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What compelled you to make this piece? How does this work address issues that are important to you or close to your heart?
I've had a lot of interaction with Germans over the years, in particular Bavarians. I wanted to make a film caricaturizing the German persona. Behind that austere facade lies a goofy, quirky romantic fool. It yearns to be released from under the arrogant, rule-abiding German skin. Check out Germans on vacation! It's like puppy's first day in the garden. If they aren't running around naked, they're dancing on the bar.
The tendency to vilify Germans overlooks the desperately fun-loving side of the culture. Rudi being from Bavaria and Sigrid looking the part with her little ovular glasses, I just thought one day, "Let's make a movie. You both can play a silly Bavarian couple touring New York." Since many Germans believe New York is a dangerous place (I think, in part, that fear accounts for some of the thrill of visiting the city), we had them get mugged by junkies (played brilliantly by Matt Lavine and Delia Mayer). How more romantic can you get than that?
The amazing thing about this movie is that all the Germans I've shown the film to LOVE it! And I'm not just talking expatriates. If there were a similar film poking fun about Americans, we'd be all indignant and "hoity-toity." But the Germans do have a sense of humor about themselves.
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| From SIGRID AND RUDI DO NEW YORK. |
How does living in the New York metropolitan area affect your work?
New York has such a rich visual landscape, it's fantastic. But it can also be a real pain in the ass to shoot here. I've been harrassed by park rangers and security guards, and I'm always looking over your shoulder to see if the police are coming. The nice thing is that nobody on the street really gives a damn what you're doing. Everyone has seen so many massive movie shoots that people don't even give a small crew a second look. For some reason, the authorities do.
New York has such extremes, I find it stimulating as hell and scary and discouraging at the same time. So many nobodies are striving to be somebodies that it's hard to put the struggle aside and just concentrate on doing good work. And it's always tough to feel like a small fish in a big pond, but, on the other hand, you can learn an awful lot from those other little fishies.
In including your work in REEL NEW YORK, do you think your piece in any way pushes the medium of television, or the viewing audiences' expectations of that medium?
I really consider SIGRID AND RUDI DO NEW YORK as a practice film. I wasn't trying to do anything that really pushed any limits. I saw a fantastic chemistry between Sigrid and Rudi and I wanted to practice cinematic storytelling. It's a cute, funny movie with beautiful photography (this was my formal training), but it's nothing earthshaking. And that wasn't my intent. I believe in learning the limits really well first and then discovering how to push them.
What about access to the tools of production and post-production?
Access is just a question of money. It is still so expensive to make even a short like this. I have to congratulate places like Film Video Arts, Millenium, and Downtown Community Television Center (DCTV) for making equipment and facilities available at a low price. But given all the arts funding cuts, great resources like these have all had to raise their rates. It's a shame.
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| From SIGRID AND RUDI DO NEW YORK. |
Why did you become a film/video artist/maker?
I was working in commercial photography in New York and not finding it my cup of tea. I had always wanted to do a project with my grandmother, and she was getting older and older. So in 1994, I quit my job, got a video camera and began spending time with her in my hometown of Troy, New York. She died pretty soon after and I kicked myself for not moving fast enough. But I started spending time with her sisters, great tough old Italian women. I travelled to their craggy little mountain hometown in Italy, and the documentary BURYING THE SAINTS grew from a simple oral history to a narrative about these old Italians and the Old World culture they were still practicing in Troy. My two aunts also died during shooting and the documentary charts my sense of personal loss, but also the cultural loss that passed with that generation.
Do you feel the New York independent film/video community has changed in recent years? Do you find support living and working in such a large community of artists?
There seem to be more and more people getting into film and video, which I think is great. We just need more venues to watch everybody's stuff. I can't imagine trying to do film or video in a place like Troy. Every time I was up there and needed a simple Hi-8 tape I would have to drive about 45 minutes to buy one. But, I've also learned that you really have to reach out to people in New York. Shooting my documentary was very insular. I felt I needed something really good to show people before I could really enter the "community." I think it's great that there are so many people anxious to learn about the process and work on each other's projects. The places I mentioned before are great resources. Here's a plug: I teach a weekend class at Film Video Arts on using camcorders for big projects. It's a great class for entry-level people interested in video production.
Do you have any interesting behind-the-scenes stories about the making of this particular work?
We made the movie so location-intensive I had to keep dragging people all over the city. Poor Rudi was wearing a heavy wool coat on a 90 degree day, in the sun. We also had to do a lot of experimenting with the subway to get the position of the doors just right. And we only had one take to get it right. Sigrid was really nervous about stepping into a subway car dancing like a fool, pushing her face up against the window in this really melodramatic way, and then riding away with her fellow passengers. Rightfully so. They all looked at her like she was nuts. On the first take, the conductor saw Rudi with his hands against the train and reopened the door, and Sigrid flew out of the car. The outtake is a riot.
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