by Ashwini Jeyaseelan
You’re celebrating 35 years of St Kilda Film festival and 20 years as Festival Director – congrats! What has kept you dedicated to this role for so long?
I either love the job or lack imagination. I like to think it’s the former. In the Godfather sequel, Pacino complained that every time he tried to get out he kept getting pulled back in. The Festival is a bit like that. There are always new frontiers to explore and new talent emerging. I’ve seen meandering, bloated feature films that have been rescued by editors in post. This only increases my respect for short filmmakers who have to come running at high speed out of the trenches, and conduct a rapid guerrilla action with a narrative economy.
What kind of progress (or decline) have you seen in Australian short film?
On a technical level, it’s never been easier to create films thanks to the digital format. Where it gets tricky is to work out what you want to say and what kind of experiences you want to offer the audience. That is always the challenge and it goes back to your concept, not your hardware.
What do you look for in a movie which really blows you away?
It’s very personal and highly subjective but above any other consideration as a viewer you are looking for a fresh experience, a film that expresses a personal, idiosyncratic vision and not a generic re-tread of what has gone before. High-end production values are not as important as an original voice that takes me as a viewer on an exciting new experience.
Your dream St Kilda Film Festival guests for the future?
The first year I was director our special guest was Trevor Groth, the then Sundance Short Film Programmer. Since then we’ve run the gamut – Berlin, Aspen, South By Southwest, Clermont-Ferrand and many others. I do worry that they might not turn up each year due to the tyranny of distance and the dream turns into a nightmare. But touch wood.
Your film of the year?
I really enjoyed Lucky, Harry Dean Stanton’s final semi-autobiographical film – shot at an unhurried, languid pace, highly atmospheric and with a fine supporting role by David Lynch. It felt so lived in and in no hurry to go anywhere but crept up on me gradually and cumulatively. Of course, if the Oscars had any validity or relevance this little hand-embroidered gem, produced with the backing of a large studio or distributor, would have received at least one nomination. Anyway, it did manage to quietly sneak into town and worked its inscrutable, laconic magic on a handful of viewers.
The St Kilda Film Festival is on from May 17 – May 28, 2018.
