What were your inspirations when writing Nox?
And as weird as this may sound at first, is it in any way based on
personal experiences?
After Vesper, I wanted to keep
the genre but to make a very different movie. The challenge was to make
a pure action movie without dialogue. I was inspired by the movies of the
silent film period. They knew how to tell stories and even suspense
stories without saying a word. That’s the strength of cinema. Of
course I was also inspired by Christopher Nolan’s movies, particularly
his first feature Following about a burglar. For atmosphere, I
was of course inspired by Lynch’s movies. But, you know, when I’m
writing a movie, things come always naturally, and the first element I
had, and I event didn’t know why, was the water. I wanted to make a
movie about water. And, even if the water is not a key element in
Nox, you can see that water is everywhere in the frame!
The story was not based on personal
experience. But I think when you make a movie, you’re always inspired
by what you’ve been through.
With Nox
being basically a suspense piece, do talk about some of your techniques to
keep the tension high!
It is the assembly of all the
techniques which keeps the tension high. I mean, the actors must be
nervous. The cinematography has to be atmospheric. The music has to be
full of tension, likewise as the editing. Regarding my work in particular, I
wanted a non-chronological story to lose the audience in the mind of the
main character allowing the audience to understand progressively
what’s happening inside this house. As for the safe scene, it
absolutely needed intercutting between Peter and Claire. I also played
with clichés. You can guess that the safe will be opened but you
don’t know what will be inside. Probably money. But in this movie, the
opening of the safe unveils a flashback.
You of course also have to talk
about your movie's location, and what was it like filming there? And how
did you find such a place even?
The location was considered like a
character in its own right. I was looking for a Cape-Cod style house.
The advantage of this house was that it was located on an island just in
front of the Seine. The illusion worked so well that I was asked if the
movie was shot in the New York area!
What can you tell us
about your overall directorial approach to your story at hand?
When I’ve got the story, I have the
movie in mind as well. Everything is clear in my head. But I’m always
open to the people in my crew. If they have better ideas, then of
course I’ll choose their approaches.
Do
talk about your key cast, and why exactly these people?
I watched The Glades when I was
a young teenager. I remember that one very well. It’s always impressive to
work with actors you watched before and you know their work. From
each movie or TV show I watched I learned something on cinema. Then
working with Matt Passmore was so nostalgic and moving and he was
amazing. I can’t wait to work with Matt again! I knew the work of
Brigitte Millar [Brigitte
Millar interview - click here] when she was announced for the last
Bond. She was perfect for
the role. As for Agnès Godey [Agnès
Godey interview - click here], she also made a great link with the
previous short.
A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere?
I was much more relaxed than at my first shoot I must admit. Things were precisely on time to the second as
planned! As Matt told me, there was kind of a feeling to work on a big
or feature movie. That’s great!
The
$64 question of course, where can Nox
be seen?
There’s already a screening planned
in Los Angeles on May 25th and May 26th during the LA Neo Noir Film
Festival!
Anything you can tell us about audience and
critical reception of Nox
yet?
I’m very happy! For now, I have only
very good reviews. People who liked Vesper tell me that
Nox is even better, so I can’t be more happy.
Any future projects you'd like to share?
I’m working on a big thing. Giant.
 |
Feeling lucky?
Want to
search
any of my partnershops yourself
for more, better results?
(commissions earned) |
The links below
will take you
just there!!!
|
|
 |
Your/your
movie's website, Facebook, whatever else?
My website: www.keyvan-sheikhalishahi.com
My IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7307833
Anything else
you're dying to mention and I have merely forgotten to ask?
Yeah, you forgot to mention your
favorite movie. Want to know :)
Thanks
for the interview!
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.de
eThaiCD.com
