3 Films And Filmmakers Who Influenced My Desire To Start A Career In Film
Updated: Jan 14, 2023
I have carried an interest in making films for a while now.
But I owe a lot of the progress I’ve made to these people and their films.
Reprise is a film filled with “existential questions of love, ambition, memory, and identity” — Hillary Weston, 2016.
Reprise was one of my first 3 discs ordered from Netflix. Yes, DVD.
Reprise has since inspired my tone and commitment for sharing mental health and the human condition on screen.
Submitted to the Academy by Norway, it was Joachim Trier’s first feature film and marked the start of an unplanned trilogy.
Intention is the only word I can think of.
Ratcatcher is a film that dwells on “childhoods disenfranchised by poverty and class” — Lizzie Francke, 2002.
I will never forget the film’s use of silence to share human emotion in the opening sequence.
In today’s world of noise and exploitation, this film is a case study on how to use (and not use) sound in film.
Additionally, Ratcatcher is an example of how to craft a purposeful narrative through it’s use of framing: entrapping characters in their environments to display their privilege and lack thereof.
In the Mood for Love is a film that explores “submerged passion and hidden desires” — Li Cheuk-to, 2002.
It remains to be one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen.
It was also one of the first films I’d seen manipulate both the story and how it was shown: in the use of speed and chronology.
And one that explored a cultural voice in Chinese and Hong Kong history
These individuals and their stories have taught me so much — and, just like they did with me, I plan to pass along my own learnings to the next person.
🎥 What filmmakers and films influenced your journey? Let me know.
See you tomorrow. Matt Cici
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