E13 • Taking the Long Shots • ZHENGFAN YANG , dir. of ‘Stranger’, Grand Prix Winner at KVIFF

In this episode, I speak with Zhengfan Yang about his film 'Stranger’, which just won the Grand Prix prize in the Proxima Competition at Karlovy Vary. We also discuss his past cinema inspiration, ‘A One and a Two’, the 2000 film by Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang.

Zhengfan talks about the challenges of shooting his film in 7 total shots, each in a different hotel room, and the importance of the setting and space as a character. He emphasizes the importance of sticking to his original concept of shooting long takes and the pressure to find the right beginning and end for each take. 

Zhengfan shares his experience with financing and the long process of securing funding from various different countries. He reflects on the changing landscape of cinema and the challenges of having his films seen by a wide audience. He also shares filmmaking advice - to stay true to your vision and make the most honest film possible.

Listen to all episodes on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and more, as well as at www.pastpresentfeature.com. Like, subscribe, and follow us on our socials @pastpresentfeature

Chapters

• 0:01 Past Present Feature, Hosted by Marcus Mizelle
• 0:19 Introducing Filmmaker Zhengfan Yang
• 1:05 'Stranger' & Shooting Long Takes - Pt 1
• 3:08 Inspiration: Wong Kar-Wai
• 4:40 Origin Story & Early Inspirations
• 8:09 From Lawyer to Filmmaker
• 11:01 Past Inspo: ‘A One and a Two’ dir. by Edward Yang
• 14:08 Filmmaker Challenges + The State of Cinema
• 18:49 Writing 'Stranger' & Themes of Alienation
• 21:28 Filming 'Stranger' + Shooting in Hotel Rooms - Pt 1
• 24:50 Financing & Developing 'Stranger'
• 29:32 Filming 'Stranger' + Shooting in Hotel Rooms - Pt 2
• 31:11 Distribution Plans
• 31:57 Shooting Long Takes - Pt 2
• 35:21 Premiering at Karlovy Vary + Dream Movie Remakes
• 37:07 Film Wisdom - Know What You Don't Want

Transcript

Marcus Mizelle (00:16)
Welcome to the Past Present Feature podcast.

MM (00:19)
In this episode, I speak with Zengfan Yang about his film, Stranger, which just won the Grand Prix Prize in the Proxima Competition at Carlo Bivari. We also discuss his past cinema inspiration, a one and a two, the 2000 film by Taiwanese filmmaker Edward Yang. Zeng Fan talks about the challenges of shooting his film in seven total each in a different hotel and the importance of the setting and space as a character.

He emphasizes the importance of sticking to his original concept of shooting long takes and the pressure to find the right beginning and end for each take.

shares his experience with financing and the long process of securing funding from various countries.

He reflects on the changing landscape of cinema

and the challenges of having his film seen by a wide audience.

He also shares some filmmaking advice, is to stay true to your vision and make the most honest film you

Marcus Mizelle (01:05)
I'm glad that I was able to see the trailer and it's such a mysterious, interesting, compelling trailer. And I love these trailers where there's just like essentially like one scene that's playing out, know, it makes you feel like you're watching a glimpse of the movie, but also an idea of what the movie's about overall. So that trailer, mean, do you want to keep it mysterious? Because damn, I love like not being able to get the full explanation, but also like I want to know what the hell's going on. Yeah, I do not intend to make that only the trailer.

because I think that atmosphere of mysterious is like throughout the whole film. So the film is made up of seven stories taking place only in different hotel rooms. So each was filmed in one single long take. So it's seven long takes in the entire film and actually making it no easier than other films being made like with editing or montage and that

I say then because one of my next films, it takes place entirely in a double wide trailer in North Carolina and it's about this basketball prodigy who's gonna decide in real time leading up to his announcement video for social media. There's this like cookout going on and all this based on my doc that I did. But it's all a total of eight takes, the whole thing, eight long takes. I think it's just, I'm so excited. I love that you shot this whole movie in seven takes.

Yes, in seven different hotel rooms and all interiors. So cool. So you didn't use the same hotel room, you mixed it up. Yeah, all the seven hotel rooms are very different from each other. Some are very dramatic and in poor condition, and some are like decent change. And even some are like kind of fancy kind of high end hotel room, because hotel room is like a representation of class in a way. I provide a wide range of like class, the full class spectrum.

Yeah, I love movies about class too. I'm sure you love the Ruben Otsun trying to love sadness. Did you see that? Everybody loved that movie. Yeah, such a skewering of class. High class. Before I forget, I want to start with a quote. We're all just passing through and the sooner we embrace that, the better off we'll be. Wong Kar Wai. That was going through quotes and I was like, this fits, I believe, with this film and what I can understand. Yeah. He's one of the inference there for me. yeah? Yeah, personally and also professionally, maybe not directly to this film.

but I think that kiss films like accompany me since the start for me. Okay, yeah, he's so poetic. Everything is just next level. It's crazy. It's hard to resist. It's one of those filmmakers, like every time I think about him, even like right now, I'm like, I'm gonna do a Wong Kar -Wai marathon. Just put it on in the background, because it's like, it's just, God, it's so special. Yeah, there's just the feeling that I enjoy the feeling I get when I watch his movies. So that's a euphoric feeling.

It's not a marathon that's too long. Yeah, maybe just one film. What is your favorite Wong Kar -wai film? if you had to pick one? I think I have different picks in different stages of mine. So at the very beginning I was very, very attracted by Ashes of Time. I think that's the first film I watched. I have never seen anything like that. And seems like all the characters and the stories and even the director is telling...

Something that I stayed in my mind and I so that's what movies can do. And then gradually I watched all of his films, I found all of his films. That's a very difficult question. Yeah, yeah, that's a one. Only one? Yeah. I couldn't answer that either about my favorite filmmaker. I'd be like, how dare you ask me that? Yeah, but if I had to answer that right now, at this moment, Happy Together. Okay, nice. Cool, let's go back in time.

Tell me about your origin story as a filmmaker. Just give me a little lowdown on what your history is. What's your first memory of being a filmmaker? Probably like Ashes of Calumny is one of my very earliest memory. And then what actually pushed me to the filmmaking is probably Edward Young's One and the Two. That's the second film. If I have to pick films that pushed me to start making films.

I haven't made up my mind until I watched 2001, the Smiths Odyssey. Ah, look, if I could turn the camera this way, I could show you my original French oversized poster I received as the best birthday present I've ever gotten. Oh, that movie. I have it on my wall because it just stands the test of time. I mean, could you imagine what it was like when it first came out? 1968? Yeah, could you imagine being in that premiere when I think half the crowd walked out because they couldn't understand? Totally mind -blowing. I got it right here. Look at this book.

This is hands down without a doubt my favorite film book I've ever read. Space Odyssey. Did you read this one? Yeah. I could not put it down. could not put it down. That's where it's on paper. The camera looks like they relinch. yeah, definitely. It starts out with how Kubrick created the space -time continuum, whatever the hell it's called. He shot that imagery with flammable...

paint in some warehouse in New York before he got any money or any sort of go -ahead to make the actual movie. It was just so fascinating to like, you know, see his process of making this film. So many thoughts. I guess it can be relevant. We're talking about movies that both inspired us. Kubrick, man, I think he's the greatest filmmaker of all time. I know it's not a competition, like you got to give it to somebody as far as like societal, like stamping, like a legacy of a filmography that's like really strong and how much he's inspired people and just how he also was able to make really art.

within a very commercial structure, right? And he went for it and did it every single time. And all the films he made are very different from each other. Yeah, do you have a favorite? Or I guess 2001? I think that's my favorite movie of all time. Nice! Of all time. Damn, it's good. It's so good. And it's so sequenced out. Even the sequences of that film are so different from one another. Which I really enjoy and appreciate. I could even put on a part of that movie just to watch that one little sequence. Whether it be just the scene.

where he is in that room toward the end. Or if it's even just seeing the beginning where the man has found his way to function in space. Yeah, the cut. Oh, and the cut, of course. One of the best cuts of all time. That and the Lawrence of Arabia match cut. yeah. Zeng Fan Yang is a writer, director, producer, and visual artist born in 1985 in China. Zeng Fan Yang started making films at age of 22 when he graduated from law school. Ooh, you're a lawyer too?

Almost. Woo, I that helps though when it comes to contract time. After receiving basic training in filmmaking, he moved to Hong Kong for an MFA program in film production and in 2010 he co -founded Burn the Film Production House with Xingzi. He directed several shorts, Distant is his feature film debut which premiered at Locarno and screened internationally at the Vancouver International Film Festival, Warsaw.

Nantes Three Continent. feature documentary Where Are You Going? premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam and received the Jury Award at China Independent Film Festival and the Best Experimental Film Award at South Taiwan Film Festival. His latest short Down There premiered at the Venice Film Festival in the Horizonte section and screened at the New York Film Festival, Busan, AFI, among many others. You have been killing it, my friend. Yang has also served as producer and cinematographer for two documentaries. Wow, I mean.

Okay, you've had some successes. You've been staying busy, you stay consistent, obviously. What keeps you going as a filmmaker? What motivates you? Do you get bored easily like me, or what is it for you? What's your motivation? I think the most boring part comes from before and after making a film. But the process of making a film is never bored. I think it's the charm of the moving image and sound that keeps me going. The pairing of moving image and sound? It becomes kind of overwhelming in our modern society.

when comes to some good images, especially when you can create some. That's the thing that keeps me moving. Are you a big Denis Villeneuve fan? When I think of modern -day filmmakers who are great at pairing visual with audio, feel like least his kind of abrupt cuts, like the sound coming in on the cut, know? I like such a Denis Villeneuve thing. Yeah. Which kind of, Kubrick was also very good at that, feel

Yes. What do you think drives you to have pursued filmmaking? I mean, you just love it, obviously. How did you come into it? Was there a moment where you're like, I'm going to be a filmmaker? Or did it just, are you just kind of doing it without having some sort of declaration? Actually, it was a hard decision. It took place when I was in law school and I was expected to become a

Then during my four -year study in law school, I did my homework and for the rest of the time, I just spent all the time on watching films, like three or four films a day. And it's just hard to resist. And then gradually I just decided, okay, I'm not going to do law anymore. They are like the opposite. Practicing law is also difficult in certain environment. And so I think, okay, then it is Edward Young's a one and a two. After watching that film, I make the decision, okay, I'm going to do filmmaking. I'll try to make films.

So yeah, so that's how I started. So before I graduated from law school in my last year, so I was like searching online to see what kind of opportunities I can get. Like I have to learn. I know nothing, literally nothing about cinema, except the thousands of films that I watch. so, and then I find someone, actually a retired professor from Beijing Film Academy. He was like doing workshops, like one -on -one workshops and teaching like basic visual audio language.

about cinema, was thinking, okay, maybe that's the breakfast that I should go. And so I went there and it's basically, it's like a training workshop. And so I was in that workshop for like nine months or 10 months. Basically we are doing like different kinds of homeworks, like crazy every day, six hours shooting and then six hours editing. And then we have to hand it like homeworks every day. So it's that almost one year's training that makes me feel like confident that, okay, I can start my

filmmaking career. Total Bootcamp, that sounds like. Yeah. So your favorite movie ever is 2001, A Space Odyssey and the movie that most inspired you to create a film career came out in 2001. Yeah, I think that's 2001.

or 2000 and one? Oh, 2000. I was trying to make a little comparison. But no, but it's 2000, so it was close. And how do you pronounce this film? One and two. And it spelled Y -I space Y -I. so the synopsis is, each member of a middle -class Taipei family seeks to reconcile past and present relationships within their daily lives. Edward Yang. And so what was it about this film that got you going, that put you on your journey? Oh, it's a very harsh film. It tells deep inside.

me or many other Chinese people. And that's the first time that I realized the power of cinema that could really tell something that's inside, not only outside, like the story, drama, the plot, all that kind of things, but also that we can tell something that I didn't know how to express in the past. And it just says who I think. And I think that's very important for film that says something that you think, that the audience think. Yeah, that's very important.

How old were you when you first watched it? 19 or 20 years old. Okay, so your formative years for sure. Yeah, it's so crazy that time period watching movies and finding films that really touched you and being that young too. I guess you don't have anything to compare it to because you're just 20 or 19, but like, man, just looking back, it's like, that really shapes you. Critical. And also like, God, thank gosh. I feel

I mean, there's always good movies if you find them, but I feel like there was a lot of good movies too during that era, during that time period, you know? Even for an American cinema, like even the bad movies that were Genre films, which I love, but even like the kind of, what you thought were the kind of bad ones back then are probably considered to be good ones today, know? It's sad to Is there any inspirations that you've taken from any films that you seem to notice being injected into your own, even instinctually? Is there anything? When we were talking about the good old times.

like around 2000. The film that really inspired me to make Stranger is actually came out in the same year of 1 and 2. It's a Swedish filmmaker called Roy Anderson and his film Song from the Second Floor. That is a film that came out in 2000, 2001 against the same year of the Taiwanese film and I think that film really inspired me.

kind of influence on Stranger. Songs from the second floor. Where are we humans going? We meet people in the city, people trying to communicate, searching compassion and get the connection of small and large things. What is it about the film that grabbed you? Yeah, it's highly stylish and it's kind of, I would say, very, but a little bit like conceptual in a way. I particularly like the way that he portrays, the director portrays the DNA nation and isolation.

that surrounds our today's society. The image room, mean just the screenshots on IMDb here look very good, very dense. A lot of Jacques Tatou vibes, production design heavy it seems like, or just design heavy, very intent, very intentional framing and everything, costumes, everything. Yeah, and I particularly like like even from one or two frames we get that atmosphere.

I think MS3 is always an important part for me too in contemporary cinema. What was the most challenging memory that you've had when you were coming up as a filmmaker? Was there ever any moment where you considered maybe not pursuing it because it was so hard? Or was it just a complete breeze and everything worked out perfect? No, never. But it's hard for me to have a moment that I thought the idea of quitting because there are so many challenges every day.

and it's difficult, but there's never a moment that I feel, okay, I'm gonna quit. Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course not, yeah. You love it too much? But yeah, I think the most difficult part for me is like every filmmakers even for Stanley Kubrick is like how to find their own film and how to make it to be seen by as much audience as possible in terms of like financing and distribution in contemporary cinema is in general is getting more and more difficult nowadays. It's just hard for me to imagine like something like 2001 would become a big hit back in the

I don't know what the outcome of it would become like today, but I think it's getting more and more difficult for every filmmaker, especially because social media, YouTube, and all those streaming things, everything. Well, also, I you know, I had an interview with a filmmaker from Rome yesterday, and she was just telling me how her local cinema, it's been there since 1926, is closing down in a few weeks, and it's probably going to end up being bullshit, you know, a parking lot or something. And it's like the same thing's happening everywhere. I mean, I guess maybe it's an extension, too, of just

the world doesn't support it like it used to because they have their big TVs and they have their phone and they have, you know, whatever. And it's like their TV shows. So yeah, I mean, I think something like this, podcast like this and filmmakers like you matter more than ever, you know? It's the best art form there is in my opinion. And it's great and it's wonderful and it's lovely and it just needs more support. And I appreciate festivals too, like Carlo Bivari, you know, that really do seem to put the focus centered on

the craft and the filmmaker and like the quality of the piece, you know, as opposed to just like a marketplace or a celebrity driven event. Nothing wrong with that, but you know what I mean. Do you think it's a phase or do you think it's like a transition that's gonna, it's something that's transitioning into something completely different than what we know, as far as going from like the film culture that we grew up with, where it was like, you couldn't get enough. Everybody loved it, even the common man. Everybody was excited to go to Blockbuster and to hopefully get the video that they wanted to get or like whatever, or like everybody had a DVD collection. Everybody went to the movies.

Now and not the case. So like that was the old world. What do you think the new world looks like? I think what is changing is the role of cinema itself. Like how we perceive it. Like in the past when people go to cinema and watch those kind of films, there's hardly a phone in their hand. That's what makes it possible for them to really enjoy what's on the screen. Right now there are so many screens around us. Like even right now there are three screens in front of me while I'm talking to you. At four actually. And so it's kind of destructive. But I

For people who is really attracted by those kind of serious movie image works, I think we still go to cinema. But for me, that's kind of logical for me that we have less and less cinema around us because we don't have like our gallery or museum around us like that. So that's why I'm saying like, how should we perceive cinema? What it should be? Should it be something like an artwork? And that means that you have less audience to go to watch it. So how we are going to deal with that or...

I mean, it's kind of unrealistic for us to try to think that, okay, cinema is a work of art. And at the same time, I want to get a box office like Fast and Furious, something like that. That's a reasonable request. You said it yourself earlier at the beginning of this interview, you want to have it be seen by as many people as possible, right? Yeah. Your films, yeah, same. And the thing is too, I mean, it's not like we've always had multiplexes anyways. I mean, it started out with just one single screen, but I feel like it's gonna circle

I'm just guessing here, but based on the information I've gathered for myself and what I think is I feel like it's gonna definitely niche down and it's gonna become more quality over quantity situation. I'm hoping and thinking this, where it's like lesser screens, but you see how well IMAX does. This is an event, people have respect for it. You don't see people on their phones at night, but it's not here. Universal IMAX, one of the best screens in the country. Sony just buying Alamo Drafthouse last week is very interesting as far as

Alamo Drafthouse is like a four to six screen kind of theater. They tell you to shut up and turn your phone off before every movie starts, you know, like they respect the process. And so the fact that Sony bought that is as far as mom and pops are concerned, a sad day. as far as like a major studio investing in that, that must mean something. They must. They must also feel the same as far as anyways, I don't want to spend too much time on like exhibition, but at the same time, it's an important conversation that we can't have enough. I don't know. just all we can do as filmmakers is keep making movies,

Speaking of making movies, you just made a movie and you're about to premiere this thing and it's called Stranger. How did this movie come about? Why did you feel the need that you had to make it? That's a long story because I spent like four years in Hong Kong doing an MFA program there. And so during my last year there when I was filming my second feature film, Where Are Going, it's a film about Hong Kong. So during my stay there filming that film, I was staying in a hotel in Hong Kong, which is like surrounded

busting malls and crowded streets and everything. The one morning where I was walking back to the hotel, passing the lobby, I came upon a group of police and a journalist in the lobby. I was curious, but I didn't know what happened. And I tried to get an idea from the front desk, and they didn't want to tell me. And it's that same night when I watched the news, I realized that something just happened. A few doors next to my room. I think it's a middle -aged unemployed homeless

took the life of a distressed teenage girl who dropped out of school. yeah, it's drop out of school teenage girl who actually I think work as a prostitute. Because that event like took place just like very close to my room. It's just like next door or something. And then, and I started imagining like when that took place, I was probably like, I didn't hear anything, but I was probably sleeping or working and didn't notice that. But so at first it feels scary.

And then when I started thinking about those two people, I started like, have a lot of imagination. Like I have been very curious about who are they, like where they come from, what did they do? then, Your imagination just starts going, huh? Yeah, what happened in their past and what were they thinking and everything. And then I started feeling like, because I was literally in the hotel room and then I started thinking like, okay, maybe hotel room could be a generic space. It signifies like, ideas and critic stories. So that

2016 when I had this idea of making a film that only take place in hotel rooms. it's also hotel room is also like a metaphor or a symbol of our modern life, which is something that I care a lot about throughout my career about the alienation and isolation, know, modern society. So that's the very beginning of this film. then seven years passed and then a lot of things, a lot of stories changed about this film, especially

with the three years pandemic in the middle of it. Oh, wow. Which I'm sure fed that theme quite a bit for you, the alienation theme. absolutely. The original concept of making a film in hotel room, that's the same. Did you film it during COVID? We went back to China to film seven scenes, most of the scenes at the end of 2022. And that was the last peak of the pandemic in China. Yeah, that was like a very difficult time and we actually had to deal with a lot of

different policies in different areas, different cities. Eventually the film wasn't able to be done completely in China. We moved one of the scenes to the US and made it a motel room in Chicago and so the whole story is changed. It's no longer about what it was before. It's actually the most personal scene for me because I tried to project my own experience and the psychological state onto that character. So that's the only scene that

make in China. It's still about Chinese people, but it's made in the US. Okay. It's a Chinese character in the Chicago hotel. Yeah, immigrant. Didn't happen to be the Drake Hotel, it? No, it's... Just guessing. That's my favorite hotel in Chicago. don't know. Yeah, I hope so too. But it's in a very, I don't know, aged, poor motel. So you really mean motel when you say motel. Yeah, okay. Gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha, gotcha. It's by the

Did it have some character to it though, as far as visually? No, I just put my characters inside, yeah. But I guess did it have some visual colorfulness, color to it? Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we spent a lot of time picking out the right hotel because that's actually one of the most difficult parts in this film because like I said, all the hotel rooms look the same in the whole world. So we try to keep that and also try to find the most unique part of each hotel.

In terms of the hotel that we find in Chicago, everything looks so different. It has a bed, has a small bathroom, has a fan and everything, and also a microwave. Everything functions the same way. It delivers a nostalgic feeling, the color of the wall. And nobody's using that kind of a bed sheet or that kind of all the table, the wooden table. And when we walk on the floor, you hear the cracking sound continuously. So it's that nostalgic feeling that makes me think, okay, that's something

I feel like I'm living in the past. Your approach to these hotel rooms, did you see them as a set, a backdrop, or were they actually also characters in the story? You're gonna see these sets, if you will, much deeper than you would normally because it's like you're so confined to them and you're probably being more precise with the details within each hotel room, right? So I mean, know how Michael Mann's so good with like making Los Angeles not just feel like a venue or a backdrop, but it feels like a character in the movie. It kind of makes me think about

The most important character for me in the film is the space. So because the original idea, when this idea came out at the very beginning, it's about the space. So it's always about the space. And back then I was thinking that it doesn't matter if I put a character, I put an actor or actress in the room. What matters is the space. The space is everything I need. The space itself is about isolation. So you're stuck in it. When I start to put characters in the space, the character and the space...

echoes each other. it's not only a backdrop, it's not only like those people stay in hotel room and then like sleep and then get ready to leave. The other day it's not, it's the hotel room that tells something deep inside of the characters. And each character is going through alienation in some way? In different ways. That is definitely the main theme running through. Yeah. How did financing and development come into place and how long did you shoot? It's kind of a two -part question.

The shooting was very creepy. Part of it is because of the pandemic, we have to finish the shooting very quickly. The idea starts in 2016 and then we started financing in 2017. So basically we spent all the first four or five years on financing. So this film is an international co -production. And luckily I have the best producer in the world. Nice. My wife, she's handling all this co -production process.

So this film is a co -publishing between our own company, Brenda Film, and a French company, and a Norwegian company, and a company from Netherlands, a Dutch company. Very cool. At the very beginning, we felt like, okay, this should be a project that's funded in Europe because there are opportunities in Europe. They are all very competitive, but I think that's our best shot to get this film financed. There are different policies, different restrictions, and we started to deal with it each funding at a

one after another. Is it pretty difficult to get funding from these European film funds? I mean, you've got to know what path is ahead of you, I guess. You have to do the right thing at the right time and know the process. But yeah, what does it look like? Because I'm an American, we don't have that, sadly. You know, we got to ask a dentist if they can give us their... No, I'm just kidding. Yeah, what does it look like? mean, briefly, like... Basically, we will need partners from each country first because we can only apply through...

the national producers. Like for example, if you want to apply for funding in France, we'll need a French co -producer. If you want to apply for funding in the Netherlands, we need a Dutch co -producer. So first of all, we need to find a partner first. And then we still work like everybody else did, like to submit the proposal and they would check your profile and the shows that you make before and then your script. So basically these are the most important.

But that first step is to find that native producer to which country that feels right for your film and also knows the path to deal with their own country's film fund. And then it's a matter of, okay, you what are you about? They're going to look at your resume. Did you get turned down any or did you just find yourself kind of going through the door rather easily? No door is easy for me. Like, course, I think everybody got turned down. Like, lucky, I think the film is eventually successfully financed. so that's why we were able to make

they're so competitive, so you have to compete with everybody else in the world. One advantage that's there is that for new directors, some fundings have different categories, and one is for established directors, and one is for new directors. So the new directors category will be a little bit slightly easier than the other one. But for this project, unfortunately, it was my third feature. Sometimes I feel punished for making those first few movies.

with the intention of cutting my teeth and making as much as I can with what I had. But then a lot of times you don't get into the Sundance lab because you're not a first -time filmmaker. Or you don't get the film fun because you're not a first -time filmmaker. Why do you think they're most interested in helping first -time filmmakers? For my own experience, all of our previous films are very low budget films that we can just make it. I think it did happen to some of the American filmmakers as well. They would just spend thousands of dollars to get everything from the film by themselves and make their first or second film.

That's a better time for independent filmmaking, I think. Then when we realized that there are two different categories, it was already too late for us to realize that. But we don't regret anything. Yeah, got you. What was your favorite part about making this film? It's got to be something that just pops in your head. There's got to be a moment. Yeah, it was very relief after we finally make it because we have been waiting for so long and then with all the fundings and people waiting for this show to be made, it was really relief for us to finally finish

especially during the last moment of the pandemic. First feeling is that I'm so relieved that it's done. I feel happy and satisfied with what's on the screen. And I can't wait to watch it on the big screen because it's like... It's also the first time we have a team for the production because most of the films I've made in the past are like creative, hybrid films or documentaries. So it is only a team of two or three. Yeah, same here. Yeah. And for this film, it's the first time that we have a crew, really like professional crew and

I was nervous at very beginning because you have to talk to a lot of people every day. I was kind of nervous about that. then the team was so supportive and I feel very blessed. It's really in a different world and environment. Got you. What would you say? 30 people? 40 people? 20 something. Less than 30. So tight, but you had everything you needed. I had everything, yeah. And also because it takes place in hotel rooms, it's all interior. So you don't need a lot of people. Did you do a lot of pre -lighting for

Or how did that work? Did you guys light from the top, from the ceiling? I'm just curious. Like your cinematographer, was he like lighting with lights that were hanging from the ceiling mostly because obviously it's a tight space? I think in some of the scenes that are tied on the ceiling, it depends on what we want, what kind of atmosphere we want for that specific scene. So yeah, but there are tons of lights from the ceiling or from the outside, outside the window or the door. And how many days total did you spend shooting this? Less than 20.

film in China, I think less than 20, because we have like two or three days for one scene. And you did each room at a time, I assume. Yeah. And all the actors are like different for each room. So. See, also, that's what's cool. I mean, as far as a producing standpoint, logistical, that's a really effective way to go about it, I feel like, as far as you can just like wrap people out as you get done. Right. OK, room one done. Actors, bye. Thank you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, cool. Next. Yeah, that's brilliant. Yeah, that's the only thing that I regret because

We couldn't spend the whole time with our favorite actors or actresses because this film is making up different stories. So it's like death comes and goes. Coffee and cigarettes vibes. something like that. Who doesn't love a good series of... Well, I don't know if this is what yours is, but a good series of vignettes. But it doesn't feel like they're just loose ends. They're just tied together tightly by this thing. It's not like another film of him, Night on Earth. like having just come in the cab and then leave. yeah, yeah, yeah.

So my other filmmaker was talking about this being one of his films, his go -to films. Okay. Yeah, nice, nice, nice. What about distribution? Have you guys locked it down? We just completed the DCP and the delivery. Okay. Everything for the festival because it's kind of tight. We just completed everything and then trying to start talking to people. And you're going to use the film festival as an opportunity to show off the film, right? Yeah. Hopefully they find a good home, I guess. Yeah, hopefully. Are you guys using a sales agent or is that to be determined?

To be determined, it's kind of a challenging film. It's almost two hours long and make about seven scenes, seven shots, seven long takes. I can't wait to watch this thing. I really can't. I need to watch this for my research. I think it's kind of challenging and risky for most of the South Asians. So we'll see. We'll try to get one, but also we'll work on the festival part as well. Well, I must ask you then, but I cannot forget this. I'm so glad that you brought this back up. Talk about the hardest thing there is when it comes to shooting these long takes.

You know, what should I watch out for when I go do this? camera movement. So among all the certain scenes, think most of them are re -camera movements. And especially when I have to do that in like a real hotel room, it's not huge ones. And then it's the camera movement that took us most time and money because we all the equipment. I need a camera move exactly as I require. So it has to be very precise. think, I think that's the most difficult part for the camera to interact with the actors. So I think that's.

For me, that's the most difficult part for those single long takes. Talk about the relief or whatever you felt whenever you nailed that take, when you knew you got a great take. And I don't even need to ask you about post -production or editing. You didn't have to edit, right? Yeah. I to choose the right beginning and the end. It changed back and forth a lot. Yeah. OK. OK. OK. So I mean, is there added pressure? Do you feel different? Are you more stressed out when you're trying to do a long one take? Do you have the temptation to maybe say, we'll get some coverage?

Or do you just say, nope, we're going to stick to the one take? So I stick to the idea firmly throughout the production and then I don't think we will have enough budget and time for any coverage or something like that. Gotcha. Okay. And you're happy with all your takes? You feel like you got it? Yeah. Every scene. So every time when we're sitting in front of the monitor and I feel, okay, this is the shot. This is the right take. This is the take I'm going to use. I always like trying to not tell anyone and try to make another one to see if it could be better.

Yeah, just one more guys, just one more. Just one more. Just one more. You said that last time. Your cinematographer, how crucial was he or she in collaborating with as far as getting these one takes? He's stressed. He's very stressed. Yeah. It's the first time that we worked together and then, but I saw his previous work as a camera and there's a reason that I decided to work with him. And the style of this camera person is like, he's very calm and confident and has a certain like high level of control. So that's the reason that I decided to work with him.

So during the production, I think he's kind of stressed because it's the first time that he realized that I'm such a director that I always say, it's not precise enough. It could be better. It could be better. I tried to push him a lot during his take. I think that's the way that we push each other. And you probably don't regret trying to be that precise either, right? You see the end result and the details. For me, it's hard to see if it's not leveled or something. For me, it's not acceptable. So I OK, we need another take for that. Yeah, this is your baby. You got to fight. You're right.

And then one more thing about the long takes, because this is like, this makes this conversation more unique. Did you ever get any pushback from anybody to say, hey, maybe you should reconsider not shooting it all in seven long takes? A lot, a lot during financing. But I turned them down. Yeah. Wow. So are you saying you had financing from certain people and they probably going to give you the money if you chose to abandon the long takes? It's easier for me to get financed in that way if I accept changes. But I decided not to do

How would the movie be different if you didn't shoot it in long takes? If you just shot it kind of more of a traditional way? Yeah, for me it's more traditional because for me the form of cinema is as important as the content. So the form itself is part of the form. It's the original concept at very beginning and I want to stuck with it because if I decide not to do that the way I want, I wouldn't feel it's my film. Nice. Hell yeah. Sweet. Okay, Carlo Vivare, any expectations or you just kind of be in the moment or what are you looking forward to? Talk about the festival coming up.

Yeah, I can't wait to watch the film on the big screen. That's the first thing. And some other films that I'm curious to watch. If you had the opportunity to remake any movie, what would it be? Any movie in the history? Whatever, yeah. That's a good question, basically. It is good. Like any movie in the history by anyone? yeah. Anything. Give an example. What would be your film that you want to remake? You know, this one that changes, but

One that comes to mind is I'm a sucker for crime films, because I came up in the 90s. I would say either Heat or Ocean's Eleven. okay. Soderbergh is my favorite filmmaker. I love his filmography. One of my favorites. Top three. But anyways, I would say, because that's been already remade, Ocean's Eleven, he remade that. So it's

That would be fun. It would be a lot of fun. Crime comedy. Yeah. that's inspiring. Just one thing that just came to my mind, which was remade before as well, Psycho. yeah. Who, who made Psycho? Gus Van Sant remade it. I think it's Gus Van Sant, right? With Vince Vaughn, right? Yeah, I think so. Which was shot for shot, kind of. Is that what they went for? Yeah, that's what he did, I think. I think in terms of like, if there's a film that I choose to remake, I

it would feel much interesting for me if someone has done that before. So it has been remake already and then I would make another remake. Because then the pressure's not on you to be the jerk that thought he would. I mean, the fact that Soderbergh remade Solaris is kind of crazy actually, if think about that. It's like, the ball's on that guy. Whatever, I I enjoy both versions, but any parting words of wisdom that any listeners could possibly take with them, you know, like from your journey so far as a filmmaker? Make the most honest film.

Because I think there will be lot of distractions. Like in terms of like commercial distribution, festival, everything. Especially like there are a lot of like distractions coming from Netflix, Amazon and all that kind of. You really get to know what you want, what you are desperate to do. It's the most difficult part even like for me now. Like it's easy for one to say that you know what you want. But I think the question for me now becomes like to know what you want, you have to know what you don't want. Like what kind of film?

you're definitely not going to make in search of the kind of things that you really want to make. And that's of a great question for everyone, not only for young filmmakers, but also for established filmmakers as well. For sure. That was perfect. That was beautiful. Thank you so much. Please like and subscribe to this podcast and follow us on social media at past present feature and let us know in the comments section what movies you're watching. Thank you so much for listening to the past present feature podcast and we'll see you next time. Peace.