A film producer Alexander Rodnyansky gave a lecture on movie-making in FEDORIV Hub, a creative space in Kyiv. His seminar was entitled “The cinema on me”. Rodnyansky has produced seventy feature films, among which are “Leviathan” and “Stalingrad”. During his seminar in Kyiv, Rodnyansky shared his experience with the eager audience. Here are the main topics he covered:
A film producer is really an entrepreneur. In the past, decisions on who shoots a film and what it’s going to be about – were made on a state level. There used to be a public organ that censored everything. Producers were “born” out of market demand. In my opinion, a good producer is someone who is not afraid of taking risks, who can dream and work hard. He understands a country’s specifics and knows the audience, his film is directed at, inside out.
I only work with like-minded people. And I don’t necessarily mean friends. But it’s important for me to be on the same vibe with another person. It’s easier for me to work with that kind of person, than with a badass American guy, let’s say.
(Speaking of the creative process he shared with Andrey Zvyagintsev on “Elena” and “Leviathan”) …he approached me, probably because I had the reputation of a “mad man”. The first question I’m being asked, whatever part of the world I’m visiting, is “How is Andrey Zvyagintsev doing”? I guess that happens because that man has made something of himself, and he has a lot of followers. Many people can relate to him.
I don’t believe in TV and I don’t think it’ll survive.
A large festival is the best way to promote an indie film. Everyone in the world will eventually know about it. Unlike genre cinema, with indie films you don’t have to spend money on PR-campaigns. What you need – is to film a thrilling movie, which has a potential to become your trademark. An indie film is like going to a psychoanalyst’s. Indie films explore the human being. Any successful movie made for festivals will sure gross a lot of money. Think of “Love” or “The White Ribbon”, for instance.
A short film is really the best trademark of any director. Whatever diplomas you may have got, they mean nothing. I need to understand what a person can really do.
I despise poetic cinema. What it can only offer is the good/evil or the love/hatred conflict. It lacks real people. The cinema begins, where it portrays how a person is being made. Parajanov is a pure genius and Is out of the question, of course, but he can’t be responsible for all the other movies made. And I’ve seen many of them. To tell you the truth, I’m simply stunned by the way Romanians shoot their movies. And their model is most striking. Romanians began to invest very little money to make movies about themselves. And not only Romanian films are successful, but television shows too.
Why must the public watch your movie? Because you made it? No! It has to be spectacular, intriguing, engaging.
I haven’t had an opportunity to make low budget movies: they just weren’t my cup of tea. In theory, I can agree that these limitations can be a good thing, but only for young directors who want to make a breakthrough in cinema. We must be a guarantor of quality. Whatever film is being released: a small or big budget one – there must be something in it to attract the public’s eye. The only film that’ll work is a movie with a lot of things going on in it.
“The Tribe” by Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy is an astounding work of art. If it had been submitted for an Oscar consideration, I can guarantee you it would have been in the top five films nominated in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
I adore films based on true stories. Take ”The Revenant” by Alejandro G. Iñárritu, for instance. But our culture is not used to that.
In a good film we are always witnesses to someone else’s weaknesses. The movies like “My Left Foot” by Jim Sheridan or “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” by Julian Schnabel tell stories of coping with life’s difficulties and becoming aware. And that’s always what the audience can sympathize with. I, personally, simply adore dramatic or even tragic stories in film. And I’m very fond of Shakespeare.
Things didn’t come easy for me. I’ve always been keen on learning and improving myself.