ONYKO FILMS AWARDS
interviews
Vincenzo De Sio - Multiple winner of our film festival in various categories
How did you start making films and what was the first film project you worked on?
I started almost twenty years ago. I attended the "Cinema School of Rome". I was young and a big fan of cinema and I wanted to know the "behind the scenes". The first film was the short film at the end of the course, a small horror film co-directed with a friend and classmate of mine.
Please name your most favorite directors. How have they been influential in your work?
My absolute favorite directors are Steno (Stefano Vanzina), Paolo Sorrentino, Federico Fellini, Kim Jarmusch and Tom DiCillo. Of all of them, especially Fellini and Sorrentino influenced me above all for their surreal gaze and because they "accuse" their characters in the films, put them before everyone's eyes. Steno was a great innovator for the Italian Cinema especially during ’60. Jarmush and DiCillo for their "indie" eye and because they can make great films even on small budgets.
*****
Scarpedicemente – Best Drama Feature Film; Best Cinematography Feature Film
by John Vamvas and Olga Montes
What made you decide to make this film?
In 1998, John Vamvas and I, Olga Montes, (Executive Producers, Producers, Writers, Actors, Filmmakers and Co-Director of Scarpedicemente) were invited to New York City to perform one of our plays, Bad Boy, Off-Off Broadway in a little theatre in the heart of Times Square. It was January and the weather was less than kind so a few industry people were unable to attend. When the play’s run ended, two theatre directors told our mentor that they were sad to have missed it. So, he suggested we hold a reading of the play for them. Two chairs, a small table center stage and the two audience members in the front row of the cozy theatre. When it was over, they thanked us enthusiastically, congratulated us, and that was that. A few days later, our mentor called to share that both theatre directors called him separately and told him that we were the greatest theatre experience they’d ever had. And this, just from a reading! John said to me, “You don't need big money to put on a show. You just need to keep the audience engaged.” At that moment, we decided that Scarpedicemente, a play we wrote and toured in 1996 about a delusional gangster, Luigi Scarpedicemente, and his wife, Holly, sneaking off to a desert Vegas motel to avoid bodyguards Ricco & Rocco and celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary, would be the best play to turn into a film. Two people. One location.
*****
Didier MULLERAS - Multiple winner of our film festival in various categories
As a musician and filmmaker please introduce yourself.
My name is Didier Mulleras, I am a French choreographer and dancer. I am also a professional musician, visual artist and filmmaker. I like to cross these different artistic writings, in each of my projects. I led our dance company for many years with Magali Viguier. I live in Béziers, in south of France, where we have our own studios, L'Espace 13, where I teach my workshops and shoot my films.
How did you start making films and what was the first film project you worked on?
My artistic life began with music, very young, then dance. In the 90s, I started to create choreographic films. I was one of the first choreographers to bring dance to the Internet in 1998 with the “mini@tures” project (ultra-short dance video clips), long before social networks and video platforms. Since then, I have a regular production of films, most often short films, in which dance remains a preponderant element.
*****
“On The Waves of Ukrainian Music” - Best Music Video; Best Costume Design
Directed by Olena Tumanska
Tell us about the creation of this project.
The goal was to make a film about Ukrainian music, which would show the audience the beauty of Ukrainian music, help them learn the history of Ukrainian music traditions in an entertaining way..
Are you happy with the final result or would you change something?
Yes, I am happy. The film turned out to be what I wanted it to be - full of melodious songs, Ukrainian national costumes and interesting facts about the history of Ukrainian music.
*****
“THE SEASONS, four love stories” - Best Comedy Feature Film
Directed by Paul Schwartz
When did you realize that you wanted to make films and what motivated you to shoot your first film project?
I came into making films from the side of writing. I’ve been writing for the theatre for a number of years, and I was asked to do a screenplay adaptation of a book. I’d never written a screenplay, so I was intrigued, and though that particular project never got made, the script was good and opened some doors for me. It was a natural next step to make a film myself.
*****
“The whistle” - Best Director Short Film
Directed by Adil Abdolmajeed Yusf
Why do you make films?
Because cinema is a global language and we understand each other in that language.
What kind of films inspired you as a director?
Cinema style and style I like more than symbolic films.
*****
“Toccata by Duo Blanc & Noir” - Best Music Video
musicians Yudum Çetiner & Selin Şekeranber
What inspired you to work on this progect?
We decided that the timbre of Fender Rhodes pianos, which we met during our trip to America, suited the baroque period very well. The idea of combining the works of J.S.Bach, which we have performed with love and admiration throughout our entire career, with Rhodes came up. "It's Electric" album is the first and only album recorded with Rhodes pianos as a piano duo in the world.
*****
“Deja Vu” - Best Acting Feature Film
Directed by Anna Morawska
As a director, Please introduce yourself.
My name is Anna Morawska. I was born and raised in Poland, but I have been living abroad for over 22 years now. Currently, I made the Netherlands my home, Haarlem. I identify as, what you might call, a ‘Modern Nomad’ and I don’t know my next destination and what the life has in store for me. I guess I like a thrill of adventure and the excitement of unknown. After graduating from the Film Academy in Amsterdam, my classmate, Astrid, and I decided to make a film, but unlike other beginner filmmakers, we didn't want to spend time making another short film, we wanted something big, more spectacular! Despite the lack of funds, we decided to go all the way and make a full-length feature film.
*****
“APOCALYPSE” - Best Horror Short Film
Directed by Roberto Loiacono
What made you decide to make this film?
The driving force that kicked off APOCALYPSE was the request from my dear friend Mario Cellini (the lead actor). We had worked together years earlier, in 2000, on the feature film ZONA 3. I then had to stop for personal reasons, but he never lost the desire to work with me again, thus overcoming the period that forced me to leave the cinema, I listened to his request and wrote a screenplay for him, which could enhance his acting and his empathic way of acting for the audience.
*****
“Round Round Round” - Best Experimental Short Film
Directed by Nicolas Monfort (photo credit : Marc Haine)
Give some more information about yourself and the projects you have made so far, about your experience?
I've started making films right after studying at the university (I've studied literature and screenwriting) while working for film festivals. Since then I've made around 20 short films and 20 music videos, mostly no- or low-budget, which I direct solo or co-direct. I also write, edit, or make VFX and even act for other people's films. I don't have time to work for film festivals anymore. Right now I'm developing more ambitious projects (I'm in the process of editing a feature film I've written but not directed). As a hobby, I also write literature (short stories and poetry).
*****
“Aunt Eulalia” - Best Comedy Short Film
Producer, Screenwriter and actress Elly van der Maesen de Sombreff
When did you realize that you wanted to make films and what motivated you to shoot your first film project?
I realize it when meeting with Spanish director Benito Zambrano and finding out how difficult it was but at the same time how thrilling! And how important to make people reflect and think.
So, after taking lots of classes with people like Assumpta Serna and Scott Cleverdon among others, I wrote my first script and shot it!
*****
“JOON” - Best Director Feature Film
Directed by Barnali Ray Shukla
How did you start making films and what was the first film project you worked on?
For Channel V, I wrote, directed and co produced a short film. That’s when I actually started making films. My first feature film, as a writer director, was Kuchh Luv Jaisaa.
*****
“The Soul of Sicily” - Best Documentary Short Film
Directed by Margie Raimondo
Why do you make films and what kind of impact would your work have on the world?
Films are important in society to express, explore and examine different ideals, our lives, and other people’s lives with differing perspectives. The viewer is transported to a different world where they can get lost or become enchanted with a new idea or place. Making films is an intensely-personal form of art. You are capable of infusing the stories you tell with a greater sense of purpose.
*****
“Siren Lullabies” - Best Documentary Feature Film
Directed by Kristina Atovska
How did you start making films and what was the first film project you worked on?
After several years of making television documentaries, I made the decision to go independent and start working on my own projects. My first short fiction film (directed by me and written with my producer Viktor Petreski) finished production at the end of 2020, but due to lack of funds and the start of the new war in Europe, it should be finished in the next couple of weeks. Having the title “Lobus Frontalis” it is a film about artistic perception of reality...
*****
"Happy Ending" - Best Drama Feature Film
Directed by Akira Iwamatsu
As a filmmaker, please introduce yourself.
I have established a filmmaking group, "Mikawa Eiga," to produce independent films in rural areas of Japan. This film is the first installment. The staff are amateurs, and the cast is not a major player, but we are aiming for a quality that is as good as commercial films. Normally, I do video production and photography.
*****
"Self-Help Series 2" - Best Comedy Short Film
Directed by Bethan Williams, Tom Bridger