New Directions

By Sandie Young

Most moviegoers ignore the long list of credits acknowledging the people who created a film. But behind the final work of art is the person who toiled hours to piece it together: the director. Without a leader on set, the filmmaking process would surely fall apart. Directors might not get the spotlight of fame like the actors, but without them the movie business would be obsolete.

The Athens International Film Festival was held April 23-29 at the Athena Cinema. Films from all over the world played for the city of Athens. There were puppets, animations, documentaries, comedies and more. Four directors who presented at the festival expressed their love of filmmaking, along with their inspirations and hardships.

Among these directors, there seemed to be one common element: passion. Directors Andy Pearson, Bradley Glenn, Gary Ravenscroft and Carl Knickerbocker have all dedicated their time to film. They find deeper meaning in their work than the average viewer might realize. It seems most are trying to do exactly that.: find their own passions and deeper meanings.

Andy Pearson

College students are all looking for something to be passionate about: a person, a sport, a career, anything. Andy Pearson, film director of Souvenirs, has found his passion in film.

Director Andy Pearson lives about ten miles outside of London. “Crikey!” he exclaimed in a thick English accent when asked if he’d share some of his film background, “How long have you got?!” After learning that he worked as a designer and also at the BBC in London, I could tell that he truly valued making film.

“I don’t know whether this will sound pretentious but I actually only do feel truly alive when I am directing, so the rest of the time is spent waiting to direct” he said with a laugh.

Pearson wrote the entire script for Souvenirs and devoted some serious time to developing his characters. To him, they aren’t just fictional people. He said that many of them are a “hybrid of people that I’ve met in the past.”

He describes the wild cross-dressing character of Denzil as someone he once knew. Pearson was fascinated by his eccentric ways, and eventually his personality ended up in the film. The main character, Bookmark, is not your average leading man. He shoplifts and saves women’s underwear in a box of “souvenirs” (hence the title) after he sleeps with them. But Pearson felt this deviance of character made sense.

“Even the least loveable characters can find some kind of affection in the viewers hearts and you can turn things around and win people over while they’re watching the film,” he said.

Most of the happenings in the film were drawn from Pearson’s own life adventures, particularly the scene where Denzil ends up in the hospital in a wild costume. Due to some mild misfortunes, a friend of Pearson’s spent the night in the hospital in a fairy costume. It inspired him for a scene is this film. The director really has to know the characters “inside and out even if they’re fictitious.” In a way, this film gives the viewer a chance to see the world from Pearson’s point of view.

This English director is intrigued by the idea of costumes. Pearson feels that when people, and especially actors, are in costume their personality changes. Costumed people take on a different persona, even if just for a moment. This is why he included a scene where the characters attend a costume party. Bookmark dresses as Luke Skywalker and Nikki as Princess Leia. This coincidence signifies that they are destined to be together, and Pearson adds that his love of Star Wars influenced the costume choice. It seems that every detail of the film was put together with thought and creativity.

He never stops observing the world around him, looking for ideas or people who might inspire an idea. When he sees an interesting person or something sparks a good idea, he makes a note of it. To Pearson directing is not a job, it’s a way of life.

“I like looking at life with an unblinking eye,” he said. “But I like to mitigate that by humor, I think humor is what rescues us all.”

Pearson describes himself as a naturalist that likes to make people laugh, but not in the traditional American way. The film, made in Britain, may seem a bit odd but he said he likes to keep his audience in a kind of balance “where they’re sometimes not sure whether to laugh or to cry and maybe sometimes they’ve just finished doing one and then they start doing the other.”

Andy Pearson put his heart and soul into making a movie that reflects his quirky humor and ideals about life. Be sure to take note of the director’s name the next time a movie sets your imagination reeling.

Bradley Glenn

Imagine going to work and seeing a bozo sitting in your chair…and then staring out the window. This really happened at a Manhattan office.

Director Bradley Glenn directs the film The Battle of the Bozos, which was included in the short comedic films at the festival. This film is a documentary about a battle between complete strangers using only blow up clowns and signs that took place at New York City office buildings.

Glenn was working at Harrison and Star when he noticed that someone had stuck a Bozo in the window. It didn’t seem like anything to remember until it sparked a memorable confrontation. A woman across the street in another office complex, Betsy, was angered by the Bozo and decided to put up one of her own.

Glenn said he was talking on the phone with his wife when a scream interrupted their conversation. Surprised, his wife inquired about the noise, and he told her about the commotion the bozos had been causing at the office. She pitched the idea to New York Magazine. The story about the bozos was printed on the website soon after.

But Harrison and Star decided to strike back. They held a meeting about what approach to take and created plan “shock and awe.” Glenn had the weekend to get ready for filming Operation Shock and Awe on Monday. He didn’t plan for this film; it just happened. For him, it was about letting the characters tell the story. He went on to say that he was inspired by the show The Office for this film, which is quite evident after watching it. The colorful personalities of the characters provide the humor and entertainment.

“In this case, what I tried to do was to let the story speak for itself,” he said. “They [Betsey and Michael] told their sides of their story better than I could.”
Glenn said the whole scenario was a great distraction for the people working at the office. It was a way to get away from the dreariness of everyday life. He describes it as “oddly poetic.” The two offices chose to communicate with Bozos. In a world that overuses technology, this story does seem oddly refreshing.
“It’s ordinary people doing something extraordinary,” said Glenn.

Glenn didn’t write or plan this story. It just happened, and he felt lucky to be able to capture it. When asked about his style he simply said he doesn’t have one. For him it’s about the story.

“I’d rather not be that kind of director,” he said. “I’d rather be a director that says ‘Oh look at this great story and let the story do the work.’”
Glenn’s been living in New York City for 15 years and loves it. He graduated from NYU in 1991 and later worked as the road host for the Wheel of Fortune for three years. But directing has inspired him.

“There’s no better feeling than being on the set or being in the edit room and just nailing a moment,” Glenn said.

He says that the structure of the business has dramatically changed in recent years. Being a director involves taking risks and spending a lot of money that he might not see again. But Glenn didn’t let that stop him from filming The Battle of the Bozos. He said that life presents a lot of challenges, but opportunities as well.

“Its up to you to make it happen.”

Carl Knickerbocker and Gary Ravenscroft

Carl Knickerbocker, director of A Dog Goes From Here to There, created a film based on a children’s book that he wrote. He used foam puppets and also painted the background art for the film. Not only was it in the Athens International Film Festival, but Heather Henson, daughter of the creator of The Muppets, is using it in a project for her offshoot puppet company, Handmade Puppet Dreams Vol. 4.

“Did I mention I’m just so happy with it?” he asked. “I just love it. If I get bored I’ll just put it on and I’ll just watch it because I just enjoy it so much.”
Knickerbocker calls his style of art “suburban primitive art.” He described this film as being “crude and elegant” at the same time. This generation is used to seeing animation and computer generated effects, but this film does revert to an artsy form of elegance with simple hand made objects. Knickerbocker uses a bright, colorful palette, and he says he does this on purpose.

“There’s lots of competition for eyeballs out there…and my job is to capture an eyeball and then retain the eyeball,” he said with a laugh.

Knickerbockers unique style definitely caught my eye, along with director Gary Ravenscroft quirky humor in Non Sequitur.

The gas station owner balances a tissue on his finger and pretends it is a ghost, a homeless man turns out to be some kind of undercover agent, and another man with irritable bowel syndrome is forced to use the facilities at a stranger’s house. Surprisingly, the same actor plays all three of these characters.

Ravenscroft told me this has a special significance. The driver almost crushes the bum with his car, and then they come face to face. The significance lies in the fact that they are the same actor. He wanted to signify that everyone is connected in some way.

“Everyone has their little quirkiness or their little idiosyncrasies and I suppose you have to be a little bit careful about how you treat other people because were all pretty much the same,” he said. “I was trying to put a moment where that came across.”

Ravenscroft lives in Los Angeles, but is originally from Australia. While shooting a film, he tries to create an environment where the actors can be relaxed and creative. The performance of the actors is what makes a film believable and real, he explained. But more importantly, he feels that films have to have some sort of deeper meaning to really be worthwhile.

“It has to have some sort of message that makes me feel passionate about doing it,” he said.

Hopefully Athens will be entertained by all four of these directors at the next festival, or who knows, on the big screen someday. When a movie ends, credits roll down the screen. The names displayed on a simple black background are the creators driven by passion, and always have their own story to tell.

Direct link: http://backdropmag.com/features/new-directions/