Mexican Director Eimbcke Shoots Big With ‘Duck Season’
by Ky N.
Nguyen
Not so far out of film school, Mexican writer/ director Fernando Eimbcke scored big with his debut feature, “Duck Season.” It did well at the box office and won an unprecedented 11 Ariels (Mexican Academy Awards). The Washington Diplomat met with the young filmmaker to talk about his film’s path to success.
Influenced by absurdist American director Jim Jarmusch, Eimbcke explained, “In the writing process, I had a very vague idea of how the film must look—everything would look distorted. Everything started with an absurd idea, four characters on a Sunday with nothing to do.
“I wanted to make a movie about adolescents out of respect for their constant need of searching, for their rejection of what is established, for their abandon, their energy,” the director added.<
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“I found that youth is one of the most terrific and pretty ages. [Although] it is the age when our face gets full of acne and expectation, our wishes and fantasies grow as does the hair on our body, but most importantly, we become aware when something is missing.”
Migrant Marriage in ‘Syrian Bride’
Sometimes, the vagaries of the international film distribution business can be as murky as its more shadowy counterparts in oil, diamonds and arms. As Filmfest DC 2006 arrives, distributor Koch Lorber is finally releasing “The Syrian Bride,” which was pushed back from its original fall 2005 release date.
A year ago, at Filmfest DC 2005, Israeli director/co-writer Eran Riklis (“On a Clear Day You Can See Damascus,” “Cup Final”) first presented his film to a D.C. audience. Shortly before that, on a beautiful afternoon in Dupont Circle, The Washington Diplomat met with the veteran filmmaker to discuss “The Syrian Bride.”
The film follows Mona (Clara Khoury), a Druze woman living in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, as she prepares for her wedding day in Syria, where she is set to marry TV star Tallel (Derar Sliman), a complete stranger. Once she crosses the border, however, she must surrender her passport and never see her family again.
“Every director hopes his film will contribute toward a bit more understanding, a bit more compassion, a bit more tolerance, or in the case of the Middle East—merely a bit more patience,” Riklis explained. “‘The Syrian Bride’ is an attempt to contribute modestly by creating a film out of love.
“Love for freedom, love for the spirit of freedom, love for the physical and emotional landscapes that surround us, all of us. A love for women who fight for their place in the world, a love for people who still dream and hope—here, across the border, everywhere.”
Englishman in NYC Tries to Find Himself
“We were very young, in our early 20s, having a good time, running wild,” recalled British director Rupert Murray. For 20 years, he had been friends with fellow Englishman Doug Bruce. One day, stockbroker Bruce suffered severe amnesia on the subway in New York.
As his friend sought to regain his sense of identity, Murray decided to tell his story—literally. Murray narrates, directs and edits the documentary “Unknown White Male,” about his friend’s journey through amnesia.
“All of my home movies, and the sort of handmade way I make films, all of these techniques I have been learning came to fruition in this film,” Murray said.
“There were about 10 people who wanted to make a film about Doug, and I was the last person that asked. I have never really asked Doug why he wanted to make the film or allowed me to make it,” he said. “I have a feeling that when something so catastrophic happens in your life, there is a basic human need to tell people about it.”
Murray characterized Bruce as a “co-filmmaker in a sense. He just took to it and was completely natural in front of the camera. He just operated as though the camera did not exist.”
Ky N. Nguyen is the film reviewer for The Washington Diplomat.
