Filmmaker Lina Drevs based the theme of her Lighthouse Selected film SIS – BEST SISTER on her relationship with her own sisters.
In our Spotlight Interview this week she opens up about filming during COVID and how she wants to open up the industry to other women.
SIS – BEST SISTER appears on T-Port via our partners at AG Kurzfilm/ German Films and was selected for the 2022 Next Generation Short Tiger Award.
Introduce yourself in a sentence or two
I love to portray strong girls in my films. You would too, if you knew how hard they can punch.
What does making the selection mean to you and the future of your short film?
It’s a great feeling and honour to be selected amongst other great filmmakers. I get super excited to show the film to as many people as possible because my friends and family are a little done with that topic.
What was the inspiration behind your film?
The relationship to my sisters. Other people always had a big problem with us fighting and screaming at eachother. In my opinion it is the most complex and honest relationship I have. I wanted to portray a complicated love between two sisters. I also really wanted to show how great girls can fight.
Tell us about how the filmmaking process went for you – did you enjoy it? and what did it teach you?
Pre Production was intense. The shoot was the best and Post Production was Post Production. I enjoyed all of it immensely. It taught me so much about communication and I gained more trust in myself and my skills. I got to work with stuntmen and filmed 24 takes of one shot (which I will not do again. I hope)
Having been through the process of making your short – what do you wish someone had told you in advance?
I wish somebody would have told me that shooting a film isn’t only pain and stress as it is so often portrayed but so much fun. Before I went into it, I was too nervous and thought about everything that could go wrong. Things did go wrong but that was part of it and in retrospect, it was the best part.
What were the biggest challenges you encountered during making your film?
It was the first fictional film I ever directed myself and like a lot of teams we had to shoot under Corona restrictions which made everything a little complicated.
How was it to collaborate with your cast and crew? Have you formed any particular meaningful connections?
I loved how in the process of production it became everyone’s movie. Every crew and cast member put their thoughts and choices in it which made it more full and rich.
What did you find (or still find) as especially lacking in the process of distributing and promoting your film? What was especially challenging?
Figuring out where to start was challenging. What would be the first festival and what would be the next. Collecting the best synopsis and logline and make yourself and your movie seen when nobody knows about either was challenging.
What do feel young film talents lack the most today, after graduating from film school? Where are the gaps in the film industry?
definitely finding a way to be seen in an ocean of filmmakers. The industry needs more ways to present yourself like an individual with specific skills and not like a replaceable persona.
What are your plans and dreams for the future?
I really hope to be able to do many different things. I want to experience stories and tell them. I want to work with friends and new inspiring people on projects that mean everything to us and then move on to the next project that means everything to us.
I really hope more of my female friends find their spot in the industry. They are all super talented and have great stories to tell!
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I think, it would perhaps be more interesting to make a film about girls who are not so strong, those, who are not always capable to punch back. A film that is more focused on characters that are often standing in the shadow, being or just feeling shunned or sneered at for being not strong enough to withstand.