»A FILM DIRECTOR IS NOT A WOODCUTTER

What is the work of a film director?

Interview with Fred Kelemen by KOLTA / Russia

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KOLTA:
Is there some particularity in the work of a film director in Russia?

Fred Kelemen:
Basically, the work of a film director is the same everywhere and it just differs individually, depending on the personality of the director, the character of the film and of the place where the film will be realised.

K.:
What is the collaboration with a scriptwriter?

F. K.:
A script is just a cooking-book. The collaboration between the script writer and the director can be very close from the beginning, so close, that the director himself is the script writer, or it can be so loose, that with the script the script writer just creates the material the director then uses freely in is own way while transforming it into a film. Between these two options every grade of collaboration is possible.

K.:
How do you choose actors?

F. K.:
I meet the actors in a private atmosphere. I look into the actors' or actress' eyes. I talk with the actors, observe them and listen to them. What matters most is the personality of the actor or actress, his or her presence as an individual human being, his or her radiation, the reality he or she brings into the film, which is an aspect of truth.

K.:
Are there some common misconceptions about the profession of a film director?

F. K.:
There are many misconceptions. A film director e. g. is not a woodcutter. He works with human beings. As Lev Tolstoi said; "You can cut wood without love, mould bricks, forge iron, but human beings you should not dare to treat without love...
If you do not feel love for humans beings, keep your distance. Be busy with yourself or with any objects, but not with human beings."

K.:
What is the particularity of teaching at the Moscow New Cinema School?

F. K.:
The particularity of the Moscow School of New Cinema is its philosophy of film as an art and thus a cultural and human treasure, which should be protected, defended and developed.

................................................................................................................................................................... 23 August 2015 (Published at KOLTA, Russia, September 2015)