Written, Produced & Directed by Max Davies
A dark surrealist comedy in which a girl becomes increasingly intimate with her friendship group.
READ OUR INTERVIEW WITH MAX
Tell us a bit about yourself and your filmmaking background.
I grew up making films and haven't stopped since, I don't remember a point in my life that I wasn't making some kind of ridiculous film or film trailer. I was very lucky to grow up with two very close friends who wouldn't consider themselves actors but didn't mind if I stuck a camera in their face from the age of about seven. This allowed me to experiment making rubbish films on phones and ancient camcorders that gradually became less rubbish. I learnt through trial and error over the years and naturally figured out what works and what doesn't, although truth be told I am still figuring that out.
Tell us about the genesis of Gänger? How did the project come about?
Ganger was a film in the back of my mind for a long time. I had just finished college and had dealt with a lot of frustration with certain power dynamics in different friendship groups. The film had loads of different iterations but I settled on this absurd heightened feeling that attempted to satirically dismantle these kinds of dynamics. It definitely came from a very personal place and that gave me the confidence to use my instinct in some of the decisions made throughout the process. I knew from the start this was a film I had to make, even if just to let some frustration out.
What obstacles did you overcome while in the making of this film?
I made this film solo behind the camera - doing the camera and audio by myself while directing. This certainly invited all kinds of problems. The most notable was a particularly challenging day when I had to pan the camera while focus pulling while audio mixing all simultaneously. Usually these can be done separately but this particular shot called for it all to be done at the same time.
Another challenge was the actor who played the boyfriend dropping out the day before, meaning I had to play the role having never really acted while doing all of the technical stuff- there is one point where I am in the shot while zooming with my off screen hand.
We had attempted to get permission many times for the final sequence in the car park, but were met with no luck. This meant we had to shoot very precisely and very quickly, before we got kicked out. It felt more like a SWAT operation than a film shoot.
Tell us about the journey of getting your film to audiences.
Due to the low budget nature of the film and fairly long runtime it was a challenge to get into festivals and at the time we only had the budget to apply to a couple. I posted the film to Reddit on a whim and it was met with a really warm reception and gained many more views than I was used to getting. It really connected there and found a surprising home.
Words of wisdom. What advice would you give to other filmmakers?
Don't wait around. There are always ways of practising your craft. Read loads. Start small and get bigger. Make sure you are writing to your limits. Don't be afraid of failure. Remember your vision is unique and don't be afraid to champion it. Let ideas brew. Keep notes on your phone.
Many of them may well be cliches but you know...
What are you working on now?
I've just finished writing a feature and I'm now developing a new comedy short that I'm very excited to start filming at the beginning of November.
Any film recommendations that we should add to our watchlist?
Of course. Here is one of the least cohesive lists ever:
- A Woman Under The Influence
- What happened was...
- A Palm Beach Story
- Eyes without a face
- Blue Angel
- Holy Motors
- The Science of Sleep
- The Master
- Love exposure
- The Happiness of the Katikuris
- The Long Goodbye
- Dreams