I think films are about having a good time, so I don't know that there's a message. The message of a film is always what a critic writes, and the fun of a film or the emotion of a film is what the audience feels.
Secret Cinema has created a new way of experiencing film. The fusion of film and theatre allows for a much more powerful experience and adds an incredibly unique dimension for the audience. It certainly did for me. I was blown away
When Laura Poitras asked me if she could film our encounters, I was extremely reluctant. I’m grateful that I allowed her to persuade me. The result is a brave and brilliant film that deserves the honor and recognition it has received. My hope is that this award will encourage more people to see the film and be inspired by its message that ordinary citizens, working together, can change the world.
Film gives me live actors, editing, music, sound, a huge and powerful toolbox to play with. If there is a problem for me, it is that film gives me too much. There is less room for the audience to add their side of the conversation.
I think when you make something that is non-mainstream and people don't have automatic way of consuming, like you don't have a big star, or a hit song or marketing money then you need to find some way to make audience aware of your film.
What makes 'Hoop Dreams' such a powerful film, is that it carries a message that maybe we can do something about our problems in America, reflected in the resiliency and strength of those families that we portrayed. The film was where we really saw the characters that we care about, interwoven with a analysis that is trying to help the audience understand what is happening in these people's lives. And in what is happening, there is an understanding of the larger power relationships in the world.
Silence Of The Lambs? is a ?fantastic? film. It's a horror film, and it's an incredibly well-told film that is about point of view in such a unique way. The way that film is shot, the way the eyelines are so close, if not directly into camera, betrays an intimacy with the characters and the audience.
I care about the connection with the audience. Film is such a powerful medium. Movies can change the way people think.
I feel that a film or a play presenting homosexuality does not necessarily have to come with a message for the audience. It is a way of life, everyone should be treated equally.
Speakers find joy in public speaking when they realize that a speech is all about the audience, not the speaker. Most speakers are so caught up in their own concerns and so driven to cover certain points or get a certain message across that they can't be bothered to think in more than a perfunctory way about the audience. And the irony is, of course, that there is no hope of getting your message across if that's all the energy you put into the audience. So let go, and give the moment to the audience.
I started as a short filmmaker and found that one of the toughest challenges was getting your film to be watched. I would enter it in competitions and release it online, but getting a mainstream theatre-going audience to view the film is difficult.
I think film is a very powerful advocate and message carrier.
In America, instead of making the audience come to the film, the idea seems to be for you to go to the audience. They come up with the demographics for the film and then the film is made and sold strictly to that audience.
There's something therapeutic about connecting with an audience - when there's something really sort of odd or silly that you think is funny, and conveying it to an audience.
I never made this film with the motive of making money. I wanted to make a different film, which would strike a chord with the audience. I'm extremely happy that 'Mithunam' succeeded in what it wanted to achieve.
It's very important that a film that intends to play tricks on the audience... has to play fair with the audience. For me, any time you're going to have a reveal in the film, it's essential that it have been shown to the audience as much as possible. What that means is that some people are going to figure it out very early on. Other people not til the end. Everybody watches the film differently.