DOC NYC 2018 - Black Line
A woman fishing in turbid waters, a suffering nature, the broken chant of the muezzin, all linked by a thin black line.
Interview with Director/Producer Francesca Scalisi
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
We made this film because we felt the need to denounce the ecological disaster which happened in Bangladesh in December 9th 2014 and its impact on the local populations. On that day a wrecked tanker released approximately 94,000 gallons of heavy fuel oil into the Shela River, which runs through the Sundarbans, the biggest coastal mangrove forest in the world. This is a precious ecosystem. It is one of the last places in the world where the endangered Bengali tiger can still be found, together with the rare Irrawaddy and Ganges dolphins.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
You should watch “Black Line” because it’s a film that doesn’t impose a vision or a concept. Instead, it whispers delicately and leaves it up to the audience to interpret what they are seeing. “Black Line” is able to stimulate different reactions, thoughts and interpretations, depending on the background and personality of the person who is watching it.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The title “Black Line” refers to the trail of oil that, in the aftermath of the oil spill accident, left its indelible black mark on the coastal areas of Bangladesh for hundreds of kilometers. Symbolically, this black line embodies the idea of a divide between two worlds: that of the exploiters and that of the exploited who fight with dignity their daily battle for survival.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
We didn’t make a script for this documentary. The disaster happened very quickly, so we only had the time to reach the place and start shooting straight away.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
We have received a wide range of feedback. Generally, people are a bit surprised at the beginning, and then become intrigued by the unknown world depicted in the film.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Yes, certainly the feedback really surprised us. Some people thought that Ranu, the woman fishing in the river, was an actress. Others thought that we had asked her to fish so that we could shoot the images. But actually we didn’t reenact anything. What you see in the movie is what happened in front of the camera, with no interference from us. This is how we were able to capture these intense moments.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We wish that more people have the chance to watch “Ligne Noire” and we also aim at raising awareness about the tragedy happening in the Sundarbans.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We would need more journalists or bloggers to come onboard and help us increase the visibility of this and the film. Right now, “Black Line” is running for admission to the short documentary category at the Academy Awards, so we hope that by having more reviews we can increase this film’s chances, especially since our competitors are large commercial productions.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
We would like this film to be the occasion for a reflection about the preciousness of what surrounds us and how it can all be lost in an instant. However, we don’t wish for a specific reaction. Instead, we think that the plurality of interpretations and feelings that these delicate yet dramatic images can stimulate is this film’s biggest strength.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
How did you approach editing? Just a few pictures where chosen to tell this story with no words. A strong selection was made. How did this process work?
Would you like to add anything else?
This film was shot in a couple of days. We decided to shoot from the boat and portray a small idyllic world scarred by a disaster. We decided to take the standpoint of the “injured” river, gazing at the coast, at the villages, at the people, all lost in a surreal atmosphere. Our intention was to tell the story of the accident in an indirect way, transmitting the same sensations that we felt when we arrived: that of a seemingly quiet place where life goes on as always, although the disfigured background reveals the magnitude of the tragedy.
While shooting was quick, the editing phase took more than two years. Finding the right tone was very difficult. In the beginning, we were too emblematic, then, too concise. So, we left the film in standby for more than one year and a half. Until, last summer, we decided to give it a last chance and… it worked! Then, I started to work on the sound with the sound editor, and it is a fundamental component of this short doc. In fact, we erase some sounds and add different soundtracks, such as the muezzin’s call for prayer, to enhance the surreal – almost apocalyptic – mood that we felt.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
We are now producing different documentaries: one is a web-documentary by Frederic Favre, which follows three young soldiers (two men and one woman) in Switzerland, one of the few European countries where military service is still mandatory.
Another film that we are producing is a documentary by Annie Gisler about the bizarre, nomadic and rebellious life of Swiss artist Lélo Fiaux, an avant-garde artist who did not accept compromises and broke free from the constraints that society imposed on her as a female artist in the first half of the XX century.
Interview: November 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, 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
Black Line
A woman fishing in turbid waters, a suffering nature, the broken chant of the muezzin, all linked by a thin black line.
Length: 10 min
Who is being interviewed for this article? Francesca Scalisi
Director: Mark Olexa and Francesca Scalisi
Producer: Mark Olexa and Francesca Scalisi
Facebook: www.facebook.com/dokmobilefilmproduction/
Other: www.dokmobile.ch
Film festivals:
Drama, 24th International Short Film Festival in Drama, Competition
St. Petersburg, 28th “Message to Man” International Film Festival St. Petersburg
Odense, 33rd Odense International Film Festival, Competition,
Sao Paulo, 29th Sao Paulo International Short Film Festival, Competition
Melbourne, 67th Melbourne International Film Festival, Competition
Palm Springs, 24th Palm Springs International ShortFest, Competition
Grimstad, 41st Norwegian International Short Film Festival, Competition
Huesca, 46° Festival internacional de Cine de Huesca, Competition
Wien, 15. VIS Vienna Shorts Festival, Competition
Madrid, Documenta Madrid 18, Competition,
Toronto, 25th Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival Toronto,
Nijmegen, 10th Go Short - International Short Film Festival Nijmegen
Chicoutimi, 22e Regard sur le court métrage au Saguenay
Tampere, 48th International Short Film Festival, Competition
Clermont-Ferrand, 40th Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival
Rotterdam, 47th International Film Festival Rotterdam
Winterthur, 21. Internationale Kurzfilmtage Winterthur
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
DOC NYC
Zinebi Bilbao International Festival of Documentary and Short Films
Cork Film Festival