"Continuation of the End Credits" Director Pan Narin "Light and time" are important themes in filmmaking [Director's Interview Vol.276]

Films based on the theme of ``cinema'' themselves are scheduled to be released, including Spielberg's autobiographical film ` `The Fabelmans '' (released on 3/3) and Sam Mendes' ` `Empire of Light '' (released on 2/23). Meanwhile, the movie ``Continuation of the End Credits'' has arrived from the movie superpower of India. This film tells the story of a poor boy who works as a chai seller in rural India and discovers his dream through an encounter with movies.

And there is a common depiction between ``Continued End Credits'', `` The Fabelmans '', and ``Empire of Light ''. It is the "light" projected onto a movie theater screen. How much have we been moved by the ray of light that emerges in the darkness, transcending time and place? Every piece of art reminds me of this.

This film, which was created based on director Nalin's own anecdotes, is a story about his overflowing love for movies. How did the director give form to his feelings about movies and movie theaters? I spoke to him.

“Continuation of the end credits” synopsis

Nine-year-old Samai lives in rural India, attending school and helping out at her father's chai shop. Her strict father thinks that movies are inferior, but one day her family decides to go to the city to see a movie. When he took his seat at the Galaxy Seat, which was overflowing with people, what caught his eye was a ray of light stretching from the back toward the screen... There was a world that Samai had never seen before. Completely fascinated by the movie, Samai sneaks into the Galaxy Theater again, but is unable to pay for the ticket and is kicked out. Fazal, a projectionist who saw this, made a suggestion. Samai's mother, who is a good cook, offers to show her a movie in the projection room in exchange for a boxed lunch made by her mother. Samai is overwhelmed by the many colorful movies she sees through the projection window, and before she knows it, she begins to dream of making movies.

Index

• "Light and time" are important themes in filmmaking
• victims of storytelling
• Not bound by script grammar

"Light and time" are important themes in filmmaking

Q: After watching this film, it reminded me of my childhood movie theater experience.

Nalin: This time, there are many people who are talking about their own movie experiences. Many people tell me their memories of going to the movie theater for the first time and their impressions of the film. It's an interesting phenomenon because I usually get asked the opposite question more often.

Q: What struck me while watching the movie was the "light". It is also light that makes movies, and it is also light that takes pictures. Please tell us why you used light symbolically.

Nalin: The first time I saw a movie was when I was about 8 or 9 years old. In India, going to the movies is like a celebratory event, so my expectations were high as I took the hour-long train ride into town. The moment I entered the movie theater and the movie started, I saw a pillar of light. At that time, you could smoke in your seat, so the smoke from the cigarette made the pillars of light more visible. And within the smoke, shadows were dancing like a disco. Even though there was a very scary scene playing on the screen, I was more interested in the pillar of light than the movie itself. ``What is this pillar of light?'' ``What on earth is going on in the projection room in the back?'' That's what first attracted me.

For me, "light and time" are important themes when making films. That's why I named my main character "Samay = Time." Also, a story is something that will continue to exist forever. In the case of movies, in the early days they were printed on glass, then celluloid film was used, and now they are recorded digitally. Although the medium has changed, the story itself remains the same.

Q: There are not many film screenings in movie theaters these days, and most of them are digital screenings. However, they all have one thing in common: seeing images projected in the dark. It's never the same as watching TV or a monitor. What do you think exists in that darkness?

Nalin: I think the main reason is that the darkness of a movie theater is an environment where you can concentrate. You can completely surrender yourself to the story. I think it's the same with theater and kabuki, but by sitting in your seat and relaxing until the screening, you have time to open your heart to the story that is about to begin. In fact, the philosopher Plato predicted centuries ago that humans in the future would be tied to chairs in dark caves and watch shadow puppets. When I found out about that, I thought it was amazing.

However, one thing I've always wondered about is the screening time of the movie. The usual time is around 90 to 120 minutes, but 30 minutes or even 6 hours should be fine. I heard this from a psychiatrist friend who says that when people start dreaming, it lasts about 90 to 120 minutes. Perhaps the filmmakers of the past unconsciously made movies that fit into this dream time. There may be a strong causal relationship between movies and dreams.

victims of storytelling