Tackling a timely but under-discussed contemporary issue in both the United States and Canada, journalists Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie (A Girl Named C) investigate a string of abuses and missing persons cases at an indigenous residential school in Sugarcane. The film, naturally, spends a great deal of time with indigenous peoples, and the filmmakers sought to maintain evidence of the deep culture and community of their subjects. Below, editor Nathan Punwar explains how they reconciled that goal with the need to keep the film moving. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor questionnaire here. Filmmaker: How and why […]

The post “Retain the Depth and the Breadth of This Community”: Editor Nathan Punwar on Sugarcane first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

While tripping on mushrooms during the summer before her first semester of college, Elliott (Maisy Stella) encounters a future version of herself (Aubrey Plaza) in My Old Ass, the sophomore feature from writer, director and EP Megan Park. What ensues is a process of self-discovery that eschews scientific conventions of time and space. Jennifer Vecchiarello delves into her experience cutting Park’s film, where her duties included “teasing out the relationships” between characters and utilizing temp ADR and voiceover during the edit. See all responses to our annual Sundance editor questionnaire here. Filmmaker: In terms of advancing your film from its […]

The post “It Was a Lot of Experimentation Along the Way”: Editor Jennifer Vecchiarello on My Old Ass first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? When I was writing the movie, I remember saying, “I want Elliott’s home to feel like the type of cottage where you are always hearing a screen door slam in the background.” That was such a familiar and memorable sound from my […]

The post “Finding the Perfect Cottage to Film In” | Megan Park, My Old Ass first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

The advent of AI now offers the bereaved an opportunity to connect with deceased loved ones via avatars, a creation that captured the interest of filmmakers Hans Block and Moritz Riesewieck. Their documentary Eternally You investigates the benefits and dangers of digital immortality. Cinematographers Tom Bergmann and Konrad Waldmann reveal how they collaborated on this project, which required equal parts empathy and adhering to a specific artistic vision. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? Bergmann: Georg Tschurtschenthaler, producer extraordinaire, reached out to me […]

The post “To Get Soaked Into the Story and Not Be Aware of the Camera”: DPs Tom Bergmann and Konrad Waldmann on Eternal You first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

By the time in 2010 Martine Rothblatt completed the first iteration of Bina48, the “social robot” modeled after her real-life partner, Bina Aspen (now Bina Rothblatt), she had already trailblazed an extraordinary career across multiple industries. A lawyer and entrepreneur, she cofounded Sirius Satellite Radio as well as biotech company United Therapeutics, the latter an outgrowth of her work developing a medication that saved her daughter Jenesis’s life, along with over 40,000 others suffering from pulmonary arterial hypertension. So when Rothblatt, a transgender rights activist, who, at one point, was declared the world’s highest paid female CEO, and her wife […]

The post “This Isn’t Just Any AI”: Director Pete Sillen on Bina48 and His Sundance Documentary, Love Machina first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively? The biggest inspiration for me making this film at all was Maria’s blog, where she was telling the story of her family’s journey towards being wild and free. She inspired me so much both when it comes to storytelling, and visually with […]

The post “The Biggest Inspiration for Me Making This Film at All Was Maria’s Blog” | Silje Evensmo Jacobsen, A New Kind of Wilderness first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Director Silje Evensmo Jacobsen also served as the primary cinematographer on her documentary A New Kind of Wilderness, premiering at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in the World Documentary Competition. The film follows the Payne family, who’ve been happily residing in a remote Norwegian forest until a death in the family forces them to move back into populated society. Below, Evensmo Jacobsen describes her approach to shooting A New Kind of Wilderness, which she did alongside directing in order to foster a more genuine intimacy with the film’s subjects. See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here. Filmmaker: How […]

The post “Me Being There by Myself Led to More Authentic and Intimate Situations”: DP Silje Evensmo Jacobsen on A New Kind of Wilderness first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

When the Payne family experiences a personal tragedy, they must leave the home they love in the remote Norwegian wilderness and enmesh themselves in the society they once felt so strongly opposed to in A New Kind of Wilderness, the latest documentary from filmmaker Silje Evensmo Jacobsen. First-time producer Mari Bakke Riise, who also served as the film’s editor, discusses how her long-time collaboration with Evensmo Jacobsen led to her multi-pronged involvement on this project. See all responses to our questionnaire for first-time Sundance producers here.  Filmmaker: Tell us about the professional path that led you to produce this film, your […]

The post “Stay True to Your Gut”: Producer Mari Bakke Riise on A New Kind of Wilderness first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Premiering in the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, A New Kind of Wilderness is a portrait of the Payne family, who reside in the remote Norwegian wilderness in an attempt to disconnect from the modern world. When a tragic event befalls the family, however, the remaining members are forced to reintegrate into a society they once rejected. Editor Mari Bakke Riise, who previously worked with director Silje Evensmo Jacobsen on an episodic project, explains how she navigated the lack of a specific family member on-screen while cutting the film. See all responses to our annual Sundance […]

The post “I Still Find Myself Getting Moved by the Film, Despite Having Watched It Hundreds of Times”: Editor Mari Bakke Riise on A New Kind of Wilderness first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.

Films are made of and from places: the locations they are filmed in, the settings they are meant to evoke, the geographies where they are imagined and worked on. What place tells its own story about your film, whether a particularly challenging location that required production ingenuity or a map reference that inspired you personally, politically or creatively?  I have spent the last decade shooting all over Los Angeles, and wanted to use my first film as an opportunity to show different sides of the city—ones that don’t always get the spotlight in movies. In particular, we had a very important […]

The post “A Section of the LA River Which Is Often Overlooked” | Jack Begert, Little Death first appeared on Filmmaker Magazine.