Your new movie Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok? - in a few words, what is it about?
It
is an in-depth interview with actor Jörg Wischnauski [Jörg Wischnauski
interview - click here] in which he reflects
his and in parts my work over the last years.
How
did the idea for Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok? actually come about, and was it you or Jörg
Wischnauski who initially suggested to make the movie? I
had the idea of the movie. A short time ago we made the movie Obsession
together, in which Jörg gave everything for me but in the end it turned
out unreleasable. Which is very, very hurtful to me because I might even
consider it as my best work. But of course I also saw how disappointed Jörg
was because of it, so I came up with the idea for Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok? Even if I couldn't show the whole movie Obsession I could at least
show parts of it. Making this movie was some kind of duty to me but
definitely a burden. How
did you and Jörg first meet even, and what can you tell us about working
with him, both on Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok? and on previous collaborations?
We
met many years ago through mutual friends. At this time I wasn't very
active in filmmaking but he already was a busy bit part actor. We remained
in touch and grew a friendship over time, especially during the shooting of
Pesthauch der Menschlichkeit, which became bigger and bigger with every
movie we made together. Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok? was made in a nice
couple of hours we spent together but the editing process was a pain in
the ass. But that wasn't Jörg's fault.
In
your movie, Jörg complains about the movies he has made with you just not
coming out - so could you give us your perspective on that, and is there
any schedule for putting them out, however tentatively? There
aren't any labels in Europe that are interested in my movies. It is not
that I haven't tried to put them out there but my movies are hard to
categorize, which I think is the main reason no one touches them. They
aren't horror, they aren't splatter, they aren't funny, and foremost they
leave you alone in the end without explanation and guidance. Even though I
experimented with narration I am most of the time unhappy with it. Movies
should be experienced and not be explained to the audience. I believe my
audience is able to put the images in perspective themselves.
Unfortunately I am very much alone with this view nowadays. I mean how
many people are there that make mondo films or silent films today?
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I
am sitting on 20 movies or more made alone in the last two years. Almost no one
has seen the better parts of my work: Konversion, Obsession,
1 Girl 1 Cat
1 Hammer, Michael: A Murderabilia Memoriam or
Das Wundern des jungen
Ulysses (the latter two US only). In the US at least some of it has been
released. Filmmaking is all about tenacity. When you think your work is
good or has any value or you want to be a filmmaker no matter under what
circumstances you just can't stop. Looking at it right now it is a pain in
the ass but maybe I am looking back in the future to say that working in a
vacuum is what formed me as a filmmaker. Now
the finale of Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok? was obviously staged, otherwise we wouldn't
be able to talk - but to what extent did the movie mirror Jörg's honest
feelings about things, and was there an identifiable point where you and
him decided to just go overboard to make the climax work? It
is what Werner Herzog called the "ecstatic truth" or what Ulrich Seidl
would call "the reality, only stylized". I think there is more truth
in it than people would think even though Jörg would probably not admit
it. The idea of spicing it up with the end is why I wanted to make the
movie in the first place. I wasn't interested in just making an interview.
Also I wanted to give Jörg a chance to speak out on past projects one
last time to be free for new movies. How
would you describe your directorial approach to your story at hand? There
isn't that much to say about that. I was open and honest about what I wanted to
do with the movie. It is just kind of sad that I had to edit so much out
in the end. A big, big part in which Jörg speaks about himself and his
personal projects didn't make the final cut, but I didn't want the movie
to be two and a half hours long. Maybe I'll make something out of it in the
future. In a couple of years.
A
few words about the shoot as such, and the on-set atmosphere? Reflecting
on bad experiences, especially in front of another person, is hard, and doing it in front of a camera is even harder. But Jörg was very open,
which made it easier for me too. I am most of the time a one man crew,
which makes it often super dificult to hold everything together, but due to
his openness it was also not too stressful for me. The
$64-question of course, where can Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok? be seen? I
don't know yet. Anything you can
tell us about audience and critical reception of Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok?? It
is always intersting to me how people see my movies and especially what
they see in them. At the time not many people have seen it except me, Jörg,
Marian Dora and Juval Marlon [Juval
Marlon interview - click here] – to give their okay – and maybe two or
three more people. The reception was very positive. One friend called it a
satire on the indie and underground filmmaking scene. Any future projects you'd
like to share? So
many ideas and projects I would like to make but no moneym crew or time to
actually make them. I would like to do more documentaries e.g. a sequel to
Mondo Siam, or something that tempts me even more would be Mondo Germania
– an exploration of the German soul. But at the moment I am in pre-production for the biggest movie I have made yet on my
own - a narrative
feature film called Todestrieb. The first part will be shot in the middle
of December. I am still working on the details. A movie for everyone and
nobody.
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Feeling lucky? Want to search any of my partnershops yourself for more, better results? (commissions earned) |
The links below will take you just there!!!
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Your/your movie's website, social media,
whatever else? Teaser Warum
läuft Herr W. Amok?:
https://youtu.be/LA9NpUlz9lA
https://www.youtube.com/c/Ren%C3%A9Wiesner
https://www.facebook.com/wiesnerfilms
Anything else you're dying to mention and
I have merely forgotten to ask?
You can
get some of my movies at
https://putridproductions.bigcartel.com/products,
or
a German DVD of
Mondo Siam via my Facebook page.
Thanks for the
interview! Thank you.
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