Author: Dreamate Demo

–Who is Noelle Joy Sorenson?

Passionate, a dreamer with a vision and the determination to take the actions needed. A deep love for film and expression. An appreciator of life with an insatiable curiosity. A truth seeker and a story teller. Someone who wants to connect and share, with an understanding that at our best we are here to support, heal and love one another. Independent. Excited to follow the mystery with a bit of reason and the understanding that staying grounded is part of that recipe (at least for me). At times whimsical and silly, at others fierce and focused. Hardworking, fun loving, adventure seeking, and hopefully forever evolving and improving. A bit of a perfectionist. Team oriented, valuing the role that others play. Always looking for the magic, inviting spirit into every aspect of life and art.

– What Inspired you to be a filmmaker?

I think it happened organically. I don’t think as a girl, or young woman that I ever thought for a moment that I could be the one making the films. I think I was under the impression that men did that and I could work for them. I loved performing and saw myself as a musician, dancer, actor, creatively speaking. I think it was organic in that when I was on set as an actor, I was fascinated with every part of the process-not just acting. I wanted to understand all the moving parts from the PA’s to hair and wardrobe, you name it. The way a film set would become a family of sorts-people spending long days with each other all working together for a common vision. I would listen to the directors, AD’s, sound, DP’s, producers, show runners, etc.. On one set I overheard a bunch of the assistant directors, DP, etc. discussing what films they saw that last weekend. I remember they brought up Citizen Kane and I felt immediately that I had to see what that was all about. I loved the energy of the crew, the humor, the creativity of bringing it all to life! I was inspired, so I found a free MIT director film making course on line where I learned about films from famous directors such as John Houston, Jean Cocteau, Alfred Hitchcock, Ingmar Bergman… of course I was always an avid Spielberg, Scorsese, and Tarantino fan. I attended as many master classes and director talks as I could at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. I found myself so intrigued and inspired by Catherine Hardwicke, David O Russell, Francis Ford Coppola, the list goes on and on. At that point it still didn’t dawn on me that I was a film maker. I didn’t know I wanted to make films. I just thought I loved everything about film. Then I heard about this group of actors I knew that were making short films for a fun little contest they had amongst themselves. Something to do while waiting to book if I remember right. Intrigued because I knew so many of these actors I went. I watched peoples films, waited to see who won, thought about what they had done in a relatively short time and then it hit me. I thought, I could do that, I could make a film. I think I could really do this, I have so many stories to tell. I can, I can do this. And that was the jump off, beginning.

-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?

Yes. More than probably anything else. It’s very important to tell the stories that are often ignored in the history books, however these stories need to be told with empathy and compassion and as much truth as we can muster in order to create true shifts of mind and changes in society. To express things in society that we often don’t want to look at that need to be addressed for a better world. All change begins with consciousness, awareness, thought. I think films and television have the power to do that and do do that.

-What would I change in the world? 

Huge question. We could talk about war, terrorism, hunger, education, illness. I’m going to bring that in and focus on my little snapshot. If I approach that question from a semi realistic point of view, I would change the world by offering them ideas, emotions, a spark to start a discussion, something thought provoking that makes us look within ourselves. Find our own truth. Recognize that choices are available. Can we choose love and faith over fear? Can we put aside our own baggage for the greater good? Change I think can happen one voice at a time-but it has to felt, it has to resonate, Hearts have to change, hearts can change minds.

-Where do I see the film industry going in the next 100 years?

Technology will reveal a lot of that as far as mediums, how we view things I think. Film, story telling will always be here. The basic components will remain because the human condition doesn’t change, fashion, trends, tech stuff-that changes but we always work, love, connect, eat drink, help each other, we have basic emotions of fear, anger, frustration, passion, anger. Human connection remains. That’s why good story telling from any time stays relevant and lasts. In 100 years as long as there are cultures, societies, human life-we will have films, or streaming situations with series or something like that, but we will have films. They will last. I think we will continue to connect more because of it- technology will create that. Maybe we will have multi sensory versions of things and be able to down load that into our living rooms, not sure. But good films …they will last forever, or at least as long as human life is here on this planet.

–Who is Elisabetta Cancelli?

I’m an independent director and actress and after the pandemic hit, during quarantine I’ve created my page and channel called “Silent Dream”, in where I express and publish my works and short films. I’d like to create and promote a sort of “Romanticism” in cinema, same as any form of Romanticism, like in art.

–What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

I’ve grown up in Trieste in a family of artists, my parents are musicians and my grandma was a poet and a writer. After High School I’ve switched majors twice cause I was too afraid of choosing the artistic career knowing the risks of a job so exciting but financially not secure. In the end my parents helped me with choosing the major at DAMS, Cinema and performing arts in Gorizia. I’ve always been influenced by the wonderful atmosphere of my home, always full of music and inspiration. I think I’ve never really lived without art.I developed my love for cinema, acting and writing naturally.

-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?

Absolutely. It can bring messages and can open discussions on very important topics. The fact is that it’s a double sided knife. You have to be careful with the message you want to express, because not only today’s social media are so powerful and can change even the casting and the editing of the movie, but you could also influence the people, making them change their minds, for better or worse. For example movies inspired by true crimes. How dangerous is it to portray the killer in a charming way? Can this make people emulate him/her or can (knowing bad people can also be charming) work as a warning and make you pay attention to who you’re dealing with? Another example, when is portraying a sexual assault a realistic and tragic portrait of something terrible and when is it pornography? It’s very difficult to understand the subtle line between sending a clear message in your movie and making it ambiguous and dangerous. You can try to understand it by listening to the opinion of the people, of the public, knowing what’s happening in society today and so on. My suggestion is to always research for yourself before expressing a certain topic that can trigger the public, because before directors, we are individuals sharing the same planet with other people.

-What would you change in the world?

I’d like that people to be less afraid to love, more conscious of their feelings. This is a topic I’ve tried so hard to express in my works. I talk about violence against women but also about strong feelings of desire, fear, anger and desperate seeking of freedom from the conventions of society. I’d like people to develop their emotional intelligence more, to learn more about themselves and sexual education, because ignorance and fear can lead to terrible relationships between people. And this can hurt anybody.

-Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?

I hope there will be a cycle. I don’t think there’s much inspiration in the Film Industry, of course Independent cinema is always full of new creators and ideas, I’m talking about the big industry. I’m always hearing about remakes, reboots and live action movies and I’d like to hear more about new, exciting and original ideas never heard before. But as with the history of any form of art, I think there are periods of more or less inspiration. I’m optimistic, let’s see what happens.

-Who is Ryosuke Handa?

I was born in a small village in Kyoto prefecture surrounded by rich nature. The village had beautiful landscapes but no movie theater. In my childhood, I loved to listen to the sounds of nature like dripping rains, flowing rivers. I also enjoyed looking at wild flowers and animals, as well as stars in the galaxy at night, which inspired my imagination. I was interested in how the cosmos had been created and how it would evolve. Nature brings me the spinning and weaving stories. That was my movie theater.

-What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

In my twenties I started painting and printmaking. I also learned photography. Pursuing those techniques, I have learned the differences between two-dimensional and three-dimensional expressions. I created many experimental prints in 1990s. In that process I was gradually interested in the moving images. I came to feel that movies have great potential in presenting my imaginations. You can put everything in a movie. Sergei Parajanov has been one of my favorite movie directors. Tarkovsky has always inspired me.

-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?

I don’t shoot films with the intention of changing society. Through movies we could meet visions which you were unaware of before. Bio-philosopher Jacob von Uexkülls “Umwelt” is my favorite concept when I look at the world. Eyes beyond human, eyes in the deep nature reflect my approach to cinemas.

-What would you change in the world?

I feel I am a small part of the cosmos which is a continuum. When I change, the world changes. When the world changes, I change. I think the same thing happens in every part of the cosmos.

-Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?

No matter what new devices appear, we need a platform, a kind of screen, that swallows them all like a blackhole beyond borders and the differences. Imagination is the key for us to reach and receive messages from the platform.

-Who is Catia Ott?

I am a documentary filmmaker.

I do documentaries mainly on cultural and creative subjects. I just finished a documentary called, MATERIA, portraying the work of artisans and designers in the city of Rome. I have a background in advertisement and lived in Paris and London.

-What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

Curiosity! I was always very curious of people’s lives. I observe people on the streets and on public transportation and I imagine what they do, how their house is decorated, who are their friends…

I chose to work with film because it uses photography, music, storytelling, animation, acting in an immersive way that catches people’s heart. I think that using film to describe the world is a powerful tool.

-Do you think that the cinema can bring a change in the society?

I think that cinema can create empathy on certain subjects. Talking about violence, war and chaos using film can have a certain impact on society.

But I also think that talking about ordinary things and ordinary people is very important because it shows the beauty existing in them. A filmmaker can show a point of view on things that are normally overlooked at. 

-What would you change in the world?

People should dance more and be more grateful for what they have!

-Where do you see the film industry going in the next  100 years?

The world will always need stories; whether they are told in film, books, photos or other medias.

Maybe in the future people will go less to the movie theater and watch more films on their computer. This does not mean that people will not go the see events such as film festivals or screenings. Maybe movie theaters must become more similar to cultural centers with events that make people meet and discuss.

Technology should add ways to enjoy films and the film industry will have to adapt especially in regards of distribution.

–Who is Lisa Singletary?

I’m awful at defining myself. My life has not been linear enough for that. I’m just me. But for interview purposes, what’s important is that I’m the sole member and founder of Cipher Cat Films, the creator of “11:11″(short film), and the upcoming release “Walking in the Wrong Direction” (short film).

 – What inspired you to become a filmmaker? 

I didn’t have the typical lightbulb moment that other filmmakers seem to have had. I’ve always created fictional characters in my head, and stories kind of come as a result of that. Eventually, I started writing them for people other than myself, under the pen name L.E. Flinders, somewhere back in 2015-2017. But I didn’t ever intend to direct when I initially started down this path. I just wanted to write scripts and produce them with other people, and have fun doing it. And somehow, this just happened. But it’s been an incredible experience to get to shape my writing in such a visual way. 

– Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?

I believe that cinema is always in a constant state of changing society. The media that we take in, in all forms, changes our individual view of the world. And, as a result, how we approach the world and interact with it. It’s especially true with films that influence us early on in life, but it never stops. So every film, or other artistic expression out there, plays a role in shaping the world we currently live in, as well as the world we will live in in the future. 

– What would you change in the world?

I’d love it if people were less fearful. In my experience, fear is the root cause of so much harm that people do. Hate can come from fear of others. Greed and pride can come from a fear of inadequacy. Dishonesty almost always comes from fear of judgment or rejection. Even harmful inaction comes from fear of doing or saying the wrong thing. It always circles back to fear. I think it’s possible to live cautiously without letting fear control us. And unfortunately, in the world today, fear seems to be growing. So I’d love to help change that. 

– Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?

My hope is, that small, truly independent, filmmakers will find it easier and easier to get their films seen by large audiences. It’s kind of a hidden silver lining in the darker aspect of tailored marketing. It’s genuinely scary how accurate my youtube recommendations are. But at the same time, I love that. It allows me to find amatuer and professional filmmakers, comedians, musicians, etc who I would never know existed otherwise. And occasionally just videos of an elephant dancing to flute music or a man on a porch feeding a dozen hungry raccoons, both of which are also cinema, in their own way. And 20 years ago, I couldn’t do that. And I hope, that over the next 20-100 years, that small filmmakers are given even more options that allow that kind of ability to find unlikely niche audiences. Because the more easily you can reach your specific audience without a big distributor or a big production company to appease or impress, the more artistic diversity we get, both as filmmakers and as audience members.

On the 15th of November the Italian and International press has celebrated the centenary of

Francesco Rosi, Master of civil commitment cinema, Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival for

“The Mattei Affair” and author of masterpieces as “Salvatore Giuliano” and “Hands over the City”.

His films have also inspired true genius of the Seventh Art such as Francis Ford Coppola and

Martin Scorsese.

I’ve wanted to wait a few days before celebrating also on Wild Filmmaker the centenary of

Francesco Rosi because I have a difficult relationship with anniversaries.

But at the end I felt it was the right thing to do, being the last filmmaker to have directed a project

in which Francesco Rosi participated.

It was 2013 when I realized one of my dreams, to meet personally a film maker that I had always

admired since I was a teenager and lived in Naples, the same city where Francesco Rosi was born.

I would have never imagined that one day I would be able to involve him in one of my project, but

it happened. It was possible thanks to the generosity and sincere willingness of Francesco Rosi

towards young filmmakers.

I believe the best way to remember Francesco Rosi is by rewatching his movies and learn from his

courage.

Today a filmmaker that “doesn’t betray the truth” as Francesco Rosi did, in Italy could not make

movies, would not find producers or public fundings.

The cinema Made in Italy state-funded is living bad years, that is why I felt the moral duty to

establish an international and free Magazine as Wild Filmmaker.

Italy is at the 58th place concerning press freedom according to the latest ranking released by the

“World Press Freedom Index”. There is no NGO that deals with assessing freedom of expression

inside cinema, I wouldn’t know how to assess the situation in other countries, but I can assess the

Italian reality, which among the other Western countries I place at the last position.

Cheers to Francesco Rosi today and forever!

–Who is Gina Cunningham?

 I’m a novice director, who also happens to be a disabled mom and grandmother. After various careers as a restaurateur, social activist, high school teacher, and visual artist, I felt compelled to make my documentary film at 66 years of age when I researched the history of my great Aunt Pasqualina. 

-What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

I needed to tell the true story of my Italian immigrant family following a familiar path to pursuing the American Dream. In Pasqualina of Springfield, the mafia anti-hero is a powerful, complex woman.  The gangster movie genre has not been about female central characters. Pasqualina of Springfield couldn’t be timelier.

-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in society?

Cinema has contributed to many societal shifts for more than a hundred years continues to influence culture in sometimes positive, other times negative ways.  Cinema is one of the most influential and powerful art forms. Movies have shaped the world we live in, and their power can’t be ignored.

-What would you change in the world? 

My list is too long for this interview, but to start; I’d like to stop the injustices caused by racism. I’d raise awareness of the fact that North Americans occupy and continue to destroy land stolen from Native Americans. I’d change the situation where I live in Los Angeles. The United Nations has declared certain areas humanitarian crisis zones because as many as 70,000 unhoused people exist on the streets in this wealthy city in absolute squalor. Far-right nationalism grows around us.  War, out-of-control capitalism, and all the destruction it brings, I wish I could change these problems and more.

-Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years? 

Ha-ha! I really do not know where the film industry will be in the next 100 years. When I was growing up, I was clueless. I didn’t know we would have streaming, digital images, online platforms, etc. I’m not super high-tech. So, I can’t imagine what experiences the future will bring, but I know human beings are natural communicators. There’s cave art 40 thousand years old telling stories. So, I assume we will always be storytellers. 

-Who is Marco della Fonte?

I am an ordinary man who makes an ordinary life. I have a family that I love. 

The difference is that I live for the cinema and its representations. So I live “normally” but in my human and artistic dimension that has generated over the years, within me, a kind of clear “mission” in my life: telling stories that can touch the hearts of others.

-What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

At the age of 14 after school I worked as an assistant to a photographer. I learned the technique of images, but at the same time, I felt something inside of me, an attraction to the world seen through the lens of a camera It takes me into a different world where I fully recognise myself. 

I recognise in myself the world I see through a camera. As if for me that “reality” (seen through the camera)  represented the true nature of things and the world.

-Do you think the cinema can bring a change in the society?

YES! It absolutely can contribute to a change of thoughts and culture. As well as all art in general. Cinema tells stories. Our life is made of stories. And the history of the world is made of stories. What is different is how one sees and perceives these stories. It is not enough to relate to the stories around us with a passive attitude. To change our personal condition as human beings, stories should be an opportunity to change ourselves, along with others. The problem is that today there is not this kind of artistic and creative ferment. The Nouvelle Vague represented a revolution in the thoughts and ways in which stories were told. The difference, therefore, in the end, is deciding whether to remain conservative or to be dreamers, people who want to change the world. Throughout the history of the twentieth century, ideology and utopia have contributed to an improvement of human beings from a reversal point of view, revolutions of certain systems, as well as a radical change in emotional relationships. Today we are experiencing a period of global uncertainty and human beings need to regain confidence in themselves and their potential. I am absolutely convinced that cinema helps to find oneself.

-What would you change in the world?

Ignorance begets monsters. So does greed and lust for power. Capitalism has generated an illusory lifestyle in which consumption and lifestyle push us to consume useless things. I believe that the “evil” of the world comes mainly from the imperialist mentality that certain nations still have. Especially America thanks to the support of Hollywood propaganda has always tried to find the evil enemies in their stories: in the 60s’ enemies were the Native Americans, then the Vietnamese, Cambodians, the Russians during the cold war, Cubans,  Arabs, Palestinians, Iranians, and finally Chinese. I would like to say that this imperialist propaganda system, even in cinema, has generated only a distortion of history which, in turn, has produced a prejudice and a judgment on different ones, on those who feel different or outside this logic.  

–Where do you see the film industry going in the next 100 years?

I believe in the positive potential of human beings and therefore in the future I see a return to the simplicity of life. Now we see everything, especially in the entertainment industry, where stories are built in dystopian worlds, sometimes terrible and catastrophic worlds, where humanity often has no hope or has to fight with “higher forces”. There is an overabundance of visual information, a visionary overdose that also extends in the social network, in which even ignorant people feel the protagonists of nothing. There are many Apps that make you more beautiful (but still not smarter) and Apps that generate VFX that we can use in our personal lives. All this “quest for nothingness” I hope will lead humanity to a collective awakening that could dust off the simple stories that reach everyone’s heart.