Tribeca ‘09 Interview | “A Matter of Size” co-Director Sharon Maymon (Discovery section)

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

I directed this film together with Erez Tadmor. The idea was to combine Japanese and Israeli elements in our style of directing. It was clear that we would film the scenes of Sumo training in a way that they would remind Japanese paintings. Nevertheless, we took care to inject also enough Israeli and oriental elements from the city of Ramle. Of course it was most important to film our heavy weight actors in the most beautiful and aesthetic way possible. Since it is a comic drama we decided on a steady camera instead of handheld which might have given the film a realistic rough surface. Apart from that we wanted to give the film the appeal of a modern fairy tale that takes place in the city of Ramle. The first part of the film is shot in grayish colors that turn colorful at the moment that our hero meets Sumo that even warm up when they begin to wear the traditional red Sumo shorts later on.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in developing the project?

The biggest challenge during our production was the Sumo training. We wanted the Sumo scenes to look as professional as possible and it was clear that we had to study it thoroughly. So, we traveled to Japan in order research the world of Sumo: there our guides took us from one Sumo university to another, we watched their tournaments and interviewed students. In addition to that we had our actors go through some exhausting Sumo training und an Israeli Sumo trainer three months before the shoot began.

How do you define success as a filmmaker, and what are your personal goals as a filmmaker?

From my point of view my success as a creator is defined through the work itself and the steadfastness to realize my cinematic vision as a film maker, when I succeed in entertaining my audience and yet to pass on some kind of underlying important message. Also in my last film “Mortgage” which I directed together with Tal Granit, it was important to me to tell a comical story with a social message. I believe that cinema can make a difference and that is why my films will always serve the treatment of social issues.

What are your future projects?

My next film is a black comedy called “My Sweet Euthanasia”. Writing and directing will be done together with Tal Granit who collaborated with me also on my first film “Mortgage”. The story evolves around a group of pensioners who live in a protected residence and are fed up with the legal system. They decide to take matters into their own hands and form an ‘independent Euthanasia committee’  that will lend a helping hand to their dying friends in need of assistance. The rumor about this “Secret Euthanasia committee” travels from nursery to nursery, from exercises at the beach in the morning to the bowling halls in the evening and old people come knocking on the doors of the “Secret” committee.