ND/NF '08 INTERVIEW | "Jellyfish" Co-director Etgar Keret and "Munyurangabo" Director Lee Isaac Chung

Please elaborate a bit on your approach to making the film.

I think that while fiction writing is all about “speaking” filmmaking is much more about listening, that was the first and most important lesson I had on our first day of the shoot. Before executing my ideas, I should listen to all my partners’ ideas. A fiction writer is very much like a cook but a film director is more like a gourmet eater.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in making and completing the film?

The biggest challenges and the most frustrating moments were never creative. The creative part was relatively easy. It was things like getting the budget, or winning that extra hour of shooting that were the most stressful and difficult moments for me.

What are your goals for the New Directors/New Films series?

To meet a new audience and listen to its input. Being still new at filmmaking I’m learning right now how people see and experience the film and in many cases it is in a very different way than I would have.

Munyurangabo

Lee Isaac Chung‘s “Munyurangabo” is set against the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide. The story follows two young men, one Tutsi, the other Hutu trying to build futures by putting their futures behind them. For Munyurangabo, this means seeking justice for his parents, who were killed during the fighting… His friend Sangwa, however, he hopes life will change after he visits his family whom he had fled. Both reach Sangwa’s parents’ home, but the couple are weary of Munyurangabo because of his Hutu lineage. The film won the grand jury prize at the 2007 AFI Fest.

Responses by “Munyurangabo” director, Lee Isaac Chung

What initially attracted you to filmmaking?

I enrolled in a video class to fulfill an arts requirement at university. I [then] decided against applying for medical school and started looking for the right film school instead.

What was the inspiration for “Munyurangabo?”

The opportunity to volunteer in Rwanda arose because of my wife’s work there and her desire to return. I initially wanted to teach filmmaking, and this idea evolved into making a feature film with and for locals.

Please elaborate a bit on your approach to making the film.

I spent nine weeks in Rwanda with the first six weeks spent interviewing people in Kigali, many of whom I cast, and then spent a week preparing to shoot. We filmed for eleven days using a nine page
handwritten script, relying on improvisation and daily morning writing sessions while shooting the film in sequence.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in making and completing the film?

There were a number of challenges in shooting a film in Rwanda, but I think they were much less exotic than what some might expect. Really, we encountered the same problems others would in the States: permits, finances, scheduling… It’s clear that film making is a tremendously difficult venture, but I think there is a great reward to that.

What are your goals for the New Directors/New Films series?

No goals for me, I will take it as it comes, whatever it is.