I began making films when I was fourteen years old. Ever since, filmmaking has defined my life. It has changed my perception of the world, it informed my development as a person. Creating and watching films have made me, me. And being a filmmaker became an inseperable part of my identity.
THE ARTIST
As an artist I explore the human condition, deconstructing characters to reveal deeply felt (and sometimes primal) emotions: anger, fear, joy, sadness, hope, shame, guilt, loneliness, love. I want to enter the liminal space between instinct and conscious decision, to reveal character and through specificity achieve a general understanding of what a human and our experience of the world actually is. Thus I treat the world and its locations as characters of their own as well, informing my decisions about the mise-en-scene. Sometimes this exploration expresses itself as a question, sometimes as a message – depending on my personal relationship and interest towards the story and characters.
Structurally I have a firm basis in drama and tragedy, but I prefer to match the dramatic structure to what the film aims to achieve. I prefer to mix genres and specifically like period and science-fiction storyworlds.
I have identified several reocurring elements in my work, but these naturally depend on the story. I prefer a slow place, giving each edit more weight and creating a need for it in the audience. I like for images to develop over time – through movement of or within the frame. Many of my compositions feature a dominant negative space. Depth and layered compositions are important as well. I use blocking (spatial relationships) to convey character / interpersonal relationships, supporting or contrasting the dialogue. As I treat the world as a character, textures are very important to me, e.g. I like to emhpasize details of natrual phenomena, like Komorebi (jap.: sunlight filtering through trees). Many of my films feature a dominant color.
My films are rather quiet, I prefer the dialogue to be constructed with layers. Music and sound design should complement each other to build a soundscape, immersing the audience into the filmworld. As with the visuals, I prefer distinct textures within the sound.
THE LEADER
To me, filmmaking is the ultimate collaborative artform. The team enables me to make a film and as a director it is my responsibility to enable them to unfold their capabilities. I care about my crew and cast and emphasize creating an enjoyable yet focused atmosphere. There’s a balance to strike between challenging the team to go beyond what they believe is within their skillset and to be a foundation for them to fall back on. To that end I have been working on my leadership skills for over 10 years.
In an increasingly difficult economic environment, I believe that communcation and budget/resource transparency is key to achieve a quality product that stays within the limitations of said resources. To that end I put a lot of work into defining the core identity of the film, to help guide decisions regarding budget and labour and overcome challenges set by limited resources. While a director’s primary task is to develop and communicate the vision of the film, the role and shifts within industry and market also demands to take an encompassing perspective, meaning to involve oneself with financing, marketing, distribution, and more, the degree naturally depending on the collaborators.