Master Classes with Arnaud de Pallières and Ritesh Batra

Ritesh Batra and Arnaud de Pallières, famous directors and OIFF-2018 International Competition jury members, shared their thoughts of success and hardships in film industry

Arnaud de Pallières mentioned: "When I make feature films, I always try to bring documentary truthfulness, a piece of real life. I always have a desire to make a film as alive as possible. The best way to risk with a movie is an attempt to show your viewer the past, because there is only one time in cinematography. And this is the present"

"The film is not about costumes and decorations, but about the energy it brings"

"When a director aims at showing an era and this desire surpasses everything else, a disaster happens. For my films I choose those actors who have the features that have not yet been discovered and revealed by other filmmakers"

"When you are a young cinematographer, you want to work with well-known actors, but it took time to understand that this is not my way. Often a person who has no experience and education can be a better embodiment of a character than an experienced and well-known actor."

"We do not have to say much to the viewer with a film, we need to give him the opportunity to feel."

Also Ritesh Batra added:

"You always have to look at the shooting with a fresh look, even with the experience you have and hundreds of films you watched before. This is the main task for a director."

"The first 18 years of my life and the last 18 years of my grandfather's life we lived in a same room. Such a useful experience had become the basis for my "Lunchbox" film. "Photograph" is my latest movie. We shot it in India and it tells a love story of a poor photographer and a girl of the middle class. The release is planned for next year."

"I never managed to study well, so I became a director"

"The world of cinema was my source of knowledge, not education and training"

"For me, as a director, it is important that my work is accepted in my native country"