Flickerfest - How The Light Gets In
A single mother wakes in the night with a unique problem – a light, shining from within.
Interview with Writer/Director Anya Beyersdorf and Producer Nicole Coventry
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Anya: I wanted to explore the fact that life is short and death is inevitable and all we have are the moments of joy. I think we have a responsibility, no matter how bad things get, to make the most of the moments we do have. When everything is gone, when everything is shot we still have light moments and enjoy those seconds. If you were on your deathbed you would buy back 20 minutes with your loved ones for 1 million dollars. What do you sell an hour for now? But if you had none left – that hour, you would pay anything for it.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Anya: I think its fairly unusual and unique, and the performances from my cast (who were predominantly non-actor friends of mine) are pretty special. Also to see the incredible Whirimako Black perform – she is royalty in NZ and we were so lucky she blessed us by being in our film. She’s an incredibly beautiful and strong woman. They all are. Also I’ve never seen a film where a woman starts glowing before, so that's a good reason…
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Anya: I borrowed Leonard Cohen’s words for the title of my film, so I'll borrow them again now. He was talking about his song ANTHEM (How The Light Gets In), which features in my film (sung by swedish pop duo SAY LOU LOU who are incredible). From Leonard: "… if you have to come up with a philosophical ground, that is 'Ring the bells that still can ring.' He was very concerned for the future, our now. It’s no excuse… the dismal situation.. and the future is no excuse for an abdication of your own personal responsibilities towards yourself and your job and your love. 'Ring the bells that still can ring': they’re few and far between but you can find them…”
Basically in times like this if we are broken - we have a responsibility to not lay down and die- rather to pull every bit of light from the darkness we can and stand up to it, in our own small way
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
Anya: The script didn’t change much – we shot the version that won the fellowship – but it did change a bit in the edit – I was really lucky to work with an amazing editor Christine Cheung who whittled and distilled the film down to its simplest, clear as a bell form. She’s amazing. Having Whirimako Black who is a kiwi superstar we also had to ask her to sing a song which now lives at the heart of the film – a maori children’s song. Just beautiful.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Anya: Positive! The film has screened a few festivals now and I think its a nice film to end on – its complex and happy (though the material is dark). I’m looking forward to playing it in NZ at the Wairoa Maori film festival this year – the festival director there was really in tune with the themes and I think it will have even more meaning for NZ audiences.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
Anya: We Are Moving Stories is a great platform – I hope other festivals will hear of the film and so it can continue its journey around the world!
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
Anya: Film Fests directors I’d say. Its hard to cut through with the amount of content out there and we always feel really lucky and honoured to get a screening, which is why we are so excited about our screening at Flickerfest on Jan 13 – it’s such a great festival and one of my favourites.
Nicole: I think we really made this film for the audience, and its message is amplified through their personal consideration and conversation about what the film means. So yes, it comes down to support by festival directors and also journalists who are able to open up opportunities for audiences to experience the very unique story and world that Anya has created.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
Anya: I’d just like people to take a moment and think about what is important in life.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Anya: What does the glow represent to you? I’ve shown several audiences and it is interesting – it means something else for every individual. I like that.
Would you like to add anything else?
Anya:Films like this are made with a lot of love and support – cast and crew doing mates rates, working long hours and pouring all their creativity in to the film. I’d just really like to give all the credit for this film to my amazing cast and crew, and especially my producer Nicole Coventry who pulled off an impossible and beautiful thing.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Anya: I’m working with director Sean Kruck and Nash Edgerton from Blue Tongue films on a feature film script. We are also shooting a short film where we’ll get to explore some of the themes in the feature thanks to Screen Australia Hotshots funding, which is super exciting. Nicole has several projects in development too – she’ll be running the film industry in a few years I tell you!
Interview: January 2018
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTIQ+, scifi, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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How The Light Gets In
A single mother wakes in the night with a unique problem – a light, shining from within.
Length: 15 Minutes
Director: Anya Beyersdorf
Producer: Nicole Coventry
Writer: Anya Beyersdorf
About the writer, director and producer:
Writer/Director:
Anya Beyersdorf is an actress turned writer/director. As an emerging screenwriter, she was an Academy Nicholl Fellowships semi-finalist (2016) with her original feature SERPENTINE now in development in the US, has been shortlisted twice for the Sundance Screenwriters Lab (2016, 2017) and won an Australian Writer’s Guild (AWGIE) Award for her writing (2014). She was selected by the Weinstein Company and won the highly competitive inaugural Lexus Australia Short Film Fellowship. Her films have screened international fests like Palm Springs, Rhode Island, Seattle International Film Fest and Sydney Film Festival, Flickerfest and St Kilda film festival in Australia.
Producer:
Nicole Coventry is an independent producer with a passion for nurturing unique stories from the page to the screen. She has a variety of projects currently in development including a children’s series based on her Create NSW funded short film/pilot – Sherbert Rozencrantz, You’re Beautiful and is in the process of optioning a new novel by an award winning Australian writer.