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Naji al Ali doc premiere on Al Jazeera July 28, 2010

Posted by joost in : producing, screening, work , comments closed

Exactly one year ago I line produced a documentary on the Palestinian cartoonist Naji al Ali (ناجي العلي). This week episodes 1 and 2 are premiering on Al Jazeera in the Middle East, on Friday evenings at prime time 8pm!
The title is “La likatem al sawt” or “No for the silencer”, which is a reference to the last cartoon Naji drew before he was shot.
It also marks a première for me since I had not seen any footage nor the finished version. But even if I had, it would have still been a challenge since the entire program is in Arabic :-)
Very excited and proud to see the doc out in the open! Now let’s hope and pray the ratings and reception will be good.

The first episode focuses on his youth, upbringing, the state of the (and his) world from the forties to the eighties and the run up to his death. This episode can be seen (at least at the moment) on youtube:
parts 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

The second episode focuses on the assassination, the people and organisations who might have been involved, and attempts to uncover new evidence. Watch the live stream of Al Jazeera on Friday the 30th of July 20:00 UEA / 19:00 NL / 18:00 UK (Java required). Check out this episode on Youtube:
parts 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5

November activities December 2, 2009

Posted by joost in : LFA, festivals, film, reflection, screening, screenwriting, work , comments closed

An overview of what I have been working on in the last month:

Screenings + Q&A’s May 11, 2009

Posted by joost in : film, lifestyle, london, screening , comments closed

It’s good to be back in London! My timing is impeccable, since three new films had an advance premiere this week including a Q&A after the screening. I managed to get into all three of them.

First off Coraline, in 3D. The advances in stop motion techniques alone and the greater ambition can clearly be seen in this film. It has a very cinematic feel when it comes to the camera work, lighting and editing. And “as promised” the use of 3D is all in support of enhancing the story. Coraline is set in the real world and a parallel fantasy world. Both in set design and 3D these two worlds have a different depth to them.


Joost with fancy Dolby 3D glassesCoraline Q&A @ BFI

Joost with fancy Dolby 3D glasses

Coraline Q&A @ BFI

Writer/director Henry Selick, writer (of the novel) Neil Gaiman and (voice) actor John Hodgman were interviewed on stage for about 40 minutes and answered questions from the audience. A very pleasant Q&A with honest and detailed answers about the making of the film, and plenty of jokes and snide remarks.

The next day I saw Chéri, Stephen Frears latest film. I must admit I wasn’t particularly interested in this film beforehand, and haven’t changed my mind after watching it. Michelle Pfeifer gives a good performance, and the cinematography by one of my favorite DoP’s Darius Khondji is marvelous, but the subject matter and story just couldn’t hold my attention.
That does NOT apply to Stephen Frears, one of Brittain’s most respected directors. Also attending the Q&A was another top class British film maker, writer Christopher Hampton.

This is the first time that I saw Frears in real life, and he struck me as a director who is not overly enthusiastic to explain the choices that he has made in his film(s) and the meaning of particular scenes. Fascinating to hear him talk nevertheless, because he has a very self-deprecating style, “confesses” his ignorance when it comes to other disciplines involved into making a film come to live (set design, costumes, music), jokes that he doesn’t tell his cast how to act but at the same time stresses the importance of every single word of dialogue, but of course knows very well what he is doing when he is covering a scene.

Thanks to my persistence and the helping hand of someone from The Script Factory, I managed to get into the sold-out premiere today of Synecdoche, New York, Charlie Kaufman‘s latest film and directorial debut.
Ever since hearing the premise of this film I had been looking forward to seeing it. And like any Kaufman film it will require multiple viewings to really appreciate the complex narrative and visuals. But suffice it to say that I am quite impressed! It is a somber contemplation on death, illness, lost loves, creating art and identity.

Perhaps I wanted to hear him talk even more than to watch his film. If you look at the feature length screenplays he has written so far I think he is one of the most extraordinary minds of this decade. Read this Wired article or listen to the complete audio dump to get a feel for how he talks and what captures his attention and imagination.
The man himself… intelligent, witty, rambling at times, honest in how he perceives life and how he incorporates that into his screenplays/films. He made a great remark to conclude the Q&A, which was something along the lines of (this is my recollection of what he said btw, so not an actual quote):

“I have tried to make a film that is truthful. I have tried to find a way to tell it in a different way than conventions dictate. I might have failed… I probably have failed, but it was an attempt to get closer to what the film is really about. And hopefully this will inspire other filmmakers to explore and to get closer to achieving that goal as well.”

For a moment it felt like he was addressing me, and I left the cinema with an inspired smile on my face.

More screenings “Rule 2″ May 3, 2009

Posted by joost in : film, screening , comments closed

My graduation film “Rule 2″ will be shown on the 23rd of May during the Accidental Festival 2009 here in London, as part of the program Alive or Alone.

I am also in the process of getting paperwork signed so that my film will be shown on a regular basis in the Brillia Shorts Shorts Theater in Yokohama, Japan. Wicked!

Haveseenlist 2009 January 1, 2009

Posted by joost in : film, screening , comments closed

This post will be updated throughout the year with all the films that I have seen (hence the name). This is the unabridged version.
See the post Best films in 2009 for a summary.

Last updated: Tue Dec 29th, 2009

Graduation October 13, 2008

Posted by joost in : LFA, film, lifestyle, london, reflection, screening , comments closed

It’s true, I’ve graduated – again! “Because a Masters degree in Business and IT just doesn’t cut it” :-)

Graduation Diploma 11 at Riverside Studios
“Ladies and gentlemen, Diploma 11, the class of 2007/2008!”

And so it was that on a sunny Saturday in October 300+ people gathered at the Riverside Studios to celebrate the work of 34 graduate students of the London Film Academy. Almost everyone of my diploma year (13 out of 16) was back in London for this joyous occasion, plus about 18 students of the year that came after me. We graduated together, that is why my diploma year had to wait six months after having already finished our year back in March.

They showed all our films, the good ones and the bad ones (I should say “the interesting failures”, sounds a bit nicer…). Loads of family and friends were present to applaud, cheer and wipe away tears.

The official part of the ceremony consisted of handing out the diplomas to all the students by principals Daisy and Anna, and the two special guests David Game and Nicolas Roeg, and announcing the winners of the awards. Yes, awards, to honor some of the outstanding work and to give the day a bit more flair.

The good news for me was that I actually won two awards :-D First I was voted Student of the year by my fellow students and lecturers of the LFA. Really nice to be acknowledged like this by my peers.
More importantly my film “Rule 2″ was voted Film of the year 2008, out of 17 films! A great reward for our teamwork and the resulting film.

Apart from certificates that describe these awards, there are some prizes involved as well. I will receive some goodies, and best of all, £500 worth of rental equipment towards my next short film, and extra distribution support (festival submissions) for “Rule 2″. Good stuff!

All of this had to be celebrated of course :-) First a reception in the cinema bar to congratulate everyone, and after some food we headed towards a nightclub to club ourselves to death. I wandered out at 11am the next morning (!), blurry eyed and with only half my voice left, but incredibly happy.

It’s difficult to describe, but then again it is very straightforward: I’ve successfully finished a film school in London, something that I only could dream about years ago. I’ve been taught by some of the best professionals in the industry. I’ve made bonds for life with some of my classmates. My family and some of my friends were present to not only see me graduate but also to (finally) meet some of the people that I had been talking about the past year and a half. I’m incredibly proud of my own achievements, of those of my fellow classmates, of my loved ones for supporting me all the way through, and of course you my dear reader, for staying in touch if only from a distance.

Graduation time October 7, 2008

Posted by joost in : LFA, film, screening , comments closed

Saturday 11 October marks the day that I will officially graduate! Together with the Diploma year that came after us, my year will celebrate completing the course at the London Film Academy. All our films will be screened in the cinema of the Riverside Studios, followed by the graduation ceremony, drinks and a wild night of partying of course ;-)

Around this weekend two showcases take place, where selected films of these two diploma years are shown to industry people. It’s basically a networking event, useful for contacts and perhaps future work related opportunities. My film “Rule 2″ has been selected to be screened so I will definitely attend and will be handing out business cards.

On an “emotional level” the LFA is already done and dusted for me, I am expecting this weekend to feel more like a reunion than anything else – something I am really looking forward to!

Screening “Rule 2″ at Pinewood April 30, 2008

Posted by joost in : LFA, film, london, screening , comments closed

On Tuesday the 29th of April, the BSC New Cinematographers Night took place at the Pinewood Studios.
Pinewood Studios

My short film “Rule 2″ was selected together with six other English short films from up and coming directors and cinematographers. An honour to be screened here at Pinewood before the eyes of renowned cinematographers and amongst fellow young filmers of course.
Last but not least this was the first time that Rule 2 was shown outside the London Film Academy, for an audience of 100+ people, on a big screen. Quite a thrill!
At the same time you can’t help but to feel a little bit dwarved compared to some other films that were shown that evening, made by more experienced filmmakers with more time and money. Nevertheless, my film was part of the evening and that’s what matters.

When all the shorts had been shown, one by one the makers of the films were asked to come to the front for a Q&A session. The interviewer had some questions and then there was room for the audience to fire away.
BSC New Cinematographers Night - Q&A group

From left to right: interviewer, me (director), Claudio (DoP), Riman (producer), George (writer)

Upfront I really didn’t know what kind of questions to expect, because this event in principal focuses on the cinematography, but as a director people tend to look at you to explain why and how you have done things the way that you did. The good thing about not knowing what to expect is that you can’t really prepare, you just show up and hope for the best :-) Which is what we did, and it went fine.

Questions ranged from explaining why we chose to shoot the projection room scenes on a particular kind of stock (Fuji Reala 500D, for those of you who are interested) to how much it had cost us to make the projection screen (about £480, including free labor by Claudio, George and me…).

BSC New Cinematographers Night - Q&A Claudio talking

Claudio explaining our setup for the projection room scenes.

BSC New Cinematographers Night - Q&A Joost talking

Yours truly talking about why we filmed with a live projector and how we got the images.

After about 10 minutes we left the stage again, and after the other Q&A’s had finished, that wrapped up the evening.

I’m back home now, looking back at a successful evening. Great to have shared that with the key people who were involved in the film (apart from Paul who was 1st A.D. and who has returned to South Africa last December). Tonight more than ever I realized that I have actually made a film :-D