Shorts
Reviews, previews and highlights of features and shorts from the myDylarama team and guest writers.
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Interview with Nyima Cartier, director of L’homme silencieux [A Quiet Man]
3 February 2021, by Abla Kandalaft, Brasserie du Court teamWhat made you want to tell the story of Vincent Blanchot? Is the character based on a real person? A few years ago I read Melville’s short story Bartleby. It takes place on Wall Street in the 1850s and tells the story of Bartleby, an accountant who ceases working one day and replies to every question from his boss by saying, “I would prefer not to”. The book has a plot and secondary characters, but I was deeply fascinated by this man who is detached from everything while still being (...) -
Interview with Rayka Zehtabchi and Sam Davis, directors of Are You Still There?
2 February 2021, by Elise LoiseauYou created three great female characters, and the daughter-mother bond is really well depicted. What can you tell us about the character development? Rayka: Spoiler alert here. The story is very personal. My father passed away during my first year of college. Despite pressure from my family and friends to take the semester off, I decided to return only a week after his passing. I believed that in order to survive the moment, I needed to throw myself into film school and tune out the (...) -
Q&A with the team behind Coffin
2 February 2021, by Elise LoiseauInterview with Houzhi Huang, Yuanqing Cai, Mandimby Lebon, Theo Tran Ngoc, Mikolaj Janiw and Nathan Crabot, codirectors of Coffin What made you want to make Coffin? We originally wanted to make a film with a short and simple story and to enjoy ourselves making an animation. We also wanted to make a film about an insomniac. Meanwhile, we came across a documentary on the cage homes in Hong Kong. The details and colors of these apartments inspired us for the background and context of the (...) -
Interview with Sophie Beaulieu, director of Salem
2 February 2021, by Clotilde CouturierWhy did you want to depict such a strict, snobbish family? The family isn’t so much strict and snobbish as stuck in their “values”, which they transmit by repeating rituals, behaviors and absurd ideologies. The upper classes are convinced they’re right; they’re very good at perpetuating patterns that need to be broken. It’s alarming when you think about the fact that most positions of power reside within the upper classes; it was that thought that spurred me to depict this family. Did (...) -
Interview with Antoine Beauvois-Boetti, director of Le Cercle d’Ali [Ali’s Circle]
1 February 2021, by Brasserie du Court team, Elise LoiseauHow much of Le Cercle d’Ali is documentary? Did you do research beforehand? I really wanted to get as close as possible to reality. Firstly, out of respect for the subject and the people involved. And also out of principle. I like the idea that the cinema, through narrative, can also have the opportunity to discover certain things, and that, too with precision and sincerity. I already knew Bouzkachi well, but the reality on the ground is quite different. It was the different trips, (...) -
Interview with Alice Fargier, director of Le temps d’une nuit [The Time of Night]
1 February 2021, by Abla KandalaftWhere did the idea for Le temps d’une nuit come from? A friend of mine disappeared without giving any signs of life for several months. When I found her at a party at someone’s house who I barely knew, she was euphoric and I hardly recognized her. The three of us spent the night together until the early morning. It was a timeless night. After that, I started to drift away from the real events and I worked hard on the characters, on their backstory, on the exact nature of their (...) -
Interview with Theo Montoya, director of Son of Sodom
1 February 2021, by Brasserie du Court team, Clotilde CouturierHow have you met Camilo Najar? I met Camilo 6 years ago at a party. When I saw him, he immediately caught my attention, he was a special guy, with his curly hair, and super thin. Besides that, he had an overwhelming personality. I will always remember a phrase that he told me “I care more about having acne than being gay”. Do you often deal with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues in your films and will you in the future? I think I am portraying my generation and this (...) -
Interview with Anna Szöllősi, director of Helfer
1 February 2021, by Brasserie du Court teamCafé court / Expresso Video - Anna Szöllősi from ClermontFd Short Film Festival on Vimeo. How would you describe the crisis the woman is facing? To what extent is the helper helping? The woman is struggling with anxiety and has an intense fear of death. She also has constant nightmares about drowning. She wants to become free from this existential fear and is asking for immortality from the helper. The helper is offering her a solution, but unfortunately, it has its consequences. I (...) -
Interview with Sam White, director of Friends Online
30 January 2021, by Abla Kandalaft"Stacey" an anxiety ridden, lonely, keyboard-warrior recluse hopelessly tries to convince his favourite young friend Ellie, that he too is a teenage girl, with the desperate hope that she’ll send him the pictures he craves. Sam White impressive debut short strikes just the right balance of comedy and creepiness. She handles the short format expertly, as her set design and stylistic choices contribute to the crescendo of the characters’ interactions, leading to a satisfying punchline. (...) -
Interview with Guillaume Mainguet, director of Vincent Before Noon
30 January 2021, by Abla KandalaftA father pays his son a visit after years of conflict and turns up in the middle of his house move. The son Vincent reacts violently to that intrusion. Emotionally weakened, the father involuntarily reveals the true reason of his visit, which revives the tension between them. Within a few minutes, the anger, the memories and the crossed looks move the two men deeply. Vincent Before Noon won the Audience Prize at the Winter edition of Emerging Filmmakers Night. Mainguet delivers a (...)