Hi, first of all, congratulations, you are one of the winners of the Europe Film Festival U.K. What do you feel?
I am very happy and it’s an honor to me and my team. So I am thankful to Europe Film Festival U.K. for this unique chance.
What makes a film great for you? Are there certain qualities that make a film better for you?
For most people, it’s cinematography. Well that’s true but there is something which I think is much more important – that’s the script. The script is the soul of a movie. Either it’s deeply, honest and exciting or it’s not. What also is very important are the actors and characters. Good characters and later a good casting with actors can carry a whole movie alone. Last but not least is the director. He is the driver of a movie, so he has a lot of power to decide which direction a movie goes.
Is filmmaking/acting a good career choice?
It’s a very beautiful and fascinating Job. But it’s also very risky. Because you never know if you will have success so that you can live from it, pay you’re taxes or finance your kids, etc. So it depends not just by talent, also if you’re a person who can deal al the struggles which the film industry can make. Every film set is different so it’s never boring, but you need to know good trustful people to make a good movie. And if you can’t make a connection from the beginning then it can take several years until a success. So it’s important also to stay on the ground and have another part-time job somewhere.
What, in your opinion, is the most important quality of a Film Director/actor/actress?
The Director needs to have a lot of empathy. Not just with the actors, but also with the crew. He needs the capability to motivate the team in a healthy and positive way without yelling around or playing a small dictator. That can poison the whole mood on set. So I think he/her needs also psychological sensitivity how he explains to the actors his imaginations. What is very good if a director also was once in his life an actor/actress. I did it like that and I know how to approach my vision for the character. Sometimes I even play the character moment so they can visually see what I want. Now a good actor/actress needs to have a lot of empathy for their characters. They need to understand the reason why the character is acting like that and understand their emotions. They need also skills to learn the way of behaving from her/his characters. This you can only learn in a good acting drama school.
What were the challenges in shooting this movie?
The most challenging was to work with a kid and a teenager. At this time I didn’t have any experience with them. As a director, you have to find a different way to give them instructions as if you’re working with professional actors. You need more patience. But the main Girl in the movie, Alba, did a great job. She acted very professionally, always listened very carefully to my instructions, and was very concentrated. It was her first movie and she liked it. Her parents were also happy about it. So this made it easier for me to direct it with a kid which acts almost so good as professional actors. Also, the younger version of the teacher, Noelia, did a wonderful job. She had already some professional experience in movies and commercials. But I am happy we shot the movie in autumn 2019 before the corona pandemic came.
What gave you the inspiration to write and direct this story?
Bullying or mobbing is a worldwide problem. It can happen to anyone. Also, adults can be victims. But especially kids and teenagers are very vulnerable in their age and because of that we the adults must look closer to this problem at school or at home. I wanted to show how one little brave girl protects her classmate from bullying and as a result, she unconsciously opens up a trauma to her teacher from the past. To run away from it is never a solution because the Traumata can return one day in a different way or situation. It’s very important to fight more against bullying and to show how fatal the consequences for the victims can be.
Are you working on a new project at the moment or are you planning to?
I did a new short film this year (Fake World) about cyberbullying and the problems with social media. Noelia, who played also in Milas Diary, had her first main role here. Again she proved to me how talented and good she works. There is also a new film project with Alba and some other actors from my previous movies. Let’s hope the pandemic situation soon be over, that’s blocking a lot right now to shoot good movies. But let’s keep hope because hope is always a message in my movies. Not just for the characters but also for the audience.