Sofia
On his deathbed, an elderly man has a dream where he wanders through the memories that marked his life.
Interview with Writer/Director Shervin Kermani
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
With Sofia, I wanted to make a visually-driven film that captures the memories and nostalgia people carry with them throughout their lives. I was fascinated at the time with capturing memories in a purely audiovisual way without too much help from explanatory dialogue. It also really appealed to me to have the elderly protagonist remain the same age while revisiting moments when he was a younger man or a child to provide an interesting contrast between his outward age and the ways other people interact with him (his young mother, his college professor, his wife, etc.). I hoped this would produce an evocative effect for the audience.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
If you’re a fan of poetic, visually-driven cinema, or if you like films that explore ghostly dreamscapes and haunting memories, you’ll probably enjoy the film.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
While writing, I was attracted to the age-old theme of “the sins of the father echoing in the son.” There’s a parallel between each scene in terms of the way our protagonist abandons the most important people in his life, and his father abandoning the family when he was a child. People may not be consciously aware of the theme, but I think the fact that it’s beneath the surface gives the film some weight it would not have otherwise.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The script had more dialogue than the final film, and many things that were easy to communicate in a screenplay ended up being much harder to communicate visually than I originally anticipated. It’s easy, for instance, to say that this person is his “mother” on a page, but when you have an elderly man on screen with a younger woman, it’s not as easy to show the audience that she is his mother. Recently, when I revisited the film to revise the cut, I tried to throw out the script and to follow the feeling I had while watching the raw footage.
This is a lesson I wish I learned earlier, but I think screenplays should be thrown away once you’ve shot a film, because they can only take you so far. You have to look at the footage you captured and ask yourself: “what is this footage asking to be?” In this case, as I reviewed the raw footage again, I realized there were many opportunities to make the film more evocative that had nothing to do with the “plot.” As I put those pieces into the film, things started feeling better, and I trusted that feeling.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Generally the feedback has been positive, and what I’m happiest with is that even if people did not understand everything that transpired in the film, they seem to generally respond well to (and often specifically point out that they enjoyed) the feeling the film evokes.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
The feedback has mostly reaffirmed the importance of trusting intuition while working on a film. The original cut of the film included more explanatory dialogue that gave away plot points, but people generally did not respond as enthusiastically to that cut. Trusting the feeling that the images evoked has led to a film more people seem to instinctively respond to, even if they don’t consciously understand everything that transpires. I’ve even had a few people who have watched both cuts say they never really “felt” the film until this cut, which has been very rewarding to hear.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I’m hoping to reach a wider audience with the film, and specifically to reach people who will have a positive experience watching it.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
The support of distributors, short film curators, or influencers who help the film reach a receptive audience would be beneficial to the online release.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
I would like the film to speak to people on a personal level to allow someone to project their own experiences into the world of the film, and to inspire contemplation.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
I think a key question that might spark a conversation about this film is: “How much truth is there to the idea that sons become like their fathers?”
Would you like to add anything else?
Sofia was the first film I directed back in film school when I was 21. I didn’t have any track record or credibility at the time, and the entire cast generously volunteered their time to the production despite my lack of experience, including industry veterans Art Hindle, Lawrence Dane, Catherine Bruhier, Angela Asher, and principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada, Sonia Rodriguez. Almost the entire crew were students when we made this, and many have since gone on to have incredible careers in the film industry. We shot on 35mm film, and even though I had to pay off that credit card debt for a full year and a half afterwards, I think it was well worth it.
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I’m currently going through festivals with a new short film entitled Eros, which explores moments between lovers that have occurred in one spot over a thousand years. The producer, Jason Aita, is working on a film with director Fantavious Fritz, along with other music video and commercial projects. Production Manager Karen Harnisch (who produced the Cannes nominated feature Sleeping Giant) just got back from Slamdance with her new film M/M. Production Designer Grace Ng worked in the art department on the Academy Award winning film, Spotlight, and recently worked on Anon, starring Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried. Cinematographer Robert Tagliaferri worked as a camera assistant on the Matt Damon film, Downsizing.
Interview: July 2018
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Sofia
On his deathbed, an elderly man has a dream where he wanders through the memories that marked his life.
Length: 14:24
Director: Shervin Kermani
Producer: Jason Aita
Writer: Shervin Kermani
About the writer, director and producer:
SHERVIN KERMANI (writer, director) is an award winning Iranian-Canadian filmmaker whose films have been recognized at dozens of international festivals.
JASON AITA (producer) is a prolific producer of short form content, including music videos for icons such as Drake and Ariana Grande.
Key cast: Art Hindle, Lawrence Dane, Catherine Bruhier, Angela Asher, Ace Hicks, Steve Pacini, Sonia Rodriguez
Looking for: online curators, journalists, influencers
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kermanifilm
Twitter: @shervin_kermani
Instagram: @shervinkermani
Funders: Hart House Film Board, Shervin Kermani, Jason Aita
Made in association with: Kodak Motion Picture Film