Interview with Yonathan Levy

Yonathan Levy is a rising Israeli/French filmmaker who won ÉCU 2010’s Film of the Festival (Europe’s Best Independent Film 2010) with his touching film, Das Kind.

While Das Kind continues its road to success on the festival circuit, Yonathan spoke to us about his influences and aspirations, keeping us eager to see what he’s up to next.

Where are you from?

I was born in Israel but I’ve always lived in France…until now. Indeed, next week, I will go back to Israel where I do hope to stay for a lifetime. So, my answer is both from France and Israel. I like to get these two cultures in me and to use them for my work.

If you could describe indie cinema in your country in 3 words, what would they be?

Passion, Creativity, Risk.

What got you started in filmmaking?

I got started in filmmaking very early, during a journey in Poland while I was 14. It was a one week “visit” in concentration camps around Poland with my classroom. I shot the whole journey with my VHS camera and I did the editing with a simple VHS tape player. The result was surprisingly moving and my classmates enjoyed it so they encouraged me to do another one. And then, I never stopped making films… I want to add that I’ve dealt with the Shoah topic several times after and I consider Das Kind as the film that closes this long cycle.

Whom or what are you influenced by?

My inspiration comes from different kinds of media and cultures. I try to be as open as I can to what life brings to me. To be more precise, I am more touched by people than places and I prefer heart and spiritual emotions to intellectual ones.

Otherwise, my director master is Andrei Tarkovsky. I feel close to him, not because of his specific and beautiful aesthetic, but because I share with him his vision of art and cinema, which is doing  films like praying.

Please describe your ÉCU experience: the people, the environment, how did you feel when Das Kind was chosen as the best film of the ECU 2010…?

I really enjoyed the ÉCU experience which was the first festival experience for the film. The screening of Das Kind was preceded by a Romanian documentary about excavations of communism’ victims and that was a good programming because it gave an interesting counterpoint to our film. Otherwise, Scott Hillier and his team were very devoted to us, the filmmakers, and I would like to thank them for their wonderful work. About Das Kind itself, I must admit that the ÉCU screening was the most moving one among the other festivals’ screenings. I don’t really know why but I felt everybody was crying at the end of the film. I remember Scott asking during the Q and A: who didn’t cry? And that’s true, the emotion was intense. Maybe that’s what helped us to win this prestigious award. Anyway, the award was a great surprise for me because of two main reasons: I hadn’t won any award since my short film SCOPE TOUR RETOUR five years ago and my film was a documentary so I didn’t think we could win such a prize. That’s why I did a very short thanking speech!

What was your most valuable aspect taken from participating in the film festival circuit?

Being in the festival circuit helps you to meet producers, distributors and buyers so it helps you to show and sell your film and it also helps you to prepare your further projects.

What was the greatest barrier you came up against in your filmmaking experience?

The greatest barrier was my age and sometimes I am still confronted by it. Unfortunately, especially in France, it’s difficult to conceive that a 24 year old boy is able to make a historical documentary feature. But I had the chance to meet my producer who was fully confident in me and let me do the film as I imagined it.

What are you working on now?

I am currently doing research and writing a script for a feature film about a famous Jewish scholar who lived in the Middle Ages

Your plans for the future?

Trying to remain the same.

Here’s where you can find Das Kind:

DocUtah (16-25 September 2010)

Cinepecs, Hungary (4-10 October 2010)

Festival des Libertés, Belgium (22-30 October 2010)

Mostra of Sao Paulo, Brazil (22 October – 4 Nov2010)

1001 Doc Film Festival, Istanbul, Turkey (29 Oct – 4 Nov)

Vienna Jewish Film Festival, Austria (26-30 November)

About Yonathan’s universe and previous works, check his website at www.yonathanlevy.com