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| VIFF 2006 Interview – War Symphonies/Mozartballs director Larry Weinstein |
The War Synphonies at VIFF (www.viff.org) |
by Jason Whyte
“It’s about the composer Dmitri Shostakovich and his rather formidable tensions with that supreme asshole, Josef Stalin – damn, I gave away the bias of my film… Well, it’s another Rhombus music film, with a lot of lovely music and pictures. Is that better?” Larry Weinstein, hilarious director of “Mozartballs” and “The War Symphonies”, two documentaries playing at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival (Sep. 28 – Oct. 13th)
Let us know your favourite and least-favourite parts of the festival experience.
I’m very shy about festivals – in Toronto (in early September) I tend to hide in a corner curled up into a fetal position until their festival is over. But there’s something seductive about British Columbia which is why I love the Victoria and Vancouver festivals. I also like it when festivals do retrospectives of my work. Since the VIFF is showing two of my films I like to think of it as a mini-mini-retrospective.
Could you give me a little look into your background (your own personal biography, if you will), and what led you to the desire to want to make film?
My background…hmmmm… I made a film about a slaughterhouse in high school – saw my classmates’ reactions (many vomited and or became vegetarians) and I knew I was hooked….
Growing up, you were no doubt asked the eternal question “When I grow up I want to be a …” Finish this sentence, please!
When I grow up, I want to be a grown-up. My 50th birthday is around the corner and I still haven’t achieved my wish. Ask my wife and daughters.
While you were making the movie, were you thinking about the future release of the film, be it film festivals, paying customers, critical response, and so forth?
I tend to make these music films as if I’m making something that I’d like to watch – since I have no musical background I figure I’m as general an audience as the next guy or gal.
How did this project come to fruition? If you could, please provide me with a rundown, start to finish, from your involvement.
Valery Gergiev, the great Russian conductor contacted my company with the idea of doing a film on Shostakovich’s War Symphonies that, is his Symphonies 4 (1936) to 9 (1945, we met many times, I internalized the subject). Rhombus formulated a co-pro with the Dutch company, IDTV. We raised money from a number of international sources, but most notably Bravo! In Canada, ZDF in Germany and Philips Classics in the Netherlands shot the film on location in St Petersburg and Moscow, filmed and recorded most of the music in the Netherlands – we did the mix with the Tattersall gang at Philips in Holland. By the way, Gergiev doesn’t like the film, but that’s another story….
What was the biggest challenge in the production of the movie, be it principal photography or post-production?
The biggest challenge in these kinds of films is always to come from our relatively apolitical land of Canada and be able to accurately and fairly portray a foreign political hotbed. That and gaining any access to Valery Gergiev, the busiest and most frenetic conductor in the world…
Please tell me about the technical side of the film; your relation to the film’s cinematographer, what the film was shot on and why it was decided to be photographed this way.
The film was shot on Super 16 by cinematographer Horst Zeidler, a brilliant man who has acted as director of photography on nearly all of my films over a 14 year period. Many of my earlier films were co-produced by ZDF and ARTE in Germany and back in 1991 Horst came to me as a “service” and a great service he was. We always shot on film until our HDTV/film combination in Beethoven’s Hair – partly because we preferred the look – partly because we wanted to blend the look of the archival footage.
Talk a bit about the festival experiences, if any, that you have had with this particular film. Have you had any interesting audience stories or questions that have arisen at screenings?
This film seemed to take on a life of its own upon release because the subject is kind of powerful and its first award was the grand prize (The Czech Crystal) at the Golden Prague Festival in 1998. Many people from the former Soviet states were in attendance and wept to me with great emotion that this portrayed their story… it might be the only time that the audience felt one of my films’ power more than I had thought possible in its making.
Who would you say your biggest inspirations are in the film world (directors, actors, cinematographers, etc)? Did you have any direct inspirations from filmmakers for this film in particular?
Hmmmm… the answer to this question always seems pretentious to me. Let’s see… it’s kind of frenetic so Pee Wee Herman…I was definitely influenced by my great editor, David New.
How far do you think you would want to go in this industry? Do you see yourself directing larger stories for a larger budget under the studio system, or do you feel that you would like to continue down the independent film path?
I see myself directing 100 million dollar films about really obscure twelve tone composers for major studios and grossing billions of dollars from the high culture-deprived masses.
If you weren’t in this profession, what other career do you think you would be interested in?
My first job was gardening in a cemetery – I found that really peaceful work.
Please tell me some filmmakers or talent that you would love to work with, even if money was no object.
Love to do a remake of this film called Borat versus Stalin. I love Borat.
(Author’s note: at this year’s Victoria Independent Film and Video Festival, Larry’s production partner Barbara Willis Sweete, and director of the wonderful film Five Days in September (click to read the review) remarked on how much she enjoyed watching the South Park film Bigger, Longer & Uncut. So despite the filmmakers’ devotion to music and documentary filmmaking, they still have passion for Trey Parker, Matt Stone and the former Ali G.)
Do you think that you have “made it” in this profession yet? If you don’t believe so, what do you think would happen for that moment to occur?
Wealth and Power and Immortality – I ask for little.
How important do you think the critical/media response is to film these days, be it a large production, independent film or festival title?
Very important. Of course, sometimes the worse the review is often the better for box office. Personally, I ignore all reviews except for efilmcritic.com.
If your film could play in any movie theatre in the world, which one would you choose?
I would choose an IMAX theatre on Saturn, but failing that I settle for any screening anywhere by anyone who cares to look.
Do you have an opinion on the issue of “A Film by (Insert Director Here)” ? Is this something you use? Many people collaborate to make a film yet simultaneously, the director is the final word on the production.
I sometimes use “A film by”, but generally feel great guilt when I do because I’ve always been blessed with such amazing collaborators. It often depends if I’ve had a fight with them and wish to purposely alienate those around me. It can really work!
What would you say to someone on the street to see your film instead of the latest blockbuster playing at the Paramount?
I’d say: watching the angst of Shostakovich and the death of Stalin is so much more entertaining than Talladega Nights. But I’d only say that because it’s true.
No doubt there are a lot of aspiring filmmakers at film festivals who are out there curious about making a film of their own. Do you have any advice that you could provide for those looking to get a start?
I think they should stalk Robert Lantos or Niv Fichman and seriously scare them into producing their films… Failing that, just be incredibly devoted and thorough and passionate and determined and ready for failure repeatedly until the stalking thing works.
And finally…what is your all time favourite motion picture, and why?
One film, eh? Raging Amarcord….
The 25th Vancouver International Film Festival runs from September 28th to October 13th, 2006. To see when this film is playing, and for more information on other screenings, happenings and what is going on at this year’s VIFF, point your browser to viff.org. – Jason Whyte, jasonwhyte@efilmcritic.com
link directly to this feature at http://hollywoodbitchslap.com/feature.php?feature=1973
originally posted: 10/09/06 05:33:34
last updated: 10/09/06 05:36:56
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