"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]

Editing to recreate what the director saw on set

Q: Was there only one camera on set?

Nanau: Yes, but we used multiple cameras only for the meeting of the victims' families and for the scene where the journalists attended the doctors' press conference. Everything else was shot with just one camera.

Q: That's surprising. Although this is a documentary, it's edited with fast cuts like a feature film. It doesn't look like it was put together with footage captured by a single camera. I'm sure it was quite difficult to edit.

Nanau: It took a year and a half to edit. The premise is that with observational documentaries, it takes time for you to understand what is at the core of the material and for the overall shape of the work to become clear.

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

Q: When I think of observational films, the names of documentary directors like Frederick Wiseman and Kazuhiro Soda come to mind. However, the two I just mentioned are characterized by an editing style that shows the filmed material as it is, without cutting it as much as possible. In contrast, Director Nanau cuts quickly. What is your intention behind that?

Nanau: When I edit to express what I saw and how I felt at the moment I was with the people I interviewed, it naturally turns out that way. Depending on the subject matter, I think it's necessary to show what's happening in a long take, like Wiseman and Soda do. But sometimes you have to cut it short to understand what's going on.

In other words, I think of editing as translating the tension the characters were feeling at that moment, and what I saw and felt when I was there.

Even the minister's conversation in the office was filmed