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Focus, plans, ambitions for 2010 January 13, 2010

Posted by joost in : directing, festivals, film, london, producing, reflection, screenwriting, work , comments closed

The start of a new year is always a good moment to write down plans and ideas. My ambition is to…

Specific goals and focus for the start of this year:

Best films 2009 December 31, 2009

Posted by joost in : film, reflection , comments closed

I’ve seen 166 feature films and 104 short films in 2009. As much as I appreciate an overview of “The Best Films of 2009″, I feel it never truly fits the moniker. International release dates vary, and films shown on festivals sometimes have been touring the circuit for well over a year. And other times I am blown away by a film that I somehow missed in the year it was initially released. For these reasons, my end of the year list usually consists of the best films that I have seen and that for the most part have been released in the past year.

  1. The clone returns home (2009)
    A slow-paced, visually strong philosophical contemplation on cloning, the soul, and what makes us human.
    Seen and reviewed during the 25th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival 2009 / imagine.
  2. Moon (2009)
    Avatar might have been the spectacle of the year, Moon shows how filmmaking on the other end of the sci-fi spectrum can result in an emotionally more touching experience. Fantastic script, great performance by Sam Rockwell and a superb soundtrack by Clint Mansell.
  3. Martyrs (2008)
    A very violent and gruesome film about physical abuse and how to create victims. A study into the strength and the fathomless depths of the human spirit. Difficult to watch, but hard not to recommend. “Handle with care”.
    Seen and reviewed during the 25th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival / imagine. Also check out this alternative “trailer” that doesn’t show any footage of the film but gives you a good idea what the impact of seeing Martyrs can be like.
  4. Lebanon (2009)
    An attack on the senses. Claustrophobic interpretation of what it was like to be in an Israeli tank invading Lebanon in 1982.
  5. Il y a longtemps que je t’aime (I’ve loved you so long) (2008)
    Kristin Scott Thomas portrays the first steps of a woman who has just been released from prison. Great character piece with effective story telling, each scene adheres to the writing mantra “come in late, leave early”.
  6. Synecdoche, New York (2008)
    Mindfuck of the year by who else than Charlie “to recurse is divine” Kaufman. The film is top heavy at times and does not always succeed in keeping the audience’s emotions in a headlock. But overall it does manage to use a unique way of storytelling to challenge notions of life, death, sickness and vanity.
  7. The Wind That Shakes The Barley (2006)
    One of the more “recent old films” that made a profound impact on me. Perhaps flawed because of its talkative nature, this film nevertheless succeeds in drawing you in to the roots, beliefs, convictions and sacrifices of the Irish conflict. Heartbreaking.
  8. Hunger (2008)
    I think I saw this one as part of a double bill with The wind that shakes the barley – not an easy Saturday afternoon by any means! A very carnal film, first hitting you on the head with a sledge hammer and then shitting on you. Featuring my favorite actor of the moment, Michael Fassbender (seen this year in: Hunger, Fish Tank, Inglourious Basterds, Eden Lake).
  9. Let the right one in (2008)
    It can be hard to live up to expectation with all the prior buzz and awards. Luckily the film is as good as people say. It’s a touching portrait of teenage adolescence, loneliness, bullying, being in love. “Suspenseful drama” feels like a more appropriate description than “horror”, even though the film definitely has its gory moments. One of those films where things click – story, cast, cinematography, music.
    Seen and reviewed during the 25th Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival / imagine.
  10. (500) Days of Summer (2009)
    Tricky, because I know I have a sweet spot for romantic comedies, but then again, this film is everything the genre is not. Pulp Fiction-esque structure, great juxtaposition between scenes, plenty of visual flair to rhyme with what the film wants to convey, elegant integration of music without being too hipster, and performances that hit home. “This is a story of boy meets girl. But you should know upfront: this is not a love story.”
  11. The Wrestler (2008)
    Some actors live a lifetime in order to portray a character faithfully. Mickey Rourke shines in this film about a down on his luck old wrestler.
  12. Frost/Nixon (2008)
    Who would have thought that a film about a TV interview could be so entertaining and gripping?
  13. Revolutionary Road (2008)
    Sam Mendes shows that he truly is an actors director, but with fine understanding of how to convey those performances.
  14. Rachel Getting Married (2008)
    Jonathan Demme and Anne Hathaway up their game.
  15. Happy-go-lucky (2008)
    Perfect example of the “slice of life” way of film making, where you can’t help but love the main characters despite their flaws.
  16. Fish Tank (2009)
    This film manages to avoid many of the usual social realist cliches and focuses on a coming of age story against the backdrop of lower social class society in Britain.

Post scriptum
Avatar. One of the last films I have seen in 2009, and one of the films that had been on my toseelist for over two years or so. It’s too early for me to be able to judge how good the film really is, or rather, I think “the wow-factor” distracts from key story telling and character issues that I have with Avatar.

Yes, it is truly an immersive experience. Yes, Avatar will be the new reference point in years to come for what can be done with computer wizardry. Yes, Cameron has a better grip on and understanding of 3D than people like Zemeckis.

But… after all these years of development why don’t I then care for the characters or for their journey? With such a big canvas and so much time I expect not only depth in the screen but also in the narrative and characters! In the end the magic quickly wears off, all the glitz doesn’t compensate the lack of emotional engagement.

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:

Uncle Joost back in NL April 16, 2009

Posted by joost in : film, netherlands, reflection , comments closed

I’m uncle Joost as of Sunday the 12th of April. Incredible:
Anouk & Uncle Joost holding hands

This also means I’m back in The Netherlands til early May, visiting my family (of course) and also to attend the Amsterdam Fantastic Film Festival. I will be watching 50+ films in the coming ten days, and I will be blogging about this together with some of my old moviefreak mates over at AFFF log.

The never ending rat race February 17, 2009

Posted by joost in : film, reflection , comments closed

What drives people to do what they do? More specifically, what drives me to make films? Or, when I’m in a more cynical mood, why do I even bother?

Like a lot of other things in life, making films is like taking part in a never ending rat race. The race starts out small, you experiment, try to learn, follow a path, backtrack and start all over again.

After a start somewhere in the maze of my life, I chose to focus on film making. I followed a formal and practical education at a film school. During that time I have tried to give it my best, to get the maximum out of what surrounded me in people and resources, and to translate this into delivering great work on/off set and on the screen. Looking back, I think I have done well. I was voted student of the year and film of the year, so that sort of objectively states that I belong to the top of my class.

Next up is promoting my graduation film and getting it screened. It has mainly been shown in a number of student film festivals so far, some of which I have attended. Within that frame of reference, I feel that the quality of my film is above average. It’s technically sound, has the right pacing, good acting, looks great and most importantly has an emotional punch (core, truth), more so than other student films I have seen.

This is my current position in the rat race. The course as far as I can identify it now looks something like the following. Please note that I will describe roughly the best case scenario.

Within the broader frame of reference of film festivals world wide, my film still has to prove itself. Goals that I want/need to achieve: screenings in more non-student festivals, ideally part of the competitive section, ultimately leading to awards.

The next part of the race is to repeat this step. Write a good script, find money, make another short film, have it screened at festivals, win awards. In the mean time join the sub rat race to apply for funding for new and more ambitious shorts.

All the while develop ideas, treatments and drafts of possible feature films. Network, surround yourself with people who are as talented or more talented / successful as you are.

Somehow – based on merits achieved with the short films – make a feature film on virtually no budget (as in: spend all the money you can find on the film itself), get it shown on festivals and get a distribution deal. Moneywise you’re lucky to recoup (other people’s) investments within a few years.

Garner attention with that feature, using it as springboard to finance the next feature, still on a small budget but where you might actually be able to pay the crew working on it. In that stage they are all professionals, possibly in a position “one-up” from what they usually do, hoping to advance their careers if this film does well. If the project is appealing more well known actors might be on board as well.
Again do the festival circuit, try to win awards, or perhaps strike a direct-to-DVD deal, or even a limited national theatrical release if backed by a proper production/distribution company.

With some low-budget features under your belt and a proven track record, you might be lucky enough to up the game yet again and develop medium budget sized films, with more creative control and chances of a theatrical release from the initial stages, backed with some modest promotion, and perhaps even releases in several countries. By now you are working with quite experienced crew members and possibly some A-list actors.

We’re getting to the top of the pyramid now: making feature films with a decent size budget. Note: I am avoiding the term “big budget” because it is a hollow phrase, all it expresses is that the pile of money involved to realize the film is high, but it doesn’t say if it is enough to realize the creative vision. Really there is no such a thing as “enough money”.
So, we’re talking about making films with full creative control, backing by the major players (studios, production and distribution companies), top talent above and below the line (key cast and crew) willing to work with you, within a reasonable amount of time.

Since this is the film industry, we now get to an endless loop in the rat race. On this level, you will have to repeat success and build a steady track record. This means moving within the spectrum of achieving critical acclaim (awards, reviews, industry praise) and commercial success (box office). I think there is some level of freedom between the two, but they are rarely mutually exclusive.

This is the rat race that lies ahead of me. I am sure that there are some hidden pathways to shorten the race, as there are no doubt also plenty of dead corners and traps. Why bother? Why participate in this rat race? My answer is threefold.

First, because it is my nature: I am ambitious, I want to excel, mediocrity is not good enough for me.

Second, film making is a creative endeavour, and more creative freedom and expression can be found further along the race.

Third, true to the nature of the rat race itself: everyone else is running, so I’d better keep up!

The obligatory “best films of/in 2008″ post December 31, 2008

Posted by joost in : film, reflection , comments closed

I’ve seen about 136 feature films and 40 short films, give or take a few. As much as I appreciate a list of “best films of 2008″, I feel it never truly fits the moniker. International release dates vary for instance, and films shown on festivals sometimes have been touring the circuit for well over one year. And sometimes I’m blown away by a film that I somehow missed in the year it initially was released.

For these reasons, I usually scribble notes on two lists: the best films that I have seen in the past year, and the best films that have been released in the cinema this year (in the UK where I currently reside). With this in mind, here are my lists.

Best films seen in 2008 (in random order):

Best films released in 2008 (in not-so-random order):

Zzzhoot December 9, 2008

Posted by joost in : film, london, reflection, work , comments closed

Note to self: must figure out a way to get a night of decent sleep before the first day of a shoot. My nocturnal biorhythm usually clashes big time with the start of a shoot, resulting in a ridiculously short sleep on day 0, a bit more sleep on day 1, and a somewhat decent sleep on day 2. Ugh. Coffee, anyone?

Update – this week’s score: 1,  3,  3.5,  3.5,  4.5,  4 and 4 hours of sleep, resulting in a whopping average of 3 hours and 20 minutes a night…

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.

Life after the LFA June 9, 2008

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

From March 2007 until April 2008 my life basically was the LFA. I’ve spent days, weeks, months at the LFA production office, in the theatre and in the editing suites. Truly a time to never forget. But as with all good things, this too came to an end. Is there life after the LFA? What does it look like? I’ll try to answer some of those questions in this post.

In my previous post I already mentioned that I worked on some shoots. These were (all but one) unpaid, but that did not really matter, it was great to make some more short films, this time outside of the safe environment of the LFA, but with people that I knew from and worked with at the LFA. And as said before, those productions were quite useful because the short films that I hope to be doing the coming year(s) will probably be shot on HD out of budget constraints. And shooting on HD was not part of my course since I attended a proper film school. Thanks to these shoots I am now much more informed about the practical pros and cons of shooting digitally.

One of the things that I want to do in this “post-LFA” era is fairly obvious: work on more shoots, to get more experience and also to network with other filmmakers.

A lot of the freelance film work starts with a phone call, someone that you’ve worked with before is doing a new film and is looking for a crew. Who does he approach? People he has worked with before, people who are professional, people he can get along with. So connecting with other filmmakers, doing the best you can and establishing a trustworthy reputation is quite important. Of course a little bit of luck and being in the right place at the right time also helps.

Apart from doing these unpaid or low-paid short films, one other goal for me is to try to get onto more professional shoots; commercials, music videos, feature films. If I want to work on feature films in the future, I need to work my way up and try to find a way into that world. My interest is not so much into the technical roles on set (camera, sound, lights) which doesn’t leave that much if I want to gain more on-set experience. Right now I’m thinking about pursuing assistant directing roles and script supervisor / continuity.

On a more practical level I need to find work to pay for my rent and the bills. This is tricky, since a lot of film work is freelance and short term. I am not expecting to be able to live on those kind of gigs any time soon, so I am aiming to find production related work, either in a fixed (ideally part time) position or project based work.

As said, ideally I’d like to work part time because that leaves me time the rest of the week to work on my own projects, and to write and direct my own (short) films. At the moment I am working on one short film (that I’ve just shot last Friday!), and I have written an outline of an idea a while ago that might develop into my first feature length script – very exciting!

Every now and then opportunities pop up, the most recent development is that I might be working as a location manager for a couple of weeks on a long short film.

D stands for… September 13, 2007

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

This is the first week of the third term at the London Film Academy, but things don’t really want to take off. I am supposed to be editing but I can’t seem to activate myself. It doesn’t help that there are problems with the audio, because of which I am currently limited to do a “mute edit”, i.e. a rough cut of the 5 minute film without sound.

The contrast with the rush of three weeks of filming in August is big. On the first day back in London we were already reminiscing how great that experience was, and calculating how long it would take til the next weeks of filmshoots (2 months and encounting).

Maybe ten days in The Netherlands made me too relaxed, too “Zen”. It’s hard to describe how good it feels to be back for a little while and to reconnect with everyone. Heartwarming to meet so many people, I feel proud to know them and that they are (still) part of my life (and vice versa).
A visit like this also works as an excellent way to step back from my life / work at the LFA, to ramble about all my adventures there, and to reflect on what I am doing filmwise, now and in the near future.

How to cope with being right here and right now? It’s a simple A-B-C:
Monday – Alcoholic “lunch” that lasts until midnight
Tuesday – Bodycheck by running
Wednesday – Conducting a midnight stroll in Oxford

And D? Among other things, D stands for Denial.