Reel Women Fanzine

Fanzine January 2018

Interview with Anete Melece, director of Kiosk (2013) The Kiosk takes us on the intriguing and amusing journey of a woman, Olga, and how she finds it in herself to change her life. She spends her day in the kiosk serving locals and wistfully dreaming of the coast. After an unexpected turn, she finds a way to roam around whilst still trapped in her kiosk.

The Kiosk seems to represent the restraints we as a society have around ourselves. But instead of giving up or fighting, Olga learns to use the barrier to her advantage and find the positivity in a tight situation. Director Anete Melece told us: ‘At the beginning I thought that it is a story about being stuck in a comfort zone that doesn’t allow further growing, and that sometimes we need some kick to finally step out of it. But later, when the film was already finished, maybe it has more to do with self-acceptance and the inner freedom. Once the kiosk lady realises that she can move around in spite of being stuck in a kiosk, there is nothing to hold her back. Essentially, finding a good excuse to back up our fears or laziness is always easier than actually changing something.’

Melece’s other animations, such as Analysis Paralysis (2016) are similar in their detailed storylines and simple, profound messages. She agrees that working in animation gives space to more interpretations, and the pastel pencil shading does give the viewer a whole new level of reality. But she also feels that ‘a film (or actually any artwork) needs to offer material for thought and not to give ready answers.’ The Kiosk is an eloquent example of how adventures and journeys sometimes start within ourselves and through self-determination.

“Most of my inspiration comes from life and experiences, and in moments where I have a creative block,” says Melece. “I need to look at something silly to loosen up or in fact travel. This type of vocation requires time.

In the indie animation field, I have a lot of female colleagues, but in the general industry there are a lack of female voices and awareness of this needs to be raised.

Finally, here is a message from my kiosk lady: if you have an idea and you think about it day and night, don’t look for excuses, but find a way to do it.’

- Elle Haywood This fanzine has been designed and edited by Rosy Hunt at Take One. For extra coverage of tonight’s event please check our website takeonecff.com and follow @takeonecinema

Director Anete Melece

Sinéad O’Loughlin on her film Homecoming (2017)

“Homecoming” started as a one act play called “Wake” that I wrote in college in 2009. It was essentially a conversation between Mick and Aoife in the aftermath of a death. As they talk we find out that Aoife is about to go off to college and Mick is considering going to Australia.

We wanted to show how a rural setting can be so beautiful and dramatic looking.

But then there’s a stark contrast in the harsh reality of actually working that land and the sometimes mundane ritual of maintaining it on a daily basis.

Emigration is still a big issue for Irish people. It’s strange because it’s more fluid than it used to be. People come back and go again, we also feel a stronger connection to those who have left than people did in the past because of the Internet but they’re still gone and there’s that absence. And its impact on small towns around Ireland is palpable. I myself have two siblings who are abroad; my brother is based in Australia, my sister is in the UK. I myself emigrated to Canada but I wasn’t very good at it! I went in 2007 and came back in 2008 when things were starting to turn bad in Ireland. I was coming back when everyone was starting to leave! It’s frustrating too that you sometimes feel a pressure to leave and you hear the stories of how well everyone is doing, how much better the quality of life is. So I wanted to explore that. With Aoife, she has left to make her own life, to escape grief but she has the burden of worrying about her mother; with Mick, I wanted to explore his frustration because he’s been left behind and he knows it.

The above quotes are reproduced from an interview with http://www.irishfilmfesta.org, the only Italian film festival completely dedicated to Irish cinema.

A Bicycle Trip (2007)

It’s the story of a double trip. A physical journey, one in which the chemist Albert Hoffman really took his bicycle to go back home in the spring of 1943 spring under the effects of an unknown substance he was testing (lysergic acid diethylamide, better known as LSD). But it’s also a symbolic journey, inside the scientist’s mind, representing the feelings he may have felt. Nandini Nambiar, Lorenzo Veracini and Marco Avoletta recreate this event from a new perspective, creating their own version of a ‘40s styled psychedelia.

Since working on this short, co-creator Nandini Nambiar has gone on to work as a CG artist on “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”, “A Monster Calls”, “Terminator Genisys” and “Fantastic Four”.

Tonight we’ll be showing a trailer for the new film “A Wrinkle In Time”, based on Madeleine L’Engle’s novel of the same name. The story follows Meg as she embarks on a fantastic journey to save her father, using a “tesseract” to travel through space and time.

If you’re a fan of the book, or like the look of the film, you might be interested to read graphic novelist Hope Larson’s adaptation of the story. It’s illustrated in black, white and blue, and although many artists today use Photoshop or Illustrator, the book is entirely hand-drawn. The house in the opening scene is based on photos of Madeleine L’Engle’s actual house, “Crosswicks” - although most of the story doesn’t take place on Earth so it wasn’t always possible to draw from real life...

Director Laura Wadha

Flight (2017) Two young sisters who arrive in Sweden having fled the war in Syria are becoming teenagers in a new world. They try to hold on to the memories of their once beautiful home while struggling to deal with the repercussions of growing up surrounded by war.

Director Laura Wadha is a half Scottish, half Syrian documentary filmmaker and “Flight” follows the journey of her two young cousins, Mera and Maria. The film will be released online on the 29th of January at https://www.shortoftheweek.com. If you enjoy this film please support it by following https://www.facebook.com/FlightShortFilm/ Director Anne-Ester Volozh

Johanne (2012) Joan of Arc is the inspiration for Johanne, an animated short written, directed, produced and edited by Anna-Ester Volozh, who alludes to the archetypal fairy-tale - although a feminist narrative subverts the typical fable. The short opens on Johanne herself, a princess-like character, strolling through a quaint medieval village, interacting with the playful villagers. The pleasant atmosphere changes in the second act, however, when the Joan of Arc inspiration becomes clear and our protagonist finds herself in battle with her environment.

Gorgeously animated, the film has an enchanting appeal throughout and thoroughly engages the audience with its heroine, despite the limited running time. Set to an atmospheric rendition of “My Favourite Things” from “The Sound of Music”, Johanne is a stunning addition to January’s Reel Women programme, and a great fit with our adventure theme.

- Yozzie Osman

Natalia Mirzoyan’s poignant short is an example of original animation at its finest: Mirzoyan used tea leaves in her stop motion animation to mirror the Indian setting of the film. The film follows the story of one of nature’s smallest animals while commenting on much bigger issues. Chinti is an ant, who desperately tries to re-create the Taj Mahal from pieces of debris.

His efforts are thwarted time and time again until eventually, towards the end of his life, he finishes his masterpiece. In a tragic but charming ending, the film’s “bigger picture” is revealed. We spoke to Natalia about the idea behind Chinti and how she began the process.

“The idea came to me while travelling in India. I saw the Taj Mahal, it was so little and far away. I thought that so many insects live there and have no idea where they are. So I thought about our cosmos and that we are also little and cannot see the whole picture of the universe.” Mirzoyan’s influences are a mix of both animators and live action filmmakers. Classic animators that have influenced her filmmaking include Priit Pärn, whose surrealist style and dark humour can be seen in his films Triangle (1982) and Breakfast on the Grass (1987). Caroline Leaf is also a major influence, widely renowned for her unique style in her short animations such as Two Sisters (1991) and The Street (1976). It’s easy to see where Mirzoyan’s distinctive style of animation comes from.

“And of course in different times there are different influences,” she says. The key for Mirzoyan is atmosphere: where small, mundane stories can be made into something greater, much like the story of Chinti.

Director Natalia Mirzoyan

Look out for Mirzoyan’s new animation which will soon be doing the rounds at festivals: Пять минут до моря, which roughly translates as “Five minutes to the sea.”

- April McIntyre

Chinti (2012)

Please let us know what you think of tonight’s event! Follow facebook.com/ReelWomen/ & @ReelWomenUK

Edmond (2015)

Producer Emilie Jouffroy and director Nina Gantz picking up their BAFTAs for Edmond Edmond is the first stop-motion film from Dutch filmmaker and animator Nina Gantz, who counts Jan Švankmajer and Michaela Pavlatova among her inspirations. The award-winning short follows Edmond on an adventure through his past, as he contemplates what led him to where he is now. His surreal journey takes him through his defining moments which he relives again. Edmond’s impulse is to be as close to others as possible, often to their detriment. as he shows his affection in peculiar ways. The film spans Edmond’s entire life in reverse, until we finally see the origin of his odd desires. Gantz explores the whole human condition in just a 9-minute morsel. She tackled similar complex issues in a previous short in 2010 with her film Zaliger, dealing with loss and loneliness. Gantz has perfected the art of simplifying and condensing hard to swallow topics into nice bite sized pieces, just enough to leave you feeling slightly uncomfortable but not overwhelmed.

Edmond may not leave you feeling as fuzzy as you’d expect from a man made of felt, but this unassuming short is an original and creative exploration of what it means to be human. Edmond won the NextGen Best of British Award at Encounters festival and went on to win a BIFA before being awarded a BAFTA last year for - April McIntyre “Best Animated Short”.

“What is directing but multitasking? “That’s all it is. It’s basically multitasking. Women were meant to be directors. We were bred to be directors.” - Julie Delpy, actor and director

There is something quite peculiar about The Backseat, which is also surprisingly endearing. In the harsh streets of Luton, we join a slightly rough individual called Shelby (Kate Lassman Long) at the back of the bus. There is an immediate sense of defiance about her character, and she has something to say about everything. At first you feel slightly uncomfortable when she rambles on to unwilling strangers, however you slowly begin to warm to her and her stories Director Miranda Howard-Williams tell of a tough life. I felt compassion towards her need for conversation and company, and despite a prejudiced initial reaction, appreciated her point of view and unwavering kindness where she felt it was due.

The Backseat is Miranda Howard-Williams’ fifth film, and she executes it with precision and care. The shots surrounding Shelby show her isolation, and the first person perspective with a vignette frame shows her sadness with everyone turning their back on her. There is a certain power behind having a female protagonist, and a deep respect for her gumption.

For most people a bus ride is a temporary trip in their life, consisting of around 15 minutes and then forgotten almost instantly. In this situation, Shelby’s travels are never ending. Physically she’s on the move from one location to another, and mentally having to accept and understand the situation she’s in. Her tough exterior melts away during a scene where someone’s life is on the line, and all that is revealed is a scared young girl. This revelation of vulnerability is key in understanding the piece, and is executed in a way that is deeply reflective to the audience.

- Elle Haywood Even in the 21st century women are still under-represented in the field of typeface design and development, and despite their rising numbers they are also less visible. The font used in this fanzine is Mr Eaves XL, which was developed by Slovak-born type designer Zuzana Licko as a sans-serif partner to her Mrs Eaves.

Bottle (2010) Kirsten Lepore graduated from Maryland Institute College of Art and then freelanced in animation for two years before taking a graduate degree in Experimental Animation at CalArts, where she made “Bottle”. This short film charts the relationship of two natural elements: sand and snow. Kirsten single-handedly animated a three-foot tall snowman and its sea shore counterpart frame by frame. The snow stuck together fine, but the beach puppet had to be built from foam covered with sand and vegetable shortening, and supported by several rigs. She used minimal technology for this messy solo shoot, as she was anxious not to damage any of her equipment with sand, Crisco or melting ice...

“Bad Jubies” (Adventure Time, 2016)

Since completing “Bottle” Kirsten has co-directed a film with Lena Dunham, detailing the 100 year history of Planned Parenthood and featuring voice actors including Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep and Amy Schumer. She was also invited

by Cartoon Network to write and direct the first ever stop-motion episode of their hit show, “Adventure Time.”

Visit http://www.kirstenlepore.com/ to watch these two works, along with tons of other sweet shorts, including one that features the cast of MB Games’ “Guess Who” lip-syncing to a Grandmaster Flash track.

- Rosy Hunt This issue's cover artist is Elle Haywood, a Media Studies student at ARU. As well as writing for Take One, she edits the Ruskin Journal student newspaper, and volunteers at Cam FM. No stranger to travel and adventure, last summer Elle dived with reef sharks in San Salvador, and plans to travel to Italy, France, Indonesia and the US this year.