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Juliane Block
Director, Writer,
Make Up Artist
Director of:
Ramly at War Begins, Unsecured Loan II |
Hello, Mrs.
Block thanks for your time.
My
pleasure.
So for people
who are unaware who or what you're about,
can you fill us in?
I'm
an independent filmmaker, originally from
Germany. In 2005 I migrated to Asia to
pursue Asian cinema. My current record: I
directed a low budget feature in 2008 (ÒEmperorÓ),
±9 shorts which have been screened in film
festivals around the world, and my 2nd
feature (ÒKinksÓ) is in post. I lived in
Germany, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and now in
Indonesia. And I love my life!
When did you
first get into the filmmaking business?
The
first time I got in touch with filmmaking
was in 1999. I was a student at the
university of art, Braunschweig, Germany
with a major in Industrial design. One of my
fellow students was doing a no budget zombie
feature. They shot on whatever camera they
could get into their hands (DV, Hi8, Super8)
mainly on weekends and holidays. As hobby
special FX make-up artist I jumped at the
opportunity to get involved. It was so much
more fun to create my make-up with an actual
purpose. |
You
mentioned you worked as an FX artist, where did you
train for such a skill?
My mom did
evening parties for the neighborhood women to sell
beauty make-up when I was about 8 or 9 years old and I
was allowed to keep the colors which didn't sell. I
remember one day I met up with a friend and while she
tried to beautify herself I just tried everything to
make myself as ugly and scary as possible. That pretty
much laid out the path. I trained with whatever I got
into my hands afterwards, using books and photos as
reference. A couple of times I tried to create a piece
of bodypainting instead of zombie, vampire or aging
make-up, but usually I got bored in the process.
Have
you been a movie fan all of your life, or do you just
enjoy the craft of it?
The idea of being
a movie director never occurred to me when I was young.
I grew up in the suburbs of a small town in Germany and
being a film director wasn't part of my world back then.
I always enjoyed fantastic stories though. I drew comics
when I was small and later on devoured almost every
fantasy book I got into my hands. Therefore I suppose
it's more the need of creating my own fantasy worlds
which dragged me into movie making than the pure love
for movies. The revelation that I want to be a movie
director actually just came when I directed my first
short in 2007 in Malaysia. I moved to Kuala Lumpur in
2006 and had a tough time in the beginning. It was hard
for me to find the right spots to hang out to make
friends. In 2007 I finally had enough. I decided to make
a short film to expand my own skills but also to find
friends. After the first shooting day (which was long
and the results where kind of mediocre) I was running
around with a smile on my face for almost a week. This
one shooting day had given me so much energy and
satisfaction that I decided I want to be a filmmaker for
the rest of my life. I love working with people. I love
to make things happen. I love challenges. And I love
creating stories. I cannot imagine any better job than
being a filmmaker.
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How were you
drawn to action filmmaking over other
genres?
I
have a fascination for the dark side. I love
digging into the ugly, the nasty and
aggressive emotions each of us has. Probably
that's my way of dealing with my own dark
side. As mentioned I also love the fantasy
genre, but it's a kinda expensive movie
genre. A much cheaper choice are
contemporary thriller or horror films. My
first short was based on a gangster short
story of my brother. Most people involved in
my next project, my first feature Emperor,
loved the idea of trying out a 'Hong Kong'
gangster film in Malaysia, so we stayed in
the same genre. Then I met the stunt group
Low Angle Productions and we planned to do a
project together - more action. I wouldn't
say I chose action deliberately. It just
happened.
Do you think
action is your niche in filmmaking? |
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I love
action movies, but would like to explore (with growing
budget) comic adaptations, horror and black comedies a
la Coen brothers as well. The current feature, Kinks,
I'm working on is a humorous mockumentary about a pair
of mixed-race twin sisters caught up in the making of a
reality TV show. To add another genre I'm planning to
shoot a psychological horror shorty in the near future.
Can
you tell us the average budget for one of your films?
My first short
film Unsecured Loan I was financed by the Kuala Lumpur
Performing Arts Centre (www.KLPac.com) with about 800
USD. My first feature Emperor (self-financed) cost about
2000 USD. Ramly at War Begins 2500 USD (I shared the
cost with a producer). My current feature KINKS (editing
stage) has cost us about 12000 USD so far, but we are
expecting more expenses for sound design, music and
color grading. Most of the other shorts you might fight
online, usually less that 5 minutes, were usually done
on a zero budget.
Is
it difficult to create an action film moreso than a
horror or drama film?
I don't think so.
I think each genre has its challenges. Kowloon Story is
my first attempt to direct a drama. It was really tough
for me. I find it difficult to focus solely on human
emotions without any crime involved. For others though
it might be the exact opposite. However, I do believe
filmmakers should venture in different genres to build
their own filmmaking abilities.
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Can you
tell us what inspired you to travel the
world and migrate across the globe?
During my studies I started a graphic design
and film agency with a partner together.
This company was a great opportunity and a
learning experience but stopped me from
studying or working abroad. When we closed
the company for several reasons in 2005 I
had the chance to do just that: I packed my
bags and decided I just give it a shot and
flew to Hong Kong. The plan was to start
with a language course and then find work.
It pretty much worked out that way, but I
really hated to be employed. I quit after
just 3 months and decided that I'm much
better off as freelancer. One of the best
decisions I've ever made. I'm still working
as graphic design freelancer ones in a
while. In Hong Kong I met my ex-boyfriend
whom I followed to Malaysia. He left but I
stayed ;) And during the shooting of Ramly
at War Begins I felt for my very talented
director of photography - Dexter Bahjanoon
who's Indonesian. And now I'm living in
Jakarta. |
How
has traveling to places like Germany, Hong Kong,
Malaysia and Indonesia enriched your life?
Traveling enables
me to stay creative. It's amazing how much you can draw
creatively from all those different impressions.
Furthermore you realize how easy and satisfying it is to
live life in a complete different way - which enabled me
to realize what's important for myself.
Which country has provided the best and most enriching
filming experiences?
Every country has
its own challenges and opportunities. But Malaysia has
pushed me most so far, simply for the fact, that I was
quite unhappy there in the beginning. Each painful
situation can be a great motivator to change and become
creative.
Is
it in any way difficult to be taken seriously as a
female director?
You read and hear
many statements from female directors complaining about
having to work harder than their male counterparts. I'm
sure there might be obstacles especially for female
directors. But I never had any problem so far. All my
collaborators and partners didn't seem to treat me any
different because I'm a woman.
Do
you think women directors can bring a new flavor and
vision to the world of action cinema?
Women are usually
interested in other subjects, they see things from a
different perspective. And movies should reflect society
with both views - male & female. I think this is valid
for moviemaking in general as for action cinema.
What
directors or actors have inspired you and your
filmmaking?
The Coen Brothers
for sure - I just love their films and especially their
humor. Every aspiring filmmaker should read the
story of how Robert Rodriguez made El Mariachi. Clint
Eastwood is awesome just for the fact that he started
directing at his late age and is still on it, fresher as
ever. I love Ridley Scott's movies. My favorite director
is currently Korean based Kim Jee-Woon.
What
are some of your favorite films of all time that have
influenced you and your art?
Ridley Scott's
Blade Runner and Alien are classics and I would love to
be able to create one day something of an equally high
standard. Bittersweet Life (a gangster drama) and The
Good, The Bad, The Weird (a spaghetti western based in
Manchuria in the 1930s) are two Korean movies by Kim
Jee-Woon. I love his choice of genre and almost
everything about his directing. In fact I love Korean
movies. For some reason the Koreans are able to combine
the 'caveman' in all of us - the characters in Korean
movies are often violent and very clear and basic about
their needs - while still having dramatically depth and
great themes in their movies. Christopher Nolan is a
great storyteller. I think Memento and Batman - Dark
Knight are milestones in storytelling. Matrix is one of
the action milestones. The Goonies an the Star Wars
trilogy influenced me as child.
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Which of your
films would you consider your favorite?
Well,
I think each film usually goes through a
process. While I'm on it I love it until the
point it's finished. Then the movie gets out
there and finds it's audience (and it's
critics). That is usually the point when I
start to dislike parts of my movie or even
the whole movie. And then there comes a
point when I forgive myself (and my movie)
for all its flaws and I might start to like
it especially for that. So... right now my
favorite movie is still my last finished
shortfilm "Unsecured Loan II" which just
made the 1st Runner Up for Best Action
Sequence Martial Arts Shorts at the Action
On Film International Film Festival in
Pasadena.
You mentioned
you're funding your newest film, how has the
progress been for that?
So
far so good. However I got away from it a
bit, being busy with the post of my other
films. But since it's a short film which
requires not a big amount of budget I'm
confident we'll raise the money until the
shooting date tentatively in November 2010. |
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Are
you aiming for a feature length film in the future?
I'm in the midst of post production for Kinks, my 2nd
feature. My first feature Emperor is already online on
several channels (you can also watch it for free on my
webtv www.jblockbustertv.com - however from my
perspective now I think the story line is a little
screwed. We were writing the script as we were
shooting... and of course I have also plenty of stories
for features in the future to come.
How
has the festival run and critical response been for "Ramly
at War Begins"?
Good. The last
one was the Action On Film International Film Festival
where it screened together with Unsecured Loan II.
For
our aspiring filmmaker readers, what is the most
important thing you've learned working on film and as a
filmmaker?
A film is just a
film. I've done lots of crap but I think I needed to do
it to get it out of my system. Different people work in
different ways but it's pointless to wait for years just
to make the perfect movie - it won't happen. No film is
perfect. Once you accept that you can go out and make
your film. And another one. And another one. And each
film will be a little bit closer to being perfect! |
