DIRECTORS FORTNIGHT DURING CANNES 2012
05 June 2012
| Talent: | Malte Rosenfeld, Cinematographer |  |
| Director: | Marcin Bortkiewicz | |
| Ttile: | Drawn from Memory (short) | |
It was VIP entry and the best seats in the house for Film Industry Talent and associates present at the screening of ‘Drawn from Memory’ during the 65th Cannes Film Festival. This short film shot by Cinematographer Malte Rosenfeld was in competition during the Directors’ Fortnight. I grabbed a quick chat with Rosenfeld at the Majestic between Q&As where he shared his experiences and approach to shooting this film:
TW: What is the film about?
MR: Drawn from Memory tells the story of the debilitating effects of Alzheimer's, seen from the point of view of a teenager. The entire film is shown from a grandson’s camera, as he documents his grandmother’s failing memory and relapse.
TW: What was your approach to shooting this film?
MR: The visual narrative was carefully planned with shot-lists and storyboards with the director weeks before principal photography. It was essential that the film looked as though the grandson had shot the entire film himself. The concept included the gradual development of the grandson’s skills as he masters the camera.
TW: What camera equipment did you use?
MR: Initially we considered shooting in 8mm, but while we were in favour of the look, the idea was dropped because it was more plausible that the protagonist shooting the film (the grandson), would more than likely be using a consumer digital camera. After several tests Sony’s XDCam EX1 was chosen.
TW: The film has a very distinct look in comparison to the other films in competition. How was this achieved?
MR: I ran tests with different consumer cameras in search for the right look for the film and found them to react quite erratically in certain lighting situations. In some setups the highlights were very saturated while the shadow areas were desaturated to almost grey. We chose a palette of effects that suited the story and these were then incorporated into the lighting concept. This allowed me to approach the lighting quite boldly, as we wanted to light very vibrantly and then desaturate certain aspects in post.
TW: Tell us a little about the director and his method to telling this story?
MR: It is such a pleasure working with Bortkiewicz, whose background in theatre drew amazing performances from the actors. He was very open to ideas and understood the visual challenges that as a team we encountered as the shoot progressed.
TW: How long did it take to shoot?
MR: The shoot was scheduled for 9 days at a single location. We were very well prepared and ended up finishing 1 & 1/2 days ahead of schedule.
TW: What was the highlight of the festival for you?
MR: It was amazing to screen the film at the directors’ fortnight in Cannes and to see the film on the big screen again. That is where it belongs!
See Malte’s reels here.
Edited by Tariq Wahr
