Filmmaker Spotlight: Marq Evans, Director of CLAYDREAM

Will Vinton in the studio - Image Courtesy of Oscilloscope Films

A modern day Walt Disney, Will Vinton picked up a ball of clay and saw a world of potential. Known as the “Father of Claymation,” Vinton revolutionized the animation business during the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s - along the way winning an Academy Award and pop culture recognition after creating a series of commercials featuring the California Raisins. But after 30 years laboring in relative obscurity as the unheralded king of clay, Will Vinton’s carefully sculpted American dream comes crumbling down at the hands of an outside investor… Nike’s Phil Knight.

CLAYDREAM kicks off Salem Film Fest as the festival’s opening night film on Thursday, March 24 at 7:30pm at Cinema Salem. SFF Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with Director Marq Evans ahead of the film’s Massachusetts premiere.

Jeff Schmidt: What is your background as a filmmaker and what attracted you to filming CLAYDREAM?

Marq Evans: I came into filmmaking a little later in my career. I wasn’t someone that grew up wanting to be a filmmaker. I wanted to be a baseball player but that didn’t pan out. After college I got a job in sales and did that for 7 years. But all the while my older brother, Kevin Noland, had been in LA and in the film industry and we started talking about working together on creative projects. When the earthquake hit Haiti in 2010 we went down there and made a documentary (which we’re actually still making to this day). That project was kind of my film school and really got me into making documentaries. Not long after that I made my first feature, THE GLAMOUR & THE SQUALOR (recently named one of the Top 20 Music Documentaries of all time by American Songwriter) and it was towards the end of making that when I discovered the story of Will Vinton. I knew of Will and I grew up with many of his characters. But it wasn’t until reading an article about the rise and fall of his company when I realized there was a big story here that would make for a great documentary. I remember reaching out to him that day when I read the article. He wasn’t too interested in doing a documentary at first but we kept in touch and after about six months I finally won him over. After that, it was such a pleasure working and getting to know him.

Filming CLAYDREAM - Image Courtesy of Oscilloscope Films

JS: I don't think a lot of people realize the legal drama that surrounded Will and his animation company. While your film goes into the creative aspects of his career and those California Raisins that many of us remember, the business aspects of his journey are really fascinating. Did you know from the outset that this would be a significant part of the film?

ME: I knew it would be a big part of the film, but I didn’t know how that part of the story would be told. Looking back, I still don’t really know how I would have told it had I not gotten my hands on the deposition footage from his court case against Phil Knight of Nike. I didn’t get that footage until about 2 years into making the film. In fact, I didn’t even know it existed! Will just casually asked me one day, “Did you ever get the deposition?” I thought he meant there was a written transcript of it but he clarified, “No, we shot the whole thing.” He actually hired a film crew to shoot the deposition. It was all on old beta tapes so we had to get them transferred, but when I finally get them from the lab I knew we had something really great.

Will Vinton and Marq Evans - Image Courtesy of Marq Evans

JS: What surprised you most during the production of the film?

ME: Just how down to earth and normal Will was. He was just a regular guy, not eccentric or hard to deal with. Just a guy that was fun to hang around. There were many days I’d show up at his house and we might have had a loose plan to shoot some things, but I ended up leaving the camera in the car and we’d just hang out. He’d take me out on his boat. I just really liked being around him.

JS: Taking a film on the festival circuit the past 2 years has been a challenge for filmmakers, what has the experience been like for you? We're excited to host you in Salem on opening night!

ME: There hasn’t been much of a circuit for the film! It premiered at Tribeca last year but it was totally virtual. On the same day of the virtual premiere, I was able to host an in person screening at the arthouse theater where I live and had a couple hundred friends and family and people from the community out. So that was fun and felt like a premiere. And then we had the international premiere at the Annecy Film Festival in France, which was a lot of fun. That was lucky because we got to do that in a tiny window when things had opened back up. There have been a few other small in person screenings, and a ton of virtual screenings and Q&As. I’m really looking forward to screening the film for an audience in Salem and honored that it is playing on opening night.

CLAYDREAM screens in-person only as the opening night film of Salem Film Fest - Thursday, March 24 at 7:30pm at Cinema Salem. Purchase tickets to the film here.

BLOG BITE: Radovan Síbrt, Director of TWO ROADS

The Jedlicka Institute music class, currently known as The Tap Tap band, was founded 21 years ago to give people with handicaps an opportunity to succeed outside of their daily institutional care. Its members, all of whom have degenerative disabilities, want to enjoy every minute of life and to taste fame as rock stars. The Tap Tap is a vivacious and uplifting example of how some of life's most difficult obstacles can be overcome in unorthodox ways.

SFF Selection Committee Member Kereth Cowe-Spigai, caught up with TWO ROADS Director Radovan Síbrt ahead of the film's US 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?

Radovan Síbrt: I do not really travel that much anymore. It is more being mentally away. Once you start working (and I believe it is not only filmmaking, it is any creative activity), you get distant from the world around. And I do not think you really realize it. And in that stage of mind I do not really miss anything. And when I am home, I am so happy to be with my family that I do not really miss anything about being on shooting.

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?

RS: You have to be very opened to what you are seeing in front of you. Come with a concept in your head but be ready to change it while shooting. Be ready for a “documentary miracle”. And do not be lazy!

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!

RS: I am a hummus lover. And I would never dare to make it myself. I would probably stop being a hummus lover after that.

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

FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT: Lulu Wei, Director of THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE THIS PLACE, ANYPLACE

Honest Ed’s discount store served as a beacon in Toronto for a diverse community and recent immigrants for nearly 70 years. When a luxury developer buys the entire block — small businesses, gallery owners and artists must vacate. The transformation of this iconic community is told through the stories of its displaced residents as they reconcile their history with inevitable change, all while facing the biggest housing crisis Canada has ever seen.

SFF Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE THIS PLACE, ANYPLACE Director Lulu Wei to talk about the origins of the film and her own role within it.

Jeff Schmidt: Your own story is intertwined with what we see on screen in your film. At what point did you realize that you should be filming what was unfolding?

Lulu Wei: I think it's when we found out about the closing date for the stores on Markham street and Honest Ed's is when I realized that I should be filming what was unfolding. As they say, you don't know what you have until it's gone and I think that realizing everything would be gone for good, really pushed me to start documenting what was happening in the neighbourhood. I think I was compelled by wanting to document how magical the block was for future generations since they wouldn't get to see how special the block was first hand.

JS: Some filmmakers like placing themselves in a story, while others would prefer to stay behind the camera. Ultimately you chose to appear in the film, can you talk about that decision?
LW: It was a really difficult decision to put myself and Kathleen in the film, it's hard to watch yourself and your relationship on screen. I think part of the reason I ended up being in the film was how I was shooting it and there was a sense of intimacy and my presence in a lot of the verite footage. When we found out that our landlords had decided to sell our apartment to the developers, I realized that the redevelopment would be directly affecting us. I felt that we were a representation of most people I know, a generation that's unable to buy a place since real estate is so expensive in Toronto, and constantly facing rental uncertainty.

JS: Often times in a Q&A, we end up asking filmmakers what has happened to the characters since filming ended... in this case, you're one of the characters! What have you been up to since filming completed?

LW: Since we finished the film, we've been lucky to have had a good digital festival run and are still figuring out the rest of the rollout for the film. I'd love to have an in-person screening sometime, since I've never been able to watch the film in a theatre or with an audience and I'd love to see Gabor and Itah on stage for a Q&A. I'm in pre-production on a documentary feature that I'm directing that will hopefully be finished next year and I'm shooting on a few other projects for other productions. I've been able to visit Gabor outdoors, a few times since the pandemic began and we're working on a way for him to sell his artwork. Itah and A Different Booklist are fundraising to renovate and move into their new space and people can visit https://adbcc.org/ to help support their journey!

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE THIS PLACE, ANYPLACE streams as part of Salem Film Fest from Friday, March 19 - Sunday, March 28. Tickets to view the film can be purchased here.

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