Shoot! director, Uwe Flade, talks about his short film Hands and becoming a film maker.
Working with the PlayStation stimulus word Share, Uwe crafted Prison Food - a tale of entrapment, tension and the power of the human imagination - with help from Marc Rothemund as Executive Producer.
Why did you want to become a director?
I was studying film, but on the theory side, so I was used to watching a lot of old movies and classics. I liked the moving image very much, but I never dared to be a director for some reason, I just thought I was not going to make it. I applied to film schools but they would not take me. So, finally I have a friend from school that has a band and I had an opportunity to shoot a video for him, and I was also very into music videos. So I tried to make my way into directing this way and it worked, luckily, and that is how I got into it.
What are your major influences?
In terms of feature films I like Lars von Trier, some David Lynch movies, some Martin Scorsese stuff. I like the dark side a lot, the dark images, the movies which use imagery to tell a story. In terms of music videos I like Jonathan Glazer, Michel Gondry of course, Spike Jonze, the big names. When I was studying, I started in '93, so the medium was pretty young still at this point and when I ended studies at '98 the peak was almost reached, so in the three years from '97 to 2000 I think I got really into music videos because they made big stories and turned them into music videos. I mean the Jonathan Glazer, Rabbit in Your Headlights by Unkle is my most favourite video. The videos tried to pick up on the narrative and turn it into a piece for music. It is what I like to do the most and enjoy the most watching also.
What is your short film Prison Food about?
Prison Food is about two prisoners that have spent a lot of years together. What they are trying to do is set up a vision every Sunday night, a common vision that they share, of a high class dinner in a five star restaurant. They're stealing stuff from the Prison kitchen and they want to turn this stuff they've stolen into something really nice and eat it together. They're kind of dreaming themselves into this common vision, which doesn't work out.
Do you have any advice for anyone wanting to get into film making?
What I did to get into the film industry was I did a lot of internships. I think it is just a good thing to meet people and to see how things are going. I have the feeling if you do enough of those internships you will find the right people; helping you and pushing you, discovering what you do best. Maybe it is not directing but it is something else. Just meet people and be on the set, then maybe set something up for yourself. Just stick to your ideas; it is not going to be easy.
What is the most valuable thing you've learnt as a director?
Never give up, because each step which has been taken is having a consequence. Maybe after a while you will get thrown back from what you want to reach, maybe the bars are raising every time. You take this step, and then you want to take two more steps, then three more steps... I think that is the hardest thing to just keep going. Not in a maniac artistic way, but to keep your antennas, and feel the influences and feel the chances, and maybe change your way.
Download Prison Food, as well as interviews and a behind the scenes video by signing into PlayStation Store on your PLAYSTATION 3 or PSP.
