German filmmaker Nicolaas Schmidt has insisted \u201cbanality\u201d is the most interesting thing he can include in his movies.<\/p>\n
The director\u2019s debut, titled September Afternoon, is to premiere in the Filmmakers of the Present Competition during the Locarno Film Festival on August 10.<\/p>\n
In a director\u2019s note for the new movie, Schmidt said he uses \u201cdead time\u201d as \u201craw material\u201d in the film, as he added: \u201cI stretch mundane moments until they collapse in their emptiness \u2014 an invitation to the viewer. In an age of arbitrary extraordinariness, plain banality is stimulating as f***.\u201d<\/p>\n
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: \u201cI experienced a similar situation that was as unrelaxed as can be.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I was sadly disappointed that I didn\u2019t film or didn\u2019t have a friend with a hand camera there to film.\u201d<\/p>\n
When it came to actually shooting the movie, Schmidt had intended to make the wind \u201cseem stronger than it was\u201d. But the unseasonable weather made things \u201cmuch harder than expected\u201d.<\/p>\n
He mused: \u201cMy experience so far has shown that it\u2019s good for the films when some things turn out differently than anticipated.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile that stresses me out immensely, getting through it together with others does me a world of good and provides me with longer-lasting stability.\u201d<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t go and watch September Afternoon expecting \u201cuniform\u201d film trends.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n
\u201cI understand that this view also excludes things, but I just don\u2019t like any adaptation without questioning and a valid reason.\u201d<\/p>\n