 | Visceral Woman: Canadian Filmmaker Izabel Grondin |
 
Interview by TCM Staff Writer Maven
This month we are celebrating the work of Izabel Grondin, a Canadian filmmaker whose recent film, Fantasy, will be released shortly on the Viscera 2008-2009 DVD.
Since 1994, Izabel Grondin’s short horror film work has been screened
at Underground and Fantasy Film Festivals across the world and has
amassed numerous awards over the years...
Three retrospectives were dedicated to her work at this date including one at the Cinémathèque Québécoise...
1.Welcome, Izabel, and thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us at The Chainsaw Mafia. You have been quite busy in the past several years. First I would like to discuss the film that brought us together. Fantasy, apart from being a VISCERA entry has recently won a Special Jury Prize at the Fantasia International Film Festival. What an awesome birthday present that must've been. Why don't you tell us a bit about this film that is gaining such recognition?
A.
Fantasy is a very personal film. It took me a long time to finish it
because I was in a very difficult period of my life. The idea of the
film was inspired by all the surgeries I had in the past years plus a
huge heartbreak that I was going through at the time.
2.What was the impetus of this film about fantasy gone wrong? Is it a commentary or simply an idea that you found interesting?
A.
Again, I was going through a very difficult period and I needed to yell
my pain and my anger. The story was in a way, a pretext to express that.
3. You are certainly no stranger to awards and commendations. Your prize credit rundown reads like a grocery list. Did you expect your work to receive such accolades when you fist began your career?
A.
That question surprised me since I never thought of this before but I
won’t lie, a prize is always an honour and good fuel. It gives me the
strength to pursue.
4. You have done exceedingly well on the festival circuit. Is that something that you enjoy? What do you feel you have gained from the experiences?
A.
Thanks, tough I would have like to present my work in even more
festivals if I had the money. For most of them, except the festivals in
Quebec, I didn’t have the chance to afford the trip and participate in
person. But I did some of them. It’s always a great experience! Adding
to the visibility, it gave me the chance to discover the work of other
independent filmmakers and allowed me to make new contacts.
5. Canada has given us numerous notable films and supplied horror with vast talent over the years (my own favorite director, Cronenberg, to name one). Give us an idea about the current state of Canadian horror. How do you feel it compares to that of the rest of the world?
A.
You actually named the only Canadian horror film’s director I know and
probably the only Canadian director who really left his mark in that
genre. Otherwise I know couple of Canadian horror films like My Bloody
Valentine, Cube, Ginger Snaps, Screamers, Prom Night but none of those
who directed them really specialized in the genre. This being said,
there’s no horror/fantastic’s film industry in Canada. In Quebec the
situation is a bit similar but couple of directors devoted to the genre
try to change it. Concerning the comparison with the rest of the world,
I’ll talk about North America only since I have no idea for the others
countries. One thing sure, there’s no comparison possible for now with
the United States in that domain. Because most of the Quebecer’s films
are made with the financial support of public’s institutions instead of
privates, the “for all age” movie’s projects are privileged. Which
doesn’t leave a lot of space and money for the other genres… No need to
say that because of the low budgets allowed to this kind of movies,
quebecer’s film of genre are also less spectacular then their American
counterpart. On the other hand the stories in the Canadian’s and
Quebecer’s horror films are more often original. United States seems to
stick on the remakes formula these days…I think it’s so wrong.
6.What changes, if any, have you noticed in the business since you first started? Do you feel the industry is moving in a positive direction?
A.
The biggest changes are the increased popularity of both the genre and
the medium (short films), the new possibilities with the digital and
the diffusion. About the industry , from what I know here in Quebec
things are changing slowly but changing still.
7. Women have certainly been gaining a foothold in the business. Have you seen much difference since you began in how female filmmakers are treated?
A.
From my experience as a director I never felt I was treated
differently. It’s a real achievement to make a feature film in Quebec
no matter you’re a man or a woman.
8.I have seen you state before that you started making shorts for experience as well as to keep down expense. Have you found that making short films has honed your talents better than if you had jumped directly into features?
A.
Hard to say. Since I started that way I don’t know if that did help me
or not. But I believe short film’s school is a good way to learn and
experiment.
9. Apart from time and cost, what do you feel would be the major differences between the two mediums?
A.
I’ll be able to answer that one after my first feature film.
Otherwise the main differences would be obviously the amount of work
and the organization’s structure.
10.What do you find the most challenging aspect of creating short films? Do you feel that its a blessing or a curse to have to fit a story into such a small running time?
A.
My big challenge was always to build a story and create a strong
atmosphere in a very short time. It’s neither a blessing nor a curse;
it’s simply the only format I can afford for now.
11. Do you find that you have recurring themes within your work? If so, what are they and why do you feel that these themes are important to you?
A.
I think I do, even if it’s not true for all my films. I would say my
recurring themes are about fear, disillusions, loneliness, mental
disorders and sexual perversions. I don’t know if they’re important to
me, all I know is they’re part of my creation.
12.What is your goal when you make a film? Do you seek merely to horrify your audience or is there a broader message you wish to convey?
A.
Horrify for sure but also destabilize. I want to bring people into a
different kind of atmosphere. I like to go into the dark side of human
nature.
13.You also have a DVD of some of your work available. Please tell us what is included there.
A.
Temporay Madness was launched in October 2004 and is a selective
compilation of six short films (most of them are subtitled in English)
that I made between 1995 and 2004. There are; The drujes (2004),
Aspiralux (2002), Terrore (2001), Click Here (2000), Rüben is not well…
(1996) Piège à rats (silent, 1995)
14. Are there any distribution pitfalls of which you would wish to warn our readers? What did you learn from that experience that will be most helpful in the future?
A.
If you’re looking for a broad distribution I strongly recommend that
you deal with a distributor, it’s a big plus! Because of my
inexperience at the time, I bought the permit and did the distribution
by myself. I realized very soon that the distribution is a full time
job and I was not well equipped to reach the majority of video clubs
and retail stores in the province.
15.What are you thoughts on creating a feature length film? Is that something you foresee in the near future?
A.
Almost 2 years ago a producer approached me with a script. It was a
drama inspired by an actual event and he wanted me to add some thriller
elements in it. It’s a Canada-Quebec production and it’ll be in both
French and English. So I’m currently working on this. I wrote the last
act and did the adaptation for the dialogues. Hopefully we’ll start the
shooting in 2010. Or not, I have other projects that I want to push
soon.
Visit Izabel!
http://www.izabelgrondin.com
http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.channel&ContributorID=25029383
http://www.thechainsawmafia.com/viscerawomen.html
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