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Asif Kapadia is the visionary director responsible for hits such as Senna and The Warrior. He is highly regarded in the industry and has the "brass" to prove it (awards including the coveted London Film festival Sutherland Award and BAFTA's for Best Documentary and Best Editing).
Asif will be part of the DCM workshop, "The Art Of Cinematic Storytelling" at Advertising Week Europe. Ahead of this, Advertising Week's Doug Zanger interviewed Asif on his origins in film and what he loves most about cinema.
1) Let's start way back. Do you recall the very first film you made? Or the very first thing you shot, that may not have been made into a film?
A short film called A State Of Flux, about a man waiting for a train. It was made it in 1989 at Stamford Hill train Station. It was shot on u matic. I did pretty much everything on it.
My next film was a documentary Pizzaman about an Italian Pizzeria owner from Sao Paulo living in a rough part of South Wales, coming up against the local gangs. The lead was an amazing character, so even though the film wasn't technically great, it worked. I still like this film! It was shot on a VHS camcorder and edited on a linear VHS edit suit.
2) Was there a distinct moment, early in your life, when you absolutely knew that this is what you wanted to pursue in your work and life?
I had worked as a runner on a student film, the DOP on that film asked me to work on her graduate film a few weeks later in Cornwall, I suddenly found myself in the middle of nowhere, working with a group of people I hardly knew. I felt I had run away with the circus. It was while traveling back from Cornwall on the long train ride that I decided to make my own short film.
3) You are of Indian heritage and The Warrior was filmed in Rajasthan. You also started this film not long after graduation. The lens I'm looking through here is more of the "advice" side of the equation for those just graduating from film schools. Were you ever wary of the ambition of something that could be perceived as more complex as you embarked on your career? Or were you so focused on creating such great work that you didn't think much of it?
After graduating from the Royal College of Art I wrote a first feature screenplay called On The Corner, the film was set in Hackney where I grew up, it was very personal, darkly humorous, based on real experiences. It had a lot of character, lots of different story-lines, the problem was that it was really a short film expanded into a feature, so it didn't quite work, it had lots of great scenes but not a strong structure or spine to the narrative. It got stuck in development hell.
As I was waiting for that project to come together, I co wrote a detailed outline for another film, which was based on a footnote in a book of Japanese stories. This project became The Warrior, people who read it loved the idea, many felt it was too complicated to do as my first film, it should be my 'third' feature. But a French producer came on board, he financed the development of the script, the finance came together quite quickly, so I ended up making the more original, crazy film rather than the safe, sensible option.
My aim was to make something which stood out, something visual, cinematic, with minimal dialogue, a film where the story was revealed through images, this film would be a mixture of my Indian heritage, my interest in Samurai films and Japanese culture but told in a European camera style. I was influenced by Zhang Yimou's early films, like Raise The Red Lantern and Story Of Qiu Ju as well as a French / Vietnamese film Cyclo and Robert Bresson's A Man Escaped.
4) Fanboy here. I absolutely ADORED Senna. It is one of my all-time favourites. Sadly, we all know what happened in the end. But how you captured the essence and purity of Senna was masterful. It is always a challenge to find the honesty and the "sweet spot" of the narrative. How did you retain that focus and keep the powerful impact of narrative in check when there was (and still is) so much emotion around a legendary figure like Senna?
It's a long story as it took about 5 years to make the film. It was a close collaboration between the producer James Gay Rees, Writer Manish Pandey, who was the great Ayrton Senna fan on the team and myself, together with our brilliant team of researchers and editors.
We wanted Ayrton Senna to narrate his own life story, the aim was to make it as cinematic as possible, no talking heads, no voice over, no actors, nothing that would break the purity of the experience of his personal journey.
The aim was to make Senna as a thriller, an action film, it had to be emotionally engaging both for the non sport fan, someone who has never heard of cannot stand Formula One, as well as the hardcore fan who knows and thinks they have seen everything about Ayrton already.
We tried to structure the film in the same way as a fiction film, with a beginning, middle and end, with all of the twists and dramatic turns of a good drama, we had to find the balance between telling the story we wanted to tell, yet working only with footage that existed somewhere in archives around the world.
We had a 'good' problem on the film from the start, we had far too much material! There were so many incredible stories in Senna's life, he was so charismatic, so intelligent, the racing footage was visceral, it was a huge challenge to bring the material and story down to length. Our first assembly was seven hours long, the first cut 5 hours long! It took two years to bring this down the the 100minute film which was released.
We screened rough cuts of the film continually to a selected audience, the reaction was always great, people laughed and cried, even when the footage was technically so poor. This process helped keep our focus when dealing with 15,000 hours of material.
5) You are deservedly highly-awarded. I've heard all sides when it comes to awards. What does the recognition mean to you in terms of your artistic point of view? How do the accolades help enhance the opportunities that you have when it comes to your craft?
It's a key way to get your work noticed when you are starting out. It is such a huge challenge to get a film together, both shorts and features, so anything that can help; a commercial success, a critical success, positive word of mouth or awards help to give you a chance to make the next project, particularly if you are taking risks, trying to create original work.
6) Any up-and-coming filmmakers in the UK we should be knowing about?
I'm on the jury for the Best Debut Film Award at the BAFTAs, so I see a lot of first films, both fiction and documentaries. I think the nominees for that award over the years are a good signpost to who the next big thing might be.
7) What do you value most about the cinema experience -- the actual immersive nature of being in the cinema, without distraction?
Absolutely, I love the group experience of watching a film in a dark space, without interruptions from email, calls or text messages. Where I can totally immerse myself in the cinematic experience.
8) You are part of an excellent panel at Advertising Week Europe. What are you most looking forward to sharing?
Anything that might be helpful!
I think it's important for people to find their own style, don't be afraid to be original!
The original interview can also be found here on Advertising Week Europe's blog.
Digital Cinema Media (DCM) Workshop - The Art of Cinematic Storytelling Tuesday 19 March / 11:00am Run Run Shaw, BAFTA, 195 Piccadilly, London
Heat, Mercedes Benz ‘Lucky Star’ (Michael Mann) / Sexy Beast, Guinness ‘Surfer’ (Jonathan Glazer) / Mulholland Drive, Sony ‘The Third Place’ (David Lynch) / Fight Club, Adidas ‘Mechanical Legs’ (David Fincher). Just a few of the great stories that illustrate why cinema is as essential for brands as it is for filmmakers. Join a group of inspirational panellists from the world of film and advertising to explore the art of storytelling through the continually evolving cinema medium that not only provides a richer, more creative and emotionally impactful canvas on which to communicate, but now offers more ways than ever to tell your story.
Moderator: Andy Law, Chairman, Fearlessly Frank Mike Bennett, CEO/Founder, OIL Studios Sara Dunlop, Director, Rattling Stick Ed Edwards, Creative Director, Writer and Director, Havas Worldwide Asif Kapadia, BAFTA award-winning Film Director – Senna, The Warrior, Far North