Interview with Director Didier Feldmann (The Adandonment of Color)

First of all, I would like to say that I enjoyed this type of interaction, so rare in Festivals where sometimes you only get the jury feelings from festivals. I have to admit that my oral understanding of English is not as good as the writing one ! 🙂 and perhaps I didn’t get all the subtleties that the people said, but I remembered that a woman said ” it’s poetry in motion”..this touched me, because it’s exactly what I do.

Didier Feldmann, director The Abandonment Of Color, on her reactions to the audiences reaction on her film at the WILDsound Film Festival.

Watch the Audience FEEDBACK Video here:

Interview with Director Didier Feldmann:

Matthew Toffolo: Your short film played at our festival in March 2014. How has it done since it screened? Has it played at more festivals? Distribution deal? Can be seen online?

Didier: It has not be screened since your screening, because even in the short movie circles non narrative films have difficulties to be selected.…

But I think, with Internet and social networks there are now other ways to reach people…For example an alternative French publisher, Corridor Elephant (http://www.corridorelephant.com) will publish an e book, where the film will be embedded with the text, making of photographies, interview of me and the actress, the first draft of the letter of intent…The release is scheduled on January the 13th…Unfortunately it will be in French !!!!

The movie is still viewable on Internet : https://vimeo.com/77534333

MT: What motivated you to make this film?

Didier: I wanted to share my feelings about white & black, and my ideas about making movies…

– Movies are non only stories, but also (mainly) light, pictures which interact for creating emotions, sensations.

The voice and the picture can have many ways to be linked together and not only through synchronous dialogs.
And also, at the time where even “normal” (ie without VFX) movies are made with pharaonic crews, to show that movie is an encounter between a camera and actresses, that the capturing of the meaning, needs a king of intimate, almost a love one.

MT: From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?

It took 2 months. It could have been shorter, but I have to earn my live by doing editing, shooting, colorgrading corporate movies, so shooting, editing, color grading mixing have to be spread over 2 months. And also the text came mainly from my blog (http://blognotedunvideaste.blogspot.fr) so I only had to rewrite some pieces, suppress other ones

MT: What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?

Didier: Honestly no one. I had the energy of desire to do it, so, things seemed organized by themselves. And technically all material was reduce to an ultra minimum : one DSLR (Canon 5D), one lens (35 mm), no light only a diffuser operated by a friend of mine.

MT: What film have you seen the most in your life?

Didier: I think if our interest is dedicated to only one film, it concerns neurosis ! 🙂

In fact I am not a brillant cinema enthusiast, and my tastes are varied, but Ingmar Bergman and Raymond Depardon are my lighthouses which take me to my destination..So I love very much « Personna » of I.Bergman and « Une femme en Afrique » de R.Depardon.

MT: What is next for you? A new film?

Didier: Several films ! :-))

The Abandonment (of color) is the first part of a tryptic entitled « Remarks on pictures ». The French version of the second part « The Erasing (of narration) is already online :
https://vimeo.com/108712399

The English version should be ready at the end of January. The text will be read by an English voice over, it would be easier to follow pictures and words than with sub titles… (I hope it can be screened at your festival ! :-))) )

For the third part « The separation ( of creation) » , I am trying to get some grants from the « CNC » ( a kind of « National Board of Film of Canada ») because I would like to shoot in a very large apartment which is necessary to be rent…If I don’t get the grants, I will change the storyboard, because I want that this tryptic will be completed by the end of 2015.

And I did a new film with a text of Charlotte Delbo , a French resistant deported to Auschwitz… The French version being currently sent to French Festivals isnot viewable on Internet, I am doing an English version to send current 2015 to foreign festivals..Of course , when ready, I will send it to Wildsound festival ! :-)) For the moment a teaser, with English subtitles, can be watched on https://vimeo.com/104656422

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Matthew Toffolo, Interviewer BIO

Matthew Toffolo is the current CEO of the WILDsound Film and Writing Festival. He had worked for the organization since its inception in 2007 serving as the Short Film Festival’s moderator during the Audience Feedback sessions.

Filmmaker of over 20 short films and TV episodes. Took over full reins of the WILDsound Festival in May 2013. From then to the end of 2014, he’s presented over 90 movies at the monthly FEEDBACK Film Festival in Toronto, plus has had over 60 screenplays and stories performed by professional actors at the bi-monthly Writing Festival.

Go to http://www.wildsound.ca and submit your film, script, or story to the festival.

Go to http://www.wildsoundfestival.com and watch recent and past winning writing festival readings.