| Σας αρέσει ο Σκαραβαίος; The Beetle (μέρος β' η κριτική) |
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Page 2 of 2 The Beetle is a documentary comedy about an old VW Beetle that needs repairing. His owner, the Israeli flimmaker Yishai Orian, decides to go to Jordan to repair, despite the protests of his pregnant wife to sell it.The rest is a road trip. Cineman: Hi, Yishai, and thanks for answering those questions at Cineman.gr Apart from being a Beetlemaniac, how long have you been working on the cinema/documentary business? Is this your first film, and how were you inspired? Yishai Orian (Y.O.): "The Beetle" is the first film I have made after graduating "The Sam Spiegel Film School" in Jerusalem in 2005.  When I was a film student in Jerusalem I needed a car to get around so I bought the cheapest one I could find. I did not know then that the VW Beetle I had just purchased with all my savings would become the center of disagreements between my wife and myself – and the subject of my first feature film.It did not take long for me to discover that the car I had bought for practical reasons alone was not just any old car. People do not remain indifferent when they see you drive by in a Beetle. This got me thinking about what might have happened to my car before it was mine. Who drove it? Who sat in the back seat? And do they remember the car? As I became more attached to my Beetle, and more curious about its past, I started thinking about making a film about my Beetle. Cineman: From an idea to an execution it takes many steps. How easy was for you to find fundings, and how long did it take you to shoot? Y.O: When I started working on the film, "The new Israeli foundation for Cinema" started a new project for young filmmakers, called "Calling Card". In this project, instead of writing a whole script ahead, the filmmakers are asked to prepare a piece of their film for every stage. If the committee accepts the film, the filmmaker gets funding for the next stage, and continues filming.  The idea of making a film about the Beetle had been germinating for quite a while. It would be a film about 5 people whose only connection is that each one of them had been one of the owners of my Beetle over a period of 40 years. This was the idea that I presented to the “Calling Card” project - and once I made it to the next stage of the assignment I began to really research the history of my car. The first scene that I took on was based on the original idea that I had presented. But by the time I got to the next stage of the project we found out that my wife Eliraz was pregnant. There was great happiness around this news, but also feelings of hesitation and tension. Eliraz became immersed with issues of pregnancy and birth while I was still busy filming and endlessly researching the history of the Beetle.The shooting took about a year, and by the end of the shooting I got to the final stage of the " Calling Card " project. Out of 160 films that started the project, "The Beetle" was the one which got full funding for the movie. Cineman: How many Beetlemaniacs are there? Do you have a group or something? Y.O.: There are thousands of Beetlemaniacs around the world, and in Israel there is a group of Beetlemaniacs who meet every week along with their Beetles. When I was in Taiwan for the international film festival with "The Beetle", I was touched when the large group of members of the local Beetle club came along with their Beetles to watch the movie at the festival. Cineman: We haven't seen the film yet, but from the trailer the Beetle seems to unfold as a family comedy and then transform itself into a road movie with a pinch of political moment. What do you regard the focus of the film? Y.O.: "The Beetle" is a documentary comedy. It's funny and fun to watch, along with being a movie about people and the relations between them, about the way that a machine can connect between people and bridge over cultures. Cineman: We are about to watch the short (55') version at Ecofilms festival in Rodos. What is the difference between the short and the long version?  Y.O.:
It was very challenging to shorten the movie and make the short version from the long one. We tried to leave the short version as similar to the long version as we could. Some of the scenes were just shortened, but we had to take some scenes off. The thing that led us while shortening, was to never take out scenes that are essential for the story.Cineman: The Beetle narrates a true story about a man and his unremittent love for a car. Do you have an unremittent love as a filmmaker as well? (preference for certain persons, cinematic styles) Y.O.: There is one style that I adore - and that's the comedy. It was very important to me that "The Beetle" would come out funny. I found the style of "Creative-Doco" suitable for "The Beetle". This genre is based on reality, but leaves the filmmaker the freedom to shape and tune the movie into a more stylized documentary film. Cineman: What kind of difficulties did you have as an Israeli filmmaker when you decided to shoot in Jordan (with a Beetle)? Were there bureaucratic or cultural impediments? Y.O.: For shooting in Jordan, I had to get approvals from "The Royal Film Commission" of Jordan, a governmental office responsible for all films made in Jordan. I found that institute to be very organized, efficient and helpful. As I got the approval for shooting in Jordan, everything became possible.  When I got in with the beetle to Jordan, I had to replace the Israeli license plate to a local plate, so that I will not be recognized as an Israeli.We shoot in Wadi Rum desert, which is one of the most beautiful places in the world. We met there wonderful warm people. The hospitality we got there was the greatest I have ever seen. – זה ואדי רום, לא? Ram במקור היה It was important to me that the part of the film that was shot in Jordan will not be political, but stay personal and emotional. To my great happiness the encounters with Jordanians were totally devoid of politics – we were all just people. I think that this does something to people in Israel to see the scenes in Jordan. In my film “The Beetle” there is no politics, no animosity. It was important for me to show that we can live peacefully side by side. Cineman: The Beetle has been through major documentary festivals, from HotDocs in Canada to United States and now to Rodos. How much do you think this helps a filmmaker? Y.O.: Going around the world with the film made me realize that we are all people that share the same emotions. I am always excited to see that a movie that is made in one small place, and relates to a specific culture, can still touch different people, make them laugh and shed tears, even on the other half of the world. Cineman: Will The Beetle be available as a dvd at some point? Y.O.: Yes, there will be a DVD next year, containing the long version of "The Beetle", along with some extra funny and surprising bonuses. Cineman: Yishai, thanks for sharing these thoughts with us. We're looking forward to seeing The Beetle (and you!) at Rodos. The Beetle documentary comedy is shown at Ecofilms festival at Rodos, 23-28 June. |
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