Feo Aladag speaks about filmmaking

Filmmaker Feo Aladag speaks to The Express Tribune about her film 'When We Leave; and the art of filmmaking.

LAHORE: Filmmaker Feo Aladag is currently in Lahore to showcase her film at the German Film Festival, which starts on Thursday. She spoke to The Express Tribune about her film When We Leave and the art of filmmaking. When We Leave, which tells the story of a young Turkish woman in Germany, is Germany’s official submission for the Best Foreign Language Film award for the Academy Awards. It won the Founders Award for Best Narrative Feature at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in New York.

You started your career as an actor, studied psychology and journalism, did a PhD in psychology then what exactly motivated you to become a director?

Life. As an actor you can express things but then you have to work on the vision of a director. I wanted to work on the vision of life and its stories so I decided to be a director. Psychology helped me in acting and it helps me in direction too.

What reach do you think your film has?

Human relationships are the same everywhere. We have to remind ourselves of our similarities not differences and this is what this film does. This is about unconditional love and communicates that if children decide to choose a way of life which is utterly unacceptable to the parents; they shouldn’t just abandon the kid. They should stand by their child. People in different parts of the world have been telling me that they are from different religions and backgrounds but still they relate to it.

What is your take on direction - is it an art or craft?

(Laughs) Good question. I think in the beginning it’s a craft and you have to learn its techniques. And once you master it then you can communicate universally through it and tell your story and thus it becomes art.

You wrote scripts and now you are working as a director. The influence of cinema on cinema is obvious but do you think cinema has also influenced literature?

I think cinema has influenced literature. It has changed the rhythm of literature. Mainstream films have been influencing literature and in conceiving concepts. (Laughs) I will want the young ones to read more and watch less.

Is the future of cinema in danger?

(Smiles) I am in the film business so I tend to be optimistic. But you know it’s a shame to watch a film on a small iPod. Cinema in a dark box creates an emotional world and people undergo a certain emotional experience together. This cannot happen if one watches movies on the internet. Movies are pirated online which is good because more people watch it. But people should realise that if they will not spend money to watch a movie the filmmaker will not be able to get profit and make new films for them. So this is a complex issue but I hope cinemas survive and people keep spending money to buy film tickets. Cinemas are a great world and it’s about feeling together.

The Pakistani film industry is on the decline - what would you recommend for its revival?

Filmmakers should tell stories about people’s lives to revive film industry here. Come up with the story from what they hear. Go out and look for joint productions. Many countries in Europe didn’t have a film industry and they relied on joint productions to achieve it. There are people and directors in US who are always willing to work with locals across the world. But you have to have a script and a story.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 29^th, 2010.