"Great Freedom" Directed by Sebastian Meise Why should it be a movie? [Director's Interview Vol.330]

Why does it have to be a movie?

Q: There are scenes where the beautiful love between the lovers develops, but on the other hand, there are also scenes where the sexual depictions are captured as they are and are not beautifully shot, which were also very impressive.

Mize: I think there are many different colors in sexual relationships. No matter what kind of sex it is, at the heart of it is the human desire to be close to someone. Sex may not necessarily be combined with love, but for Hans it was all about love.

“Great Freedom” ©2021FreibeuterFilm•Rohfilm Productions

Q: Please tell us about your favorite director or movie that influenced you.

Mize: Stanley Kubrick and Michelangelo Antonioni are two tops. There are also many others like Pasolini, Herzog, Hitchcock, Bergman, and Tarkovsky (lol). What I learned from them as a filmmaker is "to contribute to movies." Storytelling and characters are important, but when I create my own work, I always keep in mind questions such as ``Why does it have to be a movie?'' and ``What parts of it are cinematic?''

In terms of this movie, this is summarized in the scene at the beginning of the movie where a person is peeped into by a surveillance camera. This scene breaks the so-called "fourth wall" and allows the audience to relate directly. When we make movies, how much of the world are we peeking into through the camera's gaze, and what are the movies that depict these things? I put that feeling into the opening sequence.

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Director/Screenplay: Sebastian Mize

Film director and screenwriter born in 1976 in Kitzbühel, Austria. His feature debut, Still Life (2011), premiered at the San Sebastian International Film Festival and won numerous awards, including Best Feature Film at the Diagonale Austrian Film Festival. The documentary film "Outing" (until 12) was screened at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Film Festival. This work, ``The Great Freedom,'' is his second full-length fiction work. He is also the co-founder of the Vienna-based production company FreibeuterFilm.

Interview and text: Fumio Koda

Editorial staff and writer for CINEMORE. My favorite movies are ``The Goonies'' and ``Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.'' My recent favorites are 4K digitally remastered classics by Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu.

"Great Freedom"

Released nationwide from July 7th (Friday) at Bunkamura Le Cinema Shibuya Miyashita and other locations

Distribution: Bunkamura

©2021FreibeuterFilm•Rohfilm Productions