There is always something significant thriving below the surface of what is seen. In the annuals of film, the Independent filmmaker holds true to what is sold, lost or bought by the major motion film industry. While profit propels most major motion directors, the truth of art and the dream to create is the given momentum to the Independent filmmaker.
I asked 3 filmmakers what film means to them;
Marianna Palka
Marianna Palka, Scottish born director and actress, known and renown for her directing/acting of [Good Dick, 2008] which won her the New Director's award at the Edinburgh Film Festival and as the star focus of the upcoming Lucy Walker documentary [The Lion's Mouth Opens], a heartbreaking, anticipating motion document of Palka's gathering of friends to find out if she is carrying the Huntington's Gene, a degenerating brain disease that causes loss of motor function and eventual physical decay, premiering on HBO Documentaries on May 25. Palka, who has been acting since she was a child, appearing in over 7 theatre performances, one of which she directed, 2 television appearances (HBO & Fox), 13 films, 2 music videos (Moby's "Last Night," & The Paper Crane's "God Save Us All). With another 6 films appearances upcoming, Palka has remained active in her artistic desire to move and inspire.
Top 5 Favorite films;
1) [Blue, 1993] Director Krzysztof Kieslowski
2) [Thelma & Louise, 1991] Director Ridley Scott
3) [Ashes & Diamonds, 1958] Director Andrzej Wajda
4) [Tootsie, 1982] Director Sydney Pollack
5) [My Name is Joe, 1998] Director Ken Loach
"Film is life, it is why we breathe. Intimacy and kindness is how to make film. We build families and make films with these crafting families. I love everything about the film journey. I was born to do it. Good light in the eyes is why we can see character's souls. I feel the same way about film, as I feel sitting next to a camp fire with loved ones, or cooking for family. Directing is about listening. Lifting equipment, having fun, making jokes, keeping it light, making dark turn to light. I like to include everyone as much as everyone else. In that, I like to know everyone's names and I address everyone by name and I thank them all the time. I speak gently and I have the endless simple energy. Dreaming the dream and shooting the dream. Then the dream is the film. And then people watch the dream."
Sophie Kenny
The UK born Director/Assistant Director, one of the few Filmmakers currently creating experimental film, known for her 2014 short film, Tippet (which won her Best Director at the 48 Hour Film Challenge Awards, directing also 3 other films (including her most recent "Saudade" which competed at the Kodak Commercial Awards), Assisting Director of 4 films, currently in post-production for a TV series "The Interceptor." Carving out a reputation for herself in a nation where short filmmakers are making a grand statements in the world of filmography, Kenny's vigor for film is as apparent as her credits in Directing, Assisting Directing, Producing and writing.
Top 5 Favorite Films:
1) [Shame, 2011] Director Steve McQueen
2) [The Shining, 1980] Director Stanley Kubrick
3) [The Fountain, 2006] Director Darren Aronofsky
4) [AntiChrist, 2009] Director Lars Von Trier
5) [Eraserhead, 1977] Director David Lynch
"Film is about making real in some way the thoughts and stories that visit our minds in daydream or in our visions at night. I feel there is great power in our subconscious. When tapped into the right way, Film can inspire, and create powerful commentary of the world and people around us. As children, play and imagination is a huge part of our daily lives and as we grow up we lose a lot of our playfulness and fantastic thoughts, my job as a filmmaker is to embrace imagination, and to celebrate our dreams. To know that there is a world of people all passionate about making literal dreams come true is a very special thing, from writers, to costume designers, to producers and down to our floor runners on set - we all started out wanting to tell stories as children and we're all working towards that - creating our own worlds and universes. Film is the one medium for me that blends art, performance, music, design and story and being able to work in such a talented hub of creative people, and with others who want to make your dreams come to life too, is pretty damn cool."
Javier Perez-Karam
With a strong background in digital market, Perez founded Green Carrot, a storytelling and production company with the mission to tell stories designed to connect with people at an emotional level, building audiences around multi-platform content. With 3 directing credits, his most recently completed project/documentary, "The Perfection of Giving," sociological and anthropological exploration of the act of giving, the benefits for society and individuals and the practical consequences of a generous mind, a documentary which mirror Green Carrots establishing purpose and Perez-Karam's initial purpose of creating film; to promote the most kindness of humanist characteristics.
Top 5 Films:
1) [The Matrix, 1999] Directed by The Wachowski Brothers
2) [12 Monkeys, 1995] Directed by Terry Gillian
3) [Love actually, 2003] Directed by Richard Curtis
4) [Cinema Paradiso, 1988] Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
5) [Pulp Fiction, 1994] Directed by Quentin Tarantino
"Film to me is our contemporary storytelling form. It is the way I, and many storytellers these last century, have communicated the messages they have found important. One of the things that I have found amazing bout film lately, is how adaptive it has become, from having to be this very exclusive club of people with very expensive equipment to make a show their work, to a very plural and democratic environment that exists today where anyone with a few dollar can make a film and distribute it for free. Instead of disappearing of becoming outdated, the form has mutated to fit the technological shift."
Follow these amazing filmmakers on Twitter:
@MariannaPalka Marianna Palka
@Snkfilms Sophie Kenny
@PerezKaram Javier Perez-Karam
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