FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Eliza Kubarska, Director of THE WALL OF SHADOWS

Salem Film Fest viewers might remember Director Eliza Kubarska's film WALKING UNDER WATER, which played at the festival in 2015 and followed the Badjao people, sea nomads diving and hunting fish in the deep waters off Borneo.

In her new film, THE WALL OF SHADOWS, a Nepalese Sherpa family breaks a cultural taboo by taking part in a Himalayan expedition to the holy mountain of Kumbhakarna to earn money for their son’s education and his dream of becoming a doctor.

Making its US Premiere at Salem Film Fest, THE WALL OF SHADOWS was named the winner of the American Cinematographer Magazine Award for Cinematography, with Editor-in-Chief Stephen Pizzello writing "The Wall of Shadows artfully exploits the region’s natural light, following the sun, and makes the viewer feel like a full participant in the journey. Much of the story is told through the family’s facial expressions or fraught glances, but the wider scenic vistas reveal the intimidating scope of the challenge they face; a sense of foreboding prevails as shots play out over music by the Budapest Art Orchestra".

SFF Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with Kubarska to discuss her own experience as a climber and to learn more about her film.

photo courtesy of David Kaszlikowski/verticalvision.pl

Jeff Schmidt: You're a climber of more than 25 years, how difficult was it to film in the weather conditions of THE WALL OF SHADOWS? Everyone looked pretty cold!

Eliza Kubarska: We visited Nepal 3 times. The most difficult was the last trip for filming. Our film crew spent 3 weeks on the glacier, at an altitude of 5000m, living in tents. The conditions were very difficult. The expedition began at the end of February. From the very beginning, we had a lot of snowfall. Apart from me and the extreme-cameraman Keith Partridge, no one on the film crew was a climber and, of course, working in such conditions was a challenge for the team.

JS: It was interesting to get a glimpse of a Sherpa family and their family dynamics and interactions in your film, as often in climbing films you don't get a sense of their personal lives. Can you tell us a little more about the family?

EK: It was my dream to tell the story from the point of view of the Sherpas. The symbiosis between Nepalese highlanders and climbers has been going on for about 100 years, and yet there are not many stories from their perspective. Most stories focus on the heroic feats of the himalaista, but without the support of the local people (Sherpa, Rai, Limbu in Nepal or Balti in Karakorum) most of the expeditions could not have taken place. That is why I decided to tell this story differently. The Sherpas (followers of Tibetan Buddhism) see mountains as a kingdom of deities. Most climbers see the highest mountains more as a trophy. These differences in perceiving the mountains (and the world) are very important plot of my film. Tale from the point of view of mountaineers, would look completely different, of course.

When I met Nagda and Jomdoe, they were very warm and open to me from the very beginning. I realized very quickly that marriages had to argue for one reason only: the future of their youngest son, Dawa. When I told them what was the idea for the film (the story from their point of view), they were happy. Nagda is the only Sherpa climbing from the village who still lives here. And like other Sherpas, he is not satisfied with the conditions in which he works.

JS: I understand you are raising money to help pay for Dawa's education. How is that going and how can our viewers support?

EK: When you work on a film for several years, there are moments of doubt. Working on a documentary is always difficult, collecting a budget takes years, the situation is changing dynamically, nothing is certain. You wonder what you are doing this for. If you finally manage to make a good film - it is a great joy and success. But if you also manage to change the life of one of your protagonists for the better - then I think it was worth it!

If you would like to make a donation to the crowdfunding campaign for Dawa Tenzing Sherpa, click here.

THE WALL OF SHADOWS streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

American Cinematographer Award at Salem Film Fest - Read Editor-in-Chief Stephen Pizzello's Comments

Every year, Stephen Pizzello, Editor-in-Chief of American Cinematographer graciously watches films from our lineup and selects Salem Film Fest's cinematography award. Below are his comments on the nominees and winner of this year's award:

This year’s nominees for the American Cinematographer Award take viewers on tours of very disparate locations and lifestyles, from the coasts of Maine and Georgia to American rodeo rings and the mountains of the Himalayas.

The Long Coast, directed by Ian Cheney with cinematography by Michael James Murray, presents a five-part overview of Maine’s ocean ecosystem and the work of various locals whose livelihoods depend upon it — folks who harvest clams, eels, periwinkles, lobsters, kelp and bait. Murray’s artfully composed images and handsomely composed landscapes brings viewers into the heart of the region’s industry, providing an in-depth look at the processes these people employ, as well as changes in the environment they occupy. There is plenty of local flavor throughout, and the filmmakers’ scenic framing, punctuated by on-the-water and underwater perspectives, provides a naturalistic portrait of the subjects’ lifestyle.

The rodeo documentary Glitter and Dust explores a very different universe, examining the triumphs and failures of four young female bull riders testing their skills on the rodeo circuits of Arizona, Navajo Nation and Texas. Cinematographer Julia Lemke, who co-directed with Anna Koch, takes an earthy and observational approach to the imagery, allowing viewers to “walk in the boots” of these courageous girls, whose rides include exhilarating highs and agonizing lows. The risks and rewards of the lifestyle are explored in revealing interviews with both the girls and their families, set against stark, dusty vistas that reflect the grit needed to even attempt this venerable pastime. The doc’s respect for the people it profiles, and the validation they pursue in their attempts to excel at this distinctly American sport, turns the interwoven narratives into a finely detailed tapestry that salutes kinship and family traditions.

Sapelo, shot and directed by Nick Brandestini, examines the languid rhythms of life on Sapelo Island off the coast of Georgia, where the predominantly African-American community finds a familiar way of life changing and fading with each passing year. In revisiting the area’s roots, the documentary introduces us to a local family — Cornelia Bailey; her husband, Frank; and their three adopted sons — whose structure slowly crumbles amid the pensive landscapes that surround them. Voiceover remembrances of past times play over gorgeously melancholic traveling shots of the land, which provide a reflective backdrop to some heartbreaking moments endured by the younger members of the clan.

All of these documentaries have strong merits, but I felt that this year’s winner, The Wall of Shadows, offered both memorable imagery and the most compelling and life-affirming message. This family saga begins at an altitude of 4,000 meters in Kambachen, Nepal, where we’re introduced to the mythology of Kumbhakarna — a sacred mountain the locals are forbidden to climb. As the Hindu legend goes, Kumbhakarna was one of three brothers, a great warrior transformed into a mountain whose wrath is felt by those who attempt to scale his rocky heights.

Those who defy Kumbhakarna’s pious strength are subjected to a curse, a mythology that feeds the familial drama at the heart of The Wall of Shadows. In order to help pay for his son’s education, a Sherpa father defies his wife’s wishes and decides to break the cultural taboo by agreeing to accompany a trio of alpine climbers on their attempt to scale the mountain’s “unclimbable” East Face. Despite the fact that her husband has scaled Everest “eight or so times,” the mother is filled with dread at the prospect of offending Kumbhakarna — not only for spiritual reasons, but because attempts to climb the mountain often end in a horrendous fall to one’s death. She is also keen to allow her son to pursue a different, and less dangerous, path in life.

The resulting drama plays out against spectacular scenic backgrounds, in conditions that surely set a formidable challenge for the filmmakers: director Eliza Kubarska, cinematographer Piotr Rosołowski and second-camera/drone operator Keith Partridge. Kubarska and two of the Russian climbers featured in the documentary, Dmitry Golovchenko and Sergey Nilov, also contributed to the camerawork during the more arduous passages of the chronicle.

The Wall of Shadows artfully exploits the region’s natural light, following the sun, and makes the viewer feel like a full participant in the journey. Much of the story is told through the family’s facial expressions or fraught glances, but the wider scenic vistas reveal the intimidating scope of the challenge they face; a sense of foreboding prevails as shots play out over music by the Budapest Art Orchestra. The impassive grandeur of nature lends the mountain an imposing and mystical aura, as shots of tumbling rocks and snow imbue Kumbhakarna with the feel of a living, breathing entity that is not pleased by this latest attempt at conquest. Footage of an avalanche and angry winds underscore the grave stakes, and the tension peaks when one of the Russian climbers expresses serious safety reservations about the climb, mirroring the father’s own concerns for his well-being and that of his family.

To find out how it all ends, you’ll have to watch this very compelling record of the spiritually and physically perilous journey — a supremely worthy recipient of this year’s American Cinematographer Award.

- Stephen Pizzello, Editor-in-Chief, American Cinematographer

FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Andrew Morgan, Co-Director of SLEEZE LAKE: VANLIFE AT ITS LOWEST AND BEST

Set among the foggy memories and ephemera of a subculture lost to time, SLEEZE LAKE tells the story of Midwest Vans LTD, the world’s largest custom van club, and its members, young blue collar outcasts who took to the open roads in shag-carpeted vans. On Memorial Day weekend in 1977, these irreverent, hedonistic “vanners” erected a ramshackle resort town around a small pond (“Sleeze Lake”) and threw a party. When over 20,000 people showed up, all bets were off!

SFF Blog Contributor Connor Ryan and Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with Co-Director Andrew Morgan, a proud vanner himself!

SLEEZE LAKE Co-Director Andrew Morgan's van.

Jeff Schmidt: Andrew, we understand that you have a "deeper" connection to the van scene beyond the film... can you explain?

Andrew Morgan: My connection to the van scene does go a bit deeper than simply making a few films around it. I actually found vanning pretty organically when I purchased a 1973 Dodge van in the summer of 2011. This was precipitated by spending a lot of time having fun traveling around in our buddy's 1977 Dodge Van. So, after I purchased my own, I spent a fair amount of time scouring the internet looking for any info on vans and very quickly came across the whole vanning subculture. As fate would have it, that next year in 2012, the big national van event, known as the Van Nationals, would be a mere 90 miles outside of Chicago. We packed up the vans and made the trip (and our first film VANNIN’) and my life has never been the same. Flash forward a few more years and I find myself a member of Midwest Vans Ltd. (MVL), the club at the center of SLEEZE LAKE. MVL has been holding the same party on memorial day weekend for over 45 years. To me, the tradition and the niche Americana is something I want to help continue. It’s the weird sub sects of culture that make the world worth living in for me.

Connor Ryan: SLEEZE LAKE captures such a specific moment in history, and the people who were part of it seem to have a clear sense of how it came about and what it meant. Do you think something like it could happen again in America? Or to put it another way: do you think this film offers a guide for ordinary people to create something extraordinary?

AM: I’m not sure that an event like Sleeze Lake could ever really exist in today’s world. I think that’s something that makes the story special. It represents a time and place gone by. The world is such a connected place these days, and I think the freedom and looseness experienced by attendees at Sleeze Lake was brought on by the sense that you could go off for a weekend and be who you wanted to be without the whole world watching or worrying about things ending up on social media. I hate to sound like a pessimist, but I can’t help thinking that if something like the Sleeze Lake party existed today you’d have large corporations and “lifestyle” brands swooping in to grab their piece of something authentic. The idea of the festival is very much widespread these days with events like Lollapalooza, Coachella, and (probably more apt) Burning Man, but I think the difference lies in the fact that they only offer the facade of an epic “time of your life” weekend. I mean, to be fair, time is what one makes of it; but Sleeze Lake existed in a time when you got a paper flyer in the mail, hopped in your van, and didn’t really know what you were going to show up to. It was a true adventure and the party was true gonzo ingenuity. The keys to the asylum were given to the inmates and most people were none the wiser.

JS: On a scale of 1-10, if you had been old enough to own a van back then, what is the likelihood that we would see you featured in the film?

AM: 10. If I’d been old enough and had a custom van, I’m pretty sure I would have made the journey down to Sleeze Lake and had my mind blown. I think most people in the region (and outside of it) with a custom van showed up for that party.

Vanner for life, Andrew Morgan.

SLEEZE LAKE: VANLIFE AT ITS LOWEST AND BEST streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

BLOG BITE: Raquel Cepeda, Director of LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA

In LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA, writer, producer and director Raquel Cepeda, a native New Yorker stays close to home, chronicling five decades of history through the eyes of Lorine Padilla, a beloved South Bronx matriarch and former “First Lady” of the Savage Skulls gang, as she struggles to remain visible in a rapidly gentrifying community that she helped rebuild in the 1980s.

SFF Selection Committee Member Kereth Cowe-Spigai, caught up with Cepeda, a self described "proud as f*ck dominiyorker" ahead of her film's New England Premiere.

Kereth Cowe-Spigai: Filmmaking can involve periods of travel and being away from home. When you're on the road shooting, what do you miss most about home? Conversely, when you are at home, what do you miss most about being on the road shooting?

Raquel Cepeda: In the kind-of recent past, before Covid, what I missed most was not training at my home boxing gym: Mendez Boxing. I feel most creative when I'm in my city, and generally, aside from my husband and kids, I just always miss New York almost as soon as I leave her. What I love most about traveling, aside from experiencing new things and learning different perspectives is the sojourn in itself. Someone I met in Morocco once told me that when God created humanity, S/He replicated us 40 times so that the compulsion to seek one another out was baked into our DNA. That is an idea I feel on many levels.

Lorine Padilla and Raquel Cepeda during filming of LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA

KC-S: Think back to when you embarked on your first film project. If you could give your past self one piece of advice about film, what would it be?

RC: I would have also been more proactive about hiring a good lawyer from the jump -— development to release — because, wow. And I would have advised myself to think about partnerships. I would have also strongly advised my past self to listen and trust more in my intuition.

KC-S: This question is optional and totally off-topic: A fun way to get to know a person is to eat their favorite food. What's yours? Share a recipe if you feel so inclined!

RC: I love breakfast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My favorite staple is green plantains or platanos, They are cheap, easy, and filling. Sometimes, when I don't have a lot of time in the morning, I will just peel and throw one in a pot, boil it, and mash it with butter, a little bit of hot water, and olive oil. That's called mangu. I usually top it off with sauteed red onions with vinegar, and half of an avocado.

Lorine Padilla with US Congressman Ritchie Torres walking through the Bronx.

LA MADRINA: THE [SAVAGE] LIFE OF LORINE PADILLA streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

BLOG BITE: Chelsea Christer, Director of BLEEDING AUDIO

Director Chelsea Christer, BLEEDING AUDIO

Director Chelsea Christer is a longtime fan of indie rock band The Matches and chronicles the ups and downs of their musical journey in her documentary BLEEDING AUDIO. SFF Contributor Connor Ryan caught up with Christer for a quick chat prior to the film's Massachusetts Premiere at Salem Film Fest.

Connor Ryan: BLEEDING AUDIO is remarkable for its music, certainly, but so many characters discuss so many other sensory details and experiences. How do you account for this in a work? How do you create such layered textures? To ask it another way: what do you think this film smells or tastes like, and why?

Chelsea Christer: The description of the strain and hard work that goes into touring for a musician was an important thing for me to capture. We were fortunate enough to have an extensive repository of archival content that captured the sweat and the mess of touring in a van, so SHOWING the textures of being on tour wasn’t the issue—so I knew in our interviews I wanted to get the feelings behind those images captured to fill out the texture in a way that gave the imagery emotional weight.

I feel like while as consumers and fans, we outwardly have an understanding that touring is “hard”, but I intentionally wanted to get into the grit and the firsthand feelings of touring direct from the musicians’ testimony. I wanted to dispel the “glory of touring” shimmer that we cast on our artists, and take away that filter to make you truly feel the sweat and the exhaustion that comes from such a labor intensive part of being a musician.
The shorter answer of the question is.. the film probably smells like 3 day old sweaty red jeans, and tastes like garlicky chips and salsa leftover from the green room at the venue the night before.

Filming BLEEDING AUDIO

BLEEDING AUDIO streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.