- Mediathek-Tipp – Der Kurzfilm „Further and Further Away“ - 4. Juni 2023
- „Radium Girls“ von Cy (2021) - 4. Juni 2023
- Drei Fragen an Zhang Dalei - 3. Juni 2023
The original english language interview is also available.
Dein neuester Film wirkt wie eine direkte Antwort auf Deinen Erfolg Deines Films „I’m here“ – entstand so die Idee dafür?
Wie fand es Deine Familie, dass sie diesmal eine größere Rolle in Deinem Film spielen durften?
War es Dir ein Anliegen, dieses Mal mehr mit Humor zu arbeiten?
Wie lange hat die Realisierung deines Films gedauert?
Die Herstellung der Szenografie meines Zimmers, aller Möbel, kleiner Elemente und Puppen dauerte zwei Monate. Die Dreharbeiten dauerten einen Monat, eigentlich drei Wochen. Bis auf die letzte Einstellung habe ich mich selbst animiert. Ich konnte es in so kurzer Zeit fertigstellen, weil die Animation nicht kompliziert war. Ich habe die Bewegungen so weit wie möglich vereinfacht.
Auch diese Arbeit war wieder ein Stop-Motion-Film. Warum entscheidest Du Dich immer wieder dafür?
Was lag Dir visuell am Herzen?
In diesem Film? Ich glaube, es war mein Elternhaus, vor allem mein Zimmer, in dem ich all die Danksagungen für die Auszeichnungen für „I’m Here“ aufgenommen habe, alle Q&A und wo ich über alle meine Animationen nachdachte. Ich wollte wirklich ein perfektes Modell meines Zimmers schaffen, so wie es in diesem Moment aussah, weil ich wusste, dass ein bestimmter Abschnitt meines Lebens zu Ende ging.
Das war auch Dein Abschlussfilm, richtig? Wie geht es jetzt weiter? Sind schon neue Projekte geplant?
Die Fragen stellte Doreen Kaltenecker
Übersetzung von Michael Kaltenecker
Lies auch die Rezension des Kurzfilms „This will not be a Festival Film“
Interview: In our conversation with Polish director Julia Orlik, we were able to learn more about her latest short film “This will not be a Festival Film” (OT: “To nie będzie film festiwalowy”), which had its German premiere at the 65th DOK Leipzig 2022, whether it is a direct response to the success of the film “I’m Here“, how the change in tone is related to that, and what happens next now that she has graduated.
Your latest film seems like a direct response to the success of your film “I’m Here” – is that how the idea for it came about?
Yes, but definitely it wasn’t my first idea. In the beginning, like the main character Julita, I wanted to make a film about my family. I wanted to use family photos and videos and make a kind of portrait of my childhood and my family. At the end, I just wanted to say thank you for what my parents gave me. It was supposed to be a mixed film, like a bit of stop motion and a lot of cut out 2D animation. When I had already 10 minutes of the film, I realized that it does not look good and it is not suitable for the exam. At the same time, “I’m Here” animation was getting award after award which added to the pressure. A month before the exam, I decided to make this film from scratch. It was a huge stress for me because one month it’s really not a lot of time and I planned on changing everything. It was also a period in my life when I was wondering why I make films, what this process gives me and what it takes away from me.
How did your family feel about being allowed to play a bigger role in your film this time?
My parents always supported me and knew what I was doing, but they never had the opportunity to animate anything themselves. It was new to them, but they had fun doing it. It’s worth mentioning that my dad helped with building elements of scenography for my films even before I started studying. I talked to my mother a lot when I was writing the screenplay for “I’m Here” because she is a nurse and often takes care of the elderly. My brother did the music for all my animations and to this day I consult every script with him. Previously, I was worried that doing animation at Film School would take away my time with my family because I would spend most of my time alone animating in the garage among puppets and I would see my family only during meals. However, over time, I noticed that making movies can be not only a lonely job in the garage, but also our time together. It was one of the changes in my motivations and expectations that I have for the very process of making a film.
Did you want to work more with humor this time?
Yes! After “I’m Here” I felt that I needed some humor. I really love comedy, especially dark humor and all my previous school animations were a mix of humor and drama.
How long did it take to make your film?
Making the scenography of my room, all furniture, small elements and puppets took two months. The shooting took a month, actually 3 weeks. I animated myself except for the last shot. I managed to finish it in such a short time because the animation was not complicated. I’ve simplified the movement as much as possible.
This work was once again a stop motion film. Is that your preferred approach? Why?
It’s always stop-motion because I’m not very good at drawing and I don’t like working on the computer very much. Stop motion is a very variety technique, it requires making scenery, puppets, and then animation on the set. I am in contact with real matter all the time. I like it very much.
What was visually close to your heart?
In this movie? I think it was my family home, especially my room where I recorded all those thanks for awards for “I’m Here“, all Q&A and where I thought about all my animations. I really wanted to create a perfect model of my room, as it looked at that moment, because I knew that a certain stage of my life was ending.
This was also your graduation film, right? What’s planned now? Are there any new projects already in the works?
Since this year I have been teaching classes at the film school and I want to grow as a teacher. I am also slowly collecting materials for new films. I would definitely like to try to do something I haven’t done before, which is to direct a drawing animation for the internet viewers of genre comedy/parody. My brother and I are thinking about a mini-series. I would also like to make a series of films or a full-length animation about the elderly generation in some time. Something about their everyday life, but also about their place in society. I collect materials, write down the stories and experiences of people I meet. It would be a puppet animation, but I don’t know when it will be made yet.
Questions asked by Doreen Kaltenecker
Read on the german review of the short film “This will not be a Festival Film“