"Collective" Director Alexander Nanau How was this shocking documentary that captures the "moment" that exposes the injustices of the state created? [Director's Interview Vol.147]

In October 2015, a fire broke out at the club Collective in Bucharest, the capital of Romania in Eastern Europe. A tragic accident occurred in which 27 customers who were present lost their lives. But that was only the beginning of another tragedy. Those who were injured and hospitalized began to die one after another, eventually reaching 64 people. The cause was that the drugs used at the hospital were diluted. Behind the scenes was a terrifying collusion between pharmaceutical companies and politicians.

This film is a documentary that follows The Journalist and politicians as they investigate the reality of corruption. The sight of journalists pursuing The Truth without compromise reminds us of the important things that support democracy. The basic principle is that ``the media is the watchdog of power.''

The reason this film succeeds in maximizing Arrival is that the camera perfectly captures the exact moment when The Truth is revealed. Phone calls that yield surprising information to reporters, breathless conversations with whistleblowers, deceptive press conferences from politicians and doctors hiding The Truth. The scenes are so tense that you might mistake them for a drama, and you can't take your eyes off the screen. The cinematic excitement of ``we (the audience) being present at an important moment'' is the backbone of this film.

I am also involved in the production of documentary programs, and it is extremely difficult to capture the ``moment'' when something important happens with a camera. I often find myself reminiscing about things that happened in the past. How on earth did this amazing work make this possible? We asked director Alexander Nanau to tell us about the inside story of the production.

Index

• The secret behind capturing so many amazing moments
• Editing to recreate what the director saw on set
• Even the minister's conversation in the office was filmed
• I want to portray and understand people who fight for something.

The secret behind capturing so many amazing moments

Q: I am sometimes involved in the production of documentary programs for television, and I found this work very interesting as it has shocking content. The first thing I would like to ask is what inspired you to create this work.

Nanau: The Collective fire disaster was truly a national tragedy. Even young people who don't usually participate in demonstrations took to the streets to voice their protest against politics. This phenomenon occurred not only in the capital, Bucharest, but all over Romania. I felt that we were witnessing an important turning point in our times, as public opinion grew to try to somehow change the corruption in politics.

I thought, ``I have to make a movie about this reality,'' but I didn't know how to express it. There were various factors involved, such as the protests, the actions of politicians, and the circumstances surrounding the fire accident, so I didn't know what to depict or how to depict it.

At that time, a strange phenomenon came to light: fire victims were dying one after another while hospitalized. It has become clear that the cause of this is the great corruption of collusion between doctors and politicians. I realized that I might be able to write something from the perspective of a news organization investigating this corruption. I wondered what would happen if I translated the events I saw there into the language of film, which is what inspired me to create this film.

“Collective” ©Alexander Nanau Production, HBO Europe, Samsa Film 2019

Q: I'm impressed by the way the video clearly captures the process by which news reveals the facts. There are many moments where I feel like I would have to stay on set for the entire time to be able to take the picture. How did you go about filming?

Nanau: Of course, I try my best to be present at the decisive moments. However, the time when various facts came to light was condensed into about three weeks, so there was no need for such long-term interviews. It's been about three weeks since it was reported that the disinfectant used in hospitals was being diluted and the day the president of the pharmaceutical company that manufactured it died in an accident.

During that time, we would go to the newspaper offices we were covering every morning and try to be present at the moment something happened. But as you know, even if you try to stick to your subject, people don't like the camera following them. That's why reporters almost send me home, saying, ``I don't think anything will happen today.''

But from my experience making observational documentaries, I know that just when you think nothing will happen, something important often happens. So, when the person I'm interviewing seems to want me to go home, I say ``Okay,'' and go outside and have a coffee for about 10 minutes to kill time. So, back to the interview. Then they give up and say, ``Oh, no matter what I say, these people won't come back.'' That way I was able to be present at the decisive moment.

Q: It's a small detail, but I think it would be impossible to capture the moment when a character receives a phone call unless the camera is kept running.

Nanau: I never left the camera running. The moment I thought something was going to happen, I turned the camera on.

Q: So, something like intuition worked well.

Nanau: Yes. For example, in the documentary I made in the past called `` Toto and the Two Sisters '' (14), I found myself anticipating ``the moment when something was about to happen,'' so I sometimes kept the camera rolling. But now I can trust my instincts. I think that comes from experience.

Don't expect that something will happen at the scene. But when something happens, how do you extract the important elements from it? I think I have trained my instincts to accept things as they happen and to capture those moments on film.

Editing to recreate what the director saw on set