Hello Jonas, could you please tell us a little bit more about your submitted project? How did you come up with such an original story?
I have tried Virtual Reality several times before, but was looking for a viable idea for a particular VR-film. I come from a shipping family and have always wondered why the entire shipyard history of Gothenburg just disappeared and that no traces are visible anymore and this gave the idea that you can recreate the shipyard era in VR and 3D animations... VR have the ability transport you to another place, to here & now. I wanted my film to feel and be experienced as a memory, therefore the shipyard workers are silhouettes, shadows figures with headlamps and there are several holes in buildings and cranes are transparent and so on... I wanted to create a feeling and experience of the history of the shipyards, not an exact image or facts.
Who are the directors who inspire you? What would be your favorite movie?
There are several directors who influenced and inspired me. All the big ones in the 70s, for example. Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Lucas and Spielberg, But also Woody Allen's humor, Rainer Werner Fassbinder's uncompromisingness. Federico Fellini's living autobiography "Amarcord", Akiro Kurusawa's Samurai films. The great music of "The Graduate" by Mike Nichols. (Simon & Garfunkel) Robert Altman's "Short cuts" is a fantastic adaptation, as is the version with the short stories by Raymond Carver. Milos Foreman's striking "Ones flew over the Cocos nest", later the unbeatable "Magnolia" by Paul Thomas Anderson. They have it all! Michael Haneke "Fanny Games" opened new doors with storytelling, and so on…
What are some of the biggest challenges you faced while making this film?
Narrating in VR is a new challenge for me, there are so many parameters to relate to, for example that the sound guides the eye, in which direction to look, so that you don't miss something important in the story. My story is an interpretation of a memory from a female crane operator at the shipyard who slipped on the ladder one cold winter morning and fell and saw her life pass by... I now dramatized this event in Virtual Reality.
What are the audience reviews of your project?
I was incredibly surprised at all the great reviews and all the Award Winners, today 33 "Best VR film". This has also resulted in some of my other recent short films now also getting invitations to Official Selected and Award Winner at other film festivals. But I know at the same time that there aren't that many elaborate 3D VR projects to compete against yet...
Do you think film festivals play an important role in the film industry? Why are they necessary? How do you get the most out of them?
Film festivals play an important role in reaching out with your film to a larger audience and meeting other perspectives and cultures as a stimulating complement to the domestic film industry. In addition, there are many creative meetings and exchanges at the festivals themselves that strengthen the community in the industry and the confirmation, also credit to be invited and sometimes be a Award Winner…
Tell us something about yourself and your background. Do you remember the first movie you saw? Were you enthralled?
I have done many films in many different genres, lengths and formats. Short films, TV-film, VR, documentary, fiction, advertising, animation and cinemas. In recent years, I have worked with digital solutions for the cultural sector and museums among others. I like to mix different shapes and expressions. Every idea needs it shape of its own. I am a visual storyteller with content.
Was there a particular moment when you realized that filmmaking is your way of telling stories?
I have always painted and drawn, wanted to be a cartoonist in my early days and wrote short stories and then came music by playing in a band that turned into music videos, where I wanted to tell a story and after that, film school. There I started to explore different expressions and forms with my storytelling. I want do go outside the box and push and surprise myself…
What were the production realities from casting to editing that you had to deal with?
Since the VR movie is animated in 3D, the voice becomes very important. That it is a believable living character with a personal appeal that takes us on this journey... There is now editing in the common way, you really have to be creative in every way! And work with great 3D artist and programmer…
Do you think a filmmaker should always bring something original or should he/she stick to classic but cinematic styles?
Every visual storyteller has to be a little original and listen to his inner voice. There are always so many people who will affect your process in different ways all along, so when the day is over, it's the only thing you have to fall back upon…
What are your future plans in your film career?
My immediate future plans are a feature film that mixes fiction, documentary and animation, a variant of autofiction biography in a free form "Daddy Blueberry" with a premiere in 2023. I also continue to explore the virtual reality narrative form...
Thank you for this inspiring interview and for taking the time to honestly answer all the questions. The BIA team wishes you great success with your next projects!