Directors, Costas Dandinakis (Canal d’amour), Marinos Kartikkis (By Miracle), Marek Lechki (Erratum) and Nikola Lezaic (Tilva Ros) participated in the third meeting of the “Just Talking” forum for communication and discussion that took place on Tuesday, December 7th at the Electra Palace Hotel. The way they chose their subject and gave their film its final form, the “cinematic” miracles they would like to experience, as well as the problems that occur in the process of making of a film were the issues that dominated the conversation.
The Serbian filmmaker, Nikola Lezaic, whose feature length debut entitled Tilva Ros, is screened at the “Balkan Survey” section of the 51st Festival mentioned that he had met his agent in the Festival two years ago, within the framework of the “Crossroads” Forum organized by the “Agora/Market” section of the TIFF. His film, which has the copper mine in the Serbian town of Bor as its background, focuses on the lives of two friends who enjoy their last carefree summer just after high school graduation and spend their time skateboarding and shooting Jackass-type prank and stunt videos. As the protests evolve into riots, the friendship of the adolescents gradually turns into rivalry. The director wrote the final draft of the script after hanging out for a year with the two friends who play the leading parts. As he said, it is a fictional film, but the borderline that separates it from the documentary genre is really thin. The protagonists were not provided with a script with dialogues, as they were called to interpret themselves.
The site Canal d’amour in Corfu provided the title for Costas Dandinakis’ film, as well as its finale, as according to the legend, whoever swims in these waters meets the love of his life. The film revolves around a lonely 30-year-old man and his relationship with his 75-year-old neighbor, who adores Cavafy. As the director said, this legend served as the resolution he sought for his story, which talks about loneliness, the quest for love, xenophobia and all kinds of racism.
The film Erratum, which participates in the International Competition of the 51st Festival, is the second film of Marek Lechki, who characterized the form of a film as its basis. His film’s themes are the confrontation between father and son, loss and the opportunity one has to make amends for the mistakes made in the past. The artist pointed out that his intention was to treat his character’s existential crisis in length and that he built his story upon this goal.
The faith many people have in miracles, a belief that seems to get stronger whenever people are found in a difficult spot, was the stimulus for Marinos Kartikkis to make the film By Miracle. In the film, a married couple that tries to have a child, a man who seeks love and a woman who worries about her son, all hope for a miracle. The director though, believes that our own choices are the true source of any miracle and explains that his film, by exploring the concept of the miracle, in reality focuses on human relations.
When asked to describe the “cinematic miracle” of their choice, all four directors concluded that they would like to have the financing of their next project guaranteed. “I would like to make a movie without having its budget in mind all the time”, remarked Marinos Kartikkis, while Costas Dandinakis wished for his film to participate in many festivals, but to find distribution as well, so that he could pay his actors who took part in the movie voluntarily. On his part, Marek Lechki recalled that after his first film, it took him eight whole years to make his second one and wished he could make his third film in no more than four years. Finally, Nikola Lezaic said that he would like to make the first 3D movie, where three-dimensional image would have a real purpose.
In nearly all films, the directors wrote also the script, while in some cases, they took on the role of the producer, as well as that of the director of photography, so as to reduce the cost. “Of course, I’d rather have an executive producer and a director of photography. Someday, I hope I’ll be able to make a movie in that way, but I am impatient, I cannot sit back and wait until this moment arrives.”, mentioned Costas Dandinakis. As far as Marek Lechki is concerned, it is not only a matter of cost. “Even though I respect the work of these professionals, the truth is that I want to be present throughout the whole process of making a film”, said the director, by adding that if he had the chance to make the same movie today, he would have dealt with the issue of distribution earlier.
On his part, Marinos Kartikkis pointed out that no matter how many times he would be given the opportunity to make changes in a film, he would take advantage of each and one of them, as each time, he would have different things to say. Costas Dandinakis admitted that he would rather have professional actors in some scenes of particular interest, which had to be cut, while Nikola Lezaic stressed that he prefers a film with flaws to a flawless one, as he considers the beauty of imperfection and spontaneity priceless.
