TFF: Dara Bratt, "In Vivid Detail"

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TFF: Dara Bratt, "In Vivid Detail"

(from brinkzine.com 5/3/07)

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•  Piper Perabo and John Ventimiglia
• Dara Bratt

Well, the Tribeca Film Festival Awards were just announced and I discovered that after ten days of carefully choosing the sure-fire films to screen, I saw a grand total of zero prize-winning features. Forty-five also-rans. I did manage to see the entertaining short called Super Powers that won Best Narrative Short, although I thought several films featured along with it in Tribeca’s “Express Stops Only” program were equally good, including my favorite, Dara Bratt’s “In Vivid Detail,” a nominee in the Student Visionary Competition that stars Piper Perabo and John Ventimiglia. Short films always get short shrift at festivals, but try to check out both these shorts and six other crowd-pleasers when “Express Stops Only” plays at the AMC on 34^th Street, between 8^th and 9^th (by an express stop!) on Saturday May 5, at 5 p.m. and Sunday May 6 (the last day of the festival) at 2:15 p.m.  I got lucky and was able to interview the talented Dara Bratt soon after an earlier screening.
Danny Peary: What's your background? Did you start making films in Canada or at NYU?
Dara Bratt: I grew up in Montreal. After graduating from Communication Studies and Philosophy, I moved to Toronto for 4 years and ran around as an Assistant Director, working on American films that were in production. I worked on films ranging from the blockbuster “K-19 The Widowmaker,” to the gender-bending “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.” A few producers I met told me that if I could get into NYU, I'd have to go. It was the only MFA school I applied to, and after a grueling interview, I was accepted on scholarship.    
 DP:  Were you first shorts comedies, too?
DB: Does this mean that you think “In Vivid Detail”is a comedy?  That's great. I made a short film, "Full," which was more experimental and quite lyrical. Minimal dialogue, lots of detail, a little on the dark side.. I really liked it, but it was not a festival piece. When I wrote a script called "The Sitting," which is a comedy that takes place at a Jewish funeral, my friends at school turned to me and said, "Wow, I didn't know you could be funny."  I also directed a short documentary on the gentrification of the historical Lower East Side, told through the eyes of the vendors from Guss' Pickles. It's called "Hello, Pickles?" I love that film!   (I think I secretly choose to make films that involve food.)

DP: How did you come up with the unusual premise for your film?  Were you attracted to such a subject because you are a romantic at heart?

DB: A close friend who is completing her PHD in Education at Harvard told me about this strange complex disorder she had just learned about. The center of research for prosopagnosia is at Harvard. We were looking up info online and learned about a farmer who could tell his cows apart but not by their faces. It is bizarre. I wanted to tell a story about this complex neurological disorder and figured the best context would be within a simple love story that questions how we measure beauty. Yes, I'm a romantic and love lyrical, romantic stories, although never one this mainstream.  This script certainly isn't the one I'm most drawn to write, but it just seemed to work for this story. Also, the film questions our judgments about people and our need to categorize people. He's not blind, but he can't see perfectly, so where does he belong?  The idea for the ending came right away. I asked, "Could mapping her face on a graph be the link to putting the puzzle together?"                    
DP:  Did you ever think of doing the film as straight drama?
DB: Well, unlike you, I think it is a drama and is certainly a fairly "straight" story.                                         

DP: How did you get your two professional stars, Piper Perabo and John Ventimiglia of “The Sopranos” to agree to be in a student film?  How did your male friends react when they found out you had the star of “Coyote Ugly” in your movie?

DB: After my third year of my MFA degree, I went back to Toronto for the summer, mainly to spend time with my boyfriend who is from there. I decided to AD for the summer on "Cheaper By the Dozen 2" to earn a little extra money. He turned to me and said, "You know you're working with the lead from “Coyote Ugly,” right?" I had never seen the film. I had heard of but hadn’t seen "Lost and Delirious" either, so I rented both films. On set, halfway through the film, a friend of mine passed Piper the script without my knowing. I was nervous to follow up, fearing she hated it.  But lo and behold, she agreed to do it and kept her word. Piper's a star- an amazing actress who is wonderful to work with. After she committed, my producer, Sharon Barnes, and I started to look around for the right lead man back in New York.  John Ventimiglia had just wrapped up “The Sopranos” and was very interested. I was so worried that it would fall through because of their tight schedules and auditions, that I did backup auditions every weekend until one week before the shoot. Just in case.
When it was clear they’d be in the movie, it was the talk around school.

DP. How did you feel directing two seasoned actors?

DB: I was very excited to work with accomplished actors. During rehearsals and into the first few days of shooting, I am sure I was being tested and I could feel myself earning their trust. Boy did they ask a lot of questions during rehearsals! I knew I had to be confident and find the balance between listening to their ideas and staying true to my vision. Just because they are good at what they do doesn't mean they don't need direction. They see their roles. I need to see the big picture.                                                                          
DP:  Talk about the pre-production for your film.                                                                                  
DB: There were months of rewrites and running around the city looking for the best locations, including trips to chocolate shops. (I love chocolate.)  I initially wanted to shoot in Old Montreal but decided on DUMBO--a visually interesting and desolate neighborhood in Brooklyn.                                                                                                                                                    DP:  Why is Leslie attracted to Justin? DB: Leslie is drawn to him because he's not like most men she's known. He isn't drooling over her beauty -- he's aloof, hard working, and reclusive. He's also observant and precise and notices details. And she likes that their first date is so weird--he takes her to a chocolate shop run by identical twins. She interprets his face blindness as a unique sense of humor.                                                                                                          
DP: If he can't tell she is sexy and beautiful, why is he attracted to her initially?  And why does he start falling for her?
DB: She's daring--showing up to work in red high heels--just a little out of place for the office. She's got long wavy hair and a dimple--traits prosopagnosiacs would notice. And she appreciates his social awkwardness.
DP: Do you agree that your short wouldn't work at all if it didn't have the "right" ending?  So was your ending your chief worry and challenge? 
DB: The ending is definitely critical and I think it elevates the script to being a smarter romantic comedy. At every screening, I am still concerned about whether everyone will "get it."  I get so nervous during screenings that I usually close my eyes. But I always watch the last scene - I'm most proud of that one.                            
DP: How meaningful is it  to show your film at Tribeca?                                                                 
DB: I was so nervous about being accepted to Tribeca. The film is shot in N.Y., has N.Y. actors and was the recipient of the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, a N.Y. foundation, for its incorporation of science. So it was exceptionally important to me to premiere at Tribeca. The night before I got the call, I was having doubts about whether I was tough enough to last in this dreamer's world. A professor of mine said, "Don't take the rejection seriously. Don't take the praise seriously. Only take the work seriously." I got accepted the next day.         
DP: What has been the reception you have had from strangers?
DB: The best part about the screenings is after it's over. As I already mentioned, I close my eyes for most of the screening but I do listen to whether the audience laughs or not. It's amazing when strangers come to me afterward and compliment the film. I love it because it's not from friends so there's no need be nice or flattering. The most honest feedback is often from people you don't know and the reception at Tribeca has been great. New Yorkers always tell you what they really think so when the words are positive, it's definitely a feel good situation.
DP: How can people see your film after Tribeca?
DB: I really hope that Tribeca is a launching pad and that the film will travel to more festivals. Being Canadian, I am striving for the Toronto Film Festival. Check the website invividDetail.com for updates.                              

DP:  Do you plan future shorts or features?

DB: I have directed and produced a feature documentary, which I¢m also currently submitting to festivals. It's about the most loved and hated man in Canada, Dr. Henry Morgentaler, who revolutionized the Canadian abortion law. The film is a deconstruction on the man behind the cause.I have just finished a feature narrative screenplay Mirabella's Secret," which I am submitting to Sloan. I hope to begin preproduction in the next year or so. But for now, I'm just going to enjoy this festival adventure. And then get some sleep. Lots of it.

Two Filmmakers Tackle Tale of Two Bitter Brothers

Find When the Tide Turns on Video

Two Filmmakers Tackle Tale of Two Bitter Brothers

(from brinkzine.com 5/12/07)

• Kelly Chapman and Campbell Maynes
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“When the Tide Turns” got a lot of people’s attention when New York magazine selected it as one of the five best shorts screened at the recent Tribeca Film Festival.  Of the 14-½ minute, two-character Australian film, Bilge Ebiri wrote: “Starting off in one register, with brothers Benno and Gill happily heading out on a liberating getaway weekend to the beach, Campbell Maynes gripping little film quickly switches to another, as a freak incident results in a rapidly escalating standoff between man and nature—and then between the two men themselves.  Tight, tense, and by the end, surprisingly tender.”  With that rave review in mind, I ran into the short’s director Maynes and producer Kelly Chapman at the festival’s Filmmakers Lounge and conducted this brief interview.

Danny Peary: Where are you from in Australia?
Campbell Maynes: I am from Brisbane but currently live in Los Angeles.
Kelly Chapman: I am from Brisbane, too, but still live there.
DP: What had you done before this film?
KC:  I started out producing music videos years in Melbourne.  I used to want to be an actor when I was a “baby,” and left Melbourne for New York so that I could be discovered.  Instead I fell in love and had a child and went to university, and my life went sideways for a while.  I picked up producing shorts again a couple of years ago, and documentaries. (I’m working in interactive online narrative as well as the moment.)  I’ve tried directing and writing, which I quite like, but I’m a producer. 
CM:  This was my first opportunity to direct.  Prior to this, I did a business degree at university and worked at investment banking for several years, and decided to work at something I was more passionate about.  So I pursued filmmaking.  I took several courses and spent a few years producing television commercials.  Last year I got the chance to make a pitch on this script and Kelly liked what I had to say. 
DP: Who originated the idea for When the Tide Turns?
KC: The idea came from the scriptwriter, David A. Fellows.  I contacted one of the state funding bodies to tell them that I wanted to produce another short film. They sent me five scripts to choose from and it was the one I picked.  I worked a little with David and then got in touch with Campbell, who was definitely the right person to direct it.  And then we developed the film together.
DP: Why did you choose this film rather than the others?
KC:  It’s not something I can put into words, but I believed it, it rang true to me.  It’s even a blokey film, but I have sisters and believe there are things in it that aren’t specific to males.
DP: But would you have thought of hiring a female director?
KC: Not for this film.
DP: How did you know of Campbell?
KC: From a friend of a friend, actually.  Brisbane has a quite small film scene so everyone has heard of each other.  I knew that he wanted to direct films and I had a sense that this one would work for us together. 
DP: Campbell, why did you think you were the right pick for this movie?
CM: For two reasons.  One is that I had an older brother and I know about the deep bond brothers share as well as the conflict that exists at any age.  My brother and I are competitive people and sometimes that can be serious.  I connected with the dynamics between Benno and Gill; and I connected to them individually on a personal level.  Gill is in the finance industry and I’ve been there; and Benno is a bit of an outcast, and odd-jobs guy, and strangely enough I’ve done a bit of that over the years.  So I related to the two characters.  And second, shooting on the beach and in the water excited me a lot.
DP: Where did you film this?
CK: In northern New South Wales, most of it in the water.
DP: On the DVD, beneath the title, is the line, “blood is thicker than water.”  I assume that’s the theme of the movie.
CM: It really is.  It has a double meaning because the story is about brothers and much of the film is set in water.   At the beginning of the film, Benno and Gill are estranged but are going away on a surfing trip for the weekend with the hope that they can work out their differences and things can be good again.  Once they get to the beach, though, old resentments and issues start to come between them, and things deteriorate from then on.
KC:  They’ve been estranged for quite some time, probably since their early twenties.
DP: Did something happen then that is, literally, “resurfacing?”
CM: The way they each decided to live their lives, day to day and on an ideological level, is quite contrasting and over the years they’ve really grown apart to the point there is quite a chasm between them.  At those times they’ve had brief meetings, the same issues have come up.  It all comes to a head in the short.
DP: Did you know the two actors before making the short?
KC:  I did. Damien Meehan, who plays Benno, actually built a set on a previous short of mine.  And the wife of David Cassidy, who plays Gill, acted in a short I produced. 
Damien Meehan is a newcomer to acting. He works full time as a carpenter while exploring further acting opportunities. Damien Cassidy is classically trained and works in the theatre regularly. He has had small film roles including one in the Australian feature film “Kokoda.” He supplements any income he makes from his craft as a cinema projectionist. We did an extensive casting session for this film.  We’d auditioned a lot of people the actors in pairs to see how they played together.  Although Damien Meehan hadn’t had much acting experience, he’s perfect for the role and we were surprised at how well he and Damien Cassidy fit as brothers.
DP: Do you think the two Damiens will be friends after the film?
KC: They’re as different as Benno and Gill are.  I wouldn't say they won't be friends, but they are very different types of guys and I doubt their paths will often cross, unless perhaps in another movie.
DP: Do you want to make features?
KC: Cameron, David, and I are actually developing “When the Tide Turns” into a feature.
CM:  That’s one of our priorities at the moment.  We have an initial treatment written and are hoping to develop a script from it.  I also have a couple of other projects in the early stages that I’m developing as well.  The goal is to make a feature film.
DP: What was your reaction to be accepted by the Tribeca Film Festival?
KC: To me it was a real dream playing at Tribeca.  I’ve lived in New York and it was great coming back to the festival not as a volunteer!  That excited me.  It was a surprise to us that this little film that we knocked together in the ocean in three days had such legs. 
CM:  It was a festival we dreamed of getting into.  The budget for our film was only $3,000 and we had a lot of great people who helped out for nothing, and there were businesses that supported us.  It was a fairly surreal experience getting the phone call telling us that we’d been accepted.  And coming to New York has its own excitement.
DP: Where can people see your film?
CM: We have entered several more festivals in the U.S. and Australia. We're screening at the St. Kilda Film Festival in Melbourne in June.  We’ve also been accepted for the London Film Festival in October.  If people are interested in updates they can contact us via www.whenthetideturns.com

Sasie Sealy's New Short at Tribeca Film Festival

Find  short The Elephant Garden on Video

Sasie Sealy's New Short at Tribeca Film Festival

(from brinkzine.com 4/30/08)

• Danny Peary and Sasie Sealy
• Sasie Sealy

As the Tribeca Film Festival moves into its homestretch, nobody wants to waste time seeing duds like War, Inc.  So I'd like to recommend my personal favorites: the uplifting street music documentary "Playing for Change" (what a soundtrack!); the enlightening doc "Pray the Devil Back to Hell," about how thousands of courageous women forced the end of the lengthy war in Liberia; and the gorgeous and complex Merchant-Ivory narrative, "Before the Rains." Films recommended to me by relatively sane people include "Donkey in Lahore," "War Child," "Katyń," "Eden," "Sita Sings the Blues," "My Life Inside," "Boy A" and "Man on Wire." Also, don't miss the restored version of Sergio Leone's masterpiece "Once Upon a Time in the West" at MOMA; Curtis Harrington's rediscovered horror mood piece, "Night Tide" (starring Dennis Hopper), at Pace; and Rene Clair's unearthed silent comedy, "Two Timid Souls," also at Pace with orchestra accompaniment.  But don't limit yourself to features.  I'm eager to check out the seven-minute "Suspended," which precedes Shane Meadows' "Somers Town." Look for my upcoming interview with its director, famed Iranian artist Bahar Behbahani. If Ryan Spindell's gory but intelligent "Kirksdale" is any indication of the quality of the shorts program "Nuthouse," then it's definitely worth attending—enticing titles include "Zombie Gets a Date," "Skeletons in the Closet," and "Cupcake."  I saw the shorts program about teenagers with an assortment of problems, "Deal with It," and can say there isn't a weak film in the lot. Go! The perceptive opener, "The Elephant Garden," marks director-writer Sasie Sealy's return to Tribeca.  Three years ago her "Dance Mania Fantastic" deservedly won a student award and I became an instant fan. Her new film, about a young girl who feels abandoned and confused when her older sister gets a boyfriend, again has a lead character who wanders around feeling alone and depressed, only to discover that there is love and support for the asking.  It's a sweet theme, that you can totally mess up and those who love you will welcome you into their arms.  I interviewed Sasie Sealy at Tribeca back in 2005, and was eager to repeat the experience in 2008:
Danny Peary: Talk about the title of your film.
Sasie Sealy: The title is actually from an early iteration of the script, in which the older sister tells the younger one a story about an elephant garden in the movie's prelude.  The story was left behind many drafts ago, but the title stuck.
DP; The opening image of the two sisters lying on the grass not only became the image you use to publicize the film but also was the image used by a local newspaper, as a half-page spread, to publicize the festival.  Why does that image, perhaps above all others, have such resonance for you, me, and everyone else?

SS: That image was THE image—the first one in the scrapbook before the story was even formed.  And I think the reason it stuck with me was that it was so emblematic of childhood yet also removed, as if from an adult vantage point.  There is a storybook quality to it that speaks to how we mythologize our childhood and create narratives around that time in our lives.  The last shot of the film was designed as a counterpart—another snapshot of the two sisters, but with a very different meaning by the time we get to that point in the story.
DP: The shot where the girls roll down the hill and the camera spins is very impressive.  How was that done?  And is there any shot in the film that you are prouder of?
SS: That shot was done with the DP literally running down the hill with the camera held low at his ankles as the two actors were rolling.  It took multiple takes and a lot of faith we had pointed the camera in the right direction.  My favorite shot of the movie actually was left on the cutting room floor.  It had a similar quality to the rolling shot, but tracked feet running through grass.  I kept it for the trailer, but my editor and I decided the scene it was in didn't serve the movie—I guess that's what they refer to as "killing your babies."
DP: You say this film about two sisters isn't about you and your sister, but isn't it in any way autobiographical.
SS: When I say the movie isn't about me and my sister, I mean that literally, as in none of the events in the film ever took place in real life.  I would never call the film autobiographical, but of course the movie is about us, and I never would have been able to make the movie without drawing on the experience of having a younger sister.  Sibling relationships are some of the most complex in life and too often are neglected in films.
DP: The young actresses who play the sisters give impressive, honest performances.  Did you have to explain the film to them or did they understand because one has a younger sister and the other has an older sister?
SS: We didn't discuss the film in the "big picture" sense very much, but spent a lot of time working on individual scenes and the relationship between the actors.  I'm not sure I would have cast an actress who was an only child for this film.  I knew that both Kelley, who plays the younger girl, and Elise have sisters before I cast them.  Funnily enough, neither played the sibling part they have in real life.  Kelley is actually the eldest in real life, as I am. 
DP: Talk about the audition process and how you had them spend time together.
SS: I had the two actresses live together during rehearsal, and I asked Elise to build a sisterly relationship with Kelley as part of the process. I wanted to mimic the story of the movie by creating a real bond between them; as the filming began, I asked Elise to begin to draw away from Kelley—not to be mean, but to begin the process of shutting her out both on set and off.  Usually, I might not have tried such a literal experiment, but I really felt it was necessary for what the film was trying to accomplish.
DP: I would say that one theme of your film is that the older sister, who has found a boyfriend, has not pulled away as much as the younger sister believes.  Is that true?
SS: I think that is definitely one valid interpretation of the story.
DP: Did the shooting take only two weeks?  And why did you feel the need to make the movie in North Carolina, where you come from?
SS: Filming took place over nine days.  I really felt the need to shoot in North Carolina because the locations and types of things the characters do are inextricably linked to my own childhood.  Also, I've always felt disconnected from the Gothic version of the South that usually is depicted in film, when my own experience has been rooted in the reality of the New South: suburban construction dug out of red clay and scrawny pine trees.  I wanted to depict that version of the South, which is closely tied to places like Charlotte and Atlanta, and use real Southern actors.
DP: How does this year's Tribeca Film experience compare to when you debuted "Dance Mania Fantastic?"
SS: It's even more amazing the second time around, though I still don't seem to have time to watch all the movies on my list!
DP: Are you planning to make more shorts or do you have a feature in the works?
SS: I'm working on a feature that I'll shoot this winter.
DP: When that plays at Tribeca, I'll interview you again.

Bahar Behbahani Brings Artistry to Film

Find short "Suspended" on Video

Bahar Behbahani Brings Artistry to Film

(from brinkzine.com 4/30/08)

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One of the treats of film festivals is that on occasion you get to meet some remarkable people whose path you would never cross otherwise. At a gathering of international filmmakers early this week at the Tribeca Film Festival, I had the opportunity to talk to Iranian artist Bahar Behbahani, whose short "Suspended" is the opening act for Shane Meadows' "Somers Town." The final public screenings are at the Village East Cinemas on Thursday at 4:15 and Saturday at 3:15.  Bahar, who lives now in Brooklyn and has a studio there, came across as someone who would be fun to pal around with, so I thought it amusing when with great modesty she revealed to me that she is a famed artist in and out of Iran.  In addition to talent and creativity, she has had experiences we can only imagine to inspire her.  In a 2003 interview with Termeh Rassi, she explained the life experiences that inform her paintings and short films: "The events that happened in my childhood, which happened in the childhood of every Iranian, were strange events. Growing up in a an environment with red alarms, growing up with the fear of falling bombs and not just fearing for yourself but fearing for your loved ones; I learned the meaning of loss much earlier. I think I learned the meaning at the age of 6 or 7. I learned the real meaning of fear -- not the imaginary fear that most kids that age have but the real fear that comes with having seen a gun, heard a bomb, been witnessed to arrests." Also: "The conflicts existed everywhere - between school and home. Becoming familiar with the concept of Lying. You had to learn to lie because of the conflicts that were going on around you even though at home you were taught not to lie. Sometimes the very people who had told you not to lie; were telling you that you had to lie under the circumstances." As Rassi commented, "To this day loss, fear, and ambiguity, are themes that play a major role in Bahar's works.  In our following brief conversation about her film and art, Bahar Behbahani said the same thing.

Danny Peary: Did you go to film school in Iran?
Bahar Behbahani: No. I got my B.A. and M.A. in painting, back in Iran. I do video arts and short films sometimes because it's natural having come from a family with a background in filmmaking.  My father was a very popular television writer in Iran for many years, so I am used to it. So I make films sometimes although my main profession is painting. I paint every day.
DP: What kind of paintings?
BB: Kind of abstract.  Not pure abstract but expressive abstract.
DP: Is art scrutinized by the government in Iran or is there total freedom, unlike how it is with Iranian filmmakers?
BB: Artists have to get permission to have paintings at exhibitions.  I shot my film back in Iran a year ago without any permission, in a private place, my back yard.  But unfortunately I can't show it there because of some restrictions.  This is because there are little provocative concepts.  It's not just about a woman, but about a contemporary human being.  It's an expression about uncertainty and the instability of human beings. But it happens to be in Iran and it happens to be a woman. 
DP: Would it have been a different film if you'd made it thirty years ago because Iran was different then?
BB: It's not just about Iran, but about the contemporary era.  It's about all things happening in the world—all wars, all unjustified things, all abuses of power.  It's about everywhere, but I can sense it's more familiar to Iran because of the experiences that I had when I grew up and saw a revolution and war. 
DP: What does your title "Suspended" mean?
BB: I love ambiguity and I use very ambiguous scenes and concepts to show instability and uncertainty.  So "Suspended" to me means not being stable, as a human being, as a woman and as an Iranian. 
DP: Could you make a film or a work of art about stability, or are you incapable of expressing that concept?
BB (laughing): Yeah, I could do something about stability by showing contrasts!  I go for instability, I don't know why, maybe because of my background.  But I'm leaning to do instability things, in my paintings as well.  I have so many layers on top of each other and they put you in an uncertain situation as an audience.
DP: Could somebody who sees this short tell that you're an artist?
BB: I think so. I've heard that a couple of times because of the colors of the film.  And I'm very fussy about textures, and forms in my films, too.  In fact, the concept usually comes to me after I am inspired by forms, shapes, textures, and shadows. 
DP: What about the script? Did you write it long in advance?
BB: I wrote my script in America and had it for a year. When I went back to Iran after staying in America for a year, I saw the backyard behind my studio there and emotionally I touched with that and said this is the place when I have to film my script.
DP: When you're in America is it difficult for you to see people who have no understanding of who Iranians are?
BB: Fortunately somehow I find people like you around me.  I have been traveling across the United States for five years with my exhibitions.  I've been to Texas, California, Atlanta, and elsewhere and met many sympathetic people.  Yes, there are people who don't know about Iran, for example in Dallas, but it's all just experience meeting them.
DP: How well are you known in Iran?
BB: I can say I'm one of the established artists.  From the generation after the Islamic revolution, I'm one of the active artists over there.
DP: When you travel through the United States, is it your exhibition alone?
BB: At times there are group exhibitions. For example, I had a group of twenty Iranian artists in the New York Academy of Art.  An American curator came to Iran and invited the artists he selected.  Condoleezza Rice opened the exhibition.
DP: What were your thoughts seeing her standing there?
BB (laughing): I prefer not say.
DP: What has it been like screening your movie at Tribeca?
BB: My premiere was very, very exciting because Peter Scarlet introduced me in a great way, and that was unexpected.
DP: I'm sure people came up to you afterward and gave you their reaction.
BB: Yes, they did. I think in America taste is a little bit different than in Europe or Iran.  They aren't used to films with slow movements.
DP: Is that how your film is?
BB: It is not slow for me.  It's only seven minutes, but it's not fast-paced.
DP: Deliberate is the word you can use to describe it.  Is that pace for mood?
BB: Yes. It should be slow because I wanted to show time slowly passing.  I stretched the time by using visual tricks. 
DP: It's about one woman?
BB: And one man. 
DP: Who plays the woman?
BB: I knew when I wrote the script that I had to be the actress.
DP: This movie precedes "Somers Town."
BB: It is my good luck because that is made by a good director, Mr. Shane Meadows, and everybody wants to see it.  And they see my film first!