24/06/2024 - We spoke to the man behind such silent films as Tuvalu, Absurdistan and The Bra about how he got involved in and produces these projects

(© German Film Fest. Madrid)

Veit Helmer was recently in Madrid following an invitation from the German Film Fest to present Gondola [+see also:
film review
interview: Veit Helmer
film profile], a delightful lesbian love story that takes place on the heights of a cable car over the mountains of Georgia. The film will be released in Spanish cinemas in November via Reverso Films, after having hit them in Germany via JIP and in France with Destiny Films.

Cineuropa: Your previous film, The Bra [+see also:
trailer
interview: Veit Helmer
film profile], featured the famous Spanish actress Paz Vega.
Veit Helmer: As my films have no dialogue, I work with actors from all over the world. In Absurdistan [+see also:
trailer
film profile] I tried to turn this condition into a superlative and auditioned in 28 different countries. I also met the casting director Pep Armengol, who suggested great actors for that feature film. For The Bra I cast in a few countries, but Spain was a must. I was so happy to meet Paz Vega, because she was perfect for the role.

You've done it again in Gondola by choosing European actors. Is this now a trademark in your filmography?
The budget was small for this production and I couldn't afford to come to Spain for casting and I did it there in Georgia, where we shot, although I discovered the French actress Mathilde Irrmann in Berlin. The problem that casting directors have with my films is that sometimes they don't know what I need. They usually give sides, a couple of pages, to an actor, and that's what the audition is. That's why I do the first casting myself. I make up an improvisation that allows me to see whether someone is suitable for the role. That initial test I do is the prototype and what casting directors then follow.

How many films have you made like Gondola, with no dialogue?
Four in total: Tuvalu, Absurdistan, The Bra, and now Gondola. And also, ten short films.

Do you have silent film idols, such as Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton or someone else?
When I was studying in Munich I had a wonderful teacher, Wim Wenders, and in 1994 he asked us to write a script to celebrate the centenary of cinema. In Germany there were two inventors, the Skladanowsky brothers, who made a projection a week before the Lumière brothers, but their projector was a piece of junk and was not commercially successful. I co-wrote a film about them, which has recently been restored and is being re-released this month at the Il Cinema Ritrovato film festival in Bologna. I am co-producer of the film by Wenders, A Trick of Light, which was silent and shot with a 1920's camera, with such a good quality that in post-production we introduced scratches to make it look like an old film.

Did dialogue somehow adulterate that early cinema, which expressed everything with images, without the need for words?
This type of silent film needs the attention and concentration of the audience, who is not passive, but participatory, constructing the story, because you can't watch a film and be ironing at the same time.

Gondola is a co-production between Germany and Georgia, supported by Eurimages, among others. When it comes to submitting a script for grants, I assume that a script without dialogue will be much shorter than a standard 100+ page script. How do you present them?
A wordless script is just that. Basically, half. And it actually makes it easier to read. It is an advantage, something special. And you find out whether it is an advantage when you get the grant or not. I don't think everyone always reads all the scripts... although the first two summary pages are usually read. Obviously film is a visual medium: when you present it you can accompany the script with photographs, videos, storyboards, links, etc. I take great care in presenting it in such a way that it is not just reading it. This other material helps to understand what I want to tell and how I will make the film. Presenting the cast also helps a lot, showing that it is possible to make this kind of silent film.

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(Translated from Spanish by Vicky York)