Shorts
Reviews, previews and highlights of features and shorts from the myDylarama team and guest writers.
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Interview with Marian Freistühler, director of Die Geheimnisvollen Inseln [Islands in the City]
18 February 2022, by Brasserie du Court team, Elise LoiseauGhostly, the temporarily shut down cruise ships lie in the port of Hamburg. A young man comes into town and is stranded on the riverbank, waiting for a message. He watches couples strolling along in the sunset and gets himself some sweets. In a moment of collective pause, Islands in the City captures a fragile romance. There is a departure in the air, the destination of which no one seems to know. Did the lockdowns and more generally the pandemic draw you to make a film that deals with (...) -
Interview with Frédéric Bas and Caroline Brami, co-directors of L’Inspection
18 February 2022, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court teamJulia, an experienced history teacher in a rather quiet high school, faces a school inspector. He wants to talk to her. But what about, exactly? Her heated debates with the principal? The freedom she takes with the school program? Or the way she teaches the Shoah? Where did you get the idea for the interview between the school inspector and the teacher? We were looking for a situation that’s rarely seen in films about schools and that was likely to raise as many questions as (...) -
Interview with Alexandra Brodski, director of Joy
15 February 2022, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court team’Joy’ captures a moment in the lives of the inmates of a children’s prison, revolving around Joy - the 12-year-old self-made charismatic preacher who wields an intoxicating power over her peers, and perhaps even the staff. What did you want to explore through your two protagonists’ relationship? I wanted to explore the complex dynamics of power and dependency between two children incarcerated in a children’s secure home. We follow the teenage boy Jacob who – based on his age and gender (...) -
Interview with Victor Trifilieff, director of Les Curiosités du mal [The Hunt of the Unicorn]
15 February 2022, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court teamElias is not connecting with any of the other millennials he’s on vacation with. After witnessing them perform a shocking display of cruelty toward a defenseless creature, he becomes even more alienated from the group. But dealing with the aftermath of the incident will prove pivotal in his struggle with his own inner demons. Could you tell us how you came up with the title? What do you think of the English translation? I like it when a film’s title has a certain poetry to it, a hint (...) -
Interview with Michael Bohnenstingl, director of Slouch
15 February 2022, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court teamWannabe musical legend Slouch is pushed by his song-writing-demon Nuffti to deepdive into his darkest emotions, while his girlfriend Lisa is pregnant and wants him to transition into a harmonic family life... How personal is the story? Are you basing it on experience or someone you know? Back in Ludwigsburg I spent a lot of time making music and hanging out at our rehearsal room complex with other musicians. At some point I noticed an interesting paradox: many of the musicians (...) -
Interview with Aurélie Reinhorn, director of Son Altesse Protocole
14 February 2022, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court teamGrumpy, Bashful, Cinderella and Piglet are trying to re-enchant the proletariat. One upon the time there was Wanda, and her first day at work at an amusement park. Why did you want to make a film in an amusement park? Were you inspired by a similar park that you’ve been to? I wanted to talk about insecure employment by looking at the mechanics of oppression and domination, where cynicism reached a peak when managerial techniques adopted the idea of “happiness at work”. Those two terms (...) -
Interview with Ihsen Kammoun, director of Road to El Kef
14 February 2022, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court teamWith his mother and brother gone, a vulnerable teenager living in northern Tunisia charts a path that threatens to tear apart what remains of his family. The film explores quite complex family issues; no mean feat for a film that’s under half an hour. What did you want to explore through these relationships? One of the things I felt strongly about was that I wanted this film to have its own time to tell its story for as long as it takes. I wasn’t really interested in making a film (...) -
Interview with Andrea Szelesová, director of Sestry [Sisters]
14 February 2022, by Brasserie du Court team, Elise LoiseauThe Big Sister – a person of colossal size – is trapped in sand in a deserted landscape. With no way to take care of herself, this burden falls on her resentful little sister. But The Big Sister keeps growing and sinking into her trap. Despite of The Little Sister’s attempts to stop it, she is left with one night to say goodbye and let go. Can you tell us a bit about your inspiration and the story behind the story of Sestry? I thought for a long time what my graduation movie would be (...) -
Interview with Guillaume Fournier, Samuel Matteau and Yannick Nolin, directors of Belle River
14 February 2022, by Brasserie du Court teamBelle River is a film about Louisiana and its peaceful inhabitants, both threatened with extinction by the emergence of the climate crisis. How interested are you in the issue of climate change and do you plan on making more films on this topic? The issue of climate change concerns all three of us, and we expect it will be part of our future work at different levels. Given the upcoming upheavals, it will be hard to avoid the issue, even if it is just in the background of our future (...) -
Interview with Arthur Cahn, director of Jeudi, vendredi, samedi
14 February 2022, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court teamThe factory where Romain and Adémar work has caught fire, so they decide to enjoy three days of idleness together in the mild summer. The relationship between Romain and Adémar is very touching. How did you come up with the idea for this friendship between colleagues? I’ve always been interested in the way adult artists call on their childlike sensibilities to take on youth. I’m a person who needs a lot of tenderness and I like reading illustrated books. A few years ago I found an (...)