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Hi Keyvan, Ola and Götz and welcome to Vents Magazine! Before we get the proverbial ball rolling, how have you all been during these tumultuous times?
Keyvan: It was an anxious time for sure, I was personally lucky enough to be in French countryside, where everything was fine.
Ola: I’ve been restless and depressed, I live through my work and had to find something to do so I signed a contract with a Swedish publisher and started writing a book about my life and career.
Götz: Probably like everybody else. Amazed, worried, hoping.
Congratulations on your terrific film Divertimento, Keyvan! Can you give Vents readers a quick summation about what the film is about without giving away some serious spoilers?
Thank you! Well, I think the movie is about responsibility, someone who does not want to be responsible for his own acts and is ready to do everything to forget or change his past.
You wrote and directed Divertimento, which is one of the more original and thought provoking pieces of film this reviewer has watched in some time. What inspired this lovely story?
Again, thank you! I remember I wrote this step by step. First, I wanted to make a movie about a game and the first draft was a shorter version dealing only with a game. Then I had this idea I liked to bring chess and associate the characters with chess pieces. But it was still too classic to me. Finally I decided to add another perspective for the movie and to add the story which emerges in the last act which is a kind of a tale.
Watching Divertimento I was reminded in the best of ways of such films as David Fincher’s The Game or Christopher Nolan’s Memento. Were these influential on your film at all, Keyvan?
You’re so right! I’m a huge fan of Fincher’s The Game so it’s certainly why, at the beginning of the process, I wanted to make a movie about a game. In the same time, I made the story take rapidly a very different and new direction so it wouldn’t be a replica of the Fincher’s movie, but maybe just a little tribute, which is great. And Christopher Nolan, for sure, he’s my favorite director. I started to watch his movies when I was 7-year-old, so he was, and still is, very influential.
Divertimento says so many things about the hold memory has on many of us, regret and the act of letting go of the past to hopefully build a better tomorrow. Pretty heady stuff for a thirty minute film! How did you balance Big Ideas such as the above and still manage to produce a crackling and enjoyable story that can be enjoyed even without the deeper philosophical underpinnings?
That was something very important to me as I wanted the movie to be first entertaining and enjoyable. I think, when you have an interesting mood with famous actors, great cinematography, music, wardrobe, and if you avoid very complex shots, people have a good time to watch your story, even if it’s complex. But it’s maybe not enough. I wanted that the audience lives the same experience than Jonas, the main character. I mean, not give more information than he has, making us wondering just like him why these things are happening. And then make the story understood when the character figures out things. So there’s a real identification. Another major element might be the opening scene with the voice-over. By inviting the audience to explore the mystery of this castle, it makes you immersed in the plot, you want to know from the first minute what is this terrifying secret.
Ola, you play the character of Gustav in the film. Again, trying to tiptoe around spoilers, can you give readers an idea of who your character is?
Gustav is a rich, narcissistic man with a lot of power over people which makes him a dangerous opponent as he can’t let go of the past and seeks revenge.
Is it fun playing a character who has a pretty big secret that is being withheld from the audience?
Absolutely! Playing a role, deep secrets are a character’s best friend
Götz, you make an indelible impression on viewers as the character Klaus Kesler. How did you approach playing this character?
By reading the script.
Ola and Götz, this question is for both of you: What was it like being directed by Keyvan?
Ola: I absolutely loved being directed by Keyvan! His young genius and creativity carried us all through the process. I enjoyed every second and learned a lot from it.
Götz: Keyvan has a lot of energy. He is creating a wonderful playground for people who want to explore. He has a very precise idea of what he wants.
The cinematography is lush and bold, adding dark golden hues to an already bleak landscape. Keyvan, what was cinematographer Jean-Claude Aumont like to work with and was this a deliberate decision to paint the story in an almost classical style?
It was the third time I worked with him. The amount of work on this short was huge, as we had no less than 100 lightings, which is a lot! What I heard is that a classic feature movie has about 30 lightings. When I give my wishes and directions for the cinematography and the global color mood, it most of the time deals with my own personal taste, the colors and the lights I like myself. Jean-Claude makes exactly what I want and sometimes suggests other great things which can add new interesting perspectives to my directions. Another reason is the genre of the movie. You need to make something mysterious, with games of lights and shadows, which is, obviously, also something I love to make.
Divertimento plays its trade in the same fertile ground as classic film noir (the unreliable narrator, red herrings) with a little dash of the best of O. Henry and Rod Serling thrown in for good measure. Was this intentional on your part, Keyvan?
I love film noir because these movies are more visual than literal. You feel the story visually. Also, I like the themes of the stories: manipulation, betrayal, secrets, etc. And again, you identify with the character as, like the audience, he explores a maze and doesn’t know himself what’s going on until the end, that’s something interesting. Another interesting element with film noir might be the complexity of each character, there’s no really good or bad guys. There’s the same ambiguity in Divertimento, you’re not sure the good guy is still the good one at the end or the bad guy is still the bad one. That’s something I love because the audience is often — and me first — disturbed but in the same time enjoys this ambiguity. Last thing is the importance of the night in a classic film noir, and I always prefer to film by night than day, there’s so more visual and literal possibilities!
Ola and Götz, how do you feel the entertainment industry will weather the coronavirus storm?
Ola: Hopefully we can use this crisis to find new ways of communication, collaboration and cross-over creativity.
Götz: I have no freakin’ idea.
I’m curious Ola and Götz, are there any actors – living or dead – that inspires your own considerable work?
Ola: My greatest inspiration is Gary Oldman. His presence is magical and the wide range of his work is insane. He will always be an idol to me and an icon in the industry.
Götz: Lino Ventura, Alan Rickman, Joaquin Phoenix.
Keyvan, what is the release plans looking like for Divertimento? Can fans expect to see your masterpiece soon?
Hopefully, after the summer.
Keyvan, you have worn many different hats during your time in the industry: Director, producer, writer, actor, editor. Is there one pursuit over another that you prefer dojng for the long haul?
Definitely I want to make movies as a classic filmmaker, write and direct them. Making shorts was an opportunity to try different things and have experience of other departments, which can only be useful for the future.
Final (Silly) Question for Everyone: You can have a dinner with any five people, living or dead. Which five do you choose to spend time with and why?
Keyvan: Alfred Hitchcock and Christopher Nolan as they’re my favorite directors. And then, well I’ve so many actors I’d love to meet… I think I would have loved to meet and make a movie with Gregory Peck. Obviously I’d love to meet iconic actors such as Harrison Ford, Al Pacino, Clint Eastwood, Richard Gere, Pierce Brosnan, and so many others! And there’s also my favorite actor, but I keep his name secret!
Ola: Gary Oldman, Marlon Brando, Patricia Arquette, Gena Rowlands and Christian Bale. I have so many tough questions about acting for all of them and I’m sure they would give me interesting answers. On top of that I’m pretty sure we would have a really good time together.
Götz: Charles Manson, Jesus, Hitchcock, Luis XIV, Obama… that could be very interesting. I would just sit there and watch.
