Can you tell us about your latest film project and the process you went through in bringing it to life?

My latest project is a short film called Can you hurry. It’s a project that I wrote, produced, directed and acted in. The synopsis is: An anxious and depressed Mia lingers at the edge of a rooftop high above the Chicago Streets. As she gathers her thoughts and contemplates her final moments of life, a voice chimes in from behind her: “can you hurry?“ 

I started working on the script back in 2014 when I lived in Chicago. At the beginning, it was a very small project that was designed to be performed on stage as a small sketch and then, the more I was working on it, I thought that it would be a great story to tell on screen. So I finished the script during Covid and we shot the film in Chicago in October 2022 with a very small crew. Living now in Belgium, I did all the pre production process in distance and we shot for 3 nights. 

It’s a very delicate topic because the movie talks about suicide and how to deal with it and I wanted to treat the subject by adding some dark comedy and sarcasm to it with a message of hope. 

 

What inspired you to become a filmmaker and pursue a career in the film industry?

I’ve been in love with movies since the age of 5 when I saw my first live feature at a cinema. It was Jurassic Park and since then, I’ve been watching movies my entire life with the goal of becoming an actor and now a director as well. I did a cinema school in Paris and then I got a degree in theatre. Back in 2013 I moved to Chicago where I had a chance to be casted in a show at Second City and I did a lot of theatre, Improv and directing.

 

What challenges did you encounter during the filmmaking process and how did you overcome them?

The biggest challenge for this film was to plan everything in distance. We shot in Chicago and living in Brussels, I got so lucky to work with an amazing crew who did a lot of work during pre production. With the lead actress Alexandra Miller, we worked together in my previous short and we know each other very well. We have a natural chemistry together and we rehearsed via FaceTime most of the time until I arrived  a week before the shoot and rehearsed for a week. The biggest challenge on set was the weather who was changing all the time. I love to shoot on location and you can’t control the weather obviously but we managed to finish everything as planed between the wind and the rain.

 

What was the most memorable moment for you during the production of your film?

Can you share any interesting anecdotes or behind-the-scenes stories from the making of your film?

The most memorable thing and I will say that it’s always the same feeling for all of my projects are the first day and last day of shooting. It’s a short so you know it’s intense and you have a short period of time to bring your project to life. The excitement, the stress the joy, all of those feelings are always great and exciting. But I will say that the best moment is when you hear it’s a wrap and you know that you will be happy with the final product. 

And a funny anectode behind the scene will probably be the moment where my character was lighting up a cigarette for one shot and the wind was insane. The crew and myself never spent as much time for only one action. 

 

How do you approach storytelling in your films? What themes or messages do you try to convey?

The way I approach storytelling is for the audience to connect with the story and the characters. No matter the subject or topic of the film, I want the audience to feel emotions. I don’t have a specific theme or message that I want to pass because it changes from one project to the other. But I do want the audience to feel connected during the projection of the film. My previous film was called Ghosts in the ink. It was written and produced by the great Phill McCarron and it was about a couple who is going through a divorce. The best reaction was in Poland from a woman who came to me after the projection and told me that she saw her divorce during the viewing. Same thing with Can you hurry, 2 people came to me saying that they both went through the same situation as the characters and that the subject was treated very well. So it is my goal as a filmmaker to be able to bring emotions to the audience. 

 

What is your preferred genre of filmmaking and why? Are there any specific directors or filmmakers who have influenced your work?

I love all the genres in cinema in general. Drama, comedy, sci-fi, musical, time period, heroic fantasy, horror, war, animation… It’s the best art in the world and that’s the beauty of it because we can bring everything to the big screen. And there is a lot of filmmakers that I admire since I was a kid like Spielberg, Chaplin, Kazan, Fritz Lang, Georges Melies, Bertolucci, Fellini, Coppola, Scorcese, James Cameron, Christopher Nolan, Guillermo Del Toro, Alfonso Cuaron, Inarritu, Jacques Audiard, Woody Allen, Sidney Lumet, Bong Joon Ho, Wong kar Wai, Kathryn Bigelow, Jane Campion, Fincher, Wes Anderson Hitchcock, Kubrick, Aronofsky… they’re to many and so many filmmakers that I love and the list is not over.

 

How do you select your cast and crew for your film projects? What qualities do you look for in collaborators?

I select my crew from the previous experience that I had and people that can add things during filming or people that I was introduced to, seen their work and loved it. Also people who really love what they are doing and who are passionate. I love when someone comes to me saying during filming I have an idea for a shot or an action. I love improvisation as well so whatever makes it better, I will incorporate it right away. I also, when I choose to work with a director of photography, for him  to bring people that he knows and worked with before. It makes it easier for me when I’m also acting in the film. I have a total trust and it makes the filming easier. For the actors, I like to work with people that I’ve met in the passed and I know their skills. When I cast someone that I don’t know, I go through an audition process and I will select the actor that I believe understand the character the best and will be able to perform the way I want with also giving the actor the freedom to add what they believe its best and see what happens during rehearsals. 

 

How important do you think film festivals are for independent filmmakers, and what has been your experience with film festivals so far?

I believe that film festivals are a great opportunity to confront judges and audiences with independent filmmakers. It gives an idea of how our films can be received and getting feedbacks right away are fantastic. It’s also a way to improv ourselves for the future. So far I only had great experience with film festivals and they were very welcoming. You always hope that something will come out of it like finding people to offer you collaboration. 

 

Can you tell us about any awards or recognition your films have received and how they have impacted your career?

So far, I got lucky with Can you hurry. We’ve got many nomination around the world and we won many awards such as best short film, best director, best actress and best short script. The only thing that I’m sad about is that even when your movie works and is appreciated apparently, I didn’t received any offer to be part of another project or the be casted as an actor which is the reason why I did this film and so far nothing came back out of it beside the awards which is great. It’s always an amazing feeling when you submit your film to a festival and that you'r nominated along side many other films and talented filmmakers. 

 

How do you handle feedback and criticism of your films? How do you use it to improve your craft?

I handle criticism very well. You have to be open minded when you make a film and you have to accept that not everybody will like it. That’s what happens with art in general (music, writing, painting, films…) I always listen and try to understand what people didn’t like about any of my projects and I will think about it to improv the next project I work on. But I do believe that criticism is here to improve yourself and make you work harder even if the next will not please everybody. But that’s the beauty of art, diversity.

 

What do you enjoy most about the process of filmmaking? Is there anything you find particularly challenging?

What I enjoy the most about the process of filmmaking is the team work with the crew and working with actors. When you see the devotion people can bring to make your projet come to life is the best feeling. Also, the most important part is during filming is to see the passion for cinema and filmmaking from everyone. I also really love the rehearsal process with the actors and to see the characters evolve. 

What is the most challenging part is, when your directing and acting at the same time is the fact that you have to trust your crew more than anything, even if you are in charge as the director, the crew becomes very important and the movie can’t be done without them. 

 

How do you approach the distribution of your films? What strategies do you employ to reach a wider audience?

So far, the strategy is to be nominated in as many festivals as possible. I do hope that great connections will be made our of it and hopefully to find a distributor and a producer for my next project. That’s also the strategy that I’m using to reach a larger audience and to get their feedbacks as much as I can. 

 

What advice do you have for aspiring filmmakers who are just starting their journey in the film industry?

The best advice I can give to young or new filmmakers is to film as much as possible. Today, with the technology that we have, it’s way easier to shoot something. You can use your phone for exemple. Don’t be scared of failure or trying new thing because you only get better with practice. If at some point, if you have a project that is very important to you, don’t think about the budget to make it happen. Use your friends, you family, your connections, whoever is open to help you. Just go out there and film something and boom you are a director. 

 

Finally, can you share with us your future plans and upcoming projects as a filmmaker?

Right now I’m working on a script that I had in mind for sometime but I’m not going to say anything about it besides the fact that its a road trip. Hopefully I will be able to bring this project to the screen in the futur… Will see.

 

Thank you so much for being part of your festival and I hope to see you soon 

Igor Lewicki Director of the short film Can you hurry