Marc, a talented film director, meets Lucien, the fictional character of his next movie.
Written & Directed by MATHIEU NOLHIER
Assistant Director VINCENT SENECAT
Starring DENIS MICHALLET, KENT GOLDFINCH, SUZIE ARIS, & MICHELLE CALLCUT
Writer/director Mathieu Nolhier is no stranger to Kino Short Film. In fact his previous film HELENE was one of our 9 nominees for Best Picture at The People’s Film Festival. With PERSONA we were delighted to see Mathieu try his hand at a bit of comedy and we hope you enjoy. Below is a quick interview we conducted with Mathieu to gain a bit more insight into his latest film and his process.
WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION TO WRITE PERSONA:
Some people were asking me how ideas come for my short movies. My reply was always the same: it appears in my mind, then I note it and go to something else. But when the idea is good, it comes back. And when you start to write, the story goes by itself. You can't create a story that doesn't work for your characters. Then I wanted to share this idea with people so I did this movie.
WHAT'S YOUR WRITING PROCESS:
I take notes for a few weeks, about the character, some parts of the story, shot framing or camera movement. Then I go in a coffee and start to write the script. I always find a coffee place for a story and only write here. After a few weeks and litters of coffee, I have my final script.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE TO BRING THE SCRIPT TO LIFE:
It's really funny to compare the final edit to your first idea. You see the journey from one point to the other and you feel a great feeling of achievement. There are a lot of differences between both points because it was only you at the beginning but then, a lot of people added their Art to the piece (actors, music composers, sound engineers etc..). I was so happy to screen it to peoples after so many months of work.
DID YOU HAVE ANY CREATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR WORKING ON A SMALL BUDGET:
I learnt how to shoot and edit myself to limit the budget on my shorts. You don't need a very expensive camera to make beautiful pictures, you just need to learn how to work with lights and composition. Also, take all the things you can that you already have (friends and family's locations, friends as extra actors etc...). To conclude, I always take the budget in mind when writing my scripts and it can offers you very creative ideas (Ex: using sound design instead of real shots during the script scene). But the most important thing when you have low budget: Organisation. I add much more days in preparation than shooting and it saves me a lot of time/money/energy for the global project.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVOURITE PART OF THE FILMMAKING PROCESS:
When you see the people looking at your movie and have emotions. Make the people laugh, be surprised or anything, that's always the best moment.
SCREENING RECOMENDATIONS FOR QUARANTINE:
I would say "Dark" on Netflix. Very good story, well written, very nice pictures and amazing casting. Last season releases at the end of June so be ready!
Interested in getting your work selected as Short of the Week?