INTERVIEW WITH Saara Lamberg
Can you explain to the audience your career?
I grew up in Finland, studied film, television and radiowork there. Then I moved to England to study theatre with choreographic practices and after I graduated, I moved to Australia, from where I have been working since 2010.
I was first working on films as as actor and then progressed to writing, producing and directing them. I made five short films and then my first feature INNUENDO in 2017. Since then I have also released WESTERMARCK EFFECT (2022) and THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES (2023).
I am in post production with a feature COMA and a 40 minute film CONVERSATIONS WITH SPITHEAD.
How many years have you been making movies?
I was an actor in my first short film when I was 14, and I was an assistant to a director in a feature film project when I was 16.
I have been making my own films for about ten years.
Why did you start making movies?
I love acting and I still do it in other peoples projects too, but I have always been hungry and creating my own content was a natural step.
For me, film combines all things that I love: story, abstract, emotion, music, being extremely close to someone, seeing things from afar, silence and conversation.
A lot of my motivation also comes from frustration of there not being enough interesting roles for the gender I was born into. We are so much more than "romantic interests" or "mothers", yet those are often the roles that are written for us.
So I started writing my own roles.
Tell us a little about your project. What will the audience be able to see in your film?
My latests feature film THE LIES WE TELL OURSELVES is a playful study in between fiction and documentary.
It follows a filmmaker as they are making their next film and go through entertaining and sometimes heartbreaking steps of their career, and life.
It's a film that has a narrative but is also abstract at the same time and a film that invites the audience to think about their own lives and their own choices.
Why did you do this project?
It's my love letter to film industry with all of its quirks and challenges and injustices.
I was travelling to festivals screening my first feature INNUENDO and I wanted to utilise my travel and make a new film whilst I was at those festivals.
Suppose it's also an environmental statement because I felt if I also make new work, not just show work, it gives my travels more important meaning and I can justify the purpose of it.
One of the problems some directors encounter is directing actors and dealing with
some actors, especially in the amateur world. How do you see this topic? What kind of
work do you do with them?
I was an actor before I was a director and I highly encourage all directors to try out all different positions on film set, because it just helps create a deeper understanding of each craft and a better language and communication in between different positions.
Actors are people, crew members are people, directing a filml is directing people, so more you can learn about how to be with people, the better director you are.
I like starting my set days with an introduction circle where everyone sees everyone else, hears their name, and their responsibilities on set. I also lead peoople through a concetration exercise together, this is something I have learned through teaching yoga, and I find it brings everyone together and focused to task at hand.
What are you happiest about this project?
I think it's artistically ambitious project and I am happy I got to meet everyone that helped me make it.
Make a wish to the movie gods. What do you ask?
I wish that I will receive a large ongoing funding source that already loves my work, that means I can keep making films as I already make them, with the same artistic integrity and no commercial compromises, but with better resources.
What movie do you wish you had directed?
“Boys Don’t Cry” (Kimberly Peirce, 1999)
What kind of cinema do you like? Genre, directors, actors?
I could like any good film in any genre. Most films that I love are arthouse, drama, scifi and dark comedy. But yeah, I am not married to any genre, as long as performances are good (I am not a fan of slapstick anything be it comedy, horror or action) and "story" is compelling, I will enjoy it.
Having said that, some of the best stories can be quite abstract, let's say something like Being John Malcovich as an example.
Imagine that all the movies are going to be lost. If you could save 3 movies, what
would they be?
Happiness by Todd Solondz because I could watch this film over and over again and enjoy it
Lost in Translation by Sophia Coppola for philosophy of loneliness and connection
The Piano by Jane Campion, no explanations needed, but note to self, I need to watch it again
If you have more projects underway, can you give us a bit of information?
My next two films almost completed are called COMA (80 minutes) that follows family and friends coming to terms with the coma patient Alex and CONVERSATIONS WITH SPITHEAD (40 minutes) that follows a mad but genius scientist as he adopts a cat and comes up with a plan to overtake the world from his isolated life.
LINKS
@saaralambergofficial
@directorsaaralamberg
@thelieswetellourselvesmovie
@innuedomovie
@westermarckeffect