Interview: Maria Schrader on Directing Austrian Oscar Submission 'Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe'

By Jose Solis

Two years after The Grand Budapest Hotel put Stefan Zweig’s writing at the center of the Oscar race, the author himself now is the protagonist of Austria’s submission Stefan Zweig: Farewell to Europe. Directed by Maria Schrader, the film focuses on Zweig’s exile in South America after fleeing Nazi Germany in the mid-1930s, played with gravitas by Josef Hader, Zweig becomes one of the most powerful male characters of the year, in a performance that works on an intellectual as well as visceral level. Audiences who only know Schrader from her acting work, in films like Aimee & Jaguar, will be caught off guard by her elegant sense of framing, her impeccable pacing and the way she engages the viewer by avoiding going into any biopic stereotypes. I spoke to her about making the film, working with Hader, and what an Oscar nomination could mean for the film.

JOSE: This was a very hard movie to watch after the American election.

MARIA SCHRADER: Should I take that as a compliment?

JOSE: Yes!

MARIA SCHRADER: (Laughs)

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Interview: Director David Schurmann on How 'Little Secret' Became Brazil's Oscar Submission

Jose here. After a complicated, slightly controversial, submission process that saw several filmmakers remove their name from consideration, Brazil selected David Schurmann’s Little Secret as the film that would represent them at the 2016 Academy Awards. The real life drama is based on the life of Schurmann’s adoptive little sister, who went from anonymity to becoming one of the most notorious people in Brazil. Needless to say so this means that it takes an easy Google search to find out where the film goes and how some plot twists end (i.e. spoilers await). This is Schurmann’s first feature film, but not the first time he’s featured stories about his family in his work. The Schurmanns are famous in Brazil for their maritime adventures, as well as their books and documentaries. I spoke to David about working so close to his family, adding dramatic turns to reality and being part of the Oscar race.

So, here’s another less subtle spoiler warning before the full interview...

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Interview: Director Boo Junfeng on Why He Focused on Empathy in Singaporean Oscar Submission 'Apprentice'

Jose here. Boo Junfeng’s harrowing drama Apprentice focuses on the fascination a young prison officer (Firdaus Rahman) develops with the Chief Executioner (Wan Hanafi Su) who becomes his mentor. Besides the unique professional bond they share, there’s also a secret about their past that lingers over their relationship. This is only Junfeng’s second feature film, and he displays the storytelling confidence of veterans. Despite the film dealing with capital punishment it’s not a film about this, but rather a complex character study which invites us to wonder why so many people make choices we wouldn’t do in a million years. The film which Nathaniel reviewed at TIFF, is Singapore’s official Oscar submission, so I spoke to Junfeng about creating the characters, casting the actors and why it’s important we watch films about dislikable characters.

Read the interview after the jump.

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Interview: José Luis Rugeles on Shooting Colombian Oscar Submission 'Alias Maria" Deep in the Jungle

Jose here. Alias Maria takes place deep inside the Colombian jungle, where we meet a group of guerrillas, many of which are children. One of them is Maria (Karen Torres), a young woman who despite her obedience to their leaders questions their double standards, she wonders why women aren’t allowed privileges men are, especially when it comes to choices over their bodies. Then one day Maria is given a task that tests her loyalty and sends her deep into the unknown. The film, which introduces audiences to a world they know merely through the news, premiered at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival, where it was greeted warmly. Since then, the film has attained more relevance as Colombians rejected a peace deal with the FARC over the fall. The film was selected as Colombia’s submission for the Oscars, and I spoke to director José Luis Rugeles about the casting methods he used, the pros and cons of shooting in the jungle, and introducing film to potential new artists.

Read the interview after the jump.

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Interview: 'Fire at Sea' Director Gianfranco Rosi on Blurring the Line Between Documentaries and Fiction

Jose here. Gianfranco Rosi’s Fire at Sea, takes a look at the migrant crisis with completely new eyes. He creates a parallel narrative in which the dangerous journeys of migrants trying to arrive in Europe seem to go almost unnoticed by the people of the island of Lampedusa, where many of them meet their fates. The island vignettes, which pay tribute to the Sicilian lifestyle, mainly focus on the misadventures of Samuele, a little boy who spends his days playing with his slingshot, worrying about diseases he’s much too young to have, and admiring the sea, perhaps unaware of the nightmare it represents to the migrants’ struggle. Rosi doesn’t create a story of ironic contrast, instead he offers a snapshot of the world we live in, and invites us to reexamine our role in the world. The documentary won the Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival where Jury President Meryl Streep called it “urgent, necessary filmmaking”, it also went on to be selected as Italy’s entry for the Foreign Film Oscar.

As the film opens in New York, I sat down with Rosi to talk about his views on documentaries, storytelling and how the worlds of his films are interconnected.

JOSE: You spend years working on your films and shooting. How do you know when you have a story?

GIANFRANCO ROSI: When I start the film I never know which story I’ll end up doing. I start from something a very simple structure, there’s an island, migrants, this is what happens when migrants arrive, this is where they come from. I have a geometrical idea of what’s going on - when I have this idea of the place I look for elements and people who will become my protagonists...

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