-Which writer inspires you the most?

That is a very difficult question to answer. It is almost impossible to narrow my preferences down to one name because there are so many distinct literary areas and forms of writing – so many different reasons for choosing text as a form of expression, particularly for an experimental visual artist.

Having said this, there are authors whose work has left an indelible mark on my perspective of the human condition. Kurt Vonnegut is an excellent example. His ability to treat challenging situations facing an individual as a metaphor for social situations and problems that go well beyond the situations in question, always fascinated me. His fragmented, non-linear narratives seemed highly relevant to my understanding of the world and had an impact on both the still images and films I have made over the years. In works like Slaughterhouse Five, Cat’s Cradle or Breakfast of Champions his treatment of truth as something subjective and his position that the way in which we approach and understand a story depends on our personal baggage and perspective, always rang true to me. I would characterize his influence on me as both psychological and sociological in perspective.

I would be amiss if I did not also mention the impact that Hermann Hesse’s writings had on me, particularly during my younger days at university and the years following my graduation. The Glass Bead Game, Steppenwolf and Siddhartha were transformative works for me dealing with the lives of persons that for different reasons found themselves on the margin of their societies, forever reminding us of the ambiguity of daily life and twists and turns that define it. In an essay entitled “Why They Read Hesse”, Kurt Vonnegut wrote of Hesse that he had a profound understanding of the notion of homesickness (and therefore in my view by association, of homelessness) – both the positive and negative aspects. It is something profound. The wandering of his characters is a quest for hope.

Perhaps it is not a coincidence that I chose these two authors.

-What is the main challenge you encountered while writing your work?

Many of my experimental video works do not involve the use of text in the form of dialogue, instead employing short inspirational phrases in storyboard style as a guide to voice-overs, as well as to the nature of visual content. Often some form of contemporary musical exploration also serves as an inspiration for the visuals of a piece. When I turn to text as a tool, it is for a very specific purpose. Normally, my decision to use text is based on one of two possible (and sometimes inter-related) motivations:

• to create confusion and misunderstanding such as in my video “Can’t figure It Out” or
• to delve more deeply into more philosophical aspects of what is happening visually, such as in “Déjà Vu on the Ledge”, an award winner in this year’s Best Screenwriter of the Year event.

Clearly, the challenges involved in each of these options are different.

In works like “Déjà Vu on the Ledge”, the main challenge was to explore in depth the various philosophical and psychological aspects of a particular aspect of the subject matter from various different perspectives, while at the same time maintaining “an edge” – that is, creating curiosity and stimulating reflection on the topic in question in a provocative manner. Too much clarity can kill the excitement of exploration. It is often a fine line. Visually, the piece deals in a symbolic manner with the difficulty and precarity of navigating challenging everyday conflictual situations between two persons. The text, on the other hand, takes the position that it is the very fact of being in a precarious conflictual situation that constitutes the most essential life lesson and that this is far more important than exploring an eventual solution or resolution of the situation as the visuals suggest. We learn from our presence in the conflict not from any eventual resolution of it. The text plays the role of agent provocateur, teasing and leading us on. In films like this, striking a balance between the message of the image and the apparent conflicting message of the text is a delicate exercise.

 
-Every screenwriter needs feedback after completing their project. Is there someone you always turn to for their opinion as soon as you finish writing?

In fact, no there isn’t. Writing for the type of independent experimental filmmaking I create has more in common with painting or sculpture than it does with more traditional filmmaking. A shorthand script is sometimes a point of departure for a project that sets in motion the creation of images and at other times, is a reaction to finished images that were created based on other references far removed from the domain of the written word. I normally work alone and therefore I alone decide the methodology and processes employed in the creation of the final work. 

Of course, as always, there are some exceptions. For example, I am currently working on a project that involves my choosing 5 or 6 artists from different countries around the world charged with interviewing persons they select to respond to a series of questions I have formulated that deal with their personal frustrations with their daily lives. In such a context, collective reasoning and exchange play a role. Entitled “The Choir of Discontent”, it deals with the message noise created online by the simultaneity of millions of frustrations voiced every minute of every day around the world on social media platforms. The message is simple: nobody is listening … nobody really cares.

-Are you currently working on a new screenplay? If so, can you tell us more about it?

In addition to the ongoing project that I described above, I am also working on a screenplay for a sequel to my experimental short film “Can’t Figure It Out”. Tentatively entitled “All the Time … Anywhere”, the film is a portrait of a man trying unsuccessfully to formulate a call to action to deal with an undisclosed situation. The portrait shot of him speaking is interrupted by scenes of the sea with an infinite horizon. His awkward inability to clearly articulate his intentions is a metaphor for our inability to accurately articulate our thoughts and feelings in a clear, honest manner even to those with whom we are intimate.

At the end of the film our protagonist, dejected, looks into the camera as it slowly zooms in for a close-up and says:

“Perhaps it is all an illusion … a state of apparent awareness potentially riddled with errors.

I am … even if I simply pretend to act.

Perhaps that simply has to suffice …”

-If you had to describe your writing style using three adjectives, which ones would you choose?

Fragmented / Ambiguous / Provocative