENT PRODUCTION Event Host Anna Smith Producer Mariayah Kaderbhai Assistant Producer Pelumi Akindude PR & Learning Campaigns Manager Niyi Akeju Director of Learning & Events Tim Hunter Event Coordinator Julia Carruthers Event Assistant Evan Horan Event Intern Ciara Teggart Production Manager Laura Rees BAFTA Photography Director Janette Dalley Brochure Editor Toby Weidmann Brochure Design Joe Lawrence Art Director Adam Tuck

Susan Dolan Nick Hornby Jørgen Johansson Kåre Odgaard Gade Anthony Reeves Tessa Ross Peter Schepelern Jodi Shields Anna Smith Kirsten Syppli Hansen Laura Wade Marie-Louise Zervides

Imagery courtesy of BFI Stills (page 7), eOne Entertainment/ Wildgaze Films (p.6, photographer: Kerry Brown), REX Features (pp.2–4 and pp.8–9) and Universal Studios (cover, p.10).

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