2016

Detsky Graffam

⭐Best International Short Movie 2016.

⭐Germany

⭐The movie: 90 Degrees North

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

Our film is a grotesque modern fairytale with a bizarre conceit at it’s core. It’s travelled the world and has won awards in China to the US. Having won in Sweden, again seems to show that the idea behind the film has an international appeal. We’re very proud of that!

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

I wanted to go into theatre initially, but I found film infinitely more satisfying. You have much more control over your narrative and the film toolkit has so much potential to express things that words, music or visuals can’t express just by themselves. My rolemodels are many. As storytellers I like Kafka, Friedrich Dürrenmatt and Schnitzler. As filmmakers I Like Terry Gilliam, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Spike Jonze, early Spielberg and I’m obsessed with Hitchcock.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

I am working on a mystery ghost horror feature film set in a contemporary Berlin courtyard.

Åsa Älmeby Thorne

⭐Best National Female Actor 2016

⭐Sweden

⭐The movie: Höstmåne

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

It´s a great honour to win as Best Actress and it follows you as a good sign of dedication.

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

Film as well as the stage is where I feel at home! Has always been, will always be. I enjoy to express myself in this medium, to mediate another persons life and feelings, to give a voice to someone else. Rolemodels; Charlize Theron (ex Monster), Sigourney Weaver, Nicole Kidman etc etc.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

Just finished a short where I play the role of an amphetamine addicted person. What´s coming is not something I can talk about just now.

Winnie Böwe

⭐Best International Actress 2016

⭐Germany

⭐The movie: Sisters! – Share Everything

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

I never received an award for playing in a movie. So I was very excited!

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

As an actress filming means doing less than on stage. A small blink in the eye can tell a story. That fascinates me. My biggest goddess is Marion Cotillard. Her performance as Edith Piaf is the most stunning thing I have ever seen on screen.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

I am shooting a TV Movie at the moment and I prepare my next One Woman Show (I am a singer as well). I would love to work more abroad and in different languages.

Jakub Kotyński

⭐Best International Actor 2016.

⭐Poland

⭐The movie: Mother

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

This award was a big surprise for me. I didn’t expect it, that’s why it was and still is a huge pleasure to be the winner in a category “the best actor”. Especially, because that’s the first movie award in my life.

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

For me as an actor, film like theater is my world, my way and my medium to express my self. My rolemodels : Ingmar Bergman’s movies.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

I’m working on some theater project based on The Tempest of William Shakeseare – premiere 25.03 2017 in Powszechny Theater in Łódź (Poland).

2015

Yuichi Nagata

⭐Best Photography 2015.

⭐Japan

⭐The movie: Good Year

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

It does not have meaning for me individually, but for shooting assistants, it will be a great encouragement.

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

There is no author in films, just a hard work and a little miracle are in there. As mentors of way to shoot, I respect monocular lens and fixing of Yasujiro Ozu, telescope lens and multi camera of Akira Kurosawa, wide lens and molding of Akio Jissouji, black and white of Kazuo Miyagawa, technicolor of Jack Cardiff, low-key tone of Gregg Toland, as a no genre, Kozo okazaki, and Néstor Almendros in Nouvelle Vague.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

First part of “GOOD YEAR”, Finishing of “BOLT”. “Gaou-Den” in the V cinema.

Xu Zhang

⭐Best Script 2015.

⭐USA

⭐The movie: En Route

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

It was a big encouragement. It was the only writing award I got for ‘En Route’ and certainly encouraged me to keep writing.

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

Growing up watching a lot of films and that’s the medium I got into. Rolemodels are Truffaut, Kieslowski and Satoshi Kon.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

Working on a short film developed by Warner Bros., also writing my first feature.

David Victori

⭐Best Directing 2015.

⭐Spain

⭐The movie: Zero

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

Every award is some new energy to keep working on this complex job.

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

Cinema for me is the most complete art to express yourself. Alfonso Cuarón, David Fincher, Alfred Hitchcock… a lot of different filmmakers inspire me everyday.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

My future plans is do my best for keep explaining stories in any form. Right now I am preparing my first movie.

Daneeta Loretta and Patrick Jackson

⭐Best Documentary 2015.

⭐USA

⭐The movie: Mr. Joe Lives Alone

1.You recieved an award in 2015 or 2016. What has this award meant for you?

It has meant a great deal. It was the first award our film, “Mr. Joe lives alone” received. Also, we’ve been making films and screening at festivals since 2002. One of our partners is Swedish, so getting into a Swedish festival was important for us. VFF 2016 was ElekTrik Zoo’s first official screening in Sweden.

2. What made you choose film as your creative medium, and who are your rolemodels?

Film is just one of our creative mediums. Patrick takes pictures. Daneeta is a writer and visual artist. Sometimes we hybrid our works together, and the output we call an ElekTrik Production. We both like film for its narrative quality. Narrative can bring structure to a very chaotic experience. We both like David Lynch, Andrea Arnold, Lynn Ramsey, Paul Thomas Anderson, Lukas Moodysson, Roy Andersson, Bergman. But we are just as likely inspired by the pop artist Robyn. We like to live our lives in accordance with our art. We wrap ourselves around our art.

3. What projects are you currently working on, and what are your future plans?

We like to have several projects on the go at different stages of production. As for the short doc that won the prize at VFF, “Mr. Joe lives alone,” we are negotiating Chinese rights. The Chinese are fascinated by films about the elderly. We are in post for “Nicabob,” about a lonely teenaged boy who starts a Youtube channel to connect with the outside world. When cyberbullies attack, and he shuts down the channel, he enters a whole new world. We’ve got two feature scripts and one short script that we’re shopping around. So, we keep pretty busy. On top of that, we’ve got food-for-my-belly work.