The Festival of Cinema NYC 2022 Interview Playlist
John Wildman talks with the creators of three films that screened recently at The Festival of Cinema NYC, August of 2022.
Nathan Buck (UNDER SPANISH SKIES)
What’s the film about?
After her husband Neil’s death, Leah calls her closest friends, Beth and Gregory to join her for a weekend at her farm in Andalucia. Soon after they arrive, Leah reveals that she and Neil had a suicide pact and that she will end her life the day after they leave. Now, Gregory and Beth face a harrowing dilemma: whether to tell Leah the truths they know about Neil, or to allow her to go to her death holding on to illusions of a perfect marriage. Meanwhile, Alix, a young, rebellious woman arrives to spend the hot summer with her uncle, Andrés, the farm’s environmentalist overseer. This unexpected arrival disrupts Leah’s careful plans, and chaos ensues.
What do we talk about?
Beaming in from Berlin, Nathan Buck, who wrote and directed UNDER SPANISH SKIES, and I talk about the 70s cinema esthetic I thought the film embodied: films built on ideas, as opposed to tentpole franchising. So, we talk about his cinematic influences, who and what he took his cues from. One word on the spoiler alert: Bergman. We also talk about the location shoot, on a Spanish ranch, and how it was kind of a great “movie camp” for the film crew and their families. We also talk about the editing process and mentally and emotionally getting past the assembly cut to the film we eventually see on the big screen. Buck discusses a key lesson learned from Picasso that informs his thinking during the editing process.
Marchelle Thurman and Jay Jablonski (BLACK, WHITE AND THE GREYS)
What’s the film about?
Jordie and Caleb Grey have a seemingly perfect life. They’ve been married for seven years and have an adorable, precocious five-year-old daughter named Millie. Of course they have their ups and downs but for the most part they’re happy. That all changes when a nationwide pandemic hits, and the couple are forced to quarantine together. Caleb loses his job and becomes a stay-at- home dad, while Jordie is tasked with being the sole breadwinner and working from home. As various events of 2020 unfold – the death of Kobe Bryant, Covid, ‘The Black Lives Matter’ movement, a wave of Cancel Culture in Caleb’s field, etc… The couple gradually discovers that their beliefs simply don’t align on many important issues.
What do we talk about?
BLACK, WHITE AND THE GREYS was the Opening Night selection for this year’s FOC NYC and then took home both the Jury Prize and the Audience Choice Award for Best Narrative Feature. Marchelle Thurman (writer/co-director/actor/executive producer), and Jay Jablonski (producer/actor) and I talked about the amount of improv versus sticking strictly to the script (due to the very grounded nature of the performances within the scenes). We also discussed how the film came about and how much it was “reverse engineered”: building the production around what was available financially, etc. They also went into great detail on the preparation and rehearsal process and the strict adherence to what they had available budget-wise. Both Marchelle and Jay act in the film so we also talk about balancing their on-camera performances with their directing and producing responsibilities. And, because it’s me and I’m fascinated by this topic, we talk about facing down that dreaded assembly cut. Jay is hilarious talking about watching that cut with his dad.
Michelle Girolami (IMPLANTED)
What’s the film about?
Sarah, a struggling young woman, becomes a test subject for an experimental medical AI implant. When the implant turns sinister and takes control of her body, Sarah fights to survive with only one choice: to live or die.
What do we talk about?
Much of IMPLANTED was shot in New York City so we had to talk about how they did that – the strategy, the challenge of doing it, and how she maintained her performance level while running and/or flopping around on a subway car or an empty NYC street at times when the rest of us are asleep. Her character goes through A LOT in the film so we also discussed their approach to keep the continuity correct while shooting out of order when it comes to the look of physical degradation or conveying a temperature setting that is vastly different from the reality of the shoot environment. In the film, Michelle is also frequently having a dialogue with a presence we can’t see, so….we talk about how she policed herself to keep that vibrant and “correct”. Finally, we get her take on what it’s like to be the “face” of a film doing the PR stuff.
