German filmmaker Nicolaas Schmidt has insisted “banality” is the most interesting thing he can include in his movies.
The director’s debut, titled September Afternoon, is to premiere in the Filmmakers of the Present Competition during the Locarno Film Festival on August 10.
In a director’s note for the new movie, Schmidt said he uses “dead time” as “raw material” in the film, as he added: “I stretch mundane moments until they collapse in their emptiness — an invitation to the viewer. In an age of arbitrary extraordinariness, plain banality is stimulating as f***.”
As for the inspiration for September Afternoon, which follows a couple who refuse to accept that summer is over, Schmidt explained to The Hollywood Reporter: “I experienced a similar situation that was as unrelaxed as can be.
“And I was sadly disappointed that I didn’t film or didn’t have a friend with a hand camera there to film.”
When it came to actually shooting the movie, Schmidt had intended to make the wind “seem stronger than it was”. But the unseasonable weather made things “much harder than expected”.
He mused: “My experience so far has shown that it’s good for the films when some things turn out differently than anticipated.
“While that stresses me out immensely, getting through it together with others does me a world of good and provides me with longer-lasting stability.”
And don’t go and watch September Afternoon expecting “uniform” film trends.
He said: “I find it hard to handle uniformity. It unsettles and frightens me if people subject themselves to trends, fashions and the whims of the masses, or individuals.
“I understand that this view also excludes things, but I just don’t like any adaptation without questioning and a valid reason.”