Instant Stories: Wim Wenders’s Polaroids

November 1, 2017November 14, 2017

Clare Grafik, curator of a new exhibition of Wim Wenders’s photographs, talks to Port about the director’s creative vision, connections between art and technology, and the Polaroid aesthetic

*Valley of the Gods,* Utah, 1977, Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation

When Clare Grafik, the head of exhibitions at the Photographers’ Gallery, discovered that the Wim Wenders foundation had recently unearthed boxes of Polaroids that had been untouched for thirty years, she was immediately inspired. “If we work with an artist who is already well known, we’re interested in asking what part of their oeuvre is less familiar. I remember thinking, ‘I don’t even know what the Polaroids are like, but I want them.’”

Wim Wenders, the celebrated director of Paris, Texas (1984), is best-known as a filmmaker, though his photographs of large-scale, panoramic landscapes have also been widely exhibited. For Grafik, Wenders’s unassuming collection of Polaroids, amassed over nearly twenty years, represented a completely new direction for the artist. “He’s such a polymath, his creative vision is so versatile. It’s very unusual, I think, to be able to move between different mediums… I think he’s genuinely carved out quite an individual voice in each.”

*On the Road to New England,* 1972, Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation

In the intimate gallery space hosting Instant Stories: Wim Wenders’ Polaroids, over 200 photographs have been subtly framed on the walls, grouped under poetic, evocative titles: ‘Alice in Instant Wonderland’, ‘A Man Named Dashiell’, ‘Looking For America’. “For Wim, the process of collating the images moved from being a visual to quite a diaristic experience,” explains Grafik, and the chapter headings dictated the structure of the exhibition. ‘Alice’, for example, refers to Wenders’s early film, Alice in the Cities (1974), about the wanderings of a young European man in America, who becomes obsessed with photographing the strange things he sees.

*Dennis Hopper,* Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation

Shortly before filming Alice, Wenders was given a prototype of the Polaroid SX70 which would become so prominent in the film. Making the film was also Wenders’s first experience of America; he had arrived, like many Europeans, with preconceived ideas of the landscape. The exhibition section ‘Looking for America’ depicts Wenders’s outsider’s gaze, taken to an extreme as he scouted for locations. The section details his “disappointment at not finding what he had in his mind”, Grafik says. This disillusion was, however, a key part of the process. “What I enjoy about Wim is that he’s got a centre of gravity to his vision, which allows for those cracks in the iconography. He’s in no way an idealist about these things.”

*By an unknown photographer,* 1971, Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation

Wenders considered the restrictions and informality of the Polaroid – it’s limited technological abilities, and inability to take panoramic pictures – to be a breath of fresh air. “The way people treated the Polaroid wasn’t burdened with history in the same way as a medium format camera, there was no expectation that you would create great art works with it, unlike film,” Grafik explains. “The idea that Polaroid was like a toy, was really freeing for him.”

*New York Parade,* 1972, Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation

Printed on a wall in the exhibition is an excerpt written by Wenders from Instant Stories, the book published by Thames & Hudson which accompanies the exhibition.

It was a little magic act each time – nothing more, nothing less.

I don’t think I’m romanticising when I allege

that Polaroids were the last outburst of a time

when we had certainty, not only in images.

We had nothing but confidence in things, period.

*Self Portrait,* 1975, Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation

After 1984, Wenders returned to shooting with film. The Polaroid had served its purpose. What made him decide to just stop? I wonder. Grafik pauses. “I think for Wim, there was a period when Polaroid did just what he needed it to do,” she says thoughtfully. “It provided exactly what he needed at that point, and then it just didn’t work for him any more. At some point technology moves on and continuing it would seem somehow a conceit.”

*Sydney,* Courtesy Wim Wenders Foundation

Wenders may not have considered his off-the-cuff images as art at the time they were produced yet, since then, as an art form the Polaroid has been wholly legitimised. Will photography considered equally ephemeral in 2017, such as selfies on Instagram, feature in exhibitions thirty years from now? “That’s a massive question!” Grafik laughs. “It’s open as to whether the taking of imagery now functions in the same way as photographs taken in the 70s were. There’s the practical question of archiving: how these images are archived, whether they even should be. It’s hard to say what will exist thirty years from now, what visual culture will mean to us.”

Instant Stories: Wim Wenders’ Polaroids, will be showing at The Photographers’ Gallery until 11 February 2018

Interview: Arnaud Valois

October 19, 2017November 6, 2017

Port meets the reluctant actor whose understated talent owes as much to a passion for holistic therapy as it does to stage school

Arnaud Valois wears Saint Laurent AW17 throughout

In the 1980s, the gay community was being mercilessly decimated by a disease that the straight world was doing its best to turn a blind eye to, but there was a boisterous hotbed of active Parisian resistance which had other ideas. It’s this loose panoply of lovers, friends and rebels, forming the core of the activist group Act-Up, that acclaimed director Robin Campillo has brought to the big screen in the searing, personal and sometimes dreamlike fresco, 120 Beats per Minute. The film marks a return to the public eye for reluctant acting talent Arnaud Valois. Although he chooses not to define himself as an actor, his fragile yet powerful screen presence sublimely communicates the tragedy and beauty of a love that rages against both the machine and the dying of the light.

In the film – which has been lauded for its candid, unapologetic portrayal of gay sexuality, alongside the fervent activism of one of the most important movements of the ’80s – Valois plays Nathan, the HIV-negative lover of HIV-positive Act-Up firebrand Sean (a role played with startling verve by Nahuel Pérez Biscayart). “We are very lucky in Europe to have people who fought for us, struggling for rights of all kinds – but we need to be vigilant,” Valois tells Port over an intimate coffee in the Marais. “It’s very important to stay aware.” When did Valois become aware of Act-Up’s activism? “I was watching TV one morning with my family and said, ‘Oh, what is that?’” he says, with a smile. “Act-Up had put a condom on the obelisk in the Place de la Concorde. They also organised a big TV show in the ’90s called Sidaction, and it was on all the six main channels.”

Sidaction remains one of the most respected and successful charity organisations raising awareness of HIV and AIDS. It’s an interesting prospect for an actor to portray a docu-fiction version of recent history, especially when, to some degree, that actor’s psychogeography has been personally affected by the related events. How much did those memories shape Valois’s approach to his reticent and quietly sensitive character? “Robin said to us, ‘Please, don’t go too much on documentation or read, like, 20 books on the period. Trust me and trust yourselves. You are young people, so put your imagination in action and let’s work together.’” Given that Campillo is a seasoned Moroccan-French director whose own story and talent is steeped in the history of gay counterculture – as was shown in his 2013 classic Eastern Boys – one can only assume that such trust comes easily. “Absolutely. It was easy and comfortable to work with someone who likes telling his own story,” continues Valois. “It was interesting. The other thing is that he is a really good acting director. He has such a powerful vision of what he wants, so for an actor it’s quite easy. You need to learn your lines and be focused.”

Valois is somewhat playing down his exceptional talent. His propensity for switching mood with an endearing, nuanced grace is stunning, and perhaps somewhat surprising given that he turned his back on acting for a decade after graduating from drama school. “I don’t have two personalities, but there are maybe two sides to myself,” he says. “One is attracted by strong, powerful emotions and the other is driven by soft- ness and peace and calm. I don’t really consider myself to be an actor. I play a part in this movie – which I’m very proud of – but it feels strange for me. I see myself as a massage therapist and sophrologist who sometimes makes films.”

Sophrology is a relaxation technique, combining small movements and deep breathing to help control emotions and fears, and Valois’s commitment to the practice took him away from acting for a number of years. “I studied acting at Cours Florent for two years when I was 20 and was discovered by a casting director for my first movie, Charlie Says by Nicole Garcia. I started an acting career but it wasn’t what I expected,” he says. “I wanted to realise myself in another way. I wanted to be active, to do something with my life, so I went to study in Thailand. It was a personal journey, and then it became about other people – to heal people, first of all you have to heal yourself.” So how did it come to pass that his journey of self-actualisation should witness a return to the screen at all? “This casting director I used to work with 10 years ago called me and said, ‘I’ve got a project for you: Are you still an actor?’ I said no, not at all. But once she explained to me about the politics and historical side of what 120 BPM was, I said okay, I’ll give it a try…”

For Valois, ‘giving it a try’ means excelling in the communication of an extreme and tortuous emotional journey; perhaps his detailed understanding of the body, required for him to work as a practitioner of sophrology, underpins the utterly unique physicality he communicates as an actor. “European people usually separate head and body, but with Asian people their head and the body go together. So learning sophrology, which is a combination of head and body, helped me to redefine my vision of the human identity,” he says. “In France, we are very intellectual and it’s all about the brain. Robin Campillo is an exception because he considers the body and the head together. It’s very important for him, the way you move, the way you act, the way you position yourself on the screen…”

There is an intense physicality about Valois’s performance in 120 Beats per Minute that has been well documented in the press. The sensuality that pours through the screen doubtlessly owes a debt to his devoted practice as a therapist. “It has had a really big impact,” he explains. “When I receive clients at my studio as a therapist, I’m in a particular mode that requires being in empathy with people. I think when you’re an actor you need to be in empathy with your character and partners, so there is a similarity,” he continues. “It also helped me a lot after the filming to refocus, to get back to my life and not stay too much in the fiction of the movie.”

So are we to expect another prolonged retreat from the screen for the therapist-cum-actor, or can we hope to see him on film again soon? “I have an agent and we’re reading scripts together, so hopefully we’ll find an interesting one,” he says, thoughtfully. “I would like to do a biopic, something inspired by a real person – learning about someone and trying to not do an imitation, but instead creating another life for the character,” he says, before a pause. “It was such an intense and magnificent experience to make this film, and I was not really hoping for a return to acting. It would be interesting to do again, but I know this was a unique adventure.” We can only look forward to his next move, knowing that whatever it is, it will be deeply considered and profoundly authentic.

Words John-Paul Pryor
Styling Dan May
Photography Arnaud Pyvka
Clothes Saint Laurent AW17

This is an extract from issue 21 of Port, out now. To buy or subscribe, click here.

The Vision of Dries Van Noten

August 2, 2017August 29, 2017

An intimate documentary directed by Reiner Holzemer follows a year in the life of the Belgian designer as he reveals the creative process behind four collections

Dries Van Noten selecting fabrics in his studio in Antwerp

Dries Van Noten is one of the most unassuming figures in fashion. In an industry which otherwise moves at an impossible pace, he is a thinking, feeling designer, and for more than 25 years, he has remained independent in the face of fashion’s runaway globalisation.

Despite his relatively low profile, Van Noten is a veteran designer and celebrated his 100th show in March this year. A master of print, pattern and texture, he emerged from Antwerp’s Royal Academy of Fine Arts in the early ‘80s as part of a group of designers including Walter van Beirendonck and Ann Demeulemeester, often referred to collectively as the Antwerp Six. Since launching his namesake label in 1986, he has become widely respected as a designer who has forged his own path.

In a new documentary directed by Reiner Holzemer – whose past films include portraits of artists and photographers such as David Lynch and Juergen Teller – the Belgian designer gives rare access to his home and work life. Over the course of a year, Dries documents the makings of four collections, from his studio in Antwerp to backstage at his fashion shows in Paris. In doing so, it offers a glimpse into the world of “one of fashion’s most cerebral designers”, as The New York Times has described him.

Dries Van Noten with Jürgen Sailer, head of men’s design in his studio in Antwerp

Holzemer, himself a relative newcomer to the inner workings of the fashion industry, met Van Noten while filming his 2011 documentary on Juergen Teller. Immediately taken with the designer’s intuitive approach, it took the German filmmaker three years to convince a camera-shy Van Noten to be the subject of his next film. While the designer had outright turned down the proposals of other directors, Holzemer was spurred on by the fact that he never said no. Twice a year, they would meet at Van Noten’s shows and each time, Holzemer would ask again.

“I think what encouraged him, or interested him in my work, was that I was not coming from the fashion world,” Holzemer explains. “I wasn’t a fashion filmmaker and he saw some of my films as portraits of artists, and I think he liked that approach.” After this prolonged game of cat and mouse, Van Noten agreed to open up his work and home to Holzemer and a small crew.

Holzemer’s genuine affection for Van Noten comes across in conversation and his respect for designer is more than apparent in his portrayal. Fashion documentaries often capitalise on moments of drama and the frenzy of the eleventh hour, but Holzemer cites examples such as The September Issue and Dior and I as precisely the type of fashion film he wasn’t looking to make. With Dries, he insists he wasn’t interested in playing up to the same stereotypes; the appeal was the person, not the industry.

An important aspect of the film is its depiction of Van Noten’s life in Antwerp, where he continues to live with his long-term partner, Patrick Vangeluwe, and his dog, Harry. The choice not to live in Paris, where his collections are shown, is a considered one. “There’s less distraction and he can really concentrate on his work,” says Holzemer. “It’s important for him to live his own rhythm, to live in his own world. And that’s why he’s always creating something new and unexpected.”

Dries Van Noten in his garden in Lier, picking flowers for the house

In Dries, Van Noten touches on what he calls the “rat race” of fashion. Speaking of the immense pressure placed on designers today, many of whom are tasked with producing a growing number of mid-season collections, Holzemer says, “In a way he’s an exception and in the same way he’s typical, I think.” Yet, while contemporaries might produce in excess of eight collections a year, Van Noten has refused to compromise the quality of his ideas.

“When he designs something, when it’s too beautiful, he adds something distracting or something ugly to make it more interesting, and that’s an ongoing process all the time,” Holzemer explains of his process. “I found that Dries doesn’t draw. He works like a sculptor, working with the fabrics on a live model, more a less. That was very hard for him to show – how he works – because he was always a little bit afraid of showing something that was not perfect, and might even look a little banal in the eye of the audience.”

As seen through the eyes of Holzemer, the designer’s high-profile admirers, and Van Noten himself, what comes together is a portrait of a man who strives to bring the same artfulness to all areas of his life. “Do you think people like Dries are disappearing in the world today?” Holzemer asks Iris Apfel as the documentary draws to a close. “Not disappearing, darling – they’ve disappeared,” she says. “He’s a treasure and has to be treated as such.”

Dries Van Noten working on a collar for the Men’s Winter 2016 collection

Dries, directed by Reiner Holzemer, is out now on DVD

Defining Moments: Robert De Niro & McCaul Lombardi

February 14, 2017February 14, 2017

A new film campaign by Ermenegildo Zegna sees actors McCaul Lombardi and Robert De Niro come together to consider the moments that made their careers

McCaul Lombardi and Robert De Niro in Ermenegildo Zegna's 'Defining Moments' SS17 campaign — McCaul Lombardi and Robert De Niro in Ermenegildo Zegna’s ‘Defining Moments’ SS17 campaign

Ermenegildo Zegna’s SS17 video campaign opens with two actors riding a convertible in downtown Los Angeles. One is an Academy Award-winning veteran, with a career spanning over almost half a century and a filmography including Goodfellas, Raging Bull Taxi Driver. The other is a relative newcomer, earning his big break in 2016 with Andrea Arnold’s free-spirited drama American Honey.

Created by director Francesco Carrozzini, the three-minute long Defining Moments sees Robert De Niro and McCaul Lombardi reminisce about some of the key turning points in their lives and careers in cinema; McCaul Lombardi remembers the period he spent living in his car, while De Niro shares memories of working with Marlon Brando.

“I always tell people don’t be afraid to take a chance, for a part or something else,” says Robert De Niro, imparting some simple advice for making your way in Hollywood. “Even if it looks like you won’t get it…If you don’t go, you’ll never know.”

defining-moments.zegna.com

Additional text Sanjeeva Suresh

Spacey & Gyllenhaal: the first shot

August 22, 2016September 8, 2016

PORT travels to Hollywood to meet Kevin Spacey and Maggie Gyllenhaal, who discuss their roles as mentors in Jameson’s First Shot competition for budding directors

From left: Kat Wood, Kevin Spacey, Jason Perini, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Cameron Thrower and Dana Brunetti – Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Jameson / Pernod Ricard

When I arrive at Paramount Studios, Maggie Gyllenhaal is sitting in her trailer as crowds gathers outside the iconic Bronson Gate, waiting for the premiere to start. It’s a familiar environment for the 38-year-old Hollywood actress, whose filmography includes a swathe of blockbusters – Dark Knight and Crazy Heart – and modern cult classics, such as Donnie Darko and Lenny Abrahamson’s Frank. But for the three young directors sitting opposite her, this is unfamiliar territory.

As joint winners of Jameson First Shot 2016 Cameron Thrower (USA), Kat Wood (UK) and Australian Jason Perini (Australia) are at the beginning of an exciting road. Now in its fifth year, the competition is a collaborative project between the whiskey brand and Spacey’s Trigger Street Productions, and provides a platform for budding writer-directors to bring their scripts (strictly limited to 5–7 pages long) to the silver screen.

“I’m a product of someone believing in me early on, giving me opportunities, putting me under their wing, nurturing me – so to now be in a place in my life where I can do this sort of thing is so important to me,” Spacey tells me, on the eve of the premiere. “I’m so proud of what they’ve done and the films they’ve made.”

Besides benefitting from the mentorship of Spacey, now 57, and the use of a Hollywood-standard production team, each winner was able to cast Gyllenhaal as the lead in their films. Starting in 2012 with Spacey filling the main role, the First Shot series has seen Willem Defoe (2013), Uma Thurman (2014) and Adrien Brody (2015) all take centre stage. All actors essentially ‘went in blind’, as the winning scripts wouldn’t be picked until after they’d signed up. But this didn’t deter Gyllenhaal, who instead saw an opportunity to work with emerging talent.

“When they asked me [to do First Shot], they sent across a few of the previous films that had been made and I thought they were really good,” Gyllenhaal explains. “I just thought, ‘what a cool way to do something generous’.”

“I’m incredibly grateful to Maggie. Normally, an actor knows a script and a director [beforehand], and they make a judgement about whether they’re going to do something based on that,” Spacey says. “But we’ve asked them to not only to take that leap of faith with one movie, but to take a leap of faith with three.

“The fact that the actors have done this every year is really valuable,” he adds, “because it sends a message that it’s important for the film industry to be really cognisant.”

The three winning shorts — Home by Wood, Beauty Mark by Thrower and The New Empress by Perini — all show a level of filmmaking experience and storytelling prowess well beyond the years of their respective directors. Given that nearly 20,000 scripts were submitted to the competition, I was curious to find what it was about these three that caught the judges’ eyes.

Home by Kat Wood sees Gyllenhaal take on a somber role as Ruth – a homeless woman who has been living in a tent on a beach (for reasons that are never explained to the viewer) until it is destroyed as part of a prank by passers by. A good Samaritan soon comes to her aid, but has trouble convincing Gyllenhaal’s character to accept a generous offer.

“Home was very different to the other two projects – I was immediately drawn to the script,” Gyllenhaal says. “It was the simplest in terms of shooting; when there’s a simplicity to the story, and space in it to express many things, I can give it a piece of myself.”

“I’ve never directed anything before, so to go from being a screenwriter for a few years to directing my first film with an Academy Award-nominated actress and working with such talented people was absolutely amazing,” Wood says, before revealing that she’s just been giving funding by Creative England to fund her first feature-length.

“It was great to be able to talk to Maggie about her ideas for the character’s backstory,” Wood says. “I found it really rewarding just to be able to have that collaboration.”

Eccentric in its plot and playful in its execution, The New Empress by Perini is the light relief among the three productions, and reveals a promosing comedic writing talent in the young Australian actor-turned-director. It opens with Gyllenhaal’s character, Olive, being dumped in a kitsch Asian restaurant, and the viewer can’t help but feel sorry for her. The oddly matched pair soon realise they’ve lost their wallets and can’t pay the bill, but after some quick thinking on Olive’s part they manage to get away with it. The night then spirals into a bizarre freeloading tour across town, before she elopes with an even more unlikely partner.

“I picked [Perini’s] script out of the 20 shortlisted because it was so unconventional,” says Gyllenhaal, “I hadn’t read anything like it before.”

“I was intimidated before meeting Maggie, and anxious about it, because how could you not be?,” Perini says. “But very quickly she was so open and warm, and really friendly towards me, so I felt confident that I could collaborate with her on this.”

“The thing I learned most by watching her was what a freakishly good actor she is. She brought new and interesting things to each take, while being really true to what I had written,” he adds.

“This experience has been so positive, and people have been so kind and generous, and I’ve worked with such talented people, it’s made me think I’d love to be able to do this for the rest of my life.”

Creator of Beauty Mark, Cameron Thrower, is undoubtedly the most experienced out of the trio, having spent several years making indie films. But winning the Jameson First Shot competition afforded him the opportunity to work with a professional crew and to finally realise the film he “wanted to make.”

The short sees Gyllenhaal play Valerie Williams, a door-to-door cosmetics saleswoman, who changes one customer’s life forever by helping them reveal a side of them they’ve been concealing. Perhaps the most polished of the three shorts, Thrower’s script is expertly brought to life by Gyllenhaal and her co-star, Connor O’Farrell.

“Maggie was so professional, I learned so much from her,” Thrower tells me. “I feel like she treats big blockbusters that same way she treated each of our three films. She just wanted them to be the best that they can be.”

“In my experience, the most experienced and the most talented directors I’ve worked with are also, without exception, the most collaborative,” says Gyllenhaal. “The people who are least collaborative are the ones who are scared.”

“One of the things that was so nice about working with all of these directors was that it was a collaborative experience,” she adds, “and that is a mark of confidence, I think, in all of them.”

Posters for the winning films of Jameson's First Shot Short Film Competition sit alongside the green carpet at Paramount Pictures Studios – Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Jameson / Pernod Ricard — Posters for the winning films of Jameson’s First Shot Short Film Competition sit alongside the green carpet at Paramount Pictures Studios – Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Jameson / Pernod Ricard

When asking the winners if they had any words of advice for those hopefuls considering entering Jameson First Shot next year, there was a common thread among their responses: be willing to take risks and don’t let rejection deter you.

“All they can say is no, and then you enter next year,” says Wood. “I was shortlisted in 2015, but I thought I’d try again. You’ve just got to keep going, it doesn’t matter if you get rejected.”

Despite their own stardom and Hollywood success, it’s encouraging to see that the importance of grassroots competitions like this is not lost on Gyllenhaal or Spacey, who seem happy to shoulder the responsibility of mentoring the new wave of directors and screenwriters.

“It’s not that [the three directors] just won the money to make their movies,” says Gyllenhaal, “it’s that they won the interaction with people who have been doing this for a long time and have that experience.”

“We have to support emerging talent, trailblazing filmmakers, the next generation, because not enough of it is done,” Spacey tells me, “so I’m very happy that we’re able to do this.”

“We’ve had filmmakers that did our films and then before you know it, they were getting their first feature produced and supported in their own country,” he concludes. “We hope it’s a leg up. And the beginning of what will be a very fruitful career for them.”

jamesonfirstshot.com

The Judoka: George Kerr

June 27, 2016August 12, 2016

In this exclusive short film, one of the world’s top Judo champions, George Kerr CBE, recounts travelling from Edinburgh to Tokyo in 1957 to attend the ultimate training academy

In this short film, we meet one of the world’s top-ranked Judoka’s, George Kerr CBE, who invites us into his home and dojo in Edinburgh, Scotland. Created by Richie Georgie – a film making collaboration between Rich Round-Turner and George Daniell – the mini-documentary forms part of a wider series called In Their Time – a collection of vignettes that capture a day spent in the company of retired athletes and former national champions, who each reflect on their experiences on the competitive world stage.

“George is regarded as one of Judo’s greatest competitors,” Daniell tells me. “In 1957 he ventured from Edinburgh to Tokyo, taking over a month to travel by train and ship. It’s a story of adventure.”

george kerr feature — George Kerr in his Edinburgh dojo – film still taken from ‘In Their Time’

The film’s charm stems from Kerr himself as he recounts his journey from working-class life to spending four years in a top Japanese Judo academy, before becoming one of the most important Judoka’s in the world.

“The excitement for us was the discovery of little-told stories, some which have been forgotten and some which were never told,” explains Daniell. “So far we have documented the life of a north London-born boxer; a champion cyclist whose professional career began at the Herne Hill velodrome in south London; an Olympic gold-medal winning bobsledder who now farms in Devon; and a lady from Northern Ireland regarded as the all-time greatest lawn bowls player.”

George Kerr and his training partners Osawa and Daigo at the KODOKAN Institute Tokyo, Japan, 1958

“The sports stars we have met so far were champions before mass media. They have stories of greatness which were never broadcast widely,” Daniell says. And these stories of greatness are all the more fascinating due to the simple and generous way they are told by the champions themselves.

“Kerr cares about the past, present and future of Judo. We wanted to hear him talk about this in person,” Daniell concludes. “We want to unearth the stories and give these sportsmen and women a chance to recount their adventures, looking back on what it means to them now.”

All five films from the ‘In Their Time’ series will be shown at an exhibition at Dream Bags Jaguar Shoes, beginning 7 July 2016

When I Run

April 3, 2016April 19, 2016

To celebrate the launch of their new LunarEpic Flyknit trainer, PORT teams up with Nike to present a new short film inspired by the motivation and dedication of the lead coach of the Nike+ Run Club in London and founder of TrackMafia, Cory Wharton-Malcolm

Running is the simplest and yet, perhaps, the most difficult form of exercise. When it’s just you on the road, alone, how far, how long and how hard you run depends entirely on yourself and your ability to push, to keep going, to keep mind over body, and keep running.

It’s this moment of motivation, of pushing oneself, that provided the inspiration for Nike’s innovative new running shoe, the LunarEpic Flyknit. Borrowing the ankle collar from the Mercurial football boot, already championed by the likes of Cristiano Ronadlo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and integrating their light and strong flyknit technology, at once flexible and supportive, the LunarEpic is designed to make running feel as natural and effortless as possible – all to help the wearer feel they can push themselves further, to keep running.

For Cory Wharton-Malcolm, who started running ten years ago and is now lead coach of the Nike+ Run Club in London, it was this self-motivation that led him to work his way up to running his first marathon. Now with over ten marathons and 25 half marathons to his name, he shares his techniques and what keeps him running in this short film, directed by David Ryle.

Below, Wharton-Malcolm spoke to PORT about why he started running, his work encouraging more people to run and whether he will ever stop running.

Why did you start running?

I went to see a friend run the London Marathon in 2006. I was inspired and wanted to run it the following year but, at the time, I didn’t run, was overweight and incredibly unfit. Slowly but surely, though, I ran further and further, lamppost by lamppost, road by road, and then finally block by block. Eventually I managed a 5k, then 10k, then a half and finally my first marathon, a year later.

What motivates you when you run?

The people around me, my city, being a better version of myself and, weirdly, that feeling I get when I’m running on the edge yet I’m in control of my body and know exactly what it’s doing.

I keep running because if I stopped I’d miss that feeling I get when I move. I’d miss my lifestyle, my friends, my travels and, most importantly, I’d miss the sound of my breathing being completely in tune with everything else.

Can you talk a little about TrackMafia and your involvement with it?

I founded TrackMafia with two friends. Our aim is to revolutionise the way that track is viewed by ordinary people. Based at Paddington Recreation Ground, we meet every Thursday to offer knowledgable advice on running technique, strength, conditioning, nutrition, apparel, races, footwear and facilities.

With our experienced coaches we aim to change the mindset of those that believe that track is a place where only elite athletes run when, in fact, the track is perfect place for runners of all abilities to build both their confidence and consistency.

Can you ever see a time when you would stop running?

Realistically, no. I see people still running marathons in their 80s and 90s. Why would I be any different?

Cory Wharton-Malcolm is a lead coach with the Nike+ Run Club, editor of the running magazine The Black Print and runs bespoke fitness sessions

Director David Ryle
Art Direction and Production StudioMM
Director of Photography Jorge Luis Dieguez
DIT James Goldsmith
Sound Recordist Lewis McCarthy
Stylist Laurie Lederman
Colourist Jack McGinity
Editor Ben Boullier
Original Music Jean-Gabriel Becker

The New Persol Generation

March 14, 2016March 15, 2016

As eyewear brand Persol launches its new collection, PORT presents the UK premiere of a short film featuring emerging actor Scott Eastwood

Novelty is key in fashion and stagnation is its biggest enemy. New people, products and collections are constantly introduced and it’s that energy and attitude that rule the shelves. If you can link this innovation to a classic product or iconic person, while presenting a newness that people recognise, then you might just be on to a winner.

So it goes for sunglasses as for actors, and that’s why Scott Eastwood – son of Clint – is the new face of Italian sunglass experts Persol.

Scott Eastwood, behind the scenes of the Persol film

Synonymous with Italian style, the famous ‘sprezzatura’ – meaning a studied nonchalance – the campaign serves to emphasise Persol’s longstanding relationship with cinema. Steve McQueen’s appearance in 1968’s The Thomas Crown Affairbeing a prime example of this, where the iconic American actor sported a pair of yellow framed, blue-lensed 714s.

Directed by Andrew Dominik, the short film highlights Persol’s interest in the next generation of rising stars, like Scott, who have become the brand’s new icons (Clint’s youngest son is set to star in the upcoming ‘Snowden’ biopic and the superhero action/thriller Suicide Squad).

Persol.com

Anomalisa: Charlie Kaufman and the Animator

February 26, 2016February 26, 2016

We talk to the animation supervisor behind Anomalisa, the Oscar-nominated stop motion drama from director Charlie Kaufman

On the set of the animated stop motion film, ANOMALISA, by Paramount Pictures Photo Credit: © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

Anomalisa, the stop motion drama from Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson, defies any expectation an audience might hold for an animated feature. The film does not elicit any chorus of ‘Aw!’; the landscape is a bleak palette of grey and beige, and the R-rating confirms that this is a film for adults only. It’s a world away from the sweet, but moralistic, Pixar canon.

The film follows a day in the life of Michael Stone, an unmotivated motivational speaker who lands in Cincinnati to deliver a speech on customer service. The majority of the action unfolds on an airplane, a taxi, a fancy hotel, and in a car. Within these transient settings, Stone experiences a series of disappointments as he fails to connect with everyone he meets: from an overeager taxi driver, to the ex-girlfriend he had left heartbroken.

David Thewlis voices Michael Stone and Jennifer Jason Leigh voices Lisa in the animated stop motion film, ANOMALISA, by Paramount Pictures Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. — David Thewlis voices Michael Stone (left) and Jennifer Jason Leigh voices Lisa (right) in the animated stop motion film, ANOMALISA, by Paramount Pictures Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

The lack of meaning in these interactions, and Michael’s increasing desperation, is emphasised by the fact that everyone he comes into contact with is voiced, by actor Tom Noonan, in the same robotic manner. Luckily, Lisa enters, a character whose singsong voice erupts in irresistible idiosyncrasy, and Michael’s hunt for connection reaches a pinnacle.

The real star here, however, is the animation: the slightly off-kilter masks; the incredible softness of expression; each wince and crinkle of Michael’s beer belly; and the way Lisa trips and falls in a hotel corridor. The film is a reflection of craft – from the cotton-woven clouds outside an airplane window, to the many faces of the puppets. But it’s not just the physical detail that required accuracy. For example, in one scene a nervous-drinking Michael downs a Martini, which was the result of days of work by the animation team.

Animator, Dan Mackenzie on the set of the animated stop motion film, ANOMALISA, by Paramount Pictures Photo Credit: © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

No CGI was used in the making of Anomolisa, instead, a form of stop motion animation – defined as the physical manipulation of an object that appears to move on its own – is used throughout. Specifically, the team used a notoriously time-consuming technique called replacement animation. Each of the characters’ faces was manipulated on a computer, 3d-printed, and physically swapped out by an animator for each frame. Twenty-four frames equals one second of film. The animators had a goal of two-and-a-half seconds per day. The final film is 90 minutes – or 5,400 seconds overall.

Ahead of the 88th Academy Awards, PORT speaks to Anomolisa supervising animator Dan Driscoll about his role in creating one of the most unusual films of the year.

On the set of the animated stop motion film, ANOMALISA, by Paramount Pictures Photo Credit: Chris "Toots" Tootell © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved. — On the set of the animated stopmotion film, ANOMALISA, by Paramount Pictures Photo Credit: Chris “Toots” Tootell © 2015 Paramount Pictures. All Rights Reserved.

How were you first pitched the idea of Anomalisa?

The pitch for Anomalisa was always: ‘We will make something beautiful. We will make something no one has ever seen before. It will be the most difficult thing we will ever attempt’. Charlie Kaufman would never directly say what he thought the film was about. I believe that for him, one of the most important things is that the audience reaches conclusions on their own.

What do you think is the different effect achieved by animation as opposed to live action?

I think Anomalisa is atmospheric in a way many live action movies are not. The textures of the puppets and sets, lighting, and the way the actors are represented (as puppets) requires a certain investment from the audience. There is always some suspension of disbelief when watching a movie, and possibly more so in an animated film. Combined with a very emotional piece of art, like a Charlie Kaufman script, I believe that the audience was sucked into Anomalisa as a stop motion film more than if it would have a live action movie.

What were the hardest actions to animate and how did you make them realistic?

One of the challenges when animating Anomalisa was finding a balance between animations that were too subtle, and stiff – which risked falling into the uncanny valley – and over-animating, resulting in the actions becoming too cartoony. It was one of my main responsibilities to maintain consistency between shots, but all the animators are extraordinary artists and it is their experience and talent you see on the screen.

What new technology has changed animation and stop motion?

In the last decade, stop motion animation has grown because of advancements in 3D printing and image capturing software, such as Dragon Frame. Being able to build and print multiple props and dozens of faces at one time is an amazing time and cost saver. Shooting digitally using DSLRs and Dragon Frame helps streamline the process too.

What other animators have influenced your work?

Like a lot of people, I grew up with the Rankin Bass Christmas specials, and loved the stop motion in the Star Wars movies. I’ve always been a fan of the Brothers Quay and Jan Svankmajer, I’ve enjoyed the textures and worlds they’ve created. Jiri Trinka is amazing. As a kid it seemed like King Kong was on television a lot, so Willis O’Brien, even though I was too young to know it at the time. Without question Ray Harryhousen’s films are very impressive. MTV also had a lot of stop motion station IDs in their early days which were always fun and odd. I am also continually amazed by the work my friends do. It’s an amazing opportunity to work with so many talented people, producing amazing work.

Anomalisa is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, and won the Grand Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival. It is being released in the UK by Curzon from the 11th March 2016

Sherpa: Life And Death On Everest

February 5, 2016January 6, 2020

Filmmaker Jennifer Peedom discusses her BAFTA-nominated documentary Sherpa, which follows the aftermath of one of the greatest disasters in Everest’s history

In April 2014, Mount Everest bore witness to the second worst human tragedy in its history: 16 guides from Nepal’s Sherpa community lost their lives in an avalanche while scaling the world’s highest mountain. Sadder still, the Sherpa guides were climbing Everest’s notoriously treacherous Khumbu Icefall to prepare a route for scores of foreign climbers, who had paid huge amounts to fulfil their lifelong ambitions of reaching the summit. The number of deaths since 1922 is astonishing.

Australian filmmaker Jennifer Peedom was on Everest at the time of the disaster, and captured the trauma that followed. It was an event which shook the mountaineering community the world over, and caused Nepal’s Sherpa guides to take the unprecedented move of striking for the rest of the climbing season.

Peedom had initially set out to document the fraying relationships and tensions between Western climbers and the Sherpa, which had threatened to boil over in 2013, when a European mountaineer launched a barrage of expletives at a Sherpa guide, sparking off a fight at Base Camp, 5364m above sea level. Instead, Peedom found herself at the centre of a monumental disaster, caught between grieving Sherpas, indifferent Nepalese government officials and self-interested Western climbers.

The result is Peedom’s new BAFTA-nominated documentary, Sherpa – a stark and beautifully shot account of life on Everest for Sherpas, as well as the travellers and tour operators who populate the relatively luxurious tents surrounding Base Camp. Here, Peedom talks to PORT about life after the disaster, filming at altitude and what drives the Sherpa people to continue risking their lives on Everest for the benefit of others.

You initially set out to explore the lesser-known side of the Sherpa-Western climber relationship. Why was this and what had you hoped to discover?

In my 20s and early 30s, I had spent a lot of time working as a climbing camera operator and ‘high altitude’ director. I’d worked three Himalayan expeditions and all with the same Sherpa team at the heart of the film. The change I witnessed over that time, and the intervening years was really interesting. For the Sherpas, expeditions brought prosperity, and with it, education. During that time, the internet also came to the Khumbu Valley. With access to information, they started to notice that they were being left on the cutting-room floor of the films, and their heroic pursuits – saving foreign climbers from certain death – being conveniently erased from foreigners’ accounts of their expedition. Initially, they would laugh this off, but I started to notice that, particularly for the younger Sherpas, many of whom had received training overseas, it started to bother them.

When a fight broke out between foreigners and Sherpas in 2013, I felt that it was an indication that this tension had reached a tipping point. I felt they had reached a stage where they realised they wanted more acknowledgement and respect for the dangerous job they were doing, getting foreigners to the top of Everest and back down safely.

I thought the best way to observe this was to follow an Everest expedition from the Sherpa point of view. Given my relationship with the Himalayan Experience (HIMEX) Sherpa team, it was an obvious choice to follow that particular expedition.

You happened to be there while a great tragedy hit the Sherpa community. How did that change the narrative of the film and your relationship with the Sherpa community?

When the avalanche struck, it wasn’t immediately apparent how this would change the narrative of the film, but I immediately knew that this was an event that would put the cat among the pigeons. This was something that we had to continue to shoot.

I knew that whatever happened, whether the season would be cancelled or not, was now the main story. It was an event that was going to go right to the heart of the issue that the film explored, which, in the end, could all be boiled down to respect.

I was already embedded closely with the HIMEX Sherpa team and the Sherpa community at Khumjung Village, and had made some relationships with other Sherpa leaders on the mountain, but the events forced me to expand that reach. The Sherpas I knew helped us gain access to the broader Sherpa community at Base Camp. I’d spent my days traipsing up and down the glacier at Base Camp, talking to and interviewing as many Sherpas as possible. But after a while the word spread and some started to come to our camp to be interviewed and share their feelings. By the end of the season, I’d have Sherpas pushing people out of the way so I could get a better camera position to film the various meetings that were going on at Base Camp. It felt like they knew what I was doing and wanted their story to get out there.

How did this event affect the Sherpa community’s morale and attitude towards tourism?

It was a tough blow for the Sherpa community. They are Buddhist people and very superstitious about events like this. I can’t speak for them, but what I gauged is that they felt as if the mountain was angry. And when foreign operators and climbers then pushed for expeditions to continue, they felt disrespected. They also felt very angry towards the Nepalese government for their lack of support, and for the paltry compensation that was being offered to the victims families (the equivalent of US $400), where most of these guys could have earnt up to US $5,000 for the season.

What do you think drives Sherpas to continue working after such a disaster?

Sadly, it’s money. There really aren’t any other jobs available that come close to earning the same amount of money. The alternative is to move to the cities (as many already do). Like any of us, they just want to feed their families and educate their kids.

What were the biggest physical and technical challenges you faced filming Sherpa?

Altitude always presents the biggest physical challenges, as it makes any physical activity more arduous. Certain people adapt better to the altitude than others, so some of the crew were more able to work than others. Once you get sick at altitude, it can take a long time to get better, so we had a couple of crew members who were struck by illness. It is also a real motivation-sapper, so you need to really steel yourself to get moving each day.

The technical challenges are largely related to power for downloading cards and charging batteries. The cold is also a drain on batteries and computer equipment. Our laptops all had to be packed away each night by the data wrangler, given hot water bottles and put in sleeping bags! We didn’t have enough power (or time) for me to watch rushes during the shoot, so I really had no idea what we were getting until we got back to the edit suite.

How did you physically prepare for the film?

Having been at altitude a number of times before, I know how my body responds. Best training for me is just running, which I do with my dog, and running up and down steep stairs.

What, if any, Western attitudes or preconceptions about Sherpas are you hoping to challenge with this documentary?

I would hope that people would leave the film, understanding that Sherpas are an ethnic group, not just people who carry bags up a hill. I guess I’d also like to think that if people were considering climbing Everest, they’d have a deeper understanding of what they are asking other people to do, and risk, on their behalf.

What was your approach to cinematography?

It was really important to me that this film look different to other Everest films (and I’d worked on a couple). I wanted the camera to really observe the mountains and the natural environment in a different way. That helped imbue it with the spiritualism that the Sherpas feel for their environment. For them, their surrounding landscape is a very important part of their spiritual beliefs.

I also know how hard it is to achieve a beautiful look in such a difficult environment, so I handpicked a really experienced team of guys, including the amazing climber, and cinematographer Renan Ozturk. For Renan, the mountains are his natural habitat and he has spent a lot of time in Nepal over many years. This meant that he was able to operate almost as normal in those conditions. He really shared the vision of the film too, so it meant we could be in different places (as became necessary with this film) and he’d be able to self-direct.

Given that the geography of the area is eye-catching, how did you ensure that the story focused on the Sherpa people without focussing too much on ‘the mountain’?

Finding that balance really came down to the edit. We were spoilt for choice with the visuals, but we also had such amazing access to our Sherpa characters, particularly Phurba Tashi Sherpa and his family. They really welcomed us into their village and their homes and trusted us.

What do you think the future has in store for the relationship between Sherpas and Western climbers?

Only time will tell I guess, but cancelling the season after the avalanche was a big deal. It really showed that the mountain can’t be climbed without Sherpa support.

I think it made the Sherpas realise that they have more power than they previously knew. But the Sherpas need foreign climbers to come, so they can earn an income, so I hope it leads to a more co-operative, mutually respectful relationship in the end.

SHERPA is nominated for Best Documentary BAFTA and will broadcast globally on Discovery Channel in 2016 sherpafilm.com