
Ahead of the 10th Tribeca Film Festival starting April 20th, indieWIRE is again spotlighting emerging (and some veteran) filmmakers screening new work at this year’s event.
This weekend’s new profiles include the World Documentary Competition feature, “Love During Wartime” by Gabriella Bier, Yulene Olaizola’s “Artificial Paradise” (World Narrative) and “Magic Valley” (Viewpoints), by Jaffe Zin.
In the days leading up to the festival, iW is focusing on directors with work in TFF’s Narrative Feature Competition, World Documentary Competition and its new Viewpoints sidebar, which the festival describes as a “snapshot of international independent cinema that immerses audiences in distinctive perspectives.”
indieWIRE will continue to publish three new Tribeca interviews a day up to the beginning of the festival.
Soon after Tribeca unveiled its 2011 lineup, indieWIRE invited directors screening their work in Tribeca’s narrative, doc and Viewpoints sections to talk about their work in their own words. Get to know this year’s crop of filmmakers by learning about their projects from the people who know it first-hand.
A snapshot of today’s three featured interviews:
Gabriella Bier’s documentary “Love During Wartime” tells a tender love story of two newlyweds – one Israeli, the other Palestinian – who choose to live in exile to be together. “I myself was the biggest challenge,” Bier told iW about the difficulty in bringing this tale to the screen. “My idea came out of the naive ambition to make a peace movie that proves “love conquers all.” I was totally unprepared for how much I was going to be challenged.”
Rising Mexican director Yulene Olaizola sets her latest, “Artificial Paradises,” at a fading beach resort where Luisa, a 25-year old, goes to fight off a heroin addiction. There she finds a quiet companion in 50-year old Saloman, an alcoholic widower. “The inspiration for my film “Artificial Paradises” came from two different places,” Olaizola shared with iW. “First, I met Salomón, a 65-year-old peasant who works in a beautiful beach in the south of Veracruz, where I shot the film. I did some camera tests and immediately decided to shoot a film with him. Then, some months later, I received the news that a close friend was in rehab for heroin addiction. I started to investigate the rehabilitation programs in Mexico to try to help her.”
A high school student living in the small town of Buhl, Idaho, carries a big secret in Jaffe Zin’s “Magic Valley.” He’s not the only one having suffering through a rough time in his hometown. “Ideas usually come to me in the form of very specific images,” Zin said to iW. “When this happens, I decide if I’m imagining a drawing project or a film project. With “Magic Valley,” there were two images that sparked the idea: a pond full of dead golden trout and the image of two young boys finding a body in a field.”
Today’s full interviews:
“Love During Wartime” Director Gabriella Bier
“Artificial Paradises” Director Yulene Olaizola
“Magic Valley” Director Jaffe Zin
iW’s Friday Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker interviews (4/8):
“Koran by Heart” Director Greg Barker
“Love Always, Carolyn” Directors Maria Ramström, Malin Korkeasal
“The Kite” Director Prashant Bhargava
iW’s Thursday Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker interviews (4/7):
“Lotus Eaters” Director Alexandra McGuiness
“Jiro Dreams of Sushi” Director David Gelb
“The Last Rites of Joe May” Director Joseph Maggio
iW’s Wednesday Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker interviews (4/6):
“Cinema Komunisto” Director Mila Turajlic
“Turn Me On, Goddammit” Director Jannicke Systad Jacobsen
“Gnarr” Director Gaukur Ulfarsson
iW’s Tuesday Tribeca Film Festival filmmaker interviews (4/5):
“Angels Crest” Director Gaby Dellal
“Donor Unknown” Director Jerry Rothwell
“Bombay Beach” Director Alma Har’el
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