Meet the Makers - SBIFF

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MEET THE MAKERS

INTERVIEWS WITH SBIFF’S FILMMAKERS ISSUE #5 • FEBRUARY 4, 2014

VIOLET

Luiso Berdejo

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his artsy, often dreamscape-y narrative feature is about a Spanish man in Santa Monica who becomes obsessed with finding a woman from a random photograph, meanwhile connecting with his dead grandfather and missing the amorous opportunites before his eyes. The film culminates at Santa Barbara County’s own Zaca Lake, a magical place both on-screen and off.

WERE PARTS OF THIS STORY INSPIRED BY REAL LIFE? Alex’s granddad somehow overlaps my own memories of my granddad Luis. He used to shoot Super 8mm films, and he was the first person ever who showed me a camera, a can of film, and the small 8mm Moviola he had. If there’s somebody we can blame for my passion, it is “el abuelo Luis.”

THERE IS AMPLE USE OF FILTERS IN THE FILMING. WHAT DO YOU HOPE THE DIFFERENT COLOR HUES IMPLY? I wanted Violet to look amateurish, like an old 16mm home film from the ’70s. I tried really hard to get rid of my fussy perfectionist mind, searching for as many “‘imprecise decisions” and “visual mistakes” as possible. I believe that those intentional inaccuracies, the lenses we chose, the color hues, and the way the film is shot give it a sense of spontaneity and proximity — a feeling of “this can happen to you, fella.”

HOW DID YOU FIND ZACA LAKE? Violet is a spiritual journey, and we needed a spiritual magical place to finish it, not just a random cool lake. We searched for the right

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place all over the state of California until finally the producer Dario Troiani found Zaca Lake; we read about its history and we almost cried.

We drove to Zaca Lake to see it with our own eyes; we kayaked to the platform, and there we experienced the incredible energy that comes from its bottom. We knew right away that we had to finish our film there.

ARE YOU BREAKING NEW GROUND BY SHOOTING A SPANISH FILM IN AMERICA? We are adding our experience to a long tradition of Spaniards shooting Spanish films in the U.S., from José Luis Borau to Fernando Trueba or Emilio Aragón lately. Dario and I love our Spanish film industry, and we wanted to support it by shooting Violet in Spanish and by recruiting as many Spaniards who work in L.A. as possible. That has been very well received in our homeland. And besides that, who doesn’t want to see California on the big screen? You gotta love this place!

—Matt Kettmann

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UWANTME2KILLHIM? Andrew Douglas

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ased on a true story, this film follows two teenage boys whose lives become intertwined via the Internet. However, things aren’t what they seem — as is often the case with web relationships.

Duplicity and loneliness lead to shocking events in this engaging British thriller.

UWANTME2KILLHIM? IS SUCH A CRAZY STORY OF MANIPULATION USING THE INTERNET. HOW DID YOU COME UPON IT? I found an article in an issue of Vanity Fair some time ago, written by Judy Bachrach. I had my agent reach out for the rights to it to find that [director/producer] Bryan Singer had a quicker and longer arm. I went in to his company and pitched a take on the material, which approached the story from Mark’s point of view. The intention was to transform the source material from a perplexing story about a weird world to more of a thriller where nothing is what it seems…For me the story, as well as being fascinating just as it is, was also a vehicle to explore themes of addiction and loneliness.

JAMIE BLACKLEY (AS MARK) AND TOBY REGBO (AS JOHN) BOTH GAVE AMAZING PERFORMANCES. DID YOU HAVE THEM IN MIND FOR THE PARTS OR DID THEY AUDITION? It was a long audition process…I initially thought the best version of uwm2kh? might use real-people casting. But I quickly realized that the ideas in the script were so complex that real kids would not be able to sustain the various conceits, especially for John’s role. We met with lots of wonderful young actors, but what our boys had was a kind of damaged quality that they could tap into — rare in kids so young.

IS THERE ANY MESSAGE YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS FILM? Well, certainly that truth is stranger than fiction.

It’s also a little cautionary, but that was less important to me than to explore the lengths to which people will go to get what they need to feel whole — Mark to have a “mad life” to feel like a somebody, and John to have a friend to share stories and fight his corner.

—Michelle Drown

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MEET THE MAKERS

MABON “TEENIE” HODGES: A PORTRAIT OF A MEMPHIS SOUL ORIGINAL Susanna Vapnek

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hile on the road with musician friend Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) in 2006, Santa Barbara artist Susanna Vapnek forged a fast friendship with Memphis soul legend Mabon “Teenie” Hodges, who had joined Marshall’s ranks as lead guitarist. In the years that followed, Vapnek set off on a journey to make her first film, and the result is 40 minutes of behind-thescenes tales, archival footage, and interviews with some of Memphis soul’s greatest players.

HOW LONG AFTER MEETING HIM DID YOU START ENTERTAINING THE IDEA OF MAKING A FILM? I met Teenie in 2006, and I kept saying to anyone who would listen, “Somebody needs to make a movie about Teenie,” not thinking that it would ever be me. I said to my sister Brett, “Somebody needs to make a documentary about Teenie.” She said, “The only person who is going to make a documentary about Teenie is you. You should do it.” At this point I didn’t have any film experience, except for helping on my sister’s various film projects. I am trained as a painter and an artist, so I sort of had to take a leap of faith that I was capable of filming and making the documentary.

who knew about the history of soul music and also for somebody who didn’t. The hardest part, for me, was giving general background information, while also telling Teenie’s story. I also think a real challenge was making it feel authentic to Teenie and to who he is. To stay true to his spirit, and keep that spirit running throughout the movie.

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES A SONG TIMELESS? I’ll use the song, “Take Me to the River” as an example of that. It was recorded by so many different people and everybody was able to put their own spin on it. The story of the song remains intact. You can use the Talking Heads version of “Take Me to the River” in stark contrast to Al Green’s version. They are both so pleasurable to listen to.

—Aly Comingore

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE YOU FACED? My biggest challenge with this project was to make something that was accessible to someone

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BELLA VITA Jason Baffa

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ontrary to what is seen in most surf films, the act of waveriding does not happen in a cultural vacuum; after all, surfers are people, too, and with that comes heaps of colorful cultural baggage. Jason Baffa’s film Bella Vita cuts to the core of this truth by thoughfully and beautifully celebrating the burgeoning Italian surf scene and a long overdue trip “home” by proffesional surfer Chris Del Moro.

HOW DO YOU DECIDE TO MAKE A SURF FILM IN ITALY? During a vacation to Bali, I ran into Chris Del Moro (who I met years earlier at SBIFF when I screened One California Day and he screened Sliding Liberia). As we chatted — and got a bit deeper into the Bintang beer — we celebrated in the fact that we are both from Italian fathers.

Chris told me stories of splitting time between California with his mom and Italy with his dad. I was fascinated. He also told me about this unique surfing culture that was blossoming in Italy.

quickly. You are in a relatively small area of water surrounded by land, and yet the winds can howl in a matter of hours. I watched the Mediterranean Sea go from dead-flat to 8-foot chunky wind-swell chop in literally 30 minutes. It was amazing to see.

Furthermore, the Italian vibe in the water is so energized. Every time I rolled film on one of the Italian surfers, they had this huge smile on their face. They hang in the lineup just yelling and screaming in Italian to each other. In Italy it’s a party scene. Boards are flying; hands are flying; people are flying; it was quite an experience.

—Ethan Stewart

WHAT IS THAT CULTURE EXACTLY? The surf scene in Italy is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. If I had to sum it up in one word, I’d say “energized.” Everything happens very independent.com presents

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NOBLE

Stephan Bradley

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his true story tells of Christina Noble, who, born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, transcends a rough-scrabble childhood and finds herself a world away in Vietnam, destined to help the vulnerable children of that country. With pluck, imagination, and humor, Noble proves her motto to be true — that “a little insane goes a long way” — and that one individual can effect great change.

WHAT WAS IT ABOUT THIS STORY THAT PARTICULARLY CAUGHT YOUR ATTENTION? That the extraordinary life Christina Noble has lived is definitely “stranger than fiction” and that her heroic achievements, following a very difficult childhood and early adulthood, have an uplifting and inspiring energy to them. However, the qualities that made me most interested in making the film are that Christina Noble is very funny, loves music and sings wherever she goes, and has a ferocious courage that borders on fearlessness.

GLORIA CRAMER CURTIS HAS A SMALL PART IN THE FILM BUT WAS SO COMPELLING AS YOUNG CHRISTINA. HOW DID YOU COME UPON HER FOR THIS PART? It is always a difficult and exhaustive process because children who can really act are so hard to find. Amongst the hundred of meetings and tapes watched, myself and my producer, Melanie Gore-Grimes, saw something remarkable in Gloria.

She was only 8 years old at the time, and she came into the room with such confidence, spark, and enthusiasm that it was quite disarming to the adults there.

ACTUALLY, THE ENTIRE CAST IS QUITE IMPRESSIVE. WAS IT EASY TO GET THEM ALL ONBOARD? Fortunately the script got a very good response from actors, so we were in a happy situation where we could offer roles to many of the best Irish actors around, and they jumped at the opportunity.

After that it was merely about the usual scheduling difficulties with actors who are in high demand.

We were fortunate that Brendan Coyle had a gap in between shooting series of Downton Abbey; Liam Cunningham had just finished filming on Game of Thrones; and Ruth Negga was also between films, so we were lucky in that respect.

—Michelle Drown

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QUEENS AND COWBOYS: A STRAIGHT YEAR ON THE GAY RODEO Matt Livadary

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his engrossing film looks at the little-known world of the 30-year-old International Gay Rodeo Association, a parallel universe to traditional “straight” rodeo where competitors are just as talented, determined, and committed but also allowed to be open about their sexual orientation. Queens busts the stereotype of the American cowboy, establishing that it’s a way of life rather than a lifestyle.

WHAT DIFFICULTIES DID YOU ENCOUNTER WHILE MAKING QUEENS AND COWBOYS? Where do I start? Many lessons were learned on this film and almost all of them the hard way.

The hardest thing was definitely editing…My producer Erin and I outlined and re-outlined constantly, falling in love with stories and moments that seemed to be these puzzle pieces that I stubbornly tried to force into the edit.

And for a long time, nothing worked. We had great characters, but as a whole it just felt wrong.

Then maybe a year and a half into the edit, we had a breakthrough with one simple theme that unlocked everything… Once we discovered it, the movie roared to life and we had a rough cut within a few weeks.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE EXPERIENCE OF THE PROJECT? The incredible support I’ve received throughout its journey. This film was made for very little budget, so it was only made possible by favors and work from so many people. From sleeping on the couches of rodeo competitors to save money to our successful Kickstarter campaign to my parents letting me move back home during making this to my friend, collaborator, and mentor Ben Blank letting me work at his edit bay for two years to all my friends pitching in to watch cuts and give me notes and help in any way they could… Standing at the finish line and looking back on every serendipitous moment where people came together and helped the film happen in such a critical way is humbling.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE TAKE AWAY FROM THIS FILM? We hope to begin to reset the idea of tradition that has excluded so many people who have always been a part of it, simply not a part of its discussion.

By showing up to the film, the audience is already starting a new wave of accepting the idea of a larger spectrum. The film touches on many themes but only starts a conversation — one that I hope audiences will continue well after they’ve left the theater: less about the differences between our sexuality but more so the unifying qualities of perseverance and courage.

—Michelle Drown

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GOD’S SLAVE Joel Novoa

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his gripping narrative about the nearly forgotten (at least in the United States) story of how Middle Eastern militants infiltrated South American society to carry out antiIsrael bombings during the Lebanese civil war is a studious look at the inner workings of a terrorism-afflicted world, calling into question why people fight and whether there are truly good and bad guys.

WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO TELL THIS STORY AS A FEATURE FILM? I have always been intrigued by fundamentalism.

That intrigue grew after I was supposed to fly from Venezuela to U.S.A. to catch a plane in New York on September 11, 2001. I was unable to take that plane since I got dengue fever while shooting a movie in the Venezuelan jungle. I saw the attack in my jungle hospital TV, and little by little started researching about the lives of the terrorists that created the attack, mainly getting a big interest in their cover lives.

I got specifically attracted to this attack years later, when I was in Argentina mixing the sound of another terrorist-themed short film. I realized there were more than five countries involved in the tragedy and decided to make a story that could raise these tragedies 20 years later, but at the same time making it interesting, entertaining, and making a tolerance point by mixing different countries into this story.

THE WORLD OF THEN SEEMS, UNFORTUNATELY, EERILY SIMILAR TO TODAY. WHAT DO YOU HOPE PEOPLE LEARN? I hope we can learn to tolerate different points of view and learn that the real religion in this world

is love and not war. It is a call for union and for working together and a call against any kind of extremism. I do have a personal problem with extremist behaviors, but at the same time, I also know it starts at home and it is a consequence of a series of events that ended up there. I think the film talks about that.

THERE IS ALSO A GREAT SENSE OF SHOWING HOW NEITHER ONE SIDE IS FULLY GOOD NOR FULLY BAD. Because of technology and social media, we have become a world mainly based on the arrogance of thinking our life is valued to the quantity of followers or Facebook friends. This extreme realism has created the need to stop believing in a world of good and bad people. Now being bad is the new good. That makes our job as filmmakers more precise as we need to portray human beings in both sides of the coins. In this case particularly, I always tried not to take sides and just tell a personal story of two characters chased by the demons of their past. —Matt Kettmann

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THE WALLET Buck Lindehof

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his short romantic comedy by a Santa Barbara High grad employs a found wallet to instruct a young man on how not to lose the love of his life.

THEY CAME AT NIGHT Lindsay Branham

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y now, most have heard of the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the reign of terror they’ve inflicted on the people of Uganda and neighboring countries, where they steal children and turn them into soldiers to fight for an insane warlord named Joseph Kony. This film, by a Laguna Blanca High grad, tells that story intimately and not, for once, as a documentary, instead using the power of narrative storytelling to show what life is like both in the bush and when these child soldiers eventually escape.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO PORTRAY THIS STORY AS A NARRATIVE COMPARED TO A DOCUMENTARY? We wanted to control the nuances of the themes and messages of the story in a way we could not with a documentary. Our primary audience are central Africans, not Westerners, so this film was not primarily intended for awareness. It was created to hit the key issues of forgiveness and peace and to stir that response within people who have survived the war. Secondly, since we would be screening the film in communities affected by the war, using actors would protect people from any negative stigma, whereas a documentary could place people at risk.

WERE THESE PROFESSIONAL ACTORS? These are first-time, nonprofessional actors. They are farmers or schoolchildren or housemoms and community leaders. We believe in working with first-time actors because it opens up the opportunity for people without experience in film or theater to be part of this unique program. The change the actors experience through their acting performances is an important part of our model; they become drivers of social change in their communities after walking in the shoes of the characters they play.

THOSE WHO ESCAPE THE LRA ARE OFTEN TREATED AS CRIMINALS, EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE KIDNAPPED. IS THAT ATTITUDE CHANGING? Over 3,000 people in Democratic Republic of Congo have seen this film so far, and we have reports of people walking in to see the film from villages as far as 5 or 8 kilometers away. Our regional partners said that people are realizing for the first time that there are Ugandans who want to escape the LRA and that they have also experienced the same violence that the community members have. The empathy and identification is powerful, and we are seeing communities decide to be “surrender” points for the LRA. —Matt Kettmann

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THIS IS INSPIRED BY TRUE EVENTS. CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT? A buddy of mine came across an article about an elderly man and woman who were once madly in love but hadn’t seen each other in over 60 years. The article was about a worker at the nursing home who spoke to both the man and woman separately and realized the two of them had a connection; they both grew up in the same area as kids.

When he brought the two of them together, something magical happened. The elderly woman reached out and touched the man’s cheek and started crying; it was her long-lost love. The worker had no idea they had even known each other, let alone they were each other’s true love. I was so fascinated on how two people who, once crazy in love and had not seen each other for 60 years, could be living a floor apart and not know it. I needed to make this into a film.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU THINK TRUE LOVE IS LOST BECAUSE OF PEOPLE MAKING CAREER OR EDUCATION MOVES? I feel that life’s events in general have a great role in deciding true love. I feel that timing is everything. True love is about being at the right place at the right time. I also feel that space and distance heightens true love. You begin to long for someone when they’re gone. And I tried in my film to show this, the justification between the young couple and the elderly couple.

HOW OFTEN DO FRIENDS COMPLICATE MATTERS? Best friends are very important when it comes to relationships. Most guys and girls need reinforcement when it comes to someone they are dating, and if their best friends don’t like their significant other, it can mess up the relationship. It almost becomes a decision, what’s more important: my best friend or my relationship?

—Matt Kettmann

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