We had a chance to chat with Carolina Kzan & Irene van Zeeland of Omaro Productions on their short film ‘Hel Questioning Out Loud‘ which is still in the festival run having just finished Lift-Off Manchester (where it won the audience choice award), a 24-hour screening on Paus TV and the Out & Loud – Pune International Queer Film Festival.
Can you introduce yourself/Omaro Productions for our readers?
Omaro Productions was founded in 2018 by Carolina Kzan (Brazil) and Irene van Zeeland (Netherlands). Joining their forces as filmmaker and choreographer they create interdisciplinary work featuring cinema and movement. The work is mostly experimental and addresses global, yet personal, issues in an intimate way.
From the impact of the current political situation in Brazil to a continuing research into the effect of interhuman relationships on our lives and the way our bodies move. The work is characterized by the constant research into the relationship of the body in motion to the movements of the camera.
How long have you been a filmmaker? Is “Hel” your first film, or have you been doing this for a while?
“Hel Questioning Out Loud” is our first short documentary film that has been released into the festival circuit.
What prompted you to make this movie? What were your inspirations?
The process of making the movie was very spontaneous and organic. Hel and Carolina met for a photoshoot to capture a moment in the transition process of Hel. As a warm-up exercise and as a way to find the tone of the photoshoot Carolina decided to ask Hel some questions about their experiences on the gender spectrum. She then turned on the camera to get used to its presence. And at the end of the conversation they both decided that there was so much precious material that – instead of just keeping the pictures – it was worth making this short documentary.
If you had to sum “Hel” up in a short synopsis, what is the intended message?
Hel, a non-binary independent researcher and performer and Carolina, a filmmaker and photographer, have known each other for years. One day, Hel asks Carolina to take some pictures of them as a way to record their gender transition path. However, what was supposed to be a photo shoot ends up becoming an honest and sweet record of Hel’s questions and points of view in relation to their experiences on the gender spectrum.
Were there any struggles while making the film? If so, can you elaborate?
Not really, it was a very organic and spontaneous process.
Do you have any future plans for writing and/or directing? If so, can you tell us a bit about them?
Currently Omaro Productions is working on a next short film called “Des Petits Reves Aux Yeux Ouverts” (Enlgish title,”Short Dreams with Eyes Wide Open”).
On a given day, Frau Frida – an ordinary woman in her thirties – walks down a quiet street before entering an exceptionally mundane building. Frau Frida does not live in this place and she only comes here to dream with eyes wide open. Through the unusual images created in her mind, we embark on an adventure of sorority and the transmission of knowledge and life experiences between women of different generations and origins. Fears, aspirations, anxieties, hopes and joys translate into fantastic scenes full of poetry and movements of different female bodies. Hand in hand, women walk, run and fly together.
The process of making the movie was very spontaneous and organic. Hel and Carolina met for a photoshoot to capture a moment in the transition process of Hel.”
In the end, Frau Frida leaves the building and walks down the same quiet street when she crosses paths with an older woman, who enters the same mundane building. With a smile on her face, Frau Frida follows her path with the certainty that the cycle will continue, with the conviction that she is not the only one to dream, materialize and perpetuate these stories. This experimental film is an ode to the women who preceded us, to the women who walk with us and to the women who, in the distant or near future, may find refuge, comfort or even inspiration in this story.
What message do you hope people will take away from this film?
We hope that the openness of Hel inspires people to find the courage to ask questions, or share stories about their own experiences on the gender spectrum.
Do you have advice for filmmakers in the world of indie cinema?
Always stay true to yourself, your story is worth being told and being heard/seen!
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