Petri Kotwica

This year, Kotwica’s feature film title Rat King (2012) was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival Cinemania section which offers a small selection of thrilling, largely international, narrative films. 

Rat King tells the story of Juri, a hardcore gamer who is always looking for the next virtual challenge.  One day he loses track of his online gaming friends Mordred and Jossi, and stumbles his way into the most sinister game he’ll ever play. 

We met with Kotwica to get inside the thrilling tale of Rat King and see where the inspirations for the subjects, characters, and genre came from.

Q: I greatly enjoyed Rat King, first as a thriller and second as a film that uses video gaming as a core subject matter.  Do you play many video games/know any gamers that may have been the inspiration for Juri or Niki?

A: My very own son was.  It’s been a while since I was a gamer myself – I think that was 15 years ago or something (laughing).  I observed my son.  I’m a weekend father so I didn’t have a daily window into this but at some point I realized he plays way too much.  Now he’s 17 and he like’s girls (laughing).

Q: When Juri loses track of his gaming partners he falls into a repressed state and becomes almost dead to the world.  Was video gaming as an addiction the source of his fallout?

A: I think this can happen when you take any addiction too far.  I’m a son of an alcoholic.  I find all of this is a metaphor for any addiction that gets you into trouble.  Your social relationships suffer and you don’t get your job done – you neglect others.  You become alien and are not in reality any more.

Q: Watching Rat King made me think of your film Black Ice and the undercurrents of tension that surround one character infiltrating the life of another under false pretenses – but unlike Black Ice’s protagonist we can never be sure until the end exactly what Niki’s intensions are and in a way we even trust him as Juri’s savior: was that your intention?

A: Absolutely.  I had a very different agenda here.  In Black Ice the most important thing for me was that I break the traditional way we think of protagonist and antagonist – they sort of switch places there.  It’s obvious that the other woman is treated like an antagonist in most stories like this – if you think of Single White Female or Fatal Attraction in this case.

So I wanted to show that she did nothing wrong until the lies start to escalate.  But here I wanted to build and serve the suspense.  I tried to balance the metaphorical level that this is all happening in someone’s busy mind.  I also found out, of course, that some people love the film because of the ambiguity and some might want to see it more realistic.

Q: Video gaming is sometimes seen as a breeding ground for violent behavior and repression.  Were you playing at any of that with Niki’s actions or Juri’s social status?

A: Absolutely but the thing is I think that regarding violent behavior, video games are a good way to get out those feelings – like boxing or taekwondo.  It’s only when you lose your sense of what is real and what is not, in that case it’s a sad thing that what you have the most experience of after 15 or 20 years is to walk into a place and shoot as many people as possible.  This is something almost politically incorrect to implicate at any level.  I love video games and I admire the way they are created and the way they look (if I had time I would probably try to be a better gamer myself).  I can see a danger though, if you sink into it.

Q: I was amazed that Juri was written to have a girlfriend, given his gaming addiction.  She ends up being a significant part in his revelation about Niki and his heroic action toward the end, but was she significant to your vision of Juri as a character?

A: (laughing) Yes I wanted to catch him completely in the moment, but I can see why you’d be surprised by that.

Q: You’re no stranger to award winning filmmaking.  Did you intend to add something new to the thriller drama with Rat King to set it apart from the many others that address similar subjects?

A: No.  I started this from an idea that, my first thought was to make quite a realistic film.  It just so happened – I got this idea 4 years ago or something – the next year we had our first school shootings in Finland, two of them in one year.  I wanted to distance everything from that because that would simply not be right.  It would put a great deal of pain in the hearts of Finnish people.  We filmed this in Estonia; we did not film in Finland, for other reasons as well but also for this reason.

But, I’m very fond of watching good thrillers so I really didn’t want to change much.  I would like to balance somewhere between drama and thriller – a thriller with a very strong drama base, that would be great.  At some point I would also love to do a comedy thriller as well (laughing). 

Q: Do you have any new projects in the works? 

A: I’m working on a thriller which goes more to the type of thriller that Black Ice was.  From that it’s closer to a thriller than a drama.

Q: So, no comedy thriller just yet?

A: Oh, no!  I wouldn’t know how to write it, I’ll have to let someone else try it first.

The Independent Filmmaker Project (IFP) announced today the ten documentaries selected for the 2013 Independent Filmmaker Labs, IFP’s  annual year-long fellowship for first-time feature directors.  The key creative teams of the selected films, chosen from a national pool of 200 submissions, will participate in three week-long sessions over the course of 2013, with the first – the Time Warner Foundation Documentary Completion Lab – taking place May 13-17 in New York City.

“Now more than ever, it’s essential that independent filmmakers have the knowledge and tools to define and reach their audience through multiple platforms, as well as the time and space to make their work the best that it can be,” says Joana Vicente, IFP Executive Director. “With more than 80% of our previous Lab projects debuted in festivals and being released worldwide, the impact of this program has been significant for its participants. We are also thrilled that our longtime supporter Time Warner Foundation has significantly expanded its support of the program, allowing us to provide increased support and crucial mentorship to filmmakers working in the ever-changing landscape of filmmaking, marketing and distribution.”

Two former Lab documentaries will soon premiere on the upcoming season of PBS’ P.O.V. (Herman’s House and High Tech, Low Life), with other alums having recently premiered in 2013 at top festivals – SXSW (12 O’Clock Boys; Big Joy; These Birds Walk), New Directors/New Films (Our Nixon); Tribeca (Alias Ruby Blade; Big Joy), and Hot Docs (12 O’Clock Boys, American Commune, Lucky; Northern Light; Our Nixon; These Birds Walk).  Of these, 12 O’Clock Boys and These Birds Walk have been acquired for distribution by Oscillocope Laboratories and Our Nixon by Cinedigm and CNN Films.

Lucky director Laura Checkoway says “As a first-time filmmaker, making my documentary has been an isolating process, and it was wonderful to be surrounded by a community of filmmakers and experts as obsessed with their work as I am with mine. The support and encouragement was overwhelming. I’m so thankful to IFP for believing in my film and offering the push I needed on the steep climb to completion.”

The Independent Filmmaker Labs are a highly immersive, free mentorship program supporting first-time feature directors with projects in post-production as they complete, market and distribute their films. Focusing exclusively on low-budget features (<$1million), the Labs provide filmmakers with the technical, creative and strategic tools necessary to launch their films. Twenty projects (10 documentaries and 10 narratives) are selected for the Lab fellowship. Narrative Lab selections will be announced in June.

The labs provide multiple levels of mentorship throughout the process. The supervising 2013 Documentary Lab leaders are producer Lori Cheatle (112 Weddings, 51 Birch Street, The Edge of Dreaming); producer and author Maureen Ryan (The Gates ; co-producer Man on Wire and Project Nim;Producer to Producer), and Jon Reiss, director and author (Bomb It!; Think Outside the Box Office).  Individual workshop leaders include, amongst others: editors Penelope Falk (Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work; Maidentrip), Jonathan Oppenheim (The Oath; Paris Is Burning); Mary Manhardt (American Promise,Street Fight), Jean Tsien (A Place at the Table; Please Vote for Me), and Adam Zucker (Carol Channing: Larger Than Life), composer T. Griffin (Dragonslayer; Informant ), music  supervisor Barry Cole (Marley), and experts on web presence, audience building, outreach, and distribution: Sara Kiener and Merrill Sterritt of Film Presence, Caitlin Boyle of Film Sprout, Erin Owens of Long Shot Factory, Erick Opeka of Cinedigm, and Diana Holtzberg of Films Transit. Additional individual mentors include filmmakers Doug Block (The Kids Grow Up), Heather Courtney (Where Soldiers Come From), Kirby Dick (The Invisible War), Marcia Jarmel (Speaking in Tongues), Tia Lessin (Trouble the Water), and Marlo Poras (The Mosuo Sisters; Run Granny Run).

Since 2005, 148 documentaries and narrative features have participated in the Labs, with 82% of the projects completed and premiered at major US and international festivals, with 60% having distribution on a variety of platforms beyond festivals. As part of IFP’s ongoing commitment to diversity, the Independent Filmmaker Labs also seek to ensure that at least 50% of the participating projects have an inclusive range of races, genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities and physical abilities in key creative positions.

The Independent Filmmaker Lab program is supported by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Ford Foundation, Heineman Foundation, Hollywood Foreign Press Association, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, SAGIndie/Screen Actors Guild and Time Warner Foundation. Lab partners include The Adrienne Shelly Foundation, BMI, Rooftop Films, and 92YTribeca.

The selected projects for the 2013 Documentary Lab and Lab Fellows are:

Approaching the Elephant

Given uncommon freedom and individual rights, a group of young children enroll in a newly opened ‘free school,’ where rules are created democratically – students and teachers have an equal vote – and classes are voluntary. Fellows: Amanda Wilder (Director/DP), Jay Craven (Producer). Brooklyn, NY

Bringing Tibet Home

Tibetan artist Tenzing Rigdol sets out on a mission to bring Tibet closer to Tibetan exiles through an unprecedented art project, inspired by his late father’s unfulfilled wish to breathe his last breath in his homeland. Losing his father made Tenzing realize that wishing to return home is common among all Tibetan exiles.  Thus an art project was born to make this common dream a reality as the artist struggles to bring 20,000 kilos of native soil from Tibet to Tibetan exiles in India. Fellows: Tenzin Tsetan Choklay (Director/ Producer /Writer/DP/Editor); Milica Zec (Editor). Queens, NY

Do I Sound Gay?

Determined to overcome his shame about “sounding gay,” director David Thorpe embarks on a hilarious, poignant, taboo-shattering exploration of the phenomenon of the “gay voice.” With Margaret Cho, Tim Gunn, Dan Savage, David Sedaris and George Takei. Fellows: David Thorpe (Director/Writer); Howard Gertler (Producer). Brooklyn, NY.

Evolution of a Criminal

Deep in the heart of Texas, what begins as an innocent tale of family, sacrifice, and financial hardship quickly escalates into a true-crime thriller. Fusing together compelling interviews, striking re-enactments, and home video, we are forced to ask ourselves how a 16 year-old honor roll student evolved into a bank robber. Darius Clark Monroe (Director); Jen Gatien (Producer); Doug Lenox (Editor). Brooklyn, NY.

Farmer Veteran

Watching a chicken hatch makes combat veteran Alex Sutton smile, so he decides to become a farmer. The sense of purpose he once felt as a soldier returns, but his crippling PTSD remains. Along with his wife, Jessica, he toils through four seasons on a different kind of battlefield and wonders if, for him, the war will ever end.

Fellows:  D.L. Anderson (Director/Producer/Editor); Alix Blair (Director/DP); Mikel Barton (Editor). Durham, NC.

In Country

War is hell. Why would anyone want to spend their weekends there? “In Country” is a cinematic feature documentary following a “platoon” of historical reenactors who are recreating the Vietnam War in the woods of Oregon.  Not just a film about the aftermath of the Vietnam War or the fantasies of grown men; it’s a meditation on how the drums of war continue to draw men to battle despite devastating consequences. Fellows: Megan O’Hara (Director/Producer); Mike Attie ((Director/Producer/DP); Lindsay Utz (Editor).  San Francisco, CA; Seattle, WA.

Kasamayaki (Made in Kasama)

Shaken by the tsunami and nuclear disasters, a grown daughter returns to her rural Japanese artist community to reconnect with her estranged parents and hometown. Meditative moments at the pottery wheel punctuated by tense family conversations, sudden earthquakes and radiation level readings,Kasamayaki exposes the fragility of life and the imperfect nature of human relationships. Fellow: Yuki Kokubo (Director/ Producer/DP/Editor). Brooklyn, NY

The Life and Mind of Mark DeFriest

Mark DeFriest is an American prison legend, an escape artist who has spent 32 years behind bars, most of it in long-term isolation, with little light, hope, or human contact. When the doctor whose diagnosis originally condemned DeFriest to prison admits he was wrong, a new chance for freedom is borne. But is it too late for redemption?  Fellows:  Gabriel London (Director/Writer/DP); Daniel Chalfen (Producer); Nick Clark (Editor). New York, NY

Mateo

Mateo follows L.A.’s most notorious troubadour, Matthew Stoneman, as he fulfills his most recent obsession, “Una Historia de Cuba,” a record of original compositions recorded over the course of six years piece meal style in Havana, Cuba. Ultimately, “Mateo” is a study of barriers — cultural, geographic, and moral — and a man who doesn’t believe in any of them. Fellows: Aaron Naar (Director/Writer/Producer/DP/Editor); Nicole Vaskell (Editor). Los Angeles, CA

Roots and Webs

If you lose your family, you must build it anew. Amid the desolate Oregon wilderness, the lives of two former soldiers intersect. Roger, a former US Army sniper in Vietnam, and Kouy, a platoon leader with the Khmer Freedom Fighters who fought against Cambodia’s Khmer Rouge, come together each autumn for the matsutake mushroom hunt. The two each wrestle with wounds from Southeast Asian wars, attempting to find the high-priced mushroom before snowfall. An odyssey into the woods, into the memory of war and survival, we tell a story of family from this enigmatic woodland realm. Fellows: Sara Dosa (Director); Josh Penn (Producer). Berkeley, CA.

For more information and to donate to the 10th annual Indy Film Festival, visit http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/717569667/indy-film-fest-10-years-of-stirring-stories.

Director Ian Vernon took the Grand Prize at LIFF for his feature film Best Little Whorehouse in Rochdale. The British comedy tells the story of a group of women in a northern town who set up a co-operatively owned brothel, but one which provides no sex. The comedy is Vernon’s second feature and was shot for only £2000. 

Actress Natalie Martins won the festival’s Best Actor award for her feature film debut in Miracle Grow, about the “legal highs” drug culture of London teens.

The Best International Film prize went to Patrick Cordova for Once Upon A Time in Bolivia, a South American road movie shot for £4000. Also, LA filmmaker Lily Mariye won Best Micro-Budget Feature for Model Minority which looks at immigration and integration in the USA. 

Director Steve Stone won Best Horror Film for his creeper Entity which follows paranormal investigators solving a mystery in a remote Siberian forest. 

Michael Chanon and Lee Salter’s documentary Secret City about the inner workings of the City of London won the festival’s Best Feature Documentary. While Yannick Oho Bambe won Best Short Documentary for his When Tottenham Exploded about the 2011 riots in London. 

Festival Director Erich Schultz said: “Another year of absolutely fantastic low-budget films from around the world. I’m certain we’ll be seeing many great things from these filmmakers in the very near future” 

Hosted at annually at the Shortwave Cinema near London Bridge, the 2013 London Independent Film Festival screened over 100 films. The festival highlights the best in low & micro-budget filmmaking every April and has been called: “A treasure trove of undiscovered cinematic gem and one of Europe’s top indie film fests” (British Film Magazine).

Full information about the festival and press photos can be found at:
http://press.londonindependent.org

And The Winners Are…
UK Feature — Best Little Whorehouse in Rochdale by Ian Vernon
Best Actor – Natalie Martins in Miracle Grow
International Feature – Once Upon a Time in Bolivia by Patrick Cordova
Sci-Fi/ Horror — Entity by Steve Stone
Micro-Budget Feature — Model Minority by Lily Mariye
Documentary – Secret City by Michael Chanon and Lee Salter
Short Documentary — When Tottenham Exploded by Yannick Oho Bambe
UK Short — Insideout by Flaminia Graziadei
International Short — Paying For It by Lauren Lillie
Horror/ Sci-Fi Short — Duality by Andrew Tulloch 
LGBT Film — Unspoken by Sunny King 
Short Short — Romantic Hideaway by Kawita Sareen 
Animated Short — Jamón by Iria Lopez 
UK Music Video — Feel Flows dir by Paris Zarcilla 
International Music Video — Teenage Popstar Girl dir by Daniel Azarian 
Best Screenplay — Knock-Out by Chris Brown

Evan Shapiro, in addition to being President of IFC, teaches a class on media at NYU.   There he sees the leading edge of the “unplug” movement, the idea of disconnecting and going straight internet.  Evan argues, in his piece this morning at MediaBizBloggers [http://www.mediabizbloggers.com/evan-shapiro] that it’s not “either/or” and urges us to embrace the power of “and”!

The death of television has been devoutly wished for by those who see it as a wasteland, by those who are frustrated with the packaging policies of cable television companies, and by those who are fans of the “next new thing” – among others.  But that doesn’t seem realistic.  Television has been and continues to be the single best audience aggregator in the media business.  Movies, for all the attention they get, are a distant runner up.  If you’re talking “advertiser supported”, then you’re talking audiences – and television has them.  And the big advertising markets in Spring and Fall show it.

And television content has bright spots that perhaps could not have been imagined earlier.  With the atrophying of television news (see CNN, Fox) and the loss of great journalists (RIP Mike Wallace), narrative product is more important on television now.  Launched by the great writing for such HBO episodic programs as “Sex In The City” and “Sopranos”, and supported by the success of “The Wire”, television (broadcast and pay cable) has demonstrated enough brilliance to display and call attention to its potential.

I would agree that television is in less danger of going away now than it ever was.  And it may even be getting better.

Shapiro argues that the likely future is a “both-and” kind of solution.  But the mechanisms by which old media and new media – like television (broadcast and cable) and the internet – can live side by side is totally an evolving story.  The issue – like the Cable VOD issue – is that Old Media is in the hands of lifetime practitioners who are less-than-average likely to explore possible connections; New Media is in the hands of less experienced souls who want only to disrupt and destroy.  Theater owner/operators in the face of CableVOD and Internet On Demand are a good example of this dichotomy. 

It’s not the technology that holds back a more productive and integrated future, it’s inflexible business models and practices on both sides.

Application Deadline: Monday, April 22, 2013

The Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund will provide annual production grants totaling $95,000 to be used in the creation of original, independent documentary films that illuminate pressing issues in the United States.  Grants will be made to up to 6 projects that tell a compelling story and focus on one of Pare Lorentz’s central concerns—the appropriate use of the natural environment, justice for all or the illumination of pressing social problems.

The fund supports full-length documentary films that reflect the spirit and nature of Pare Lorentz’s work, exhibiting objective research, artful storytelling, strong visual style, high production values, artistic writing, outstanding music composition, as well as skillful direction, camerawork and editing.  A program of the International Documentary Association, the Pare Lorentz Documentary Fund is made possible by The New York Community Trust.

The full online application, guidelines and eligibility requirements are available on thePare Lorentz Documentary Fund application page.

For more information about Pare Lorentz and to view full-length selections of his films, please visit our Pare Lorentz screening room.

About the International Documentary Association

Founded in 1982, the International Documentary Association (IDA) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that supports documentary filmmaking worldwide. At IDA, we believe that the power and artistry of the documentary art form are vital to cultures and societies globally, and we exist to serve the needs of those who create this art form. IDA is the portal into the world of documentary filmmaking. We provide up-to-date news, information and community through our website, documentary.org, our various special events, and our quarterly publication, Documentary Magazine.

Our main program areas are Advocacy, Filmmaker Services, Education and Public Programs & Events. IDA is led by Michael Lumpkin, Executive Director, a highly creative and effective executive leader with over 25 years experience leading international media arts organizations; a dedicated and experienced staff; and a committed and highly effective Board of Directors.

About The New York Community Trust

Through the generosity of New Yorkers past and present, The New York Community Trust makes grants for a range of charitable activity important to the well-being and vitality of our city. We’ve helped make donors’ charitable dreams come true since 1924.

Grants made from these funds meet the changing needs of children, youth, and families; aid in community development; improve the environment; promote health; assist people with special needs; and support education, arts, and human justice.

In addition to making grants to a broad range of nonprofit agencies, The Trust responds to urgent problems in the City by bringing people together, working with other funders, and issuing publications to help illuminate issues and explore their solutions.

The Trust is governed by a 12-member Distribution Committee composed of community leaders appointed by a variety of civic institutions.  Its staff is recognized for its experience in grantmaking, financial administration, and donor service.  Divisions are located on Long Island and in Westchester.

The 6th Annual New York Surf Film Festival is now officially open for entry. Read below for more information on this themed fest and click here to submit your film today.

About New York Surf Film Festival:

The New York Surf Film Festival strives every year to curate an exhibition of the highest quality surf films from around the world. We create an annual pilgrimage that gives the surfing community and general public a spotlight in the city to celebrate the filmmaking craft, honor the heritage, and learn about the new movements within and surrounding the surf lifestyle. We connect filmmakers, athletes, friends and family together to enjoy the beauty and stories that are captured on camera.

Festival Overview:

The New York Surf Film Festival is an event consisting of three days of screenings of independent short and feature films, cult classics, and world premieres from established surf filmmakers. In between screenings, we will be hosting a surf history lecture series, Q&A Sessions with filmmakers and notable surfers, Panel Discussions, and Meet & Greets. We will also be curating a Surf Art Gallery to be open to the public for the duration of the weekend. Please contact us if you are interested in showcasing your work.

The Sarasota Film Festival (SFF) officially announced their complete 2013 Festival program today. The SFF, one of the largest regional film festivals in the United States, will feature over 222 films, including the latest works from Olivier Assayas, Andrew Bujalski, Xavier Dolan, Sophie Fiennes, Tom Gilroy, Ken Loach, Kim Longinotto, Claude Miller, François Ozon, Alain Resnais, Carlos Reygadas, Thomas Vinterberg, Lucy Walker and many, many more.

Leading the festival’s program are the SFF’s Competitions, highlighted by Tom Gilroy’s THE COLD LANDS (US Premiere), Jeremy Xido’s DEATH METAL ANGOLA (US Premiere), Nathan Silver’s SOFT IN THE HEAD (World Premiere), C&Y’s THE OXBOW CURE (World Premiere), Gregory Collins’ A SONG STILL INSIDE (World Premiere)
among a group of twenty-four films vying for top festival honors.

The Festival also announced the awarding of the 2013 Terry Porter Visionary Award to Andrew Bujalski’s COMPUTER CHESS. The award, named in honor of longtime festival friend Terry Porter, is presented for the third consecutive year in partnership with the Huisking Foundation. Previous winners include V/H/S (2012) and Todd Rohal’s THE CATECHISM CATACLYSM (2011).

As previously announced, the 2013 opens on April 5th with Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s BLACKFISH, while Noah Baumbach’s FRANCES HA is the festival’s Closing Night film. James Ponsoldt’s THE SPECTACULAR NOW and Barbara Kopple’s RUNNING FROM CRAZY are the Centerpiece Films, with Carols Puga’s BURMA, Justin Schwarz’s THE DISCOVERERS and the World Premiere of Will Slocombe’s PASADENA are the SFF’s Spotlight Films.