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Mooning over MOVIES
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Filmmaker Hanno Hackfort who was here for the Indo-German film festival, felt the Indian audience understood him better
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Hanno Hackfort counts Scorsese, Tarkovsky and Sergio Leone among his influences
WHAT CAN one say about a director who has made a film as tragi-romantic as the original Ryan O'Neal-Ali McGraw starrer Love Story? That his digitally-made film is about the non-conformist bonding between two loners, a man and a woman, before he dies of leukaemia. That the 34-year-old German is an award-winning theatre actor born in Paderborn. That he graduated from the Kaskeline Film Academy and has made six shorts since 1991.
Berlin-based Hanno Hackfort was in Bangalore for Two Nations, A Single Screen, the Indo-German film festival at Pallavi theatre from October 29 to November 4 to present his debut feature film, the September release June Moon, which found an immediate rapport with local audiences. His directorial influences? Martin Scorsese, Tarkovsky, Sergio Leone, Kieslowski, Peter Greenaway.
Face-to-face, he's floppy-haired, witty and warm. And ready to share insights into filmmaking, audience responses and other aspects of his life. Over to him:
How did audiences respond to June Moon?
It was amazing because it's a very emotional story. In Germany, the reviews were very good, but the audiences were very quiet. Responses made me think it must be a women's film. The number of men who talked to me can be counted on my fingertips.
On November 2 here, people ran towards me after the screening. Grown-up men embraced me with tears in their eyes, saying, `Thank you, thank you... ' A huge crowd wanted to ask questions. They understood the feelings, the way I told the story, even its very quiet aspects. They asked about belief in rebirth, even the brief `sex scene,' which was no problem in Germany... (laughs) I thought maybe I should become an Indian filmmaker because people here seem to understand what I want to express.
Do you see it as a German Love Story?
Everybody in the world has seen that film, but I haven't. I was two years old when it was released. When my script was written, nobody brought this up. When the film was ready, some commented, "It was brilliant how you avoided copying Love Story"!
Was the screenplay inspired by real life?
A kind of patchwork. Several situations are biographical. I wanted to make a film about a love that is stronger than death. I was standing in my flat in Berlin when I saw a woman across the street in her flat. I thought it would be lovely to start a story with this.
I've never been in the army in Croatia (as in the film), but my friend from kindergarten committed suicide in Bosnia. That was a shock. But during our research, the military people denied this German episode. So, I had to tell this story.
Why did you choose to make it digitally?
The film was realised within a project funded by the Filmstiftung of North-Rhine Westphalia, the Road Movies company and a TV station. They decided to give four German filmmakers the chance to make their first movies. They wanted to explore digital technology.
I suggested I wouldn't shoot on mini DV because I wanted a warmer, film-like look for the story. Instead, I tried out the high-definition camera, the 24P.
What are the advantages of digital film?
If you use it today, you may give the future a chance. Film has been around for a hundred years, digital films for just about four years or so. If I did a film that did not have many computer-generated images, I would choose film, not digital camera. From my understanding it's still not good enough. Or maybe it's a question of taste. Otherwise, there's no cost or time benefit. One has to choose the tool that fits the story best.
How do you fit into the German film scene today?
So far it was difficult to tell German stories in a not over-critical way. On the other hand, people deny this and do comedy stuff, as in mainstream Hollywood. With another generation of filmmakers, not the direct post-war generation, they are able to think of the German situation differently, even ironically. This is positive.
My movie, which cost just 500,000 Euros, was quite cheap. With June Moon, I can see myself trying to do a mainstream film without copying Hollywood. Even more artificial, experimental things. I don't want to be put into a drawer.
ADITI DE
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