Busan’s New Currents jury talks cinema

Farhadi said: “I think the best way is not to think about the films with any judgment before. I don’t read anything about these films before going to the theatre. If I forget the outside of the theatre and I’m inside the film, I think this film is good. And when the film is finished and I’m not done thinking about it, and it gives me lot of questions about the subject and directs me to thinking about the film, then this is a good film.”

Academic Dina Iordanova said she was looking forward to seeing the latest in Asian cinema. “More and more films are not influenced by the traditional Hollywood or French paradigm,” she said, describing films cross-influenced between Asian countries as a sort of dialogue between countries, which she was looking forward to seeing in New Currents as well.

Philosopher Jacques Ranciere said: “It’s my first time as a jury member at a festival. So far I’ve been a professor for years and hate giving grades so this will be very difficult. I think my criteria will be ‘Am I surprised by the film?’

“I taught philosophy all my life but I never go to a movie as a philosopher. I first love films and of course after I also write about films and about the pace of cinema in modern art and how it can change the paradigm of art. But at the same time, when I’m in front of a film I think of myself as an amateur – ‘Do I like this film, does this film change my perception about what is portrayed in this film?’”

Indian actress/filmmaker Suhasini Maniratnam said the jury had become friends but that after seeing the films with younger people’s views, she expected things to get exciting.

“Even if you [make films] professionally, you continue to be an admirer of films. As a jury member, I will watch as an audience member and consider ‘how does it touch me?’ and I will look at the human connection between the film and me,” she said.

Snowpiercer director Bong Joon Ho declared himself honoured and happy to be about to watch films from new Asian talents saying: “I’ve only made five films so far and want to be counted in with young directors, and I think I can breathe with the New Currents directors from the closest distance.” He added was looking forward to films from young filmmakers that would lead to discussions and even fights among the jury members, too.

As to why he was conspicuously absent from last night’s opening ceremony, he said: “I wanted to come to the opening ceremony and I was sorry I couldn’t make it. I was in the hospital with high fever accompanied by pain and hives. I’m not well now but it’s not the Ebola virus so you don’t have to worry. I’m better and have met with my fellow jury members this morning and am ready to watch the 12 films starting today.”

Asked to give advice to filmmakers, Farhadi said it was important to save up one’s experiences from life as if in a bank.

“When you write and think about making a film, you go inside and take from that bank. My best advice is to keep the emotional experiences from when you were a child [onwards] and keep them and you can use it for your film,” he said.

On the value and pitfalls of film festivals, he said: “I think each festival has two sides. One side, you have the opportunity to watch films from all over the world and it’s very good. In festivals, you have this opportunity to learn about other cultures and other societies. But the other side is a little dangerous. When you know the country or culture just by media or cinema, you should learn more about the culture. You can’t say ‘I know this culture’ and you should be careful about this in these kind of big festivals.”

The jury will be awarding two feature films selected from the New Currents competition of first and second works from Asian directors. Each of the two films will receive $30,000.