Film is dead By Akona Matyila “Go digital or die” believes acclaimed British DP, digital cinematographer and documentarian Phillip Bloom. Apparently that is the reality that filmmakers around the world are facing in this ever changing world of digital media that we consume everyday. “Kodak and Fuji are bankrupt, no one is producing film anymore….cinemas are tossing out their film projectors and going digital” says Bloom. I could help but feel nostalgia for a world I hardly knew, sad that I possibly would never experience the feeling of filming on celluloid, let alone watching a film I directed on a proper silver screen. I grew up in a family where lack of toys afforded us the luxury of being creative. One of my very first memories was watching my uncle snapping away on his rugged Kodak stills camera, darkening his rustic shack and developing pictures for us within what seemed to be minutes. Those were the days before VCR’s and VHS’, which seemed quite alien to us. Realistically, one can’t ignore the advantages of filming digitally. It is cheap and practical, it affords you a lot of freedom to be creative, shoot quickly, post production turn-over is lightning fast compared to the development and treatment of film can take a while. I could go on….. I was quite inspired by Phillip Bloom, his confidence and wealth of knowledge was quite refreshing and beneficial for a young filmmaker who is still trying to find his voice. I expected the man who has worked with the likes of George Lucas to be quite intimidating and I expected most of the information to fly way over my head but he was quite accommodating and open, more than willing to share his knowledge and ideas. He takes the hocus pocus out of making films, demonstrating that film truly is a very accessible medium where everyone has a voice. Filming is not only about using the latest camera but treating it as an extension and an aid in telling a story. Durban has always had a reputation of not being fully behind and fully supportive of arts. The poor attendance of the workshop was evidence enough to the claim. Understandably, R1600 is quite a sum to spend on a one day workshop, where most of the information is readily available on Phillip Bloom’s website but it was quite encouraging to be in the same room as other like-minded folk. There seems to be an abundance of talent in KZN and looking at fellow filmmakers around me I could not help wondering about the lack of collaboration in our industry. Everyone seems to stand alone as we tend to focus solely on what we are doing. We need more workshops such as these, seminars, competitions to build a community that works together in putting our local film scene on the map if we are to be taken seriously like the rest of our counterparts. “It’s really easy man…..just go out there with your mates and shoot” says Bloom Check out Phillip Bloom at: http://philipbloom.net/

Top 10

Not that anyone gives a heck about my top 10, so essentially it is truly for myself that I name the movies that have inspired me or more aptly....films that still continue to inspire me to be a better artist and to understand my craft. So here it is: 1. Citizen Kane - Orson Welles 2. Psyco - Alfred Hitchcock 3. Magnolia - Paul Thomas Anderson 4. Pulp Fiction - Quentin Tarantino 5. Schindler's List - Steven Spielberg 6. Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese 7. Talk to her - Pedro Almodovar 8. Amores Perros - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu 9. The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppolla 10. Biutiful - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu So there you have it. In some of these films I only remember fragments and in others, there are just perfect scenes which on their own are worth revisiting. Sadly there are 5 films which did not make my list but for the sake of admiration and respect, they deserve a mention. Here they are: 1. The Edge of Heaven - Fatih Akin 2. Dreams - Akira Kurosawa 3. Seven Samurai - Akira Kurosawa 4. Y tu mama tambien - Alfonso Cuaron 5. Leon - Luc Besson

The first time I went to the cinema was with my father to watch Sylvester Stallone's Rambo: First Blood, at a 'Bioscope' next to a taxi rank on a Friday afternoon. I dont remember watching the film at all, I was mesmerised by the dark space and the huge screen in front of me, and the fascinating characters that populated the space. I loved the fact that I had the best seat in the house, which was located directly above my father's shoulders and I vividly remember the pungent smell of sweat mixed with alcohol pouring out of people's pores, no one sat down, the wild cheering and fists punching the air after something major happened in the movie, which of course I knew nothing about and for me the people in the movie seemed to speak a language that was foreign to me. But I did not care as I appreciated soaking up the atmosphere. Oh how times have changed, nowadays whenever I go to the cinema everything seems so controlled, one has options: I can either purchase my ticket online or inflict self-tortue by waiting in a never ending line to be helped by a person who cares more about getting through the day than regale me with endless suggestions about what I should watch. You have options of where you want to sit and even better, it is within your right to remove someone who has taken your place. The smell of butter and popcorn fills the air and the space is air conditioned. Everyone whispers, people step on your toes while locating their seats and you are kindly asked to switch off you mobile while you are at it. There is muffled laughter and uncomfortable silences and I always notice my fellow companions always keeping track of time. One tends to sometimes ignore the simple pleasures of being transported into another reality for a couple of hours, which is shared by a community willing to forget about the mundane, machine like existance that consumes us daily and I thank the festival for reminding me each and every year how much I truly love cinema.

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Inspired by the brilliant french film Jules et Jim directed by Francois Truffaut....this is an experimental little short romantic film shot largely without any dialogue. Whatever dialogue exists is largely improvised and written on the spot. There is also little regard for conventional structure and hopefully the storyline leaves room for interpretation.

Written & Directed by Akona Matyila
Cinematography by Kenneth Gwele
and music by the talented JP Redpath

Restless
Written & Directed
by
Akona Matyila








..............coming this week.

Inspiration

"Movies touch our hearts and awaken our vision, and change the way we see things. They take us to other places, they open doors and minds. Movies are the memories of our life time, we need to keep them alive" - Martin Scorsese

Trailer

Finally I have finished cutting a little trailer sample of the short. I have taken a long time in finishing this movie, partly because of huge technical issues (I must say they seem to follow me whereever I go) and also because I just wanted to remove myself from it so I can come back with a different perspective. A lot of people are waiting for a cut in anticipation and frankly this film has come to be an albatros around my neck.....but there is a film and I believe in it whole-heatedly so I must put it out there so that I can move on to another project that's been in gestation for a while. Its been an incredible journey with Restless and I also cannot wait to see the finished product, which will hopefully be sometime next month. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer. (That's to those who follow this blog :-) Till next time.

Please can you follow this link which will lead you directly to the trailer.
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/video/video.php?v=10150199818213243&subj=644333242