MITOTE – SMOKEY MIRROR, 9min,. South Korea
Directed by Jana Sturmheit
In today’s world us humans have developed a complex social system of rules and expectations. Children are taught from the day they are born on how they are expected to behave. They are told what is right and wrong, what is possible and what not. That is, by the standards of the children’s parents and other people in their surroundings, in other words the society they grow up in.
https://instagram.com/jaystorm24.mov
Get to know the filmmaker:
1. What motivated you to make this film?
It was not a graduate requirement to make a film in my department of video content design, but I felt like it would be the perfect opportunity to create my first work as director and choreographer. I have choreographed stage performances before but never a video and I wanted to portray the vision that I had inspired by the opening excerpt from the book “The Four Agreements” by Miguel Ruiz talking about Mitote – the smokey mirror.
When I have a dance vision, it plays like a movie in my head, rather than a stage performance. Often I find dance visuals intensely focused on the movement rather than the cinematic aesthetics and depth that different camera angles, movement and shot size and cuts add on the final film. I find one of the decisive factors are the intimate closeness that you can create through a camera that is impossible in a stage performance. A second factor is that the camera can move in between the dancers, which a spectator of a stage performance can’t either in most cases.
2. From the idea to the finished product, how long did it take for you to make this film?
My initial idea for the piece was in summer 2022, I started working on the piece and pre-production in fall 2022, filmed in January 2023 and then edited while simultaneously writing my master’s thesis. Thus editing took bit longer, I was finished in June 2023 but did a final edit in October 2023, so it took roughly a year including everything.
3. How would you describe your film in two words!?
it would have to be a few more words: a trip through our mind visualized through our bodies
4. What was the biggest obstacle you faced in completing this film?
It was a very trivial detail but it made the edit of my piece a far more frustrating experience than it should have been – my university theater that I shot the video in had a black wall in the back – but instead of being a smooth surface, it seemed to be a taped polyester fabric. Lacking filming experience, I thought it would be easy to edit to a full black in post production. In fact that often made even the protagonists unbearably dark, or the taped background would be an ugly disturbing factor. If I had known this before, I would have either asked the theater if there was a curtain that could be closed in front of the wall or installed a large scale black backdrop. even if the curtain surface showed, at least it would not have been as ugly as the taped wall.
5. What were your initial reactions when watching the audience talking about your film in the feedback video?
I was very happy that my artistic choices, intentions and rough storyline was well received and understood, as a first time filmmaker I was not completely sure whether my intentions would translate well to the viewers but I feel like they did. I also appreciated the diversity of feedback touching on different aspects of my film.
6. When did you realize that you wanted to make films?
I was a dancer before I was a videographer. Many times I had thought “this should be recorded and put on screens” to be appreciated by a wider audience as well as preserving our performance art. I also often felt that I was seeing great choreography in video format but not great storytelling, as from a cinematic perspective. These reasons combined made me want to work behind the camera as well as in front and I am beyond happy to have chosen this path as it has led me into a new creative space and introduced me to many new people and opportunities already.
7. What film have you seen the most in your life?
That is a very good question. I don’t normally rewatch films often. It would probably have to be princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki of studio Ghibli. His visuals and world making are stunning beyond belief, and his use of strong female leads have inspired me since I was a little girl.
8. What other elements of the festival experience can we and other festivals implement to satisfy you and help you further your filmmaking career?
I believe the experimental/dance/music festival is already doing a great job at providing opportunities for participants to make the most of an event. I am very grateful to have the opportunity to showcase my debut dance film at the festival and to be able to answer interview questions giving more insight into the behind the scenes of my film.
9. You submitted to the festival via FilmFreeway. How has your experiences been working on the festival platform site?
FilmFreeway is a great platform that compiles festivals into easily searchable categories and standardizes the application process in a way that it is possible for filmmakers to find, apply and communicate with festivals in a simple and efficient manner, my German heart is very appreciative about this.
10. What is your favorite meal?
My favorite meal would have to be a German style breakfast with bread rolls, muesli, eggs, fresh orange juice, fruit and veggies and lots of different spreads to choose from. I truly miss this the most about living abroad.
11. What is next for you? A new film?
I have just bought my first camera, a Sony a7s3 and can’t wait to buy a lens for it and get started with filming much more regularly. For now I want to focus on smaller dance video projects or making music videos for upcoming artists to build a portfolio and develop my style as director and DOP. I am beyond excited to be doing this in Sydney, where I am currently based, and following in Seoul, Korea, where I will return to by the end of the year. Luckily I have many creative friends around me that inspire me and look forward to working and creating art with.
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