Interview with Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala, nominated for GOODNIGHT MOMMY
What is your film about and what makes it unique?
Unique? We don’t know. It is actually very difficult to be unique knowing film history. Having watched a lot of those great old films, arthouse films and genre films, and having them in our minds and hearts we simply tried to write and make a film we ourselves would want to see in cinema. It turned out to be a hybrid between horror film and arthouse cinema. A film which is – we hope – on the one hand hypnotic, mysterious and suspenseful, and on the other hand deals with important social issues, tackling themes like family, loss of trust and the question of identity. We wanted to tell the story in a very physical way, so that you could actually feel the violence with your own body. We want to attack the audience. That’s what we love in cinema. Even if it is unpleasant.
What was the most challenging aspect while shooting the film?
The most challenging aspect? That’s hard to say. Maybe the first day of shooting: We were very nervous that day, to be honest. The first thing we shot was the twin boys running around and playing in the woods. Of course, the twins were also nervous, standing there in the woods, surrounded by 30 people staring at them and waiting what was going to happen. So that’s what we did: We ourselves started to play with the twins. To lose their nervousness, and our own. We were running around, laughing, throwing pine cones at each other. It is an unusual thing to do on the first day of shooting, before the first scene even started. Even more so, as we were first-time directors. But it turned out the way we had hoped for: The game put the children in the right mood for the scene. They weren’t nervous anymore and they felt very energetic. We stuck to that working method: We tried to make the whole shooting look like a game. And we have thrown quite a lot of pine cones during that time.
After this first feature film experience, what do you most love / most hate about filmmaking?
The great thing about filmmaking is that you have the freedom and the privilege to create your own world with a story and with characters you imagine. And that you can live in this world of yours with those characters for a certain time. Once a film is finished you start building a completely different world that could be any place you imagine, and any time: the present, the future, the past, your fantasy. So you will never stop learning about time and about people. That is very fascinating, but also very challenging. And we like to be challenged.
Who do you consider your cinematographic influences?
We love so many different films and genres, it feels very hard to talk about specific influences: The films we love have long become a part of ourselves, a part of our subconscious. They shaped our view, not only of film, but of the world. And they range from Robert Bresson to Takashi Miike, from John Carpenter to Carl Th. Dreyer. From John Ford to Pasolini, from Yuzna to Wiseman. Let’s put it this way: We love cinematic experiences, films which make you visually experience something you will never forget. Like the Lumières’ train stopping in the midst of a cinema and scaring people. We love films that tell their story through images and in a very visual way. And that are therefore moving and disturbing, frightening and enlightening.
How important is the EFA Discovery Award for you as a young filmmaker and what do you expect from the nomination?
As it gets harder and harder to finance films, awards become more and more important: The attention they draw to filmmakers and the recognition they create make it a lot easier to raise the money for future projects. Any award helps. But being named the European Discovery of the Year would be of course something very special. Even more so in a field of work in which everyone tries to find new talents and discover new artists. Even being nominated for this award and being considered “a discovery” is a great honour for us.
How do you see your future as a filmmaker? What’s next?
Our future projects are quite diverse, they range from historical films to science fiction. What unifies all those projects is that they tackle unpleasant and socially relevant topics, but still try to entertain people at the same time: We want to make films that make you look at things you would normally look away from. We like to challenge the audience.
