The Zlin Dog Student Film Jury “I have my personal caffeine shot with me”

In this jury are Damian Vondrašek (Czech Republic, director of short films and TV series), Jorn Leeuwerink (the Netherlands, animation director; PIG was his most successful festival film) and Nora Lakos (Hungary, director & Cinemira Children's & Youth Film Festival).

   

Let’s see how good you got to know each other after spending a week together. Which one of you has been drinking the most?

Jorn Leeuwerink: Nora.

   

Which one of you has been talking the most?

Leeuwerink: Also Nora.

Nora Lakos: That’s obvious; drinking and talking are complimentary.

   

Who fell asleep during screenings?

Damian Vondrašek: That's me.

Leeuwerink: I always have cold brew coffee with me, my personal caffeine shot.

   

If you as a festival organiser could steal something from this festival and take it home with you, then what would you steal?

Lakos: Planting the trees.

Leeuwerink: The parties. And the budget for the parties!

  

Any impressions you want to share about the city of Zlín?

Vondrašek: I enjoyed how the entire city lives with / for the festival. You can feel its presence everywhere. Families from the entire region gather in the park, having a good time before going to watch a film together. That is how culture can work on various levels.

Leeuwerink: The industrial buildings create a unique urban landscape and a special atmosphere. I've never seen something like this before.

Lakos: Now that I’m on the jury, they take us around to see all these spots, both downtown and in the green belt surrounding the city centre.

  

Can you say something about shoes?

Lakos: Since it was raining, I had to wear comfortable shoes. I'm a shoe maniac; I have several crazy pairs, but here I was wearing sneakers all week long.

Leeuwerink: I once was in a band called Tasty Shoes.

Vondrašek: I am wearing my black sneakers, as always. Sometimes I buy the same pair twice. Almost every day I wear the same clothes, so I buy several pieces of them.

   

What was your favourite animal in this week's film selection?

Leeuwerink: There weren’t many films about animals. There was one with a mouse and one with a cat, and that’s about it.

Lakos: A dog died in an animated documentary called HEART HUG (Israel / Ukraine).

Vondrašek: That film, about an old lady who’s dog died of a heart attack during the bombing of Odessa, shows how war affects people’s lives on a personal level. It was only a short story, but it touched me deeply.

   

Which character from the film selection would you like to get to know better and maybe even ask out on a date?

Vondrašek: BUDAPEST SILO was a portrait of a Hungarian man, working in a huge industrial building. He was that type of ‘invisible being’ that usually goes unnoticed, but this documentary made me want to go for a coffee with him and hear more about his life.

   

Pick one director that should once make or have made a children's film.

Lakos: Xavier Dolan.

Leeuwerink: David Lynch made THE STRAIGHT STORY, a kind of film which could be watched by children, and now I want to see more of that.

Vondrašek: I would love to see a children’s film made by Roy Andersson.

   

Can you introduce each other in one sentence?

Vondrašek: Jorn is quiet most of the time, listening and reflecting on what other people say. A conversation with him can never be superficial. He makes you dig deeper into a topic, which I appreciate.

Lakos: From Jorn I learned a lot about meditation. And he is a sensitive artist.

Leeuwerink: Damian has great communication skills and a sharp opinion. And Nora is always cheerful, happy and dancing.

Vondrašek: She's the fun element in our jury.

   

Watching those student films, what did they tell you about the film students of today?

Vondrašek: The technical level was impressive, but sometimes you could sense a gap in the way the message was conveyed. I guess that’s a part of the process of growth, becoming a matured filmmaker.

Leeuwerink: It never felt like we were watching student films.

Lakos: I always search for a fresh take on filmmaking, and I found a lot of that. Other, more traditional films were well-crafted, which I also enjoy, but they need to find their own voice.

   

Would you perhaps have some advice for them?

Vondrašek: Who am I to tell them? I only finished my film studies two years ago. My only advice would be to tell personal stories. Tell us about the world that you know and the things that you find important.

Leeuwerink: Share your perspective, don’t feel limited by what others might think.

   

If you could pick one person from film history, who would be an interesting mentor for film students?

Leeuwerink: The Estonian filmmaker Priit Pärn seems to bring out interesting things in his students.

Vondrašek: Czech filmmaker Věra Chytilová, who used to teach at FAMU, had an interesting attitude towards life and she wasn’t afraid of the authorities. Her modus operandi was pretty confronting, but she knew how to get some truth out of you.

Lakos: I can’t answer that. For a mentor I find the character more important than the talent. The best mentor isn’t necessarily the best filmmaker, but he / she needs to be a nice person.

   

Was there a film in the festival that made you laugh out loud or cry out loud?

Lakos: The short film SCARS (Germany), about a weird Addams-kind-of-family, had many funny moments. Even when dealing with a serious topic, it was full of humour.

   

Could you imagine yourself having a parallel career that has nothing to do with cinema?

Leeuwerink: I could be a forest ranger.

Vondrašek: I am often considering this for real; cinema is such a stressful business. I can easily imagine myself working in a kitchen or somewhere in nature.

Lakos: I would like to build a place near the seaside, where cultural activities take place and at the same time we could work with healing, herbs, massages, etc. People would come there to relax and enjoy life.

   

Which topic would you like to see addressed more often for young audiences?

Lakos: Empathy.

Vondrašek: We need to talk about sex and relationships, about how to stay true to yourself under the pressure of the imagery on social media and in the porn industry. I feel a taboo in conversations about how to find your own preferences. Simply imitating what we see online isn’t the best way of doing things.

   

Any last words for the festival?

Lakos: It's such a complex event, the staff is working day and night and still everybody is happy. Misha was the best jury delegate. People like him visited the festival as a child and still feel connected, growing into their new role.